by 10 people |
Irasshaimase! Welcome to my humble collection of Japanese links. Click here for information on Kimono, Ukiyoe, Japanese art and culture, and cool Japanese stuff for sale.
Fun Japanese fact
Japanese culture in bite-sized pieces
A DARUMA is a good luck talisman, which is a round hollow doll with no arms or legs. Daruma was an ancient buddhist monk who after years of meditating lost the use of his arms and legs. Darumas are weighted and always stay upright! These dolls are most often bought at buddhist temples, and have two blank eyes. You are supposed to paint in one eye as you make a wish. If the wish comes true, you paint in the second eye as a way of thanks. Polititians in Japan always have a Daruma in their office during campaigne time! Japanese art links
- Moussart Blog
- Official art blog of B. Mousseau. Cute and pretty art inspired by ukiyoe and kimono culture. I post new art for sale several times a week, check back often!
- Moussart Gallery
- Do you love Japanese stuff? Moussart gallery is the personal website of B. Mousseau, whimsical fantasy artist. I love anything Japanese, especially kimono, geisha, and ukiyoe art.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Library Ukiyoe Museum
- Amazing collection of Ukiyoe - mostly actors and bijin.
- Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum Ukiyoe collection
- Truly amazing collection of Ukiyoe, but you must be able to input Japanese text to search the database. Well worth the effort!
- Welcome to the Art Gallery of Kumiko S. McKee - a Japanese contemporary artist
- Kumiko S. McKee is a Japanese contemporary artist based in the United States in Colorado. Her Tale of Genji series is stunning.
- Cat art by Miyoshi Shinichi
- Squeeee! Just about the cutest cat drawings I have EVER seen!
- Yoshiko Moon's award winning Japanese Calligraphy and Japanese Art
- Japanese Art, Japanese Calligraphy and Sumi Art by High Master Calligrapher Yoshiko Moon.
- Takase Studios - fine Japanese calligraphy
- Specializing in Fine Japanese Calligraphy Artist and Master Calligrapher Eri Takase has created a style that has been called refined and elegant. Born and raised in Japan - currently residing in the USA.
- Ju-goya
- Traditional Japanese images for webpages - excellent pretty backgrounds
- Ukiyo-e: The Pictures of the Floating World
- Excellent resource, with extensive links to galleries of ukiyoe, a faq and a guide to identifying artist's signatures.
- Yamaguchi prefectural Hagi fine arts museum - ukiyoe collection
- Extensive selection of ukiyoe prints. Searchable with Japanese text. Nihongo only.
- A Guide to the Ukiyo-e Sites of the Internet
- This page is a guide to the floating world of cyberspace.
- San Fransisco Fine Arts Museum image database
- The ImageBase is a searchable image and text database of objects from the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Search by artists (ie "utamaro") or subject ("bijin")
- Sumo wrestlers in Ukiyoe
- Nice reproductions of Edo Era sumo wrestlers.
- Nagoya TV Ukiyoe museum
- Nihongo only. Nice selection of mostly Bijin.
Kimono and Japanese costume
- Rebirth of the Tale of Genji
- Fantastic photographs of traditional Japanese dress through the ages.
- Runo's doll making page
- Very talented dollmaker from Japan. Especially note-worthy - her anime and nekomimi dolls. I love her Inuyasha doll!
- Maiko Kanzashi
- Kanzashi (hair ornaments) for Maiko (apprentice Geisha) month by month.
- MAYA Japanese Traditional Arts &Crafts
- Hand made silk Kanzashi from Japan. Also stunning Hagoita.
- Kimono, Kimono Fabric, Yukata and Japanese Clothing
- Kimono site offers info on japanese kimono, japanese clothing, kimono fabrics, patterns and yukata robes. How to tie an obi sash, make a kimono, how to wear japanese yukata, hakama pants and japanese shoes zori, geta sandals and tabi socks.
- Kimono from Japan - Vintage Kimono Online Shop Yamatoku
- Vintage Kimono Online Shop YAMATOKU Corporation from Japan. Amazing source for kimono, yukata, haori etc. I've ordered from these guys before so I can highly recommend them. Prices are quite reasonable too!
- Morito's Kimono dolls
- What an amazing artist. He dresses Barbies and dolls in miniscule, totally authetic Japanese dress. Breathtaking.
- Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya
- Kimon Flea Market Ichiroya offers you the authentic and charming old kimono directly from Japan with a reasonable price just as the price of the Japanese flea markets !
- Moto-ya Fine Japanese Kimono and Obi
- All types of kimono, obi, fabric and accessories.
- Japan Culture Club - how to put on a kimono
- Excellent pictures demonstrating the proper way to put on a kimono, nagajuban and obi. Scroll down to their kimono faq. They also have a lot of excellent Japanese items for sale.
- How to tie the Obi by use of gif animation
- Cool site - in Japanese, but the obi musubi demonstrations are animated! Three different bows - click on each one to see an animation of how it's tied.
- kimono lovers world
- Kimono blog. Memebers discuss all aspects of kimono culture an wearing - and post great photos from time to time.
- Fraise.net
- General Kimono site.
- Kimono and Kitsuke
- A western woman's kimono obsession blog. Tons of pictures of her wearing her kimono ensembles.
- Geta-Shop, AKAI-HANAO-NO-JOJO
- Great resource for traditional Japanese footwear - aka geta. From Japan. This link is for the english site - available in Nihongo also.
- Heian Soen Costume Experience Studio
- This is the site for a studio in Kyoto that will dress you in Heian era clothing. Nice pictures of junihitoe here, even if they are mostly modeled by tourists.
Shop Japanese!
For all your Nihon needs - buy Japanese stuff!
- Milkypop
- Really cute jewelry, featuring an assortment of Japanese washi papers and fabrics.
- JBOX
- This site has everything, from elegant cultural items, books, magazines, clothing, to wacky things that could only be dreamed up in Japan. Highly recommended!
- Takumi Japanese Dolls Shop - Japanese Art&Crafts, Personalized Gifts
- Welcome to japanese-doll.biz. Takumi Japanese Dolls Shop Sells Japanese Art&Crafts and Personalized Gifts.
- Gaijin Geisha ( ^_^ )
- street fashion site, Japanese FRTUiTS inspired street fashion. Unique site design - check out thier kanzashi!
- JUN Japanese Gifts & Souvenirs
- Online shop selling Japanese gift items from kokeshi dolls to hanko stamp. Wide variety of Japanese item are sold.
- eBay Store - The Bento Store
- Great ebay resource for all your Bento needs.
- Japan for sale
- Livejournal community for Japanese goods for sale.
- Puchi Maiko - Unique Handmade Japanese Crafts and Kanzashi from Kimono Fabric
- Cute accessories inspired by maiko and geisha culture.
- eBay Store - BuyJpop
- This ebay seller is an excellent Japanese book store. they have craft books as well as cultural topics, especially kimono kitsuke.
Nihongo (Japanese Language)
Help if you're learing Japanese
- Jeffrey's Japanese English Dictionary Server
- Online Japanese-English dictionary
- JGram Grammar a Day - JLPT 4 (syndicated by LiveJournal.com)
- Mini Japanese lessons daily geared toward the beginner learner. Usually features a particle or commonly used word like "tokorode"
- The Japanese Speaking Community
- A blog for students of Japanese. All levels welcome - the members here are extremely helpful!
- Learn Japanese Online!
- Freeware for learning kanji.
- Firefox - Rediscover the Web
- The browser I favor. Great for Japanese browsing.
- gTranslate
- A nifty extension for Firefox that instantly interprets a word or block of text. Just highlight the Japanese, and right click for instant translation. Great for browsing Japanese sites if you don't know much of the language yet.
- Microsoft Global Input Method Editors (IMEs)
- Essential for reading and inputting Japanese text while browsing. If all your Japanese sites have gobbledegook instead of kanji, try installing this.
- JapanesePod101.com
- Learn Japanese with free daily podcasts.
- Otake Japanese Calligraphy
- Nice site with some common words in Kanji, sepparated by category.
- Naninu
- A bilingual community for people wanting to learn Japanese.... or English! Mostly gaijin living in Japan.
- Tae Kim's Japanese guide to Japanese grammar
- This site explains Japanese grammar in a systematic step-by-step process and is released under the Creative Commons License. It was created
as a resource for those who want to learn Japanese grammar in a rational, intuitive way that makes sense in Japanes - Learn kana
- A simple and playful tool for learning Japanese hiragana and katakana.
- Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Language Study Materials
- Good resource for studying Japanese - with an excellent kanji recognition quiz.
- JLPT Kanji
- On online kanji flashcard program for learning JLPT kanji.
- Japanese Internet Television - Watch Japanese online television and video and practice your Japanese!
- Japanese Internet Television - Watch Japanese online television and video and practice your Japanese!
- Japanese kanji
- Nice explanation of how the Japanese adapted Kanji from China, with explanations and examples of kun and on readings. Also examples of kanji invented in Japan.
- i teach you the kanji real good: schultz's Japanese page
- This is a rather - um - unorthadox introduction to kanji. Helpful, but a sense of humour would be helpful.
Geisha and Maiko
Dedicated to the Women of the willow world.
- Immortal Geisha - Information About Japanese Geisha and Lifestyle
- Immortal Geisha website is devoted to the lives, history, beauty and tradition of Japanese Geisha, Geiko and Maiko.
- Geisha and Maiko photography by Frantisek Staud
- Geisha - Japanese Photo gallery, photographs of Japanese Geisha and Maiko. Please respect Frantisek's copyright and do not copy these photos. They're breathtaking.
- BBC NEWS | Photo journal: Geisha
- A slideshow chronicalling the life of Kimina, a geiko (Kyoto geisha).
- Geiko of Kyoto - a photoset on Flickr
- Exquisite selection of photos of geiko and maiko.
- Oiran
- This site features a nice video of a modern day Oiran procession.
Food!
Oh yum!
- Tokyo food page
- The Tokyo Food Page is a complete guide to Japanese cuisine and eating in Japan. With great recipes, tours of Japanese markets, and tips on the best places to eat in Tokyo and Yokohama.
- Bento boxes of Lee Matsuda
- Holy cow - this guy has taken pictures of his bento boxes and posted them almost every day for the past couple of years! Very inspiring. Japanese only.
- Japanese Box Lunches - Virtual Japanese Culture - Kids Web Japan
- Box lunches (bento) are very popular among Japanese kids and adults alike. People take them to work, to school, on picnics, and so on. In this section you can experience a bento for yourself with our bento game.
- Bento Box!
- A resource dedicated to a delicious slice of Japanese life - the bento box! Excellent site - check out her bento box gallery.
- Sushi Links - sushi recipes & sushi supplies
- Sushi Links offers links to the best sushi recipes, sushi tips, and sushi supplies on the Internet, as well as restaurants in Montreal.
- Sushi Encyclopedism
- Sushi related information never found elsewhere, covering a wide variety of categories and unique topics including glossary, etiquette, history, recipe, wasabi and much more, dedicating ONLY to the true sushi lovers.
- Natto for Everybody Homepage
- Website featuring the notorious Natto.
- Bento pictures
- The sweetest, cutest bento boxes you will ever see. Even a Hamtaro box! Squeee!
- Welcome to CHA-NO-YU
- Welcome to Cha No Yu, the site of the Way of Tea (Japanese Tea Ceremony)
- Bento Corner
- Another mother goes to extreme lengths to make her daughter the cutest bento! They're all documented here with photos, very inspiring.
Traditional crafts
Origami, temari, embroidery, pottery.........
- Joseph Wu's Origami Page
- This guy's amazing. Check out his gallery. Wow!
- Temari - TemariKai.com
- About Japanese Temari balls
- Takeuchi Matsuko' Temari Gallery
- Personal gallery of Temari from Japan.
- Kokeshi Dolls
- Good page on Kokeshi - shows how they are made.
- kumihimo
- Kumihimo is a type of braiding, often used for obijime. This site has an amazing kumihimo gallery. Nihongo only.
- The Japanese Embroidery Center
- Japanese Embroidery, embroidery supplies, silks, metallic thread, beads, koma, needlework, couching, and information about Japanese arts.
- Japan Pottery Tools
- Source for Japanese pottery tools, like gubera, marugote, kannna, tombo, and tsuchikaki.
- Traditional Crafts of Japan
- A presentation of the traditional craft industries of Japan registered with the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.
- CLOTH DOLL & HANDWORK BY CHIHARU KIKUCHI
- Some traditional Japanese cloth doll making techniques plus a nice doll gallery.
