Japanese arts: from tea ceremony to anime
Japan's arts are often practised as a michi, a way: disciplines passed down through schools and lineages. This section covers the classical arts and their modern heirs.
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