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Sang Woo Kim
For Sang Woo Kim's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 19, 2014
Jamaica's one love starts in Tokyo and reaches out across Japan
This festival celebrating 50 years of friendship between Japan and Jamaica culminates with a Bob Marley Songs Day competition on Sunday, where the winner will receive the grand prize of a trip to Jamaica. For most visitors, however, Bob Marley's music is just one of 12 entertaining sets by various musicians, who will also play other reggae and Jamaican tunes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2014
'Crowdfunding' readers back 'library bar,' request a book each
When 30-year-old book lover Shunsuke Mori decided to open a "library bar" in Tokyo, he took a leap of faith to solicit funds over the Internet.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 12, 2014
The world could be your oyster in Aichi
In Peru, the largest Incan festival, Inti Raymi (Festival of Sun), takes place on June 25 in honor of Inti, the sun god. In Japan, those in Aichi Prefecture on June 14 and 15 can celebrate, too, by enjoying performances by the Andean folk trio Ekekos, who will honor Inti by playing traditional panflutes at the Little World Museum of Man, near Nagoya.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2014
Students take worldly approach to study abroad
A University of Tokyo student set to spend a year as an exchange student in Illinois this summer doesn't think English skill is the only thing that matters when going to the United States.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 5, 2014
Light up the night with a firefly festival
Fireflies, known as hotaru in Japan, have inspired numerous artists and writers, including Haruki Murakami, whose short story "Firefly" was later adapted into the first part of his best-seller "Norwegian Wood." In the real world, however, fireflies are sadly in decline, as their natural habitats — near clean, standing water — are increasingly being destroyed by urbanization.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 30, 2014
FIFA World Cup 2014 brings the fun to Tokyo
When you're on the other side of the world finding a place to watch World Cup matches usually requires meticulous planning — from persuading friends with giant TV screens to let you join them, to preparing for an assault on your body clock. Flying to Brazil is an option, but for those of us with a less-than-extravagant budget, Adidas and other World Cup sponsors are bringing the spirit of the "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Stadium" to Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 22, 2014
Aichi Prefecture is firing on all cylinders
Among the different kinds of hanabi (fireworks) in Japan, the tezutsu hanabi is probably the one you really shouldn't try at home. "Tezutsu" means "hand-held," and a tezutsu hanabi cylindrical cartridge is made of a hollowed out bamboo tube, which is wrapped in rope woven from rice straw. The tube, which is usually around 80 cm tall and 15 cm wide, is packed with 1.5 to 3 kg of gunpowder. It's believed that the tezutsu hanabi evolved from the use of similar devices as signals in warfare 400 years ago. The tube is hand held when lit, and it can blast flames and sparks up to 10 meters high into the air.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2014
Couple care for Tama cats cast off by society
Back in 1990, while taking a stroll along the Tama River, photographer Osamu Konishi came upon a surreal scene: dozens of cats sitting amicably and quietly on the branches of a tree, almost like apples waiting to be picked, as well as on the ground below.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 15, 2014
Design Festa vol. 39 celebrates 20 years of original creativity
With so many designer goods now manufactured in large numbers, sometimes we forget that "design" stems from creativity and originality.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 8, 2014
Celebrate Okinawan culture at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park
In Okinawa Prefecture, soba is not a bowl of buckwheat noodles in a light broth — it is a helping of thick, white noodles served in a hot soup of pork-bone stock flavored with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes). From foods to rituals, culture in Okinawa — shaped by its history as the Ryukyu Kingdom and its tropical terrain — is distinctive from that of any other region of Japan.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 1, 2014
Swap carps for pinatas on Children's Day
Children's Day in Japan is known for its koinobori (carp streamer) decorations, but perhaps this year you'd like to celebrate with a pinata instead.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Apr 24, 2014
Tokyo shows to get fans in mood for Jazz Day
The lineup for Osaka's International Jazz Day is a true jazz fan's dream. The event will be broadcast on the Web for those who can't make it, but that's nothing compared to how the music sounds live.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2014
Parade aims to raise awareness of sexual minorities
Tokyo Rainbow Pride, the nation's largest festival for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, will have its third annual parade in Tokyo on Sunday, aiming to raise awareness of sexual minorities in Japan.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 17, 2014
Fuji Shibazakura Festival extends prime blossom-viewing season
Alas, the yearly cherry blossom front has left the Kanto region, leaving tiny pink petals swirling about in the spring breeze. The good news for nature lovers, though, is that more blooms are set to appear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2014
'Roots of Zen: Yosai and the Treasures of Kenninji'
Kenninji is the oldest of what is known as the Kyoto Gozan, the five leading Zen Buddhist temples of Kyoto. It houses various artworks but is particularly famous for the designated national treasure "Fujin-Raijin" ("The Wind and Thunder Gods"), a gold-leaf embellished screen painting by the 17th-century artist Tawaraya Sotatsu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2014
'Rudolf Steiner'
Austria-born, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) is known as a philosopher, literary critic and esoteric who became leader of the German Theosophical Society and later founder the Anthroposophical Society. Much of his philosophical thought was influenced by the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while his politics were left-leaning. He is often remembered for his support of writer Emile Zola's intervention in the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal that divided France.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2014
'Seiji Fujishiro 90th Birthday Anniversary'
To many, the term "shadow play" or "shadow puppetry" will conjure up images of black silhouettes telling a story against a bright white background. Seiji Fujishiro's shadow-play visions, however, are filled with vivid colors, abstract shapes and detailed scenery.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 20, 2014
Akashi invites visitors to not only enjoy art, but to create it, too
Art sprouts from the imagination, but it usually starts with a blank slate of some kind, which is something Akashi Artful Week is offering its visitors. This week-long event includes the installation of a 50-meter-long blank canvas on which visitors are asked to illustrate their impressions of the city of Akashi, a seaport next to Kobe, that's famous as the gateway to Shikoku Island.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 19, 2014
'From Hakubakai to Kofukai: Aspects of Japanese Oil Painting'
Kofukai, translated as "Light and Wind Club," was a group of oil painters established in Japan by seven young artists in 1912. The founding members were initially influenced by the Realist painters of Paris, whose aim in the absence of photography, was to depict the world as truthfully as possible.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 19, 2014
'Hakone Meets Art: Tamatebako in the Forest'
Odd things can happen in the forest, and at the Hakone Open Air Museum that includes the artistically strange. For this exhibition, artist Koji Kakuno dares to dangle himself from a tree in a wooden cocoonlike contraption for days at a time.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world