- Precious metal clay
- An innovated product developed in Japan, precious metal clay is my new obsession. It can be worked like polymer clay, then quickly fired to become solid silver. Another amazing Japanese invention.
- Traditional Crafts of Japan
- A presentation of the traditional craft industries of Japan registered with the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.
- Kirie gallery
- Nice group of cut paper pictures.
- kirie
- Wonderful complex and colorful kirie (cut paper pictures).
Literature
Japanese literature and poetry resources
- THE TALE OF GENJI
- Murasaki Shikibu - The Tale of Genji, courtly life in medieval Japan. A full version online in English.
- Genji Monogatari
- The tale of Genji - complete online text in Nihongo.
- Manyoshu
- Ten thousand leaves - classic Japanese poetry. In Nihongo.
- Haruki Murakami
- The Information resource about
Japanese Writer and Novelist Haruki Murakami - The Mishima Yukio Cyber Museum
- Good site on what is arguably one of the greatest modern Japanese novelists.
- haikuworld
- Haikuworld is dedicated to bringing haiku poets, haiku publishers and haiku readers together.
Information on haiku books, haiku magazines, and haiku contests. Discuss selected haiku books. - Banana Yoshimoto's official site
- Unfortunately, the Japanese version has more information (and a list of her books), but the english version has a very nice faq that will be of interest to fans of this hip young female author.
Traditions and life
- Hanami - enjoying the Cherry Blossoms
- Wonderful page about one of Japan's most recognizable icons - the beautiful Sakura.
- Web Japan
- Gateway for all Japanese information
- Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival) - Hina-ningyo
- Site about the Doll's festival - with super cute icons describing the different kinds of dolls in a display!
- Japanese holidays
- A good list of Japanese holidays, month by month.
- Shinto texts
- This site has scriptures of the Shinto religion, as well as other texts that relate to the spirituality of Japan, which combines Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Animism and other themes. There is also a collection of Ainu Texts.
- Japanese Buddhism
- A brief overview of Japanese Buddhism.
- Tokyo TOBACCO & SALT MUSEUM
- The Tobacco and Salt Museum is a many-sided institution that specializes in the collection and study of materials relating to tobacco and salt, which were the monopoly goods in Japan. The quality and interest level of its exhibitions and other events make it a favorite with the public. Includes a small Ukiyoe gallery.
Moussart on ebay
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Great Japanese titles at Amazon
The Book of Kimono
The definitive book on Kimono in the west. Defines different styles of kimono, their history, methods of embellishment and most importantly, how to put one one properly.
Amazon Price: $18.48 (as of 12/15/2009) 
Kimono: Fashioning Culture
A good overview of the importance of kimono, their history, different styles and relevance to Japanese culture. Indespensible if you want to learn about kimono. Most fascinating is the section on color combining in the Heian Era!
Amazon Price: $20.48 (as of 12/15/2009)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel
A mind-blowing romp and masterpiece of whimsy. This author is brilliant!
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/15/2009)
Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go
My latest obsession - bento. Great for the cook who likes kawaii culture.
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/15/2009)
Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear
A must have if you want to make your own kimono. Includes authentic methods for drafting your own pattern and constructing kimono, uchikake, happi, haori, mompe, tabi and more!
Amazon Price: $18.48 (as of 12/15/2009)
Japanese for Busy People I: Kana Version (Vol 1)
The best text I've found for learning Japanese. Starts you out with kana right away - the best way to learn.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Kitchen
Yoshimoto is a hot young Japanese author whose quirky writing style is both bittersweet and funny. If you're interested in Japanese culture she gives good insight to those golden years between school and serious adulthood in Japanese society. Fun and evocative, I highly recommend all of her novels and short stories.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Spring Snow
Mishima is one of the giants of Japanese literature - up there as a must-read in schools with Murasaki and the Manyoushi, although he's modern. His books are dark and depressing. Spring Snow is a classic tale of the love that slips away - and a commentary on the decline of Japanese society in modern times. I enjoy Mishima, but he's kind of a love-it-or-hate-it author, kind of like Dostoyevski.
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/15/2009)
Geisha
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Mangajin's Basic Japanese Through Comics (v. 1)
Great resource for students of Nihongo, from beginner on up. Great for understanding those kind of words that have more than one meaning depending on nuance - like "hai", and gives extensive examples from Manga. Highly entertaining read, and great for learning every day speach. Does not replace a textbook, but goes beyond the simple translation one sees in textbooks.
