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July 12, 2025
 

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POETRY

Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025
Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability
Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Graduation ceremonies in Japan will usually include a performance of the Japanese national anthem, “Kimigayo.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 28, 2025
Attempting the classics: The world of waka poetry
The origins of this poetry style stretch back to at least the seventh century, when one of the emperor's wives composed it at court ceremonies.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and Princess Aiko take part in the New Year's poetry reading ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025
Princess Aiko attends New Year poetry event for first time
Poems written by imperial family members and guests were recited in a traditional style at the ceremony in the palace's Matsu-no-Ma state room.
Shuntaro Tanikawa
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024
Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa dies at 92
Tanikawa, who is also known for translating the Snoopy and Charlie Brown comic strip “Peanuts” into Japanese, died of natural causes.
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 18, 2024
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
The latest edition of the Japan Writers Conference was a friendly forum for anglophone writers to connect and converse.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024
Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'
The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
A statue of Santoku Taneda stands at Hofu Station in Hofu, Yamagata Prefecture, where the Zen monk was born in 1882.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 14, 2024
The joy of Zen — Part 2: Poetry
Ryokan and Santoka lived in different times, connected by a knack for words but polar opposites when it came to the monk's life they both chose.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
May 27, 2023
Roger Dahl on blogs
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 5, 2023
Why bilingual literature is needed in a place like Japan
Only when Japan’s great stories are translated into other languages can we get a glimpse into the real lives of people living here.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 6, 2023
'Mister Timeless Blyth' traces the indelible influences of Zen and poetry
Alan Spence's new novel, which was nearly 10 years in the making, follows the life of R.H. Blyth, a British scholar who helped bring Japanese poetry to the West.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 8, 2023
‘A Kamigata Anthology’: Everyday enjoyments of everyday people
The collection chronicles the rise of the “commoner arts' through genres like travelogs, poetry and easy-reading books that entertained the masses during the Edo Period (1603-1867).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 26, 2023
'Pink Waves': Poetry in conversation with grief and inspiration
Artist Sawako Nakayasu’s poetic composition, which was constructed in front of an audience over three days, offers a raw response to her sources of inspiration and her spectators.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 29, 2023
Matsuo Basho's complete works reveal the sensuality and innovation of a master poet
Andrew Fitzsimons offers carefully considered translations of the poet’s works, including his famous haiku about a frog in a pond, in “Basho: The Complete Haiku of Matsuo Basho.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 22, 2023
'An Open Parenthesis' finds music in the silences
Philip Rowland’s new collection of poems contains nine interwoven sequences that allow the entries to be read as both separate entities and parts of a complete work.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 30, 2022
There’s more going on in a haiku than just the 5-7-5 syllable rule
Dive into one of Japan's most fascinating art forms during the holidays and think up a couple of haiku poems to celebrate the season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 4, 2022
Firebrand poet Rin Ishigaki speaks for modern women in 'This Overflowing Light'
Poet Rin Ishigaki may not have been as prolific as some of her contemporaries such as Makoto Ooka and Shuntaro Tanikawa, but she occupies a unique space in Japanese poetry with her affinity for elevating the familiar and her pragmatic take on the human condition.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Oct 22, 2022
Roger Dahl on the mystery behind Japan's poetry
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 22, 2022
Jenny Xie explores the subversive power of the concealed and the overlooked
In her new poetry collection, “The Rupture Tense,” Xie peeks at the past to examine the consequences of “how we see, what we see, and also what we allow to remain unseen.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2022
The 'private rebellion' of Hong Kong's poets
Anglophone writers such as Eric Yip and Nicholas Wong are gaining recognition abroad for challenging society's norms and tackling issues of race, sex and migration.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 7, 2022
Biankah Bailey: ‘Poetry speaks to the heart of society as it exists from moment to moment’
During Black History Month, writer Biankah Bailey has worked with the Tokyo Poetry Journal to produce 'Umoja,' a book featuring the work of Black creatives.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

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