Victoria James - The Japan Times

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Victoria James

For Victoria James's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

CULTURE / Art

Dec 12, 2001

The world according to Bucky

Naming himself "Guinea Pig B," Buckminster Fuller vowed that his whole life would be an experiment "to see what an unknown individual . . . might be able to do effectively on behalf of all mankind."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Nov 28, 2001

Reaching out in dramatic style

"Am-dram" may attract devotion and derision in equal measure, but in Japan a strong tradition of amateur English-language theater has been serving the wider community for nearly 150 years.

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Nov 25, 2001

What she's doing in Japan: a novel with heart

ASH, by Holly Thompson. Stone Bridge Press, 2001, 292 pp., $16.95 (paper) Don't read "Ash" if you're a jaded expatriate pining for a ticket home. Don't give a copy to an idealistic friend considering the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Above all, don't lend it to Japanese acquaintances keen to discover what foreigners really think about aspects of life in this country.

Japan Times

LIFE / Travel

Nov 13, 2001

Waxing lyrical over rural crafts

Would you recognize a "Tangible Folk-Cultural Property" if you saw one? If you were walking through a "Traditional Construction Preservation Area," would you know?

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 11, 2001

You can be an artist if you've half a mind to

Kristin Newton changes lives. Messages of appreciation fill her inbox. "This is a turning point in our lives," reads one. "We are looking at things so differently now."

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Nov 11, 2001

Helping sisters do it for themselves

BEING A BROAD IN JAPAN: Everything a Western Woman Needs to Survive and Thrive, by Caroline Pover. Alexandra Press, 2001, 518 pp., 2,858 yen (paper) "Being A Broad in Japan: Everything a Western Woman Needs to Survive and Thrive" is a chatty and compendious handbook, covering topics from beauty care to birth control, from disaster haircuts to divorce, with anecdotal and expert opinions backing it up all the way.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Nov 7, 2001

Better living through recycling

In the world of haute couture, it is generally the design ideas that get recycled, not the clothes themselves. Barely has one decade ended before its trends resurface as retro chic: new clothes, same old look.

CULTURE / Art

Oct 24, 2001

The sublime city and state of mind

Art history, like the military kind, is written by the victors. Thus Florentine Giorgio Vasari's encyclopedic "Lives of the Artists," published in 1550, is a propagandist's account of his home city's starring role in the artistic and intellectual phenomenon we now call the Renaissance.

CULTURE / Art

Oct 3, 2001

Missing links steal the show

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also a dubious honor. For some 15 years, until his death in 1610, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's brooding and beautiful works scandalized Church and patrons alike, and left a generation of followers -- and copycats -- in his wake.

JAPAN

May 10, 2001

Iwate sculptors seek to shape cultural ties

IWATE, Iwate Pref. -- Iwate Prefecture is probably not the first place people would expect to stumble on artists of international renown.

JAPAN

Apr 12, 2001

Issei's love of America tempered

A loyal American who cherishes Japanese values inherited from his issei parents, Henry Ikemoto's life bridges two cultures.

LIFE / Travel

Feb 28, 2001

Take the path of the pilgrims to mortal happiness

Two types of pilgrim come to Matsuyama in Shikoku's northeasterly Ehime Prefecture: Buddhists and bathers.

LIFE / Travel

Feb 14, 2001

Okinawa: A little bit of everything but still something else

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- The beaches are Hawaiian, the suburbs look American, the marketplaces resemble Asian bazaars, and the omiyage-ya are definitely Japanese. But Okinawa, as any resident is keen to tell you, has a personality all its own.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

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