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.
For Kris Kosaka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Soviet spy Richard Sorge's story remains largely unknown to the Western world, but that's about to change with the publication of a remarkable new biography, "An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin's Master Agent," by Owen Matthews.
Prize-winning author Yoko Tawada tethers her playful prose to realistic social issues: gender roles, immigration, aging societies. Writing in both Japanese and German, her novels have crossed multiple cultural boundaries.
When Angela Ortiz describes what it felt like to return to Aomori Prefecture five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, she uses words like "horror," "incredulous disbelief" and "intense curiosity." The 36-year-old American lived in Aomori between the ages of ...
Earthquakes are an ever-present danger in Japan so it is important to be thoroughly prepared in the eventuality that one strikes. Although many areas in Japan publish comprehensive guides in English and other languages — see "Tokyo Bousai" ("Disaster Preparedness Tokyo") published by the ...
A chance encounter with Shuntaro Tanikawa's poem, "Humanism," set William I. Elliott on the path to make modern Japanese poetry accessible to all.
Noted Japanese literary critic and writer Kenkichi Yamamoto's "The Singing Heart" provides a satisfying, thematic introduction to modern Japanese poetry.
Nahoko Uehashi revolutionized the fantasy genre in Japan with her naturalistic works of fiction, using her background as a cultural anthropologist to craft realistic imaginary worlds that garnered her legions of fans across genders and ages.
William Scott Wilson's definitive 2004 biography, "The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi" stands out not only for its meticulous historical accuracy, but also for the author's expertise on samurai texts.
Takako Arai's poems unravel complicated lives in an ever-widening mesh of humanity, her style retaining an energy and optimism despite her visceral, often disturbing subject matter.
To close out the Year of the Dog, why not read some of the best in canine literature in Japan.
