This article takes visitors on a day trip to an outdoor architectural park in Kawasaki featuring centuries-old traditional wooden houses from eastern Japan, as well as opportunities to experience some traditional crafts common in that time period. (Archived article first published in Japan Today.)
This Japan Today article lists a number of different things to see and do in Hiroshima, a city known as the target of the world's first nuclear bombing, but a place with many other facets to explore. (Archived article, first published in Japan Today)
This article in Japan Today outlines the history and craftsmanship of gold leaf, 99% of which is produced in Kanazawa. (Archived article published in Japan Today.)
This article in Japan Today introduces the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures at the Tokyo National Museum, a little known gallery with lots to offer, including a new digital gallery. (Archived article published in Japan Today.)
Tucked in a quiet corner of Tokyo's Ota Ward is a little treasure of Nihonga art. The Ryushi Memorial Museum is dedicated to the life and work of Nihonga artist Kawabata Ryushi (1885-1966). Ryushi (Japanese artists are usually known by their given names) began working the Nihonga style after encountering it at a Boston art … Continue reading Ryushi Memorial Museum: little museum with big art
On the afternoon of February 15, 1942, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and members of his senior staff made their way under the Union Jack and a flag of truce from his headquarters at Singapore's Fort Canning to the headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army at the Ford Factory on Bukit Timah hill. There, following a brief … Continue reading Remembering Japan’s wartime occupation of Singapore
A few months ago I visited the Niigata town of Tokamachi with the intention of attending a local festival. Alas, the festival was rained out and it seemed there wasn't much to do after checking out the intriguing sculptures on the high street. Fortunately, I found that Tokamachi has a wonderful city museum that proved … Continue reading Tokamachi City Museum – great on a rainy day, or when the sun shines
The valleys and mountains north of Mt. Fuji are full of remnants of the lives of some of Japan's earliest inhabitants--the Jomon hunters and gatherers of Japan's pre-agricultural period (traditionally dated between 14,000 and 300 BCE). But archaeologists have had to dig for it. Archaeology has only been undertaken in Japan for about 150 years, a … Continue reading Shakado Museum of Jomon Culture – really digging back in time
Japan is fortunate to have several national museums spread across the country. The National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura City, Chiba (just over an hour outside of Tokyo), is enormous, with amazing exhibits featuring every age of Japanese history. It would probably take a full day, maybe even longer, to fully explore everything the … Continue reading A big museum for a long history – the National Museum of Japanese History
There are so many wonderful museums across Tokyo and across Japan. Sometimes one finds the greatest treasures in the smallest of them. The current special exhibit at the Ota Folk Museum, "Ota-ku in art: scenes portrayed by writers and artists", is one such treasure. The exhibit, on the second floor of the museum, features woodblock … Continue reading Ota-ku in art: scenes portrayed by writers and artists
One could argue that Art Deco, which takes its name from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925, is a European--particularly French--style. But one of the distinctive features of Art Deco is the way in which it drew on influences from around the world, particularly Africa and the … Continue reading Art Deco’s Exoticism On Display
"Modern" Japan dates from the Meiji Restoration of 1868. During the reign of the Emperor Meiji (1868-1912), Japan modernized and Westernized. This transformation included not only Japan's political, economic, and education systems, but also various aspects of fine arts. With respect to the latter, many feared that Japan's cultural identity might be lost in the … Continue reading Nihonga: Distinctly Japanese Modern Art
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