When one thinks of items representative of Japan the list inevitably includes kimono, sushi and bullet trains but one shouldn’t overlook the beauty of Japanese woodblock prints or ukiyo-e.  The word ukiyo refers to the world of common people and e means picture. This art form originated in the late sixteenth century in the ancient […]

Whether you live in Japan or are just visiting, festivals, or matsuri as they are known in Japan, are held almost every weekend and special exhibitions and events are almost as common.  If your have a few hours to spare or a hole in your itinerary that needs filling with something fun and interesting then […]

Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) was a citizen of the world whose much lauded abstract mural “Asu no Shinwa” (Myth of tomorrow) mural depicting the horror and destruction of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be unveiled to the public in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward on November 17th 2008. This massive work was Okamoto’s largest, […]