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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 25, 2009

Conrad holds wine master classes

The Conrad Tokyo will hold special wine events from Oct. 13 to 15 under the direction of the hotel's wine consultant Ron Georgiou, who holds the qualification of "Master of Wine."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2009

Escape from propaganda

Artist, architect, designer, photographer, curator, writer, editor, activist — Ai Weiwei is many things. This multiplicity of means all serve a united end that centers on the existential question: What does human freedom mean in China today?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 17, 2009

Go swim with fishes high in the sky

Does the ocean glitter like a cool mirage in your overheated mind this summer? Rather than trek out to the real thing, all you have to do is dive up to the "Sky Aquarium III" exhibit running through Oct. 4 at Tokyo City View on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills' Mori Tower.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 28, 2009

Creative boho blooms in Jingumae

The area known as Jingumae, literally "shrine front," hugs central Tokyo's Meiji Shrine and is bifurcated by chic Omotesando street, the shrine's main approach. Roiling with well-heeled fashionistas, foreigners and photo hounds chasing the hottest new looks, Omotesando's stores showcase global mega-brands...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 14, 2009

Finding hope in the meaning of numbers

The beauty of figures plucked from an infinite numerical pool forms part of the theme of Yoko Ogawa's novel, which is also a celebration of an improbable friendship.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2009

Discovering an unexpected gem

Skeptic that I am, upon hearing there was an historical exhibition on the lives and art of Japan's Buddhist nuns, I assumed that this would be a drab show of temple artifacts and feminine articles veneered in the dust of incense smoke. As the show is largely curated by Western female academics, I also...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2009

'I Come With the Rain'

Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung has a distinctive, high-contrast track record.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 31, 2009

Where whimsy meets wonder

Antiques tell tales of values, past and present. It's a good guess that whatever survives for a century or so in the tight confines of a Japanese home is either a work of art, a tool of cunning design, or an item of great sentimental value.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2009

Issey Miyake's "U-Tsu-Wa" filled with character and inspiration

In Japanese, the word utsuwa literally means "vessel" or "container," but it can also be used to describe a person's character. Someone said to have a "large utsuwa" ("utsuwa ga ookii") is a person of high caliber or someone with tremendous capacity or generosity. When celebrated Japanese fashion designer...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 1, 2009

A rosy way to spend Golden Week

T he rose-blossom season is coming up, and many places are offering visitors a chance to admire the flower seen in many cultures as a symbol of love and beauty at its best.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 24, 2009

Netsuke: delicate treats for the dandies of Edo

Until modern times, Japan seems to have been almost unique in having no tradition of jewelry, apart from the stone beads and gold accessories found in burial mounds from the last few centuries of the prehistoric period until circa seventh century. Elaborate necklaces, bracelets and diadems could be seen...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 10, 2009

A taste for the unusual leads to excellence

Since the Heian Period (794-1185), landscapes have served as the inspiration for generations of Japanese painters. Many followed the standards and styles of a particular school, while other — often encouragingly eccentric — individuals broke with all conventions to wield their brushes in a completely...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 29, 2009

Bodies beautiful

At 2 a.m. on a spring morning in 2002, photographer Mitsuhiro Mouri received a phone call from the most famous actress in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2009

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough

It's sakura (cherry blossom) time again, and I've got three special spots to recommend beneath the pale, poetic petals in Tokyo. One will present you with a single starlit beauty, another will have you rolling around in an expansive venue of varied cherries, or if the spirit moves you there's a climb...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2009

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough

It's sakura (cherry blossom) time again, and I've got three special spots to recommend beneath the pale, poetic petals in Tokyo. One will present you with a single starlit beauty, another will have you rolling around in an expansive venue of varied cherries, or if the spirit moves you there's a climb...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2009

Edo to Meiji

The popularity of ukiyo-e (genre painting) woodblock prints is partly due to aesthetic reasons and partly symbolic ones. In terms of sheer beauty, there is much to recommend in the better examples in the genre, from bright blocks of color and sinuous lines to lively compositions and intriguing details,...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 25, 2009

