Press Release: Towards the publication of e-books in 12 languages worldwide
Well known for its efforts in multilingual translation, the Sohos Ltd. (location: Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, representative: Kazushige Morota) has st...
Japanese Swords – I
Japan is known for its high quality products. Yes, their cameras, cars, electronic products, etc., etc. However, when it comes to guns or weapons we are stumped...
A Splendid Kimekomi Box of Paulownia Wood
This box with its pretty pink bell design is from Hakocho, a shop in Asakusa specializing in paulownia kimekomizaiku. Kimekomezaiku is the Japanese craft of car...
Men, too, should wear kimono! Hōkan, an endangered species of entertainer 2/2
In my most recent contribution to this blog, which is now 3 months ago, I wrote about a memorable encounter with a hōkan, Shichiko Sakuragawa. I was impressed w...
Hōkan, an Endangered Species of Entertainer – 1/2
As a magazine editor and writer, I sometimes have the opportunity to meet people in unusual professions. For example, “幇間 (Hōkan).” And many of you will probabl...
September 2020 Trip – Touring Kyoto and “Sanbi”
On September 19, 2020, in the midst of the raging Corona pandemic my wife and I set out on a trip my wife had made reservations for a few months earlier. After ...