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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2007

Look inside the puppet's head

"One aspiring to become a puppet operator would have to spend 10 years to master the handling of the puppet's feet and another 10 years to be able to operate its left hand," says Yoshida Bunjaku, 79, one of two omozukai (principal puppeteers) awarded the title of Living National Treasure. "While he is...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2007

Japan enters orbit of nations exploring the moon

The moon has languished in the shadows of space exploration since the heyday of manned missions in the 1960s and 1970s, eclipsed by projects focused on Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, not to mention the U.S. space shuttle and the International Space Station.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007

Marcus Miller "Free"

Brooklyn-born Marcus Miller kicks off his latest album playing the sitar, lending "Blast" an Indian groove before adopting a hip-hop beat in the chorus. It's an early indication of Miller's diverse musical tastes: "Free" features the noted bass guitarist playing 14 different instruments.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / WEEK 3
Aug 19, 2007

Beauty beheld in brutalism

No matter how wild or wacky their hobbies or obsessions, in the age of the Internet no one need feel isolated any more, and by casting all inhibitions aside almost anyone is assured of finding like-minded others out there in cyberspace — if not just around the corner from home.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2007

Festival theater heats up Shibuya

Matsuri (festivals) in Japan are not only about fireworks, as the monthlong "Summer Summit 2007" drama event attests.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 20, 2007

Capoeira connects Japan, Brazil

Experience martial arts with a twist — but probably neither a shimmy nor a waltz — at the two-day Axe Brasil Bahia festival, taking place in Tokyo's Asakusa on July 21-22.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2007

Exposing our tacky selves

Walking through an exhibition of Martin Parr's photography is an emotional experience. The Englishman's works make you laugh, snicker, cringe; they prompt self- and societal reflection; but most of all they make you marvel at the dry wit and superior eye that Parr has for things simultaneously insipid...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jun 17, 2007

Japan's master of an ancient Muslim art

For Kouichi Honda, writing a beautiful line is what life is about. Getting every detail right — the subtle curves, the varying thicknesses and the density of the ink — matters to him as much as life itself.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 30, 2007

Sex, morals and DNA

It wouldn't be surprising to see a message along the following lines on an Internet dating site: "SJF, 26, wants to meet kind, generous, romantic, honest man."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 1, 2007

Blasting off for Golden Week

Tired of sitting in front of computers all day long? Sick of sucking up exhaust as you walk down the street? Have you been pondering life's meaning and, above all, our meager existence in this world?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 24, 2007

Conof, One Percent and Panasonic's new mini-speakers

Shredding mystery When I first laid eyes on the Conof by n.o.l., I had no idea what it was but immediately developed a unprovoked yearning for it. So when I eventually figured out that it was a paper shredder, there was a moment of disappointment -- secrecy and sensitive documents play no part in my...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2007

Third point of Roppongi

With the opening of Tokyo Midtown on Friday, the Art Triangle Roppongi concept is now complete. Comprised of the Mori Art Museum, the new National Art Center (NAC) and the elegant new Suntory Museum of Art -- part of the Midtown project -- the idea of a new precinct for art in Tokyo is ready to be tested....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Mar 27, 2007

KOKUYO, MUJI, PILOT and MONO for spring

Spring is in the air, and that means two things: a city draped in the pink of cherry blossoms -- hey, pink is the new black, so get with it; and the start of a new school year. So I'll concentrate this month's picks on a few items that will make you more productive with a touch of a style.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2007

Kansai Time Out: 30 years without a breather

KOBE -- On the cover of the December 1979 issue of Kansai Time Out magazine, an Osaka-based foreign aikido instructor, sporting an Afro, is seen executing a throw that puts his Japanese opponent on the floor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Feb 22, 2007

Breaking into an insider's tea-drinking club

The term "gaijin artist" can be something of an insult to those who make Japan their home. It is, after all, parochial and old-fashioned to differentiate artists strictly on the basis of what passport they carry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 10, 2007

Tim Hornyak

Freelance writer Tim Hornyak is the author of 'Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots.' He anticipates that the family robot will become a reality in Japan
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Feb 2, 2007

Cabbages and kings

Those who live and work in Itabashi are hesitant when it comes to tallying up the highlights of this northwestern Tokyo ward. "There's really nothing remarkable here," says ballerina and homemaker Chieko Muraoka, 37. "It's quiet and small-scale, but we like it that way."
CULTURE / Music
Feb 2, 2007

Banda Caliente Grande

Tokyo is home to the largest concentration of big bands of any city in the world. Every night of the year, student, amateur and pro bands are digging into music charts someplace in the city.
Reader Mail
Jan 28, 2007

What passes for attractiveness

Recent moves by Spain to rein in eating disorders in the high-fashion industry by sanctioning a healthy body mass index and thereby curbing excessive skinniness among supermodels have spread to Italy and show signs of spreading to other countries as well. This is a good thing and only partly...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 7, 2007

Through the Terayama looking glass

THE EXPERIMENTAL IMAGE WORLD OF SHUJI TERAYAMA, DVD four-volume box set. Tokyo: Daguerreo Press, Inc./Image Forum Video, 2006, color/monochrome, English subtitles, bilingual menu, audio commentaries (Japanese only) by Nobuhiro Kawanaka, Tatsuo Suzuki, Sakumi Hagiwara and Henriku Morisaki, 346 min., 18,900...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 5, 2007

Donizetti's bel canto greats hit high notes

The Donizetti Theatre, one of Italy's best-known spaces for traditional opera, is currently touring Japan for the first time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Dec 1, 2006

Katsushika a cut above all your expectations

Many of Tokyo's award-winning swordsmiths choose to live in Ka-tsushika. Why? "Land has always been cheap here," said Shoji Yoshihara, 61, designated an Important Living Cultural Property of the ward and deputy head of All Japan Swordsmiths Association. "The process of making swords is noisy and smoky,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 17, 2006

FILMeX shows size doesn't matter

Tokyo FILMeX enters its seventh year as the smaller, friendlier, artier alternative to the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 9, 2006

Tokyo National Museum shows Buddhist masterpieces

Living in a land still largely covered with forest, it is not surprising that Japanese have a special reverence toward wood. We see this particularly in traditional architecture, where wood is not only chosen to reveal its best qualities, but is largely left unpainted so that its beauty improves with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2006

On-U Sound from way out

At most live gigs, all eyes are on the band while the mixing desk is tucked out of sight with some guy in a T-shirt standing behind it simply making sure each instrument comes out at the right level.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2006

Honda looks to CR-V to rev up sales

Honda Motor Co. unveiled its restyled CR-V sport utility vehicle Thursday, betting its third version of the model will help it grab a bigger slice of the domestic SUV market.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2006

Corolla gets 10th makeover, for luck

Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday launched revamped Corolla models -- the 10th time the best-selling car that spearheaded the nation's motorization in the 1960s has been changed -- in the hope of stimulating the sluggish market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Sep 8, 2006

Dover Street shop storms into Tokyo

When it comes to revolutionary retail concept stores in Japan, there's no getting away from Tokyo's Aoyama district. That area's latest major opening comes from none other than Japan's epoch-making fashion house Comme des Garcons.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Tokyo Gas to use 10 billion yen to replace old water heaters

Tokyo Gas Co. plans to spend about 10 billion yen to replace old bath and water heaters over a three-year period starting next spring to ensure the safety of household gas appliances, company officials said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 25, 2006

Ainu culture in Hokkaido's Akan National Park

When Japan's Meiji Era (1868-1912) government concluded that the country had a manifest destiny to commence full-scale colonization of the hitherto barely developed northern island of Hokkaido, it set about the task assiduously.

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