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COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 30, 2011

Winning: 'The Alien': readers remember life in '90s Japan

The following are a selection of the winning submissions in response to last month's Zeit Gist competition to win copies of "The Very Best of Neil Garscadden's Alien Humor," a collection of many of the pieces Garscadden wrote while editor of the humor section of The Alien magazine.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2011

Budget repair and liberal defiance

The residues of liberalism's Wisconsin Woodstock — 1960s radicalism redux: operatic lamentations, theatrical demonstrations and electoral futilities — are words of plaintive defiance painted on sidewalks around the state capitol.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 28, 2011

The best of his years . . .

This summer, my translator and I stood in Izumi Matsumoto's home-cum-office in Tokyo, where he had just been searching in vain for any original drawings from "Spring Wonder," which was, 27 years ago, the first manga serial he pitched to leading comics magazine Weekly Shonen Jump.
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Aug 25, 2011

Pulp it up: new directions for paper design

Designers realize their ideas by applying creativity to paper.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2011

Japanese brothers who championed Korean ceramics

In ancient times, Japanese arts and crafts were greatly influenced by the introduction of techniques and aesthetics from Korea and China. In particular, Japan owes the development of its ceramics to the skilled craftsmen brought over from Korea at the end of 16th century, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 23, 2011

Last chance for a fix of '90s 'Alien Humor'

The newly released "Alien Humor" (Treasure Productions, 140 pages, soft cover, ¥1,400) is a collection of many of the pieces that Neil Garscadden wrote while editor of the humor section of The Alien magazine. Features that readers might remember include "Why It's Hard to Explain Life in Japan," "Inventions...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2011

Gendercide: India's ticking demographic bomb

Ernest Hemingway's collection of stories, "Men without Women," examines tense gender relationships. In a particularly poignant story, a young man convinces his partner to have an abortion, viewing their unborn child as a hindrance to the status quo. Frustrated, the woman gives in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 20, 2011

World's best shoppers at my beach shop

Having run a beach shop for eight years now, I've been able to observe the shopping practices of the Japanese firsthand.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 19, 2011

Kimono exhibition provides a taste of history

This weekend is the last chance to view a rare collection of antique kimono from the Meiji Era at a traditional merchant house. Hosted at Nishijin Tondaya, a registered national cultural asset built in 1885, the exhibition features kimono that are around 120 years old. Visitors now have the opportunity...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 14, 2011

Japan through the eyes of Richie

VIEWED SIDEWAYS: Writings on Culture and Style on Contemporary Japan, by Donald Richie. Stonebridge Press, 2011, 264 pp., $16.95 (paper)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Summer Museum For Kids and Grown-ups: Traversing the Times, Places and Attributes Of People Described in Art"

One of the most intriguing themes or motifs in art throughout the ages has been "human beings." In the collection of the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art, there are many works covering this familiar, and universal subject.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Moholy-Nagy in Motion"

This is the first retrospective in Japan of the Hungarian contemporary artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), who is known as a Constructivist artist, photographer and a professor at the Bauhaus arts and crafts school in Germany. He worked in a wide range of fields, which included painting, photography,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Summer Kid's Museum 2011 From the Permanent Collection"

The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, has been holding its "Summer Kid's Museum" series of introductory art exhibitions annually since 2001. This year, the theme is "Art is full of hide-and-seeks," and explores hidden elements in nihonga (Japanese-style paintings) and contemporary art works.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 11, 2011

"100 Years of Tokyo Transportation"

Edo-Tokyo Museum Closes Sept.10
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

"Nobuyoshi Araki: Higan"

Nobuyoshi Araki is most noted for his provocative depictions of scantily-clad women, often posed in submissive positions. His work has garnered him attention and admirers, including stars such as Lady Gaga and Bjork.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

"Glass Admired By The Russian Tsars"

Some of the most ornate and refined pieces of glassware from St. Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum — home to the former Russian royal residence, the Winter Palace — are currently on display in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

Art triennale to explore quake, life's mysteries

The summer just gets hotter and hotter for visual-art fans in Japan. Following on the heels of Art Fair Tokyo, which attracted 43,000 visitors to Tokyo International Forum last weekend, the nation's largest art event of all, the once-every-three-years Yokohama Triennale, opens Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 2, 2011

Drop a line, win a fix of '90s 'Alien Humor'

The newly released "Alien Humor" (Treasure Productions, 140 pages, soft cover, ¥1,400) is a collection of many of the pieces that Neil Garscadden wrote while editor of the humor section of The Alien magazine. Features that readers might remember include "Why It's Hard to Explain Life in Japan," "Inventions...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2011

Various artists Style Band Tokyo Compilation Vol. 1

Existing mainly as a live-music event since 2007, Style Band Tokyo has gone the recording route and released a CD featuring artists associated with its gigs. The compilation is a collection of great, noisy rock.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 28, 2011

Growing up with photography and picturing youth

You know how difficult it is to get good photos of children. They fidget. They cry. And just when you think you've got the perfect shot, they turn the other way. Now try to imagine how challenging it must have been for early photographers, who had to contend with exposure times of minutes rather than...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 28, 2011

"RongRong & Inri: Three Begets Ten Thousand Things"

Shiseido Gallery Closes Aug. 14
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 26, 2011

Living and loving The Alien from Nagoya

The year 1990 might not seem so long ago, but for many reasons, and in Japan especially, it was a completely different world. There was no Internet. There were no mobile telephones. There was hardly any way to get up-to-date English information on places beyond Tokyo and Osaka except by going there....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jul 26, 2011

Fun and function for office and home

The hair dryer stylist Since its launch, the Plus Minus Zero brand, well-known for its series of minimalist electric fans, has been expanding its lineup, adding new items in new product categories. The Hair Dryer is an extra notch on its belt for its bathroom offerings.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 24, 2011

Unraveling the evolution of modern Japan

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF JAPANESE CULTURE AND SOCIETY. Edited by Victoria and Theodore Bestor with Akiko Yamagata. Routledge, 2011, 325 pp. (hardcover) This is a tremendous book and should jump the queue of all those books on contemporary Japan you have been intending to read. The editors deserve kudos...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 23, 2011

Zoos, aquariums weigh power cut, animal safety

While the Tokai region strives to cut electricity use this summer following the shutdown of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in May, local aquariums and zoos must continue to maintain a suitable environment for their fish and animals regardless of the circumstances.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 22, 2011

"Glittering of Imagination: The Visionary World Of Surreal And Fantasy"

The Surrealism movement, which began in Europe in the early 1920s, was an attempt by artists and writers to release and express the creative potential of humans' unconscious mind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 22, 2011

"Photographs of Children: The Art of Photographing Children"

While giving directions to subjects may be possible when taking portraits of adults, it can be near-impossible to do the same when it comes to taking pictures of children. To get that perfect image, the photographer has to be one step ahead, using his or her ingenuity to get the child to hold a desired...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2011

A Greek Marshall Plan makes sense

It should now be clear to even the most blinkered observer that the Greek economy is in desperate need of help. Unemployment is 16 percent and rising. Even after a year of excruciating spending cuts, the budget deficit still exceeds 10 percent of GDP. Residents don't pay taxes. The system of property...

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