Calling all Japanophiles – and anyone looking to explore a new hobby after baking and crafting their way through iso. The Japan Foundation, Sydney, is launching a brand new online program which enourages people to learn and understand the significance of Japanese cultural practices including pop culture, craft, music and dance. Pick and choose your own journey from a collection of educational, practical and inspiring pre-recorded videos and livestreamed sessions.
You can learn the ropes of cosplay – the art of creating and wearing costumes to represent a specific character from a movie, book or series – with Pop Japan! Australian Experts on Cosplay, a three-part series from three Australian cosplay experts. They’ll take you through practical costume and makeup tutorials and explore the history and current culture of cosplay here and overseas.
Learn how to create cute, easy-to-make crafts from origami to handmade stamps and notebooks with Make Like Japan: Inspired Crafts at Home, a series for the whole family to get crafting with. You can also learn to move to the beat of traditional Japanese instruments such as taiko drums, shamisen and tonkori with Living Room Tunes: Tradition and Rhythm in Japanese Music. Or get an introduction to the movement art of Butoh (Japanese dance theatre) and contemporary dance forms derived from Nihon Buyo with Fluid Forms: Blending Traditional and Contemporary Japanese Dance.
Issho Editions runs from June 30 to August 1, you can check out the whole program over here. After this period, all videos and livestreams will remain online and free to access. Things are about to get a lot more kawaii up in your home.