Japan is a dichotomy of old and new. From the daring streets of Harajuku, Tokyo, to the quiet temples in Uji, Kyoto, the extreme juxtapositions of traditional and modern are what make Japan such a unique country. Elaborating on this phenomenon, the exhibit “’Imayo: Japan’s New Traditionists,” at the University of Hawaii-Manoa art gallery, sparks conversation about how old traditions can inspire new art.

“I hope that this exhibit helps people to rethink the value of the past. … These things that concerned people in the past can help solve problems today,” said John Szostak, associate professor of Japanese art history at the university and curator for “Imayo.”

On view are works by six contemporary Japanese artists: Toru Ishii, Ryoko Kimura, Haruo Mitsuta, Satoshi Someya, Koji Tanada and Taro Yamamoto. All are skilled in various ancient art techniques, such as paste-resist dyeing, mineral pigments and lacquer, but approach and use them with modern perspectives and styles.

Yamamoto’s “Sumidagawa, Sakuaragawa” is a pair of folding screens incorporating sumi ink, mineral pigments and oxidized silver leaf on paper. Named after two well-known Japanese Noh plays that were named in turn after the Sumida and Sakura rivers, Yamamoto playfully updates the stories by including a modern vacuum machine by the Hitachi company — a pun referencing the Hitachi province in which the Sakura River is found.

A pair of folding screens by Kimura, called “Boys Paradise: East & West,” depicts with ribald energy the stereotypes of two different kinds of males: the “soshoku danshi” herbivores viewed as the less competitive, quiet and passive males of the East, versus the uber-masculine, “nikushoku danshi” meat-eaters of the West.

Other highlights include Tanada’s “12 Appeared Girls,” a group of 12 sculptures made out of a hinoki cypress wood that’s over 1,600 years old. The blocks of wood were carved into busts surrounding a half-naked full figure, and resemble women in Tanada’s past.

Ishii’s “At the Soba Shop” uses vibrant, “itome yuzen” paste-resist silk dyeing techniques that hail back to the 18th century, when Kyoto kimono makers created complex hand-painted designs of birds, flowers, figures and landscapes on robes and obi sashes. He pairs this ancient technique with modern imagery, such as a skull-like figure in Japanese samurai armor eating soba noodles.

In a theme that explores different cultural values in Japan versus Hawaii, Someya cleverly employs a deer motif in his works, showing how the animal is viewed in both countries. In Japan, deer have a long history and significance in the Shinto faith, while in Hawaii, deer were brought to Molokai specifically for hunting. He uses “kanshitsu” (dry lacquer) techniques and “kintsugi,” which means “joining with gold,” a process traditionally used for repairing broken ceramics with lacquer dusted or impregnated with gold, silver or platinum.

The most eye-catching installation might be Mitsuta’s “Idleness,” influenced by the nature-themed, incredibly detailed sculpture techniques from the early 1700s called “jizai okimono.” “Idleness” might repulse most people: In brass, copper and bronze, it depicts two lifelike red centipedes in bed. In Japanese folklore, centipedes are found in pairs, and so this piece is also sweet, bringing to mind the image of a married couple.

“Imayo” is currently on view at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Smaller works by the six artists are also on view Oct. 13 through Jan. 8 at the Honolulu Museum of Art. These thought-provoking, contemporary pieces show that the past — specifically, pre-20th-century Japanese art — is very much alive, honored and carried forward by contemporary artists.