ABOUT KOGEN THEATER
The Kyogen Theater, of which we are actors, is the oldest theater in Japan. Perhaps you can even say that this is one of the oldest theaters in the world.…

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Carey Hiroyuki Tagawa
Carey Hiroyuki Tagawa is a Hollywood actor, Japanese by birth, who became famous for his work in the films Pearl Harbor, Memoirs of a Geisha, Hachiko: The Most Faithful Friend.…

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Toshiro Mifune
Here is the scenario for a movie someone should make. If they can get Toshiro Mifune for it, he'd be terrific as the lead: September, 1945. The war has just…

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screening followed

Japanese Restaurant Menu

The theater, as you know, begins with a hanger, and restaurants in Japan with osinagaki, the menu. Externally, menus often resemble, without exaggeration, works of art. There are oshinagaki, which are written with a brush on thin rice paper in the style of famous masters of calligraphy. In many restaurants, the texts of the menu are not inferior in artistry to the design. The list of dishes sometimes resembles the classic poetic three-verses. In any case, many images from poetry migrated to Osinagaki. In autumn, for example, you will be offered momiji oroshi. Momiji is a scarlet autumn maple leaves, a traditional poetic image, and osi, literally, is something passed through a grater. The Japanese mood is also caused by a dish with a name such as tsukimi van. A van is a thick vegetable soup with meat or fish in a wooden bowl. And tsukimi is an autumn ritual of admiring the reflection of the moon in water-flooded rice fields. Again in the name of the dish is a hint of the season. Late autumn is associated with boiled shigure-ni dishes. Sigure – translated autumn drizzle, but not cooking. Continue reading

Why is summer and autumn the best time to travel in Japan?

There is probably no other country in the world that could achieve such technological progress and at the same time maintain millennial traditions. It is interesting to come to Japan for the tenth and twentieth time – this country will always have something to surprise even the most advanced traveler. People come to Japan for interesting national culture, unusual architecture and gastronomy, as well as for nature, which is very cherished here.
Japan is interesting in any season, but it is most comfortable here in spring and autumn. In the summer, as a rule, it is quite hot, and walks in the sights can be combined with a vacation on the beach, going to the coast. Sakura blooms in spring, and there is no crowding among tourists from all over the world. In the fall, comfortable weather sets in, and there are fewer tourists than in the spring. This is an ideal season for walking, because all over the country maple leaves turn purple in color, the season of “momiji” begins. Continue reading

Anime and Manga as Contemporary Art in Japan

What is anime and manga? The simplest definition looks like this:
Manga are Japanese comics.
Anime is a Japanese animation.

It is often believed that the terms “manga” and “anime” are limited to some genres (fiction, fantasy) and graphic styles (realism, “big eyes”). This is not true. The terms “manga” and “anime” define only the basic culture on the basis of which the corresponding works are created.

There is not a single country in the world in which such attention is paid to comics and animation. The creators of the popular Japanese comics are very wealthy people (Takahashi Rumiko is one of the richest women in Japan), the most famous of them are national celebrities, manga makes up about a quarter of all printed materials produced in Japan Continue reading

How to celebrate New Year in Japan
New Year in Japan: holiday history, traditions and customs, Japanese analogues of Santa Claus, Christmas tree, greetings and postcards, feast and festivities. New Year is the most famous holiday celebrated…

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Anime and Manga as Contemporary Art in Japan
What is anime and manga? The simplest definition looks like this: Manga are Japanese comics. Anime is a Japanese animation. It is often believed that the terms “manga” and “anime”…

...

MASAHIRO YASUDA AND HIS THEATER "YAMANOTE"
With this pensive, phlegmatic (as it seemed to me when I first met) man I first met in the summer of 2000, during the Moscow Theater Olympics. Having put Meterlinka's…

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