Start here · Essential guide
The Evolution of Japanese Music: From Traditional to Modern Styles
A plain-language history of Japanese music, from court gagaku and the koto and shamisen to enka, postwar pop and the varied sounds of today.
Arts and Crafts
Performing and Literary Arts
Music, dance, film, literature and the geisha tradition.
The Evolution of Japanese Dance: From Traditional to Modern Styles
How Japanese dance developed, from ritual and court dance to nihon buyo in kabuki, the stillness of Noh, and the postwar avant-garde form called butoh.
The Influence of Japanese Film on Aesthetics and Culture
How Japanese cinema developed as visual art and storytelling, from silent-era benshi to period dramas, quiet family films and its influence abroad.
The Influence of Japanese Literature on Aesthetics and Culture
How Japanese literature, from Heian court writing and waka to haiku and the modern novel, carried ideas about beauty, seasons and transience.
The Role of the Geisha in Shaping Japanese Aesthetics and Culture
A respectful look at the geisha tradition: trained performers of music and dance, a history rooted in the Edo period, and common misconceptions explained.
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Traditional Crafts Lacquer, paper, pottery, weaving and metalwork. Visual Arts Prints, sculpture, calligraphy, ikebana and more. Ceramics and Kilns Regional pottery traditions, glazes and the way kiln towns developed. Wood, Bamboo and Metal Joinery, bamboo work, ironware and other material-based crafts. Painting and Popular Art Ink painting, screens, nihonga and the road to manga and anime. Poetry and Theatre Waka, haiku and the stage arts of noh, kabuki and bunraku.