Japan-Insights
Deepen your understanding of Japan’s people, places, and culture.
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Kagura: Theater of Tradition Amid Innovation - The day the world plunged into darkness and arose again in light
Dieter Georg Adlmaier-Herbst, Germany
Kagura is an ancient Japanese theatre style that is performed throughout the country. Many local ensembles still cultivate their own approach and interpretation of Kagura stories – in music, movement, and stage design. The author, an internationally renowned expert in digital communication and branding, reports on his research into how traditions give meaning to social interactions, provide support and orientation in a rapidly changing world, and how they evolve and adapt to modern developments.
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- Travel, Landscape
- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Okinawa’s Hidden Treasures - The Cultural and Material Legacy of the Ryuku
Caroli Rosa, Italy
Okinawa, 160 islands scattered across emerald waters in a subtropical region, preserves the heritage of its past as a kingdom that for centuries ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands. Exploring the culture of Okinawa not only allows you to experience the life, taste and beauty of this region, but also to enter a microcosm where the past survives and reappears in countless different creative expressions, cultural practices and daily activities.
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- Travel, Landscape
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- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Japanese Food Artisans - A visit to three family-run businesses in Toyama Prefecture
Susan Ellicott, Great Britain
Japan’s historic reverence for traditional crafts and its government’s recognition of artisans, including creators of pottery, textiles and washoku – Japanese cuisine – is famous around the world. The author documents the work of three traditional artisan food producers in small towns of Japan’s central Toyama Prefecture.
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- Life, Food, Technology
- People
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The Magic of Urushi Lacquer - Much More than Meets the Eye
Rupert Faulkner, Great Britain
An in-depth introduction to urushi lacquer and the main techniques involved in its use. The author is a former curator at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, home to a large and important collection of Japanese lacquerware. It includes the celebrated Mazarin Chest, made in Kyoto and exported to Europe in 1643, that was the focus of an international conservation and research project completed in 2013.
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- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Spirits of the Countryside - Exploring the folklore and yokai of rural Japan
Michael Dylan Foster, USA
Games such as Pokemon and Yo-kai Watch, as well as numerous manga, anime, and films, have brought international attention to the many monstrous, ghostly, or weird beings and creatures found in Japan. This essay briefly introduces and describes three rural cities that have been shaped in some fashion by a profound connection to folklore, especially to the monstrous creatures generically known as yokai.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Kataribe: A Keyword to Recovery - Practice of storytelling in post-disaster Japan
Flavia Fulco, Italy
Kataribe, the tradition of storytelling rooted in real events, has offered a perspective for recovery to those who experiened the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown on March 11th, 2011. Interviews with three storytellers and broader research on the social significance of kataribe document how Tohoku can become a leader in fostering risk awareness and building resilient communities.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Life, Food, Technology
- People
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Mt. Oyama Pilgrimage - Experiencing Edo Culture Near Tokyo
Alice Gordenker, USA
Mt. Oyama, once one of Japan’s most popular pilgrimage sites for the common people of Edo – today’s Tokyo, is a popular destination for hikers and day-trippers, particularly in late autumn when the fall colors change. The article provides travelers with detailed information on its fascinating history and the beautiful nature, local food, and spectacular views around.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Life, Food, Technology
- History
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Meeting Local Crafts in Yamaguchi - Sustainable Traditions and Innovations in Textile and Clothing Culture
Marjatta Heikkilä-Rastas, Finland
Through numerous cooperative workshops with Japanese and Finnish students, interviews with local experts, and visits to places where traditions of weaving, dyeing and paper-making have been continuing for centuries, the author explores the rich handicraft traditions of textile, clothing, and design of Yamaguchi Prefecture and the connection of these crafts to sustainable kimono culture.
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- Arts, Architecture, Design
- People
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Beyond2020_nx - Three Episodes
Kanda Shun/Karin Schierhold, USA
The image of one hypothetical reality – a small 21st century town may emerge in the area of the 2011 Great Tohoku Disaster. Self-reliant and dynamic, its aggregate morphology integrated to the natural landscape and sea which surrounds, characterized by an identity of a place that one can call my native home.
