Category Archives: Photos

Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama gives first workshop for non-Japanese bonsai fans

SAITAMA, Aug. 31 – The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture gave a workshop for inbound visitors to Japan for the first time on August 30, 2019. The workshop “Saitama International Bonsai Academy” was participated by three non-Japanese bonsai lovers from Singapore and the U.K. They enjoyed a guided tour of the museum and learned the tips for appreciating the art and its history. Then, they had the first-hand experience of trimming and replanting young Japanese black pines. The instructor of the class was a 36-year-old bonsai professional from the U.S., Adam Jones, an owner of a bonsai export company “Tree House Bonsai” in Ami Town, Ibaraki Prefecture. … Continue reading

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[Joy of Noh no Ikebana] Fumiko Sasaki (66) from Shiwa Town, Iwate Prefecture: Feel fresh cool air from soba-noodle-making-themed arrangement

“I began Noh no Ikebana four years ago. A member of a local Noh no Ikebana group invited to me to join them at an event at an agricultural research center in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture. With Noh no Ikebana, we are free to arrange everything we see in our daily lives such as vegetables and flowers, and I think it’s lovely. The location is also part of the arrangement, and I have an unlimited number of ways to express myself. Usually, I put small, simple, and casual arrangements at my entrance. I’d like to continue doing it and make more arrangements in a wider variety. I also want to … Continue reading

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[Joy of Noh no Ikebana] Sakiko Hoshino (69) from Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture: Look at the bright color of the season!

I began Noh no Ikebana in 2016. It’s a beginner-friendly hobby as it has no rigid rule. I decided to make the new challenge when I saw my grandmother-in-law’s favorite plum tree bore fruit. It reminded me of her face and how gentle she was to me. While making the arrangement, I discovered a new side of myself, and since then, this is my favorite hobby. I make my arrangement often in mid-summer when we have not many flowers around. I put my arrangements at my entrance, and my visitors love them very much and say they are lovely. This time, I combined chrysanthemum, a favorite flower of my grandmother-in-law, … Continue reading

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Better get ready for the fight – Hiraniwa Bullfight Meet in Kuji

IWATE, Jun. 17 – Yamagata Town, Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture, is the only place to host a bullfight meet four times a year in the Tohoku (North Eastern) region in Japan. The meet, called Togyu in Japanese, is for local shorthorn bulls which are known to have strong backs and good patient. The fighters in this year’s June tournament called “Tsutsuji Basho” included a young bull of about 400 kilograms and the Yokozuna Champion of over 1 ton, and they all staged exciting games. The Hiraniwa Bullfighting Meet is held at a permanent bullring of a diameter of 2.2 meters on the Hiraniwa Highland. Bull handlers called seko scream and … Continue reading

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Maruyama Senmaida rice terraces in Mie Prefecture attract visitors thanks to preservation efforts

MIE, June 3 – A scenic grouping of 1,340 rice paddies in the town of Kiwa in Kumano, Mie Prefecture, is attracting visitors as one of the largest rice terraces in the country. Stretching out on a farmland totaling 7.2 hectares cut into the sides of a 150-meter-high slope, the small rice paddies of various sizes – about 0.3 ares in average – are filled with water before the rice planting season and shimmer in the sunlight, forming gentle arcs that look like fish scales. In May, farmers start planting rice, using two-row transplanters. Records show that the rice terraces were created some 900 years ago, and that there were … Continue reading

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