May.06

Tap Dancing Kabuki by Dianne Vapnek

Newest Posts

May.10

Tap Dancing Kabuki by Dianne Vapnek

May.10

“Have you seen the video of the tap dancing kabuki actor?” asked my American friend living in Japan. For real??, I asked.  “I’ll send you a link.” “Tap dancing kabuki actor” felt like an oxymoron for my mental inventory of a tap dancer.  Think:  The Nicolas Brothers, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill “Bojangles” Robinson,…

May.08

Elizabeth Andoh: A Taste of Culture – URUI: Elusive Taste of Spring

May.08

My early years in Japan were flooded with hatsu taiken (first-time experiences), especially at table. Among those were my first bite of URUI (Hosta sieboldiana), memorable for its elusive wild-grass flavor. Urui prepared as ohitashi showered with smoky flakes of dry-cured bonito was my very first encounter with this amazing garden green,. When, several days later I was served slender stalks of urui napped with…

May.06

Marusho Kimono Shop: Honouring Tradition with Japandi Sensibilities By Living in Design

May.06

To mark important milestones in Japan, women will often wear special clothes referred to as Haregi or ‘your Sunday’s best’. Marusho Kimono Shop is a long-established Kimono rental store in Yokohama, with a mission of handing down traditional Japanese culture through Haregi. People often wear Kimono’s for weddings, summer festivals funerals and for ceremonial occasions.The…

Apr.28

House of Music’s undulating roof by Sou Fujimoto evokes tree canopy by Wallpaper Magazine

Apr.28

The highly anticipated House of Music in Hungary has opened its doors. The new, leading European cultural venue, designed by the renowned Japanese architecture studio of 2022 Wallpaper* Design Awards judge Sou Fujimoto, not only represents a striking new landmark for the country, but it also is the architect’s very first completed, permanent, new-build in the continent….

Apr.28

Exhibition – Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan

Apr.28

Discover how two artists seeking a new direction for modern art in the aftermath of World War II found inspiration in Japanese tradition. Trace the friendship, work, ideas and mutual influence of Isamu Noguchi and Saburo Hasegawa, who both sought to balance tradition and modernity, Japanese culture and foreign influences, past and present. Changing and…

Feb.01

ニュースレター2021/12

Feb.01 Steve Beimel

JapanCraft21主催バイメル・スティーブエンとジャーナリスト リチャード・バーナーのインタビューはこちら。 初めてのロニー賞受賞は堤卓也氏。 アワードセレモニーのビデオはここをクリック 優秀賞受賞者の皆さまおめでとうございます! 伝統的建築技法を学ぶ日曜塾(心町家塾) 最新情報はこちらをクリック! 2019年、JapanCraft21は内藤工務店と共に心町家塾を立ち上げました。木組みや竹の土壁などの、急速に消滅しつつある日本の建築技法を学ぶ若い大工の授業料を支援しています。 工芸の未来のために力を貸してくれている仲間たち     アドバイザーとボランティアの皆さま、ありがとうございます!  

Oct.31

A Taste of Culture – Sudachi & Kabosu

Oct.31 Elizabeth Andoh

The Japanese have consumed a variety of citrus for millennia; enjoying both the juice and peels of the fruit. Many who reside outside Japan have become familiar with yuzu, a member of the Rutaceae (citrus) family primarily prized for its aromatic yellow peel. However, sudachi (above, left) and kabosu (above, right) both coming to market…

Oct.18

Evaluating Japanese tea bowls – KAKO Katsumi

Oct.18

A potter with only one year of full time training could produce mass produced tea bowls using a mold, using an energy efficient electric kiln ensuring minimal damage to works during firing, resulting in a pleasant yet unremarkable bowl which retails for about $50.  KAKO Katsumi, who made the featured piece here, has about 30…

Sept.30

Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contest – Award Ceremony July 6, 2021

Sept.30 Steve Beimel

Left to right: Sculptor YASUDA Kan, JapanCraft21 founder Steve Beimel and 2021 Ronnie Prize Winner, TSUTSUMI Takuya. ACCESS HERE to read an Interview of JapanCraft21 founder, Steve Beimel, with journalist Richard Varner and learn about the first Ronnie Prize Winner TSUTSUMI Takuya! ACCESS HERE to see Award Ceremony video CONGRATULATIONS to our Awards of Excellence…

Sept.19

A Taste of Culture – WATERMELON

Sept.19 Elizabeth Andoh

Watermelons are ancient — 4000-year-old wall art in Egyptian tombs include images of elongated, green-striped melons. Cultivation spread across Asia and Europe and was brought to the Americas by colonists and the slave trade from Africa. On the Asian continent, watermelons can be traced through India, China (Uighurs) and into Japan possibly as early as…