Videos
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The Art of Japanese Fans
On a sweltering summer afternoon, Japanese beat the heat the way their ancestors have done for centuries: head for the waterfront for some cooling breezes, put on a casual yukata kimono, and pack their hand fans. While flat, round fans, or uchiwa, originated in China, Japanese are credited with inventing folding fans over 1,000 years ago. Folding fans come in a staggering variety of sizes, uses and styles, making for a cool fashion statement. From CBS Sunday Morning with Lucy Craft reporting. Footage courtesy of Discover Kyoto.
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Oishī! Japan really loves Kit Kats
From CBS Sunday Morning: “Kitto Katto” is more than just the Japanese name for the candy we all know as Kit Kat. It’s more like Japan’s national obsession: At a shop in Tokyo’s bustling Ginza district, luxury Kit Kats are on full display. That’s right: luxury Kit Kats! And the mastermind behind these $5 Kit Kat confections is pastry chef Yasumasa Takagi. “In general,” chef Takagi says, “the Japanese prefer mild flavors, rather than aggressive flavors that hit you over the head.” Takagi has concocted Kit Kats with flavors like matcha green tea, butter, and strawberry maple. In Japan, “Kit Kat is very, very big,” said Cedric Lacroix, managing director…
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Gwen Stefani Celebrates Japanese Culture?
TIME asks Gwen Stefani of NBC’s The Voice and No Doubt fame, “Looking back on Love. Angel. Music. Baby., do you regret the Harajuku Girls given the criticism you received?” Guess what, she doesn’t! From TIME: No. There’s always going to be two sides to everything. For me, everything that I did with the Harajuku Girls was just a pure compliment and being a fan. You can’t be a fan of somebody else? Or another culture? Of course you can. Of course you can celebrate other cultures. That’s what Japanese culture and American culture have done. It’s like I say in the song [“Harajuku Girls”]: it’s a ping-pong match. We do something…
