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  • Chanoyu: The Way of Tea

    The Japanese tea ceremony, known Chanoyu in Japanese, is a ritual preparation and presentation of matcha tea grounded in the aesthetics and principles of Zen Buddhism.  It is a high choreographed ritual with a series of symbolic movements and structure, designed to lift the experience from the mundane to the spiritual, creating a shared intimacy between host and guests. Each action by the host is carefully considered from the guest’s...

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    Hinamatsuri: The Japanese Girl's Day Festival

    Also know as the Doll’s festival or Momo no Sekku (festival of peach blossom), it is celebrated each year on...

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    An Exploratory Trip to Japan

    The partnership of Jo Maindonald and Robert Joyce and Kazari in Melbourne is now 40 years old.To celebrate, Robert and...

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    How To Shop For Antique Chests

      Photographer: Armelle Habib, Stylist: Heather Nette King Shopping for an antique chest of drawers or any statement piece of...

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    The many layered art of Japanese lacquerware

    Characterised by a sheen as limpid as the surface of an ornamental pond on a still day, Japanese lacquerware perfectly...

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    Japanese ceramics - Oribe Pottery

    Oribe ware is a historically important Japanese pottery variety that emerged during the late Momoyama and early Edo periods in...

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    Japanese ceramics - Satsuma

    Satsuma pottery (Satsuma yaki) is a major variety of Japanese pottery originally produced in Satsuma province in (now modern day...

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    Nabeshima Porcelain

    Originally produced in the middle of the 17th century in the area of Okawachiyama, near Arita, Nabeshima porcelain was named...

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    Antique Furniture Restoration Process

    When working with unrestored furniture of age there are always a multitude of 'quirks' typically encountered that have arisen through...

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    Japanese Ceramics - Kutani

    Named after its original production center, the village of Kutani in Southern Ishikawa prefecture, Kutani wares can be traced back...

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    Japanese Porcelain Origin

    Porcelain production began in Japan during the early 17th century, several hundred years after it had first been made in...

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    Japanese Pottery - Tokoname

    The final in our series of posts on Japans six ancient kilns, between the Heian and Muromachi periods Tokoname was...

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