
Zuigan-ji (2016)
Majestic Zuigan-ji Temple in northeast Japan is a national cultural treasure. Completed 400 years ago by the feudal lord of the region, Date Masamune, it’s famous as a lavish and glorious example of the culture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (mid-1500s to 1600). The main hall is decorated with beautiful period-style art created by painters and master craftsmen summoned from Kyoto. With ground subsidence now causing its pillars to tilt, Zuigan-ji has been undergoing comprehensive repairs and restorations since 2009, called "the great Heisei restoration." An essential consideration when repairing Japanese cultural properties is that old and weathered parts must not be replaced and existing original materials must be reused to the greatest possible extent. The restoration's greatest challenge was to reinforce the structure to protect against earthquakes. This program follows the Japanese engineers and craftsmen, striving to clear the hurdle with their conviction and ideas, to preserve the national treasure.
Click here to preview this program!-
Takaoka Mikuruma-yama Festival -Turning the Wheels of Tradition-
2018 30 mins[Festivals of Japan Season 2] The Takaoka Mikuruma-yama Festival in Toyama Prefecture was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Asset in December 2016. With the creaking sounds of the turning wheels, the seven lavish floats make their way along the same route they have gone since ancient times, pushed onwards...more details -
"Little Yuna" - His Daughter's Legacy after the Great East Japan Earthquake -
2024 2025 WordMediaFestivals Siver 2025 New York Festivals Silver Norio Kimura, who lost his wife and father in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster and whose 7-year-old daughter, Yuna, remained missing until a bone fragment was found nearly six years later due to nuclear zone restrictions, now channels...more details -
A Glimmer of Hope
2005 Award of Excellence at the Media Arts Festival. With the traditional family challenged by growing society pressures in modern Japan, this drama depicts the conflict between a father and his children as each struggle to find their own way in life. The characters in the story come to discover the...more details -
A French man striving to enrich a village with forestry- Totsugawa, Nara Prefecture
30 mins[Beauty of Japan Season 2] Totsugawa in Nara Prefecture is the largest village in Japan. Jolan settled in this village from France after he fell in love with its serenity and beauty. Using his expertise in European forestry, he works to revitalise the Japanese forests as well as the local...more details