How do you teach the concept of mass? Our ability to sense weight and mass just by lifting things is a skill that’s atrophied over time, particularly in the age of video games and smartphones. But a group of designers and manufacturers have weighed in, creating Tsumi-gram: a new type of toy that helps build on the concept of mass from an early age.
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The ukiyoe artist Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) lived through tumultuous times, but you wouldn’t know it from his woodblock prints. Sometimes referred to as a poet with the spirit of a traveler, Hasui traveled Japan in search of nostalgic and everyday landscapes that struck a chord in his own heart. Often depicting the quiet and forlorn, Hasui’s art was perhaps his way of coping with the dramatic shift that was occurring in Japan: a rapid and widespread drive to modernize and engage with the rest of the world.
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all photos by Keizo Kioku | courtesy Anomaly
Japanese artist Kei Imazu, who is based in Indonesia, is currently wrapping up a large-scale exhibition at the Anomaly gallery in Tokyo. Along with numerous large-scale paintings is a time-based work that depicts the devastating impact that industry is having on earth’s ecosystem.
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all photos courtesy Setagaya Literary Museum
The prolific Japanese manga artist Jiro Taniguchi, who passed away in 2017, left behind an immense body of work that continues to be admired both in his home country but also abroad. In Japan, he is perhaps best known for his illustrations in Kodoku no Gourmet (“Solitary Gourmet”), a cuisine manga written by Masayuki Qusumi. But his solo works like Aruku hito (“The Walking Man”) and Haruka na machi e (“A Distant Neighborhood”) had to travel overseas to really shine. A large-scale exhibition in Tokyo reflects on the craftsmanship, details and compositions that went into Taniguchi’s work using over 300 original drawings.
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Each year we look forward to Halloween, not for the ghosts and ghouls but for Japan’s jimi (mundane) halloween costumes: outfits so ordinary that they have to be explained.
The tradition was started in 2014 by a group of adults at Daily Portal Z who “kind of wanted to participate in the festivities of Halloween, but were too embarrassed to go all out in witch or zombie costumes.” So instead of the flashy and flamboyant costumes they had been seeing gain popularity in Japan, they decided to dress up in mundane, everyday costumes.
You can comb through social media using the hashtag #地味ハロウィン but below we present to you some of our favorites from this year’s festivities.
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Kohaku Uta Gassen, commonly referred to simply as Kohaku, is a year-end music festival that has aired on Japanese television since 1951. Practically a national pastime, close to 40% of the population tune in as they reflect on the past year. This year, for the first time in almost 15 years, the program announced a new logo that signifies a small yet significant change.
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The Good Design Awards, Japan’s oldest and most-comprehensive system for evaluating design, are doled out annually. And this week, the 2021 awards were announced. The theme this year was “Aspiration and Action with Consideration,” which verbalizes our wishes and hopes for a better world. You can see all the recipients here but below are a small selection of our favorites, which embody the spirit in forms of sustainability and inclusivity.
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Five years ago Japan lowered the minimum voting age from 20 to 18 to encourage young people to get involved and have their say. But turnout rates of those in their 20s and younger has been alarmingly low: in the last lower house election, in 2017, the voting rate among people in their 20s was 34%, less than half that of those in their 60s. Vote Poster 2021 is a small but burgeoning movement in which illustrators, designers and manga artists create eye-catching posters that can be printed out or shared online, ultimately raising awareness and encouraging people to go out and vote.
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this post is sponsored by Kanagawa Prefecture
Even as Japan’s vaccination rate surpassses others, the country still remains closed to tourism. But that doesn’t mean Japan and all its culture and history are entirely inaccessible. With a little help from technology and the insights and expertise of many, you can go on a virtual tour of Japan’s historic Odawara Castle. And as you’re transported back in time to the Warring States period, a preeminent ninja scholar will also equip you with the skills and philosophies of shinobi: the covert operatives of feudal Japan.
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Lei is an entirely self-sufficient aroma diffuser, powered only by the heat and gentle flame of a small candle. The generated power from the flame turns the propeller, which creates a light breeze that permeates your space with aromas from essential oils.
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Myaku-Myaku Footwear, Inspired by the Googly-Eyed Mascot for the Osaka Expo
Japan Quietly Shines at Milan Design Week
Demographics Professor Warns that by 2531, Everyone in Japan Will be Named Sato
Kenji Yanobe’s BIG CAT BANG is Now on Display at Ginza Six
Japan’s Stationery Award Offers a Return to the Primitive
