Category: Art

  • The Empress Fujitsubo – Tales of Genji

    The Empress Fujitsubo – Tales of Genji
    , ,

    One of the important characters in the Tale of Genji ( Genji Monogatari 源氏物語) is Empress Fujitsubo . Although he only appears in the first part of the book’s story, his influence weighs heavily on everything that happens with the main character, Genji . The History of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu during the… Read more

  • Taiko Drums – Japanese Percussions

    Taiko Drums – Japanese Percussions

    Taiko Drums exist and have been used in Japan for over 2,000 years. Some experts believe that it came to Japan in the 5th century under the influence of Buddhism from China. As a percussion, it is the most primitive instrument and it is believed that it was used as a means of communication or… Read more

  • Discover the Magic of Shamisen: The Enigmatic Japanese Musical Instrument That Will Surprise You with its Percussive Sound

    Discover the Magic of Shamisen: The Enigmatic Japanese Musical Instrument That Will Surprise You with its Percussive Sound
    ,

    Around 1562, the percussive Shamisen evolved from the Chinese musical instrument called Sanxian. The Shamisen is a traditional Japanese musical instrument that has been used for centuries to accompany various forms of art, including Kabuki and Bunraku. It is a stringed instrument played with an ivory or plastic plectrum called a bachi and is composed… Read more

  • The Great Wave off Kanagawa – Prints from Japan

    The Great Wave off Kanagawa – Prints from Japan

    The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏 ” Kanagawa oki nami ura “, literally ” Under a wave on the high seas in Kanagawa “) is probably one of the most reproduced and instantly recognized works of art in the world. And not only that, but it is the best example when it comes to ukiyo-e… Read more

  • The surprising and original art of Hiroyuki-Mitsume Takahashi

    The surprising and original art of Hiroyuki-Mitsume Takahashi
    , ,

    Designer and artist Hiroyuki-Mitsume Takahashi is internationally recognized for his illustrations full of life and color that resonate with many young people in Japan and the world! Traditional Japanese aesthetics and science fiction, sacred Buddhist iconography and profane symbols, street culture and academia, the soft, organic and kawaii meet and transform with the rigid, inorganic… Read more

  • Shakuhachi – Musical Instruments of Japan

    Shakuhachi – Musical Instruments of Japan

    The shakuhachi (尺八) is undoubtedly Japan’s best-known wind instrument. Its name is due to the fact that it is “a shaku with eight sun ” (A ” Shaku ” was a measure of length used formerly in Japan, equivalent to 30.3 centimeters and a sun equaled 3.03 cm) The standard measure of a shakuhachi is… Read more

  • Sumi-e: More than Painting, a Meditation in Japanese Ink

    Sumi-e: More than Painting, a Meditation in Japanese Ink
    ,

    The Sumi-e technique is a true gem of Japanese art. It is a form of monochromatic painting that goes beyond the simple visual representation of an object, it seeks to capture its very essence! It is as if each brushstroke contained a little piece of the soul of the object. This wonderful artistic expression, also… Read more

  • Nobukuni Enami – Japanese photographer of the early 19th and 20th centuries

    Nobukuni Enami – Japanese photographer of the early 19th and 20th centuries
    , ,

    Nobukuni Enami was a Japanese professional photographer born in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in 1859. Better known as T-Enami, he studied under the noted photographer Kazumasa Ogawa (Isshin) from 1885 to 1890. A couple of years later, he moved to Yokohama to set up his photography studio on Benten-dori Street. Color photography had not yet been… Read more

  • Amano Takashi – Aquariums, Photography, Moment and Art

    Amano Takashi – Aquariums, Photography, Moment and Art
    ,

    Hello everyone! Today we want to share this incredible work of nature art, made by Amano Takashi (天野尚) a Japanese photographer and aquarist. His interest in nature has taken him to visit rainforests in the Amazon, Borneo and East Africa and the pristine forests of Japan, and he has been working on photo series focusing… Read more

  • Gagaku – Music of the Imperial Court of Japan

    Gagaku – Music of the Imperial Court of Japan
    , ,

    Gagaku 雅楽 literally means “elegant music” is a term that was originally used in contrast to Zokugaku (popular music) It was imported to Japan largely from China and Korea by the 6th century and by the 8th century Japanese musicians had already combined these new sounds with traditional Japanese music giving life to what we… Read more