author

 
 

Meta

Lance Henderstein
Tokashiki Beach acts as a sanctuary for sea turtles and offers ideal snorkeling waters. It was also the site of the U.S. Army’s preliminary invasion that led to the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 150,000 people.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 23, 2024
On Okinawa's Tokashiki Island, life's a beach — one of the best in the world
Many of the island’s residents first came as tourists, attracted to the exquisite Aharen Beach, and simply stayed.
“Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective,” currently exhibiting in Helsinki at The Finnish Museum of Photography’s K1 gallery, features 200 works, two video installations and some of the photographer’s rare photobooks and magazines.
CULTURE / Art
May 25, 2024
Daido Moriyama’s sweeping retrospective brings Tokyo streets to Helsinki
Local artists hope the Japanese photographer's raw approach inspires change in the way Finns view the medium.
Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Apr 15, 2024
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
After a five-year absence, kabuki has returned to Kotohira. Can it be the draw that this tourism-hungry town desires?
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 29, 2024
[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart
This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
Ryoji Ikeda’s “mass,” a site-specific installation at Helsinki’s Amos Rex museum, presents a stroboscopic video of black concentric rings that fill a square on the floor by rapidly expanding outward.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 20, 2024
Ryoji Ikeda adds to his universe of data in Helsinki
The Japanese composer and multimedia artist’s exhibition in Finland features two new site-specific installations that take advantage of the museum's unique interior space.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2023
20 Questions: The best answers of 2023
Our interviewees this year gave a lot of advice for living a good life and paying attention to the things that matter most.
Yukimasa Ida’s first major museum exhibition showcases a young artist in full command of his craft but still looking for something deeper to say.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 4, 2023
‘Panta Rhei’: Yukimasa Ida is still searching for his own voice
Kyocera Museum of Art's major exhibition finds a young artist sampling great works of the past but looking for something deeper to say.
A festivalgoer walks along the water near Kyotophonie’s Beach Stage. Despite rain on the second day of the festival, attendees and musicians maintained a lively atmosphere until the nighttime finale.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2023
An intimate bazaar of music and magic at Kyotophonie
The biannual music festival brought soulful sounds to Amanohashidate, a sandbar famed for having one of Japan’s three most beautiful views.
A performer going by the name “Tanefukube” leads shishi-odori dancers during Tono Meguritoroge’s grand finale at Rokko-shi shrine.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 30, 2023
Dancing with ghosts at Tono’s rural folk festival
The Tono region is Japan’s go-to setting of scary stories to tell in the dark.
Aoi Suzuki and her two sons head back down to a barbecue after watching the sun set.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 28, 2023
Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart
Writer and photographer Lance Henderstein reads us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Aug 14, 2023
My annual pilgrimage to Okinawa
Navigating between different ferries can open up whole new worlds in Japan's southernmost islands.
Akiko Mizuno says one positive thing about living on a relatively remote island is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money every day.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 3, 2023
Akiko Mizuno: ‘Time moves forward. Photographs stop time.’
After years in New York City, Akiko Mizuno relocated to a small island in Okinawa Prefecture to concentrate on her long-term photography project.
A photograph by Joel Pulliam provides a hint at what is on offer at VoidTokyo's "Sharaku" exhibition at HikoHiko Gallery.
CULTURE
Jul 19, 2023
Street photography by VoidTokyo on full display in Ginza
With the goal of capturing the city of Tokyo in physical form and not just on social media, VoidTokyo celebrates its members at “Sharaku.”
A man sits on his own at a taco stand on Kokusai Street in Naha.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jul 2, 2023
Peacemaking of a different sort in Okinawa
Through therapy and community outreach, counseling service TELL draws on the personal experiences of its clinicians and support workers to help various communities in Okinawa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 16, 2023
Marimekko designer Fujiwo Ishimoto returns to his roots in Ehime
When I arrive at the flagship store of Mustakivi in Dogo, Ehime Prefecture, I’m greeted silently by 82-year-old Ehime-born designer Fujiwo Ishimoto. He unlocks the back door to his adjoining atelier and motions for me to come in. We pass through the kiln room and enter a studio filled with ceramic...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 9, 2023
Jesse Freeman: 'As far as a Black art scene goes … it’s just foreign or not.'
Ikebana, filmmaking, collage and quilting are some of the many forms of media Tokyo-based artist Jesse Freeman works in.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 13, 2023
KG+ event celebrates emerging photographers
Three young photographers from varied backgrounds and approaches won prizes and the chance to take their work to the next level at Kyotographie’s satellite event, KG+.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 28, 2023
Amid the parties and schmoozing, socially conscious art is still Kyotographie's main draw
With the financial freedom to expand Kyotographie’s offerings further still, the responsibility arises to do so without diminishing the event’s original rebellious spirit.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 25, 2023
Neil Hartmann: 'When you are out of your comfort zone, you look at things differently'
Neil Hartmann came to Japan as a teenager and got an education in music and Japanese by being Hokkaido’s first English-speaking radio DJ.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 26, 2023
Nobuhiro Tamura: 'Those who need spirituality will find it themselves'
A fan of 1990s hip-hop and electronic music, former Buddhist monk Nobuhiro Tamura has opened a bar on Mount Koya to talk to people about good tunes, spirituality and whatever else they like.

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh