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SoraNews24
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
World's oldest manga is now a bra thanks to Japanese lingerie maker's art history series【Photos】
Peach John's Master's Bra design draws inspiration from an official national treasure of Japan. Japanese lingerie maker Peach John likes to incorporate artistic flourishes into its intimate apparel, and especially so with its Master's Bra series, which draws inspiration from the grand masters of the art world whose have left their mark on history with their iconic works. For the series' latest design, Peach John is taking its cues from none other than the piece of artwork that's considered by scholars to be the very first manga. The Choju-giga, or the Choju-jinbutsu-giga, to use its full name, was painted all the way back in the 11th century. A series of picture scrolls, it depicts rabbits, frogs, monkeys, and other animals wrestling, frolicking, and otherwise horsing around. The use of inked artwork to create a series of humorous scenes of anthropomorphized characters is seen as a distant forefather of the manga of modern Japan. Peach John's bra and panty set recreates artwork from the first scroll of the Choju-giga, which was painted in the late Heian period and is now an officially designated national treasure of Japan, dividing its time between the Tokyo and Kyoto National Museums. Coinciding with the release of the Choju-giga lingerie on August 13, Peach John is also once again offering their Fujin and Raijin lingerie set, based on the 18th century Wind God and Thunder God folding screen paintings of Edo period artist Ogata Korin. By nature of reproducing famous works of art, Peach John's Master's Bras customarily feature an asymmetrical design. In the case of the Fujin Raijin bra, the billowing cloth being held by the Fujin wind god and crackling ring of lightning surrounding the Raijin thunder god stretch subtly beyond the regular upper curvature of the bra, adding a touch of playfulness to the cultural significance of the cups' design. The gold color of the base material, meanwhile, represents the gold covering of the original folding screen. Joining these two Japanese classics in the Master's Bra lineup is a work from the western art world, Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. Peach John often uses luxurious lace in its glamourous designs, but here the material is especially appropriate, as it's meant to evoke the original painting's undulating post-impressionist brushstrokes. Prices are identical regardless of design, with the bras being 4,500 yen (US$30) and bottoms, either short-style panties or thongs, 2,100 yen. For the first time, Peach John is also offering non-wire bra versions (3,800 yen)… …and, if you want to share the fashion even with people who aren't going to see you in your lingerie, there are long-sleeve pullover tops (3,800 yen) too. ▼ Though they are still rather sheer. The entire lineup is available now at Peach John physical locations and can also be ordered through the chain's online store (bras here, shorts here, thongs here, non-wire bras here, and tops here). Source: PR Times Top image: PR Times Insert images: PR Times, Wikipedia/File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), Wikipedia/Calksmods ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Time Out
24-07-2025
- Time Out
You can now visit Kyoto temples and historic sites that are usually closed to the public
Kyoto's immense popularity has brought big crowds, and understandably so, as the ancient capital is home to some of Japan's most enchanting temples and Zen gardens. But if you're looking to experience a different side of the city – lesser-known but no less charming attractions with fewer crowds – check out the Kyoto Summer Special Openings 2025. Running now through September 30, this seasonal programme is your key to a more hidden, tranquil Kyoto. Launched in 1975, the annual Summer Special offers a rare chance to step inside some of the city's most treasured cultural landmarks that are normally closed to the public. This year's theme, 'Waterscapes to Visit in Summer and Modern Architecture Masterpieces of Kyoto', brings together sacred temples and historical residences. Better still, all the featured sites are easily accessible by public transport from Kyoto Station. As a little taster, here are five highlights from this year's programme. Higashi Honganji Temple: Goei-do-mon Gate Just five minutes on foot from Kyoto Station, the majestic Higashi Honganji Temple 's Goei-do (Founder's Hall) is one of the largest wooden structures in the world. Its Goei-do-mon Gate, at 27 metres high, is the tallest wooden temple gate in Japan. The gate's second storey is now open to the public for a limited time. From here, you can look out at