｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is one of the three major festivals of the Tohoku region and is also designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the government. It features a majestic spectacle of large “Nebuta” floats that are paraded through the city along with people chanting "Rassera, Rassera." Reaching a size of nine meters wide, seven meters long, and five meters tall, Nebutas are considered to be the world’s largest paper crafts.
Asako Kitamura is the first female artisan to create these giant works. It was long thought that the creation process was too much for a female to handle; the physically demanding and at times dangerous work involves drawing sketches with a paintbrush, creating massive parts with numerous wires, building the framework with hammers and saws, and climbing up high.
The Nebuta Festival is no mere show for the giant floats; it is a competition. Every year, the floats are evaluated and ranked by judges. Asako started her training at the age of 25 under her father Takashi, who is the sixth-generation Nebuta Master. In 2012, she surpassed her father and placed third with her debut work. In her fifth year, her Nebuta won the grand prize. The program follows Asako as she prepares for the festival, returning after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2022 ｜

Starting about ten years ago, Shiho Sakamoto took on the title of “Wagashi Creator.” She runs no shops, publishes no recipes, and works mainly from her home kitchen to create Japanese wagashi sweets. Yet, she continues to create unique, breathtaking works. Her motifs include a butterfly perched on a flower, a single raindrop, the moonlight, crashing waves, footprints in snow. She draws upon a variety of everyday images and occurrences for inspiration. Her portfolio of over 400 creations has captivated women who exclaim that her wagashi are “too pretty to eat.”
Sakamoto’s career path is as unconventional as her confections. She got a job at an IT firm after college but was forced to take a leave of absence after falling ill from overwork. Just when she was rethinking her life, a dream she saw of wagashi served as a sign for her to pursue her true calling. Ever since, she has forged her own path as a mostly self-taught Wagashi Creator with no formal training at any notable wagashi shops.
This program follows Sakamoto’s project with a major wagashi maker and another with a small shop in the countryside to witness the birth of new wagashi, and in doing so, we discover a surprising treasure of hers. Although wagashi has been taking a back seat to Western confections recently, and the distinction is often blurred, Sakamoto insists on differentiating wagashi from its Western counterparts. Just what is the “Japanese spirit” that lies within these tiny treats? We search for the answer in Sakamoto’s creative process during a time when summer fades into autumn.

｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2022 ｜

For the opening ceremony of the Emperor’s Cup football game, calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi put on a calligraphy performance for tens of thousands of people on New Year’s Day 2020. This was not her first time performing with a large brush to paint on a giant folding screen; she has carried out this performance to great acclaim in over ten countries. Aoyagi’s calligraphy, which captivates people around the world, is marked by its dynamic power. Her writing dances across the paper as if it has taken on a life of its own. She says a truly great work has an alluring empty space and letters that rise from the paper.
When Aoyagi is not performing, she practices tirelessly in her studio. Our cameras capture her diligent work that goes on behind the scenes of her flashy performances. Although her life revolves around calligraphy, Aoyagi immerses herself in nature once a year to enjoy some fishing or surfing. This respite can sometimes lead to surprising new ideas.
The calligrapher is currently absorbed in preparing for her fifth exhibit. She exclaims it will be something people have never seen before and puts forth a revolutionary idea of expressing three-dimensional objects through calligraphy. In order to make this happen, she visits a small factory and uses a forming press to cut out metal sheets in the shape of her writing. Come witness this up-and-coming artist’s challenge of transforming 2D into 3D.

｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2021 ｜

Standing proudly in the heart of Nara Prefecture is Mount Yoshino, a World Heritage Site and one of Japan’s top three sakura cherry blossom sites. The view of 30,000 cherry trees blossoming over 50 hectares of the mountainside in spring is simply breathtaking.
People who care for cherry trees are known as “sakuramori” or “sakura guardians.” At Mt. Yoshino, three men are in charge of this responsibility: the captain Ito, a native of the Yoshino area; Okunishi, a former landscaper; and the always cheerful Yamaguchi.
Sakuramori have a wide range of duties, including picking cherry tree seeds, planting them, growing saplings, planting trees, cultivating soil, weeding, and at times, treating trees that have fallen ill from getting damaged by wild deer. If cherry trees are children, then sakuramori are everything from parents to doctors.

The sakura are in full bloom for a mere week, and the sakuramori devote an entire year all for these seven or so days. Captain Ito says, “The more work we put in, the sakura answer to us and bloom beautifully.”
Every year, Mt. Yoshino is flooded with tourists during sakura season, but last year was an exception due to the State of Emergency. Even Ito, born and raised by the mountain, had never seen the area so empty. “We’re hoping that this year, people will get to see the sakura that we care for, and perhaps bring a bit of joy to this gloomy world” say the three cherry tree guardians. Come witness the story of the sakuramori.

｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2020 ｜

The new corona virus is running rampant and many in the entertainment industry are faced with a difficult situation. As musical bands cancel their live gigs one after another, classical music concerts are no exception since despite its size, a concert hall is still a closed space.

When the state of emergency was lifted temporarily and some normalcy returned, Japan's oldest orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, welcomed the audience back to their hall. It was an arduous road with a major hurdle being how to attain safe distancing for the performers as well as the concert-goers.

Despite the easing of restrictions, professional sports play games without spectators. So what drove classical musicians to risk their own health to perform a concert? Dealing with the huge obstacles before them, dedication and a passionate love of music guide these music professionals as they prepare for their first concert in months.