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May 17, 2024
 

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C.B. Liddell
For C.B. Liddell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 26, 2012
Rembrandt still outshines Vermeer
The first exhibition at the newly renovated Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA) was always going to be an important one. After a two-year closure to let the builders in, it wouldn't have sufficed to just have a run-of-the-mill exhibition. Something special was required, and with "Masterpieces from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 19, 2012
The fortitude of Prussian character
It is becoming increasingly common for Japanese art museums to host exhibitions bearing the names of famous overseas art venues. If the source institution is famous enough, this will give a show of otherwise disparate works of art instant glamour and an identity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 6, 2012
Death marks beginning of life in ancient Egypt
A good portion of Japan's summer is dedicated to honoring the dead. Memorial services in early August remember lives lost to the atomic bombings of 1945, while the Bon holidays pay respect to familial ancestors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2012
A stitch in time: re-dressing our memories
The Renaissance and in particular Giorgio Vasari's "Lives of the Artists" (1550) played a key role in elevating the lowly artist — formerly regarded as a mere craftsman — into something far grander and godlike. Nowadays some art collectors seem to want the opposite, favoring artists who create...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 22, 2012
Politics is inescapable at 'Arab Express' exhibition
The Arab Spring may not be all it's cracked up to be. There are clearly problems with a large swath of nations, formerly under various forms of authoritarian regimes, switching relatively quickly to "democracy," at least as it is understood in the West.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 21, 2012
The photographs that leave a paper trail
In today's complex world, in which we are routinely overburdened with data, intuition and a visceral response to imagery is increasingly trumping rational discourse, according to Thomas Demand. But this is something the German artist, whose work is the subject of a major solo show at the Museum of Contemporary...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2012
Russians who cringed at their own
One of the features of Europe's interwoven network of royal families was that it led to a great deal of cultural transference between the different states. In order to avoid marrying beneath themselves, royals were tempted to look abroad for spouses, with the result that the incomers would often bring...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2012
What lies behind our love of clothes?
There's something counter-intuitive about photographic artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. While most artists are happy to achieve a distinctive style and enjoy the rewards that this brings, Sugimoto is forever reinventing the wheel by developing, then abandoning, one style after another.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012
The strangely beautiful art of Chen Man
Echoing the Pan-Asian theme of this year's Art Fair Tokyo, which was held earlier this month, Shibuya's shop-based Diesel Gallery is hosting a free exhibition of the visually striking work of Chen Man, a young Chinese artist.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012
The strangely beautiful art of Chen Man
Echoing the Pan-Asian theme of this year's Art Fair Tokyo, which was held earlier this month, Shibuya's shop-based Diesel Gallery is hosting a free exhibition of the visually striking work of Chen Man, a young Chinese artist.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 5, 2012
From the ruins rose greatness
Modernity is characterized by a linear concept of time, with the past cast in the role of an ever-diminishing point on the horizon behind us. One of the charms of the exhibition "Hubert Robert: The Gardens of Time" at the National Museum of Western Art is that it challenges this notion, and suggests...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 5, 2012
From the ruins rose greatness
Modernity is characterized by a linear concept of time, with the past cast in the role of an ever-diminishing point on the horizon behind us. One of the charms of the exhibition "Hubert Robert: The Gardens of Time" at the National Museum of Western Art is that it challenges this notion, and suggests...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012
Japan's tall stories of great towers in the city
Perhaps because we are upright, vertical animals, towers have always held a special fascination for us. The artist Taro Okamoto expressed this attraction in anthropomorphic terms when he designed the centerpiece of the 1970 Osaka Expo, the 70-meter-tall "Tower of the Sun" with its three faces, including...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012
Japan's tall stories of great towers in the city
Perhaps because we are upright, vertical animals, towers have always held a special fascination for us. The artist Taro Okamoto expressed this attraction in anthropomorphic terms when he designed the centerpiece of the 1970 Osaka Expo, the 70-meter-tall "Tower of the Sun" with its three faces, including...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 23, 2012
Unlocking the secrets of the Inca civilization
The pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas are very much in the public's mind this year due to the so-called Mayan Prophecy that suggests the world will end on Dec. 21. Perhaps any fear-mongering will have the positive effect of sparking increased interest in the region. Luckily, media company TBS...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 23, 2012
Unlocking the secrets of the Inca civilization
The pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas are very much in the public's mind this year due to the so-called Mayan Prophecy that suggests the world will end on Dec. 21. Perhaps any fear-mongering will have the positive effect of sparking increased interest in the region. Luckily, media company TBS...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012
Cutting-edge art in a tight spot
If you're in the mood for an abstruse, slightly puzzling moment, head to Naka-Meguro, one of Tokyo's acknowledged artistic odd spots, and get yourself to The Container: literally a metal cargo container — but one set in the midst of a hair salon. As soon as you arrive, you may be assailed by feelings...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012
Cutting-edge art in a tight spot
If you're in the mood for an abstruse, slightly puzzling moment, head to Naka-Meguro, one of Tokyo's acknowledged artistic odd spots, and get yourself to The Container: literally a metal cargo container — but one set in the midst of a hair salon. As soon as you arrive, you may be assailed by feelings...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 15, 2012
Tokyo's expansion west, and further
With the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake just passed, an awareness of Japan's earthquake-prone nature is very much with us. But destructive as earthquakes are, they can also serve as catalysts for social, economic, and cultural change. This seems to be the premise of the exhibition...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 15, 2012
Tokyo's expansion west, and further
With the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake just passed, an awareness of Japan's earthquake-prone nature is very much with us. But destructive as earthquakes are, they can also serve as catalysts for social, economic, and cultural change. This seems to be the premise of the exhibition...
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.

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

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

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