If like me you have an appetite for exploring all things related to Japanese design and crafts, Irwin Wong’s introduction to Handmade in Japan will surely prompt you to investigate further. Wong is a well-known commercial photographer based in Tokyo, so on the book’s announcement I knew it would be filled with evocative images of Japan and…

Japanese ceramics are highly sought-after by pottery lovers everywhere. One of the many reasons for their enduring popularity is the sheer variety of ceramic art in Japan, with almost every region producing their own specialized works (see our A-Z guide for more). Kutaniware, or kutaniyaki, is one of the most fascinating. What’s so special about…

Textiles artist Maki Aizawa’s original line of kimono-inspired jackets are featured in the prestigious Santa Fe International Folk Arts festival this month. She’s humbled to be sharing kimono-making techniques which she applies to the modern-designed jackets, her way of giving visibility to what she describes as “a dying art form.” But despite designing and sewing…

From the February 2022 issue of Apollo. Preview and subscribe here. About 400 years ago, the first sparks of a new art-form could have been seen just five minutes’ walk from where I now sit writing in Kyoto. The date was almost certainly 1603, though it is not clearly recorded. It was probably a blazing…

The long-awaited lifting of the ban on foreign tourists coincides with the launch of striking new works — and a new hotel — on Naoshima Island. Just in front of the Park building of Benesse House, the sleek and art-filled hotel-cum-museum at the heart of Japan’s Naoshima Art Site, I spot something new. A transparent…

A kind of traditional Japanese paper known for its quality, delicacy and resistance, washi paper has its noble origins in the village of Kurotani, where this unique craft has been honed and developed since 1593. While the production of washi paper originates from China, the manual manufacturing technique was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks in around 610….

KYOTO, Japan — Yoshinaga Nakamura’s family has specialized in kazari-sho, or metal art, for seven generations. But the items have changed with the times over the last 200 years, and now, as Japan looks forward to welcoming tourists again, he is preparing for the future. “We used to make decorative parts — metal carvings of…

Rakugo, which literally translates as ‘art of fallen words’, is making a comeback on Japanese stages. Dating back to the 17th century and originating from Buddhist tradition, rakugo experienced its heyday in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and particularly following the Second World War, when it adopted its current form. This also marked the period when it left…

Kimono Style at Metropolitan Museum of Art (7 June­–20 February) features a selection of more than 60 kimonos from the John C. Weber Collection of Japanese art. The display traces the evolution of the garment from the late Edo period (1615–1868) through to the early 20th century when the T-shaped design was adapted to suit the lifestyle of…

Could the architecture of Kyoto’s historic machiya townhouses offer modern lessons in remote work? While the pandemic has turned many kitchens and bedrooms into makeshift home offices around the world, there’s one style of housing in Japan that’s been mixing business and living space for centuries. The city of Kyoto is known for its stock of unique historical structures…