japanese art, design and culture

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Tag: Architecture-materials

House in Hidaka by Suppose Design Office

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Tan Yamanouchi’s New House Speaks to His Cats’ Desires
Cats Tattooing Other Cats by Kazuaki Horitomo
Detailed Cross-section of the Kowloon Walled City Created by Japanese Researchers

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The Latest Posts

Trains Intersect with Everyday Life in Nostalgic Illustrations by Shinjiro Ogawa
August 27, 2023
A Weathered Copper Facade Oxidized by Soy Sauce Defines Suetomi’s New Kyoto Cafe
August 24, 2023
Detailed Survey Drawings of Tokyo Hotel Rooms by Kei Endo
August 22, 2023
3D Printing and Traditional Wood Joinery Techniques Give Life to the Tsuginote Tea House
August 10, 2023
MUJI Fans Can Now Rent this Countryside MUJI Kominka
August 8, 2023
Mountain Villa in Yamanashi Integrates Landscape and Living Room
August 6, 2023
Hida Takayama Distillery is Making Whiskey in an Abandoned School, Aging it in a Local Dam
August 5, 2023
Fender’s First Ever Flagship Store by Klein-Dytham Architecture
July 29, 2023
Komaeyu: Redesigning the Public Bath to Preserve Traditional Sento Culture
July 27, 2023
All Aboard the Deer Train to Nara
July 25, 2023

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TRENDING RIGHT NOW

Tan Yamanouchi’s New House Speaks to His Cats’ Desires
Cats Tattooing Other Cats by Kazuaki Horitomo
Detailed Cross-section of the Kowloon Walled City Created by Japanese Researchers
The Evolution of Meiji Era Craftsmanship, On Full Display in Tokyo
You’ll Soon Be Able to Stay in One of Japan’s Most Beautifully Designed Prisons

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There’s a Pixel Art Exhibition going on right no

There’s a Pixel Art Exhibition going on right now at multiple sites around Shibuya: @shibuya_pixel_art (going on through 9/24/2023)

Check out those pixelated sneakers made from ceramics 😳 by @toshiyan117 (2nd pic)

Also loved seeing NY-based @kid_snz as well!

It’s hard to overstate the cataclysmic impact th

It’s hard to overstate the cataclysmic impact that the Meiji Restoriation had on Japan. The Meiji period, defined as the period between 1868 and 1912, followed what was nearly 300 years of almost complete isolation from the globe. Craftsmen and artists who had previously served just one master—their feudal lord, or daimyo—were suddenly faced with an international audience. And so they had to adapt to a totally new clientele and demand, which consequently resulted in a flourishing of new styles and production techniques.

From kibori wood sculpting to kirie paper cutting, a new exhibition opening in Tokyo highlights today’s contemporary artisans working across multiple mediums who continue to hone their craft to a level that has elevated craft to works of marvelous art.

The show opens today at the Mitsui Memorial Museum in Tokyo and is up through November 26, 2023.

More on S&T today: spoon-tamago.com

Miyabi’s exuberant, genre-bending kimonos debute

Miyabi’s exuberant, genre-bending kimonos debuted at @nyfw today!

Inspired by the opulent and slightly risque styles of Japan’s historic pleasure quarters, as well as ancient battle attire, Miyabi crafted a theatrical performance that broke down the rigid rules of Japanese kimono.

Congratulations @miyabiikeda 👘

#nyfw

The newly opened Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park looks lik

The newly opened Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park looks like the absolute perfect Tokyo hotel 😍

Designed by @keijiashizawadesign, the 7-story hotel has 25 rooms, a restaurant and a rooftop lounge & pool that overlooks the lush Yoyogi Park.

Today on the blog we take a closer look inside: spoon-tamago.com

Photos by @kentomoooo

In Kinosaki, a town on the coast of Japan famous f

In Kinosaki, a town on the coast of Japan famous for their onsen, a new coworking space has opened that allows digital nomads to zip up their desks and take hot bath breaks.

More on the blog: spoon-tamago.com

the Iwami Ginzan Town Library Cafe in Shimane is a

the Iwami Ginzan Town Library Cafe in Shimane is a unique space housed within a former merchant’s residence.

this community-oriented establishment is beyond a mere library. It’s a place where locals, residents, and tourists converge.

The library’s design pays homage to its mining heritage, featuring bookshelves ingeniously crafted to mimic mining haulageway ruins.

More on S&T: spoon-tamago.com

Designed by Nara-based design studio A4, tumi-isi

Designed by Nara-based design studio A4, tumi-isi (積み石; ‘stacking stones’ in Japanese) are a set of 5 blocks individually hand bevelled into asymmetrical shapes by local artisans.

Tumi-Isi are made from the finest woods of local Yoshino Cedar and Yoshino Cypress from Nara. And the blocks are coated with natural pigments that comply with European toy safety standards, making them safe and fun for stackers of all ages.

Everything from the processing, painting, assembly and inspection is done in Higashiyoshino Village, Nara Prefecture, making this product 100% “Made in Japan.”

#spoontamagoshop

Some highlights from our summer trip to Japan! 1

Some highlights from our summer trip to Japan!

1️⃣ @bread.espresso.and.ebina
An adorable concept cafe that is part dry-flower, part coffee shop. There are several around Tokyo.

