Shohaku Art Museum in Nara will be exhibiting works by Uemura Shoen, Shoko, and Atsushi from September 6 until November 27. This will include sketches and rare works by these classical Japanese artists, many of which will be shown for the first time in two years.

Hanagatami. Uemura Shoen, 1915

Hanagatami (Rough Sketch) Uemura Shoen, 1915

Yang Guifei. Uemura Shoen, 1922

Tsudumi no Oto. Uemura Shoen, 1940

Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons. Atsushi Uemura, 2010. 

The museum has a large number of valuable materials in its collection, including drafts, miniatures, and drawings by Shoen and Shoko. Even the drafts by Shoen are meticulously crafted, down to each and every crease in the kimonos. By viewing the original sketches with the final paintings, guests can feel the emotion that went into them. The exhibition also provides a glimpse of how Shoko and Atsushi deepened their understanding of their subjects through sketching. Fans of Japanese artwork shouldn’t miss this valuable exhibition!

In April, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu made a big splash around the world when she performed at Coachella, one of the largest music festivals in the United States. 

The second half of the singer’s 10th anniversary nationwide tour 31-show has begun, gaining even more momentum following the announcement of a solo concert at Nippon Budokan in October. In conjunction with the nationwide tour, the LOCAL POWER JAPAN Project was launched to energize Japan through the appeal of regional towns and cities. As with past concert locations, a new collaboration has been announced following Kyary’s June 5 performance in Nara.

During the late Meiji period, persimmon leaf-wrapped sushi became a local delicacy during the summer months in Nara after the delicacies began popping up at a shopping district near JR Gojo Station. In 1973, Kakinohasushi Hompo Tanaka officially opened its doors, selling this delicacy for dine-in or carry-out. Kyary has collaborated with this famous local treat, transforming the shop’s logo into a new version inspired by the singer’s 2014 song Kira Kira Killer. The jacket art originally featured Kyary with a collection of bizarre hairstyles, but these have been turned into persimmon leaves for the collab.

During the collaboration period, fans were able to buy specially-branded packages of Kirakira Persimmon Leaf-wrapped Sushi. While the leaves themselves aren’t edible, they act to preserve the sushi for days without refrigeration. This version contains mackerel and vinegar-soaked rice. The sushi was sold in limited quantities at Nara Centennial Hall, the venue of Kyary’s June 5 concert.

A collaborative T-shirt is also on sale featuring the new logo and the singer’s 10th-anniversary logo. The shirt is available on the LOCAL POWER JAPAN Project website for two weeks only starting June 3. Support Japanese businesses and pick one up while you can!

Nara-based tea ceremony brand Saron is serving up a tasty treat perfect for the warm weather! White shaved ice with dark matcha topping is now available until mid-September, and guests are invited to adjust the taste by altering the amount of tea added.

Lately, Nara has been experiencing a major shaved ice boom. Inspired by Himuro Shrine, known for housing a guardian deity of ice, the city introduces plenty of created recipes for the summer treats each year. The tea ceremony brand Saron was founded by Nakagawa Masashichi Shouten, in business since the Edo period–so it’s safe to say that the company knows what they’re talking about!

Guests can enjoy shaved ice made from pure Yamato ice, which is frozen for 72 hours, gently shaved, and topped with Nara’s Kasiya sweet bean paste, shiratama, agar, and condensed milk that has been boiled for four hours. 

To finish off this luxurious dish, guests can add koicha, a thick matcha tea with concentrated flavor and incredible sweetness and depth. Polished twice as much as typical matcha, this is a taste you’ll never forget.

Why not come enjoy this traditional Japanese sweet this summer?

A popular stationery event held last year is back! The pop-up space on the first floor of Tsutaya Books Nara has been filled to the brim with unique stationery items from a number of creators. Guests can grab these inspiring items from March 15 until April 17, 2022.

echos

Visitors can use a variety of printing techniques like letterpress and foil stamping at echos. Connect with your loved ones through printing and design, and show your creativity!

These nostalgic yet new paper products pull from Showa-era illustrators to give an authentic antique feel. 

