Tiger on Kakejiku art Tigers are one of the very popular subjects on Japanese Kakejiku art. Kakejiku is Japanese traditional hanging scroll. It is hung on the wall in Japanese style room, especially on alcove “Tokonoma”, since ancient time. Tiger…
Crane birds – Japanese good luck symbol We, Japanese have a deep connection with crane birds since ancient times. The beautiful crane birds can be seen in many occasions, such as Japanese old stories, music, paintings, and so on. Crane…
World heritage -Mt. Fuji Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, the altitude of 3,776m. It is well known not just in Japan but in the world as the world heritage site. The reason Mt. Fuji was selected as…
Suibokuga (水墨画)- Japanese traditional painting art Suibokuga is sometimes called Zen Painting. Sumie is painting with ink. And Suibokuga is one of Sumie painting, with the gradation of dark black to light black. Main tool for Suibokuga, “Sumi ink” is…
Japanese EMAKIMONO style hanging scroll First of all, what is EMAKIMONO?? Emakimono – “E” means “pictures”, “makimono” means “scroll” in Japanese. Emakimono is a Japanese traditional horizontal scroll which tells stories with pictures. From right side, we unroll the scroll…
“ICHIGO ICHIE”(一期一会) Have you ever heard phrase “ICHIGO ICHIE”(一期一会) in Japanese? This is ZEN spirit. It means, “once in a life time meeting”. This spirit comes from the Japanese tea ceremony. The Tea ceremony has a deep connection with ZEN…
Cherry blossom season has come! It’s a little early for popular kind Sakura “Somei Yoshino”(It’s March 4th today), but different kind of Sakura called “Kawazu Zakura” is already blooming in Tokyo. There are lots of famous spots for Sakura viewing…
Fukuro Obi belts are precious obi belts for Japanese Kimono. They are usually made with silk, having Japanese patterns. Shiny silk threads create beautiful and gorgeous looks. These obi belts can become gorgeous decorations by themselves. Kakejiku style wall decorations…