Aguyoshi is a very peculiar dance duo. You may have seen some of their intriguing, poetic, and funny videos on social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram. Formed by contemporary dancers Aisa Shirai and KEKE, the duo explores the streets of Japan (mainly in the wider Tokyo area), letting the places’ shapes and rhythms influence…
Inami, the Japanese Woodcarvers’ Town
Inami is a town of 8,000 inhabitants located in Toyama Prefecture. With more than a hundred sculptors’ workshops, it is said to be the number one city for sculptors in Japan. After moving there in 2016, architect Tomotsugu Yamakawa decided to turn part of his recently refurbished house into an accommodation for visitors to use…
Selecting the Most Vigorous Plants
Here is our monthly report from the Kokoro Media field! (You can find the previous episodes of our remote farming project here.) Last time, organic farmer Masamichi harvested edamame and gave us tips about shiso. Since then, he has cleaned the field to grow the vegetables you selected in our last survey! In this new video,…
Hunting Kyoto’s Ghosts Through Art
As I explained in my previous interview, in Japan, summer is the season for ghosts. That is why this interview also deals with this spooky topic, as I talk with a young artist who made a series of art pieces about Kyoto’s ghosts. Michael Hirschbichler is a German-Austrian-Swiss artist and professor at the Academy of…
Harvesting Edamame at Higa Farm
Here is our monthly report from the Kokoro Media field! (You can find the previous episodes of our remote farming project here.) Last time, our friend, organic farmer Masamichi, explained to us how to water vegetables the right way so that they can survive the Japanese summer heat. He also showed us the growing fruits of…
Gochiso Chaji: A Documentary That Will Change Your Perception of Japanese Tea
Some time ago, one of our readers, Luisa, kindly messaged me to introduce me to the movie “Gochiso Chaji – A Film About Japanese Tea.” She had just watched the movie at a preview with the Global Japanese Tea Association and, like the rest of the audience, was “amazed at how it really delivers the…
Rogai: When the Elderly Give Headaches to Japanese Society
After my article about the Japanese generation Z, this time, I would like to write about a phenomenon that concerns the Japanese elderly: rogai. This Japanese word applies to elderly people who create trouble in their surroundings. However, as often in Japanese culture, it has several levels of meaning. The Original Meaning of Rogai In…
What Vegetables Do YOU Want Us to Sow?
As you know, Kokoro Media is renting a small parcel of land at the Japanese organic farm Higa Farm to grow vegetables. (If you do not know about this project, you can find the details here.) It is soon time to sow seeds for autumn and winter, and once again, we would like to involve…
Making an Independent Japanese Horror Movie
As you may know, in Japan, summer is the season of ghosts. Traditionally, obon is when spirits come back to earth, and in September, ohigan is when the world of spirits and the world of the living are the closest. The heavy atmosphere due to the heat and humidity is also perfect to tell scary…
Tending Vegetables in the Japanese Heat
Here is the new episode of the Kokoro Media remote farming project which involves you, readers! (You can find our previous episodes here.) Last month, Japanese organic farmer Masamichi showed us how fast plants had grown and the consequences of the rainy season. Now that the rainy season is over, how do you tend the vegetables in…