Exhibition Review: ‘Sakubei Yamamoto and the Rich Seams of Japan’s Coal Mining History’

4^th Oct – 15^th November 2019 at the Japanese Embassy in London

It was Monday 30^th July 1973 when, just before 620 am, Colin Burton (a maternal uncle), who had moved from Bolsover Colliery to work at Markham Colliery at Stavely in Derbyshire, stepped off the pit cage having had to ascend back to the surface during the early part of the shift. As he moved away twenty-nine fellow coal miners boarded the double decker pit cage to begin the journey down the shaft to join their shift mates on

Art Review: Hokusai: Beyond The Great Wave – An Exhibition At The British Museum

Exhibition dates: 25^th May – 13^th August 2017

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/hokusai.aspx

 

Katsushika Hokusai was born Tokitarō in 1760 in Honjo Warigesui, the present-day Kamezawa area of Sumida City. He was adopted by Ise Nakajima, an artisan, who made and supplied metal mirrors to the Shōgun’s court and, according to “Katsushika Hokusai Den” (Biography of Katsushika Hokusai) by Kyoshin Iijima, a mother who was granddaughter to Kobayashi Heihachirō, an expert swordsman and high ranking retainer of

Interview: Sebastian Masuda – Art Director and J-Pop Culture Pioneer

Internationally-renowned artist Sebastian Masuda brings global participatory art project to London with NHK WORLD TV for Hyper Japan!

In the run up to Hyper Japan, which took place on July 15 – 17 July, internationally-renowned artist and Japanese pop culture expert Sebastian Masuda – who is art director for Kawaii International  – brought his global art project to London with NHK WORLD TV.

Time After Time Capsule is a five-year participatory artwork in which Masuda, invites people to share their love of kawaii. It has been created in collaboration with NHK WORLD TV to

Yago no Kai (Yajūrō–Shingo Company) European Tour 2016

A great introduction to an art which is still able to reach an overseas audience!

In Paris the Yago no Kai Kabuki Company’s performances took place in the Grande salle, the 300 seater theatre, at the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris (May 12-14).

Two other European countries are scheduled on their whistle-stop tour this May, in Switzerland at La salle Théodore Turrettini at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva (May 17 & 18), and in Spain Kabuki returns for the first time since 1987, after an

Event: Sumie Black And Wash Painting Workshop

Learn from a master the art of expressing yourself through the use of brush and ink!

Date: 13th May 2016

Time: 18.30 – 22.00

Venue: Hammersmith, London (Private home – contact for details)

Price: £30.00 – Includes equipment (ink, rice paper and brush) and Japanese dinner.

Book Review: Japanese Plays – Classic Noh, Kyogen And Kabuki Works

Nothing reflects the beauty of life as much as Japanese theatre!

The original Introduction gives a fairly detailed explanation of Noh, Kyōgen and Kabuki though there isn’t much in the way of explanations of each of the plays’ individual origins, historical context, or development, either in the Introduction or in the rest of the book at the beginning of each play, the intention perhaps to preserve the book in its original form. It would however perhaps have been helpful to provide some sort of reference material in say a selective bibliography, even if only for the most important plays.

Although this isn’t provided in the book’s current form research on the Internet would make it relatively easy to cross reference the plays on line to find more information even if the Internet is something that wasn’t available when the book was originally published in 1934. For example

Book Review: Photography In Japan 1853 – 1912

A delight to the eye and a treasure trove of information!

Photography in Japan 1853-1912 , originally published in 2006, provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of early photography in Japan often little known outside academic circles or those with a specific interest in the period when Japan was undergoing rapid modernisation.

Though most people are generally unaware of the larger scope of the world of early photography in Japan and the early photographs of both non-Japanese and Japanese photographers, some with little more than a passing interest may be aware of the photographs of Felice Beato, which have recently had a fair amount of publicity, some of which are included in this book. The book follows the beginnings of photography in Japan from its introduction by foreigners through its

Review: The Newly Refurbished Toshiba Gallery At The Victoria And Albert Museum

‘Design is not for philosophy, it’s for life’ (Issey Miyake)

After the post Second World War attempt by the Allies in occupied Japan to disband the zaibatsu business conglomerates, which was partially successful, Japanese industry began setting itself strategies at regular intervals for the development and manufacture of products. Each revolved around particular group of five facets of design and manufacture – for instance a single strategic phase might involve something like:

Event: Hyper Japan 2015 In Pictures

The UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture!

