Let’s find only your Matcha tea set! Tea whisk, tea spoon, tea bowl pottery… When you hope to try tea ceremony, it is good to buy a starter kit. You can instantly experient the Japanese culture with it. But if you intend to drink Matcha green tea on a daily basis, is it enough? You […]
Custermizing your Japanese Matcha tea set for the ceremony Read More »
Traditional ceramic in Ishikawa for Maneki-neko cat There are many lucky items also in Japan. The people have loved traditional Maneki-neko, waving good luck cat, as an ornament in a store or room. The waving forepaw means that it bring in fortune or money. We can buy figures of a lucky cat made of plastic at
Japanese lucky cat figures of Kutani porcelain Read More »
Kakiemon Style. Beautiful flowers and birds on a white pottery. Arita-yaki (Imari-yaki) is the oldest porcelain in Japan. After about 60 years ago, Kakiemon Style was established in 1640’s. Colorful birds and plans are on a clear white base. The way of the style which makes use of spaces express one of the
Arita (Imari) ware porcelain Kakiemon Style from Japan Read More »
Katsushika Hokusai who created the famous great wave painting Katsushika Hokusai self-portrait Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) must be the most famous Japanese woodblock printing (ukiyo-e) artist around the world. So, do you know how to pronounce “Katsushika Hokusai”? His art works of images including The Great Off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) and other prints of “Thirty-Six Views of
Who is Katsushika Hokusai? His bio and paintings Read More »
Format, rule, seasonal words, and famous poets of haiku poetry The rules of haiku is so simple. But do you know how to write haiku poems is different between Japanese and English? What is a “haiku”? The structure in Japanese and in English. The format of Japanese 5-7-5 syllables (17 syllables in all) Must use a seasonally
What is haiku poetry: format, rules and history Read More »
Famous torii gate in the sea and historic Itsukushima Shrine UNESCO designated Itsukushima Shrine as World Heritage Site in 2006. It is at Miyajima Island, Hiroshima Prefecture and the most popular sightseeing spot the Chugoku region in Japan. The red buildings and torii gate in the calm sea brings about an air of mystery. The
Let’s go to Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima Island! Read More »
Miyajima Island where there is Itsukushima Shrine (World Heritage Site) The red torii gate stands calmly and solidly in the Inland Sea Seto. It is really impressive scene. The torii at Miyajima Island is famous as well as the Thousands Torii Gate of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto City. Itsukushima Shrine was registered as a cultural
Learning about Miyajima Island in Hiroshima, Japan Read More »
Not sand bath and hot spring (onsen) only. Ibusuki where the Satsuma culture is still alive Ibusuki City (指宿市) is the temperate region at the southern tip of Satsuma Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture. The temperature isn’t below 10℃ even in winter. Before everything, the sand bath of the city is so famous. But that
Exploring Ibusuki traditional culture in Kagoshima, Japan! Read More »
The masterpiece arts of Utagawa Hiroshige, “Fifty-Three Stages on the Tokaido” Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige led the field of landscape printing in ukiyo-e. Especially, “Fifty-Three Stages on the Tokaido” is one of the most highly regarded woodblock printings series in Japanese art. When he started to
All ’53 Stages on the Tokaido’ art prints by Utagawa Hiroshige is here Read More »
Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto Fushimi Inari Shrine is located in the south part of Kyoto City where is the sightseeing spot with many historical architectures. In Kyoto, the Japanese travelers visit the temples of Kinkakuji (Rokuonji) or Kiyomizu-dera rather than Fushimi Taisha. But the shrine is the most popular temple or shrine in
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, famous for the red gates in Kyoto Read More »
