Traditional Japanese woodblock prints: Ukiyo-e. They have depicted everything from beautiful women and kabuki actors to famous landscapes, motifs close to the heart of the Japanese in centuries past. In Japan, ukiyo-e prints were a part of popular culture, but abroad they became admired as fine art, and influenced famous artists such as Van Gogh and Monet. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is ukiyo-e. Through these works of art, we can glimpse the Japanese sense of beauty.

The Japanese do, of course, enjoy drinks in private with friends, but going out is far more common than holding parties at your home. In Tokyo alone, there are 18,000 pubs and beer halls. In the evenings, these places are crowded with colleagues enjoying after-work drinks. Recently, some companies have begun subsidizing the costs of parties held by their employees, and even opening bars on their own premises. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is parties and gatherings.