Japonica is a web magazine dedicated to providing information on the people, places, products and trends that help define the Japanese aesthetic. Our articles will help you find those special places and products that reflect the more refined aspects of Japanese sensibility and discover the people behind them. Japonica.info will also provide insights into the social, cultural and business trends that are shaping contemporary Japan.
writer/editor
Michiyo Nakamoto is a freelance journalist living in Tokyo. She spent nearly 25 years as Tokyo correspondent for the Financial Times, writing about Japanese business, industry, finance, politics, social trends and much more. Her interests include architecture, art, design, film, literature, music and photography. She enjoys traveling and meeting people who make beautiful things, including pottery, textiles, washi and woodcarvings. Although she grew up eating hamburgers and lasagne and drinking milk, these days she prefers grilled fish and miso soup and has a weakness for red wine.
Editor
Miho Yoshikawa worked in the media for about 25 years, almost 20 of them with Reuters in Tokyo, mainly covering the energy and commodities markets. Her most memorable moment was eliciting a comment from Prince Saud al-Faisal, then Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, about the health of the King. He said: “The Guardian of the Holy Mosque is well. Thanks be to Allah.” She left Reuters in early 2010, and has since worked as a stress-free translator. She loves to travel in Japan by train. Her favorite companion is Ryota, her pet toy poodle, Her favorite artist is Ito Jakuchu, the mid-Edo Japanese painter. She loves handicrafts and pottery of all kinds. If she could choose her last meal, it would be sushi at a high-end restaurant.
contributing editor/ writer
Gwen Robinson has been a writer, editor and academic researcher for longer than she cares to remember. After years in Europe, America, Australia and other places, Asia is again the center of her world – particularly Japan, Myanmar and Thailand, where she remains in hot pursuit of the perfect Japanese breakfast, handmade soba noodles and pickled tea-leaf salad.
contributing writer
Naomi Pollock is an American architect who lives in Tokyo where she writes about design in Japan. Over the years, her articles have appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Pacific. In addition, she is the author of several books including Modern Japanese House, Made in Japan: 100 New Products and, most recently, Jutaku: Japanese Houses.
Fran Kuzui wears many hats including film director, writer and producer. She and her husband Kaz have been film distribution pioneers in Japan for many years. Together they developed the international TV cult series Buffy the Vampire Slayer from the original film which Fran directed and Kaz produced. Fran enjoys good food, sake, wine, any kind of noodle and especially a bucket of chicken wings washed down with beer.
Photographer
Mineko Matsuda is a fan of all things fun and fabulous. Her roots in Japan, Australia, and USA, give her a unique multi-cultural sense of perspective behind the lens. She aims to be a photographer who finds beauty in all things mundane. When she's not striving to perfect her art in abstract photography, she can be found aquatic dancing in the pool, grilling on her BBQ, pickling plums from her garden for umeshu, or perusing for rare finds in antique markets.
Web Master
Ayumi Uchiyama is a freelance web creator based in Tokyo. Her name, Ayumi, means “to walk” in Japanese and she likes to walk amid Tokyo’s buildings or in the natural surroundings of Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture to find new information, experience the harmony of old and new culture and meet new people. She takes pleasure in enhancing her skills and heightening her sensitivity to her surroundings in order to better contribute to various projects. She enjoys singing to the piano or guitar and relaxing with a meal of ethnic cooking and wine.
