The 6th edition of the KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival—an annual activity held at the height of spring in the old capital of Japan—will be held from April 14 to May 13, 2018. Over 15 exhibitions centered around the theme “UP” will be shown in iconic Kyoto venues with original scenography. In a style that […]
“I will never forget these few years we spent together.” A girl, dressed in a simple costume speaks onstage, and the audience falls silent. Some may be crying. Occasionally, a sniffling noise can be heard. The eyes of the audience, eager for the girl’s next word, are fixed on her petite body. […]
The cherry blossom season may be coming to a sudden end. However, while the blooms appeared in most parts of the country earlier than expected this year, flowers can still be viewed in other parts of Japan. JAPAN Forward has created this list of suggested sakura viewing sites in the remaining northern holdouts. Both visitors […]
A Japanese special effects makeup artist has caused a revolution in Hollywood. He is Kazuhiro Tsuji, 48, the artist from Kyoto who was awarded the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for his work recreating the former United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill for the film Darkest Hour. Tsuji is a modernist […]
Have you heard of the YouTuber who shows how to clean and fillet fish the traditional Japanese way, and gets more than 600,000 followers for it? His name is Kimagure Cook—translated: Whimsical Cook. The name comes from his fickle approach to posting videos on YouTube. Instead of doing so regularly, he posts […]
American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will headline the this year’s Fuji Rock Festival, the largest outdoor music event in Japan, the show’s official website announced. It will be Dylan’s 101st performance in Japan, and his first since he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan is known for timeless hits, […]
Above: woodblock print (ukiyo-e) of a yokai called Gashadokuro (餓者髑髏) or starving skeleton by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. If you are living in Japan or just interested in Japanese culture, you will at some point come across supernatural beings called Yokai (妖怪). Whether as a small statue in front of a shop, as cute characters […]
Spring has officially begun, despite a rare snowfall in Tokyo in late January, as the Meteorological Society declared the start of cherry blossom season on Saturday, March 17. The bloom started on March 17 this year, five days earlier than in 2017. A full bloom in the Tokyo area is expected on March […]
The traditional dance performance of Iwami Kagura tells the story of the discovery of steelmaking in Izumo, Japan, through the metaphor of the deity Susano-o quelling the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent dragon Yamata no Orochi. I was treated to a beguiling performance of this story when I visited the spiritual and mythical origins of […]
JAPAN Forward Announces 2018 Cherry Blossom Photo Contest The season for Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, is fast approaching in Tokyo and the Kanto region. Here and there, early Sakura blossoms are being reported, and the season of full-bloom is predicted to arrive by the end of this month, March. Friends and officemates […]
The brand new musical KAWAII Kabuki-Momotarō by the Hello Kitty Troupe (screenplay, direction, and lyrics by Kensuke Yokouchi) premiered on March 10 at the Märchen Theater, located in the indoor Sanrio Puroland theme park in the Tama section of Tokyo. Hello Kitty made her appearance as the chairman of a kabuki theater, wearing a […]
At the Gion District in Kyoto, geisha performers and apprentice geisha called maiko behave in an elegant manner and move in a rather languid fashion. In this early February event, however, after a breathtaking transformation in costume, they move from one up-tempo dance to another. It is because of this contrast that the […]
