The Setouchi Brewery is a new wine and cider maker that has laid down roots in the Setouchi region of Japan, where islands, mountains, sky and Japan’s inland sea all collide. The islands have a long history of growing grapes and the Setouchi Brewery will use entirely local ingredients to create beverages that are inspired the the region’s unique climate and history.
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Utagawa Hiroshige, “Cherry Blossom Viewing at Mount Goten” (c.1832–1855)
The Japanese have long revered their natural landscape. Its beauty has been a central focus in Japanese culture as has its power. All rooted in the belief that supernatural forces and beings—from ghosts to shape-shifting animals to trickster spirits—inhabit and influence the natural realm. These ideas are vividly portrayed through the woodblock prints on display in a new exhibition at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, “Nature/Supernature – Visions of this World and Beyond in Japanese Woodblock Prints.”
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Haruki Murakami and UNIQLO have teamed up for a line of t-shirts inspired by the author’s novels like “Norwegian Wood” and “1Q84,” as well as his radio program. It’s a collaboration that brings together two of Japan’s heavyweights: one of the country’s most well-known authors, and the largest clothing company.
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British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest novel “Klara and the Sun” is being released on March 2. The Nobel laureate’s 8th novel has been highly anticipated in both Japan and in his home country of the U.K., and the book is being simultaneously released in English and Japanese. But it’s hard not to notice the colorful and elaborate Japanese book design, particularly when compared to the minimal British version.
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all photos by Hiromitsu Morimoto
Tadao Ando’s Row House in Sumiyoshi, also known as the Sumiyoshi House, is a residential building located in Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Ward. It was designed by Ando in 1976 for a couple with two children and is considered one of the self-taught architect’s earliest and most influential works.
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Spider webs, grass, bare branches and insects surround a young woman in a black dress who stares solemnly at the viewer. But look closely and you’ll soon realize that the gothic-style scene in interconnected, in the most literal sense. Every branch, blade of grass and strand of hair is cut from the same, single sheet of paper in a Japanese art form known as kirie. It’s the work of artist Ayaka Chigira, a student at Musashino Arts University who created the piece as part of her graduating senior thesis exhibition.
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photos by Kenji Agata
Jomon-era pottery, created roughly 4000-5000 years ago, is considered to be the oldest pottery in Japan. Jomon (縄文) literally means “rope-patterned” and as the name implies, much of the pottery was elaborately designed with coils and imprints, rendering them more decorative than functional. “The decoration and modeling of Jomon pottery is designed for the wishes and prayers for life,” explains Ryunosuke Okazaki, a graduating fashion student who recently created a series of haute couture dresses inspired by Jomon pottery.
The “Suienmon-doki” (2000 – 3000 BCE) is considered a national treasure of Japan
– Shakadou Museum of Jomon Culture
all images courtesy the artist
Bite into this sushi and you’ll not only lose your appetite but probably a tooth. Each piece is made from natural stone, hand-polished by an art student who created the series for his graduating thesis exhibition.
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A newly polished floor shines pika pika. But after all that hard work your stomach might be peko peko. These are just a few examples of Japanese onomatopoeia: an element of the language that makes it so richly nuanced. The Japanese language is said to have over four thousand, making it the most onomatopoeia-heavy language in the world. An ambitious new book has compiled one hundred of the most-common onomatopoeia, alongside illustrations from artists all around the world.
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Graphic designer Kenya Hara and his firm Nippon Design Center have self-initiated a project to release over 250 pictograms — free for anyone to use — in support of tourism in Japan from a visual design perspective.
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