Light Reading | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
The genre of books known as light novels is enjoying growing popularity among readers these days. These books are increasingly part of a multimedia strategy, as plans are afoot to make a number of them into anime movies.

Calligraphy As Art | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Shodo, or calligraphy with a brush and black ink, is a traditional Japanese art. Recent years have seen the emergence of a new generation of calligraphers who push the boundaries of tradition, and they are spearheading a boom in shodo.

Kabuki, A World Treasure | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Kabuki, a traditional form of Japanese theater that originated about 400 years ago, was designated a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in November 2005.

Art Appeal | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
The Adachi Museum of Art is not easy to get to. Even so, it manages to attract around 450,000 visitors a year. What is its secret?

Girls' Manga Goes Stateside | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
In the United States, the latest trendy Japanese import is shojo manga (girls' manga). As its name suggests, this is a genre of comics for and about girls and young women.

Murakami Honored | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Japanese author Murakami Haruki, who is perhaps best known for his novel Norwegian Wood, won the Czech Republic's Franz Kafka Award for Literature in March.

Manga Miracle | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
For a major Hollywood project, Afro Samurai's roots are about as obscure as can be. The soon-to-be-released movie originated as a manga created in Japan by Okazaki Takashi, who originally funded the comic out of his own pocket.

Showcasing Asian Cinema | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
The broadcast of the South Korean TV series Winter Sonata in Japan in 2003 ignited a boom in South Korean pop culture. Amid burgeoning interest in Asian culture, Japan's first theater specializing in Asian films opened in Tokyo in March 2006.

Manga on the Move | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Using cell phones to view manga is one of the newest and fastest-growing applications of mobile technology in Japan.

Manga-Inspired Movies | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Over the past few years Japanese movies have won new popularity, and both box office sales and the number of releases are now on the rise. Live-action movies adapted from manga comics are a major force shaping this trend.

Brain Training for Young and Old | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Handheld electronic games, once the exclusive domain of the young, are acquiring a rapidly expanding fan base among the middle-aged and elderly.

Thirty Years of Gags | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
The long-running boys' comical manga Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo (From the Police Box at Kameari Park, Katsushika Ward), better known as Kochikame, turns 30 this year.

Sea Life as Nightlife | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
One of Tokyo's newest attractions is an amusement center on the grounds of an exclusive hotel, combining a public aquarium with a concert hall, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and restaurants.

Drawing Acclaim | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is given annually to authors, illustrators and storytellers who help stimulate and promote interest in children's and youth literature around the world. This year, one of the two recipients was picture book author Arai Ryoji, the first Japanese to receive the prize.

Cartoon Tourism | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Manga and anime are leading a global boom in popular Japanese culture. Now some enterprising travel agents are cashing in on this trend by organizing trips to Japan specifically for manga and anime fans.

Samurai Samba | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
"Matsuken Samba II," a song and dance act by a TV star who is best known for his samurai roles, is riding a wave of popularity. The act is by Matsudaira Ken, a veteran entertainer who dresses as a samurai to perform the song.

Kabuki Meets Shakespeare | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Kabuki began about 400 years ago. At around the same time in Britain, William Shakespeare was turning out plays and sonnets. Now Ninagawa Yukio, a theater director known for his Japanese productions of Shakespeare's works, has fused the two classical styles together.

Michelin in Japan | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
A Japan edition of the Michelin Guides, travel books famous all over the world for their ratings of hotels and restaurants, will be published in February 2007.

Taking Part in Art | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
From September 28 to December 18, 2005, Yokohama is hosting an ambitious arts festival featuring the works of around 80 artists from around the world and located along the port city's spectacular waterfront.

Manga For Grown-Ups | Arts and Entertainment | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Hachimitsu to Kuroba (Honey and Clover) is a serialized manga (comic) that follows the lives of five young people attending an art college as they deal with unrequited love and other life issues. It has recently been turned into a TV anime series, and a big-screen version is now planned.