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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 15, 2010

The history hidden behind the mask

Kiyotaka Imai, 67, is a prominent noh performer from the Kongo School, which was established in the Kansai region during the 14th century, and headquartered in Kyoto. The son of the late Ikusaburo Imai, a Kongo noh master of the highest ranking (shokubun) and a designated Intangible Cultural Asset, Imai...
JAPAN / U.S. FORCES IN JAPAN
Oct 14, 2010

Bases: Transplanted slices of Americana

Edward Papazian, an American, visits the U.S. Navy bases at Yokosuka and Atsugi, both in Kanagawa Prefecture, once every two or three months, escorted by a former navy friend.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2010

Winning recipe worth ¥5 million

"Okonomiyaki" pancakes with Indian curry, kebab meat, pickles, sauerkraut or other innovative ingredients may soon be on the menu at an Osaka-based restaurant chain.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Oct 13, 2010

Unfortunately named Galapagos tablet is proud to be different

A new tablet may be the last gasp of the Galapagos syndrome in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2010

Internet companies roll over, play dead in defense of liberty

PARIS — All over the world, Internet users entertain romantic delusions about cyberspace. To most of us Web surfers, the Internet provides a false sense of complete freedom, power and anonymity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2010

Fantastic plastic: Last vinyl presser hosts exam on the record

There are still those for whom the world spins at exactly 33 revolutions per minute. Digital MP3 downloads and YouTube videos may now be the formats of choice in the home and clubs, but the sound of a cartridge needle riding over the groove of a vinyl slab — scratches, skips and all — is quite literally...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 8, 2010

Brazil film fest to tour Japan

Brazil has been on a roll lately. The world's fifth largest country has been awarded the FIFA World Cup for 2014 and South America's first Olympics in 2016. Brazilians can't help but feel jubilant as the world's gaze turns south.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 8, 2010

What artists see in themselves

Visitors to Florence in Italy have long been awed by the works in two of the city's finest museums: the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace. But, perhaps preoccupied by prime examples of Raphael, Botticelli and other Renaissance artists, many visitors let their stay come to an end without enjoying the...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Oct 5, 2010

Census blind to Japan's true diversity

It's that time of the decade again. By now, all households in Japan should have received and submitted Japan's National Census (kokusei chosa), a survey taken every five years expressly to assist in policymaking, drawing up electoral districts and other matters of taxation and representation. This of...
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2010

Turkey at a crossroads

The Turkish public's approval of constitutional reform takes that country to a critical moment. The impetus for changing the national charter was the desire to build a stronger democracy, a change that would better align Turkey with Europe and eliminate another obstacle in the drive to join the European...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 1, 2010

Will Murton get fair shot at hits record?

The single-season home-run record in Japanese baseball has been somewhat of a touchy subject for quite some time. Many associate the record of 55 with legendary Yomiuri Giants slugger Sadaharu Oh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 1, 2010

The Australian Ballet, en pointe in Japan

After the death of the founder of Ballet Russes (Russian Ballet), Sergei Diaghilev, in 1929, the original company — which during its short history included esteemed dancers such as Vaslav Nijinsky and Anna Pavlova and collaborators like Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky — dispersed to establish other...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 1, 2010

All-grrrl DJ collective touts a twee life

Shibuya is not a pretty place. In fact, Tokyo's youth mecca can look downright grimy at times. But as with most eyesores, there are pockets of beauty and Sumire Taya owns one of them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 28, 2010

Behind the facade of family law

Last in a two-part series In mid-April, 12-year-old Michiko Watanabe, as she was now being called, found herself in a precarious situation. Earlier, her mother had clearly let her child know that she would no longer consider herself Michiko's mother if Michiko ever attempted to return to her father....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2010

Ending the secret life of the death penalty

Japan's former Justice Minister Keiko Chiba surprised many people when she ordered the hanging of two convicted killers at the end of July.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2010

Hard-knock life leads to magic music

In 2004, Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye ditched their respectable jobs in France and headed to Kinshasa. In the ruined capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country just emerging from one of postcolonial Africa's worst conflicts, they felt strangely at home. "We were like mad dogs in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Sep 24, 2010

'Mizuki Shigeru: Illustrations of Yokai'

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe Closes Oct. 3
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 24, 2010

Women of quiet strength

Female artists play a significant role in Japan's art world today, but a century ago, only a few women made a mark in the then male-dominated field. Shoen Uemura stands out as one of the most successful, a status she earned through the relentless study and perfection of her chosen theme of bijin-ga —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2010

Ego-Wrappin'

MARK JARNES Staff writer
Reader Mail
Sep 23, 2010

Let Okinawa become independent

In her Sept. 15 letter, "An absurd moral comparison," Jennifer Kim is right to say it's a false comparison between the U.S. bases in Okinawa and Japan's occupation of Korea. In fact, there is more mileage to be had by comparing Japan's treatment of Korea and Okinawa.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2010

Malaysia budget carrier unveils Tokyo route

Malaysia-based AirAsia Bhd., Asia's biggest budget airline, announced Tuesday in Tokyo that its long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, will launch a route between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo's Haneda airport in December.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 22, 2010

A call to end confusion over foreign names

A problem newspaper readers in Japan confront on a daily basis is that no definitive rule exists for writing foreigners' names.

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