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CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Nov 14, 2001

Like Sheena, only happier

Like many people, when I first heard Hitomi Yaida's music, I immediately thought: Aha, Ringo Sheena Lite. With her high-pitched, keening voice and energetic, guitar-based pop-rock style, Yaida certainly has a lot in common with Sheena, that twisted pixie.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 12, 2001

Feet first!

Somewhere in the march of progress, we lost sight of our feet. Though there are cutting-edge running shoes incorporating space technology for maximum performance, many of us gladly choose low-tech gear in the name of style. We are willing fashion victims, but the damage can be more serious than many...
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 10, 2001

Missing faces as J. League resumes action

After a three-week interval, Division One of the J. League kicks off again Saturday with the start of the second stage.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 15, 2001

Inking the moment

A sheet of white washi paper, a brush, an ink stone, a black ink stick and a good mood -- these are the ingredients for a work of shodo (calligraphy).
CULTURE / Art
Nov 26, 2000

The modernist innovations of Mackintosh

Tall, dark and handsome, the chairs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh are international objects of desire. Belying their age, they stand in design studios, hotel lobbies and private homes like stylish question marks.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 11, 2000

Love, oil and Bangkok traffic jams

If you've ever been caught in a Bangkok traffic jam, it's a fair bet that "beautiful" would not be a word you'd use to describe the scene. But asurvey of Takanobu Kobayashi's new paintings gives the impression that the 40-year-old painter loves the buses and big trucks and little tuk tuks that choke...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Art and history intersect in U.S. ambassador's residence

Most of us only dream of being able to pick out our favorite pieces of art from museums to display in our homes.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2000

Tony Bennett: a true master of the fine art of sincerity

Hyperbole becomes Tony Bennett. His effusiveness is all-encompassing, gathering his audience, his musicians, the people who wrote the songs he sings, and even the singers who covered those songs before him into a warm, gushing embrace. Performing more than 90 minutes' worth of material at Suntory Hall...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2023

China's 'art factory' painters turn from fakes to originals

Home to more than 8,000 artists, southern China's Dafen has been producing near-perfect copies of timeless masterpieces for years.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 15, 2023

Haruki Murakami’s new novel. Plus, allegations resurface in J-pop.

Celebrated author Haruki Murakami reveals the title to a new novel, “The City and its Uncertain Walls.” Also, the BBC puts out a documentary on J-pop titan Johnny Kitagawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 30, 2023

With ‘Idol,’ Yoasobi pens a new chapter in J-pop's story

In creating the theme song to the popular anime 'Oshi no Ko,' one of Japan’s most interesting groups wins new fans overseas.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 1, 2014

Masako Shirasu: woman of the world

"If you use beautiful things every day, you will naturally cultivate an eye for beautiful things without giving it a second thought. In the end, you will be repelled when you encounter the ugly and the fake. If only all Japan would come to see this, how much more joyous our lives would be and how genial...
LIFE
Apr 26, 2009

A literary loner

In Tokyo and even in the Occident, I have known almost no society except that of courtesans. — Nagai Kafu There's not much left of Kafu today. Among the major Japanese writers of the early 20th century, he scarcely ranks as a survivor. Natsume Soseki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Junichiro Tanizaki are the...
COMMUNITY
Feb 18, 2000

Polishing the bitter tears into sweet

Hardly a day passes without some sadness or bitterness touching our lives. Sometimes the waves of grief and pain are relentless.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 1997

Prudential prepared to tailor-make new products

Fifth in an occasional series on the Big Bang financial reforms
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Nov 6, 2022

Dining from forest and field at Niigata's Satoyama Jujo

The Sanaburi dining room in Minamiuonuma serves dishes so fresh they come straight from the soil — sometimes literally.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 29, 2022

Koichi Yamashita: ‘My art is about expressing the reality beyond emotion and thought’

A critic told Koichi Yamashita to 'use color,' but the artist prefers to reflect the 'dignity and strictness' of Japan's mountains through black-and-white representations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 13, 2022

Jean-Luc Godard, daring director who shaped the French New Wave, dies at 91

Eventually becoming of the world's most revered directors, Godard helped kickstart a new way of filmmaking, complete with handheld camera work, jump cuts and existential dialogue.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
Apr 7, 2022

Miyuki Suzuki sets example for Japan Inc. with grace and 'spine of steel'

During a varied career with stints at a number of firms, Suzuki has strived to empower her team members — something of a novel approach in Japan's corporate world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / New Wine Frontier
Jan 23, 2022

Funky Chateau: Straight from the gospel of natural winemaking

Toyohiko and Michiko Kanehashi were told their vines would die if they didn't fertilize. On the contrary, going natural sets Funky Chateau wines apart from the pack.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 7, 2021

Paying pilgrimage to the last kissaten on the Kumano Kodo trail

Writer Craig Mod takes inventory of the coffee shops that are left alongside the old roads of the Ohechi Kumano Kodo UNESCO World Heritage routes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2021

Cuba's Raul Castro leaves the political stage, his legacy yet to be written

While Fidel was the charismatic leader who rallied Cubans to defend the revolution and defy the United States, Raul, 89, built the military into a formidable fighting force.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2021

‘That We May Live’: New Chinese fiction delves into the playfully weird

Explaining the difference between speculative fiction and science fiction can feel like sorting out overlapping nebulae. The main distinction of speculative fiction may be that a story is just barely possible, at a slight remove from reality that veers into the playfully weird. A Japanese author exemplifying...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 22, 2021

Martin Holman: A pioneer in Japan's puppet theater tradition

Martin Holman knew early on that he had a passion for puppets. What he didn't know, however, is just how far that passion would take him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2021

Director Kentaro brings an auteur’s touch to a soulful road movie

The 'Under the Turquoise Sky' director mixes realism, fantasy and comedy in his visually stirring feature debut about a Japanese man who goes on a journey of self-discovery in Mongolia.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 9, 2021

New trends in 'J-vlogging' allow for a more diverse range of views on Japan

YouTubers based in Japan are focusing less on the 'slice of life' videos that defined past content and are catering to smaller communities within the non-Japanese audience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / 2020 in review
Dec 19, 2020

Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020

As 2021 approaches, six Japan Times book reviewers look back on their top reads released in English this year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 9, 2020

Cuushe: Music born from emotion

Dream pop musician Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi, aka Cuushe, on her upcoming album, “Waken,” and her musical inspiration.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 26, 2020

The bureaucratic wall that hampers entry to Japan

The requirements Japan has put in place to enter the country amid the pandemic don't quite match up with the realities of what's going on overseas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 17, 2020

'#Handball Strive' digs into the pitfalls of performing for the 'likes'

Daigo Matsui's comedy is about a fake handball team that chases Instagram fame and falls victim to online perils.

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