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- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Enchanted Landscapes of Japanese Prehistory - Jomon sites in northern Tohoku and along the Shinano River
Simon Kaner, Great Britain
An encounter with archaeology helps visitors of the Japanese archipelago today to understand how the landscapes of high density urban centres, interminable urban sprawl, paddies, dry fields, and golf-courses have come about. Introducing a few of the highlights of the Jomon landscapes of northern Tohoku and the Chubu/Shinshu regions, this essay provides a brief background to Jomon archaeology and its relationship with the modern world.
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- Travel, Landscape
- History
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Izumo: Land of Gods, Myths, and Metals - From the prehistoric bronze bells of Kojindani and the tatara steel swords to the silver mines of Iwami
Simon Kaner, Great Britain
The Izumo Grand Shrine and the neighbouring Museum of Ancient Izumo, one of the very best regional museums in Japan, are some of the highlights that can be enjoyed during a short visit to Shimane Prefecture. Experience Izumo through the metal crafts that made this territory so important for much of Japanese history.
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- Life, Food, Technology
- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Finding Homes in the Unfamiliar - Glimpses of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japan
Clara Kumagai, Ireland/Japan
The late 19th century writer Lafcadio Hearn is most known for his writings about Japan. His account of the Oki islands is representative of the remote places he explored – places that even today, many Japanese people have not visited. By retracing some of the paths Hearn walked, more than a century later, the author hopes to see what inspired him.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Literature, Philosophy
- People
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Eating and Slurping in Osaka - Experiencing the diversity of food in Japan’s other great city
Barak Kushner, Great Britain
Japanese cuisine, once considered so unique and even grotesque, now dominates dishes all over the world. But how much do we know about it? Tokyo and Osaka differ in many ways, apart from how people dress and eat. One of the most revealing of these divergences is noodle affiliation. There is a significant spread of udon restaurants in Osaka, a few of which are introduced so that readers can personally experience the digestive differences of eastern and western Japan.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Life, Food, Technology
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Exile and Poetry on the Oki Islands - An archipelago of natural and cultural vibrancy
Christina Laffin, Canada
Nestled in the Sea of Japan, the Oki Islands are known as a place of exile for emperors and aristocrats. For the court elites sent from the capital to the windswept shores of Oki, the rustic environment brought poetic inspiration along with lamentation for their past lives and loved ones. In terms of cultural history and natural beauty, these islands represent some of the most vibrant and exciting places to visit in Japan
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- Travel, Landscape
- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
- Literature, Philosophy
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Emperor Gotoba - A Swordsmith Emperor in Medieval Japan
Paul Martin, Great Britain
As 2021 marks the 800th anniversary of Emperor Gotoba’s arrival in the Oki Islands off the coast of what is now Shimane Prefecture where he spent the last nineteen years of his life in exile, it seems appropriate to take a closer look at the extraordinary life and sword making of this Kamakura Period (1185-1333) emperor and appreciate the extent of his influence on the sword and poetry worlds.
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- Travel, Landscape
- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
- People
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Cipangu, Land of Gold and Silver - Iwami and Sado: Two sites of mining heritage
Regine Mathias, France
As 2021 marks the 800th anniversary of Emperor Gotoba’s arrival in the Oki Islands off the coast of what is now Shimane Prefecture where he spent the last nineteen years of his life in exile, it seems appropriate to take a closer look at the extraordinary life and sword making of this Kamakura Period (1185-1333) emperor and appreciate the extent of his influence on the sword and poetry worlds.
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- Travel, Landscape
- Life, Food, Technology
- History
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Jomon Astronomy - Solar calendar of the Kanayama Megaliths
Harriet H. Natsuyama, USA
The Kanayama Megaliths, constructed by the Jomon people five thousand or more years ago as a living observatory for the sun’s passage, are tucked away in the Iwaya mountain valley of Hida Kanayama, a mysterious, ancient, unspoiled land. They are the most sophisticated astronomical megalithic constructions ever recorded in history, anywhere!
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- Travel, Landscape
- Life, Food, Technology
- History
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The Symbol of Modern Japan - Emperor Meiji – his activities as a monarch of new times
Ewa Pałasz-Rutkowska, Poland
Following the restoration of imperial rule by young samurai discontented with the shogunate, Emperor Mutsuhito, posthumously called Emperor Meiji, became the symbol of reform and the new Japan. The efforts he put into the creation of modern Japan made him evolve from a mythical figure into a modern monarch.
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- History
- People
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The Soul of the Japanese Blade - Traditional Tatara Steelmaking in Japan
Erich Pauer, France
While iron is common all over the world, in Japan ore in the form of rock does rarely exist. Instead, iron sand was smelted using tatara, a traditional steelmaking process, producing all kinds of tools - knives, chisels, drills, pickaxes, and others – as well as the samurai swords that are considered the symbol of Japan in the West. This essay describes the process of Tatara steelmaking, from the extraction of iron sand to the production of tamahagane high-grade steel.
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- Life, Food, Technology
- History
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Portraits of Museums - Exploring art museums in Shimane Prefecture
Sophie Richard, France / Great Britain
Disseminated all over the country, museums are ideal venues to discover the culture, history, and dynamism of a specific region. The author visited a selection of public institutions as well as some smaller, private museums in Shimane Prefecture of Western Honshu to research accessibility and relevance of their offerings for international visitors.
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- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Spectacular Buildings - Sendai’s Legacy of Architecture and Art
Anton Schweizer, Germany
Sendai is often bypassed by international travelers, or used merely as a base camp for visiting the Tohoku region in the north of the main Japanese island. However, the city and nearby Matsushima Bay are definitely worth exploring a number of elaborately decorated buildings, representing a style that has been somewhat inadequately labeled Japanese Baroque.
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- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
- People
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Samurai Art of the Edo Period (1603-1867) - Enjoying Sites and Sights
Timon Screech, Great Britain
Japan’s Edo Period lasted almost 250 years and is still crucial to Japanese self-awareness, and to the international perception of Japan. IT is also extensively drawn on in contemporary popular culture, such as manga and anime. What was the Edo Period really like, and what are the special features of its art and culture?
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- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Time of the Tokugawa Period - Early Japanese clocks and the skills of the craftsmen who made them
Ashley Strachan, Great Britain
Whilst most parts of the world from the early 15th Century onward adopted the 24 equal-hour day, Tokugawa Japan retained a measurement of time that had been in existence from 2500BCE. Discovering, researching and collecting the unique and ingenious clock mechanisms which are today termed wadokei has opened up a wealth of interesting places to visit and people to meet. An avenue of horology not found anywhere else in the world.
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- Life, Food, Technology
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Music in Bunraku and Kabuki - Listening to Japan’s musical story-telling
Ashley Strachan, Great Britain
Bunraku and Kabuki, two of Japan’s rich and colourful theatrical traditions, are relatively well-known, but how many realize the importance of their music? Plots are not only enacted, but are told by musicians seated on the stage. Musically intoned narrative is at the heart of Bunraku and Kabuki. The author explores the origins of story-singing in Japanese theatre, so different from both theatre and opera in the West.
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- Travel, Landscape
- History
- Arts, Architecture, Design
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Travels in Northern Japan - In search of Miyazawa Kenji’s unique modern vision
Nadine Willems, Belgium
Almost unknown outside his native Iwate Prefecture in his lifetime, Miyazawa Kenji is an iconic figure in Japan. He is remembered as a scientist, teacher, devout Buddhist, Esperantist, music lover, and cultivator, dedicated to the wellbeing of his fellow humans.
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- Literature, Philosophy
- People