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July 24, 2026
 

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51³Ô¹ÏÍøESE CRAFTS

<i>Kokeshi</i> craftsman Toshio Takada uses a potter&#039;s wheel to shave wood into the shape of a doll.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jul 20, 2026
Craftsman strives to hand down traditional kokeshi making skills
Toshio Takada quit his job and began training to eventually become an award-winning craftsman.
Karakuri ningyo craftsman Tamaya Shobei IX demonstrates his work in London on Friday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 1, 2026
Traditional Japanese mechanical dolls showcased in London
Karakuri ningyo, or wooden automata powered without electricity, became popular in Japan during the Edo Period
¡°A Dictionary of Color Combinations¡± is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 27, 2026
¡®The colors speak for themselves¡¯: How Japan¡¯s chroma bible went global
Originally published as a six-volume series in the 1930s, ¡°A Dictionary of Color Combinations¡± has become a go-to for creatives in Japan and around the world.
The latest head of one of Japan&#039;s most acclaimed ceramicist families believes that to preserve traditional crafts, they must adapt in some ways to the present.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 12, 2026
Ohi Chozaemon XI: ¡®We cannot make tradition the absolute rule¡¯
The 11th head of the Ohi ware school of ceramics believes his craft can only survive if history is a set of guidelines, not laws.
Traditional Japanese needlework has exploded in popularity, but a book from a third-generation artisan aims to bring more context to the craft&#039;s newfound popularity.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 2, 2026
¡®Sashiko¡¯ needlework artisan says craft is about ¡®the stories behind the stitching¡¯
In a new book, a third-generation craftsman explores how the origins of his art are at risk of being lost in an upswell of popularity.
The Sui Collection, a Cabinet Office-backed showcase of traditional Japanese artisanship, is visually stunning, but what is lost in translation when the state is a partner in cultural communication?
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 28, 2026
What happens when Japan curates its aesthetic for the world?
The Sui Collection of traditional artistry demonstrates how Japan wants to be seen ¡ª both domestically and abroad.
Akinosuke Owada, a graduating student at Akan Ainu Craft Center Harikiki, poses next to one of his works at the school in Kushiro, Hokkaido.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Mar 26, 2026
Ainu craft school aims to pass on culture to students
Students in the Hokkaido center¡¯s inaugural class are set to graduate soon, after completing their training to acquire skills of the Indigenous ethnic group.
Sparks fly as swordsmith Akihira Kawasaki forges a katana blade with a mechanical hammer at his workshop in Misato, Saitama Prefecture.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Feb 12, 2026
¡®Artists of steel¡¯: Japanese swords forge new fanbase
Despite the rapidly shrinking population of blademakers in Japan, their fine steel swords known as katana are amassing a new generation of fans, particularly younger women.
The British Museum in London
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2026
British Museum in London holds samurai exhibition
The exhibition, set to run until May 4, showcases some 280 items collected in and outside Britain, including those from the museum¡¯s own collection.
X-iS staff work on a commissioned custom mosaic for a client in January in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2026
Natural treasure: Tile company finds global audience with Gifu Prefecture clay
In lush Gifu Prefecture lays a distinct kind of buried treasure: clay, upon which tile manufacturer X-iS is building an internationally facing business.
Since all 22 kilns in Suzu were destroyed in the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, many of the local potters came together for a joint firing in the municipal kiln.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 1, 2026
Noto¡¯s Suzu ware reemerges from the earthquake rubble
Two years after the 2024 earthquake and tsunami, Noto potters find purpose in carrying on their craft.
Toshiyuki Namigai (left) shows tatami sheets of varying thickness to a client, Swedish entrepreneur Anton Wormann, at Namigai's store in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2025
Amid uncertainty at home, tatami-makers find a new market: foreign buyers
Businesses focused on the traditional flooring material are evolving product offerings and marketing goods overseas, hoping to keep their craft alive.
In 2025, the 20 Questions column had 26 total interviews that offered insights into the professional, creative and personal backgrounds of people from various careers and walks of life.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 27, 2025
Finding a balance between tradition and innovation in 2025
With more than two dozen interviews throughout the year, our 20 Questions column highlighted diverse views on creativity, tradition and cultural hybridity.
Designtide Tokyo returns for a final weekend of a designer-run marketplace, including one student exhibitor chosen to join the main field of professionals.
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 20, 2025
Designtide Tokyo 2025 closes this weekend with a creator-led marketplace
After returning in 2025 following a 12-year break, the event finished with a chance for designers and buyers to meet face to face.
The Murakami Festival, held in the city of Murakami, Niigata Prefecture, has been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list along with five other items from Japan.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Dec 12, 2025
Six Japanese items added to UNESCO intangible heritage list
Four of the six new items will be registered under the category of ¡°Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan.¡±
Kaihara Chair Junji Kaihara holds a pair of jeans made of Kaihara Denim in its initial stage at the company¡¯s museum in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. A panel behind him shows a photo of the company¡¯s first dyeing machine, ¡°Nintai-go.¡±
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Dec 8, 2025
Hiroshima¡¯s textile industry lives on through quality and new techniques
From a company becoming one of the top global denim brands to a son repairing machines himself to keep his family¡¯s business going, the prefecture¡¯s textile industry lives on.
Despite the advance of synthetic alternatives and declines in the available workforce, some textile workers still see the potential of traditional persimmon dyeing.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 1, 2025
Sun-dried and sustainable, Japan¡¯s persimmon dye lives on
Thanks to Japan¡¯s largest freshwater lake, Shiga Prefecture has long thrived as a production center of persimmon tannin dyeing.
Workers in Okinawa oxidize a pool of indigo dye, one of many regional textile craft traditions examined in Charlotte Linton's new book.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2025
New book scrutinizes sustainability of traditional Japanese textiles
In ¡°Dyeing with the Earth,¡± an Oxford research fellow examines how Japan¡¯s age-old textile traditions sometimes run counter to modern ideas of eco-friendly processes.
A Japanese-style teacup featuring a caricature of new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, on Wednesday in the city of Toki, Gifu Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Oct 23, 2025
Orders surge for popular caricature teacups featuring Takaichi
Preorders for the Takaichi teacup, which will also show past Japanese prime ministers, surpassed 4,000 even before she was sworn in.
<i>Sashiko</I> dates to the Edo Period (1603-1868) and began as a technique that allowed working-class people to prolong the lifespan of their clothing.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 13, 2025
Beauty in slowness: Life lessons from Japanese embroidery
After taking up the practice of sashiko stitching six years ago, a Chinese Canadian woman found an anchor in the traditional craft amidst major life transitions.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse&#039;s brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan&#039;s relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces&#039; Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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