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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 7, 2002

Art in the service of empire

WAR, OCCUPATION, AND CREATIVITY: Japan and East Asia -- 1920-1960, edited by Marlene J. Mayo and J. Thomas Rimer with H. Eleanor Kerkham. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001. 406 pp., with 66 b/w plates and numerous photos and drawings. $60 (cloth); $29.95 (paper) "No art, however pure, can be...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2002

Y.E.S.: An English teaching system that works

In 1994, Northern-Ireland born Douglas Young was running two small branches of his English conversation school Formula 1 in the pottery town of Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture. He and his English wife then moved to Hitachi Naka, where Douglas opened a main office and Alison had her first child. The family...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 2002

Painting our inheritance

Traveling to 46 World Heritage cities in 18 countries is impressive enough on its own, but painting them is another thing entirely. Yet, Ecuador's noted contemporary painter Oswaldo Munoz Marino has done just that.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 2002

The hair-raising art of Lennie Mace

A hair salon in Harajuku seems an unlikely venue for an art museum, especially one dedicated to a shaven-headed, New York artist who works principally in ballpoint pen.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 31, 2002

These are a few of our favorite things

THINGS JAPANESE, by Nicholas Bornoff, with photos by Michael Freeman. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, Ltd. 2002. 144 pp., profusely illustrated with full-color plates, $24.95 (paper) In 1890, Tokyo University professor Basil Hall Chamberlain codified an entire generation's view of Japan in his "Things...
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 29, 2002

Temple tour that's a journey of the soul

It was Ryan Armstrong's dream to follow in the footsteps of the great Kobo Daishi, that is to complete the 1,200-km, 88-temple pilgrimage on Shikoku Island first made by the Buddhist saint 1,200 years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2002

Where sea meets sky

Although Brittany is part of France, it was, for many centuries, a wild and windswept country of Celts, where people preserved their own language, customs and faith.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 27, 2002

Getting back to where it began

The career of Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1919), as it unfolds in a new retrospective at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, is like watching art history run backward. Its culmination -- the glowing colors and dynamic abstraction he made his own -- introduced a whole new visual vocabulary to Western...
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 21, 2002

Blooms tell curious tale of two cities

Ninet years ago, on March 27, 1912, passersby on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. may have been surprised to see two elegant ladies digging holes. They may have been even more surprised had they known that the women were Helen Taft, wife of U.S. President William Howard Taft,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2002

Of life's mystery and joy

He lived through the best and worst of times. His life spanned a century of tremendous change, as Japan's focus shifted from rural to industrial, from East to West, from peace to war. He experienced poverty and success, respect and recrimination. He was Taikan Yokoyama (1868-1958), one of Japan's most...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2002

Gone fishing

Fly-fishing is like pachinko. You know how some people get a rush from watching things go into little holes? Well, replace the smoke, noise and flashing lights with tumbling brooks, mountains and fresh air and you've got fly-fishing.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 3, 2002

Together, they made magic

THE EMPEROR AND THE WOLF: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, by Stuart Galbraith IV. Faber & Faber, 2002, 848 pp. 32 pp. of b/w photos, $40 (cloth) Many directors have favorite actors and many actors have favorite directors. One thinks of John Ford and John Wayne, Ingmar Bergman...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 1, 2002

A prizewinning talk from the heart

When Jason Hancock took the grand prize at the NHK-televised 42nd International Speech Contest last June, he surprised everyone -- not least of all himself. After a series of impeccable orations by the other finalists (on such topics as the Japanese political system and Japanese linguistics), Hancock...
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Three to launch dual-CPU cell phones

NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. said Thursday that they will market new third-generation mobile handsets with jointly developed technology in the second half of this year.
EDITORIALS
Feb 24, 2002

Fit words for unsung heroes

For those whose job or pleasure it is to get English words right, sift their meanings or just generally hit the nail on the head, now is a good time to reflect how much they owe a single book: Roget's Thesaurus.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Feb 21, 2002