Osoblanco

This general store and gallery is located in Nanba, Osaka. The shop mainly deals in original handmade goods, antique European tools, and merchandise by illustrator makomo. Both store owners are stationary lovers, and they have recently begun offering a wide selection of paper products of all genres and styles.

Otome Printing

Otome Printing makes paper goods by printing each sheet of paper one color at a time on a letterpress! The handmade printing gives each sheet a one-of-a-kind feel by virtue of the indentation of the printing plate, ink blurring, and crooked prints. The lineup includes postcards, letterheads, pouch bags, and gift bags decorated with these unique prints.

Printing Studio Tan

Printing Studio Tan has been making Nara-inspired letterpressed pieces since it opened its doors. The symbol for ‘tan’ refers to the color of red earth, symbolizing the values of ancient Nara, once the central city of Japan. The company’s products feature ancient patterns associated with classic Japanese culture. 

Kei Printing

Kei Printing, with a factory in Kobe, offers delicate items with incredible attention to detail. With the goal of designing ‘memorable printed materials,’ customers are sure to find items that will help them to express themselves. 

Yonagadou

With a storefront located in Tenmabashi, Osaka, Yonagadou also has a small gallery in the back featuring items from both Japan and abroad. The shop offers a wide variety of small items, from Taisho and Showa-inspired paper goods, handkerchiefs, and more. 

This year, paper lovers will find an array of products using letterpress printing. Many items were also inspired by Nara, so travel lovers will also be thrilled!

From January 5 until February 13, 2022, the Museum of Japanese Art Yamato Bunkakan in Nara will feature a large exhibition of Japanese pottery, spanning from the Jomon period to the present day. 

Important Cultural Property – Painted Platter (Imari Ware) / Yamato Bunkakan Collection

Celadon Porcelain Vase – By Soubei Kinkouzan (Taisho Period) / Privately Owned

The exhibition will feature both potteries from the museum’s collection and those held by private individuals. The history of pottery in Japan began in the Jomon period around 14,500 BCE, and this earthenware eventually evolved into Sue ware, formed on a potter’s wheel. The Nara period saw the emergence of glazed ceramics. During the Momoyama period (1573-1603), the world of pottery was revitalized with the popularity of the tea ceremony. During the Edo period (1603-1868), porcelain was first successfully fired in Arita, and these pieces became popular throughout Japan. Painting on ceramics also became popular during this period, and although pottery saw less popularity after the Meiji Restoration, it has since evolved in different ways with more modern technology. 

From December 21, 2021 until February 13, 2022, TSUTAYA Nara will hold the HAPPA STAND Fair to coincide with the traditional holiday season. This special location will highlight traditional Japanese teacups under the concept of ‘Be Classic, Not Old.’ Enjoying traditional tea doesn’t have to be old school–it can be chic and fit into a modern lifestyle as well.

HAPPA STAND is located on a corner in Mino, Gifu Prefecture, surrounded by classic Japanese homes. This area is an important traditional building preservation district and aims to blend the chic with the classic to attract visitors and show off local artisans and food.

The creator of this event previously lived abroad, and after experiencing ‘fake Japanese food culture,’ he decided to return to Japan to find a way to highlight the reality of Japanese cuisine. HAPPA STAND was initially begun in 2018.

The stylish store was renovated from an old house built over 150 years ago, and is filled with delicious tea grown in Uji, Kyoto, and local Mino ware ceramics. For those thinking of enjoying a taste of authentic Japan, this won’t be a place to miss.

Two new tasty types of shaved ice are now on sale at Hotel Nikko Nara! The Shinkansen Shaved Ice will be available until November 30, 2021, at the Lobby Lounge Fountain on the hotel’s third floor. 

Shinkansen Shaved Ice – N700S

Sliced Mango, dried apricots, and almond jelly

Shinkansen Shaved Ice – Inspection Train

Caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, and dried apricots

This collaboration with JR Central Japan Railway is only available for a limited time, though Hotel Nikko Nara serves up tasty shaved ice year-round. This collaboration began on October 1 to celebrate the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen. These treats are created with nitrous oxide, which transforms the shaved ice into a mousse-like foam!

For those able to make it to Nara in time, which of these special sweets will you be trying? 

Felissimo and Sebastian Masuda’s cute and happy KAWAII COMPANY project released a new collection of multicoloured soumen noodles at Senjutei Somen Chaya on July 11 which are available for a limited time until August 31. The colours of the noodles are naturally-derived.

KAWAII COMPANY 5 Kawaii Soumen Noodles | 1 Set = ¥2,420 (Tax Included)

Digital Catalogue

The cute Miwa soumen noodles are made by Ikeri, a long-standing shop that was established in Nara over 170 years ago. Each noodle colour signifies a different colour: Japanese purple sweet potato, plum, kabosu citrus, beefsteak, and plain. The noodles are packaged in a wooden box featuring KAWAII COMPANY’s key visual designed by Sebastian Masuda along with golf leaf.

The noodles aren’t designed just to look cute – they are authentic in flavour and in how they are made with traditional Japanese techniques.

NARA TSUTAYA STORE is set to host an exhibition in promotion of Japanese artist Aki Kondo’s new artbook Koko ni Aru Shiawase (The Happiness Here) which is running from July 1-15.

Front cover of Aki Kondo’s artbook Koko ni Aru Shiawase

Koko ni Aru Shiawase “A Hundred Flowers” Special Edition

Examples of drawings at the exhibit

Koko ni Aru Shiawase hit the shelves in March of this year as Aki Kondo’s first artbook release. Her colourful, imaginative, and humorous works have captured the hearts of many. But her works also touch on the deeper topic of her view on life and death, having experienced the suffering wrought by the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as knowing loss.

Her new artbook focuses on her paintings of flowers as well as themes of fleeting life and our relationships with others. Everything from the book’s design to the works shown, the printing, and so on were crafted with the utmost care to capture the full essence of Aki Kondo and to create a book the owner will always want by their side.

Nara TSUTAYA BOOKS opened the Ball & Chain Fair on May 11, stocking a wide selection of thick embroidered polyester eco shopping bags.

Ball & Chain is a shopping bag brand focused on spreading happiness and energy to the world through its products and designs. Its stylish eco bags are high quality and made to be long-lasting with fun and colourful designs that make you want to take it out when shopping. The bags are made from thick polyester so are waterproof and durable.

The Ball & Chain Fair features the brand’s signature RED LABEL bags and welcomes the all-new BLUE LABEL models. Help protect the environment by picking up your very own eco bag.

The Kingyo Museum, which stands in Nara as the biggest goldfish aquarium and museum in Japan, reopened on April 27 after undergoing refurbishments.

AQUA oasis, an aquatic display and power spot

JAPANESE AQUARIUM DISCO

JAPONE Lane

Goldfish have been tied to Japanese culture since the beginning of the 16th century during the Muromachi Period when they were imported from China. The city of Yamatokoriyama in Nara Prefecture is the oldest location in Japan that has been raising goldfishes.

Due to COVID-19, many summer festivals and events where goldfish would be present have been cancelled up and down the country. That’s where Kingyo Museum’s renovations come in as a way to bring in tourists and sightseers. The museum has expanded to almost double its previous size to bring in new areas that utilise projection mapping and art, such as the AQUA oasis and the JAPANESE AQUARIUM DISCO which has brought in Japan’s first die-cut fish tanks. Visitors can enjoy 38 of Japan’ most prominent goldfish species, from familiar faces to rarer kinds.

Five new Pokémon manhole covers were laid in Japan’s Nara Prefecture on Wednesday (January 20) as part of the Poké Lid  project to place Pokémon-design manhole covers across the country. There are now a total of 148 lids in 13 locations in Japan.

Nara’s 5 new Poké Lids

All of the Poké Lids placed across Japan feature completely original Pokémon designs making each individual one the only one in the world. The Pokémon Company is also working to make each one of them PokéStops for Pokémon GO.

If you’re planning a trip to Japan, be sure to check if there are any Poké Lids at your destination.

©2021 Pokémon. ©1995-2021 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon, ポケットモンスター, and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc.