Manami Okazaki - The Japan Times

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Manami Okazaki

For Manami Okazaki's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Feb 20, 2009

Snow yaks and yetis — an ice man cometh

Fans of Pop Surrealism were no doubt tickled pink to hear of their messiah, painter Mark Ryden, making an appearance in Tokyo for the opening of "The Snow Yak Show" at the Tomio Koyama Gallery. The solo exhibition features eight new works from the masterful painter, each exquisitely detailed in his characteristic style that is reminiscent of illustrations in classic children's books such as Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Aug 26, 2008

Tattoos come out of hiding

'There are tattoos that you can show and ones that you should hide," says Shura, an Osaka tattoo artist. "Traditional tattoos are only OK to show at festivals, certain public baths and during fights.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital

Jan 23, 2008

Nikon's full-frame camera aims at the 'Canonistas'

For many professional photographers, their camera is a friend, a trusted companion and colleague. When an important story hinges on the functioning of their "partner," they want a product that is, above all, trustworthy.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jan 10, 2008

Expat artists 'making a home' in NYC have little in common

For many Japanese artists who want to make it in the art world, New York City has yet to shake its image of being an art utopia where anyone can succeed: You'll find representation by a hip gallery! Share cerebral discourses with art star Jeff Koons! And work in a loft of immense dimensions in the Lower East! Though this is an exaggeration, many Japanese continue to believe that New York is the place to solidify their dreams and secure a place on the international art circuit, away from the supposedly rigid social restrictions of Japanese society. No wonder, as the city is a cosmopolitan art-world hub that vanguard Japanese artists such as Go Sugimoto, Yoko Ono and Mariko Mori have already made their home.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jan 3, 2008

A new challenge to old traditions

Many visitors to Japan would love to buy an ukiyo-e (Japanese genre painting) woodblock print while here, and then put it on their wall. Dr. Lakra, an Oaxaca, Mexico-based tattoo artist, bought his own, and then added his own improvements to them.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 19, 2007

'The whole world wanted us dead'

The locals call her Madussa, or Medusa. Clearly, 46-year-old Ari Up, the punk-reggae goddess of the recently reformed Slits, is still a mesmerizing presence — and not only because she sports a tangled blonde beehive of dreads.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Oct 18, 2007

"Royal Elastics presents Chaz Bojorquez"

Tower Records Shibuya Starts Tuesday, ends Oct. 28

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Sep 6, 2007

Japanese tattoo art carves its mark in the mainstream

"It seems like every two or three days we are doing a koi (carp) half-sleeve or a dragon tattoo. People in the States are going nuts for Japanese. It's really blown up over the last two years," says American tattoo artist Lewis Hess of Atlas Tattoo in Portland, Oregon.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jul 5, 2007

Exposing our tacky selves

Walking through an exhibition of Martin Parr's photography is an emotional experience. The Englishman's works make you laugh, snicker, cringe; they prompt self- and societal reflection; but most of all they make you marvel at the dry wit and superior eye that Parr has for things simultaneously insipid yet dense with allusion.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jun 2, 2007

Brit devotes lifework to the abused, abandoned

For many foreigners, living in Japan poses a host of challenges. Consider, however, the life of Elizabeth Oliver, the owner of ARK animal rescue shelter, who manages a facility that houses 300 dogs, 200 cats, 3 rabbits and one fox in a location that can be best described as the "middle of nowhere." In light of Oliver's constant battles, both bureaucratic and domestic, and her having to deal with a veritable Noah's ark worth of life, one's own worries may loom less large.

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

May 15, 2007

Sweltering in matsuri mayhem

As the temperature rises and languid, lazy days melt into humid nights, Japan shifts gear, readying itself for the plethora of local matsuri ceremonies that blossom across the nation in the months ahead.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 29, 2007

Magnum's 60 years of Tokyo

Known for its independent stance on photography, the agency Magnum Photos has been home to some of the world's most prominent photojournalists, starting with its legendary founders, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier Bresson, David Seymour and George Rodger.

CULTURE / Music

Mar 2, 2007

DJ Kentaro "Enter"

DJ Kentaro is best known for his furious cut 'n' scratch performances that won him the coveted DMC World Championship title in 2002 with a perfect score. Kentaro's mixing forte has always been his ability to span genres with seamless dexterity, and its this ambivalence toward sticking to one style that characterizes "Enter," his debut album proper.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 12, 2007

'We get our influences from food -- cucumbers, carrots and spring onions and rosemary." If Afrirampo's supposed musical inspiration seems a bit bland, their tracks certainly are not.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Dec 14, 2006

Plentitudes to show

'The thing that has been consistently with me is the notion of creating something today that didn't exist yesterday; to make things for me is a kind of curiosity," says the prolific 55-year-old artist Shinro Ohtake.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Oct 19, 2006

"Letters First"

Space Edge October 20 & 21

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jul 20, 2006

Artist as inventor

You, like many, might be satisfied with just dreaming of flying. But for inventor/artist Kazuhiko Hachiya, such an idea is hardly in the realm of fantasy -- he thinks that if people want to fly, he should find a way of making it possible.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 9, 2006

Eye looks to tranquillity after his contrived chaos

"I don't really think I have any musicianship. I can't play any instruments. I have no technique. I really can't do anything. I have no professional skill at all. I'm also a crap DJ. I'm really not very deft! Really I'm crap . . . and I've been doing it for 10 years!" says Yamataka Eye, leader of the electronically infused drum circle Vooredoms, speaking to The Japan Times recently in New York.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 13, 2006

A mechanical evolution

The Mori Art Musem is currently hosting an exhibition of previously unidentified life forms. These newly evolved creatures were found recently in urban areas, structurally resemble flowers, fish and insects, and have a complex inorganic, electromagnetic make-up.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 7, 2006

Turntable takedown

In junior high, when Kentaro Okamoto first encountered DJing on a televised DJ battle, he could never have suspected that he would end up winning the 2002 DMC World Final Championship for his talent on the turntables, or spinning alongside hip-hop royalty like The Roots and Pharcyde.

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

By Stephen Mansfield

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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