Silver lining in Enron scandal: campaign finance reform

WASHINGTON -- It may look like Enron Corp. is the only game in town, but that would be far from the truth. A lot is going on these days, although Enron certainly has taken a big chunk of the capital's attention. There are hearings galore and press conferences in between. To what end? Good question. This...
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2002

DoCoMo signs i-mode deal with German firm

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Monday it has signed an agreement licensing Germany's E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG to use its patents and technology for i-mode in Germany.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Feb 11, 2002

California prehistory mired in La Brea tar pits

LA BREA, Calif. -- The world, 40,000 years ago -- The weather's perfect. A warm breeze from the Pacific rustles the palms, there's the sharp tang of juniper and pine in the air, and the nameless mountains, which rise beyond the plain that will one day be Los Angeles, glow mauve in the early morning sun....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Jan 24, 2002

Twin peaks offer a double take on plants

The summit of Mount Tsukuba in southern Ibaraki Prefecture has two peaks, one regarded as female and the other as male. Rising to 876 meters, with a shrine on the top dedicated to Izanami no Mikoto, the female creator deity, Nyotaisan is just 6 meters higher than Nantaisan, topped by a shrine to the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 20, 2002

Murder and mass suicide? Now that's entertainment

CHUSHINGURA AND THE FLOATING WORLD: The Representation of Kanadehon Chushingura in Ukiyo-e Prints, by David Bell. Richmond, Surrey: Japan Library, 2001. 170 pp. with 41 b/w plates, 45 British pounds (cloth) One spring day in 1701 there was an altercation in Edo Castle. Perceiving insult, a local lord...
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2002

Stories for sale at today's Antique Jamboree

It's not just the thrill of a bargain hunt or the search for something unique. Surely, the increasing popularity of antiques is also because every item tells a story. Who, for example, wore that exquisite cameo necklace, dripping with finest gold? Why did an unknown doll-maker never finish painting her...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 9, 2002

The next best thing

Happy New Year to one and all. I'm just back in Tokyo after spending the holidays in Bangkok, where, you might be interested to know, Project 304, About Art Space and the city's four or five other contemporary-art players got together to celebrate the finale of a successful video and film program that...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Pyongyang plans tourism Web site

North Korea's state tourist body will open an official Japanese-language Web site in a bid to attract more tourists to the country ahead of a series of commemorative events scheduled for this year, officials of a Japanese travel agency said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2002

Life in the new year: Que sera sera

What joys and sorrows will the coming year bring for Japan? Fast forward to Jan. 1, 2003, apply tongue firmly to cheek and enjoy the benefit of hindsight by reading the alternative futures contained in the 2002 diaries of long-suffering Tokyo banker Gamansuruzo Nostrodoomus, and go-getting Kansai career...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 6, 2002

All the tricks, touch-ups and trip-ups of the trade

TV Asahi's new dramatic comedy series, "Trick 2," which premieres this week (Friday, 11:15 p.m.), fits comfortably into the current TV zeitgeist of pop spiritualism and magic shows. A lot of the renewed interest in paranormal phenomena has been boosted by the addition of debunking elements. On many recent...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Emperor confident better times are ahead

Emperor Akihito expressed confidence in his New Year's address that the Japanese people will overcome their hardships in 2002 and move toward a brighter future.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Sony in talks with Fujitsu over Nifty

Sony Corp. is negotiating with Fujitsu Ltd. to acquire Internet service provider Nifty Corp., a Fujitsu subsidiary, industry sources said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 22, 2001

Thomas L. Wright

Part of the enduring fame of architect Frank Lloyd Wright stems from his having designed the old Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. His reputation was significantly enhanced when the Imperial Hotel, shortly after its 1923 opening, withstood the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated Tokyo and Yokohama. Wright's...
COMMUNITY
Dec 22, 2001

Book by 'Japagaijin' gives abused women shelter

Right now, Diane Brown is shoveling snow. She lives 10 km from the center of Sapporo, where she finds it both amusing and annoying that so much of the drudgery of local life has been officially labeled women's work. "The shovel I use is called a 'Mamadump' because it's mums who mostly clear the white...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji