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April 28, 2024
 

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Elliott

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Elliott
Elliott Samuels is manager of the Life & Culture Division of The Japan Times and editor-in-chief of The Japan Times On Sunday.
For Elliott's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jul 12, 2014
Kuhaku & Other Accounts From Japan
"Kuhaku & Other Accounts From Japan" was one of the first books released by Chin Music Press, an independent publisher that has produced some of the best collections of contemporary literature from Japan over the past decade or so.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 12, 2014
Koichi Hanafusa: 'I'd like everyone to see that life is worth living'
Fuji Rock fansite organizer on music, festivals and bugs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 28, 2014
Zen Landscapes
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 21, 2014
Inside and Other Short Fiction
The tagline on the cover of this provocative anthology pretty much sums it up in a nutshell: "Japanese women by Japanese women." Featuring eight short stories and a foreword by novelist Ruth Ozeki, "Inside and Other Short Fiction" is a gritty introduction to contemporary writers who explore the issue of female identity.
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 31, 2014
Essential summer festivals 2014
A summer without festivals simply wouldn’t be a proper summer in Japan, so now that the humidity has returned, it’s time to slop on an extra layer of sunscreen and line up some outdoor activities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 31, 2014
Tales of the Ghost Sword
There are so many ghost tales floating around Japan that it's somewhat surprising there's any space left over in bookstores here for actual accounts of the living. In "Tales of the Ghost Sword," horror novelist Hideyuki Kikuchi presents nine bloodcurdling historical stories that depict the pathos of lower-class samurai who live for — and are held captive by — the sword. There's "Shadow Wife," the tale of a cantankerous swordsman who unwittingly helps a pair of young lovers take revenge on a skilled samurai who had murdered them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 24, 2014
Matthew Crabbe: 'Try not to pick up any vices on the way to maturity'
What's the most exciting/outrageous thing you have ever done? Accept a job in Yucatan, Mexico, without knowing a word of Spanish.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 17, 2014
The Politics Of Dialogic Imagination
"The Politics Of Dialogic Imagination: Power and Popular Culture in Early Modern Japan" attempts to ascertain the relationship that existed between well-known cultural portrayals and the configuration of social order in the late Edo Period (1603-1867). It peels back the layers behind the political effects of a nascent popular culture at a time when the seemingly powerful Tokugawa clan tried to rein in what artists were doing in Edo (present-day Tokyo).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 10, 2014
Morgan Fisher: 'If all the world's a stage, where's the dressing room?'
What first brought you to Japan? I had no plan, only the need for a change of scene from my previous home in Hollywood. I felt right at home from day one.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 3, 2014
Quick Draw
There’s a certain amount of irony in choosing a desolate corner of Death Valley, California, to conduct a high-risk drug deal, but the female protagonist in Shu Ejima's award-winning debut work doesn't appear to have had much choice in the matter.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2014
Lucy Birmingham: 'Don't give up on your dream no matter how many people tell you it's wrong'
'The world can learn a lot from the Japanese about how to get up and start over again despite unimagineable tragedy.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 19, 2014
Yamato
In postwar Japan, a U.S. Army intelligence officer is found dead in his Tokyo apartment with a bullet in his skull. Military policemen declare it to be a suicide but CIA agent Ralph Carnaby and his Japanese-American sidekick, Dan Morita, uncover evidence that suggests something far more sinister is behind it. Before they know it, the pair is inadvertently drawn into a fast-paced conspiracy involving the U.S., China and the Soviet Union that threatens to change the course of Japan's history forever.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 29, 2014
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami can be difficult to pigeonhole at the best of times but nothing can quite prepare the uninitiated for the ethereal themes that bubble beneath the surface of "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 22, 2014
The Art Lover's Guide to Japanese Museums
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 15, 2014
Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii
The international success of Japanese animation films at the box office over the past two decades can largely be put down to the work of two men: Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki and the self-proclaimed "stray dog of anime," Mamoru Oshii.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 15, 2014
'Be the best you can, don't waste a minute'
Be committed, be focused and be the best you can. Don't waste a minute.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 8, 2014
Photos found after the tsunami leave a mark
Family photographs are essentially a collection of memories, snapshots of happiness frozen in time. As treasured as these printed images may be to the individuals captured in them, they are no match for the destructive power of the tsunami that swept away town after town along the Tohoku coast on March 11, 2011.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 8, 2014
Amya Miller: 'What's the difference between a duck?'
Where do you go to escape Tokyo? The Yamanote Line. I ride it all the way around once and I'm all better.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2014
Tokyo International Literary Festival brings authors and readers together
Authors, editors, publishers and translators gather with book fans this week to celebrate the second Tokyo International Literary Festival, which features 10 days of readings and workshops alongside more than two dozen events at venues ranging from coffee shops to embassies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2014
Decadent Literature in Twentieth-Century Japan
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

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

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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