Introducing Kanazawa, Japan and the Noto Peninsula

March 19, 2015

“We do not dislike everything that shines, but we do prefer a pensive luster to a shallow brilliance,” wrote the great Japanese novelist Tanizaki Jun'ichirō. ”We love things that bear the marks of grime, soot, and weather, and we love the colors and the sheen that call to mind the past that made them.

This remarkable sensibility Tanizaki describes is known in Japan as sabi. Honoring the passage of time by celebrating the beauty of the things it’s touched, sabi connects past and present and is one of the most important ideas in Japanese aesthetic. Wander the smooth stone streets of Kanazawa on a cloudy day, and you’ll start to understand.

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Kanazawa, a magical seaside city located on the West Coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island where we discovered beauty in so many forms. Bounded by the wildness of the coast to the West and the stillness of the mountains to the East, Kanazawa has been a center for art and craft for centuries and has one of the best-preserved Geisha districts in the country. Project Bly’s exploration of the city takes you through its streets and markets, and introduces you to the food and craft of the region including the unexplored Noto Peninsula.

Street photography in Kanazawa and the Noto Peninsula are by award-winning Tokyo based photographer Hajime Kimura. The lookbook for the Kanazawa Collection was photographed by Kelly Ishikawa and styled by Rod Hipskind. Stories and words are by Corianne Brosnahan.