Tag - festivals

 
 

FESTIVALS

Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2019
Japanese Bon dance picking up popular tunes as it goes international
The Bon Odori dance, once a community event and a midsummer ritual for consoling ancestors' spirits, has evolved drastically in recent years, picking up popular disco and anime tunes and attracting people regardless of their age or nationality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2019
Fuji Rock '19: The 'international' festival gets more worldly
On the Thursday night before the Fuji Rock Festival begins in earnest, part of the festival site is open to everyone free of charge.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2019
Live at the Fuji Rock Festival
The Japan Times is up the rainy, windy mountains of Niigata to cover the weekend's fun-for-all Fuji Rock Festival, where the headliners this year are The Chemical Brothers, SIA and The Cure. But that's just a tip of the iceberg.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2019
Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival calendar, so it's worth enjoying things while the going is good.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 8, 2019
Stranger things: Weird ways to get festive in Japan
Men in straw capes wearing ferocious horned masks with gleaming eyes and long, pointed fangs stare down at a group of reporters. Others donning masks of a devil, monkey and a long-nosed tengu birdman squat as they pose for photographs during a news conference on Nov. 30 — the day after UNESCO added a group of 10 rituals featuring Raiho-shin (visiting gods) to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2019
Namahage demon festival of northern Japan grapples with blessing and curse of UNESCO listing
As a child, Tatsuo Sato was terrified when the Namahage demons roared into his house every year, but in adulthood he mourned as the centuries-old tradition faded away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 8, 2019
Chemical Brothers, The Cure and Sia among first batch of acts for Fuji Rock Festival '19
Also appearing on the bill are Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, James Blake, Mitski and Janelle Monae, with many more still to be announced.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2019
Japan's young adults prefer celebrating coming of age at 20 despite lowered legal age of 18, survey shows
More than 70 percent of youths and young adults prefer to celebrate their coming-of-age at 20, even though the age of legal adulthood in Japan will be lowered to 18 in April 2022, according to a recent online survey by a Japanese think tank.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 31, 2018
The death of a Japanese countryside festival
Ancient rites bend to an aging, shrinking population, but how much longer can local traditions hold out?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Oct 25, 2018
Amid Japan's multitude of music festivals, Frue is worth celebrating
As the opening set started at Festival de Frue last year, it was clear the organizers wouldn't be making a profit. Quirky J-pop act Wednesday Campanella, who had played to a capacity crowd at Fuji Rock Festival a few months earlier, kicked off its performance in front of an audience of just a few dozen people, spread around a venue that looked more like a glorified school gymnasium.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 22, 2018
Halloween in Japan: Make up, dress up — and hook up?
Halloween has become one of the coolest days on the calendar, and it's less about sweets for kids than it is an occasion for grown-ups to deck themselves out in costumes for all-night reveling.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2018
Firecrackers and reluctant authorities: New Delhi's smog set to worsen during Diwali
With a toxic smog beginning to envelop New Delhi as winter approaches, residents of the Indian capital are set to make matters a lot worse by burning hundreds of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali early next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Sep 8, 2018
200-year-old Mie puppet's neck on the line as whaling ban makes crucial part scarce
Onyudo is a giant kimono-clad, long-necked puppet that has been preserved by residents of the Nakanaya area of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, for more than 200 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2018
Japan's traditional festivals struggling with financial difficulties
Traditional festivals are having a more difficult time securing financing for their events these days.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 21, 2018
Over 9,000 people gather at Britain's ancient Stonehenge to greet longest day of the year
Wrapped in jackets and blankets, thousands of people gathered at Britain's Stonehenge for the summer solstice, watching the sun rise over the Neolithic monument and welcoming the longest day of the year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2018
With 'Shoplifters,' Hirokazu Kore-eda becomes first Japanese director to win Cannes Palme d'Or in 21 years
Hirokazu Kore-eda wins the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes for “Shoplifters,” a critically acclaimed family drama with unguessable plot twists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 17, 2018
Udine film festival can teach Japanese directors a few things about international appeal
I've been an adviser to the Udine Far East Film Festival since 2000. The event, held in Udine, Italy, is the largest festival in Europe dedicated to popular cinema from Asia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 9, 2018
Let's discuss Easter in Japan
Compared to other imported festivals, Easter in Japan has never really taken off. But why?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 19, 2018
Japanese director's pro-whaling documentary wins award at London film festival
A 2015 documentary on local supporters of Japan's traditions of whaling and dolphin-hunting won an international film festival award Saturday in London.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 28, 2018
Launch a tourist-friendly Seto Inland Sea ferry system and they will come
The 250 or so inhabited islands scattered like pebbles between Honshu and Shikoku have been unfairly relegated to guidebook sidebars labeled 'Off the beaten track.'

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