Hyper Japan, the UK’s biggest and best-loved annual J-Culture convention, returned on 11th – 13th July for another weekend extravaganza of all things Japanese from the authentic and traditional to the contemporary. Thousands of Japanophiles descended upon London’s O2 in Greenwich over the three days for an exciting time of live music, fashion shows, videogames, manga/anime activities, martial arts demonstrations and

Film Review: Ask This Of Rikyū (Rikyū ni Tazuneyo)

What was the secret Rikyu took to the grave?

‘Ask This of Rikyu’, a film directed by Mitsutoshi Tanaka and distributed by Toei, had its first World Premiere at the 37^th Montreal World Film Festival in September 2013 sharing the Best Artistic Contribution Award with ‘Landes’ by François-Xavier Vives. It was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.

The film, based on the novel of the same name by Kenichi Yamamoto which won the Naoki Literary Prize in 2009, stars the renowned

FestivalAsia 2015 – Three Days Of Exotic Fun & Excitement

London’s largest indoor festival on all things Asia!

Date: 15 – 17 May 2015

Venue: Tobacco Dock, 50 Porters Walk, London E1W 2SF

Tickets: Adult £12.50 adv – £15 door

Children (up to 10 years old, accompanied by one adult with an Adult Ticket) £8 adv – £10 door

Indulge your senses and experience the exotic cultures of Asia under one roof.

Marimo Magic – Little Green Fabulousness

If you take good care of your Marimo, it will make your wishes come true! We all know that Japan has a love for strange and wonderful things we would usually never get to see in the West. But did you ever hear about Marimos? A Marimo, Aegagropila linnaei or 毬藻, is an algae (moss) that has the shape of a ball. They are native to lakes in Iceland, Scotland, Estonia, Australia and, of course, Japan. There, they are to be found in the lake Akan-ko in Hokkaido. The people who live around the lake call the Marimos ‘Torasanpe’ which means ‘lake monster/goblin’ and they hold an annual Marimo festival from

Press Release: Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2014

Get ready for a pop culture explosion at the UK’s largest J-culture event!

Date: 14-16 November 
Venue; National Hall, Olympia, London

Music, street fashion and cosplay – 3 pillars of Japanese pop culture which have captivated audiences and amassed devoted fans across the globe. At our HYPER JAPAN Christmas Market, we bring together the best of this trendy crowd and offer visitors the rare chance to experience a range of Japanese musical acts (both real and virtual), and to enjoy our HYPER J-style fashion show and

Ningyo: The Art Of The Japanese Doll Competition Closed And The Winner Is…

A winner has been chosen!

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition to win a copy of the book Ningyo: The Art Of The Japanese Doll.

Sadly there can only be one winner.

And the winner is…

WIN NINGYO: The Art Of The Japanese Doll By Alan Scott Pate

Hooray! It’s competition time again!

Famed the world over for their intricate beauty, Japanese dolls (ningyo) have played an important role in Japanese art and culture. Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll (read review here) is the first comprehensive book on antique Japanese dolls and figurines published in English. The book focuses on dolls in six categories:

• GOSHO-NINGYO: Palace Dolls and Auspicious Wishes
• HINA-NINGYO: Dolls for the Girl’s Day Festival
• MUSHA-NINGYO: Warrior Dolls for the Boy’s Day Festival
• ISHO-NINGYO: Fashion Dolls and Popular Culture
• NINGYO IN THE THEATER: Entertaining the Gods and Man
• NINGYO AND HEALTH: Dolls as Talisman and Tool

The Art of the Japanese Sword Competition Now Closed And the Winner Is…

A winner has been chosen!

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition to win a copy of the book The Art of the Japanese Sword.

Sadly there can only be one winner.

And the winner is…

Event: Japan Matsuri 2014 London Trafalgar Square

The spectacular annual Japan festival returns for more fun and excitement!

Date: Saturday, 27th September 2014

Location: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

Time: 11 am – 9 pm

Book Review: The Art Of The Japanese Sword: The Craft Of Swordmaking And Its Appreciation

Like people and snowflakes, no two Japanese swords are the same!

Written by Yoshindo Yoshihara (a third generation swordsmith) with Leon and Hiroko Kapp, The Art of the Japanese Sword is a beautiful large format book (effectively printed on glossy black paper with white text) that focuses on the production and understanding of the symbolic steel weapon once used by samurai and now admired by art collectors all round the world as an object of perfection, although many people use them to practice traditional Japanese martial arts like Iaido (the art of drawing the sword).

Interview: Mayuko – Singer/Songwriter

A child in a cocoon!

Since making her debut back in 2001, Mayuko’s popularity as a singer and songwriter in Japan and abroad has been steadily growing and she has been gaining much interest from the media since her collaborations with talent like Daniel Wang (Balihu Records) and DJ Kensei as well as Shynola who designed the cover artwork for her first mini-album