The Arts of Japan
Have you ever encountered a bold Japanese woodblock print, serene painting, or elegant work of craftsmanship — and felt a spark of curiosity? Where did it come from? Who made it? What story is it trying to tell?
The Arts of Japan was founded to explore these questions. We are a platform dedicated to showcasing Japanese art and sharing the stories behind the masterpieces. It’s a home for anyone — artist, scholar, or lifelong student — delving deeper into Japan’s vibrant creative heritage.
We believe art connects us: to history, culture, and the human experiences behind every creation. We serve as your trusted guide as you discover how Japan’s creative identity has evolved through its deep history, profound societal shifts, and dialogue with the wider world.
What You’ll Discover Here
We designed The Arts of Japan as an intuitive starting point for exploration:
- Profiles: Short biographies and connections to related artists and art movements.
- Works: Outlines of individual works and their place within the bigger picture.
- Magazine: Essays from guest contributors with their own unique expertise.
- Library: A collection of resources and secondary literature, as an open invitation to embark on your own learning.
Our Philosophy: Storytelling Meets Scholarship
We deeply enjoy art — both experiencing the artwork and learning about it. By combining academic rigor with storytelling, we want The Arts of Japan to be both informative and engaging.
We follow two core principles:
- Storytelling first. Every article aims to inspire you through vivid, well-researched stories about the lives of Japanese artists, their communities, and the societies they inhabited.
- Accessibility for all. We present ideas clearly and succinctly, avoiding specialized jargon while providing the context needed to understand — and enjoy — the art itself.
Our Vision: Building a Truly Global Resource
Through our growing body of original work and our Library of resources for further research, we’re seeking to make The Arts of Japan your favorite guide to understanding and enjoying Japanese art.
Yet much of Japan’s rich art scholarship remains hard to access: out of print, behind paywalls, or unavailable in most languages. To make this knowledge more accessible, we are embarking on two major initiatives:
- Translation: Bringing the articles on The Arts of Japan from English into other languages, beginning with German.
- Content licensing: Acquiring translation rights for key Japanese-language resources and publishing them in English and German.
We believe that knowledge should be open to all. That’s why The Arts of Japan is — and always will be — free to access and, whenever possible, available under a Creative Commons license. For more information, please see our Copyrights and usage permissions statement.
Join Us on This Journey
These are ambitious projects that require community support to cover the costs of research, translation, and image licensing. You can help us grow and sustain as a thriving, accessible resource for a global audience.
- Contribute: Share your expertise, write an essay, or suggest a resource.
- Donate: Help us fund research, translation, and image rights.
- Sponsor: Partner with us to support our mission.
If you are interested in supporting us, or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@artsofjapan.com.
