The Mark of Beauty - Season 13 / Year 2022
Season 13 / Year 2022
Episodes
Tsumugi
Window
Lamp
Glass
Crane
The Fragrance of Japan
Musical Instruments of Japan
Traditional Japanese instruments are the focus of this episode. They are generating considerable interest in Japan at present, evoking both the past and being a source of new sounds. We are treated to a performance by a popular group that only uses traditional instruments. And we delve into the traditions in Gagaku or Imperial Court Music, the oldest type of orchestra music, as it were, which has been around for one thousand years. We look at flutes being crafted from materials aged for a century. The Gagaku musician Togi Hideki talks about instruments around the globe and the essence of Gagaku. A craftsman shows the techniques for fashioning koto (a type of zither). The episode also interviews an Italian artisan who is helping preserve the Chikuzen-biwa, a type of lute. And the actor Kusakari Masao gives a thrilling drum performance!
Hanko Stamps
Every Japanese invariably owns some kind of personal seal. The finely crafted items embody generations of skill. Seals are practical, but they can also be stunningly beautiful. The musician Shishido Kavka is captivated by the genre of stamps known busho-in, which features the name of a famous warrior, a design of some kind, e.g. a tiger or dragon, and a personalized message. The episode also looks at the tools and craftsmanship of a seal maker, which has been in business for more than four hundred years, and the painstakingly detailed craftsmanship that goes into craving Chinese-style seal stones. A range of important seals from different parts of the globe are featured, and we focus on the meaning in the lettering and designs in some examples predating the Christian era.
Scissors
This episode is about scissors and shears. It features a number of renowned contemporary craftsman and the outstanding wares they produce from traditional techniques. The items have both presence and refinement. The show looks at the shears that have evolved for ame-zaiku, the fashioning of animals and other shapes from heated candy – an art form that has existed since the Edo period. The candy must be shaped within the space of about five minutes. The episode focuses on some stunning examples of papercut work, the intricacy and elegance of which have won international acclaim. It also looks at some techniques of flower arrangement made possible by the best of floral shears.
Recently Updated Shows
Atomic
Atomic is a dynamic and entertaining action-fuelled adventure. When Max and Mohammed, two unlikely friends – and even less likely heroes – become swept up in a cartel's plot to transport uranium across North Africa, they face a monumental decision: save themselves or risk everything to prevent a nuclear bombgetting into the wrong hands.
Bel-Air
Set in modern-day Los Angeles, Bel-Air imagines the beloved sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new, dramatic take on Will's complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. As these two worlds collide, Will reckons with the power of second chances while navigating the conflicts, emotions, and biases of a world far different from the only one he's ever known.
12 12 12
12 12 12 unfolds across three timelines of a heist: the 12 months of planning, the 12 hours of the heist, and the 12 days following the heist. The series follows a disgraced FBI agent and an American career criminal who play a zero-sum game of cat and mouse across Europe. At the center of it all is the daring, epic raid on a bank vault deep beneath the streets of Zurich.
Wednesday
Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates a murder spree while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.