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ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2002

Eco-tours venture into forests and 'forests'

Two weeks ago, this column introduced Stefan Ottomanski as an educator who thrives on uncertainty. However, he is the first to admit that he did not acquire this trait by choice: It is simply a necessity in his classroom.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2002

Ladakh: India's timeless Buddhist jewel

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Once again tensions are mounting on the famous Line of Control that separates India and Pakistan. The crisis brings to mind images from an earlier pilgrimage I made to that area when I visited Ladakh, an almost inaccessible region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that is known...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 16, 2002

All-out attack

Visionaries, alleged pornographers, artists of enduring repute -- Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele both died in 1918. With them ended the first flowering of the Vienna Secession, an artistic movement that declared war on the Establishment in the cause of liberty and modernity. "Der Zeit ihre Kunst (Art...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jan 9, 2002

Two looks back and three worth looking forward to

Akemashite, etc. . . . Before I do anything else, I'd like to thank NHK for providing me with my yearly dose of enka on the 2001 edition of "Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Contest)."
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 12, 2001

Diverse splendor in many a jar

The depth and variety of Japanese pottery has enraptured the senses for many a season. As the seasons change and the baton of life is passed on, the beauty of older Japanese pottery remains unwithered, even in this winter season and amid all the changes that have occurred within and without. In a sense,...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

Yo, what's with this Dostoevski?

Crime + Punishment in Suburbia Rating: * * * Director: Rob Schmidt Running time: 128 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

Some like it chemical

Original Sin Rating: * * * Japanese title: Poison Director: Michael Cristofer Running time: 116 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2001

Revisiting his ancestors' art

Taro Okamoto (1911-96) is perhaps Japan's most famous post-war artist. With his trademark artistic style, his eccentric, media-friendly personality and ready catchphrases, he presented the perfect picture of the inspired artist brimming with original ideas.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 23, 2001

Hip-hop takes responsibility

Once upon a time, hip-hop reflected -- and reflected upon -- the urban experience: It was another black art form akin to jazz. These days, its purpose appears to be to give suburban white teenagers a vicarious thrill. In the commercially driven dichotomy of contemporary hip-hop, the gangstas and their...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001

Icons of a forgotten femininity

Western culture is replete with empowering images of women, from the warrior Amazons of Greek mythology to Wagnerian Valkyries to computer game and movie heroine Lara Croft. Western women are spoiled for choice when it comes to assertive role models. Japan, on the other hand, has always cherished a more...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 3, 2001

Poetry, music and art make for a peaceful soul

Several summers ago, while at St. John's University in Minnesota, I came across a book that had matched a poem by Ntozake Shange with paintings by American artist Romare Bearden (1912-88).
CULTURE / Film
Jul 18, 2001

Ms. Tokyo takes a trip to reality

Koko ni Iru Koto Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Masahiko Nagasawa Running time: 115 minutes Language: JapaneseNow showing The TV trendy drama was a bubble-era phenomenon, with its stories about the love troubles of beautiful young singles working at glamorous "katakana jobs" (such as "event planner"...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 18, 2001

A love affair with languor

a la verticale de l'ete Japanese title: Geshi Rating: * * * * Director: Tran Anh Hung Running time: 112 minutes Language: VietnameseNow showing Tran Anh Hung is a director who effortlessly defies categorization. While his films -- "The Scent of Green Papaya" and "Cyclo" -- are invariably described...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 12, 2001

Fujiya Hotel: At ease in a Miyanoshita time capsule

Most visits to the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture begin at the heavily touristed town itself, from where numerous well-trodden routes head off through the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park of which it is the official center.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 10, 2001

Publishing still in a slump; DaVinci stays popular with young

Last month, the National Tax agency made its annual announcement of those paying more than 10 million yen in income tax and, as always, the list reflected major trends of the times.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2001

Now you see her, but know you don't

Malena Rating: * * * * Director: Giuseppe Tornatore Running time: 92 minutes Language: Italian/EnglishOpens June 9 These days, we've become used to women in cinema meeting certain standards. They should be visually stunning, but they must also be brave, self-assertive, sometimes violent, smart and...
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2001

From darkness into light

At the turn of the 20th century, Odilon Redon (1840-1916) was one of the most intriguing and original painters in Paris, and his subject matter, the timeless world of myths and dreams, has ensured he is not forgotten. With the current exhibition of his works at the Odakyu Museum in Shinjuku, the curators...
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

The shock of the Nouveau

Like a femme fatale, Art Nouveau has long guarded her secrets well. Were her sinuous lines symbolic or erotic? Did she bring fresh beauty into the modern world, or exploit a fin de siecle taste for the decadent? And why did she suddenly disappear, after a rapid rise to fame?
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2001

Talent aside, some people were born to dance

Center Stage Rating: * * * Director: Nicholas Hytner Running time: 115 minutes Language: English, with Japanese subtitlesOpens May 12 Ballet lessons (along with violin and piano) are often forced upon us at a certain age and continue until we or our parents throw a major tantrum and we call it quits....
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 11, 2001

Abe's enchanted villa inspires sublime pottery

In peaceful hamlets throughout Japan, local potters work at their own pace while garnering a loyal local following. There are literally thousands of such ceramists, and the serene environment in which they work nurtures and supports their artistic endeavors in subtle ways.
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2001

Heidi gets a makeover

Perhaps because it is more relentlessly urban than most modern industrial countries -- thanks to its inhospitable geography -- Japan is also more devoted than most to the ideal of an unspoiled rural life. The faster the foreground fills up with ugly concrete structures and electricity cables, the more...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2001

Incidental nudity and sci-fi plants

The life force that infuses the natural world can be an incomprehensible, vast subject. To capture its intangible beauty, the photographer is often forced to find an object that crystallizes or embodies it. Two of the most convenient examples of this are flowers and nudes.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2001

Japan's art for all seasons

Japan is a country with four seasons. This has long been an accepted fact, and most visitors to the country have been assured of it on numerous occasions. The progress of the seasons is a usual topic of conversation and is always mentioned at the beginning of any personal letter. Poetry, especially haiku...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Dec 21, 2000

Refresh your soul with the scent of eternal rebirth

For me the special warmth, freshness and magic of this time of year is beautifully embodied in its piny scents. The pine of Christmas trees and wreaths segues nicely into the pine of Japanese New Year displays.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2000

Tokyo to open parks and zoos for New Year's holiday season

The New Year's holiday season is one of the rare occasions when the hustle and bustle of Tokyo comes to a temporary halt as dwellers of the metropolis leave in droves.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 6, 2000

Mountain stairways to the sky gods

Time, mankind and Mother Nature have not been kind to the Seven Wonders of the World. Six are gone and most people probably couldn't even name them. According to the Philippines tourist people, however, there is an additional Wonder, and it is in remarkably good shape.
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2000

Handsome is as handsome does

What would we do without social scientists? Creeping about with their clipboards and calculators, they are forever coming up with solemn, statistic-studded pronouncements about things so obvious we were practically born knowing them. And yet there is something satisfying about having our assorted prejudices...
COMMUNITY
Nov 26, 2000

Visual abstractions in old-fashioned language

Imagine the gentle good humor to be found in the name Michael England but being, say, Scottish. In fact England's mother is Irish and his father Welsh, so quite the national conundrum. "Do I think of myself as Gaelic? Only when drinking and dancing. First and foremost I'm a painter."

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