It's pop, but complicated: Tokyo Shiokouji takes minimalism in new directions
Fuji Rock Festival's Rookie A Go-Go stage has served as a springboard for bands from Asian Kung-Fu Generation to Chai, but each year it draws a few acts with rather less obvious commercial appeal. The most peculiar group to appear this year was Tokyo ...
Kazuo Okada's all-star cast of Asian art
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Okada Museum of Art in Hakone is bringing out all its major works by the masters — from 16th- and 17th-century Rinpa painters Tawaraya Sotatsu and Ogata Korin to 18th- and 19th-century ukiyo-e artists Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika ...
Thai filmmaker creates an intimate portrait of girl group BNK48
Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit wasn't sure whether to believe it when he was offered unfettered, behind-the-scenes access into the normally closely guarded and secretive world of one of Asia's biggest pop idol bands. Turns out the director got closer than he could have ever dreamed. "There ...
Your guide to our Japanese film picks at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) offers fans a rare chance to see dozens of new and classic Japanese films with English subtitles on the big screen. Among my own picks for the event's 31st edition: 'Another World' (TIFF Competition): Junji Sakamoto's drama about two ...
The meteoric rise of Mayu Matsuoka
Akio Fujimoto trades drama for authenticity in film about the refugee experience
'Passage of Life': A family drama that treats refugees with respect
'It's Boring Here, Pick Me Up': A rural road movie with no destination
Politics and cinema intermingle at Busan International Film Festival
'Every Day a Good Day': The wonder of tea with Kirin Kiki
Haru Nemuri's rapping and roaring speaks to the zeitgeist of 2018
Haruna Kimishima knew her music had found an audience overseas when her Twitter DMs began to fill up with English. "Japanese fans tend to not react to me directly, especially when compared to foreign listeners," says the 23-year-old artist, who records as Haru Nemuri. "They ...
Etsko Tazaki creates her own legacy at the piano keys
When Ami Yamasaki begins to sing, brooks, birds and barks emerge
'Music progresses when people make mistakes': Foodman favors taking risks on new album
Seiko Oomori: J-pop's reigning rule-breaker
Electronic artist Tim Hecker delves into ancient Japanese court music and negative space on 'Konoyo'
Japan and China: Forging ties in the electronic underground
'Resistance of Fog: Fujiko Nakaya'
Oct. 27-Jan. 20 Acclaimed as the first artist to use fog as a medium in art during the 1970s, Fujiko Nakaya has since presented more than 80 "fog sculptures" around the world. Created using devices that emit water vapor, her environmental sculptures are part installation, ...
'Fujiwo Ishimoto: From Marimekko Flowers to Ceramic Fruits'
The cutting edge of Kyoto swordmaking
'Astronomy and Printing: In Search of New World Vision'
'Aesthetics of Shinzo Fukuhara: Assemble, The Eugene Studio'
'Local Prospects 4: Distances'
Tokyo Festival looks to throw open some doors with fringe elements
If the inclusion of Festival/Tokyo in Tokyo Festival's diverse program of performing arts is any indication, theater events in Tokyo have been evolving over the past decade or so. Festival/Tokyo was set up by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2009 to showcase the city's cutting-edge ...
The experiment continues on Kyoto's stages
'Hurricane — The Life of Tian Han' tells the story of the father of contemporary Chinese theater
Golden oldies: A Saitama theater festival for elderly actors welcomes seniors from around the world
Akinori Nakagawa captures Frankie Valli's voice in 'Jersey Boys'
'Swimming With Sharks': A horrible boss is truly universal
Hidden in diaries, untold stories of Boko Haram's female survivors feature in film
Untold stories of young Nigerian women kidnapped by Boko Haram highlight a documentary debuting on Monday that reveals diaries kept by survivors forbidden from talking about their captivity. The diaries, secretly given to the U.S.-based documentary producers by former captives, detail life under the jihadi ...
PBS docuseries 'Native America' re-creates cultures pre-1492
London film fest resurrects comedic universality of Laurel and Hardy
Jamie Lee Curtis is back: 'Halloween' scares up $77.5 million in ticket sales
Takarazuka Revue troupe takes its show infused with 'woman power' to Taiwan
End of an era: Original Big Bird puppeteer, 84, is leaving 'Sesame Street'
Fierce and inventive, Yuko Tsushima's oeuvre goes beyond the 'I-novel' genre
Early on, Yuko Tsushima broke the boundaries of the traditional Japanese I-novel, giving voice to a voiceless minority by authentically depicting the struggles of single mothers in society as a single mother herself.
An insider's guide to surviving the world of Japanese martial arts
Mountain High: Junko Tabei's adventures at the top of the world
Kenzaburo Oe's 'Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness': Reflections on father-son relationships
Nahoko Uehashi's 'The Beast Player': Fantasy grounded in nature
Haruki Murakami says good writing is what he can do to help people in times of trouble
Twitter speaks: That joke isn't funny anymore
An Aug. 16 episode of Tokyo MX's variety show "Hirukyun!" found comedian Ken Horiuchi (better known as Horiken) joining the hosts in the studio. Over the course of his stay, he launched the other TV talent and stage hands into a wall of cardboard ...
Anpanman: Is the children's superhero the best thing since sliced bread?
The small screen needs the small mercies of 'Terrace House'
Rainy season is a great time to binge-watch anime
'The Bachelor Japan' promises more drama in its second season
Yuko Takeuchi steps into an iconic role on 'Miss Sherlock' with elementary ease
Yuki Kimura may have struck out on 'The Bachelor Japan,' but she won the people's rose
