What's Jappening?

Existential questions aside, this is something I've been thinking about for quite a while now. Obviously, I'm studying abroad, so that would suggest that I should be focusing on my classes whilst I am here. But it's not quite so simple. My friends and family, myself and the wider realm of the internet have all told me that there is more to it than that. I should not only be studying, I should be making friends, learning about the culture, learning the language, travelling (both in and out of Japan), trying new foods, going to local events, visiting galleries and museums, the list goes on. The thing is, as much as I really want to do all of those things, I don't think I can. As I'm sure many of you reading this will know, I have Aspergers, and one of the characteristics of that is that I find most situations more difficult than the average person, for a number of reasons. The two main ones being that: a) I have sensory difficulties, meaning that my senses are much...

After my successful first try, I was very excited to start on my second woodcut brief. This time, our design could be any size, but it had to have three or more colours, which meant that we had to carve multiple pieces of wood that would be layered on top of one another to create the full image. I decided to use a photo that I took in Atami for my print, as it contrasted to my first print with it's more geometric shapes and block colours. Given that this would be the most complicated print I've ever done, I thought that going with a more simple image would work in my favour, as I'd be less likely to mess up. I also decided to go with the same size as before because I thought it was effective at showing off the technique without being so big that it would be cumbersome. After sketching out my image, I broke it down into four basic colours; brown, red, yellow and black. As the yellow and black were both relatively small parts, I put them on the same piece of wood, so I woul...

One thing I've realised since I've been here is that the classes move at a relatively slow pace compared to the classes and workshops that I was used to taking back in England. No complaints though, as it gives me time to focus on trying to understand what the teachers are saying. This was never more useful than in my etching class. For those who aren't familiar with the process, it's super complicated and involves a lot of different steps and chemicals. In the grand scheme of printmaking, I wouldn't say it's my favourite technique, mostly because I don't think it's well suited to the kind of work I tend to produce. Having said that, I enjoyed learning about the process, and I'm really pleased with the outcome. We were each given a metal plate which we had to cut into two and then design two images with the theme "folk story". I took folk story to include fables and designed mine around The Tortoise and The Hare. I obviously decided this ...

I am proud to present my first finished work; a woodblock print entitled "Growth". It was super exciting for me to learn a new printmaking technique, and as an avid fan of lino printing, I had high hopes. The process is actually pretty similar to lino printing, but with a bit more room for experimentation and texture. Unlike with linoleum, you can both add and take away from the wood. Obviously, the majority is carving, but you can also scratch into it, glue stuff on top, sand it away and more. This freedom is, however, balanced out by the fact that carving it requires a lot more care, as the wood can splinter off without warning, a fact that I learnt very quickly as I lost an entire branch within minutes of me starting to carve. I was much more careful from then on in. I based my image off a photo I'd taken at Nagoya Castle when the cherry blossoms were still in bloom, and even though we were limited by only cutting one block, I decided to add more colour to the print by...

It's no secret that I don't exactly blend in here in Japan. My relatively different appearance has earned me many a comment, but there's one that keeps popping up time and time again. かわいい. Pronounced 'kawaii', this word is usually translated to mean 'cute'. Now the word 'cute' in english has two meanings; cute like a puppy and cute like Zac Efron, neither of which are descriptions I would usually assign to myself. Being generally larger than most of the people I've met here, I can't be seen as cute like a puppy, and I highly doubt everyone's been hitting on me. So what's the deal? Well, just like how the word 'cute' has many meanings in English, so does the word 'kawaii' in Japanese. The first and foremost meaning of 'kawaii' is something that is cute, small, and generally makes you want to make high pitched noises and squeeze something. The second meaning is a little more subtle and is generally used to...

A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to sign up for an Arimatsu Shibori workshop that was made available to the exchange students and I leapt at the idea. Arimatsu Shibori is a traditional Japanese tie-dyeing technique that is based in the Arimatsu area of Nagoya. It involves tightly sewing or folding the material in certain ways and then dipping them into a boiling blue dye. Once dyed the material is unthreaded/unfolded to reveal a beautifully unique and often intricate pattern of blue and white. We were shown the techniques and history for both the sewing and folding techniques, though we only got to try the folding one (probably for the best tbh because it looked difficult af). We each had three pieces of material, each folded into a different type of triangle in advance which, in itself was a learning process. When we got to the dyeing step, we donned out gloves and, one by one, we dipped various corners and edges into the dye before taking it to a massive bath, untying it and wa...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Japanese rest stops are better than English ones. Not only do the toilets not make you feel like you need a chemical shower after using them, but the entire entrance way is filled with sweets, snacks, drinks and all kinds of Omiyage (souvenirs), which would probably be quite handy if you were driving to see a friend or family member and forgot to get them something. Suck on that WHSmith. So this week I went to Atami, a vibrant coastal town southeast of Mt. Fuji, for two days with my friends and, despite being beyond exhausted when I got back, I had a really great time. Before we checked into our guest house, we stopped off at the Atami Museum of Art , which is quite possibly the most picturesque museum I've ever been to. Located some way above the town, MOA provides you with a sweeping panorama of the ocean and subsequently, great photo opportunities (I was particularly excited because I could see a large plankton bloom just off the bay...