Even though they are an actual animal living in Japan, Tanuki are also among the most recognizable images in Japanese folklore, and have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shape-shifting but somewhat gullible and absent-minded. Statues of tanuki...Read More
This is a Japanese party/drinking game played by Maiko and Geiko (Geisha) with their clients at tea houses. The game is called Konpira, and the rules are very simple. The two players face each other and alternate touching the box or table between them. If the box is on the table when it is their...Read More
There were thousands of Ukiyo-e artists, however, three stand out. They are Utamaro, Hokusai and Hiroshige. Utamaro (1750-1806) Utamaro Kitagawa is highly appreciated as the dominating Ukiyo-e artist of the late eighteenth century. Yet little is known about his life. Neither the precise date of Utamaro’s birth, his birthplace, nor any substantial information about his...Read More
Although the artist typically received all the credit for the prints, there were four people involved with the making of the prints: The artist who drew the prints and decided on the color scheme, the publisher who commissioned and managed the work, the printer who created the final prints and the carver who cut the...Read More
Ask anyone who has been to Japan, and they will tell you, you can’t go anywhere in Japan without seeing these statues. Nearly every business in Japan has one displayed somewhere. In Japanese, they are called “Maneki-neko”. In English, there are many interpretations including Beckoning Cat, Lucky Cat and Fortune Cat among others. It may...Read More
Wood-block prints (Ukiyoe in Japanese) are perhaps one of the most recognizable art forms around the world, and are instantly recognizable worldwide as being uniquely Japanese. Because many of these prints were based on everyday life, they provide a view into Japan’s past. Around the world, art has been reserved for the elite. However, because...Read More
