Spoon & Tamago

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Remembering Japanese Words Deleted From the Dictionary

For the past 60 years Japanese book publisher Sanseido has maintained one of the country’s most-popular dictionaries. Every several years the dictionary undergoes a revision where new words are added and old ones removed. The latest such revision–the first in 8 years–was recently announced with 3500 new words added and 1,100 words removed. The removed are always interesting and generate somewhat of a buzz because they tell the story of forgotten times. Of course words aren’t simply removed because they’re “old” so to speak. So let’s take a walk down memory lane and remember some of the deleted words and why they were removed.

The Vase Boutique in Nakameguro is Located Inside a 70-Year Old Wooden Home

August 20, 2022 / Johnny / 1 Comment

all photos by Masanori Kaneshita

Vase is a small boutique–a select shop, as they say in Japan–located along an equally tiny side street next to the Meguro River. The shop has been in business for 15 years but last year they decided to expand. But they didn’t have to move far. A 70-year old vacant wooden house right next door turned out to be the perfect new home.

Matchstick Cookies Keep the Flame of Tradition Alive

August 16, 2022 / Johnny / Comments Off

Earlier this year we reported that Japan’s largest manufacturer of matchboxes, Nittosha, announced that they’re shutting down their business line. Gone is the tradition of walking out of a kissaten with a box of matches as a souvenir. Fearing that beloved matchboxes would be extinguished from our lives entirely, a Hokkaido-based confectioner took matters into their own hands and created edible matchstick cookies.

Asako Kitamura, Japan’s Only Female Nebuta Float Artisan

August 10, 2022 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos courtesy Asako Kitamura

Giant floats paraded down the streets of Aomori last week for the Nebuta Matsuri, one of Japan’s most-iconic and heavily attended summer festivals. It was held for the first time in three years after a long covid-induced hiatus. A total of 18 floats featuring scenes from scroll paintings depicting warriors and mythology lit up the heart of the city. Pictured above is a float created by Asako Kitamura, Japan’s only female Nebuta float artisan.

Remembering Loved Ones With Incense Shaped After Their Favorite Hobby

August 10, 2022 / Johnny / Comments Off

Rooted in Buddhism, incense are an essential component of Japanese funerals, as well as home altars where we reflect on and remember our loved ones. Thought to purify the space and create a tranquil mood, it’s a tradition that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years. And neither has the shape of incense. So when Japan’s oldest incense-maker asked how they can innovate on something so unchanged, the answer was to redesign them as a celebration of individual life.

The Stunning Yasutake Sweets Shop in Dazaifu Dedicates Themselves to Local Specialty Umegae Mochi

August 5, 2022 / Johnny / 1 Comment

all photos by Koji Fujii courtesy Toru Shimokawa Architects

Invented in the town of Dazaifu and dating back hundreds of years, umegae mochi is a type of rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste and imprinted with the petals of a plum blossom. The sweets are practically synonymous with Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, and have been a popular souvenir for as long as many can remember. Umegae mochi can be found in many shops in Fukuoka, and even at the train station, but one shop in particular stands out: the Yasutake mochi shop.

On Ogijima, A Mural of Island Life by Oscar Oiwa Painted Inside a Shigeru Ban Structure

August 5, 2022 / Johnny / 2 Comments

Every three years, Naoshima, Teshima and ten other islands including Megijima, Ogijima and Shodoshima play host to a collection of installations and artists for the Setouchi International Art Triennale. 2022 marks the 12th anniversary of the art festival and the summer season just kicked off today, August 5th. While many of the permanent installations remain up (but not all of them), the islands continue to add new site-specific artworks and one of those is a collaboration between Brazilian-Japanese artist Oscar Oiwa and architect Shigeru Ban.

Goldfish Artist Riusuke Fukahori Pays Homage to Savior in Latest Tokyo Exhibition

July 29, 2022 / Johnny / Comments Off

“Akishiki” (2020) by Riusuke Fukahori | all images courtesy the artist

Artist Riusuke Fukahori has devoted his career to painting goldfish. His “2.5D paintings,” as they’re called, come to life through a meticulous and repetitive process of applying layers and layers of paint, each sandwiched between thin layers of resin, until the lifelike goldfish are complete and appear to rise up from whatever canvas he has chosen. A new exhibition in Tokyo reflects on the artist’s body of work and the deeper meaning behind the goldfish.

Rice Paddy Art Features Two Beautiful Women from Art History

July 27, 2022 / Johnny / 1 Comment

Inakadate, the village in northern Japan’s Aomori prefecture famous for their rice paddy art, today unveiled their latest creation. The seeds of their labor, which were planted in June, have now grown and filled out the canvas, rendering versions of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and Seiki Kuroda’s “Lakeside,” which depicts his wife Taneko Kaneko.

Cool Down at Tokyo’s Newest Craft Beer Bar, Special End

July 26, 2022 / Johnny / Comments Off

photos by Ichisei Hiramatsu

Have you ever had beer made from honey produced by the bee hives of Shimane Prefecture’s Hagi Iwami Airport? What about a kumquat and coriander ale from Shiga Prefecture? You never really know what you’ll find at Tokyo’s craft beer bar Special End but you can be certain that whatever is on tap will hit the spot, especially during summer’s horrendous humidity.