Arts: News & Insights

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh says in an interview in Kuala Lumpur that there are lots of Asian stories to be told. (Photo by Hakimie Amrie)

Arts

Michelle Yeoh says Malaysia's diversity made her 'open, accepting'

Oscar winner wants to help Asians tell their stories

18 April 2023

Arts

Art SG propels Singapore to creative big leagues

New art fair puts city-state on map for galleries and collectors alike

15 April 2023

Action-packed Vietnamese revenge thriller "Furies" (2023) is set in the criminal underbelly of 1990s Ho Chi Minh City, where three female vigilantes team up to smash a crime syndicate to smithereens. (Courtesy of Netflix)

Arts

Netflix spotlight falls on Southeast Asian films

Hit Indonesian picture spurs streaming giant's commitment to local content

14 April 2023

Former junior idol Kauan Okamoto speaks in Tokyo on April 12.

Society

Former J-Pop idol accuses late music mogul of widespread sex abuse

Kauan Okamoto says Johnny Kitagawa possibly assaulted over 100 trainee idols

13 April 2023

Reijiro Izumi, left, president of the tea-ceremony-focused Sabie Cultural Institute, sits in the Jakuin tea room in Kyoto. (Photo by Keiichi Furukawa)

Arts

Sony unit puts virtual twist on teaching traditional tea ceremony

New tea room eyes 'evolutionary future' for Japanese cultural touchstone

2 April 2023

Chiune Sugihara issued visas to Jews, some of whom had no travel documents at all, allowing them to flee the Nazis through the Soviet Union. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Society)

Arts

Concert to commemorate 'Japanese Schindler' set for New York

WWII diplomat in Lithuania helped thousands of Jews flee Nazi regime

1 April 2023

Calligrapher Mohammad Ghalib, 60, creates a work for a customer in the bookshop where he works in the Old Delhi district of the Indian capital. (Photo by Mehran Bhat)

Arts

The last Urdu calligrapher of Delhi

Technological and political pressures threaten centuries-old Indian art form

29 March 2023

Bengaluru's new Museum of Art & Photography, widely known as MAP, is the first privately funded art institution in south India. (Courtesy of Orange & Teal)

Arts

MAP signals a new direction for Indian museums

Groundbreaking Bengaluru institution opens with challenging show

24 March 2023

"Music lets us relate to other people at any time, under any circumstance, and reminds us of who we were in those moments. That's the biggest power music has," BTS member Jimin said in a recent written interview with Nikkei.

Interview

For BTS's Jimin, music transcends language barriers

South Korean singer releases solo album that peers deep into his soul

24 March 2023

Katsushika Hokusai's "Under the Well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa" was sold for $2.76 million at Christie's in New York on March 21. (Photo courtesy of Christie's)

Arts

Hokusai's 'Great Wave' print sells for record $2.8m in New York

Iconic image by Japanese artist fetches more than quadruple Christie's projected price

23 March 2023

The shape of things to come? Polygon House, Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture, Makoto Yamaguchi, 2003. (Courtesy of Makoto Yamaguchi/Photo © Koichi Torimura)

Arts

The changing face of Japanese homes

Interior design is adapting to the circumstances of the post-pandemic world

22 March 2023

Toei Kyoto Studio Park operates as a theme park, but it is also widely used as movie sets when filming. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)

Media & Entertainment

Samurai movie business still alive and well in Kyoto

Former capital has never lost its looks or charm for top film studios

19 March 2023

Carved from a single piece of wood, "boat lutes" are plucked string instruments with hollowed bodies that look something like the dugout canoes used on Borneo's waterways by indigenous inhabitants. (Courtesy of Gindung Mc Feddy Simon)

Arts

Bringing Borneo's unique 'boat lutes' in tune with 21st century

Artists and researchers team up to save endangered musical tradition

17 March 2023

Director Kartiki Gonsalves, left, and producer Guneet Monga pose with their Oscars for "The Elephant Whisperers," which won best documentary short.

Arts

Academy Award win highlights Indian documentaries

One Indian production wins Oscar, while another was in competition

15 March 2023

Michelle Yeoh shows off her best actress Oscar in Beverly Hills, California, on March 13.

Arts

Michelle Yeoh's long journey to Academy Awards triumph

Ballet was Malaysian actress' first passion but injury forced change of direction

14 March 2023

A restored traditional Japanese house that was built in Taipei during the Japanese rule of Taiwan.

Arts

Preserving Japanese houses from colonial era in Taipei's Showacho

Japanese-style wooden houses embody Taiwan's checkered history

11 March 2023

The stone garden at Kishiwada Castle, near Osaka, replicates a scene from an ancient Chinese battle. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)

Arts

Calculated art of contemporary Japanese gardens

At its most radical, modern landscaping plays down ancient reverence for natural elements

10 March 2023

The Japanese photographer Kai Fusayoshi at Kyoto's Galerie Miyawaki on the occasion of his mini-retrospective exhibition there in October 2022. (Photo by Edward M. Gomez)

Arts

Photographer is preserving Kyoto's past -- and, urgently, his own

Kai Fusayoshi captured city's soul on film, only to see much of his precious archive go up in flames

8 March 2023

Deepika Padukone, seen as Queen Rani Padmavati on the poster for the 2018 Bollywood hit, "Padmavaat."

The Big Story

Bollywood's gender revolution: Women are rewriting the rules

Exclusive Nikkei data analysis points to slow but significant change in India's prolific film industry

8 March 2023

Bosendorfer's showroom in Vienna. Most of the Austrian company's pianos are priced at $150,000 or higher. (Photo courtesy of Yamaha)

Arts

Yamaha and Bosendorfer find harmony over 15-year partnership

Austrian piano maker helps Japanese parent win over Western venues, performers

5 March 2023

Travel & Leisure

The top 10 Japanese hotels for architectural excellence

Discover artistic accommodations designed by prominent Japanese architects

4 March 2023

Japanese manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, known for "Galaxy Express 999" and "Space Battleship Yamato," died last week. (Source photos by Kazumi Saito and Kyodo)

Obituaries

Leiji Matsumoto, creator of 'Galaxy Express 999,' dead at 85

Legendary artist was recipient of two major government achievement awards

20 February 2023

The Hyundai Seoul department store in the central part of South Korea's capital has opened a special section for Slam Dunk-related goods such as T-shirts with illustrations printed on them. (Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)

Media & Entertainment

'Slam Dunk' anime movie makes waves across South Korea, Taiwan

Blockbuster based on 1990s manga lures tourists to Japan and 'sacred' places

19 February 2023

Mandarin open mic club CrazyLaugh has given Chinese expats in the U.S. a place to share their common experiences. (Photo courtesy of CrazyLaugh)

Arts

At Mandarin open mic stand-up shows in U.S., 'warmth' overcomes hate

Anti-Asian sentiment and pandemic push Chinese youth overseas on stage

19 February 2023

A patron walks by a display for the new movie "Full River Red," which was a hit over the Lunar New Year holiday. (Photo by Tomoko Wakasugi)

Media & Entertainment

China's movie industry roars back with record box office in January

Eased pandemic restrictions bring customers in droves for local blockbusters

18 February 2023