This program savors the peaceful splendor of autumn in Kyoto. First, visits to Kozan-ji Temple, an example of early Kamakura architecture and repository of a painting by Toba Sojo; Sanzen-in Temple, immortalized by 18th-century poet Ueda Akinari; and many other temples offer views of the region's beautiful red-colored maples. Then, the video covers the autumn festival in Arashiyama, the Jidai Matsuri procession, the fire festival of Kurama, and the...

More than 80 years of unstinting devotion to his craft have made 98-year-old Yatsujiro Yamaguchi one of the best textile artists in Japan-and perhaps the world. Filmed at the Nishijin Textile Center and other locations, this program showcases the obi, the key component of traditional female garb and the epitome of Japanese elegance and refinement, as woven by Mr. Yatsujiro. Noh costumes are also spotlighted as the video addresses topics such as the...

This documentary explores sobering developments linked to Japan's emphasis on intense academic pressure and conformity: 2,000 teen suicides per year, a 60 percent increase in crime since 1994, and the phenomenon of hikikomori children-those who have collapsed emotionally and withdrawn from society. Gritty footage shot in chaotic classrooms and dysfunctional homes, combined with commentary from counselors, parents, and dispirited young people, depicts...

The shakuhachi, a kind of wooden flute, was introduced to Japan sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries and was used in court music as well as in Buddhist monasteries as a vehicle for enlightenment. This program features performances and discussion by Shozan Tanabe, one of Japan's most recognized players of the shakuhachi. Along with recordings of his music, Tanabe talks about the history of this instrument so often associated with the "sound...

Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine honors and venerates the spirits of Japanese soldiers and officers-including convicted and executed war criminals. This program explores the history of the Shinto shrine, the complexity of its functions, and the controversies generated when political leaders appear there. Interviews with visitors, an inside look at the shrine's adjacent museum of war memorabilia, and a discussion of what has become known as "state Shinto" create...

This program, a study of the samurai code of honor, sheds light on the history of Japan while helping to explain how the samurai mentality left an enduring imprint on the psyche of future generations.

Their world is ruled by a strict code of privacy and silence, and in Japan their title is a byword for exotic allure. Called "entertainers" by some and "prostitutes" by others, the geisha are a secretive sorority in high demand by members of Japan's wealthy elite. Filmed in collaboration with Arthur Golden, author of the best-selling Memoirs of a Geisha, this program captures the geisha mystique while documenting the experiences of two maiko, geisha-in-training....

Elegant, flowing, and steeped in mythology, the kimono has survived for fifteen hundred years as a symbol of Japanese tradition and a mirror of Japan's evolving culture. From medieval courtesans adorned in sensual finery to samurai warriors whose clothing signified their military allegiance, anyone donning a kimono accepted and perpetuated its meanings. Today, knowledge of its traditions and observance of the elaborate rules surrounding it have declined....

Traditionally, a Japanese household contained an extended family, several generations under one roof. Now, cultural sensibilities and sweeping demographic changes have meant that young and old choose to live apart. This program examines how these factors have affected care of the elderly in a country with the longest-lived population in the world. Seniors discuss the challenge of living alone in a transformed society. Creative new arrangements are...