Top Story

2019.1.16

"Shima Uta" resonates across India:
Music by Kazufumi Miyazawa at the Japan Foundation, New Delhi

The Japan Foundation, New Delhi organized a two-day event on February 22 and 23, 2018, titled Okinawa Ki Hawa ("Wind of Okinawa" in Hindi), inviting as a special guest Kazufumi Miyazawa, the musician behind the global hit song "Shima Uta" (Island Song) and activities to preserve the music and culture of the chain of islands that form Japan's southernmost prefecture.

Contributed Article

2019.1.16

Japanese and Me

I developed a strong interest in Japan, and at the age of 15, I started studying Japanese in earnest. What I really liked at first was the existence of hiragana and katakana. They're so convenient - once you memorize them, you can start writing words in Japanese and using verbs! But there are so many of them, so I decided to make a kana memory game I could play by myself. I'd write a hiragana on one card, and on another card I'd write its equivalent in Roman letters.

Feature Story

Serialized Essay

2018.6. 6

Japonismes 2018 (Vol. 1)

From a Western perspective, Japan lies on the furthest cusp of the Far East, and Europeans were fascinated by this exotic and mysterious Eastern nation. In the Book of the Marvels of the World, Marco Polo describes Japan as "a land of gold," yet it seems the Western attraction to Japan was less motivated by material considerations, and more by its unique culture. Just what is "culture"? It could be defined as the energy that empowers life.

Relay Essay

2018.8.30

Japanese Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Sandra Phillips has been contributing to collect/exhibit Japanese photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ever since she joined the museum's department of photography as a curator in 1987. Phillips has also helped disseminate Japanese photography in the world history of photography through her publications and lectures. In recognition of her achievements, she received the Photographic Society of Japan's International Award in 2018.

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