a sweeping view of Kyoto and its eastern mountains, as well as admire a collection of sacred Buddhist statues. Ninnaji Temple: Kannon-do Hall Founded in 888 CE, the prestigious Ninnaji Temple is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Its most important hall, the Kannon-do, is so sacred that its doors have long remained shut to protect the vividly coloured murals inside. This summer, you can view the exquisite 380-year-old wall paintings, along with 33 solemn Buddhist images on the altar, including the Thousand-Armed Kannon, Fujin (the wind god) and Raijin (the thunder god). Kamigamo Shrine Considered the oldest shrine in Kyoto, Kamigamo Jinja is also a Unesco World Heritage Site and a popular spot for people praying for good health, romantic love and protection from misfortune. Its two most important buildings – the Honden (Main Sanctuary) and Gonden (Temporary Sanctuary) – are usually off-limits to visitors. Now you can visit both, guided by a Shinto priest. Pay close attention to the traditional thatched roofs, made by layering hinoki cypress bark. Pontocho Kaburenjo Theatre Pontocho is one of Kyoto's five historical entertainment districts, and the Pontocho Kaburenjo Theatre specialises in traditional dance performances by geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha). When the theatre opened in 1927, it garnered praise for its modern architecture that also incorporated Eastern aesthetics. For this rare occasion, you'll get to peek behind the usually curtained-off backstage, as well as into a room used by geisha and maiko for rehearsals, in addition to the stage and auditorium. Shozan Hogyokutei Tucked into the northern hills of Kyoto, this elegant villa, once home to a post-war merchant who traded in Nishijin-ori (traditional Kyoto textiles), is surrounded by a serene, moss-covered garden. The stream-fed landscape features 500-year-old Kitayama cedar trees, while the 70-year-old house is built using top-grade Kitayama cedar, Japanese zelkova and rare nandina (sacred bamboo). The rooms, meanwhile, are decorated with artworks by renowned Japanese painters. This property offers a welcome escape from the bustling city, where you can enjoy the peace and quiet of a Japanese garden while exploring a beautifully preserved traditional home. All the exclusive sites in the Kyoto Summer Special Openings 2025 programme are open daily from 10am to 4.30pm (last entry at 4pm), though some have specific closed dates. Tickets are generally priced at ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children aged 6 to 12, with some exceptions. For full details, check the event website.
The Herald Scotland
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
You need to see wild movie by Scots director that breaks all the rules
Not so, as it turns out. It's only now, a decade on, that Slow West's follow-up is preparing to make its theatrical bow after a well-received premiere at this year's Glasgow Film Festival where it was the opening film. A blend of samurai flick, chase film, historical epic and heist movie, Tornado follows the titular heroine, a Japanese puppeteer, as she and her father Fujin eke out a living somewhere in northern Britain at the end of the 18th century. Into their lives one day comes a band of brigands led by the ruthless Sugarman and his argumentative son, Little Sugar. The thieves are toting a sack of stolen gold coins, but it's when they are robbed in turn that the trouble begins for Fujin and, in particular, Tornado. A scene from Tornado by John Maclean (Image: free)Maclean's second film began life in 2016, immediately after the success of Slow West. You can't say he didn't hit the ground running. 'Having done a Western in America that to me was a little bit about immigration, I thought I could do the same for Britain – write a film where there's an African bandit, a French performer, a Japanese wanderer,' he tells me over Zoom. 'That was one idea. But then when I started the script, the heart of it started to come from father-daughter relationships. In Slow West, the thing I took from my personal life was a young Scottish boy being in love with somebody who didn't necessarily love him back, and him going to the ends of the earth for her. With Tornado, it was a father trying to teach his daughter his own Japanese culture, and her not being interested.' The process of writing the script continued into 2017 and then into 2018. When the pandemic happened it inevitably had an effect on production, but Maclean says a major issue even before then was one far more familiar to film-makers than zoonotic diseases – cash. 