Art and design
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Wild swimming and TikTok dances: Hiroshima today – in pictures
Aya Fujioka set out to shake the weight of history from her home city and capture her own relationship with it…
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‘As thrilling as driving a sports car’: the Tokyo capsule tower that gave pod-living penthouse chic
They had portholes, cutting edge mod cons – and the ultra luxurious models even came with a free calculator. A…
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Yoshitomo Nara review: cutesy terrors swear, smoke, play guitar and burn down houses
Hayward Gallery, LondonThe Japanese artist’s instantly recognisable delinquent infants fill a huge show that a…
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Embroidered silks to Adidas collabs: the evolution of the kimono – in pictures
Opening on 4 June, the National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) exhibition Kimono features hundreds of garments, p…
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‘A knife crime waiting to happen’: how Yoshitomo Nara became Japan’s most expensive artist
The veteran punk painter’s twisted cherubs are a far cry from the tasteful, beautiful Japanese art that usuall…
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‘A form of meditation’: a photographic haiku to Japan – in pictures
A poetic new exhibition of dreamlike black and white images captures the country’s contemplative beauty, from …
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Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road review – ‘I could look forever at these passing moments in cosmic colours’
British Museum, LondonThe Japanese master’s weightless gaze birthed not only French impressionism but also the…
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‘Monks, politicians, drag queens – all life is here’: a trip to Japan’s Kyotographie festival
The theme of this year’s celebrated photo bonanza is ‘humanity’ – and Kyoto is bursting with images – from fam…
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Bog standard? Tokyo’s spectacular public toilets – in pictures
Public toilets are rarely thought of fondly – that is unless you’re talking about those in Tokyo’s Shibuya dis…
- Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Japan, Yayoi Kusama, Victoria, Asia Pacific, Art and design, Art, Culture
Yayoi Kusama: why this 96-year-old artist’s show is the most popular in Australian history
By the time the NGV exhibition of works by the Japanese favourite ends, more than half a million people will h…
- Japan, MANGA, Fashion, Comics and graphic novels, Life and style, Sony world photography awards, Photography, Anime, Art and design, Culture
Monaka wears her cyclops mask to work: Niccolò Rastrelli’s best photograph
‘Japan is the mecca of cosplay. Monaka runs a cafe in Tokyo called Monster Party, where people go dressed as c…
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‘Like a game of black-belt level Jenga’: inside the ancient art of Japanese carpentry
From the earthquake-defying joints that support a 13th-century temple to the delicacy of sashimono puzzle boxe…
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Japan’s coming of age ceremony – in pictures
Coming of Age Day is celebrated in Japan every January, when those becoming adults dress in formal kimonos, pr…
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Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami review – the opposite of refinement
Gagosian Grosvenor Hill, LondonThe Tokyo-born pop artist who has worked with Louis Vuitton, Billie Eilish et a…
- Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Japan, Yayoi Kusama, Sculpture, Australia news, Victoria, Art and design, Culture
Yayoi Kusama in Melbourne: Instagram’s favourite artist dazzles in a blockbuster show
The 95-year-old is now one of the most popular artists in the world, for her cheeky pumpkins and infinity room…
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What a carve up! Playful, intricate Japanese leaf art – in pictures
Almost every day for the past five years, the Kanagawa-born artist Lito has drawn an image on to a leaf – usua…
- London, Japan, Exhibitions, Sculpture, Restaurants, Asia Pacific, Art and design, Japanese food and drink, Culture, Food
‘Strange and exciting’: Japanese food sculpture goes on show in London
Sampuru are a restaurant staple – a 3D version of menus. And such is the precision craftsmanship in their crea…
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Unseen wonders: 70 years of Japanese female photographers – in pictures
Japanese photography has traditionally been dominated by men – but a new collection, I’m So Happy You Are Here…
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‘A true multi-sensory experience’: the Met celebrates Japanese poetry, calligraphy and painting
In an immersive and transporting new exhibition, three key areas of Japanese art are brought together and prai…
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‘I make reality out of fantasy’: Hiroshi Sugimoto on fooling the world with his camera
As his survey opens in Sydney, the legendary photographer talks about using light and shadow to bring the dead…