From Hello Kitty to Pikachu, the country changed what the world considers adorable. But do these characters represent joy — or rage?
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Nothing Lasts. How Do We Face It?
BEAUTY: THE TRADITION OF IMPERMANENCE “SEE THE TREE there? It’s turning red, right?” I looked to see what Kotaro Nishibori, the last manufacturer of paper umbrellas in Kyoto, was pointing at. On our left was a line of cherry trees, their leaves …
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How Japanese Superfans Redefined What It Means to Be Obsessed
Otaku, people for whom hero worship is a way of life, have changed everyone’s relationship to the culture.
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Why Japan Counts 72 Microseasons
To accompany this essay, the Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi created an original series, “Kaze Hikaru” (Glittering, 2025), based on things growing for six weeks between February and March near where she lives in Futtsu, in Chiba Prefecture. “The …
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Why Some of Japan’s Most Exciting Cultural Figures Are of Korean Descent
The artists, musicians and writers pushing past decades of historical erasure.
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