'I was ready to go but we just couldn't find people interested in funding it for a good while. I think it's just tough out there. You need a certain calibre of actor attached to finance films these days, and the actors have to become bigger and bigger to finance lower and lower budget films because – bottom line – people aren't going to the cinema so much.' Luckily, Maclean has never had much difficulty attracting big names to his films or identifying talents on the rise. He even managed it in his BAFTA-winning short Pitch Black Heist, which starred Michael Fassbender. It was released in the same year the Irishman won a slew of awards for his role in Steve McQueen's Hunger and first appeared as Magneto in X Men: First Class. Fassbender then returned to Team Maclean in order to work on Slow West and his co-star on that film was Kodi Smit-McPhee, who would also go on to star in the X-Men films (as Nightcrawler) and garner an Oscar nomination in Jane Campion's 2021 film, The Power Of The Dog. Things are little different this time around. The great Tim Roth plays Sugarman, Jack Lowden is Little Sugar and, for the roles of Fujin and Tornado, Maclean has cast Giri/Haji star Takehiro Hira and 22-year-old Mitsuku Kimura, who goes by the name Kōki. She may be new to acting, but by her late teens she was already a magazine cover star in her homeland, had walked the Paris Fashion Week runways as a model for Chanel, and was enjoying a successful pop career. Read more In fact Maclean had despaired about finding the right actress to play Tornado, even resorting to street castings to try to find non-actors. In the end Kōki was recommended by someone who had worked with her actor father Takuya Kimura, star of Takashi Miike's 2017 samurai action film Blade Of The Immortal. Meanwhile her mother, Shizuka Kudo, is a celebrated singer and 1980s pop star with 11 Japanese number one hits to her name. Maclean laughs as he remembers his first Zoom call with his prospective star. 'After about 10 seconds I was like: 'She's the one'.' So how big is she in Japan? 'Massive,' he says. 'She's known more as a model, but they don't know how great she is at acting – yet. And she came over here to Edinburgh and I think for the first time in her life she was able to walk around without being absolutely mobbed. People camp outside her house in Japan because her parents are so famous, so she's never had freedom. She came over here and absolutely loved it. She could walk around, didn't get hassled. She could perform and act and be creative. She's incredible. I didn't have to say anything to her, there was no direction. She just go it.' Lowden was recruited after an Edinburgh International Film Festival event at Edinburgh Castle – 'He told me he loved Slow West so I went straight back to the script and thought: 'I'm going to tweak this'' – while Maclean impressed Roth with his love of the work of British film-maker Alan Clarke. Best known for directing Scum in 1979, Clarke also made an iconic series of films in the Play For Today strand including folk horror Penda's Fen, Elephant (about the Troubles) and 1982's Made In Britain, which starred Roth as a racist 16-year-old skinhead. 'As soon as we got talking, he could see my love of Alan Clarke and that meant a lot to him.' For Maclean, meanwhile, it was a dream come true: as a student working at the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh he had been wowed by an appearance by Quentin Tarantino in 1994 to promote Pulp Fiction. To work with the star of Reservoir Dogs made him feel he had come 'full circle', as he puts it. Japanese singer and model Kōki as Tornado in John Maclean's new film of the same name (Image: free) A shared influence for Maclean and Tarantino, both scholars of Japanese cinema, is Lady Snowblood, the 1973 film starring Meiko Kaji as a kickass assassin bent on revenge. It directly inspired the American's Kill Bill films and in Maclean's film it's a touchstone for Tornado's transformation from bored Gen Z-er into samurai sword-toting avenging angel. For the Scot, it's only one of a great many influences, however. 'When I'm writing a script I consume such a huge variety of films,' he admits. 'The most recent ones which were an influence were films coming out of Iran and Turkey. I'll always love action films, so my cinematic bedrock would Predator and Die Hard and Robocop, those sorts of films. But equally I love Tarkovsky, Bergman and Bresson ... This one was influenced by everything from touches of David Lynch's Blue Velvet all the way through to Steel Magnolias even. I watched that for some reason.' A 1989 comedy drama set in Louisiana and starring Dolly Parton and a young Julia Roberts is hard to place in Tornado's DNA. But, though the ingredients may be many and varied, it's the eventual dish which is the thing that matters – and this one has been worth the wait. Tornado is released on June 13. Since this interview was conducted The Beta Band have reformed for a tour of the UK starting at Glasgow Barrowland on September 25.
