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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 3, 2013

"Kimono Beauty"

The kimono is one of Japan's most famous traditions. Recently, it has garnered even more international attention as not only a fashionable garment but also as an art form.
CULTURE / Books / THE YEAR IN BOOKS
Dec 23, 2012

U.S. essays, Japan's Christians

It may seem like cheating, but my first best book of 2012 is "The Best American Essays of 2012" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), part of the Best American Series. I read it each year and am never disappointed. This year's selection was made by David Brooks, a moderately conservative author, columnist and...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2012

Facedown over privacy

In and around Tokyo, face-recognition cameras have started to take photos of passersby at various locations. Supermarket chains, shopping malls and vending machines inside JR East stations all have been using face-recognition software to identify the sex and age of individuals who come within line of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 20, 2012

Show of hands for the National Museum of Western Art

Sometimes it seems that hands have a mind of their own. They remember where the keys are on a keyboard and which brushstroke in a Chinese character comes next, without too much conscious input from the brain. The instinctive way they work can also give a lot of art its style.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2012

Building an inclusive society for the disabled

The 2012 London Paralympics captivated the world's attention with the strength of the human spirit demonstrated by people with disabilities. We were all moved by the determination and perseverance of the athletes to overcome the odds that defeat so many of us.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2012

Charles and Ray Eames: A deep-seated legacy

A touring exhibition and a recently released full-length documentary are shedding new light on the polymathic world of the U.S. couple Charles and Ray Eames, two of the most prolific and influential creatives of the 20th century.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 14, 2012

View waves from a new vantage

American photographer Clark Little gives nonsurfers a chance to see what they're missing in a series of pictures he is showing at the "Clark Little Photo Exhibition" in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 13, 2012

Nature that goes beyond its course

The easiest way to describe this exhibition is "The meeting of two Mets," with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Tokyo serving as a venue for 133 works from its much more renowned New York version, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, known simply as "The Met."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 13, 2012

"Celebratory "Vessels": From the Lacquer Art Collection of the Crafts Gallery"

For thousands of years, artisans have used Japanese lacquer, which is both resilient and attractive in appearance, to protect and decorate their work.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Dec 11, 2012

Fashion's Night Out hits Japan's second-largest city, with another all-star cast of names

The popular Fashion's Night Out festival — helmed by Vogue magazine and held in the top fashion cities of the world every September — is about to be replicated in Osaka, Japan's second-largest city.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Dec 8, 2012

Tour Suita library's foreign-language collection

A library tour will be offered for foreigners in the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Monday. The event will run from noon to 1 p.m. at Senri Library, which has the biggest selection of foreign-language books, CDs and DVDs in among the many libraries in the city.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2012

Holiday gift ideas for the film buff you love best

As the end of the year approaches and the air is filled with the kerching of winter bonuses and brazen consumerist excess, thoughts turn to our loved ones, and the trinkets that will best pacify them at gift-swapping time. For the cinephile in your life, the JT's film critics suggest the following fine...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 6, 2012

"Hideki Nakazawa Exhibition"

A former eye doctor, artist Hideki Nakazawa takes advantage of his medical knowledge to create a colorful, slightly facetious interpretation of conceptual art. Nakazawa's artworks explores avant-gardism and artistic profundity in such an eclectic manner that his diverse collection of works have left...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 6, 2012

"The 25th Anniversary of Opening Menard Museum: Masterpieces from the Collection I"

Shozo and Ayuko Shimada are highly respected European-style artists in Japan.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 30, 2012

Oita defaults on player salaries, asks league to intervene

The Oita HeatDevils assembled one of the league's top rosters, a smart collection of veterans, and produced nine victories over their first 14 games, fewer wins than only one club in the 10-team Western Conference — the perennial powerhouse Ryukyu Golden Kings. More of the same appears impossible....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 29, 2012

Ikko Tanaka's designs live on

The idea of a retrospective makes me nervous. Simply put, it often signals the end of something. So in the case of a designer's show, a retrospective feels like a parting shot, final note or a bid farewell. Not what you want if your motivation is continuous relevance.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 27, 2012

What role will 'walking NGO' Clinton choose next?

On a recent Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked with her husband onto a stage at the New York Sheraton to cheers and whoops and a standing ovation that only got louder as she tried to quiet things down.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 25, 2012

Shedding light on problems with Japan's psychiatric care

MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN JAPAN, edited by Ruth Taplin and Sandra J. Lawman. Routledge, 2012, 148 pp., $155 (hardcover) This collection of seven chapters makes for grim reading because it details the miserable state of mental health care in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 25, 2012

Introducing the irreverent, unconventional Ryokan

SKY ABOVE, GREAT WIND: The Life and Poetry of Zen Master Ryokan, by Kazuaki Tanahashi. Shambhala, 2012, 224 pp., $17.95 (paperback) It is fitting that the first poem in this book features Ryokan's nod to the most famous of Japanese poets:
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 25, 2012

The fall fires of Nishigahara

Burning to see fall colors, I head to Tokyo's northern Kita Ward, where Kyu Furukawa Teien, the former estate of copper magnate Ichibei Furukawa, features not only a traditional Japanese garden but also Western-style flowerbeds of autumn-blooming roses. At this time of the season, it should be ablaze....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 23, 2012

Musician Shugo Tokumaru starts to adjust to the spotlight

Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a guitar, positioned just...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 23, 2012

Christmas drinks in Yokohama; 'One Piece' promotion at Le Daiba; Mandarin Oriental sake sommelier awarded

Holiday-theme drinks in Yokohama The lobby lounge Seawind on the second floor of the Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel and Towers is celebrating the holiday season by offering special drinks through Dec. 31.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 22, 2012

Step into the Lynchian world of oddities

While mostly recognized as the director of such films as "Eraserhead," "Wild at Heart" and "Mullholland Drive," David Lynch has long turned his hand to other media. About 80 of his works, encompassing photography, painting, music and short films are being brought together for an exhibition at the Laforet...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 22, 2012

"Japanese Ceramics: With Focus on the Six Old Kilns"

This exhibition, which focuses on traditional Japanese pottery, is the final installment of a series of shows that was organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the MOA Museum of Art throughout the year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2012

Kyoto painting schools pushed nihonga to the limit

Japan, as elsewhere, has never had a singular art world but a plurality of formations. This is as true of pre-modern art as it is for Modernism and contemporary art — think of Takashi Murakami, his "factory" Kaikai Kiki and Geisai the art fair he founded. Individuals could, as now, constitute worlds...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Nov 6, 2012

Violin maker brings traditions of Italian masters to Tokyo

Born in Nebraska, Louis Caporale started playing the violin at the age of 4. By 14 he was building violins. At 18, he was the youngest student enrolled at the Chicago School of Violin Making.

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