THEN | Read Japan

What a Quiet-Faced Wooden Doll Still Carries | Kokeshi and the Japanese Way of Seeing

A quiet-faced wooden doll from Tohoku carries a whole way of seeing — craft as devotion, beauty in imperfection, and everyday prayer. A longtime Japan resident on what kokeshi still mean.

2026.08.05

objects

The Showa Era Nobody Abroad Remembers

Whatever reached you from Showa-era Japan arrived edited. A Japanese counsellor who was there on the version that didn't travel — in sounds and in objects.

2026.07.25

THEN

Why City Pop Sounds Like a Memory You Never Had

Anemoia isn't a psychological term — it was invented by a poet in 2012. What the nostalgia research actually says, from a Japanese counsellor who was there in 1984.

2026.07.25

THEN

We Never Called It City Pop

The genre had no name at the time and no definition now. Tatsuro Yamashita wasn't refusing television — he wasn't invited. A first-hand account from Japan.

2026.07.25

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