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High-tech Spin for Samurai-era Ukiyo-e Artist Hokusai at Tokyo Exhibit

A visitor attends an exhibition that uses cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of iconic samurai-era ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai at 'HOKUSAI: ANOTHER STORY in TOKYO' - Reuters
A visitor attends an exhibition that uses cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of iconic samurai-era ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai at 'HOKUSAI: ANOTHER STORY in TOKYO' - Reuters
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High-tech Spin for Samurai-era Ukiyo-e Artist Hokusai at Tokyo Exhibit

A visitor attends an exhibition that uses cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of iconic samurai-era ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai at 'HOKUSAI: ANOTHER STORY in TOKYO' - Reuters
A visitor attends an exhibition that uses cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of iconic samurai-era ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai at 'HOKUSAI: ANOTHER STORY in TOKYO' - Reuters

Visitors can step back in time to Japan's samurai era in an new Tokyo exhibition that uses cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of iconic artist Hokusai.

"Hokusai: Another Story in Tokyo" marks the latest in a series of immersive attractions that have sprung up in the capital, as well as growing interest in Japan's cultural past as record numbers of tourists flood into the country.

The exhibition, tucked into a downtown shopping mall, invites patrons to step into scenes of nature and village life depicted by the master of Edo Period woodblock art. Technical wizardry from digital imagery firm Ars Techne reproduces the washi paper texture of his prints. Haptic plates in the floor, developed by Sony PCL, give the feel that one is walking on a beach, ice or across a rickety bridge, Reuters reported.

"The concept is not just to see something, but to have an experience that goes beyond the real thing, to let you feel the scenery that Hokusai saw," said Hiroki Inokuchi, a visual artist with Red Geek Pictures, which helped develop the exhibition.

Born in 1760, Katsushika Hokusai took the medium known as ukiyo-e to new artistic heights and popularity through his unique use of colour and dynamic composition. Hokusai's depictions of Mount Fuji have become emblematic of Japan, with his masterpiece "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" now gracing the back of the nation's 1,000 yen note.

His prints became a hit in Europe after his death in 1849, kindling the Japonisme movement in art and inspiring painters such as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh.

The Hokusai exhibition, which runs from Saturday to June 1 at Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, follows other tech-driven, immersive art showcases in Tokyo that have proven to be draws among residents and overseas visitors. The digital art collective teamLab has two interactive museums in the capital that have set Guinness World Records for attendance.

Mariko Fukumizu, 42, said her 4-year-old daughter loved stepping on and cracking make-believe ice in a rendering of one of Hokusai's winter scenes.

"I like looking at art, but it's difficult with kids, so it's good to be able to go and experience things together," said Fukumizu.

Japan is experiencing a tourism boom fuelled by the weak yen, while cultural exports from manga to movies are seeing unprecedented popularity. Last year's period epic "Shogun" swept major awards at both the Emmys and Golden Globes.

Ethem Sonmez, a 22-year-old visitor from Turkey, said Japanese animation and comics are rising in popularity in his country. He said an exhibit room that simulates wind rushing through a Hokusai landscape nearly brought him to tears.

"It was like the moment I first saw Fuji in the Shinkansen" bullet train, Sonmez said. "It was mesmerizing and I felt it again here."

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Culture

Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project Restores Century-Old Uqlat Al-Suqur Mosque in Qassim

The renovation utilized traditional mud, stone, and wood to preserve the mosque's authentic Najdi architectural style. (SPA)
The renovation utilized traditional mud, stone, and wood to preserve the mosque's authentic Najdi architectural style. (SPA)
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Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project Restores Century-Old Uqlat Al-Suqur Mosque in Qassim

The renovation utilized traditional mud, stone, and wood to preserve the mosque's authentic Najdi architectural style. (SPA)
The renovation utilized traditional mud, stone, and wood to preserve the mosque's authentic Najdi architectural style. (SPA)

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques has completed the restoration of the Uqlat Al-Suqur Mosque in Qassim Region, revitalizing a heritage landmark dating back to 1922, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

Originally the only mosque in the area, it served as a vital religious and social hub for education and community governance.

The renovation, executed by specialized Saudi firms, utilized traditional mud, stone, and wood to preserve its authentic Najdi architectural style.

The project increased the mosque's area to 544 square meters, expanding its capacity to 250 worshippers while maintaining its historical identity.

The initiative aligns with Vision 2030 to preserve the Kingdom's urban heritage and boost the cultural and religious significance of its historical mosques for future generations.

Culture

Tomb More Than 1,000 Years Old Found in Panama

This handout picture released by Panama’s Ministry of Culture shows an archaeologist working inside a pre-Hispanic tomb approximately 1,200 years old, discovered at the El Cano Archaeological Park in Cocle, Panama, on February 20, 2026. (Handout / Panama’s Ministry of Culture / AFP)
This handout picture released by Panama’s Ministry of Culture shows an archaeologist working inside a pre-Hispanic tomb approximately 1,200 years old, discovered at the El Cano Archaeological Park in Cocle, Panama, on February 20, 2026. (Handout / Panama’s Ministry of Culture / AFP)
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Tomb More Than 1,000 Years Old Found in Panama

This handout picture released by Panama’s Ministry of Culture shows an archaeologist working inside a pre-Hispanic tomb approximately 1,200 years old, discovered at the El Cano Archaeological Park in Cocle, Panama, on February 20, 2026. (Handout / Panama’s Ministry of Culture / AFP)
This handout picture released by Panama’s Ministry of Culture shows an archaeologist working inside a pre-Hispanic tomb approximately 1,200 years old, discovered at the El Cano Archaeological Park in Cocle, Panama, on February 20, 2026. (Handout / Panama’s Ministry of Culture / AFP)

Archaeologists have discovered a tomb more than a thousand years old in Panama containing human remains alongside gold and ceramic artifacts, the lead researcher told AFP on Friday.

