Amongst the most recent English language windows onto Japanese culture that I discovered is the very official Web Japan ( some sections also available in French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, Russian).
Their Trends in Japan series notes in Manga Meets Traditional Culture (November 19) how calligraphy and the tea ceremony find new fans thanks to Manga.
They report that "until recently, a typical manga aimed at young readers would be set in a school sports club, its storyline focusing on the friendships and rivalries among team members. Over the past two or three years, however, comics have started to appear whose main characters are involved not in baseball or basketball but in traditional cultural pursuits not usually associated with teenagers. These include shodo (brush and ink calligraphy), the tea ceremony (in which green tea is prepared and served according to strict rules of etiquette), and rakugo (traditional comic storytelling)".
They illustrate the 'Tea Ceremony' aspect with Ocha Nigosu ('bad boy drinks tea', below)
Also mentioned as part of this revival are card games with bestselling manga Chihayafuru, winner of the 2009 Manga Taisho (manga of the year prize) voted for by manga-loving bookstore employees around Japan. "Chihayafuru" has been serialized in the Be Love women's manga magazine published by Kodansha since 2008. The manga tells the story of a high school girl and her friends in the after-school karuta (Japanese playing cards) club."
Proving that there is more to Manga than Cooking for Tokyo Thursdays # 115
Previously: Izu Photo Museum Inaugural Exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nature of Light
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