This year’s Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival explores themes of incarceration and the struggle to define Japanese American identity during a particularly tense period in American history. Festival Director Rob Buscher picks his top 3 documentaries to catch.
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With Halloween just around the corner, we called on our friend and Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival director Rob Buscher to decode his favorite Japanese horror movies.
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Ceramist Romy Northover talks to us about her creative process and shows us around her Brooklyn studio in anticipation of our upcoming matcha bowl collaboration.
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We go behind the scenes at Shofuso Japanese House’s hinoki roof restoration, the only one of its kind in the US and currently undergoing repairs by two uniquely qualified Japanese craftsmen.
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Le Corbusier said it best when he declared: “Chairs are architecture, sofas are bourgeois.” Learn what went into the making of our first chair, inspired by a mix of Danish mid-century design and Japanese traditional furniture.
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Eternity. Constancy. These are difficult standards to uphold in the world of ceramics, but eternity and constancy was exactly what Nunami Rouzan envisioned when he began producing Banko Yaki ceramics.
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“Summer Soul.” “Pacific Ocean.” “Bay City.” These are not tracks from a long-lost Beach Boys album, but rather hits from a little-known Japanese sound, born from the breezy, top-down lifestyle of the 1980s.
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For those who are in the business of conquering mountains, the thrill of the climb is never free of danger. In observation of Mountain Day, we present four Japanese mountaineers who braved the elements, gender and age expectations, and near-certain death to achieve their dreams.
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On the third Monday in July, Japan celebrates Marine Day, a public national holiday dedicated to celebrating the ocean and its role in the daily lives of the Japanese people. In observation of the holiday, we take a moment to acknowledge the freedom that the sea offers us.
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As an island nation with a culinary affinity for fish, it’s no surprise that Japan has a close relationship with the sea. But more than almost any other element, water extends deeply into the cultural backbone of the country, going beyond geography and permeating its way into art, medicine, literature, philosophy and even martial arts.
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To celebrate the launch of our Morihata Organic Matcha Collection, we are highlighting a different application for each of our three unique ceremonial grades. In this inaugural post, we share some musings on the lost beauty of the green tea ceremony.
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There is a certain feeling of anxiety that all artists share when standing before a blank canvas, brush in hand, deciding where to place their first stroke. Paper marbling, an art mostly left up to chance, is a welcome release.
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If you’ve ever seen an ikebana arrangement, you know it’s not exactly like the elaborate floral arrangements you’re used to seeing at weddings. In fact, you would be forgiven for thinking there’s not much to arrange there at at all.
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In a time when public telephones have become almost obsolete, one lone telephone booth in Otsuchi keeps getting visitors. To passerby, it’s little more than a baffling mystery, but to locals, the booth is known as the Phone of the Wind.
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On days where life seems endlessly confusing, we take comfort in some hard-won wisdom from the philosophers at the School of Life. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we discuss how to get over heartbreak, fear of intimacy, and the delicious impotence of sulking.
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We celebrate our fist store anniversary with a special screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s classic “Spirited Away”. With popcorn in tow, we settled into our seats to watch Chihiro face witches, fly dragons, and befriend all kinds of spirits. It was nothing short of a magical night.
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Recurring dreams teach us about our personalities, our anxieties, and the secrets that lurk beneath the surface of our conscious. For director Akira Kurosawa, recurring dreams were not just an exercise in self-discovery, but also the inspiration for one of his most beloved films.
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On Coming of Age Day, Japan celebrates those who have reached the age of 20 years old. Here, our photographer reflects on his experience witnessing this day during his first trip to Japan.
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