Search - culture

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009

Japan Web site a life-time labor of love

When Stefan Schauwecker first launched japan-guide.com in 1996 while still a student in Canada, the Web site only featured an A to Z section on Japanese culture — "just a basic intro to Japan, a guide to look up cultural stuff and a little bit of history," the Swiss native recalled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 10, 2009

A taste for the unusual leads to excellence

Since the Heian Period (794-1185), landscapes have served as the inspiration for generations of Japanese painters. Many followed the standards and styles of a particular school, while other — often encouragingly eccentric — individuals broke with all conventions to wield their brushes in a completely...
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009

Aso reveals new plan to create 2 million jobs

Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged Thursday that the government will try to create 1.4 million to 2 million new jobs in the next three years by spurring ¥40 trillion to ¥60 trillion in new demand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Crows Zero II'

Japan has its share of teenage punks, but compared with their scarier counterparts in the United States, they are rather tame. Instead of spraying enemies and strangers with automatic weapons, they settle their disputes with methods usually far less lethal, from fists to head butts.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2009

An admirable Japanese export

Regarding the March 25 article "Japanese give Paris tidiness lesson": It is nice to learn that the Japanese are trying to spread their culture of cleanliness to other places. Every time I returned to my country after spending a year in Japan, I used to get a shock when I saw the difference. Some people...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 5, 2009

Ireland says values of Asian culture were key at WBC

Much has been written and said about the reasons two Asian teams played in the recent World Baseball Classic final and why Japan came out on top against South Korea.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 5, 2009

Swapping snow for a rain forest

Although there was very little snow this winter here where I live in the Nagano Prefecture hills, it was still good to have an excuse to get away from the cold, and the excuse this time was to present a prize for the writer and illustrator of a book for little children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Apr 4, 2009

Childhood friends, partners for life

KYOTO — Dan Bertuzzi, 39, and his wife, Asuka, 31, have a relationship that's a fairy tale come true.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 3, 2009

Tokyo prepares for feast of Kissin

Classical music fans will be delighted to attend the first performances in Japan by the former child prodigy Evgeny Kissin since 2006, as the Russian pianist continues his steady rise toward virtuoso status.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2009

Women should lead Russia

Do not underestimate Russia. That is just what many commentators are doing these days as they look at its declining population, its collapsing stock market, its dangerous reliance on oil and gas exports, the dismal style of its political leadership, its docile parliament, its aggressive foreign policy,...
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2009

Ingrained cultural divide at work

Regarding Debito Arudou's March 24 article: We live in a world of instant media distribution. The Japanese culture to a large extent is fueled by the exportation of film and print that stereotypes some cultures as bad while portraying others as superior. Back in 2007 when the English-language teaching...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

Will pay gap at Nomura go toxic?

Nomura Holdings Inc. is paying college graduates originally recruited by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. more than twice as much as those it hired on its own, two sources said.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2009

China versus the Dalai Lama

On the 60th anniversary of his escape to India, the exiled 14th Dalai Lama stands as a bigger challenge than ever for China, as underscored by Beijing's stepped-up vilification campaign against him and its admission that it is now locked in a "life and death struggle" over Tibet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

Imperial Hotel, Halekulani sign up for synergy

It may sound a bit odd to hear about an iconic Hawaiian resort hotel joining forces with a landmark Tokyo inn, but the two share top-flight status and hope to create synergy amid the global recession.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 31, 2009

Women, know your place

Every time I open a newspaper or click on the Internet, yet another article appears bemoaning the same tired trend in Japanese society: the falling birthrate. Citing everything from sexless marriages to inequality in the workplace for women, these articles all skirt the real problem — Japanese women...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Searching for a sense of 'home'

The first I knew of the actress Ri Koran, otherwise known as Yoshiko Yamaguchi, was in 1985, while staying in a grubby hotel in Beirut. An old face-cream advertisement for the cosmetic company Shiseido had been tacked onto the bedroom wall. The image showed a woman with jade earrings dressed in a silk...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Searching for a sense of 'home'

THE CHINA LOVER by Ian Buruma. The Penguin Press, 2008, 392 pp., $26.95 (cloth) The first I knew of the actress Ri Koran, otherwise known as Yoshiko Yamaguchi, was in 1985, while staying in a grubby hotel in Beirut. An old face-cream advertisement for the cosmetic company Shiseido had been tacked onto...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2009

Director claims new film helped Oe beat lawsuit

Korean-resident film director Pak Su Nam said Wednesday that a confession appearing in her latest documentary about mass murder-suicides by civilians in Okinawa in 1945 helped dismiss a lawsuit against writer Kenzaburo Oe.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 24, 2009

Designers, artists take stage for direct route to the people

An unusual mix of designers, architects, painters, and non-artists gathered last month at SuperDeluxe, an event space in Tokyo's Nishi Azabu. They had one thing in common — something they wanted to show and talk about.
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2009

Mixed feelings regarding Ireland

Roger Pulvers' March 15 Counterpoint article, "Now that the Celtic tiger's turned tail, whither the Emerald Isle," leaves me, as one who is part English and part Irish, with mixed feelings of shame and satisfaction. I cannot but feel shame at the way the English for so long kept the Irish in misery until...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 21, 2009

From box office hit to the serenity of temples

Vampires and yoga seldom appear in the same sentence — except when talking about Fran Rubel Kuzui.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 20, 2009

No constrictions on BoA's ambitions

"It has always been my dream to debut in America!" BoA announces gleefully. "Every Asian artist has that dream of Hollywood or the Billboard chart, and this is the perfect time to go to America."
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2009

Top auto, electronics producers nix raises

Major electronics companies and carmakers said Wednesday they will not increase monthly base pay in light of the worst economic slump in a decade, shrugging off their unions' demand in the "shunto" spring wage talks for a raise.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 18, 2009

Calligraphy still holds the key to mastering kanji

I recently encountered a new term that's a real mouthful: IT依存性漢字健忘症 (IT izonsei kanji kenbōshō, kanji amnesia due to dependence on information technology). The word acknowledges that the proliferation of word processors has weakened people's ability to recall both individual kanji...
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 17, 2009

Velappan lifts the lid on Asian soccer's desert storm

KUWAIT CITY — Although he left the Asian Football Confederation two years ago after 30 years' service, former secretary general Peter Velappan is still a respected and influential voice in the Asian game. On a recent visit to Kuwait, the Malaysian sat down for an interview with Al Watan TV and told...

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