If you grew up in the West, you’ve probably heard about Haiku. This poetic form is inseparable from the image of Japanese culture, but writing a haiku is not too common.

A rakugo (落語) show is essentially an equivalent of the Western one-man comedy show, where a guy tells humorous stories to the audience. But rakugo is much more than just stand-up comedy! The rakugoka–this is what the rakugo performer is called–is basically a mix of an actor, a storyteller and a comedian who can tell jokes and make facial expressions.

One such art is Maki-e, (蒔絵) a traditional Japanese lacquer painting. Maki means “sprinkling” and e means "picture". It is the most basic technique of a pattern of lacquerware making that is traditionally painted on plates, trays, mirrors, cups, boxes and other objects made from bamboo or wood, but also sometimes paper, leather or basket materials.

He is perhaps, one of, if not the most internationally acclaimed and most talked about Japanese architects in the world, with a red carpet of glittering awards and citations from all parts of the globe—Japan, U.S., Italy, France, and others.

Even though it originally started as a “pop-culture” in the age of samurai, today the art of singing and dancing, or kabuki, has become one of Japan’s most significant performing arts.

One of the most pleasant surprises to emerge from my countryside break was to be introduced to some of Japan’s most beautiful, creative and inspiring works of traditional, hand-made art.

You’ve never seen a puppet show like this before. Ningyo Joruri is a 500-year-old tradition that combines three traditional Japanese arts: storytelling, music and puppetry. It’s a spellbinding combination and ranks alongside Noh and Kabuki as one of Japan’s greatest performing arts.

Depending on the history, customs and practices, there will be various important festivals, arts and other features owned by every society. In Japan, we can see so many such customs, festivals, crafts and arts. Among the most famous are bonsai, origami, ikebana, etc.