Feb 23 (Watercolor by Shibasaki) - In this professional critique, I demonstrate how subtle changes in shadow, color temperature, and value contrast can transform flat shapes into convincing three-dimensional form.
In watercolor, depth is not about adding more detail. It’s about understanding the relationship between light, shadow, and surrounding space.
The admission fee for the World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, was revised on March 1st for the first time in 11 years, introducing a dual pricing system that significantly raises costs for visitors from outside the city.
An avalanche struck an advanced-level course at Madarao Kogen Ski Resort, which spans Niigata and Nagano prefectures, on February 28th, leaving four people injured, including two family members.
An eight-year-old Australian girl died after a snowmobile overturned in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture, at around 11 a.m. on February 28th, with authorities investigating the cause of the accident.
The assembly of a massive shield machine for tunnel construction at the Kanagawa Station site of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen has been completed, with the site opened to the media as excavation prepares to move forward toward Nagoya.
Although February is typically the height of the hibernation season, bears have already been sighted across Japan, raising concerns of another wave of deadly encounters.
Murai Masayoshi, known professionally as Muramasa and described as a Reiwa-era ukiyo-e artist, has drawn attention for his distinctive “ukiyo-e-style portraits” that depict contemporary figures in the manner of Japan’s Edo period.
In the Keihoku district on the northern edge of Kyoto City, a free school operating out of a former elementary school has become a sanctuary for children who struggle to attend regular classes, offering not only a second chance at learning but also a place of emotional safety for both students and their parents.
A proposed ordinance in Otsu, western Japan, that would effectively lower salaries for public kindergarten teachers by aligning them with the lower pay scale of nursery staff has drawn strong backlash, with a citizens’ group submitting more than 8,000 signatures to the Otsu City Council chair on February 26th calling for a review of the plan.
The financial burden of Japan’s competitive junior high school entrance exams is coming under renewed scrutiny, with a popular manga series offering a lens through which to examine whether the process delivers value for families willing to spend heavily in pursuit of academic success.
In recent years, awareness of reproductive health has expanded significantly across Japan.
In this professional critique, I demonstrate how subtle changes in shadow, color temperature, and value contrast can transform flat shapes into convincing three-dimensional form. (Watercolor by Shibasaki)
Around 16,500 students travel to Ireland each year to study English. In this report, 34 students from Immaculate Heart University in Kagoshima, Japan, spend a month in Dublin attending classes at the Language Centre of Ireland on Grafton Street , the third group from their university to do so. (TRNGL)
With more than 4.4 million applicants each year, the Eiken English proficiency test is one of Japan’s largest language examinations, but controversy has emerged after some test-takers received zero points on a summary question, prompting confusion and concern.