The discovery was made at the El Cano site in the Nata district about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Panama City.

Scientists and archaeologists have already unearthed other remains of pre-Hispanic cultures in the region that has been excavated for two decades.

The skeletal remains were found surrounded by gold objects and pottery decorated with traditional motifs, pointing to these being "high-ranking" individuals, archaeologist Julia Mayo told AFP, adding that the tomb was built between 800 and 1000 AD.

"The individual with the gold was the one with the highest social status in the group," she said.

That body was found with two bracelets, two earrings, and pectoral jewelry that featured bats and crocodiles, she added.

The El Cano archaeological site is linked to the societies that inhabited the central provinces of Panama between the 8th and 11th centuries.

"This is where they buried their dead for 200 years," said Mayo.

Nine other tombs "similar" to the one found on Friday had already been found at the site, she added.

Panama's Ministry of Culture said the discovery was "of great importance for Panamanian archaeology and the study of pre-Hispanic societies of the Central American isthmus," referring to the land that connects North and South America.

According to experts, these excavations demonstrate that death did not represent an end for these societies, but a transition to another phase where social status remained important.

Culture

When in Rome: Budapest Pizzeria Offers Time-Travel Twist with Ancient Rome-Inspired Pie

László Bárdossy, head chef of the Neverland Pizzeria adds topping on the restaurant's Roman-era pizza in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 11, 2026. (AP)
László Bárdossy, head chef of the Neverland Pizzeria adds topping on the restaurant's Roman-era pizza in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 11, 2026. (AP)
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When in Rome: Budapest Pizzeria Offers Time-Travel Twist with Ancient Rome-Inspired Pie

László Bárdossy, head chef of the Neverland Pizzeria adds topping on the restaurant's Roman-era pizza in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 11, 2026. (AP)
László Bárdossy, head chef of the Neverland Pizzeria adds topping on the restaurant's Roman-era pizza in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 11, 2026. (AP)

In Hungary’s capital, a city best known for its goulash, a pizzeria is inviting diners to travel back two millennia to a time before tomatoes, mozzarella or even the word “pizza” were known in Europe.

At Neverland Pizzeria in central Budapest, founder Josep Zara and his team have created a limited-edition pie using only ingredients that would have been available in ancient Rome, long before what we know today as pizza ever existed.

“Curiosity drove us to ask what pizza might have been like long ago,” Zara said. “We went all the way back to the Roman Empire and wondered whether they even ate pizza at the time.”

Strictly speaking, they did not. Tomatoes arrived in Europe centuries later from the Americas, and mozzarella was as yet unknown. Some histories have it that the discovery of mozzarella led directly to the invention of pizza in Naples in the 1700s.

But Romans did eat oven-baked flatbreads topped with herbs, cheeses and sauces, the direct ancestors of modern pizza, which were often sold in ancient Roman snack bars called thermopolia.

In 2023, archaeologists uncovered a fresco in Pompeii depicting a focaccia-like flatbread topped with what appear to be pomegranate seeds, dates, spices and a pesto-like spread. The image made headlines around the world, and sparked Zara’s imagination.

“That made me very curious about what kind of flavor this food might have had,” he said. “That’s where we got the idea to create a pizza that people might have eaten in the Roman Empire, using only ingredients that were in wide use at the time.”

Zara began researching Roman culinary history, consulting a historian in Germany as well as the ancient cookbook De re coquinaria, thought to have been authored around the 5th century. Following his research, he compiled a list of historically documented ingredients to present to the pizzeria's head chef.

“We sat down to imagine what we might be able to make using these ingredients, and without using things like tomatoes and mozzarella,” Zara said. “We had to exclude all ingredients that originated from America.”

Head chef László Bárdossy said the constraints forced the team into months of experimentation, and a few false starts.

“We had to discard a couple ideas,” Bárdossy said. “The fact that there wasn’t infrastructure like a water system at the time of the Romans made things difficult for us, since more than 80% of pizza dough is water. We had to come up with something that would have worked before running water.”

The solution: helping the dough rise using fermented spinach juice. Ancient grains such as einkorn and spelt, widely cultivated in Roman times, formed the base, and the dough ended up slightly more dense than that of most modern pizzas.

The finished pie is topped with ingredients associated with Roman aristocratic cuisine, including epityrum, an olive paste, garum, a fermented fish sauce ubiquitous in Roman cooking, confit duck leg, toasted pine nuts, ricotta and a grape reduction.

“Our creation can be called a modern pizza from the perspective that we tried to make it comprehensible for everyone,” Bárdossy said. “Although we wouldn’t use all its ingredients for everyday dishes. There is a narrow niche that thinks this is delicious and is curious about it, while most people want more conventional pizza, so it’s not for everyday eating. It’s something special.”

For Zara, the project reflects Neverland Pizzeria’s broader philosophy.

“We’ve always liked coming up with new and interesting things, but tradition is also very important for us, and we thought that these two things together suit us,” he said.

However, he added, there is a modern boundary the restaurant will not cross.

“We do a lot of experimentation with our pizzas. But of course, we definitely do not use pineapple,” he said.