Culture Crossroads

'Bosai Leaders' promote mutual resident support before and during disasters, and these days foreign participants are playing a significant role. We introduce those being trained in Nakano Ward, Tokyo.

'The fact that foreign collectors cherish Japanese swords helps to unearth ancient works taken overseas after 1945. It also serves as a force for preserving traditional techniques facing extinction.

Introducing an artist who adorns Japanese kimonos with classic Hungarian embroidery. What kind of beautiful works are created by this unusual fusion of two cultural traditions?

Efforts to save children have evolved in a unique way, energizing people who provide services. We introduce a splendid international example of such an initiative in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.

A Dutchman makes traditional washi paper, growing the raw materials and even creating artworks with it. His mission is to add new value to washi and forge a path forward into the future.

Faced with eviction by a redevelopment project, the inhabitants of a Bangkok slum get help from Thai-born Prateep and her Japanese husband Tatsuya who've made supporting the residents their lifework.

A small bookstore in Tokyo specializes in Vietnamese books. From the reactions of customers living in a foreign land, we can feel how books in their native language serve as spiritual nourishment.