Stressed at work? Stressed at home? Escape from the never-ending stream of incessent noises and thoughts that bombard your daily life. If you’re open to Eastern meditation, maintaining a personal zen garden is a great way to find your inner piece. Keep reading to find out why you should have one in your home or office and where you can find a truly authentic Japanese desktop zen garden!
The biggest difference between traditional Japanese tea cups and Western tea cups is that Japanese tea cups have no handle. There are two kinds of Japanese tea “cups” – yunomi, which are tall cylindrical cups, and chawan, wide bowls used to drink matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony. Unlike a chawan, a yunomi can be used for everyday tea drinking at your home or even at work. Japanese tea cups come in all kinds of styles and glazes, from white porcelain, to iron black, and unglazed clay. Like Western tea cups, however, there can be a huge range in prices for a single piece. A mass-produced factory yunomi are quite affordable, but a quality yunomi made by a master can cost over 10,000 yen.
When buying a Japanese tea cup, you should not only consider the style but also hold it in your hands and try imagine yourself drinking tea from it. The evolution of traditional Japanese tea cups can be traced through the Japanese pottery styles of yore—let’s examine the top five types.
When visiting Japan, your friends back home will always want you to bring back a weird gift for them. It’s a natural reasoning, as Japan is truly home to the weird. Whilst gashapon are often a good idea for pure wonkiness, there’s another trend in Japan that might be even weirder. Brace yourself: It’s all to do with poop.
Incense burning in Japan is not just a way to relax and freshen the air; it is also one of the oldest traditional Japanese arts. Japanese incense is made with high quality natural ingredients such as herbs, spices, resins, and aromatic woods. Historically, it has been used in Buddhist rituals to purify a sacred space or make a spiritual offering. Incense appreciation (Kodo) even developed into an art form like that of tea ceremony or flower arranging in the Heian Period. Today seen mostly in the form of Japanese incense sticks, incense is another example of Japan’s success in creating traditional-meets-modern culture: Time-honored production are still used, but innovative scents and stylish displays bring incense into the modern day.
If you’re into arts and crafts, then you’ve probably heard of washi tape, the decorative masking tape from Japan that’s made of paper yet surprisingly sturdy. Washi tape comes in an endless variety of cute patterns and colors. It’s as strong as masking tape but doesn’t leave behind any traces of adhesive when removed, so it’s gentle enough to use on photos—in short, washi tape is every crafter’s dream.
In case you have yet to experience the wonders of washi tape or are looking for ways to up your washi tape game, here are a few fun and easy ideas. All you need is some washi tape and a craft knife or some fine point scissors to get started.
Tsum Tsum Disney Japan has taken the country by storm. Originally just a game for the LINE social network where players stack cute versions of Disney characters, the brand soon grew. Disney Store Japan began selling Tsum Tsum plushies and short animations of the characters began airing on Japanese TV. The phone game is also available to play in Japanese game arcades on full size machines! Tsum Tsum has become a sensation in Japan, with Japanese Tsum Tsum merchandise eclipsing the American versions.