In the hills of western Tokyo, dead, dry leaves blown by a chill wind rattle against the bare rocks of Kawanori valley. Steep hillsides show only the grey of bare deciduous trees and dark green swathes of conifer. Only a few hardy mosses and ferns remain vivid as the icy grip of winter tightens. These [...]
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Performers on fire
Tokyo-based Fire Bandit, formed in 2003, performs at events, on TV, in movies and in music videos. Founding member Izumi (all nine members go by a single moniker professionally), originally a painter, says he is used to the dangers, including the risk of burns. “We’ve done about 200 events so far. A show with smoke [...]
Sense for incense
In a dim subterranean room, a layer of soot blackens everything, including the skin of a worker who scurries about between the sacks and palettes, breathing heavily through a facemask. In another room glass jars hold shells, lichens, barks and mysterious powders – the ingredients of a magical process. Welcome to the production rooms of [...]
Wasabi
Eichi Kawamura and his fellow wasabi farmers nurture their crops on terraces built in deep mountain gullies of Okutama, western Tokyo, making sure that the plants enjoy a continuous flow of clear, pure water. Up here, an hour’s walk above the road, stout netting is necessary to protect the crop from wild boar, deer and [...]
Go with the flow
Photos and text Steven Herman Just a couple of hours north-west of Tokyo, tiny streams of pure, cold water trickle from the heart of Mt Bonoore (棒ノ折山). In a narrow gorge carved out over the ages, summer heat is banished and just a dappling of sunlight filters through a verdant canopy, highlighting cold stone and [...]
Tanabata
Photos and text Richard Grehan. Tanabata, the “star festival”, is celebrated on 7 July in some parts of Japan and on 7 August in others. The matsuri celebrates the annual meeting of the lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi who, according to Chinese legend, are at all other times separated by the Milky Way. Prior to the [...]
Dance On
Photos and text Richard Grehan. The Tokyo Ebisuren dance team carries on a tradition with roots reaching back almost a thousand years into the history of Shikoku island, where it originated. Throughout the year, the team practices for the Awa dance festival (Awa Odori), a culturally rich variation of the Buddhist Obon (Festival of the [...]
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