I’m Gian and thought it was appropriate to re-introduce myself to the hundreds of new subscribers who have joi…

MA-GO-WA-YA-SA-SHI-I (Grandchildren are kind) This acronym helps speakers of Japanese remember the names of fo…

JUNSAI (water shield; Brasenia schreberi) grows naturally in lakes, ponds and slow streams in many parts of th…

Frequent JLA contributor Alice Gordenker shares her appreciation for a type of Japanese antique porcelain that…

Levitation is among the miraculous feats ascribed to a child prince who lived more than a 1,400 years ago and …

As part of a larger effort to make Japan’s cultural properties more available for study and enjoyment, t…

No doubt you’ve seen this iconic image of a huge wave that seems about to crash on Mt. Fuji. You probabl…

A mainstay of the Japanese home kitchen, ichiya-boshi, literally “one-night dried” are fresh fish that have be…

The Adachi Museum of Art in Shimane Prefecture has greatly expanded its holdings of ceramics and other other w…

Soon after arriving in Japan in 1971, JLA’s founder Steve Beimel fell in love with Japanese crafts. Five…