Sept.01

Clams are superstars at Ibaraki destination restaurant: Hamaguri-ya

Newest Posts

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.15

Shoji Hamada’s grandson, Tomoo, redefines his family’s sensibility for the 21st century

Aug.15

by Robert Yellin, specialist in Japanese ceramics The perks and pressures of being the son of someone famous can be enormous. In Japan,

Aug.14

I Only Have Eyes for Blue (and White)

Aug.14

by Amy Katoh, author, lecturer

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…

Aug.12

Traveling exhibition shares masterworks of Japanese contemporary ceramics: the Horvitz Collection

Aug.12

Hands & Earth: Six Perspectives on Japanese Contemporary Ceramics  .   . Now open at the Lowe Art Museum More than 40 important works created by 35 leading contemporary Japanese ceramic artists will be on view at the Lowe Art Museum from June 20 to September 23, 2018. All of the works are drawn from the…

Aug.09

Koho Tatsumura’s contemporary designs in the hands of the world’s finest weavers

Aug.09 Contemporary Art Kyoto

Koho Tatsumura Nishiki Weaving for the 21st Century. Japanese weaving is so intricate and thus so stunningly beautiful that experts worldwide have come to both describe it and distinguish it from ordinary brocade simply by using its Japanese name, Nishiki (pronounced as in knee-she-key.)

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…

Feb.22

Yuzen Shirts by Hiroshi Saito

Feb.22

Whenever I wear a Hiroshi Saito Shirt in Japan or North America, I am always asked about it.

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.