For illustrator and fiber artist Tomoko Kubo, the Japanese lettering system sparked an ongoing series of embroideries that also function as playful linguistic learning tools.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/04/tomoko-kubo-hiragana-embroidery/

#embroidery #language #writing #craft #fiberart #japan #thread

BEAUTIFUL JAPAN
Convenience store in Tokyo.

Photo credit to the owner

#Japan #JapanPhoto #JapanesePhotography #Photography

#Pixelcities: Rain in Tokyo.

I'm very pleased that within two weeks I managed to turn the sketches into full-fledged pixel art images and start the #Pixelcities series. Let's see how it goes further 😀

#Tokyo #Japan #street #digitalart #pixelart #8bit #painting #digitalpainting #fediart #MastoArt #Krita

Japan declares victory in 'war' on floppy disks

It's taken until 2024, but Japan has finally said goodbye to floppy disks.
Up until last month, people were still asked to submit documents to the government using the outdated storage devices, with more than 1,000 regulations requiring their use.

It Took Until Now For This Change

Now they still have to deal with their national business obsession with Fax Machines. And Many Japan businesses still require official documents to be endorsed using carved personal stamps called hanko, despite the government's efforts to phase them out.

#News #CurrentEvents #Technology #Japan

Japan's government finally says goodbye to floppy disks

The use of the floppy disk, which was still used in some government agencies in Japan, has now been scrapped.

^{Kelly Ng (BBC News)}

Did you know that there is a 1:1 scale replica of the world-famous #Shibuya Scramble intersection that can be rented by TV and film productions located 80 km northwest of Tokyo in the city of #Ashikaga? The real intersection is so busy that nobody can close it down for controlled filming.

This set was notably used in the hit Japanese TV series Alice in Borderland.

Location in OSM: https://osm.org/go/7Q9Mdm_mk?m=

#DYK #Tokyo #Japan

Title: Village in Spring (c.1990s)

Artist: Kawashima Tatsuo

https://japantoday.com/category/features/food/nanohana-the-healthy-promise-of-spring #SosakuHanga #KawashimaTatsuo #Art #Spring #Heisei #Satoyama #Nanohana #Japan

Nobody as invested in dioramas as Japan. Seen at the Osaka Museum of Natural History.

#TravelLog #Japan

📍 上高地
📷 Olympus35sp
🎞️ Kodak Colour 200

#olympus35sp #kodak #kodakcolorplus200 #filmphotography #filmcamera #フィルムカメラ #フィルム #madebykodak #olympusphotography #film_jp #film #filmisnotdead #japan #itravellingfilm #上高地

Title: Snow in Kohfukuji Temple (1947)

Artist: Takeji Asano

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4101.html #ShinHanga #TakejiAsano #Showa #Art #Snow #Winter #Kohfukuji #Kofukuji #Nara #Japan

#SilentSunsday #Shiga #Japan #naturphotography

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishiyama-dera
(photo by @wallywalt edited by 6g)

First there is the Jishin Itsumo kit. It includes a book note which illustrates the testimony of 167 survivors of Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe in 1995. What a work !
The kit includes also two leaflets, one explaining how to set up an emergency contact and one explaining what you need to prepare at home.
The last item is a handkerchief with multipurpose ideas printed on it : it can be a mask, a bandage, a flag, etc. Bought it for 12 euros in mint condition.

#design #books #japan #pictogram

⬆ let's continue this exploration thread above.

My Jishin Itsumo project collection is growing !

地震 (jishin = earthquake) いつも (itsumo = always) is a project made by the wonderful Japanese illustrator Yorifuji Bunpei 寄藤文平.
The main goal is risk prevention and help people getting ready for earthquake disaster.

If you like it, there are PDF available on the official website !
http://jishin-itsumo.com/category/kit/

#design #books #japan #pictogram

⬇ let's dig into it !

Second book is the Jishin Itsumo Manual.
It explains everything you need to know to be prepared for an earthquake : how and why it happens in Japan, what you need to prepare at home, what furniture you need to fix on the wall, how and what you can cook, how you can poop and clean you up without functional sewers, etc. It's really well made and you can find it around 4 euros on second hand marketplaces.

#design #books #japan #pictogram

秘密基地の作り方 is a wonderful book analyzing how to make a secret base. A deep dive into children cabins, shacks, huts, tree houses... what make a good secret base ?
Written in 2012 by Takahiro Ogata 尾方孝弘 and illustrated by Noritake, the book gives you all the keys to chose wisely what is your secret base.
Each type of secret base has a radar diagram to choose from those criteria : 面白さ (fun), 耐久性 (durability), 秘密度(secrecy), 危険度(degree of risk),難易度(difficulty level).

#design #books #japan

I was looking for this artbook for a long time. Published in 2020, this 400 pages book contains all the works of the Japanese illustrator Noritake. Ads, posters, publication, magazine covers... his minimalistic style is everywhere and I love it. It also contains an interview at the end of the book. Got this version at 10 euros, great quality overall.

#japan #books #design #illustration

Some Typographics ti: have a double cardboard page inside with stunning visuals and removable postcards. Those magazines cost 350円 in 1982,
(around 3 euros in 2023 inflation rate included)

#design #japan #symbol #logodesign #typography

As I said earlier, each issue of Typographics ti: covers a different topic. 1982-10 issue is dedicated to toilet door signs.

#design #japan #symbol #logodesign #typography

Typographics ti: gave the opportunity for designers to submit and showcase their work in a section of the magazine "new face". You had to fill and send back the coupon with your printed work by postal service.

#design #japan #symbol #logodesign #typography

My favorite is Typographics ti: magazine from March 1983.
I was curious about the content as the cover depicts the Japanese map symbol Hot Springs ♨ U+2668
What's inside ?
A report of Hermann Zapf's visit in Japan ! The famous typographer behind Optima, Palatino or Zapf Dingbats has a discussion with Japanese typographer Kuwayama Yasaburo 桑山弥三郎. but it is not just a written interview, it's shaped like a MANGA !!! this is so funny and so creative.

#design #japan #symbol #typography #unicode

Let's ding into it ! This Typographics ti: magazine is from November 1982.

This issue is a calendar. Each month is designed by an artist. The print quality is incredible.

Cover is designed by Toshihiko Kitagawa 北澤敏彦. First month is designed by Mitsuo Katsui 勝井三雄

#books #design #japan #symbol #typography #logodesign

Typographics ti: is the quarterly magazine of the Japan Typography Association. First published in 1980, the publication is still going on today.
Found a set of 10 magazines for 40 euros. I was curious but didn't find any PDF or sample online, so I've decided to give it a try. The content is really different from one another but what a discovery ! If I find a scanner solution, I will try to make them available for everybody.

#books #design #japan #symbol #typography #logodesign

目でみることばの世界
(The world of words seen with your eyes) is more a method for creating pictograms than an encyclopedia. Printed in 1983, the cover is a little bit old but the book inside is in a really good condition. 10 euros. The editor is the Japanese Standards Association. I wanted it because it was co-authored by Yukio Ota 太田幸夫.

#books #design #japan #symbol #pictogram

もじ鉄 (Iron Characters) is written by a real 鉄オタ(an Iron Ota', a railway otaku) Yuki Ishikawa 石川祐基.
This book is a beautiful encyclopedia of railway station signs around Japan. What font is used, where can you find it, history behind some... A great work of documenting wayfinding signage design.
Found this copy in mint condition for 5 euros.

#design #books #japan #typography

What's inside 記号の事典 ?
290 pages of symbol systems and how to represent things. High quality colored print, with international standards but also Japanese symbolics like kimono belts, buddhas design, kamons, kabuki masks...

#books #design #japan #symbol #pictogram

記号の事典 ( symbols encyclopedia) from 1985. One of the most expensive book, found it on yahoo auction for around 15 euros. The cardboard cover is a little bit damaged around the corner but the book inside is in MINT condition, it still smells fresh from the press. We have almost the same age and I'm not as fresh as this book. I will take care of it Japan, I promise.

#books #design #japan #symbol #pictogram

The other book written by Yuki Ishikawa 石川祐基 is もじもじもじ鉄 (Wriggling Iron Characters, it's a pun between mojimoji もじもじ and moji もじ I don't know how to translate it correctly...).

In this one, the author interviews Japanese wayfinding signage designers.
Men AND women talks about their work, typographic choices with examples. An important documentary project which gives access to unaccessible design processes. Like もじ鉄, you can easily find a second hand copy.

#design #books #japan #typography

"Asagaya B-Sides"

Adding on to last week’s set from Asagaya (阿佐ヶ谷) in western Tokyo, here's four more shots, mostly from the evening part of the same walk.

1. Light afternoon traffic along Star Road

2. Dusk at Star Road

3. Evening Restaurant Exterior

4. The Good Life

All photos shot with Mamiya 6 and 50mm f/4 lens on Kodak Portra 800 (images 2-4) / Kodak Portra 400 (1st image) medium-format film.

#photography #mamiya #mediumformat #filmphotography #tokyo #japan #asagaya #filmisnotdead

Four shots from Asagaya (阿佐ヶ谷) in western Tokyo. This area boosts quite a few theater spaces, and many pubs and eateries.

1. Pubs along Star Road at dusk
2. Restaurant Corner
3. Evening Izakaya Scene
4. Cafe Entrance

All photos shot with Mamiya 6 and 50mm f/4 lens on Kodak Portra 800 (images 1-3) and Kodak Portra 400 (4th image) medium-format film.

#photography #mamiya #mediumformat #filmphotography #tokyo #japan #asagaya

Intersections • Kyoto, Japan
Mamiya 6 • Kodak Tri-X 400 • 2011

#Photography #FilmPhotography #MediumFormat #BelieveinFilm
#Mamiya #Mamiya6 #Monochrome #BlackAndWhite #6by6 #SquareFormat
#Kyoto #京都市 #Japan #日本 #Nanzenji #TokyoCameraClub

Four shots from Kōenji (高円寺) in western Tokyo. A very interesting area to walk around and discover novel shops and unique eateries.

All photos shot with Mamiya 6 and 50mm f/4 lens on Kodak Portra 400 medium-format film.

#photography #mamiya #mediumformat #filmphotography #tokyo #japan #koenji

📸 Small eatery in Shinjuku
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

What could go wrong....

My Number identity cards for elderly won't require passwords, says minister | The Japan Times

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/04/national/my-number-no-password/

>The plan aims to address concerns among some elderly people about remembering a password, and will ease burdens on staff at elderly care facilities who may apply for cards for residents.

#Japan #JapaneseCulture #MyNumber

Farmers in the US are getting sick of paying $80,000 for super-sized trucks that won't even fit into their barns.

They've been importing mini-trucks from #Japan that do the job and cost a lot less.

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/04/20/rural-americans-are-importing-tiny-japanese-pickup-trucks