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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 4, 2003

Still howling with emotion

HOWLING AT THE MOON: Poems and Prose of Hagiwara Sakutaro, translation and introduction by Hiroaki Sato. Kobenhavn & Los Angeles, Green Integer, 2002, 316 pp., $11.95, (paper) Hagiwara Sakutaro is one of Japan's most important, and most cherished poets. His first volume of poetry, "Howling at the Moon"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

Lock & key

KAZUYOSHI UEHARA -- not the Kazuyoshi Uehara -- rang the doorbell. He sensed a pause, a hesitation, an interrupted action -- his imagination no doubt -- and tensed slightly as approaching footsteps grew audible.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 18, 2003

Tokyo's immigration bureau gets makeover at new location

"Are you sure this is the place?" our driver inquired.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 2, 2003

Sugiyama says Japanese male players need to do more to improve

Ranked 28th in the world, Ai Sugiyama is Japan's highest-ranked, female tennis player. During a recent visit to Tokyo for the Toray Pan Pacific Open, she sat down with The Japan Times to give her views on Japanese tennis, the developing power game in the sport and to issue some advice and criticism to...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 2, 2003

Modernization seen from the bottom up

A MODERN HISTORY OF JAPAN FROM TOKUGAWA TIMES TO THE PRESENT, by Andrew Gordon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 384 pp., $35 (cloth) In this superb book, by far the best in its genre, Andrew Gordon, director of the Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies at Harvard University, provides a...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 24, 2003

When is a war crime not a war crime?

NEW YORK -- Gunning down civilians on the ground in war may constitute a war crime, but blasting civilians out of existence from high in the sky does not. Or so the general rule seems to be.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 23, 2003

Austere monks in a lavish monastery

It seems at first that they are not of this world, these monks living out their lives of mountain seclusion. They glide purposefully -- as if on some devout mission from on high -- through the monastery corridors. At times, they flit by at great speed, their black tunics and dark blue robes swishing...
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2003

How green is your green?

What a difference a decade makes.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 8, 2003

Here's a tip: You don't deserve one, pal

The only woman who has ever chased me was a willowy Japanese waitress who trailed me half a block from her restaurant door.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 6, 2003

To feed or not to feed?

I was just 8 years old, going to get the milk from the front porch. I happened to look out of the window and saw something that excited me, so I called my mother, pointed -- and yelled: "Look, Mum! Tits!"
COMMENTARY
Feb 1, 2003

Changing Pyongyang's ways

The response to my Jan. 10 article "Pyongyang is the real victim," which blames the United States for its mishandling of the North Korean nuclear problem, tells me two things: First, Japan Times articles are followed abroad much more widely than I realized; second, many believe firmly in the incorrigibly...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Should zoos become extinct?

Though I prefer seeing animals in the wild, I confess to being intrigued by zoos. I'm certainly not alone in my interest, as the long and varied history of zoological institutions shows.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 19, 2003

Perseverance, positive outlook carrying Inamoto

Scoring an important goal obviously affects the outcome of a game. But it also sometimes changes the scorer's career -- as in the case with Japan and Fulham midfielder Junichi Inamoto.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 11, 2003

The 'risutora' blues: Music that won't go away

I have been "restored."
MORE SPORTS
Jan 9, 2003

Takahashi taking life in stride

First of two parts
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 8, 2003

Music of the saints

Someone once said that the best way to start building a jazz collection would be to buy a couple albums from each decade that Miles Davis was recording and, after that, choose a sideman from each of these selections and buy one of his solo albums. The same could be said of John Zorn and his collaborators,...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 29, 2002

A practical politician with his eyes fixed firmly on the stars

SPARKY: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot. A Portrait of Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, by Richard Halloran. Honolulu: Matsunaga Charitable Foundation, 2002, 259 pp., paper ($16.95) At a reception for a visiting Japanese prime minister held at the White House in 1981, Alexander Haig, recently confirmed...
LIFE / Digital / TANGLED WEBS
Dec 26, 2002

All it takes is a bit of inspired teamwork

Traditionally, the end of the year is a time of reflection. In good times, we congratulate ourselves on what we did right, and in bad times we brood over our mistakes.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2002

Ooft outlines plans for development of improving Reds

Former Japan manager Hans Ooft completed his first regular season with the Urawa Reds at the end of last month.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2002

Relax, Australia's not invading anyone

SYDNEY -- To hear some Southeast Asian leaders sound off lately, a casual observer might suspect Australia is about to invade Indonesia or Malaysia or even the Philippines. Such is the folly of listening to "news" as whipped up by audience-boosting television channels fed by headline-grabbing politicians....
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 8, 2002

Man United director Charlton has no complaints

England and Manchester United legend, Sir Bobby Charlton, is confident that his English Premiership club is back on track after last year's trophyless season despite its problems so far this season.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 25, 2002

Gilded Age of excess returns to America

NEW YORK -- During a recent talk in this city on his lifelong subject, the Iwakura Embassy, businessman-scholar Saburo Izumi reminded those gathered that the Japanese group visited the United States during the Gilded Age. This appellation comes, of course, from American writer Mark Twain (and C.D. Warner)...
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2002

Giambi sees big things ahead for 'Godzilla'

As hard as it is to imagine a Japanese ballplayer batting in the heart of the order for the New York Yankees, Jason Giambi won't second-guess Hideki Matsui's potential.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2002

Prison abuses in spotlight following guard arrests

The ongoing allegations of abuse of inmates at Nagoya Prison have highlighted human rights concerns that have been raised by domestic and international watchdogs over Japan's prison system.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 12, 2002

Japan draws first blood

The fans may have come out to see major-league stars like Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, but it was a local boy who stole the show.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 10, 2002

The mismeasure of Emperor Meiji

EMPEROR OF JAPAN: Meiji and His World 1852-1912, by Donald Keene. Columbia University Press: New York, 2002, 922 pp. + xiii + 18 pp. of illustrations, $39.50 (cloth) Like any great story, history prefers that its leading men (and women) have some sparkle, whether a foible (Henry VIII's marital tangles;...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 10, 2002

Getting up close with photojournalism

When a photojournalist sets out to document the human condition and aims the camera's lens at another person, he or she breaches the membrane of privacy that surrounds us all. It's a lot like joining in a dance -- but being (almost always) uninvited.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2002

Okinawan music's healing embrace

"I've always felt that my role in life is to heal people through my music," says Yuriko Ganeko, a 54-year-old Okinawan singer and sanshin player. Ganeko, who favors purple eye shadow, heavy perfume and hoop earrings, was recently in Tokyo to promote her newest album, "Uta Asobi (Song Play)."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2002

Soap maker gets healthy dose of mayo market

Some consumers unwittingly used mayonnaise to style their hair when, in the 1920s, this exotic condiment was first introduced in Japan.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 11, 2002

Fighters like American manager, but will he really be given chance?

It finally looks as if Japanese baseball is ready for a change.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami