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November 04, 2025
 

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Sachiko Tamashige
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 4, 2018
Tsuyoshi Tane designs forward-thinking buildings by building on memories
Tsuyoshi Tane says one particular piece of praise has stayed with him throughout the year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 3, 2018
Architecture in Japan: A storied history built firmly on wooden foundations
'Japan in Architecture: Genealogies of its Transformation' is now showing at the Mori Art Museum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 28, 2018
Minakata: Japan's pioneer of ecology
In an old black-and-white photograph on show at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Minakata Kumagusu — with a shaved head and dressed only in a waistcloth — stands by a huge tree, arms crossed in seeming defiance. He could easily be a lumberjack or a rural monk whose life of seclusion...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 25, 2017
Naoto Fukasawa: Between craft and design
Naoto Fukasawa is probably best known internationally for his designs for Muji, in particular for the wall-mounted CD player he created in 1999, which was featured in Gary Hustwit's popular 2009 documentary "Objectified." Now he remains a creative adviser for Muji, while still designing interiors, lighting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 20, 2016
Raku: A traditional contemporary art form
At the opening of "The Cosmos in a Tea Bowl: Transmitting a Secret Art Across Generations of the Raku Family" at The National Museum of Modern Art, in Kyoto, the current head of the Raku family, Kichizaemon XV (b. 1949), explained that the event would be "an unprecedented and once-in-a-lifetime exhibition...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2016
Reconnecting Japan's ancient cultural hub
"When I visited Todaiji Temple in Nara, just after I arrived as a Chinese student in Japan about 30 years ago, I felt somehow nostalgic as it had an atmosphere of old China," says Cai Guo-Qiang, as he explains his work for Culture City of East Asia 2016, Nara, a cultural project that launched in March....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 24, 2016
Hiroshi Sambuichi: The nature of architecture
What is most remarkable about Hiroshi Sambuichi's work is the sensation of air and wind movement that the shapes of the architect's buildings encourage. The experience is testament to Sambuichi's philosophy that architecture should work in harmony with the environment surrounding it so that it becomes...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 27, 2015
Kou-an glass teahouse gives tradition clarity
Tokujin Yoshioka is a familiar name in the design world, but it's hard to say which discipline he belongs to. His oeuvre spans products, including a mobile phone, watch and chandelier; architecture and interiors, such as his Rainbow Church (2010, 2013) and Swarovski Ginza (2008) display; even artworks...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 16, 2015
Just one collector can make all the difference
When Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery opened "Takahashi Collection: Mirror Neuron," it was packed with people keen to see Ryutaro Takahashi's selection of 140 contemporary artworks by 52 artists. It's only the second major showing of pieces owned by Takahashi, a psychiatrist and one of the most influential...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 5, 2015
Korin: the late bloomer with innovative in style
One of the joys of visiting Tokyo's Nezu Museum in early May, is to catch the annual showing of one of the museum's most famous works, Ogata Korin's "Irises," before stepping outside to appreciate the real irises blooming in its garden.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 30, 2015
Building social change after the earthquake
In 2011, the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami forced Japanese architects to rethink their understanding of architecture at a fundamental level — to consider closely society's systems and the affect buildings had on not only the life of, but also the psyche of the people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 27, 2014
Toyo Ito literally connects architecture to the people
"For the past nine years, it's been a struggling journey — groping toward an unseen goal. Nobody could tell how and when this building would settle into the right shape within the budget," architect Toyo Ito said at the Oct. 16 opening of "Toyo Ito: The Making of the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2014
Kyoto's top treasures, all under one roof
Kyoto is at its most brilliant and beautiful in autumn, with its World Heritage scenery colored in red and golden leaves. This year, it's also a time when visitors have the rare opportunity to learn about the essence of Kyoto culture at the Kyoto National Museum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 3, 2014
Nothing is ordinary for Leandro Erlich
'Swimming pools, staircases and elevators are ordinary places that we never question, as we think that we know about them already. But is that true? Do we really know them?' — Leandro Erlich.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2014
Tradition is woven into modern Japanese fashion
Boosted by Japan's remarkable economic growth and the modernization of the country's lifestyle in the latter half of the 20th century, contemporary Japanese fashion has soared to the heights of the global fashion scene while, at the same time, the textile industry related to the kimono has declined....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2013
Seeing where Shinto and Buddhism cross
"The number of Shinto shrines in Japan has changed over centuries due to various political and social changes. There were about 190,000 shrines during the early Meiji Era (1867-1912), before a drastic change came about in the merging of shrines and temples. The number of shrines was greatly reduced,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 3, 2013
Kitaro taps into Native American culture
"Kitaro and I were destined to meet each other," Dennis Banks tells The Japan Times. "Our beliefs are similar: Mother Earth, who we are ... we are all the children of this Earth."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 16, 2012
Izumo: The myths and gods of Japan's history
"Shinkoku is the sacred name of Japan — Shinkoku, 'The Country of the Gods'; and of all Shinkoku the most holy ground is the land of Izumo," wrote Lafcadio Hearn more than 100 years ago in his book "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan." For Hearn, it had been an ambition to visit Shimane Prefecture's Izumo,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 16, 2012
In the garden of Shigemori's mind
The Zen gardens of Kyoto have attracted countless admirers and served as inspiration to many artists, designers and other creative people. Steve Jobs, for whom Zen Buddhism was an inspiration, praised Kyoto's gardens, and the minimalism of Zen aesthetics became a strong inspiration behind the design...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 16, 2012
In the garden of Shigemori's mind
The Zen gardens of Kyoto have attracted countless admirers and served as inspiration to many artists, designers and other creative people. Steve Jobs, for whom Zen Buddhism was an inspiration, praised Kyoto's gardens, and the minimalism of Zen aesthetics became a strong inspiration behind the design...
The unstoppable rise of konbini tourism
Guests typically follow Ryo Ito’s lead as he weaves through the narrow, colorful aisles of convenience stores.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo
A narrow Pacific waterway at heart of U.S. plans to choke China’s vast navy
Philippine and Australian troops fire an M777 howitzer during live fire exercises as part of joint military drills in Laur, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines, in August.
Trump would make U.S. Supreme Court history by attending tariffs case
There is no record in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 235-year history of a sitting president ever attending arguments, according to Clare Cushman, director of publications and resident historian at the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Dodgers clinch back-to-back World Series titles as Blue Jays downed in thriller
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and teammates celebrate after winning the World Series against the Blue Jays. Yamamoto was named MVP for the series.
How airlines are refining their in-flight food in Japan's tourism boom
All Nippon Airways' gourmet program, The Connoisseurs, showcases the Japanese concept of "shun" (peak season for ingredients), giving passengers a preview of the refined cuisine that awaits them in Japan.
The unstoppable rise of konbini tourism
Guests typically follow Ryo Ito’s lead as he weaves through the narrow, colorful aisles of convenience stores.
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years — and fans can still sing every word
Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

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