Volume 38: the unique body shapes of each member of comedy duo Banana Man were used to create flower vases
The art director Yuni Yoshida (previously) has an ongoing series in Japanese fashion magazine Soen, in which she collaborates with different celebrities for an artful spread called “Play a Sensation.”
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This holiday season, why not shake things up a little by baking your holiday cookies in the shape of sukashi-buroku, Japanese decorative concrete cinder blocks. These blocks are ubiquitous throughout residential neighborhoods of Japan, forming walls between homes, yards and roads. They can be easily overlooked but are all beautiful in their own right.
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The Internet is teeming with animals. Photos of animals that is, many of which rise to meme-level stardom. Some make us chuckle or gush, others puzzle us. But for one Japanese sculptor who goes by the name meetissai, they stoke his creative juices, pushing him to render these animals into miniature 3D figurines.
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After a successful inaugural show last year, artKYOTO is back. The 3-day art fair is taking place this weekend at the Kyoto National Museum, along with a number of satellite locations. “The event aims to engrave in our minds the history of culture and art, which our predecessors have long protected and nurtured, as present-day wisdom. The Kyoto National Museum, an Important Cultural Property, will also serve as a venue in addition to Nijo-jo Castle, a World Heritage site.”
The programs includes an art market, a live performance at Nijo-jo Castle, spotlights on up-and-coming artists and art history tours, all while taking the utmost precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Below are some of the artworks that caught our eye.
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Painting primarily involves the sense of seeing and touching. Kanogu (香の具), which means “aromatic paints” in Japanese, is a new tool that combines 100% natural essential oils with paints to offer a new way of painting that also involves the sense of smell.
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Tsutenkaku, Osaka (created in March 2020) “I was supposed to travel to Osaka at the end of March, to have a meeting with a museum curator and prepare for a show that would take place at the end of year. I was thinking about preparing a series of works with a local theme, and hoped to also spend the trip researching the history and culture of the area. However, after the coronavirus outbreak hit Japan, I needed to give up that trip too”
The Brazilian-born Japanese artist Oscar Oiwa (previously) found himself in the same state as many of us when the pandemic struck earlier this year: projects and trips were all postponed. Instead of meeting with curators, going to his studio and walking around New York City where he’s based, he found himself confined to his apartment. So he did the only reasonable thing: he used his craft to begin a series that would transform his feelings into visual art.
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Frank Lloyd Wright first arrived in Japan in 1917 and that same year he met Arata Endo – 27 years old at the time and fresh off the team working on plans to construct Meiji Shrine. The two architects bonded and Endo would go on to become Wright’s primary protégé, overseeing many of Wright’s projects in Japan after he left the country.
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A panoramic mural of musical keys recently appeared along the floor leading into the Minato Mirai Hall, a music venue in Yokohama. Titled “Social Harmony” and created by Eisuke Tachikawa, the mural is part social distancing sticker and part interactive musical art installation.
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all photos by Hirobumi Imanishi
Latelier Natural is a French restaurant in the Arida district of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture, situated near Wakayama Bay. Behind the small restaurant was a parking space just large enough for 2-3 cars. As if anticipating the pandemic and social-distancing response, in 2019 the restaurant decided to expand by converting their parking lot into a tiny yet adorable takeout counter.
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Japanese artist Keiko Miyamori divides her time between New York and Japan. But when the the global pandemic struck earlier this year her exhibitions in Japan got cancelled and she found herself stranded in New York. On that fateful day in April she began making tree rubbings and encasing them in boxes.
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Five Unique Experiences at Harajuku’s Latest Development Harakado
‘Puddle’ Are a Series of Flower Vessels Inspired by Puddles of Water
120 Koinobori Flutter in Sabogawa River
Myaku-Myaku Footwear, Inspired by the Googly-Eyed Mascot for the Osaka Expo
Now Open: Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku by Hiroshi Nakamura
