Japanese actress Nanami Sakuraba modelling for Memorial Day’s Hakama Collection by clothing company Maimu [Jp]. If not mistaken Hakama is the lower part (or the outer layer) of the traditional costume worn over the kimono.
Adolfo Farsari vintage Japanese postcards
Love Japan by David Parkinson
Cool video by Australian filmmaker David Parkinson as he travelled through the heart of Japan with his girlfriend. Beautiful piece with top notch cinematography. Locations include Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara, Tokyo, Nagano and Hokkaido.
Nogizaka46 Seijin no Hi 2013
Four members of Japanese pop group Nogizaka46 – i.e. Sayuri Matsumura, Nanami Hashimoto, Mai Shiraishi and Misa Eto – celebrated Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day) on January 13 in traditional kimono costumes.
Seijin no Hi is a national holiday (second Monday in January each year) for Japanese who reached the legal age of adulthood (20) to celebrate their new status. Many would don in kimono and visit a shrine that day.
Wau Making, Kelantan, Malaysia
Ancient Chinese beauty paintings
KARA, Japanese Christmas, fried chicken
A Japanese commercial featuring Korean pop group KARA, advertising for convenience store Family Mart’s fried chicken for the upcoming Christmas celebration.
Fried chicken is synonymous to Christmas party in Japan. The tradition started in the 1970’s after an ingenious marketing campaign by fast food chain KFC (very popular in Japan), that fried chicken was the best alternative to the customary Xmas turkey which was scarce in those days.
KTB girls, aerobic exercise, corporate culture
South Korea’s KTB Investment & Securities has released a video of some girls (presumably the firm’s female employees) doing some simple “aerobic exercises”…
Reminded me of my old Japanese employer, where staff would get together in the morning to do some stretching exercises. We didn’t have much girls (95% male) in our department though, unfortunately… else I might have stayed there a bit longer ;)
Group exercise is a common corporate culture in Japan (and Korea to a lesser degree). Besides whatever benefit it brings, missing an exercise session – usually the first thing in the morning – literally means that someone is late for work, it’s serious matter.