Tag - festivals

 
 

FESTIVALS

Yoasobi vocalist Lilas Ikuta, who goes by “Ikura,” and bandmate Ayase performed a solo set Friday night and appeared a second time as part of the American company 88Rising’s showcase Sunday at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2024
A White House dinner, a slot at Coachella — Yoasobi is having a great week
J-pop's Ikura and Ayase say they had to cut their hair and learn English for a string of stateside engagements.
Joel Vaudreuil's "When Adam Changes" won the grand prix at this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the largest festival devoted to feature-length animation in Asia.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 28, 2024
Niigata film festival showcases cutting-edge overseas talent
The six-day event dedicated to feature-length animation presented a lineup of stories that were psychologically rich and emotionally dark.
Festivalgoers sit at dining tables next to food stalls at the Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium, last year. The event is set to take place in Thailand in 2026.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2024
Thailand to host two major music events after Taylor Swift miss
The Southeast Asian country plans to welcome two foreign music festivals, one of them Japanese, to help boost tourism.
Zashikibina, an exhibit by a group organizing hina doll displays in Fukuoka Prefecture, depicts the era of "The Tale of Genji," in the Gyosho room at Hyakudan Kaidan in Tokyo.
CULTURE
Feb 18, 2024
Hina doll exhibition in Tokyo highlights Girls' Day tradition
The event is being held for the first time in four years, after it was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Men in loincloths scramble for a bag of talismans during the Sominsai festival at Kokuseki Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Festival with 1,000-year history succumbs to graying population
Kokuseki Temple's Sominsai festival used to take place from the seventh day of Lunar New Year through to the following morning.
The dekayama float ritual of the Seihaku Festival is held in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, in May 2019.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2024
UNESCO-listed float festival to be skipped in wake of Noto quake
The ritual in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, is believed to date back to 1473.
German band Kraftwerk performs at a music festival in Wiesen in May 2009.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024
German techno pioneers Kraftwerk set to headline Fuji Rock 2024
The popular festival's first line-up announcement also boasts girl in red, Ride and The Last Dinner Party.
Director Toshihiko Tanaka (left) is pictured in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Feb. 2, after his film, "Rei," won the top Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 5, 2024
Toshihiko Tanaka wins top prize for 'Rei' at Rotterdam film festival
The Japanese film "Rei" directed by Toshihiko Tanaka won the top Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, an annual event for up-and-coming filmmakers.
The Sapporo Snow Festival offers outdoor dining, markets, sports, ice sculptures and more across three event sites.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 6, 2024
Asia's winter festivals: Snow, fire and spectacle galore
The ancient city of Nara wards off the wintertime darkness with an unusual tradition: lighting a local mountain on fire.
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023
Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices
The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
Director Wim Wenders served as president of the competition jury at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Wenders' "Perfect Days," which opened the festival and features Koji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, is Japan’s nominee for the Academy Awards’ best international feature film category.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2023
'Perfect Days' and '(Ab)normal Desire' turn heads at Tokyo International Film Festival
Wim Wenders' film opened the event, while Yoshiyuki Kishi’s multilayered drama made a splash, taking both the Audience Award and the best director prize.
Director Hideo Jojo made the switch from soft-core adult films to more mainstream entertainment with “On the Edge of Their Seats,” a drama about four teenagers watching their high school baseball team lose an important tournament game.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 10, 2023
'Pink film' director Hideo Jojo gets the red carpet treatment
Tokyo's annual film festival named Jojo — who has made over 100 titles, from soft-core adult films to theatrical features — this year's Director in Focus.
A festivalgoer walks along the water near Kyotophonie’s Beach Stage. Despite rain on the second day of the festival, attendees and musicians maintained a lively atmosphere until the nighttime finale.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2023
An intimate bazaar of music and magic at Kyotophonie
The biannual music festival brought soulful sounds to Amanohashidate, a sandbar famed for having one of Japan’s three most beautiful views.
Labyrinth organizer Russell Moench sparked controversy with transphobic tweets, leading booked artists to pull out of the highly regarded electronic music festival’s 2023 edition.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2023
Art and politics clash at Labyrinth 2023
A controversy surrounding the prestige electronic music festival sparks an old debate over separating art and the artist.
Japan-based DJ and broadcaster Peter Barakan invites artists from around the world to perform at his two-day roots music festival, Peter Barakan’s Live Magic!.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 19, 2023
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! festival celebrates 10th edition
The two-day roots music festival in Tokyo features sounds from around the world with acts such as Minyo Crusaders, Jon Cleary and Oreka TX.
Busan International Film Festival host Song Kang-ho presents the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award to veteran Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat at the 2023 edition of the Asian film festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2023
Film fans flock to Busan festival despite scandal
Busan International Film Festival remains a prestige Asian movie event amid internal strife and budget cuts.
Tatsuya Fuji
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 1, 2023
Japanese actor Tatsuya Fuji wins top lead actor prize at San Sebastian
San Sebastian's international film festival is considered one of the most prestigious in Europe alongside those of Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
A performer going by the name “Tanefukube” leads shishi-odori dancers during Tono Meguritoroge’s grand finale at Rokko-shi shrine.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 30, 2023
Dancing with ghosts at Tono’s rural folk festival
The Tono region is Japan’s go-to setting of scary stories to tell in the dark.
Take a moment to look up at the sky tonight, see if you can spot some lunar rabbits.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 29, 2023
An autumnal custom teaches Japan to appreciate the season
While not as popular as its springtime cherry blossom cousin, moon-viewing season still has its own specific customs.
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Sept. 7 with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie — a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2023
Hayao Miyazaki has ideas for next project after 'The Boy and the Heron'
Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli's vice president for international distribution, says the director "shows the willingness to create something new."

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on