Japanese culture: festivals, food, arts and customs
Japanese culture joins old and new with unusual continuity: shrine festivals that are a thousand years old, a cuisine inscribed as intangible heritage, performing arts from noh to anime, and everyday customs shaped by Shinto and Buddhism.
Overviews
- Festival calendarJapan's festivals through the year: the great matsuri and seasonal observances month by month, plus local festivals by region and prefecture.
- Traditional craftsJapan's traditional crafts region by region: lacquerware, ceramics, textiles, paper, metalwork and woodwork from the 47 prefectures, with links to each profile.
- CastlesJapan's castles in the city profiles, region by region: original keeps, reconstructions and ruins, from Hirosaki and Matsumoto to Himeji and Kumamoto.
- GardensJapan's notable gardens in the city profiles, region by region: stroll gardens, dry landscape gardens and temple gardens, from Kenroku-en to Ritsurin.
- Temples & shrinesBuddhist temples, Shinto shrines and sacred sites in the city profiles, region by region — from Chuson-ji and Senso-ji to Ise, Izumo and Dazaifu.
- Regional cuisineJapan's regional dishes prefecture by prefecture: local specialities from Hokkaido seafood to Okinawan cooking, each linked to its prefecture profile.
Festivals
Aomori Nebuta FestivalAomori Nebuta MatsuriLantern giants, taiko drums and leaping dancers in Honshu's far northAugustAwa OdoriAwa OdoriDancing fools and watching fools: four nights of Bon dance in TokushimaAugustChichibu Night FestivalChichibu YomatsuriLantern-lit floats and fireworks on a December nightDecemberGion MatsuriGion MatsuriA month of rites and a procession of moving museums through central KyotoJulyHakata Gion YamakasaHakata Gion YamakasaA tonne on the shoulders, at a run, at dawnJulyHanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing)hanamiPicnics under the cherry trees, and the beauty of what does not lastMarchAprilHinamatsuri (Doll Festival)HinamatsuriCourt dolls, peach blossom and wishes for daughtersMarchKanda MatsuriKanda MatsuriThe shogun's festival: Edo pageantry in the heart of modern TokyoMayKishiwada Danjiri MatsuriKishiwada Danjiri MatsuriTonnes of carved zelkova, taken round corners at a runSeptemberOctoberKodomo no Hi (Children's Day)Kodomo no HiCarp streamers in the May windMayNagasaki KunchiNagasaki KunchiA port city's history, danced in front of its shrineOctoberObonObonWhen the ancestors come home for the summerJulyAugustSanja MatsuriSanja MatsuriThree days of portable shrines in the lanes of old AsakusaMaySapporo Snow FestivalSapporo Yuki MatsuriA city centre turned into an open-air gallery of snow and iceFebruarySendai TanabataSendai Tanabata MatsuriPaper streamers, wishes and a city centre under bambooAugustSetsubunSetsubunRoasted beans against demons on the eve of springFebruaryShichi-Go-SanShichi-Go-SanTiny kimono, long sweets and thanks for growing upNovemberShogatsu (Japanese New Year)ShōgatsuThe year's great reset: shrine bells, family tables and a clean startJanuaryTakayama MatsuriTakayama MatsuriLacquered floats, clockwork puppets and lanterns in the Hida mountainsAprilOctoberTanabata (Star Festival)TanabataTwo stars, one night, and wishes tied to bambooJulyAugustTenjin MatsuriTenjin MatsuriLantern boats, drums and fireworks on Osaka's riversJulyTsukimi (Moon Viewing)tsukimiDumplings, pampas grass and the clearest moon of the yearSeptemberOctober
Food & Drink
WashokuwashokuRice, soup and the seasons on the tableDashi and umamidashiKelp, dried fish and the fifth tasteSushisushiFrom preserved fish to the Edo street stallRamenrāmenA Chinese noodle soup that became a Japanese obsessionTempuratenpuraA light batter, hot oil and a few seconds of timingSoba and udonsoba, udonBuckwheat in the east, wheat in the westWagyuwagyūFour native breeds and the art of marblingKaisekikaisekiThe season, served one small dish at a timeWagashiwagashiBean paste, rice and the seasons in miniatureSakenihonshuRice, water, kōji and the brewer's winterGreen tearyokuchaSteamed leaves, shaded gardens and the right temperatureIzakayaizakayaSmall plates, cold beer and the evening after workBentobentōA whole meal, carefully