A Cabinet Office–backed showcase of Japanese craft, design, art and fashion is designed to feel effortless. But what happens to art when elegance is also policy? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/03/28/style-design/sui-collection-kyoto-paris-cabinet-office-japanese-crafts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #japanesecrafts #japaneseart #japanesefashion

For its 60th anniversary, Yamaha is expected to pull in ¥48.6 billion ($309 million) by the end of this financial year from its guitar business (16% of the company’s overall musical instrument section). https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/03/14/style-design/yamaha-guitars-60th-anniversary-hamamatsu-factories/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #yamaha #guitar #music

From subtle designs that emphasize natural beauty to miniature sculptures of sushi and omelets, Japanese nail art is governed by only one rule: choose what you love. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/02/07/style-design/nail-art-tokyo-salons-feminism/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #japanesefashion #nails #salons #feminism

Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, creator of the iconic “Valentino red” and a titan of haute couture, has died in Rome at 93. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/01/20/style-design/fashion-designer-valentino-dies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #fashion #obituary #valentino

Two years after the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and tsunami, local potters have banded together in the few rebuilt kilns to keep their craft alive. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/01/01/style-design/suzuyaki-noto/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #noto #earthquake #traditionalcraft #exhibition

From Dec. 18 to 21, some of Japan’s top design talent will offer their creations directly to the public from the Forest Hill West complex in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighborhood. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/12/20/style-design/designtide-tokyo-2025-crafts-art/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #japanesecrafts #sculpture #exhibitions

Japan’s internet can look a bit weird to outsiders — dense pages, information overload, text burned into images. But, like most things in Japan, there’s a cultural logic behind it. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/12/15/style-design/japan-internet-web-design/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #design #internet #webdesign #graphicdesign #commercials #marketing #typography #font

Frank Gehry, who died Dec. 5 at 96, long rejected the tidy ideals of modernist design and aimed instead to capture the messiness and democratic spirit of daily life. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/12/06/style-design/frank-gehry-obituary/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #frankgehry #architecture #obituaries

An upcoming retrospective in Tokyo throws light on florist Nicolai Bergmann’s creative process 25 years after he came up with the idea of a “flower box.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11/11/style-design/florist-nicolai-bergmann/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #nicolaibergmann #flowers #tokyo #denmark

Despite familiar threats of synthetic alternatives and a declining workforce, Shiga Prefecture's persimmon dyers believe the traditional craft is still worth the effort. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11/01/style-design/persimmon-dyeing-textiles-shiga-crafts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #styledesign #japanesecrafts #textiles #rurallife