Denki Groove’s video for “Mononoke Dance” is yet another masterpiece by manga artist Masakazu Amahisa. Using stick-puppet animation, the video tells the story of a couple who crash their car on a dark forest road and encounter a Konaki-jiji (monster baby with the face of an old man) that leads them deep into the woods […]

Osamu Tezuka’s “Galaxy Boy Troop,” a 92-episode children’s space opera that aired on NHK from 1963 to 1965, featured a unique blend of animation (Mushi Production) and puppetry (Takeda Puppet Troupe). The series also aired in France, where it was known as “Le Commando De La Voie Lactee” (lit. “Commando Of The Milky Way”). The […]

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has converted the Kobe Portliner Monorail into a moving showroom before the April 14 opening of a new retail outlet at Port Island. The redecorated train, which features a colorful exterior, bright upholstery and fancy curtains, will carry passengers in style until May 6.

[More photos here: 1, 2, 3, 4]

In Rin Nadeshico’s computer graphic illustrations, Mt. Fuji looms in the distance as high school girls lounge around with various oversized creatures.

Lots more at Rin Nadeshico’s website.

In 1973, Japanese psychedelic prog rock pioneers Flower Travellin’ Band played their last show at Maruyama Park in Kyoto. The show came shortly after the release of their final album “MAKE UP,” and after the cancellation of their scheduled Japan tour with the Rolling Stones (immigration officials refused Mick Jagger a visa). Pieces of the […]

A former city employee in the Fukushima prefecture town of Koriyama has built a 4-meter (13-ft) long canoe from thousands of used disposable chopsticks recovered from the city hall cafeteria. Bothered that perfectly good wood was going to waste after a single use, Shuhei Ogawara — whose job at city hall involved working with the […]

Joge-e, or “two-way pictures,” are a type of woodblock print that can be viewed either rightside-up or upside-down. Large numbers of these playful prints were produced for mass consumption in the 19th century, and they commonly featured bizarre faces of deities, monsters or historical figures (including some from China). Only a few examples of original […]