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June 30, 2026
 

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Zoria Petkoska
Artist Yoshitoshi Kanemaki's exhibition "Emergence Entity" at Shibuya Parco is a rare chance to see a bigger collection of his works together, as they sell out fast.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 24, 2026
This is not AI. It’s intentionally, painstakingly human-made art.
Yoshitoshi Kanemaki’s handcarved sculptures have a digital aesthetic, but they are firmly anchored in three-dimensional space.
Kodaiji Wakuden, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Kyoto, has found a new side dish for its cuisine: "waka" poems.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 21, 2026
‘Kaiseki’ fine dining with a side of classical poetry
Kyoto fine dining restaurant Kodaiji Wakuden’s experiment with traditional poems is an interesting, if uneven, experiment in aesthetics.
The distinctive architecture of MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives has made the building a standout in the area.
CULTURE / Art / Greater Shinagawa Area
Jun 2, 2026
Takanawa Gateway’s latest landmark is still working on its own story
The museum’s programming may lack focus, but its open spaces already offer Tokyoites a reason to stop in.
“Noli Timere,” a free open-air performance at SIFA's Festival Village, combines aerial acrobatics, contemporary dance and art sculpture. 
CULTURE / Stage
May 22, 2026
At Singapore International Festival of Arts, theater spills into everyday life
Tze Chien Chong, the new director of Singapore International Festival of Arts, strives to attract a broader audience to Singapore’s oldest festival for performing arts.
Participants at the Kinrin Utakai discuss tanka at the group’s gathering last month in Tokyo’s Ogikubo neighborhood.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 6, 2026
Why tanka poetry is clicking with a new generation
A centuries-old poetic form is being reshaped through everyday experiences, online exchange and a new generation of writers.
While standard rooms at the Royal Park Hotel Iconic Naha may run you around ¥25,000 to ¥35,000 per night, more luxury suites like this one are available for travelers with yen to burn.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2026
Naha’s newest hotel is made from Okinawan culture — literally
Open from Jan. 30, the Royal Park Hotel Iconic Naha incorporates numerous elements of the island’s heritage, including remnants of the incinerated Shuri Castle.
The TechNoh fusion performance at Suigian combines classic noh theater with a live DJ set and digital projections to retell centuries-old stories.
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2026
Late-night noh theater finds new groove in techno and jazz
A Tokyo restaurant and bar formalizes its after-dark experiments with a new Friday-night series.
Gianmarco Soresi is known online for his crowd work, asking audiences to dish out family drama, and sharing his love of musical theater.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 30, 2025
Comedian Gianmarco counts on naughty ‘Dragon Ball’ words to help him in Tokyo
The New York-based Gianmarco Soresi is hyped to see how his style of crowd work plays with audiences in Asia on his first tour to this side of the world.
The 2025 Aichi Triennale took place in several locations, including a former bathhouse where Rui Sasaki's “Unforgettable Residues” was exhibited.
CULTURE / Art / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 29, 2025
A year of plenty: Endless art shows, subtle curation of themes
Japan’s art scene was bursting with public enthusiasm, overflowing exhibition halls and more art festivals vying for attention.
Butoh dancer Kana Kitty performed at this year's multimedia event Sento Sensations, held at bathhouse Denki-Yu in Tokyo's Sumida Ward.
CULTURE / Stage / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 20, 2025
Butoh fit itself into odd spaces in 2025
Though it has no permanent “home,” butoh’s creativity saw it stretch out to unlikely venues and collaborators this year.
Among the hand-drawn sketches in “Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings & Architecture” is the initial idea for the Hill of the Buddha in Hokkaido painted over a photograph of the site.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 7, 2025
Tadao Ando’s raw passion in 750 artworks
A new Taschen volume reveals the architect’s creative process through decades of sketches, studies and travel drawings.
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 9, 2025
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there
Melbourne-based comedian Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi, who has only ever done stand-up in his second language, is fast becoming Australia’s favorite Japanese comedian.
Yuanhui Li's illustration is one of the awardees in the student category of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators' annual award for artists.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2025
Architecture art exhibition highlights unsung industry artists
For only the second time in its 39-year history, the “Architecture in Perspective” exhibition will take place in Japan’s capital.
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 13, 2025
Japan’s major art events converge this fall
Dozens of biennials, triennials, art festivals and fairs are taking place between September and December.
Ayaka Ohira (center) celebrates the launch of “Shinsei Galverse” with interpreter Himari Lala Shimizu and executive producer Jack Baldwin.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 24, 2025
Ayaka Ohira: ‘Being outside of the traditional path gave me more freedom’
Anime director Ayaka Ohira talks about her newly launched ‘Shinsei Galverse’ series and how she navigates the industry as a self-taught female artist.
Nakagin Capsule Tower architect Kisho Kurokawa in front of the structure two years after its completion in 1972.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2025
The many lives of Nakagin Capsule Tower on display at New York’s MoMA
“The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower” showcases the 50-year history of the building through nearly 45 pieces of contextual material and one of the capsules on display.
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 4, 2025
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
From a model of the Grand Ring you can walk through to a futuristic city design, the architect’s exhibition at Mori Art Museum is an invitation to engage with architecture.
Part of Osaka Art and Design 2025, Maki Takato’s “Yokai Unity” is a collaboration with a Zen-Buddhist monk from Nara, whose hands in prayer were 3D-scanned for an inflatable sculpture.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2025
Osaka wants to show off its artistic talents
With the expo underway, the city is buzzing with people. The art scene is trying to catch some of that attention with a variety of events and initiatives this summer.
Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,” at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.
CULTURE / Stage
May 30, 2025
Atsuko Okatsuka brings big ‘dad’ energy to new special
The comedian’s upcoming special, titled “Father,” blends whimsical comedy and family drama — just in time for Father’s Day.
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 8, 2025
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
From Beeple exhibiting a physical version of an NFT artwork to Polygon1993’s custom-made giant floppy disk, digital media artists are bringing their work into the physical world.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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