Kobe Notebook

Hi everyone!
How are you enjoying living in Japan? Are you used to your new routine now that university has started?

Today we’ll be looking at Japanese culture. While you’re living in Japan, don’t you want to learn some? There are opportunities to learn how to prepare a delicious cup of Japanese tea just right, or how to wear a lovely kimono from a Japanese teacher.

Let’s take a look at some of the traditional arts you can learn in Kobe!


1. Pottery
“Togei,” or pottery, is the art of making ceramic pieces by molding them from clay and firing them at high temperatures.

2. Tea Ceremony
“Sado”/”Chado,” or tea ceremony, is the art of cultivating the mind and mastering etiquette. During the ceremony, the host calms their mind as they prepare tea and present it to their guests. There are two different schools of tea ceremony, Urasenke and Omotesenke.

3. Shamisen
The shamisen is a Japanese string instrument. Square-shaped, it’s flat wooden surfaces are traditionally covered with the skin of cats or dogs, and the neck that passes through the body of the instrument has three strings.

4. Kimono Dressing

5. Kimono Sewing


*Activities at the Hyogo Arts & Cultural Association  https://hyogo-arts.or.jp/

At the traditional arts experience workshops at the Hyogo Arts & Cultural Association, visitors can try their hand at a number of different Japanese arts. There’s also a lot of information posted to their website about traditional arts and cultural topics, so be sure to check it out!

When it comes to Japanese culture, I haven’t listed everything, of course, but I hope it’ll help you to learn a bit more about Japanese culture!