Do tomatoes taste better when eaten from a nice Japanese ceramic plate? Objectively, no. But the experience of serving and eating the tomatoes does improve. That is because human experience is not limited just to the physical characteristics of the food but how we interact with it, from the sensorial stimulation to the meaning we…

Frequent JLA contributor Alice Gordenker shares her appreciation for a type of Japanese antique porcelain that has captivated people all over the world for more than 400 years. For a comprehensive introduction to Imari ware, and some lovely photographs, please take a look at her new article on the All About Japan website.  

A beautifully produced introduction to the mystery behind the world’s oldest theater form still practiced today. (Under 9 minutes)

Levitation is among the miraculous feats ascribed to a child prince who lived more than a 1,400 years ago and grew up to become a great patron of Buddhism.  (Detail from “Illustrated Biography of Prince Shotoku,” a National Treasure of Japan. Image courtesy of the Tokyo National Museum, Gallery of Horyuji Treasures.) The Tokyo National…

Uesugi Yozan was a very young leader with a very big problem. When the ninth daimyo of the Yonezawa Domain (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) assumed leadership in 1767 at the tender age of 16, Uesugi (1751-1822) inherited a fiefdom mired in poverty as the result of extravagant spending and poor management. Fortunately for his subjects, Uesugi…

Beginning with Japan’s industrialization in the late 19th century, the paper industry and related companies converged in urban centres across the country. In the eastern Tokyo ward of Kōtō, one such company is Shinohara Shiko, a family-run bookbinding factory that has been cutting, folding, and binding paper to make books and magazines for almost fifty years….

Senna Misawa didn’t originally intend on becoming an Edo Kiriko craftsman. Unlike most artisans in Japan, she didn’t have a background or familial connection with the industry. Her plan was to open a nail salon. But when she came across a unique Edo Kiriko product made by Toru Horiguchi, it changed her life. Now in…

When Yuki Sakamoto joined Horiguchi Kiriko in 2017 at the age of 18, he was at the time Japan’s youngest Edo Kiriko apprentice. Drawn to “jewels, gems and shiny bright things,” as a kid, Sakamoto was inspired to move from Hokkaido to Tokyo straight after high school to study the decorative art of glass cutting. First made…

Tatsuo Morikawa rarely makes the same thing twice. Trained as a traditional Japanese woodworker but embracing new modes of practice, he works together with his clients to bring even the most experimental ideas to life. He has worked independently in Kawagoe, Saitama since 2011. His clients seek him out for his depth of expertise and his…

In a little coastal village in Chiba Prefecture, the ceramicist creates pieces marked by their territory and by time and its effects. Natural clay from Shiga Prefecture, simple, natural materials from the soil, using both ancient and contemporary techniques. Kazunori Hamana’s ceramics are the work of a self-taught artist who draws upon the history of…