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April 29, 2025
 

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Kris Kosaka

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Kris Kosaka
Kris Kosaka, a resident of Japan since 1996, contributes regularly to The Japan Times. She is a lecturer at Meiji Gakuin University in the Faculty of International Studies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2018
'Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts': Deliciously sinister, beautifully illustrated supernatural tales
Hard-boiled, multifaceted writer Joel Rose paired up with the late Anthony Bourdain to pen 'Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts,' an illustrated collection of fright and food evoking the Japanese kaidan (ghost story) tradition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 29, 2018
John Okada's 'No-No Boy': Once overlooked, now a classic tale of identity
'No-No Boy,' a 1957 novel by Japanese-American writer John Okada, unravels the complicated, varied perspectives of Japanese-Americans in the aftermath of World War II under the shadow of the internment camps of the American northwest.
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Sep 15, 2018
Mieko Kawakami: A writer's writer who is at once highly readable and immensely popular
From her distinctive style to her choice of topics, Mieko Kawakami is both a writer's writer and an entertainer, a thinker and constantly evolving stylist who manages to be highly readable and immensely popular.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 25, 2018
'Hybrid Child': Enter a sprawling excursion into the unknown
For any fan of speculative fiction, Hybrid Child presents a sprawling, imaginative excursion into the unknown that also predicts current familiar thematic questionings on gender politics or weaponized robots.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Aug 18, 2018
Fumiko Enchi: A critical advocate of female empowerment
In the midst of Showa Era (1926-89) Japan, with patriarchy dominating and imperialism rising, a young female playwright, Fumiko Enchi (1905-86), started a literary career that would eventually lead her to become a passionate advocate for female empowerment, while casting a critical, penetrating eye over...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 11, 2018
'The Penguin Book of Haiku': Morsels of poetry from the mountaintop to the gutter
According to author and translator Adam L. Kern, there's a pervasive myth that haiku is only nature poetry, that it is always serious and connected to Zen, that there are hardly any women haiku poets. But haiku covers far greater ground.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 1, 2018
In Yokohama, they'll be dancing in the streets
Summer is a time for dancing. Across the country there are countless local matsuri (festivals) in which a regionally specific odori (dance) is the main attraction and, of course, there are the many outdoor music festivals that allow people to let loose and move.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jul 22, 2018
'Miracle' lands Japan-based Bangladeshi doctor with a teaching career once dreamed of but denied
Sabina Mahmood is an associate professor and medical educator at Okayama University, and mentors incoming International Baccalaureate graduates and foreign students at the university.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Jul 21, 2018
Fiercely intelligent and unstoppably prolific, Hiromi Ito is a modern literary provocateur
Love her or hate her — and her work tends to provoke strong passions in critics and fans alike — Hiromi Ito is a defining force in Japan's literary world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 27, 2018
The mind games of choreographer Philippe Decoufle
Choreographer Philippe Decoufle describes his new circus-inspired show, "Nouvelles Pieces Courtes" ("New Short Pieces"), as a "sort of visual and physical mind game."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2018
'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories': Memorable shorts from the greats of modern literature
From Haruki Murakami to Natsume Soseki, 'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories' serves up a feast of literature, a smorgasbord of over 30 widely varied modern Japanese writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Jun 16, 2018
Danly's 'In the Shade of Spring Leaves' brings writer Ichiyo Higuchi's genius into the sun
Hailed as a true poet and lauded for her humanistic perspective in depicting the seedy underside of the Meiji Restoration, the test of time puts paid to Ichiyo Higuchi's (1872-96) lasting influence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 26, 2018
'Of Dogs and Walls': A concentrated hit of Yuko Tsushima
Pick up this small chapbook for a double dose of classic Japanese short fiction from Yuko Tsushima.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
May 12, 2018
Where would we be without the words of Japanese women?
Often overlooked, female writers in Japan, such as Ichiyo Higuchi and Raicho Hiratsuka, have a staying power that surpasses their male contemporaries. To help amplify these female voices, over the next few months we'll be highlighting some of the lesser read in translation but equally deserving Japanese female writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 28, 2018
'Poet to Poet' finds an English voice for Japan's female poets
A new bilingual poetry publication presents a range of fresh, female voices and satisfies the art of the genre in both languages.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2018
'Lion Cross Point': A child's abandonment, cushioned by hope and quiet resolve
Lion Cross Point' is a novel of intersections: of memory and dream, past and future, rural and urban, of innocence and tragedy. Masatsugu Ono's poignant tale spins out in a child-driven stream of consciousness, unwinding from a series of shrouded traumatic events.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2018
'Territory of Light' is a timely translation that sheds light on Japan's marginalized
Acclaimed novelist Yuko Tsushima spent her lifetime reflecting light on the shadowed voices in Japan, inspired by her own experiences as a single mother facing the censure of a traditionally patriarchal society. In her later years, Tsushima explored the marginalized in Japanese history, writing from...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 28, 2018
From Tohoku to Tokyo, Acchi Cocchi NPO offers healing through art
Acchi Cocchi brings music, dance and the visual arts into everyday life in Tohoku and the greater Tokyo area.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 17, 2018
In 'The Rape of Nanking' Iris Chang deconstructs the horrors of war
Iris Chang's groundbreaking work, "The Rape of Nanking" is widely credited with publicizing the World War II atrocity that many in Japan continue to deny or belittle as exaggeration. Graphically observant to multiple atrocities, it is not a book for the faint-hearted. Despite this, it is immensely readable....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 28, 2018
Florian Busch, the architect who floated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium
Japan-based German architect warns that Tokyo risks squandering a historic chance to offer an ambitious, sustainable vision in 2020.
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
California says it overtakes Japan to become world’s No. 4 economy
Vehicles travel along the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. California's GDP has overtaken Japan's to become the world's fourth largest economy, according to the U.S. state.
Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.
Expo '25 gives the world a masterclass in mascots
2025 Osaka Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku dances on the stage during the event's official opening ceremony on April 12.
Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
‘Wildcat Dome’ challenges Japan's historical narratives
On the surface, "Wildcat Dome" tells a personal story of damaged children — now adults — bound together by tragedy. Underneath, there’s a constant undercurrent of political consequence, invisible and pervasive like radioactive particles.
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe’s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.

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

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
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