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Category: People
Sailor-style uniform with skirt for boys arouses interest in Japan
In recent years, many Japanese schools have been implementing school uniforms to be neutral or unisex . This change in Japanese schools has generally been to give female students the option of wearing pants, although there have been some exceptions, such as Sanyo Junior HS in Himeji , Hyogo Prefecture, which allows boys to wear… Read more
Kana Satomi, first woman to compete in professional Shogi ranking
Shogi women’s champion Kana Satomi has been the first woman to meet the requirement to take the professional transfer exam of 10 or more wins in official tournaments and a winning percentage of 65 percent or more in Shogi also known as ” Japanese Chess “ Although he failed his historic challenge to compete among… Read more
Murakami Haruki Receives Prestigious Cino Del Duca Award 2022
Japanese author Haruki Murakami has received the prestigious 2022 Cino Del Duca World Prize, an international literary prize that recognizes a novelist whose works convey a message of modern humanism. “Taking inspiration from daily events, Murakami also blends surreal and magical incidents in his works,” judges said at the award ceremony in Paris on June… Read more
Empress Suiko of Japan
Japan’s first empress regnant in recorded history Empress Suiko is known as Japan’s first empress regnant in recorded history (rather than an empress consort). He is credited with spreading Buddhism in Japan, increasing Chinese influence in Japan. She was the daughter of Emperor Kimmei, empress consort of Emperor Bidatsu, sister of Emperor Sujun (or Sushu).… Read more
Yoshiaki Shiraishi – Inventor of “Kaitenzushi”
It took 10 years for Yoshiaki Shiraishi to develop the rotating sushi machine, better known in Japan as “Kaitenzushi”. However, an extra that its inventor was looking for was for everyone to eat delicious and cheap sushi since a typical sushi restaurant costs at least 5,000 yen (40 USD) on average per customer. He thought… Read more
Sada Yakko – The Geisha who captivated Europe
For many years, the artistic heritage left by Sada Yakko in Europe was overshadowed, even completely overlooked. However, in recent years several publications have given it back its deserved recognition and splendor. Born into a wealthy family in 1871 and descended from a samurai family, Sada Yakko owes her dazzling career to a stroke of… Read more
Enter the world of Mangaka Jiro Taniguchi
The prolific Japanese manga artist Jiro Taniguchi , who passed away in 2017, left behind an immense body of work that continues to be admired both in his home country and abroad, detailing much of Japanese culture. In Japan, he is perhaps best known for his illustrations in Kodoku no Gourmet (“Lonesome Gourmet”), a cooking… Read more
Utagawa Hiroshige, master of landscape prints
Utagawa Hiroshige secured his place on the podium of printmaking masters with his “Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido” series created around 1833 , which brought him sudden and immediate fame. In these prints, the artist depicts the 53 stations along the route from Edo to Kyoto . This work is often compared to Katsushika Hokusai… Read more
The Miniature Life of Tanaka Tatsuya
With three million followers on Instagram, chances are you’re already familiar with Tanaka Tatsuya ‘s work. Since April 2011, Tanaka Tatsuya has been posting miniature life scenes daily. His work has a twist that makes it particularly unique in the world: with the use of everyday objects he creates very creative miniatures! Broccolis are transformed… Read more
Japan, Architecture and Pandemic: Kengo Kuma
If you ever have the opportunity to visit Kyoto, we recommend visiting the Ace Hotel Kyoto located in Shinpuhkan . The latter was built from an old telephone company, and was redesigned by the renowned architect Kengo Kuma , who turned it into a shopping center with a hotel and theater included. And although in… Read more