
History | THE LIVING PAST Jan 16, 2021
Matsuo Taseko: A poet caught up in nationalist fervor
When nine swordsmen stormed a temple in 1863 they cut the heads of three statues, making a political statement that reverberates to this day.
Michael Hoffman is a fiction and nonfiction writer who has lived in Hokkaido by the sea almost as long as he can remember. He has been contributing regularly to The Japan Times for 10 years. His latest novel is "The Naked Ear" (VBW/Blackcover Books, 2012).
For Michael Hoffman's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
When nine swordsmen stormed a temple in 1863 they cut the heads of three statues, making a political statement that reverberates to this day.
What we say to ourselves carries a lot of weight …
2020 was a year to forget, if only we can …
The psychology of health in "The Tale of Genji" suggests that enlightenment may be the cure for what ails you.
Almost as anguishing as having no future is having an unknown one.
Sensitivity is agony. In moderation it’s good, but moderation rarely knows when to stop, and soon becomes excess. Excessive sensitivity is a theme taken up by Spa magazine this month. Really, it’s better to be a clod. Your intellect may be sluggish and your imagination ...
Life in the pleasure district was fun, if you were capable of mustering up the right amount of charm.
Japan’s road to gender parity is rocky and potholed. Aera magazine this month chronicles a stumbling, faltering journey. A young father takes a month’s paternity leave. A day care center staff member greets him warily: “We usually deal with the mother.” "Yes,” says the father, “but ...
Influential Japanese writer may provide an example of the virtues needed to outlast the pandemic.
A key figure in the Russo-Japanese War, Gen. Maresuke Nogi was both a soldier and a poet.