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/15/2009)
Mangajin's Basic Japanese Through Comics (Part 2)
Mangajin, part two. I love my mangajin!
Amazon Price: $13.45 (as of 12/15/2009)
Japanese movies on Amazon
Onmyoji
Based on a character of of Japanese history, this movie is set in the Heian era and features a magician who casts out demons. Kind of hokey, but the sets and costumes are SPECTACULAR. I really enjoyed this movie - a must have for Japanese history buffs.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Spirited Away
One of my all time favorite movies. Chihiro, a spunky young girl, finds herself abandoned at a bath house for spirits after her parents succumb to a moment of gluttony and turn into pigs. In order to save her parents and return to the real world, Chihiro must dig deep into herself for the courage to persevere. This movie is simply astonishing - the settings are surreal and massive and will transport you to another world. The many cultural references may be lost on you, but the movie is still a trippy, exciting romp. The anamation and settings are amazing. If you can understand Japanese, watch it in its native laguage - otherwise watch the subtitled version - the translation for this movie is not the greatest.
Amazon Price: $18.49 (as of 12/15/2009)
Chobits - The Chobits Collection
Sexy and funny! The Japanese take their animation seriously, as you can tell from this anime. Quite suggestive and adult in nature, it stirs up real questions about the nature of love and "what is human".
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Chobits Original Soundtrack 001
I find it ironic that the music from Japanese cartoons is often better than our top 40. Anyway, this collection features songs from the anime. The title track "let me be with you" is a bouncy, bubbly masterpiece.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)
Moussart on CafePress
Merchandise featuring my original artwork. Many more products available at the links below - magnets, tees, mousepads and much more!
History
- Heian Japan
- A brief overview of the Heian era - the setting for the Tale of Genji.
- The Tale of Murasaki
- A site about Murasaki (the authoress of the Tale of Genji) and her life and times by Liz Dalby.
- Chushingura and Ukiyo-e
- The Chushingura (Revenge of the 47 Ronin), a drama based on historical fact, as it relates to Ukiyoe.
- Forty-seven Ronin - Wikipedia
- Great overview of this real-life drama from Wikipedia.
- Japanese History
- Great guide on Japanese history from japan-guide.com
- Samurai Archives Japanese History Page
- The Samurai Archives History Page is an in-depth research page on Japanese Samurai History, with details of the samurai warriors and battles of Japanese History.
- Guide to Japanese Castles
- Onmyoji
- The official website for the American release of the Japanese film, Onmyoji. For some strange reason, this movie was released in N. America with an R rating - there is no nudity, and the cartoon-like violence is tamer than a saturday morning cartoon. Loosly based on the life of a real person, this movie is set in the Heian era and features a Merlin-esque demon killer. A little hokey, watch this for the amazing sets and costumes. If you're remotely interested in the Heian era, this movie is a real gem. I loved it! Check out the link in my amazon section.
Kanzashi tutorial
Great tutorial on how to make kanzashi flowers. This info is hard to find in print outside of Japan!
curated content from YouTube
Modern fashion
The youth of Japan have an amazing style - stuff that would probably look totally wierd in North America. Fruits, and the Goth-loli movement are just two examples.
- Gothi Lolita
- Lots of pictures of gothloli here.
- FRUiTS
- The official Fruits magazine site.
- Gothloli at jlist
- Great resource for magazines and books related to gothic lolita style.
Traditional music
Shamisen, koto, shakuhachi, Nihon no uta.....
- Shamisen
- Short video of a solo shamisen proformance.
- NIPPONIA No.22 September 15, 2002
- The Color of Traditional Japanese Music - nice overview of the many kinds of traditional Japanese instruments.
- O-Koto Culture of Japan
- Very simple overview of the koto, with a nifty little virtual koto you can play online!
- JAPANESE TRADITIONAL MUSIC
- Good descriptions of all traditional Japanese instruments here.
Kabuki and Noh
Traditional Japanese theator
by moussart
Welcome to my links list! I'm a Canadian artist, primarily interested in Kimono, and my main source of inspiration is Ukiyoe. Click here to check out... (more) 
