a rendering of Manga Apartment VUY, for which occupancy will begin in March 2025 For many years, a model has existed in Japan in which subsidized housing supports manga artists who are early in their career and have not yet established an audience. One of the earliest was the Tokiwa-so Apartments in Tokyo which, from […] Related posts: Real Life Tokyo Streets and Manga Merge in Milestone Campaign for ‘KochiKame’ Fine Art and Manga Collide in the quirky colorful world of D[diː] Manga Artist Kiyohiko Azuma’s Urban Sketches of Japan ..read more

photos by Osamu Nakamura In Niigata prefecture’s Murono Village, a surreal scene has unfolded…or should I say, inflated? From the rear of an abandoned townhouse a colossal, semi-transparent bubble has emerged, immediately transforming the quiet village into what could easily be mistaken for one of Willy Wonka’s inventions gone awry. This is, in fact, the […] Related posts: Echigo Tsumari Art Festival 2018 15 Years and 800 Pieces of Art at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale Three Art Festival to Visit in Japan in the 2nd Half of 2024 ..read more

Senko hanabi, literally meaning ‘incense fireworks,’ are small and subtle sparklers that are packed with about 10 seconds of delicate pyrotechnics. Typically sold alongside other handheld fireworks, the unspoken rule is that senko hanabi are reserved for the grand finale. However, their ethereal and subtle nature always leave us wanting more. Tenohira Hanabi, which literally […] Related posts: Senko Hanabi Earrings are the Perfect Summer Accessory Tsutsui Tokimasa Fireworks is Keeping the Flame of Tradition Alive Desktop Fireworks Lets You Have a Party at Your Desk ..read more

Photos by Daici Ano and Tomoyuki Kusunose, courtesy Torafu Architects Tamiya, perhaps the most recognized brand name in the modeling industry, recently opened a new flagship facility in the Shimbashi Toranomon area of Tokyo. Dubbed the Tamiya Plamodel Factory, the shiny new store, which just opened in late May, replaces the previous store just across […] Related posts: Shizuoka is Installing Monuments Inspired by Their Plastic Model Industry Pura-an Teahouse Constructed Entirely From Leftover Plastic Model Parts Post-Apocalyptic Thomas the Tank Engine Hack ..read more

Forest Crayons are a set of 10 crayons, each with a color derived solely from a different species of tree native to Japan such as cedar, hazenoki and katsura. Designed by Saki Maruyama and Daniel Coppen of Studio Playfool, the crayons manage to repurpose Japan’s otherwise wasted timber as a source of pigment, breathing new […] Related posts: A Set of Nameless Paints Wants to Change the Way Kids Learn About Color A Pencil That Amplifies the Sound of Writing ..read more

Today is Tanabata (七夕, meaning “Evening of the seventh”), a Japanese festival celebrating the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi. According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. To commemorate the special day of stagazing, […] Related posts: 3700 Candles Create a Tanabata “Milky Way” in Front of Tokyo Tower Osaka Celebrates Star Festival with River of 40,000 LED Lights Evoking the Milky Way ..read more

Something must have come over me, says Kohei Ohmori, reflecting on the 280 hours or roughly 5 months spent drawing a hyper realistic composition of a metallic bolt and nut using just pencils. The 30-year old artist, who has publicly discussed his struggles with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), has managed to overcome what is often […] Related posts: Dense Pencil Drawings of Retro-Future Worlds by Yota Tsukino Realistic Glass Insects Sculpted to Scale by Yuki Tsunoda Tomona Matsukawa’s Realistic Paintings Reconstruct Fragments of Everyday Life ..read more

Komorebi (木漏れ日) is one of those uniquely untranslatable Japanese words. It means “sunlight filtering through the tree leaves” and embodies a poetic appreciation for nature and its changing seasons. Capturing that aesthetic, and embedding it into a beautiful handheld fan (uchiwa), is designer Kotoko Hirata, who created the Komorebi Uchiwa. Escape the summer heat with […] Related posts: In the summer time our genitals become itchy Komorebigasa | carry shade with you wherever you go The Watermelon Kimono is the Perfect Summer Outfit ..read more

Over the past three decades, Soichiro Fukutake, the former chairman of Tokyo-based education firm Benesse Holdings, and his family have spent $250 million of their fortune to transform Naoshima and roughly a dozen neighboring islands in the Seto Inland Sea into a global art destination. Their family home, situated along Okayama’s Handa Mountains and looking […] Related posts: Tachinomi Ura is a Standing Eatery in Kurashiki Carrying on Local Sake and Cuisine Culture ..read more

Over 50 pieces of traditional craftwork (dento kogei) are on display on the Asuka II cruise ship for a project organized by the Japan Kogei Association, a Tokyo-based group comprising artisans nationwide, and Anchor Ship Partners Co., a shareholder of the company that operates the leisure liner. The pieces, ranging from ceramics and lacquerware to […] Related posts: Japanese Craftsmanship Meets Pokemon at Kanazawa’s National Crafts Museum A Version of Monopoly That Celebrates Japanese Traditional Arts & Crafts Two Traditional Japanese Crafts Come Together to Create the Beautiful Haori Cup ..read more