National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 9, 2021
Can a few simple words ease Japan's anxiety?
National / Media | Japan Pulse Apr 25, 2020
Seeking solace from COVID-19 in Showa Era nostalgia
by Kaori Shoji
As many across the country continue to spend an unprecedented amount of time at home amid the coronavirus outbreak, parallels are being drawn with another period in history that offered a similar social landscape.
Art Nov 18, 2019
Japan's Showa flash flood of photography
by Martin Laflamme
The National Gallery of Canada showcases Showa Era (1926-89) photographers, whose documentation and interpretation of politics, culture, social issues and even the quotidian changed the face of modern photography in Japan.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jul 20, 2019
New era aside, Showa nostalgia continues to keep rolling along
by Mark Schreiber
The new Reiwa Era is now into its third month and histories are starting to appear about the Heisei Era that preceded it. In late June, the publishing arm of the Mainichi Shimbun released a 384-page softcover book titled "Heisei-shi Zenkiroku" ("Chronicle 1989-2019"). The ...
Commentary / Japan May 20, 2019
The Showa Era is growing distant
by Kuni Miyake
University students seem less concerned about war on the Korean Peninsula than their 1970s counterparts even though the chance of conflict is greater.
National May 1, 2019
From Meiji to Taisho, Showa and Heisei, how The Japan Times covered previous era changes
by Ryusei Takahashi
"Joyfully and with a mingled sense of awe and reverence did the whole Japanese nation observe the great event of the Ceremony of the Imperial Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor," Japan Times and Mail President Yonejiro Ito wrote in a special edition book ...
Film | Heisei Icons Apr 19, 2019
Hayao Miyazaki: Universally acclaimed weaver of unforgettable anime worlds
by Matt Schley
Animators and live-action filmmakers around the world acknowledge his influence. His talents have even been described by fans as “godlike.”
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Apr 6, 2019
New era offers Japan an opportunity to reassess the future
by Michael Hoffman
What's in a name? What's in an era? What is an "era"? What's a "new era"? Are we entering one? To take the last question first: Not really, said 57 percent of respondents to a survey the Asahi Shimbun conducted in March versus 37 percent ...
National / History Apr 4, 2019
From Meiji to Reiwa: Japan's centenarians offer a window to bygone eras
by Miho Kaneko
Few Japanese born in the Meiji Era will live long enough to see the dawn of the Reiwa Era, which will begin on May 1, but those who do can offer a glimpse at past generations while providing context for the next. Era names (gengo) ...
Art Sep 11, 2018
The painterly prayers of Higashiyama
by Matthew Larking
Kaii Higashiyama's best-known works are often called "quintessentially Japanese landscapes," but they were also examples of the artist's conservative dialogue with European and American abstraction.
National / History Aug 23, 2018
Diary tells of Emperor Hirohito's anguish in final years over blame for war
The journal reveals that the aging Emperor did not wish to live much longer due to pain he felt at sad personal events and accusations of his wartime responsibility.