The character of a culture resides in its language

Defining people by their ethnicity while virtually ignoring their cultural background has always been both dumb and dangerous, but there is a growing appreciation among business leaders, diplomats and politicians of the importance of understanding other cultures.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

'Quantum of Solace'/'Elegy'

As a teen, I spent some time involved in youth theater, and auditions weren't always the most pleasant experience. I was a skinny youth, and one director — deciding to mess with me — requested that I act, in open audition, as if I were the strongest man in the world. I thought about that for a moment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

'Quantum of Solace'/'Elegy'

As a teen, I spent some time involved in youth theater, and auditions weren't always the most pleasant experience. I was a skinny youth, and one director — deciding to mess with me — requested that I act, in open audition, as if I were the strongest man in the world. I thought about that for a moment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2009

'Kanna-san Daiseiko Desu!'/'Pride'

Female ambition, friendship and rivalry can, mixed together, make for a potent cinematic brew. "All About Eve" is one well-known example, though the relationship between Bette Davis' insecure middle-aged actress and Anne Baxter's worshipful, secretly scheming acolyte can hardly be called "friendship."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 15, 2008

Taking a structural stance on culture

It was at the groundbreaking ceremony of Osaka's Breeze Tower in the spring of 2006 that architect Yuichiro Edagawa met a German woman by the name of Sybille Fanelsa and happened to tell her about his cherished plan to publish a photo book that would introduce the splendor of Japanese culture and tradition...
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 4, 2008

A beautiful cultural blend: African kimono

Wander past a certain kimono store in Aoyama and center stage in the window is a riotous splash of canary- yellow cotton, with bright cubes of grass green and swirls of earthy brown. A tribal red-and-black obi tied high around the waist completes a perfectly styled kimono that on close inspection evokes...
Japan Times
Features
Oct 12, 2008

1,000 years of 'Genji'

"Genji Monogatari," known as "The Tale of Genji" in English, is believed by many scholars to be the first full-length novel in world literature. Marking the 1,000th anniversary since its creation, today's Timeout introduces this masterpiece that draws readers into a beautiful world gone by full of passion,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2008

The gritty truths behind the image

A rising full moon against a twilight sky and a shimmer of pink on the surface of the sea. So far, so postcard. But this is no regular Japanese beauty spot. Just visible in the distance is a clutch of white chimneys jutting into the sky, offering a sinister clue to the location of the seemingly serene...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 25, 2008

Lindsay Kemp's Virgin Queen comes to Japan

It was a scorching day in July and the air in Tokyo's concrete jungle was shimmering in the heat. But on a visit here prior to next month's opening of his voluptuous production "Elizabeth I: the Last Dance" at Theatre Cocoon, avant-garde performance-art icon Lindsay Kemp — a self-described "stranger...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 23, 2008

In Japanese, flattery will get you everywhere

In directing plays over the years, it has always struck me how clever actors are at producing insulting dialogue in the early stages of rehearsals. From the first day of rehearsal, they have the invective of their characters virtually down pat. When their character is called upon to say something nice...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 21, 2008

The making of 'the world's most beautiful woman,' amatuer a capella, and house remodeling

Japanese contestants have figured prominently in recent international beauty pagents, in particular the Miss Universe contest, which endeavors to find the most gorgeous woman in the world. The runnerup in 2006 was Kurara Chibana, and last year the winner was Riyo Mori.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Sep 21, 2008

Low and slow — Nagoya's slice of Southern California

Second of two parts
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 7, 2008

Japan is both a model and warning for today's rising world powers

The United States of America considers itself the world's democratic social prototype. At least most Americans seem to buy into that national self-image.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 2, 2008

Urawaza — quirky, everyday Japanese tips — head West

Two years ago, a mysterious 20-second video clip triggered some unexpected buzz on the Web site YouTube. In the segment, an ordinary-looking housewife draws an invisible line across the chest of a shirt with her finger. Then she pinches the shirt under the armpit and at the shoulder, does a quick flipping...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb