Search - life

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 23, 2011

"Ueda Souko: Busho Chajin no Sekai Ten"

During the feudal times of the Momoyama Period (1573-1615), samurai culture had come under the influence of the then growing Zen Buddhism. Buddhist art in the form of rock gardens, the tea ceremony and ikebana thus became an important part of samurai life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2011

'Restless'

Gus Van Sant's "Restless" is a film about love, an ode to doomed but pure teenage infatuation. But it's also about love of a film, in this case Hal Ashby's cult classic "Harold and Maude." It's one of those cases where the lift (or "homage") is so overt and massive that it's hard to consider "Restless"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2011

Seeking solace in artistic responses to March 11

What can art do? What role can it play when the whole world seems suddenly unstable, unsure?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2011

F-35 fighter deal brings Japan multiple benefits

With its Dec. 20 decision to purchase Lockheed-Martin's Joint Strike Fighter F-35 Lightning II as Japan's next generation fighter aircraft, the Japanese government gets to have its cake and eat it too. What Japan wants is simple: the most advanced military technology available (or at least better than...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 22, 2011

Japan's dramatists take on the 'nuclear village'

The place to start when reviewing this year's highlights in contemporary Japanese theater, has to be The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11. That day led to a nation in mourning, an ongoing nuclear crisis and an awakening among dramatists, who saw the importance of their role to stimulate debate...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 21, 2011

Support helps Jackson take first coaching steps

Five minutes before Mark Jackson was to conduct his initial rehearsal as a head coach at any level — ahem, exempting a brief AAU fling — he sat in the Warriors' locker room by himself and let his wired emotions guide him.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 20, 2011

Replacing your alien card; blasts from the past

Anita recently lost her alien registration card and is planning to leave on New Year's Day for an overseas trip, so she needs a replacement right away:
COMMUNITY / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 20, 2011

Gaba 'contractor' status under fire from staff, courts

As an 8-year-old in Indiana, William first became curious about Japan when he made friends with a Japanese guy called Hideki who introduced him to Super Mario and the magical world of Japanese video games.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2011

Family ties spur spending sprees

Hiromi Komatsu is hitting Tokyo department stores in search of Christmas presents this year for the first time in her life, as she prepares for a rare visit by family members for the holiday season.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2011

Their spirit seems willing but young Japanese are hesitant to get hitched

Back in the days of "there's gold in them thar hills," one of the prospectors' doleful refrains boasted the title "My Girlfriend's a Mule and a Mine." Across the Pacific and some 150 years on, I wouldn't be surprised if an echo of that plaintive air were not about to catch on among young Japanese males...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 18, 2011

There's more to Christmas colors than meets the eye

The rotenburo (outdoor hot spring) that I most regularly frequent creates an excellent illusion of there always being a full moon bathing in its glow those soaking beneath.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 18, 2011

How The Japan Times saved a foundering battleship, twice

Mikasa! The name of the mighty Japanese battleship will be as familiar to the world's naval historians as it is now to viewers of NHK's Sunday evening drama "Saka no Ue no Kumo" ("Clouds Over the slope"). It was the Mikasa that all but decided the fate of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, when it led...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Dec 14, 2011

Mao was blessed with a mother who gave it her all

The past few days have been very difficult. I'm fairly confident a lot of other folks share my sentiments.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 14, 2011

Perfect toys for retro gamers and karaoke fans

People who were kids during the early days of console gaming often look for ways to recapture the the excitement of that time. Those who spent hours playing the Famicom here in Japan, for example, still have a weakness for retro gaming. And while there are many ways to relive gaming glorydays (Famicom...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2011

Five myths about presidential contender Ron Paul

Ron Paul is the Rodney Dangerfield of Republican presidential candidates. The 12-term Texas congressman ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988 and was widely seen as a sideshow in 2008, despite finishing third in the GOP field behind John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Why, despite a small...
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2011

The golden curse of the Peruvian Amazon

Madre de Dios, the name of a region in southeastern Peru bordering Brazil and Bolivia, is a common designation for the Virgin Mary, meaning Mother of God in Spanish.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 13, 2011

One-fifth of kids deprived of contact with one parent

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Minister of Justice Hideo Hiraoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba, Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Yoko Komiyama, and the government of Japan,
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 13, 2011

One-fifth of kids deprived of contact with one parent

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Minister of Justice Hideo Hiraoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba, Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Yoko Komiyama, and the government of Japan,
CULTURE / Books
Dec 11, 2011

No quick, easy path to haiku enlightenment

100 SELECTED HAIKU OF KATO IKUYA, translated with a study by Ito Isao. Chuseki-sha, 2011, 104 pp., ¥3,500 (paperback) Ikuya Kato (born 1929) is a modern haiku poet of the "free verse" school. Haiku itself is probably the shortest form of literature there is. Its classical structure is a cluster of 17...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 11, 2011

'Chushingura' in a wide-show style; Watanabe/Minami's TV drama debut; CM of the week: Saikyo Jump

Dec. 14 is a special day in Japan. On that date in 1702, the 47 retainers of the Lord of Ako exacted revenge on Kira Kozuke-no-suke, the Edo official who caused their lord's death a year earlier. This story is known popularly as "Chushingura" and has been adapted hundreds of times in various forms.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 11, 2011

Mr. Momoe Yamaguchi finally decides to speak

Last week a new movie called "Railways" opened in Tokyo. It's about a driver on a small rural electric train line who retires after 40 years and is sort of a sequel to a film with the exact same title released in 2010. That movie centered on a Tokyo executive who loses his job and decides to pursue his...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 10, 2011

Every print a poem, artist's self-portrait

Woodblock prints, or moku hanga, may seem to be the quintessential Japanese art, but they have been embraced by artists around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2011

'Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo (Tale of Genji — A Thousand Year Enigma)'

Filming "Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji)," Murasaki Shikibu's epic 1,000-year-old tale of love and intrigue among Heian Period (794-1185) nobles, would seem to be an impossible task, like putting the Bible on the screen. (The 1966 John Huston film of that title covers only part of the book of Genesis.)...
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

MacArthur pre-empted disaster

Regarding Masamichi Yabuki's Dec. 4 letter, "A MacArthur view revisited": There have been other unjust omissions and, worse, derogatory statements made about American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, especially regarding his role in bringing about Japan's revised constitution during the early months of the Occupation....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Active Child, How To Dress Well find their voices

"It will leave you feeling inspired and loved."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 6, 2011

Pair's engagement blossomed in China

Kazunobu Seto and his wife, Robin, met in his hometown of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 2004.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 6, 2011

Comic anthologies offer visions of hope after 3/11

In the wake of March 11, artists, writers, letterers and colorists based in Japan and across the globe have been hard at work crafting stories and images of solidarity, concern and, above all, hope for two fundraising books: "Spirit of Hope" and "Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan."
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 4, 2011

Reysol complete storybook season

Kashiwa Reysol captured their first-ever J. League title just a year after winning the second division with a 3-1 victory over Urawa Reds on the final day of the season on Saturday.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo