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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 2, 2011

Fired-up tales of ceramics in wonderland

Craft was maligned in Japan's Meiji Era (1868-1912) as the transposition of Western aesthetic theory denigrated it in relation to grand ideas of "fine art." All the while, though, it was an important export industry and a core component of Japan's contributions to various world expositions. It became...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 31, 2011

English magazines run gamut from poetry to prose, Kanto to Chubu

We received several additional English-magazine suggestions in response to our May 17 column, "Print is suffering, but English readers have never had it so good."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 31, 2011

Disaster volunteers find plenty to do in Fukushima

Evgeny Latypov, a 26-year-old student at Temple University Japan, passionately wanted to help out in Fukushima Prefecture, where three disasters — an earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear power plant crisis- have made life miserable for its residents.
Reader Mail
May 29, 2011

An unimaginable commitment

The advice that Kotaku Wamura, former mayor of Fudai, Iwate Prefecture, is quoted as giving at his retirement — "Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand" (May 18 AP article "How one village defied the tsunami") — reminds me of...
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2011

Dalai Lama's words open door for Beijing

The election of Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard Law School scholar, as prime minister of Tibet's government-in-exile was followed immediately by China's rejection of any talks with him on the future of Tibet.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2011

Ripples from an arrest

The arrest of Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on charges of sexual assault in New York City has been the occasion for all sorts of salacious gossip and speculation.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
May 26, 2011

'Golden age' of kayoukyoku holds lessons for modern J-pop

On April 21, 2011, the actress and singer Yoshiko Tanaka, aka Sue from 1970s idol group the Candies, died after a relapse of the cancer that she had been living with for 20 years. A tragedy, at the relatively young age of 55, and one that comes during a period of deep soul-searching for the Japanese...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
May 24, 2011

Japanese adults need an education in dealing with difference

To the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology:
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2011

France stages judicial revolution as citizens challenge legislation

A new and important acronym has entered the French political lexicon: QPC, which stands for the rather austere-sounding "Priority preliminary ruling on the question of constitutionality."
CULTURE / Books
May 22, 2011

Power play in the Far East

CHANGING POWER RELATIONS IN NORTHEAST ASIA: Implications for Relations Between Japan and South Korea. Edited by Marie Soderberg. Routledge, 2011, $125, 188 pp., (hardcover) From mid-March until mid-April, South Korean charities raised over $52 million for earthquake relief in Japan, a record sum that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 22, 2011

Untouchable lays bare a divided nation

With ebooks increasingly dominating the publishing market, it is a pleasure to hold a printed book so gorgeously designed as this one; the cover alone would make it a welcome addition to any Kenji Nakagami collection.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 22, 2011

One of a kind: Bob Dylan at 70

Bob Dylan, the single most important artist in the history of popular music, will be 70 years old on Tuesday, May 24.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 22, 2011

Up close and personal: Why Dylan is so big in Japan

It was the fall of 1963, when — in what seemed like a flash of lightning — I became a fan of Bob Dylan the moment I heard "Blowin' in the Wind" on the radio. I was in my first year of high school.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 20, 2011

Tohoku play finds friends in ghostly places

With the eastern Tohoku region currently undergoing much hardship due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, it might be a good time to revisit the culture of the region in the hopes of motivating people's drive to recover.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 20, 2011

"Le Chat Noir: Entertainment, Art And Culture In Paris 1880-1910"

From the end of the 19th to the early 20th centuries, Paris went through two completely different periods: end-of-century decadence and the apolaustic Belle Epoque. In 1881, "Le Chat Noir" (French for "The Black Cat"), an entertainment house, opened in Montmartre, and it became a base for a group of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 19, 2011

Yoshida returns to dance with the BRB as it tours her homeland

Miyako Yoshida, who retired from The Royal Ballet last year after a 25-year career at the top of the ballet world, is now bringing the grace that she has become world-famous for home to her native Japan — as guest principal of the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), which tours the country for the first...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 15, 2011

'Broken Heart Insurance'; cute archetypes; CM of the week: Shiseido Ag+

In the drama series "Shitsuren Hoken" ("Broken Heart Insurance"; Nihon TV, Thurs., 11:58 p.m.), the fictional Yotsuba Shrine offers the titular insurance to anyone in love who isn't sure if the object of their desire is constant. If the significant other breaks off the relationship, the policy holder...
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2011

The new setsuden culture

While the kanji for "hot" was chosen as emblematic of 2010, setsuden, or electricity conservation, seems to be the keyword for 2011, or at least for the coming summer.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 13, 2011

China: the next frontier for konbini

Japan's convenience store monoliths begin taking bigger steps into the lucrative Chinese market.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 13, 2011

Photo show spotlights amateurs

An exhibition coming soon to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography provides a rare chance to see how contemporary Japan looks from the perspective of hundreds of the nation's best professional and amateur photographers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 12, 2011

Inspired by the West and re-made in Japan

Staging famous Western works, or those from well-known foreign playwrights, is an established feature of contemporary theater in Japan, with Japanese dramatists often adapting or reworking plays so they resonate more with domestic audiences.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan