japanese

Erotic Classic Japanese Art In One Book By Phaidon Press

Filed under: Art, Books

This interesting publication is certainly not safe for the family room. Dating back literally hundreds of years, Japan (among other cultures actually) has a history for high quality erotic art. Much of it was produced during the ukiyo-e period that ranged from the 17th - 19th century. The art has a feeling just as you would expect from traditional Japanese art, and much of the work was done by some of their major famous historic artists - such as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Kuniyoshi. Those instead of a large wave, fishing boat, or calm mountain scene, these paintings are are taboo defying images of sexuality and hidden passions from a culture that mostly repressed such thoughts from being publicly discussed. The images here are "safe for all eyes," but not that the majority of these works are for adults only. This is old-world Japan hentai - a sexually charged art style popular in Japan today.

This classic art (known as Shunga, or "spring images") and stories from this era were contained in "pillow books." Pillow books had a variety of purposes similar to what we would use such imagery today - to inform, entertain, and of course arouse. The difference is the quality of the work being on par with the era's finest paintings and other master works. Shunga works were mostly originally done on wood, and are great collector's item all over the world. In the upcoming publication Poem of the Pillow and Other Great Stories: Erotic Japanese Art by Utamaro, Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and other artists of the Floating World, by Phaidon Press, much of this famous art is collected in one source. The book will have 350 full color images done in Phaidon's typical high quality style. The 384 page, beautifully presented book will be available soon and comes with a large erotic scene image by Utamaro that can be framed. Price is just $49.95 and available in June.

Gallery: Erotic Classic Japanese Art In One Book By Phaidon Press

Tags: book, erotic, gian carlo calza, GianCarloCalza, hokusai, japan, japanese, phaidon, poem of the pillow, PoemOfThePillow, shunga, utamaro

Issey Miyake "Hu" Watch Designed By Ross Lovegrove

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Soft avant garde lines, and a unique face makes this almost novelty watch standout a bit more than you might expect. The watch is called the "Hu" and is designed by popular award-winning designer Ross Lovegrove (what a last name). It will be sold under the Issey Miyake watch brand name, who himself is a clothes designer who has a growing watch line. Plus, the watch will be built by Seiko, so it is up to you to decide exactly who this watch "comes from." Seiko and Issey Miyake (both Japanese) have actually been working together since 2001.

What gets me is the interesting theme behind the organic looking Hu watch. According to Lovegrove, the concept is that the watch should look like an extension of your body - as though it was growing out of your wrist. Sure the colors don't exactly match, but that would just look weird. The Hu watch is made of titanium with a rubber strap and comes in gray, white, and black. The dial of the watch is very simple. It shows just the hours and minutes, with only two hour indicator points - fine for those people who don't need such embellishments. I for one, DO need such embellishments. The movement is a Seiko quartz, of course. Despite the simple nature of the watch, it does look quite nice, and I look forward to seeing it on some wrists soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: hu, issey miyake, IsseyMiyake, japanese, ross lovegrove, RossLovegrove, timepiece, watch

$23,000 Wooden Japanese Sculptures

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Collectors of all kinds are known the world over for spending exorbitant amounts of money on objects that get the majority of their worth from the sentimental value they hold with their owners. Japanese folklore is no exception, and a company in Japan is hoping to cash in on some collector love by offering hand-carved wooden sculptures of the famous mythical monsters Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. The creations are each extremely detailed and impressive, as well as quite pricey. The smaller Godzilla and Mothra versions are priced at $3,000 each, but the real star of the show is the three-headed King Ghidorah -- he stands 8 1/2 feet tall and costs a cool $23,000.

Could make for an interesting statement in your entryway, perhaps? (ha!)

Via Bornrich

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Tags: collectors, godzilla, japan, japanese, king ghidora, KingGhidora, mothra, mythical, sculpture

'Bottle Keep' Means No More Wine by the Glass

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Services

How many times have you passed on a glass of wine because the kind you wanted was only sold by the bottle? The Japanese have a good thing going called "bottle keep" that takes care of that problem by allowing customers to drink what they want out of a bottle of wine and save the rest for later. The restaurant puts the customers name on the bottle and keeps it in the back until their next visit.

What an awesome way to make the most of a bottle of wine (not to mention impressing friends and family with the VIP treatment!). Obviously this idea isn't reserved only for the Japanese so now I'm be on the hunt for a restaurant that offers this service (or something like it) in my area.

