Express

Capture the imagination

For well over a millennium, Japanese art has flourished and captured the imagination of locals and visitors alike. It sits front and centre as part of a deeper aesthetic in Japanese culture and artistic expression not only weaves its way through obvious examples such as origami and calligraphy to woodblock printing but also landscape design, and of course food.

Everything is approached with the same level of passion and dedication - from the creation of a samurai sword, to a kitchen knife, handcrafted crystal or even delicate tempura of exquisite subtlety.

Interestingly, the Tokyo area’s strong artistic tradition stretches back over 2000 years ago when it was first settled. Now while this deep heritage continues to permeate through modern Japanese society, visitors can sometimes be oblivious to Tokyo’s thriving artistic scene and how it’s deeply ingrained in so many facets of Japanese culture.

Now while we can suggest ways to uncover Tokyo’s art in its purest form, we also recommend visiting some of the city’s artisans who are creating paeans to aesthetic beauty in the simple objects we use every day.