｜Length : 44min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

The complex melodies and distinctive trills of traditional Japanese folk songs are not easily mastered. This program provides a delightful introduction to the intricacies of the art while profiling four young girls at different stages of their apprenticeships to 84-year-old Grandmaster Umewaka Asano. As we see and hear firsthand, there are both highs and lows on the road to mastery of this unique song style.

｜Length : 30min. ｜Year : 1994 ｜

The two huge 800-year-old wood statues that guard the gate of the 1200-year-old Todaiji Temple are among Japan's most cherished national treasures. This program details a five-year restoration project in which master craftsmen restored the statues to their original splendor, painstakingly hand-making replacement nails and making some surprising discoveries including a scroll more than a thousand years old and inscriptions by the original artisans.

｜Length : 28min. ｜Year : 1993 ｜

The shrines in Miki in Kagawa Prefecture have all performed the traditional shishi-mai or Lion Dance to drive out evil spirits. The single exception was Hikami Shrine. Then, a local man, Shigeki Kushida, decided to stage a lion dance for the shrine. He made the lion's "head", persuaded a cousin to decorate the fabric "body" of the lion, and drummed up community support. This interesting program shows how people working together can revive an ancient tradition.

｜Length : 28min. ｜Year : 1993 ｜

The Buddhist temple in Sekicho in Mie Prefecture has a long history. Dedicated to Jjzo, the popular guardian deity of children and rescuer of souls in torment, this temple may have been built as much as 1200 years ago, and has been in great need of restoration. When Kojun Miyamoto became Chief Priestess twelve years ago, she decided to make the temple one that everyone would be proud of. This is a heartwarming story of what a town can do when people all work together.

｜Length : 26min. ｜Year : 1993 ｜

In this fascinating study of the roots of Japanese cultural diversity, dance researcher, Eiji Hinoki, journeys south to investigate the dances of Kyushu. While the famous Awa-Odori folk dance of his native Tokushima in Shikoku has much in common with the folk dances of Japan's southern islands, its three-beat rhythm is unique. Hinoki believes that the Awa-Odori probably originated in the Amakusa region of Western Kyushu through contacts with fishermen and merchants.