May.03
Japanese Women Artists You Should Know: Meet Kajiwara Hisako
May.03
Alice Gordenker
Few people today have heard of Kajiwara Hisako (梶原緋佐子, 1896-1988) so it is welcome news indeed that four of her paintings have been included in a major exhibition in Japan this year. Kajiwara was a Nihonga painter, active in Kyoto, who worked primarily in the “bijinga” genre of lusciously detailed images of idealized female beauty….
Apr.15
In Search of Forgotten Colours
Apr.15
Steve Beimel
World-renowned master textile dyer Sachio Yoshioka is featured in this 18-minute video about the Art of Natural Dyeing.
Apr.02
Japanese Women Artists You Should Know: Meet Shima Seien
Apr.02
Alice Gordenker
By Alice Gordenker Shima Seien (島成園, 1892–1970) worked as a Nihonga painter at a time when few women in Japan were able to pursue art as a profession. Throughout her career, she struggled against overt discrimination against women artists. This frustration is palpable in her 1918 painting “Untitled” (無題), in which a woman in a…
Mar.15
A Taste of Culture – AKU NUKI
Mar.15
Elizabeth Andoh
Dear friends, colleagues and those who have expressed an interest in the FOOD & CULTURE of Japan: Kogomi (fiddlehead ferns) and other sansai (mountain vegetables) are foraged from woodland areas in Japan just as snow begins to melt and the promise of spring is in the air. Bitter foods such as sansai play an important role in Japanese cookery. For…
Feb.17
Kengo Kuma builds temporary pavilion in japan from cross-laminated timber panels
Feb.17
Kengo Kuma and associates (KKAA), the firm led by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, has designed a temporary pavilion for events and performances in Harumi, Tokyo. The semi-outdoor space was built using a steel frame infilled with panels made from cross-laminated timber. T These CLT panels measure 160 x 350 centimeters (63 x 138 inches) and…
Feb.12
A Taste of Culture – Banzuké RANKING
Feb.12
Elizabeth Andoh
by Elizabeth Andoh Dear friends, colleagues and those who have expressed an interest in the FOOD & CULTURE of Japan: The Japanese have a fondness for ranking things. There are endless lists known as BANZUKÉ for sports (Sumo wrestling banzuké is the most well-known), for TV personalities, for onsen (hot springs) hotels and other travel…
Nov.08
SURIBACHI: Groovy Grinding
Nov.08
Elizabeth Andoh
Every food culture is challenged to find ways of transforming unpalatable, indigestible foods into nourishing, tasty fare. Grinding and crushing is often part of that transformation process, helping to release nutrients and flavor otherwise locked into grains, seeds, leaves, bark, nuts, roots and tubers. A variety of tools have been developed throughout the world to…
Oct.30
DAIGAKU IMO: The Sweet Potato with a College Education
Oct.30
Elizabeth Andoh
While growing up in New York, I took lessons at The Art Student’s League on Saturday mornings. After class I would meet my father for a late lunch. His office was a few doors down from the Plaza Hotel (where Eloise had taken up residence in 1955) in the building next to Prexy’s. The burger…
Oct.18
Toko Shinoda’s calligraphy at its best
Oct.18
When I was producing calligraphic specimens of the words I particularly liked – the words like 「flame」, 「river」「tree」and 「snow」, Felt chagrined that they were not of my own creation. I became unbearably envious of those who created such words. As feeling envy for others constituted a gross breach of ladies’ code, I decided to someday…