[Festivals of Japan Season 1] In the spring festival of Handa City,  Aichi Prefecture, a total of 31 floats are pulled through 10 districts. Once every five years, the Handa Floats Festival sees the gathering of all 31 floats in one place, vastly entertaining its large crowd of onlookers. Following...

[Beauty of Japan Season 2] Jennifer is a Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) master who originally comes from Texas. She says the beauty of the instrument lies in its ability to express nature. Birds singing and the sound of waves can all be expressed through Jennifer's shakuhachi. She mastered the ability to...

[Craft Masters of Japan] The Sendai Tansu furniture was created around the end of Edo period (mid-19th century). Its fabrication process is based on 3 traditional techniques which were all inherited from the Edo period; ‘Sashimono (furnishing)’, ‘Urushi lacquer’, and ‘metal fitting’. Nowadays, the tradition is well harmonized with a...

Kingyosukui, “goldfish scooping”, is one of the typical games often seen in summer festivals across Japan. The history of goldfish production in Yamato Koriyama city dates back to the mid-Edo period when the Yamato koriyama clansmen resided in their castle town. It is one of the three largest productions in...