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Tags: bottle, bottle keep, BottleKeep, bottles, dining, japan, japanese, restaurant, restaurants, tradition

The World of Rare Salt: Amabito No Moshio

by Sarah Gilbert (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Salt, possibly the world's most essential mineral, is unusual in that it can be collected in two ways; by mining or by boiling sea water to pare it down to its salty essence. Due to the labor-intensive process of collecting it, and the interesting flavors imbued by the life of the sea itself, sea salt is typically prized above rock salt.

In the world of sea salt, the earliest known sea salt produced by the Japanese may be the rarest of all. Called Amabito No Moshio ("Ancient Sea Salt"), unpolluted sea water is collected from the Seto-uchi inland sea, infused with seaweed to develop the "unami", and then processed by cooking in an iron kettle, put into a centrifuge, and finally, cooked over an open fire while stirring constantly. The salt is worth over $40 per pound.

The island where most of this salt is produced is called Kami-Kamagari, and has a population of less than 3,000. Archaeological digging has uncovered salt-making pots dating from the 2nd or 3rd century AD -- a find which, in 1998, encouraged the locals to take up the production of this ancient sea salt, again. Salt expert Mark Bittman says the flavor is "savory" and "unctuous" and suggests it on meats, rice, roasted potatoes, even a chocolate souffle!

Tags: amabito no moshio, AmabitoNoMoshio, japanese, salt, sea salt, SeaSalt

The Zettel'z 5 Light

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

The Zettel'z 5 light will not only illuminate your home or office, but it will also provide a conversation piece and interesting focal point because you can actually do some reading while admiring this lamp. It's made up of 80 sheets of Japanese paper hung in such a way to disguise the bulb inside, diffusing the light in an interesting way. Designed in 1997 by Ingo Maurer, 49 of the paper sheets are printed and 31 are blank, and the rest of the lamp is made of stainless steel and satin-frosted glass. £571

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Tags: bulb, decor-awards, illuminate, illumination, ingo maurer, IngoMaurer, japanese, lamp, light, lighting, paper, zettelz, zettelz 5, Zettelz5

Willow Chair

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

When I first heard the name Willow Chair I pictured a softer looking design with rounded or flowing shapes, but in reality the focus is on vertical and horizontal lines. Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 for The Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow, it's inspired by his interest in Japanese design. You can see the shape of a tree formed by the checkers and straight lines of the chair back, and now available from Design Icons it's made of black lacquered ash with a cushion of leather, velvet, or cotton. £1155

Via Retro to Go

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Tags: chair, charles rennie mackintosh, CharlesRennieMackintosh, japan, japanese, lounge, mackintosh, seat, seating, sit, sitting, willow, willow chair, WillowChair

The World's Most Expensive Water

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

People pay money for water every day, even though it's free in the majority of places on Earth. So if we're already paying for it, why not pay a lot for it, right? Well that's apparently the philosophy of the Japanese, who for a while now have been making big business of buying very expensive desalinated seawater concentrate from off the coasts of Hawaii. Called Kona Nigari, it sells for $33.50 per two-ounce bottle of concentrate and is meant to be diluted in a bottle of regular water (add $1.99 to the bill). It's credited with aiding weight loss, stress reduction, skin tone, and digestion. And apparently this Hawaiian seawater is special -- people pay more for the Kona Nigari than for similar concentrates from waters closer to Japan.

Via Lussorian

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Tags: concentrate, concentrated, deep sea, DeepSea, hawaii, hawaiian, japan, japanese, kona, kona nigari, KonaNigari, minerals, most expensive, MostExpensive, nigari, ocean, water

Sony Launches the NW-E010 Series MP3 Players with Swarovski Crystals

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

These are just darling, don't you think? They're the latest stick type mp3 players/USB drives from Sony. Available in a beautiful mix of pastel colors (blue, gold, pink, and violet) and black (classy), the cap is covered with a design in Swarovski crystals. Sony has announced that the 'NW-E010 series' will be available by the end of next month in the Japanese market (they get everything first it seems!) and no word on when they might make an appearance here in the U.S. Pricing is expected to be around 18,800 yen for the 2GB versions and 24,800 yen for 4GB.

