Aug.15
Clams are superstars at Ibaraki destination restaurant: Hamaguri-ya
Aug.15
by Akemi Koyama, Cultural Ambassador Restaurant in Hitachinaka city serves only one special prix fixe hamaguri meal. Hamaguri is Japanese for clam, I mean a huge clam that is a size of the palm of a hand. I stopped with friends at Hamaguri-ya on the way to Fukushima from Haneda airport. It was a pleasant…
Aug.14
OH, Japan! What brings me back here, again and again.
Aug.14
by Dianne Vapnek, blogger . Never could I have imagined the impact that a short trip to accompany my husband on a business trip to Japan in the 1980’s would have on my life. The impact was profound and has continued to influence my life in ways small and large. Suddenly I was presented with…
Nov.28
Listen to Shakuhachi
Nov.28
6 minutes: Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of Cranes) is performed by Kohachiro MIYATA on the shakuhachi bamboo flute. This programmatic piece describes the life of the crane, a bird with great symbolic cultural significance in Japan, including building a nest, laying and hatching an egg and raising a baby crane until it flies away from…
June.29
Gungendo – Pioneers in the Slow Clothes Movement
June.29
Shops
The Matsubas are to clothes what Alice Waters is to the Slow Food movement. Their 30-year old company, Gungendo, is dedicated to the principle of Slow Clothes, reflected in their strong commitment to supporting sustainable rural communities and retaining important textile-related skills in Japan. Their designs are not about fashion fads, but about timeless personal…
Jan.18
HORIKI Eriko: Pioneer on the Washi Frontier
Jan.18
Contemporary Art
Traditional handmade washi paper can be found everywhere in Japan, from name cards to beautiful wrapping paper. But washi as large format installation art, using paper tapestries up to 50 feet long, brings this ancient process to a new artistic level altogether.