Mark Schreiber - The Japan Times

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Mark Schreiber

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Mark Schreiber

Mark Schreiber worked as a salaryman in travel, consumer electronics, computer software, advertising and market research before turning to translation and writing full time. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has lived in Tokyo since 1966.

For Mark Schreiber's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Jul 21, 2002

A rollicking romp through ancient Edo

THE PILLOW BOOK OF LADY WISTERIA, by Laura Joh Rowland. St. Martin's Minotaur: New York, 2002,292 pp., $24.95 (cloth) While sports fans' attention is focused on Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle Mariners baseball fame, the exploits of Ichiro Sano, the Tokugawa shogunate's "Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People," are being cheered by enthusiasts of mystery fiction.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jul 14, 2002

The name is Otaku, James Otaku

Don't go to Akihabara if you're looking to buy an Aston Martin with twin machine guns, or a pen that shoots poisoned darts. Aside from these, though, there's enough exotic spy goodies there to keep 007 -- or even the most discerning otaku -- supplied for years to come.

COMMUNITY

Jul 11, 2002

Keep those cards and letters coming, folks

When customers sound off about problems, good companies listen, even in Japan

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jun 27, 2002

Chinese invasion making waves in Japan

The other day, I happened to be on the platform of JR Kichijoji Station as a Sobu Line express pulled in. Wanting to be certain it would stop at the next station, Nishi-Ogikubo, I inquired to the young man standing next to me. In halting Japanese, he said that he was Chinese and didn't understand my question.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jun 16, 2002

Why the rain is mainly a pain

Your shoes make squishing sounds when you walk. After a couple of days' use, your bath towel begins to smell like it recently emerged from an Egyptian sarcophagus. Rain hats and scarves, umbrellas and waterproofing sprays proliferate. But no matter what you do, you still don't feel dry.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Jun 13, 2002

Canny Japanese playing it by the numbers

Any time I require the services of a taxi, I can easily recall the telephone number of the Daiwa Taxi Co., 3563-5151, because it transliterates phonetically into "Sa, Goro-san, koi-koi" (Well, come and pick me up Goro-san).

COMMUNITY

Jun 2, 2002

See you at Almond

Earlier this year, the Dentsu Research Institute predicted that Japan's co-hosting of the World Cup would benefit the economy to the tune of 3.182 trillion yen. While Tokyo isn't hosting any of the games, its glitzy Roppongi district will likely play host to thousands of soccer fans from around the world in search of excitement on other fields of play.

COMMUNITY

May 5, 2002

A plastic menagerie for kids of all ages

"Instead of only children, we started to think about what we could sell to people in their 30s, 40s or 50s."

Japan Times

JAPAN / History

Apr 28, 2002

Japan's 'long-awaited spring'

In the morning edition of the Asahi Shimbun, Monday, April 28, 1952, there was a front-page editorial titled "A New Start for Japan." The Occupation, Asahi opined, had been "almost akin to colonialism," resulting in people becoming "irresponsible, obsequious and listless . . . unable to perceive issues in a forthright manner, which led to distorted perspectives."

COMMUNITY

Apr 7, 2002

A dicey history

The earliest reference to gambling in Japan -- found in the eighth-century, 31-volume "Nihon Shoki (Chronicle of Japan)" -- states that in 685 AD, Emperor Temmu passed the time playing a dice game similar to backgammon called sugo-roku (double sixes). Once his successor Empress Jito assumed the throne, however, the pastime was banned.

COMMUNITY

Mar 31, 2002

Let's enjoy new-look Nihongo

"I work at a big soft company. I was in office love with my boss. But I decided to make an image change of myself. Then I found a handsome guy who has a very nice open car. He said a charming girl must not be a high miss. I will goal in with him."

COMMUNITY

Jan 20, 2002

Kabukicho: where worlds collide

About 1 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 1, 2001, a fire of undetermined origin swept through the No. 56 Myojo Building in Shinjuku's Kabukicho district, resulting in the deaths of 44 people on the upper two floors. While investigators say they have ruled out arson, stories in the tabloid press continue to advance the notion that the blaze was set by an unidentified Chinese gangster.

COMMUNITY

Dec 16, 2001

Photo-news loses its focus

Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 4, 2001

In love with the Harley legend

It's Sunday afternoon in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, and the local Harley-Davidson shop, American Street, is playing host to a stream of visitors in black leather jackets.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Aug 26, 2001

Hell on earth in '23

"The pillars of the house made groaning sounds and began to crack. An earthquake! The wall clock stopped, and the electric fan went flying." That was how Hisamatsu Yamato, then an 18-year-old living in Tokyo's Honjo district, recalled the moment.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jul 8, 2001

When Yokohama hosts the final and three other games in the soccer World Cup next June, foreign visitors will be spared a full-frontal view of the city's sleazier side by the waterfront, where a campaign to lessen any shock to their systems has been under way since last year.

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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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