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Tags: computer, computers, crystal, crystals, gadget, gadgets, japan, japanese, mp3, mp3 player, mp3 players, Mp3Player, Mp3Players, music, sony, swarovski, swarovski crystal, swarovski crystals, SwarovskiCrystal, SwarovskiCrystals, tunes, usb

No Swimming in this $82,000 Golden Swimsuit

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

It's hard to find the perfect suit, but this gold weave suit out of Japan is apparently "better than feeling a million diamonds" and "like swimming in gold." Well it's more than "like" swimming in gold -- if you get in the water while wearing this baby you actually are swimming in gold -- the precious metal is woven right into the fabric. Valued at $82,000 the suit goes through a month-long weaving process where gold fibers about the size of a human hair are incorporated into the material. And also available in the same sparkling golden fabric is an even more expensive long dress valued at $243,900.

I wonder if they're scratchy or silky? And an important note from the designers on the swimsuit: it's not meant to go in the water.

What?! ...whatever.

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Tags: dress, gold, golden, japan, japanese, metal, precious metal, PreciousMetal, swim, swim suit, swimming, swimsuit

Tsubomi chair

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Described as looking like something growing up out of the forest floor (a flower bud in KuKunochi to be exact), the Tsubomi chair fits its inspiration of a bright future quite well. Warm, inviting, and fluid in design, any room featuring this chair will need fewer decorative accents as it has the artistic look of a sculpture, albeit an upholstered one. Created by the 3 person design team Leif.designpark based in Japan, Tsubomi draws greatly on Japanese culture and history for its inspiration, meaning, and appearance.

Via CribCandy

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Tags: chair, design, japan, japanese, leif, leif.designpark, park, seat, seating, tsubomi

WebTime Series Elite Watch

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The Web Time Series Elite Watch is, in my opinion, probably more of a conversation piece than a convenient way to tell the time -- which you do by looking where the colored lines intersect with the numbered lines (the hour on the top, the minutes on the bottom). Available in Aqua (blue resin) or Satsuma (orange resin) it boasts Super 2035 inner workings, a 4 year battery, and a hidden butterfly clasp on the strap. I won't deny it looks awesome, though I think the frustration of using it may increase your risk for migraines (so use it at your own risk!). ¥16,800, $169.

Via TechEBlog

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Tags: elite, japan, japanese, time, timepeice, timepiece, watch, watches, web time, web time series elite watch, webtime, WebTimeSeriesEliteWatch

Marantz Gold SA-7S1 CD Player

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

With electronics usually sporting black or silver color schemes, this gold SA-&S1 CD player from Marantz is setting itself apart with an appealing gold finish. It's not super shiny and it doesn't look like it's trying too hard, but is still gold, which is interesting. Put that with features like little to no sound-degrading vibrations, protection against electrical interference, and micro-precision metals making for an exceptionally clean data read-out, and it's a nice piece of electronics.

It's a good looking seemingly well-made CD player, but I don't know about paying $10,000 for it? Unless that's real gold used in the finish, then maybe...

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Tags: cd, cd player, CdPlayer, cds, electronic, electronics, gold, japan, japanese, marantz

Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HG Japan

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

A high price tag should buy you beauty and functionality, but the two don't always coexist for some reason. Take the Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HG Japan, a new limited edition keyboard that was created by a collaboration between Fujitsu and Daitetsu-Yatsui Urushi Workshop. Daitetsu-Yatsui Urushi specializes in traditional Japanese lacquer techniques, so the basic blank Happy Hacking Keyboard has carefully-coated keys, each of which were hand-painted and sprinkled with gold dust. It is beautiful, especially when compared to most keyboards out there, but a blank keyboard might not even be appealing to highly skilled typists. Price: $4,240.

[via popgadget]

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Tags: fujitsu, Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HG Japan, HappyHackingKeyboardProfessionalHgJapan, japanese, lacquer

Diamond Studded Mobile Phone Strap

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Diaddict, a designer Japanese brand that specializes in jewelry, has recently come out with a one-of-a-kind, diamond-studded strap for mobile phones. The accessory features a 6.02-carat yellow diamond, as well as 2.1-carats in clear, white diamonds, a .61-ct. blue diamond and a .36-ct. pink diamond. Stunning to look at, it is currently on display at the Takashimaya Co. departments store in Nihombashi, Japan. Its listed price is 100 million yen ($842,000) .

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Tags: accessory, japan, japanese, mobile phone, Nihombashi, phone