Showing 1 - 8 of 8
‘Dancing in their hands’: Japan’s kabuki wig masters
AFP, Published on 23/04/2026
» TOKYO - Every actor in kabuki — a traditional Japanese performing art celebrated for its striking makeup and elaborate costumes — relies on one final, essential element to fully inhabit their role: the wig.
Geisha spectacle in Japan's Kyoto celebrates arrival of spring
AFP, Published on 03/04/2026
» KYOTO (JAPAN) - Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan's Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of spring.
'Female power': Japan erotic art destigmatised in new exhibit
AFP, Published on 29/08/2025
» TOKYO — Graphic depictions of enormous phalluses and acrobatic sex positions have long rendered centuries-old Japanese "shunga" art taboo, but a rare exhibition aims to prove the genre is a world apart from male-centred porn.
'Straight to your soul': Japan's taiko reinvents drum tradition
AFP, Published on 20/05/2022
» SADO: In a hall on Japan's Sado island, 71-year-old Yoshikazu Fujimoto strikes the imposing drum mounted before him, producing a boom so powerful that it reverberates through the floorboards.
Switzerland's timeless art mechanics embraces 3D future
AFP, Published on 24/01/2021
» SAINTE-CROIX (SWITZERLAND) - In his snow-bound workshop, Swiss master Francois Junod's moving mechanical artworks whir into action: birds whistle, historical luminaries write poetry -- traditional craftsmanship newly recognised as being among the world's cultural heritage.
Japan's kabuki harnesses the Force for Star Wars performance
AFP, Published on 05/11/2019
» TOKYO - From a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars is coming to a traditional Japanese kabuki theatre stage for a one-off performance in Tokyo celebrating the blockbuster cinema series.
Turning Japanese: bowing, tidying as Rugby World Cup gets makeover
AFP, Published on 27/09/2019
» TOKYO - From bowing deeply to the crowd after a game, to emerging from the team bus in full Japanese outfits, players have been getting into the swing of a Rugby World Cup with a distinctly "made in Japan" flavour.
Doe-eyed superhero picked for Tokyo 2020 mascot
AFP, Published on 28/02/2018
» TOKYO - Tokyo Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited mascot for the 2020 Olympic Games: a futuristic blue-checked, doe-eyed character with pointy ears and "special powers" that was picked by schoolchildren across mascot-mad Japan.