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JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Jun 30, 2002

Pioneer industrial designer creates folk crafts for the ages

The roots of Sori Yanagi, a pioneer of Japanese industrial design, lie in folk craft. The fusion of two seemingly opposite factors — the modern and traditional — makes his designs unique, yet surprisingly simple and attractive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jun 28, 2002

Who'd have thought that Shinagawa was once a coastal gateway town?

Take a trip back in time and sample a taste of the ebb and flow of life in premodern southern Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jun 23, 2002

Ancient didgeridoo adopted by the digital generation

In 1992, Aphex Twin released "Didgeridoo." It was a strange name for an electronica-driven track designed, according to its creator, to be too frenetic for dancing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2002

The nature of the Zen mind

Zen gardens, those wonderful treasures of Japan, can be enjoyed in several ways: as pure abstract works of art; as representations of Zen principles; or as tools to transport one's mind from the cares of everyday life to a higher state of consciousness.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jun 22, 2002

Sumida venue showcases accessories made from hawksbill turtle shells

Along the Sumida River in Tokyo's old "shitamachi" district, a small, no-frills museum with three generations of tradition behind it is waiting to be discovered.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Parties agree to put Suzuki resignation to vote

The ruling and opposition parties officially agreed Thursday to vote on an opposition-sponsored motion demanding the resignation of arrested lawmaker Muneo Suzuki.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Panel eyes conscientious waste firms

Industrial waste companies should be taxed at the local level as a way to curb unlawful dumping, an Environment Ministry panel recommended Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jun 15, 2002

Famed sculptor's mannequins wear evolution of Western haute fashion

The Sugino Costume Museum is ensconced among campus buildings in a quiet residential area in Tokyo's Meguro district frequented by college boys in the days before World War II who were curious to glimpse female dressmaking students in stylish Western clothes.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Emperor, Empress to visit Europe

The government decided Friday on the itinerary for Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko's official visit to Poland and Hungary, and stopovers in the Czech Republic and Austria, next month, government officials said.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 13, 2002

Spanish finish off S. Africa

TAEJON, South Korea -- Spain cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup here on Wednesday evening, beating a determined but ultimately inferior South African team 3-2.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Jun 13, 2002

Water, water irises everywhere

For those who live in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, tsuyu officially began last week. Although in some years little or no rain falls in this rainy season, I personally always hope the heavens open to give some respite from the relentless heat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Life of the party

Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has an original recipe for success: "I can't paint," he said, "but I can cook."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Zazen and the roundabout road to enlightenment

In his classic book "Zen in the Art of Archery," Eugen Herrigel makes it clear that trying too hard to hit a target is a sure way to miss it. One wonders whether, conversely, the easiest way to achieve one's aim is to take a roundabout route to it. That would certainly seem to be the case with the art...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jun 11, 2002

On the pagoda path of the Irrawaddy

"On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin' fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the bay." -- Rudyard Kipling.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 9, 2002

In publishing, the modern girls have it

World Cup fever may have taken over the Japanese media, but the bookstores are full of books on language and education. The sales of books for learning English are perhaps connected to spring and its association in Japan with the beginning of the academic year and the hiring of new employees by the corporate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

Billy Childish: cool way before your time

Being dyslexic hasn't stopped Billy Childish from writing two novels and 30 volumes of poetry. Being tone-deaf hasn't stopped him from singing in a bunch of garage bands. And his determination to do things his own way without giving a damn about being ignored by the mainstream has made him into an icon...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2002

Celebrate football's field of dreams

It's twenty minutes before England's opening World Cup game at Saitama Stadium and I'm sitting almost directly behind the goal, sacred posts that I'm hoping Michael Owen will tune his gold-plated radar into the moment he walks onto the pitch.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

It all starts here: a garage rock primer

Wondering how to start your garage-rock record collection? We asked a bunch of players on the scene to name their top picks, and this is what they came up with.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 5, 2002

With Shina, the songs don't have to remain the same

All too often, albums of cover songs are just stopgap efforts put out by artists whose creative juices have run dry. So when I heard that Ringo Shina was making her comeback in the form of a covers album after taking a year's maternity leave, I was skeptical. But my expectations were raised as the names...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jun 2, 2002

Permanent collection of cool

Ebisu is not only full of little bars, it is full of similarly named bars, which can make things pretty confusing. Within a 50-meter radius, there's E, E-Cafe, Fura and Furo Furo -- see what I mean? So before we start, let's clear up a few things. E-Cafe is a cute 'n' cozy second-floor perch overlooking...
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 30, 2002

Rebuilding over restoration

Art, architecture, and classic cars should be restored, just about everything else deserves rebuilding.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2002

Exposing the dark side of human nature

Man Ray was master of an art form for which he nonetheless professed "a certain amount of contempt": photography. His first love was painting, and he persistently denied the artistry of the medium that made him famous. But it is largely thanks to his photographic work -- explored in an impressive new...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 23, 2002

Buyers be wares -- shopping consumes Japan

I was once asked to translate a pamphlet published by the municipal government of one of the most beautiful and historically endowed cities in Japan. The material was aimed at foreign companies and their expat employees to entice them to the city.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
May 23, 2002

Dallying where daimyo strolled

Next time you find yourself in Okayama Prefecture, down by the beautiful Seto Inland Sea in western Honshu, you could do worse than allow some time to visit Shuraku-en Park, a well-known historical garden in the Sanyo district of Tsuyama.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 23, 2002

Flying with the Force

"Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter," ("Jedi Starfighter") a new game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox from LucasArts, does not have any familiar Star Wars characters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 21, 2002

The hermit opens up to visitors

PYONGYANG -- It's not difficult to find your way around Pyongyang. The city has few tall buildings and wherever you go, the imposing monolith of the Tower of the Juche Idea -- topped by a red "flame" that glows at night -- enables visitors to get their bearings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 15, 2002

Weird science, but great art

It's the old quantity-versus-quality problem. Though there are only a couple of private contemporary-art museums in Tokyo (the Watari-Um and the Hara), their shows are almost always good and focus on providing authoritative coverage of some of the domestic and international art scenes' most important...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

When in doubt, just say 'wakarimasen'

Violent antisocial crimes by teenagers have sent shockwaves through Japan in recent years, hinting ominously at cracks in the very foundations of modern Japanese society. On a more mundane level, older Japanese often find themselves puzzled and annoyed by the everyday behavior of young people, who often...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

Poetry that's music to the ears of millions

POEMS OF THE GOAT, by Chuya Nakahara, translated by Ry Beville. American Book Company, Richmond, VA, 2002, 77 pp., $15/2500 yen (paper) Why do some writers get translated and others -- better, more deserving -- remain obscure? This is a question that Ry Beville, a young Virginia native, asked himself...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight