Every morning, in schoolyards and public parks, millions of Japanese people bend and stretch following directions recorded over a piano track—a nearly century-old fitness routine known as rajio taisō. These Japanese calisthenics date back to 1927, when the Ministry of Posts and Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, teamed up to promote national health exercises on the radio. According to the Japanese government, over 25 million people still participate in the three-minute-long choreography at least twice a week, enjoying the communal exercises This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 50 Close Knit Close Knit: Meet the weavers keeping traditional Egyptian tapestrymaking alive. Arts & Culture Issue 50 The Old Gays Inside a Californian TikTok “content house” of a very different stripe. Arts & Culture Issue 50 New Roots The Palestinian art and agriculture collective sowing seeds of community. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Angela Trimbur An all-out tour de force. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Peace & Quiet In the UK, a centuries-old Quaker meeting house encourages quiet reflection. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Free Wheelers On the road with London’s Velociposse Cycling Club.
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Arts & Culture Issue 50 Peace & Quiet In the UK, a centuries-old Quaker meeting house encourages quiet reflection.
