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May 11, 2024
 

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Thu-Huong Ha
Thu-Huong Ha is the culture critic at The Japan Times, focusing on contemporary art and fiction. Previously she was a reporter for Quartz, an editor for TED.com and an executive producer of TEDxNewYork. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, The Believer, and ArtReview, among others. Her debut novel, "Hail Caesar," was published by Scholastic/PUSH in 2007. Get in touch: [email protected] or instagram.com/whatthusee.
For Thu-Huong Ha's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 24, 2022
Is a ¥6,600 parfait worth every bite?
Asako Iwayanagi's premium desserts are as ambitious as they are puzzling.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022
Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'
Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / 2022 in Review
Dec 17, 2022
Art came alive in the great outdoors in 2022
Major art events returned to far-flung locales with tactile and communal experiences in nature.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 17, 2022
All I want for Christmas is fewer illuminations in Japan
Tokyo in December is all lit up with more glitz than good cheer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 3, 2022
Junko Takase’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel is a feminist’s nightmare
“Oishii Gohan ga Taberaremasu Yoni” reads at first like a work place drama but ultimately makes a sinister argument about contemporary feminism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2022
'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki': Compelling confessions of an exhausted millennial
South Korean author Baek Sehee's bestselling mental health memoir is uncomfortably vulnerable and compulsively readable.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 16, 2022
Do you have what it takes to be a novelist? Let Haruki Murakami decide.
In “Novelist as a Vocation,” the prolific author paints himself as an everyman while giving frustratingly unclear advice on being a professional writer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: At Naoshima, three giants of Japanese art wrestle for attention
In spaces that opened earlier this year on Naoshima, the severe architecture of Tadao Ando brings a new edge to the art of Yayoi Kusama and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 1, 2022
Review: Is the new Ghibli Park worth all the hype?
The new theme park in Aichi Prefecture signals a change of direction for the legendary animation studio as it prepares for the next phase of Hayao Miyazaki's legacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 28, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: An autumnal spectacle of light and shadow
Artworks in abandoned houses play with the natural light found on the islands in the Seto Inland Sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: The art of loss brings lesser-known islands to life
Honjima, Takamijima, Awashima and Ibukijima open for the fall season of Setouchi Triennale 2022.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 13, 2022
A first look inside Japan's new Ghibli Park
Unlike at the existing Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, visitors to the theme park will be able to take photos with beloved characters such as Cat Bus, Totoro and No Face to their heart's content.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 7, 2022
Yoshio Osakabe: ‘There are probably a lot of old fans who actually don't want Murakami to win the Nobel’
Coined 'Harukisuto,' or 'Haruki-ists,' for their passionate devotion to Haruki Murakami, one fan talks about the joy he gets from the work of one of Japan's most-treasured authors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2022
The Aichi Triennale as seen through four textures
The arts festival's conceptual works stand in stark contrast to its tactile pieces, from marimba-like instruments to ceramic interpretations of bombs, presented at the Aichi Arts Center.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2022
Japanese folk art opens a door to Black American identity
American artist Theaster Gates introduces 'Afro-mingei,' an aesthetic that combines Black identity and Japanese craft art, to the Aichi Triennale.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 9, 2022
Kohei Nawa's gross and gorgeous 'Force' mesmerizes the senses
The bewitching interplay of light, sound and smell in the artist's installation of cascading black ink offers a dynamism that is lost in any attempt to capture the art in a still photo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 5, 2022
What to say to a coworker who's having a mental health issue
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and with the pandemic taking a toll on mental health globally, it's important to know how to support a coworker who might be struggling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 19, 2022
Ghost of Tsushima casting prompts the question: Who is — and isn’t — Japanese?
Director Chad Stahelski says he wants a Japanese cast speaking Japanese, but pulling it off would mean navigating the murky waters of identity.
Japan bread recalled after rat parts found inside packs
Pasco Shikishima has recalled 104,000 packs of its white Chojuku bread after parts of a rat's body were discovered in two of them.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Nearly 6 million elderly people in Japan will have dementia by 2040
The latest figure is significantly less than a previous projection released in 2015 that said more than 8 million people would have dementia by 2040.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's interpreter being turned into TV series
Ippei Mizuhara interprets for Shohei Ohtani during the baseball star's introductory news conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 14.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.

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

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

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