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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2012

'Rentaneko (Rent-a-Cat)'

Japanese films, at both ends of the commercial-indie spectrum, are often about extremes. Deadly disease and violence are rampant. Characters sweat bullets and cry rivers. Viewers, including this one, sometimes wonder if their circuits are being permanently fried from all the over-stimulation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 8, 2012

A decade serving the community

Wednesday marks the 10-year anniversary of the Community pages, which have been providing news, analysis and opinion by, for and about the foreign community in Japan since May 9, 2002.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 6, 2012

Richard Collasse: Sold on brand Japan

In Tokyo's high-end Ginza district, the Chanel Building stands out among the luxury fashion boutiques and global brands' emporiums thanks to its shining black-glass exterior.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 6, 2012

Weeklies take a look at faiths, (misplaced) hopes and charities

Which religious groups were most successful in raising funds for earthquake victims in the devastated parts of Tohoku? In its Golden Week double issue, Flash (May 8-15) ran an article about the heretofore unreported nexus between last year's disaster and religion. The most generous donor by far, which...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 3, 2012

In celebration of the spirited culture of northern Japan

It has been just over a year since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and to commemorate the disaster in a show of support for the worst-hit areas, the Japan Folk Crafts Museum's "Tohoku Crafts and Shiko Munakata" is featuring crafts and art from the Tohoku region of northern Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 29, 2012

Portraits and memories of those who survived the horrors of war

FROM ABOVE, by Paule Saviano. Contents Factory, 2011, 256 p.p., ¥8,000 (hardcover) The twentieth century had, among other things, the dubious distinction of being one of the bloodiest, deadliest times in world history. Wars, genocide, mass murders, etc, aided by the best technology available at the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 22, 2012

Matsumoto in May means 'crafts '

England gave the world the Windsor chair, but it was the city of Matsumoto in central Nagano Prefecture that reinvented it for Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012

Looking beyond the giant canvases

The image of Jackson Pollock as the archetypal American artist, making big gestures on giant canvases, is firmly entrenched in the public consciousness. Dripping paint on canvases laid out on the floor, working in rather than working on his art, Pollock epitomizes the rebellious artist, disregarding...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2012

Looking beyond the giant canvases

The image of Jackson Pollock as the archetypal American artist, making big gestures on giant canvases, is firmly entrenched in the public consciousness. Dripping paint on canvases laid out on the floor, working in rather than working on his art, Pollock epitomizes the rebellious artist, disregarding...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 15, 2012

Competent fiction

THE TOMB IN THE KYOTO HILLS AND OTHER STORIES, by Hans Brinckmann. Strategic Book Publishing, 2011, 150 pp., $12.95 (paperback). The five stories that constitute Hans Brinckmann's "The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills" are all competent. The prose seldom obtrudes on the reader's consciousness; the characters...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2012

Canadian black-belt takes pride in action not words

For Robert Hughes, the shortest answer is doing. From his early determination to procure a traditional Japanese sword to his more recent work with Japanese students in the poverty-stricken streets of the Philippines, Hughes, 54, has spent over 30 years in Japan allowing his actions to speak eloquently...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 12, 2012

mfp "Mindful Beats Vol. 2"

"Mindful Beats Vol. 2" has one of the most simultaneously accurate and misleading album names of the past year. On a literal level, the title tells no lies — it is a second volume of beats made by Osaka producer Masaki Konagai, who records under the moniker of mfp. Yet it also makes it sound like an...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 8, 2012

Fashion Week Tokyo escapes comfort zone

In what was the second season of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo since the German car-maker crucially stepped in as lead sponsor when government funding dried up last year, 37 brands presented their collections for the 2012-13 fall/winter season from March 18 to 23.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 6, 2012

Exhibition tells a cute tale of kawaii culture

When you hear the term "kawaii" (cute) what do you think of? Hello Kitty? Domo-kun? Everyone has their own idea of what makes something kawaii, what they might not know is the origin of Japan's particular brand of cuteness.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 5, 2012

Ceramics as a blossoming form of art

In 1981, Etsuko Tashima (b.1959) completed the postgraduate ceramic course of Osaka University of Arts, where she is now professor. Her graduation work, "Censored" (1981), was a series of legs cast from her own body and arranged so that they appeared to grow out of the ground. Attaching breasts to cups...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 1, 2012

An email memoir on a life in Japan

Life and Nihonjin: Dispatches From Japan, by Alex Kahney. Portland Books, 2011, Japan, 290 pp., $16.00 (paperback) Japan's habit of technological innovation alongside tradition has surfaced in recent literary fads such as the "Densha no Otoko" (Train Man) phenomenon. What started as an urgent plea for...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 1, 2012

Fiction that binds: Japan's hope after disaster

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan, edited by Brent Millis. CreateSpace, 2011, 228 pp., $15.99 (e-book) It's no coincidence that the Chinese character chosen to represent the most expressive sentiment of the year in Japan, one that signifies hope after disaster and misery, was kizuna, meaning a bond of fraternity....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 30, 2012

Streamlined offerings from new adult anime titles

The packages get a little smaller for adult anime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012

'Sakura, Sakura, Sakura 2012'

Due to popular demand, the Yamatane Museum of Art has revived its annual sakura-(cherry-blossom) themed exhibition for the first time since its relocation from the famous sakura-viewing spot Chidorigabuchi to Hiroo in 2009.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012

'Sakura, Sakura, Sakura 2012'

Due to popular demand, the Yamatane Museum of Art has revived its annual sakura-(cherry-blossom) themed exhibition for the first time since its relocation from the famous sakura-viewing spot Chidorigabuchi to Hiroo in 2009.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012

'How to Look at Modern & Contemporary Art'

Taking advantage of its long history and extensive collection of works, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art's latest exhibition has been curated to guide visitors on how to enjoy art.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2012

'How to Look at Modern & Contemporary Art'

Taking advantage of its long history and extensive collection of works, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art's latest exhibition has been curated to guide visitors on how to enjoy art.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 25, 2012

Tracing the trees in a long national love affair

When five shell-pink buds open together on a particular tree in the precincts of Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo, the city explodes with the joy of spring. The cherry-blossom season has officially begun!
CULTURE / Books
Mar 25, 2012

Plight of women and the young in modern Japan

Demographic Change and Inequality in Japan, edited by Sawako Shirahase. Trans Pacific Press, 2011, 239 pp., $34.95 (hardcover) This stimulating collection of nine essays examines the implications of demographic trends for inequality in Japan. The contributors are sociologists who elucidate how changes...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2012

Emmert shares beauty, power of noh dramas with a wider audience

Richard Emmert has endeavored for decades to share the beauty and power of noh with English-speaking audiences and performers through "English noh."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2012

Local diversions during the Okinawa fest

A fun-filled week is upon Okinawa as the fourth annual Okinawa International Movie Festival descends on the prefecture's main island. Like last year, the festival's concept is centered around "Laugh & Peace," in celebration of the sense of courage and joy for life that comedy and film can instill....
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

"One Piece Exhibition: Original Art × Movies × Experience One Piece"

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the popular "Weekly Shonen Jump" manga "One Piece", the Mori Art Center Gallery is collaborating with its illustrator and writer Eiichiro Oda for a special exhibition that is sure to please fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

"One Piece Exhibition: Original Art × Movies × Experience One Piece"

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the popular "Weekly Shonen Jump" manga "One Piece", the Mori Art Center Gallery is collaborating with its illustrator and writer Eiichiro Oda for a special exhibition that is sure to please fans.

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