[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...

[Beauty of Japan Season 1] Kirikane is a decorative technique used for Buddhist statues and paintings. It requires high skills of cutting layers of gold leaves as thin as a hair, and placing them delicately onto Buddhist statues or paintings to create motifs. Chika Hasegawa is a young artist in...

[Beauty of Japan Season 2] "Wisteria Maiden" is one of the most popular dance pieces in traditional Japanese dance (nihon buyo). Performing on the stage is 8 year-old Nona, who has a French father and a Japanese mother. She takes lessons at the Fujikawa style dance school headquarters in Minami...

[Beauty of Japan Season 1] The Aigi Tunnels were constructed for the national railway between Aichi prefecture and Gifu prefecture back in the Meiji period (early 19th Century) and had been abandoned for many years. Those forgotten tunnels have been beautifully restored by supporters and are now designated as part...