In 1856, the young French printmaker Bracquemond was shown a collection of ceramics by an acquaintance. These ceramics, imported from Japan, a country then closed to foreign relations, would likely have been rare in Western Europe. However, what captured his attention was not the ceramics themselves but their wrapping paper. It was a page from Katsushika Hokusai’s “Hokusai Manga.(Hokusai Sketch)” Impressed by the artwork, Bracquemond went on to obtain a copy of “Hokusai Manga” through great effort and introduced it to his painter friends in Paris, eventually leading to Hokusai becoming widely known across Europe from France. …Unfortunately, the story is sa […]

On Sunday, September 29th, the 41st edition of the Honolulu Century Ride (HCR) came to a close. While chatting with many of the participating riders, the GR editorial team received this question from a few people: “What kind of organization is behind such an amazing ride event?” With that in mind, we conducted an interview with Travis Counsell, Executive Director of the organizing body, the Hawaii Bicycling League, and an avid cyclist himself. We also received a message from him for all participants, so please read on! GR Editorial Team (hereafter GR): Could you give us an overview of the event? Travis Counsell (hereafter Travis, without honorifics): This event is the largest lon […]

Connecting people who enjoy rides.”Ring-Tomo” from TV producer Daisaku Kawase is none other than Daisuke Imanaka, whom you all know. He is the first Japanese participant in the Tour de France. I wonder what kind of rides he has been enjoying lately.