2️⃣ @maisonkei.gotemba
Fancy French-Japanese restaurant on the outskirts of Tokyo. Half the time we didn’t know what we were eating but everything was amazing

3️⃣ Sakuta
We always make several trips out to Hachioji to visit our uncle’s Japanese restaurant

4️⃣ Ghibli exhibition!
Quaint but fun. Going on through 9/24 at @warehouse_terrada

5️⃣ @patisserie.asakoiwayanagi
First time spending 6000 yen on a parfait 😳

6️⃣ @itchiku.museum

7️⃣ Besho Sasa
Got our omotenashi on at this ryokan with views of Mt. Fuji 🗻

8️⃣ Our local mom & pop sushi joint
Location: secret 🤐

9️⃣ Shiraito Falls!

The quaint village of Fujimi is located near the b

The quaint village of Fujimi is located near the border of Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures. Time tends to pass a bit more slowly in this picturesque valley where rice paddies are surrounded by the Southern Alps, Mt. Yatsugatake, and Mt. Fuji. It’s here that architect-extraordinaire Terunobu Fujimori decided to build his first-ever guest lodge.

Today on S&T we're taking a look inside @kodomari_fuji.

More: spoon-tamago.com

Trains are an integral part of daily life in Japan

Trains are an integral part of daily life in Japan, supporting commutes, errands and all other forms of daily life. And while their existence can be taken for granted, their many forms and colors add to the uniqueness of each neighborhood they traverse. Capturing the scenery of the city and the warmth of trains lines that envelop them throughout the seasons is street-walking illustrator @ogawa.shinjirou whose solo exhibition opens 9/1 at @ginza_tsutayabooks.

Read more on S&T today: spoon-tamago.com

“Tokyo Hotel Sketch” is a hotel guidebook like

“Tokyo Hotel Sketch” is a hotel guidebook like no other. Created by master draughtswoman @keiendo_jp, the book features over 20 Tokyo hotels that meticulously capture everything from room measurements and layouts to food and amenities.

Read more on S&T: spoon-tamago.com

We were saddened to learn that renowned Ghibli art

We were saddened to learn that renowned Ghibli art director Nizo Yamamoto passed away this weekend due to cancer. He was 70.

He worked on numerous anime films, not only by Ghibli, and his dynamic clouds earned the nickname “Nizo Clouds.”

These stills were from an exhibition in Shizuoka we attended almost 10 years ago.

1 and 3. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
2. The Girl Who Leapt Through Clouds (2006)
4. Princess Mononoke (1997)

August 16th marks the culmination of Obon and the

August 16th marks the culmination of Obon and the mountainsides of Kyoto are lit up in a fiery blaze: a festival known as Daimonji (大文字) or Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火), meaning "five mountain send-off fires."

The first okuribi (send-off fire) to be lit is the 大 character (meaning large or great) and is usually formed from 75 bonfires. The others quickly follow: 妙法 (wondrous dharma), the shape of a boat and 門 (shrine gate). Together they signify the moment our ancestors, who had been visiting, return to the world of spirits.

The famous Daimonji festival is beautifully captured here in a woodblock print by Takeji Asano in 1955. It's part of the "Kyoraku Meisho" (Famous Places of Kyoto) series that the artist created that same year. Asano's high level of technical skill is most apparent in his nightscapes, which have a mysterious ability to lure the viewer in with multiple shades of dark color.

This Japanese tea house was made from nearly 1,000

This Japanese tea house was made from nearly 1,000 3D-printed wooden tiles that incorporate traditional joinery techniques, meaning that it was assembled without a single bolt, screw or any adhesives.

Conceived by @kei_atsumi and @nicholaspreaud, the Tsuginote Tea House is perfect example of how digital technology can promote and even expand on traditional practices.

More on S&T today: spoon-tamago.com

(Photos by @tsukinoto)

Kyoto’s Yokai Train is back! Now through August

Kyoto’s Yokai Train is back! Now through August 15th, take a ride on these spooky rails (and risk traumatizing your kids)

Trains run between Arashiyama and Shijo-Omiya Stations from 5-8pm.

(Photos via Sankei News)

MUJI, our favorite Japanese lifestyle retailer, is

MUJI, our favorite Japanese lifestyle retailer, is starting an Airbnb business restorring, renovating and renting countryside ‘kominka‘ townhouses, all stocked with minimalist MUJI merchandise.

Today on S&T we’re checking their first home located in Kamogawa, a coastal city in Chiba just an hour and a half drive from central Tokyo.

More: spoon-tamago.com

The forgotten “Lantern Castle in the Sky” fest

The forgotten “Lantern Castle in the Sky” festival

This is basically our dream home 😍 House in Sa

This is basically our dream home 😍

House in Saiko is a holiday home that overlooks Mount Fuji on the shore of Lake Saiko, one of the five Fuji Lakes. Designed by @keijiashizawa the house integrates landscape and living room through stepping stones that lead from the outside into the inside where a large camphor-wood tabletop evokes the majestic cliffs and beautiful forests that surround the home.

More: spoon-tamago.com

One of Japan’s newest whiskey distilleries is th

One of Japan’s newest whiskey distilleries is the The Hida Takayama Distillery. They renovated an abandoned school and turned the gymnasium into a distillery. They also partnered with Chubu Electric to store and age barrels of whisky in the hollow cavity of nearby Takamine No. 2 Dam.

More on S&T today: spoon-tamago.com

The number of public bath houses in Japan have bee

The number of public bath houses in Japan have been in chronic decline since the 1970s. But Komaeyu is part of a budding movement to try and preserve their culture.

Located in the western Tokyo suburbs, Komaeyu has been serving its local community since the 1950s and was recently redesigned to cater to more contemporary needs.

Today on S&T, we take a look inside ♨️ : spoon-tamago.com

(Photos by @juyeonlee__ )

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