LOS ANGELES — Japanese film “Kokuho” has been nominated for the makeup and hairstyling category in the 98th Academy Awards, it was announced Thursday. The three nominees from the film directed by Lee Sang-Il are Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu.

Tokyo-based bag maker Yoshida & Co., known as “Yoshida Kaban,” celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. In November, the company held an exhibition in Tokyo showcasing bags that represent the brand’s origins. With its strengths in durable construction for long-term use and designs adapted to the times, it has garnered support both in Japan and abroad.Founder Kichizo Yoshida (1906–1994) began working at a bag workshop at age 12. When he experienced the Great Kanto Earthquake at 17, he tied his belongings up with a rope, slung it over his shoulder and carried them with him. This experience led him to believe that “a bag is first and foremost a tool for carrying things.”In 1935, he established Yoshida Kaban Seisakujo (Yoshida bag factory) and produced numerous hand-sewn pieces. The Red Roof Bag, displayed at the exhibition, was inspired by a souvenir from Hawaii. The Elegant Bag, released in 1953, featured a side zipper allowing expansion of the bag’s gusset width. In the postwar years, as apartment complexes and other collective housing increased, its compact design and efficient storage became highly valued.

Singer-songwriter Toshinobu Kubota celebrates the 40th anniversary of his major label debut this year. He released his greatest hits album “The Baddest IV & Timeless Hits” last year, and said, “I’m thankful now that I can keep singing.”With his soulful musicality and singing ability, he has had hits such as “Ryu-sei No Saddle” (Saddle of a shooting star), “Missing” and “La. La. La Love Song,” which featured supermodel Naomi Campbell on vocals. He was awakened to music in kindergarten. “When I sang on bus trips, the moms loved it. It felt so good! That’s when I learned how fun music could be.”His neighbors brought him into contact with Western music. Adults around him who knew he liked to sing introduced him to all kinds of new music. “They’d say things like, ‘Tonight, they’re playing a song by a guy named James Brown on TV.’ It was a great era when everyone listened to all kinds of music,” he said.Gradually, he began listening to songs of diverse international genres like the Beatles and disco. What truly captured his heart, however, was soulful music. “For someone like me who’d thought since childhood that I might have a talent for singing, soul music was what most strongly ignited my passion for song,” said Kubota. “I’d mimic songs I heard on the radio, and I just got more and more immersed.”

A retired veteran hunter who lives on his own in Akita Prefecture happens to pick up a game one day and makes a name for himself by becoming a formidable matagi (hunter) in the shooting game. That is the plot of “Matagi Gunner,” a unique e-sports action manga set in a rural part of Japan.

PARIS — One of the world’s largest international interior design trade fairs, Maison&Objet, kicked off near Paris on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Manga art is finally reaching a museum in the United States! The first large-scale manga exhibition in the Americas, “Art of Manga” is being held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through Feb. 1, displaying works by leading Japanese mangaka such as Eiichiro Oda, Rumiko Takahashi and Jiro Taniguchi together as works of art.The event focuses on providing an immersive experience that draws visitors into the world of manga with exhibitions including about 700 original drawings and other items. Rough sketches and tools actually used by creators such as pens and paper are also on display.The exhibition was planned by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, research director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. She said she hopes visitors will recognize the artistic quality and power of manga.Hirohiko Araki and Mari Yamazaki, two of the featured artists, gave exclusive interviews to The Yomiuri Shimbun at the exhibition venue.