author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

C.B. Liddell
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001
Land of the high-and-mighty
History seems to be a dirty word these days. Discussion of it is liable to raise questions of which country or race did what to whom, and whether financial compensation is due.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 5, 2001
Connoisseur's selection from the vaults
Times have certainly changed. Corporate art acquisition, once fueled by bubble-era prosperity, is now low down the list of boardroom priorities.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001
Flights of fancy
Like a captivated child watching a magician's tricks, we demand to know "how?" How, that is, did a surge of Italian creativeness 600 years ago seemingly lay the foundations of the modern world?
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001
Icons of a forgotten femininity
Western culture is replete with empowering images of women, from the warrior Amazons of Greek mythology to Wagnerian Valkyries to computer game and movie heroine Lara Croft. Western women are spoiled for choice when it comes to assertive role models. Japan, on the other hand, has always cherished a more...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001
Teddy bears dress for success
The great attraction of the Mona Lisa is the ambiguity of her expression. This allows the viewer to imagine, construct or project their own feelings onto the woman's face. This quality, which Da Vinci was only able to create by skillfully blurring the corners of the Mona Lisa's eyes and mouth, is perhaps...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 1, 2001
A century down along the Sumida
In most of the great European capitals, wide, impressive rivers flow through the very heart of the cities, providing the perfect setting for stately buildings such as the Houses of Parliament in London or the Orsay Museum in Paris.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 25, 2001
The misanthropic genius of Ensor
Living in densely populated cities, we survive by ignoring the crowd, by refusing to acknowledge those forced into physical proximity with us. The artist, however, is excluded from this luxury. He is expected to be aware of everything around him, including the seething mass of humanity. The etchings...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 18, 2001
Nature not nurture links Japan and Art Nouveau
Anyone writing about Art Nouveau here in Japan is expected to deferentially mention the strong Japanese influences on this late 19th-century art and design movement. Indeed, the exhibition now at Shibuya's Bunkamura of furniture and glassware from the important French Art Nouveau center of Nancy goes...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jul 11, 2001
'The Invisible Band': Travis
There used to be a time when the Brits made all the heavy rock, while the Yanks turned out winsome, countryish pop-rock. Now all the heavy stuff comes from the States, while the U.K. is reduced to turning out the slow-fi, introspective rock typified by Mogwai, Radiohead and Coldplay. This new state of...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2001
Where dreams of the future met the feminine zeitgeist
According to a song popular during World War l, every cloud has a silver lining. In the case of that exercise in mechanized butchery, the silver lining may have been the improvement in women's social position. With so many men going off to fight and die in the trenches, women played a key role by replacing...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 4, 2001
'White gold' from a former copycat
The latest in a long line of events held as part of Italy Year in Japan is a show of porcelain by Richard-Ginori, an Italian company that has been molding, glazing and firing since 1735.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 27, 2001
Unleashing the power of color
The keynote of the ongoing exhibition at the Yasuda Kasai Museum in Shinjuku is the brilliance and vividness of color.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2001
A Chinese treasure-trove of beauty
The most astounding piece in the ongoing exhibition of Chinese ceramics, art and objects at Shibuya's Shoto Museum is the large, partially glazed ceramic camel, expressively molded, that greets visitors as they enter.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001
Koga's travels in hyper-reality
One of my favorite cliches about art is the one that says great art comes from great suffering, something that is perhaps overlooked by today's modern art scene with its emphasis on novelty and playfulness.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2001
Films seen through Kurosawa's eye
Film director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is perhaps more famous outside Japan than any other of his fellow countrymen. This is partly because his films confirmed the gaijin view of his country as a land of geisha, samurai and warlords, but also because he made artistic films that, especially in Europe,...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 30, 2001
'Exciter': Depeche Mode
With a name like a dubious aphrodisiac jelly, "Exciter," the latest effort by the ever-boyish Depeche Mode, promises more of the "pervy" lyrics and electronic pop/rock that has seen it sell 50 million albums since the early '80s.
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2001
From darkness into light
At the turn of the 20th century, Odilon Redon (1840-1916) was one of the most intriguing and original painters in Paris, and his subject matter, the timeless world of myths and dreams, has ensured he is not forgotten. With the current exhibition of his works at the Odakyu Museum in Shinjuku, the curators...
CULTURE / Art
May 23, 2001
On the streets of Oguiss' town
When I first saw the oil paintings of Paris by the Japanese artist, Takanori Oguiss (1901-1986) I was strangely reminded of the neutron bomb, a weapon notorious for its ability to annihilate humans without damaging buildings.
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2001
Kishida's short but brilliant career
When Japan opened up to the West after the Meiji Restoration, it had a lot of catching up to do. Achievements that took hundreds of years to develop in European civilization were transplanted to Japan in a few decades.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 16, 2001
'Look Into the Eyeball': David Byrne
David Byrne once told the New York Times that he hated world music, surprising for someone whose own music incorporates elements of samba, African pop and a plethora of other influences. But what he was criticizing is the way the term is used to relegate the vast majority of the music produced in the...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER