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October 17, 2025
 

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CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Nov 6, 2003

'Grotesque' cuts too close to the bone

Do the suffocating pressures of Japanese society produce monsters? Does trying to live by men's rules drive women crazy? These are two of the questions posed by Natsuo Kirino in her powerful new novel, "Grotesque."
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 19, 2003

Cometh the man, cometh the charisma

Adashing & suave lady-killer and a misfit loser?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Jun 26, 2003

A rare and rocky treat

The most remarkable gardens often combine nature and symbolism: Think of the Alhambra Palace in Granada with its cool water and bowers of jasmine offering a preview of the Islamic paradise. In Europe, symbolic gardens sometimes testified to a monarch's power -- the most extreme example being at Versailles,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 16, 2003

Songs of the sorta rich and famous

Daniel Johnston is apparently napping. His father, Bill, who answers the phone, says to someone, "Tell Dan it's his interview from Japan."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2003

Theater greats raise curtain on the new year

Have you made your first visit of the new year to the theater yet? If not, "Umi yorimo nagai yoru (The Night Longer than the Sea)," being staged by Seinendan at Theater Tram in Sangenjaya, will surely whet your appetite for what promises to be a lively and exciting year on the Tokyo drama scene.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2002

Toil -- you're on candid canvas

In the mid-19th century, the French village of Barbizon was the artistic equivalent of the reality-TV show "Big Brother." In this tiny village with a population of just 352 (according to the 1872 census), the locals were under constant observation by the 100 or so artists reputedly living among them....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 15, 2002

Still treading the boards after 1,100 years

To commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the death of Sugawara no Michizane, the celebrated Heian-Period scholar-politician, the National Theater is presenting "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Sugawara Certifies a Disowned Disciple to Perpetuate His Line of Calligraphy)." One of three bunraku masterpieces...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 10, 2002

Total eclipse of the art

In a residential area close to the bright lights and buzz of Shibuya, a fascinating theatrical experiment is taking place at the Agora Theater in Tokyo.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 11, 2001

Poor from war, rich in culture

The serpentine road to Luang Prabang winds around mountains that rise above green valleys and rocky gorges, alongside ramshackle villages with no electricity and past fields of corn and rice. If you're not much of a daredevil, then don't get a window seat, because the bus has to navigate hairpin turns,...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Koga's travels in hyper-reality

One of my favorite cliches about art is the one that says great art comes from great suffering, something that is perhaps overlooked by today's modern art scene with its emphasis on novelty and playfulness.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 20, 2001

Shanghai, the heart of China

NEW SHANGHAI: The Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City, by Pamela Yatsko. Wiley, 2001, 298 pp., 2,300 yen (paper). Few doubt that Shanghai is the nerve center of China's second "Great Leap Forward." This metropolis -- long considered the most cosmopolitan of all Asian cities -- is the cornerstone...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 11, 2001

How Klimt's Vienna changed the world

There are two paintings of artist's studios that say it all. The first is part castle, part Old Curiosity Shop, packed with statues, bearskins and whatnot, where a successful Viennese artist of the old school sits in gloomy splendor. The second is filled with light. There is no artist, but a woman's...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jan 27, 2001

The art of appreciating ceramics

In pottery, as with life, sometimes the most basic questions are the most important: Why is this so? Or, how did this happen? Or, what does this part mean?
CULTURE / Art
Oct 1, 2000

Van Gogh, up close and personal

There is a rapid sketch by Vincent van Gogh of a sunny square in the south of France where a man is waiting expectantly by an open door. In the distance, a steam train is arriving, puffing smoke into the sky. It is just a simple drawing of a corner of Arles in 1888. But when we realize that the man is...
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2000

Making home a school away from school

A typical day at school for 12-year-old Sophie Kimura could be a social studies lesson which involves finding out what life is like in Illinois where her "e-pal" Dawn lives.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 15, 2000

Paintings with lives of their own

Painter Michael Hofmann says his best work starts and finishes before he's even realized it.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2000

Catching up with pop auteur Shuntaro Okino

Pastoral retreats generally do not seem conducive to the production of great pop music. Even the Band's extended stays in Woodstock were more about bacchanalian revelry than quiet contemplation. Sensuous hooks and driving beats seem to relate more to the rough and tumble urban world than to any serene...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 7, 2000

Puppets seen through the bars

THE FUNERAL OF A GIRAFFE and Other Stories, by Tomioka Taeko. Translated by Kyoko Selden and Mizuta Noriko. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 182 pp., $21.95. Originally a poet, Taeko Tomioka turned to fiction later in her career, after the breakup of a long-term relationship and a return to her native Osaka....
CULTURE / Art
Dec 30, 1999

There's just no place like Chrome

Richard Stark is the antidesigner.
COMMUNITY
Jul 15, 1999

Behold! The 'fashion bible' cometh

Long before there were Versace minis, Gucci stilettos and Chanel nail polish in Vamp, Vogue was there -- watching, documenting and dictating the trends to the fashion-savvy masses.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2023

Le Makeup gives himself a sonic glow up on 'Odorata'

The Kansai-based artist digs deep on his latest album, using sensory details as the backdrop for his self-reflection and exploring new sounds through rap collaborations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2022

Kamasami Kong gives voice to city pop's resurgence on 'FM Station 8090'

The radio DJ and personality brings his distinct narration style to the soundtrack of Japan's bubble era.
A former pop idol (Mai Fukagawa) finds herself in a slump with little money, no partner and precarious mental health as she nears her 30s in “Tsundol.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2023

‘Tsundol’: Pop idol on the brink gets mental health uplift

While it is a predictable drama about a former singer getting her life together, the film addresses her mental well-being in a refreshing manner.
From left: Yusuke Nagai, Taiyo Someya and Kaori Sakakibara formed their band Lamp in 2000, developing a cult following over the years with their own blend of 1960s pop harmonies, ’70s folk craft and ’80s bossa nova brightness.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 3, 2023

The slow and steady rise of Lamp, a cult favorite

With new album 'Dusk to Dawn,' the folk rockers bring light to the new Japanese music canon.
Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic with Britain's Queen Camilla after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London on Jan. 29.
WORLD
Feb 6, 2024

King Charles diagnosed with cancer just 18 months into his reign

Buckingham Palace said that the king would postpone public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024

Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo

You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do.
Damo Suzuki, who passed away at the age of 74 on Feb. 9, was best known as a vocalist for the German “krautrock” pioneers Can. He later launched Damo Suzuki’s Network, a live music project that took him around the world, playing with different musicians every night. 
CULTURE / Music
Feb 17, 2024

Damo Suzuki forged a path outside of mainstream pop and rock

Idiosyncratic and spontaneous, the Can vocalist was an influential figure of the “krautrock” scene.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024

A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan

Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
Kumamoto-based sakura researcher Toshio Katsuki says Japan's interpretations of the cherry tree have evolved over the course of history.
COMMUNITY / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 22, 2024

Toshio Katsuki: 'The cherry blossoms have been my vehicle to find new relationships'

A sakura researcher tells us what drew him to the flowering trees, how their significance has changed over time and his tips on the best way to enjoy them.
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2024

Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins

This year’s installment of the photography festival highlights underrepresented groups from around the world — while avoiding anything too challenging.
Coalition talks could bring Takaichi closer to being PM
Nippon Ishin no Kai leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Trump declares U.S.-China trade war as Bessent floats long truce
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference in Washington on Wednesday.
Asia can learn from Europe’s immigration mistakes
Refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, crowd a platform at a train station in Budapest in September 2015. Hungary's focus on pro-natalist policies and minimal immigration has led to a significant improvement in its fertility rate compared to Japan.
Singapore thrived in a U.S.-led world. Now what?
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt moors at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in April 2018.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
As they wrestle for power, Japan’s political parties must remember their base
Rengo's head Tomoko Yoshino speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
Pace eyes great strides for Japan’s art market
Pace Japan Vice President Kyoko Hattori, the de facto head of the nation’s business, believes a larger, more lucrative art market will allow Japan to be more attractive for collectors.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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