Seventy years after the bombing of Hiroshima, a wave of inherited belongings has washed over survivors' families: garments worn on that fateful day, journals, and countless other fragments of the past. For some, this legacy is newly encount…

The graduating class of 2011 from Hashikami Junior High School emerged from their ceremony into a world irrevocably altered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11th. Their school gymnasium, normally a space for learning, had …

The All Japan High School Cultural Festival is a national showcase of artistic talent. Here, we follow the Osaka-based Akutagawa High School taiko team—a group comprised of students from every grade—as they strive for the championship. The …

In the picturesque coastal region of Ise-Shima, central Japan, lies Toba, a city renowned for its cultured pearls. Here, on the thirtieth of each month, a ceremony known as a "pearl wedding" takes place. Rooted in the analogy between marria…

A growing number of young urban dwellers in Japan are returning to the countryside, seeking a life reminiscent of the places their grandparents once knew. In early 2015, Chiemi, a nurse from Osaka, made the move to Tokushima Prefecture to c…

Kato Station, a quiet stop on the JR Obama Line connecting Fukui Prefecture and Kyoto, has remained largely deserted since 1973. Yet, within its unassuming station building, a small barbershop endures, kept alive by Hisao Tsukamoto (72) and…

Nestled in the serene countryside of Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, a distinctive family farm opens its doors to visitors from every corner of the globe. Operated by the Sakai family – nine individuals bound by the philosophy of embracing e…

The 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami displaced many elderly people who relied on care, leaving them homeless. At Sumi-chan's Home, a care facility in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, they have found a new sense of belon…

The name "Uminchu," meaning "people of the sea," belongs to the fishermen of Kumejima, a jewel in Okinawa Prefecture. The waters surrounding Kumejima teem with coral reefs, vibrant fish, and the prized tuna that follow the Kuroshio Current,…

Nestled in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture lies a community with a singular institution: Japan's only circus school. Its director is Nadezhda Tyshenko, a Ukrainian former acrobatic gymnast. In the world of the circus, as in life, she adhe…

In Sapporo, a small barbershop offers respite to the many young cyclists traversing Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. For riders completing a circumnavigation of the country, owner Yutaka Oyamada provides a complimentary haircut – a gest…