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Tomohiro Osaki

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Tomohiro Osaki

Tomohiro Osaki is a staff writer in the Domestic News Division. A graduate of Sophia University in Tokyo, he likes to explore under-reported realities of Japanese youth, with a tendency toward the taboo.

JAPAN

Apr 11, 2013

Yokohama errs, tweets launch alert

The Yokohama Municipal Government mistakenly alerted its Twitter followers Wednesday morning that North Korea had launched a missile, only to apologize 20 minutes later for the error.

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Apr 5, 2013

Six museums collaborate for show on contemporary European art

This weekend, six Kansai-based national museums will come together to showcase a broad array of works from their contemporary European collections.

JAPAN

Apr 4, 2013

Cool Japan campaign needs to sweeten the pot: Taiwanese critic

The government should take the initiative to promote made-in-Japan Western confectionery overseas as a part of its Cool Japan campaign, Kin Bi-leng, a well-known Taiwanese critic based in Japan, said Wednesday during a government-hosted meeting to discuss promotional strategies.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 4, 2013

"Ainu Crafts: Patterns with a Prayer"

Ainu are the aboriginal people of Hokkaido, who have a history characterized by years of deprivation and forced cultural assimilation. In the face of such hardships, the Ainu believed in the omnipresent existence of God in their everyday life, which long ago led them to worship almost everything around...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 4, 2013

Mexico-based artist Francis Alys has drawn global attention with his repeated acts of insanity — such as venturing into the middle of a tropical storm that sweeps through Mexico City each March to photograph what was happening inside, or pushing a massive piece of ice through the public streets in...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 4, 2013

"Showa Memorial: Atae Yuki"

Doll maker Yuki Atae had just turned 8 when World War II ended in 1945. He remembers spending his childhood being surrounded by people with great resilience, and as an artist he began reproducing models of his old neighborhood using dolls. He is especially fond of reminiscing about local children, who,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 28, 2013

'Ujino Pop/Life'

Muneteru Ujino is renowned for his "sound sculptures" — art objects for which sound is integral. He often experiments with home appliances such as lamps and electric drills, and his combination of art and music has led to comparisons with Luigi Russollo, the Italian painter and composer whose experimental...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 28, 2013

'Shohachi Kimura'

Shohachi Kimura (1893-1958) developed an early interest in foreign novels and other facets of Western culture. He first aspired to become a writer, but changed his mind at age 18 to pursue art and painting. Still interested in literature, however, he often contributed illustrations to novels.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media

Mar 24, 2013

Being a zombie is a no-brainer for this Japanese actress

Unlike many of her prim-and-proper friends at Shirayuri College — a Catholic school in Kanda, Tokyo — 20-year-old Akane Kanbayashi doesn't recoil at the sight of splattered blood and dismembered human bodies.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Mar 22, 2013

G-tokyo art fair makes a change

This year, four-year-old art fair G-tokyo boasts that it will turn over a new leaf with some radical changes.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 21, 2013

'Kunio Okawara: Mechanic Design'

Kunio Okawara's robot designs have appeared in many widely loved Japanese anime series, including "Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman," ("Science Ninja Team Gatchaman") and "Kido Senshi Gandamu" ("First Gundam").

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 21, 2013

'The Great Journey'

"Great journey" is how British archaeologist Brian M. Fagan described the early migration of homo sapiens some 200,000 years ago from Africa to the rest of the world and their progression to become a dominant species.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 21, 2013

'Sakubei Yamamoto: Documentary Illustrations of the Coal Mining Industry'

Sakubei Yamamoto (1892-1984) grew up in Fukuoka Prefecture's Chikuho region, which was once one of Japan's most prolific coal-mining areas. He devoted his life to the mining industry, and when he retired he took up painting as a way to memorialize his experience, just as the importance of coal began...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Mar 15, 2013

Film festival focuses on Osaka

Of all the films the late actress Isuzu Yamada starred in, none of them better symbolized the vicissitudes of her real life than the 1936 "Naniwa Ereji (Naniwa Elegy)."

CULTURE / Art

Mar 14, 2013

'The Vision of Contemporary Art 2013'

The Vision of Contemporary Art annual competition, which has run for 20 years, aims to nurture young Japanese artists and help promote their work internationally.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 14, 2013

'Cross Sections Chronicle @ MoMAK 1963-2013'

The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was established with the aim of focusing on Kyoto's crafts and industries. It has remained true to its philosophy, hosting events and exhibitions featuring local artisans.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 14, 2013

'Yae no Sakura'

Yae Niijima (1845-1932) is one of the most unconventional women in Japan's history. Born into a family of artillery experts, Yae spent her childhood working on her marksmanship. In 1868, when the Boshin War started, she joined male soldiers to help protect the Aizu region. She was 22 at the time and...

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Mar 8, 2013

Fashion good enough to eat

The idea of edible clothing is nothing new in the sensational world of avant-garde fashion. Most famously, iconoclastic pop singer Lady Gaga grabbed headlines in 2010 when she showed up at the MTV Video Music Awards wearing a "meat dress" made of raw beef, which was of course met with a flurry of criticism...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 7, 2013

'Rubens: Inspired by Italy and Established in Antwerp'

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) spent the better part of his childhood in Antwerp, Belgium, but left for Italy at age 20 to learn the history of classical Italian painting. After returning to his native country, he was appointed in 1609 as court painter to the sovereigns of the Netherlands Archduke Albert...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 7, 2013

"Ancient Glass: Feast of Color"

In ancient times, when precious stones such as lapis lazuli and carnelian were admired and desired, craftsmen found ways to imitate such beauty by experimenting with decorative glassware techniques.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

By Johan Brooks

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