Tokonoma
Shokunin
The Shokunin Project is an ethnography of mastery— a study of the obsession and commitment to excellence it takes to dedicate one’s life to the pursuit of perfection.
Read MoreSweat for a Few Noodles: Agung Parameswara
A glimpse into the traditional process of making Mie lethek (in Javanese, “dirty noodles”): a staple of Indonesian cuisine.
Read MoreBali in my Mind: The Photography of Aimery Joëssel
“Bali in my Mind is part of an ongoing work that I am creating about the Balinese People, from the perspective of a foreigner living in, and loving Bali, but at the same time capturing a side that many tourists don’t see.”
Read MoreEach Moment, Only Once: The Paintings of Herbert Sax
Practicing brush movement in ink allows me, even nowadays, to re-connect in meditative gestures to the unknown stream of life in my being, and gradually over the last fifteen years, I have also expanded this ability to paint intuitively in colour – and this process is still ongoing.
Read MoreMark Edward-Harris: The Way of the Japanese Bath
“My first Japanese hot spring experience in Beppu, a town often shrouded in water vapor on the southern island of Kyushu, converted me into a furo-holic (bath-aholic) in the early 1990s. Two decades later, I still find the magical waters an endless source of both visual and visceral pleasure.”
Read MoreThe Japanese Postcard Collection of Graham Bowyer
“Being interested in gardens in Japan, I decided to investigate whether old picture postcards of Japanese gardens were also available and this has developed into a collection of more than 500 mostly from the period 1900 to 1930s.”
Read MoreThe Art of Neuroscience: Greg Dunn
While completing his doctorate in neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, Greg Dunn was elated to realize that he could fuse his passion for neuroscience and Asian art together…
Read MoreShin Maruyama: Gardens and Water Sculptures
“I throw water into the air, and in mid-flight it changes shape constantly, being pulled by gravity and bursting with surface tension. Each flight barely lasts more than a second.”
Read MoreNorthern India and the Dalai Lama: Photography by Julie Hall
“His Holiness is an astonishing energy and presence. It felt as if the whole of Zanskar valley lit up when his helicopter arrived and remained that way until he left. A very special tingle in the air. “
Read MoreChecking out: The Final Days of Hotel Okura
The announcement that Tokyo’s iconic Hotel Okura was slated for demolition in the summer of 2015 reverberated around the world, and was duly met with harsh criticism.
Read MoreShokunin by Michael Magers
It’s been said that in Japan objects are born not made. In a society that increasingly values speed over quality, handcrafted goods retain a heartbeat lacking in the mass-produced world. The master craftsmen (and a few women) who commit their lives to honing perfection to its sharpest edge are known as shokunin.
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