packedOkonomiyakiokonomiyakiCabbage, batter and the hot iron griddleYakitoriyakitoriEvery part of the bird, over white charcoalTsukemonotsukemonoSalt, bran and time: the small dish beside every bowl of riceMiso and Soy Saucemiso, shōyuSoybeans, salt, kōji and patienceOnigirionigiriRice pressed by hand: Japan's everyday portable mealCurry Ricekarē raisuA British-Indian import that became a national comfort foodDonburidonburiRice, topping and sauce in a single bowlTonkatsutonkatsuA Western cutlet, deep-fried and made JapaneseUnagiunagiCharcoal, tare and a summer tradition under pressureTofu and Yubatōfu, yubaSoy milk, set and lifted: two quiet staples of the Japanese tableSukiyaki and Shabu-shabusukiyaki, shabushabuThinly sliced beef, cooked at the table two waysNabenabe ryōriOne pot, many chopsticks: Japan's winter tableChuka Ryorichūka ryōriChinese cooking, reshaped for the Japanese tableMochimochiPounded rice for gods, New Year and the tea tableFruit CulturekudamonoPerfect fruit as a gift, a season and a regional prideMatchamatchaShaded leaves, ground to powder and whiskedShochushōchūKōji, a still and the flavour of the harvestAwamoriawamoriBlack kōji, Thai rice and the patience of the kusu jarJapanese Whiskyjapanīzu uisukīA Scottish craft, rebuilt in Japanese valleysJapanese BeerbīruCrisp lager, a first toast and a tax code that shaped a marketShojin Ryorishōjin ryōriDevotion in the kitchen: vegetables, tofu and seasonal restraintKonbini and Depachikakonbini, depachikaFrom round-the-clock onigiri to the gourmet basementStreet Foodyatai ryōriFestival smoke, market counters and Fukuoka's night stallsDietary Needsshokuji seigenDashi, soy sauce and mirin: what to know and how to ask
Arts
Tea ceremonysadōA bowl of tea as a complete art of hospitalityIkebanaikebanaLine, space and the season in a single vesselCalligraphyshodōBrush, ink and a single, unrepeatable strokeKabukikabukiSong, dance and spectacle from the Edo townspeople's stageNohnōMasks, chant and stillness on a cypress stageBunrakubunrakuThree puppeteers, one chanter and one shamisenUkiyo-eukiyo-ePrints of actors, beauties and the road to KyotoHaikuhaikuSeventeen sounds, one season, one momentJapanese gardensnihon teienMountains, water and islands in a walled spaceCeramicsyakimonoEarth, fire and a taste for the imperfectMangamangaComics for every age, read from right to leftAnimeanimeFrom limited animation to global pop cultureBudobudōFrom battlefield techniques to a way of self-cultivationSumosumōRitual, ranking and a few seconds of explosive forceGeishageishaDance, music and hospitality in the old entertainment quartersBonsaibonsaiA landscape in miniature, shaped over decadesJapanese ArchitecturekenchikuTimber, light and space, from Ise to NaoshimaJapanese FilmNihon eigaFrom the benshi's voice to Ghibli's animated worldsJapanese MusicongakuCourt orchestras, three strings and a pop industry of its ownJapanese LiteratureNihon bungakuCourt diaries, haiku and the modern novelVideo Gamesterebi gēmuFrom the arcade to the console in every living roomPop Culture and KawaiikawaiiCute characters, street fashion and fan culture
Customs & Etiquette
BowingojigiA greeting, a thank-you and an apology in a single gestureGift-givingzōtōSmall gifts that keep relationships in balanceOnsen etiquetteonsenWash first, soak second: the logic of the shared bathTable mannersshokuji no manāGratitude, chopsticks and looking after the person next to youGenkan and shoesgenkanOne step up: where the outside world endsTippingchippuService is included – and so is the pride in doing it wellPublic etiquettekōkyō manāMeiwaku: the art of not being a botherVisiting shrines and templessanpaiTwo bows, two claps, one bow – and no clapping at the templeKimono and yukatakimonoLeft over right: the garment and its occasions
Religion
ShintoShintōThe way of the kami: shrines, purity and the rhythm of the seasonsBuddhism in JapanBukkyōFourteen centuries of temples, schools and ancestral ritesZen BuddhismZenSeated meditation, sudden insight and a lasting mark on Japanese artsShugendoShugendōThe way of acquiring power through austerity in the sacred mountainsYokaiyōkaiKappa, tengu and haunted umbrellas: the uncanny side of Japanese folk belief