Interview by Brian Covert LARRY KORN was a 26-year-old farmhand from the United States living and working at a communal farm in rural Kyoto in 1974 when he decided to go and see for himself an enigmatic farmer-philosopher he had been hearing about through the grapevine in Japan. The buzz among farmworkers was that this…

Ando Saeko, Japanese lacquer artist Since relocating her studio from Hanoi to Hoi An in 2016, Saeko has been immersed in the energy of Nature which is ‘so powerful here that I have become just one of the creatures in the middle of it’. Vietnamese lacquer has long been the perfect material for her creative…

Some work is infinitely more exciting than other jobs. Watanabe san, an enthusiastic and insistent customer at Blue & White urged us to take part in the Hatoyama Jinja/ Shrine market that he was helping to plan on the 15th and 16th of September. With scant enthusiasm, we agreed to bring Blue & White to…

by Gail Rieke White turns to black/ black turns to white The Japanese design concept of Notan is the balance between light and dark elements. Adachi Garden in Yasugi It demonstrates the idea that the image and the ground or the positive and the negative spaces are of equal importance   Toji Pagoda in Kyoto…

Out and About with Alice Gordenker: Oki Islands Alice shares of her recent media tour of Oki Islands, just off the coast from Matsue, Japan. 在住外国人メディアと隠岐のトレッキング With foreign media on Nishinoshima, Oki Islands, doing the super-impressive downhill trek from Matengai Cliff past Tsutenkyo Arch to Kuniga Beach, in the company of freely grazing cows and…

Jimbocho Den: Dishes Without Rules…Part I by Mora Chartrand Much has been written about restaurant Jimbocho Den since its 2007 opening by chef-owner Zaiyu Hasegawa, then a 29-year-old unknown. Today, he is no longer unknown. Den is almost always on the must-dine list of those passionate about Japanese cuisine, both from Japan and abroad. In…

The Omote Senke school of tea was founded in the 1600’s by the great grandson of Sen no Rikyu.   In addition to their modern administrative offices, the original site of the school has a number of tea rooms and a garden of impeccable refinement.  Omote Senke is one of the great architectural and cultural…

My doctor in Japan for many years, HONJO Soji was a true master of moxibustion. Below, I re-post my article from 2009. I used to think that all doctors’ offices were located in medical buildings with names like New West Professional Plaza and a pharmacy on the first floor, a huge parking lot and long…

The biwa (琵琶) is a kind of lute, with a short neck and frets. Jetavana Vihara, for Biwa and Voice The biwa (琵琶) is a kind of lute, with a short neck and frets.   It is usually used in narrative storytelling. The origin of the biwa is the Chinese pipa. It arrived in Japan well…