A distinctive feel for artistic and cultural expression has been passed down continuously in Japan for over more than 10,000 years. Today this proud tradition of arts and culture is among Japan’s greatest strengths.

The wellspring of Japanese arts and culture is its temperate climate and natural abundance. The diversity of the landscape and the constantly shifting cycle of four seasons inspire the awe of nature’s power and appreciation for its beauty. And in Japan, the creative impulses and skills responding to nature and its beauty have been prized and treasured since antiquity.

Living in Japan amid this culture, where the native traditions and ethos permeate the familiar context of everyday life, people may come to take it for granted, and cease to think of it regularly or consciously.

The Japan Cultural Expo offers the occasion for Japanese themselves to rediscover pride in their own culture and experience its depth and richness.

The Japan Cultural Expo also aims to promote the distinctive culture fostered in Japan and call attention to the sensibilities nourished by its traditions, giving not only Japanese a chance to rediscover their own heritage, but people overseas increased opportunities to experience the special world of Japanese arts and culture.

We hope the Japan Cultural Expo projects will inspire the young people who participate to carry on the spirit thus fostered and extend its narrative far into the future.

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KEYWORDS Japan Cultural Expo