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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 Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2012
"Art Walk: Selections from the Collection of the Bridgestone Museum of Art"
The Bridgestone Museum of Art boasts a broad collection of works that runs the gamut from the ancient to the contemporary.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2012
"El Greco's Visual Poetics"
El Greco began his career in Greece as a Christian icon painter before moving to Italy to master Western painting techniques and then finally settling down in Spain.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2012
"Tokyo Art Meeting 3: Art and Music — Search for New Synesthesia"
For some, art and music are inseparable. Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, for example, created artworks inspired by synesthesia, while Swiss-German painter Paul Klee visualized the world of music. Many musicians, too, such as composer John Milton Cage, created works that appealed both visually and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012
"The record of personal experiences of silk, by Mariano Fortuny: 2012 editions"
Silk, admired for its texture and functionality, has been revered as a luxury fabric since ancient times. It has captivated artists and fashion designers worldwide, one of the most famous being Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012
"France vs. Japan: Modern Paintings"
During the 1920s, many Japanese painters traveled to Paris for artistic education and inspiration, and they brought back with them techniques that influenced the development of modern Japanese art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012
"Tokyo: The Printing Capital and its Role in Modern Japan"
During the 19th century, ukiyo-e woodblock prints contributed to the modernization of Japan by helping record events and spread ideas. The Printing Museum, located in Tokyo, the home of most of Japan's printing industry, is focusing on works from 1860 to 1890, a time when the nation experienced a major...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012
"Art Will Thrill You!: The Essence of Modern Japanese Art"
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, marks its 60th anniversary this year, and to celebrate it is using its entire four-story space to present a major retrospective of its Japanese modern-art collection.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 16, 2012
Colored contact lenses get a new 'macho' vision
Hiromu Uetake's muscular physique and distinct side-shaved haircut, not to mention the tattoos peeking from below his T-shirt, make him quite a striking sight. But when talking to him, it is his left eye I can't keep my own eyes off. Every now and then there's a flicker of something that makes me stare...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 12, 2012
Tea ceremony party holds more in store than just a quick drink
Whether you're a practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony or not, the annual Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony abounds with opportunities for cultural enlightenment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2012
"Earth, Sea and Sky — Nature in Western Art: Masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art"
Tokyo is the next city to receive the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's impressive traveling exhibition of masterpieces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2012
"Artists and the Disaster: Documentation in Progress"
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, many people were prompted to help victims in the devastated Tohoku area — and artists were no exception. While some used their skills to improve public awareness of the catastrophe's consequences, others postponed art projects to join relief efforts as volunteers....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2012
"Ishiuchi Miyako: Silken Dreams"
Renowned Japanese photographer Miyako Ishiuchi became particularly well known in 2005, when she photographed the belongings of her deceased mother in a series titled "Mother's."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2012
"Miyanaga Aiko: Nakasora : The Reason for Eternity"
Aiko Miyanaga's work is characterized by its impermanence. In 2003, she created shoe-shaped sculptures using naphthalene, an organic compound that sublimes from a solid to gas at room temperature. "Cinderella," for example, was a model of the fairy-tale heroine's glass slipper, which deteriorated over...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 5, 2012
The streets are alive with the sound of jazz
Shunzo Ohno is a man committed to his dream. Even after a motor bike accident and a battle with cancer, he can still play a mean trumpet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012
"Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2012: Mixed Bathing World"
Beppu in Oita Prefecture is one of the most prosperous hot-spring areas in Japan. Nonetheless, it has been suffering a depopulation of youths and a decline in tourists. In response, a number of volunteers and NPO organizations have been working on reinvigorating local culture through art projects.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012
"The People by Kishin"
Kishin Shinoyama has always been at the forefront of Japan's photography industry. His perceptive insight and carefree disregard of social norms have made him both an admirable pursuer of avant-gardism and a target of conservative criticism. This exhibition is the first major retrospective of Shinoyama's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012
"Taro Shinoda: Homo Sapiens Sapiens"
In 2007, Taro Shinoda started a project titled "Lunar Reflection Transmission Technique," for which he explored the moon via an astronomical telescope. Shinoda focuses on the relationship between us, human beings, and the moon, the only natural satellite of earth, which is also observable from anywhere...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012
"The Heart of the Chef's Hospitality: Tankumakita's Cuisine and Serving Ware"
Japan is well known for its hospitality to foreign visitors, a custom known as omotenashi. This practice has its roots in the Japanese belief of placing harmony with others above that of personal ego. One aspect of this is the way Japanese chefs strive to perfect their dishes for their guests, and Kyoto...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2012
"Kurigami Kazumi: Portrait of a Moment"
Kazumi Kurigami is a leading Japanese commercial photographer and cinematographer, perhaps best known for his work on numerous TV commercials for various major companies, such as Nissan, Sony and Suntory. In 2009, he also debuted as a film director with "Gelatin Silver, Love."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2012
"On the Agenda of the Arts 2012: In the Air"
Tokyo Wonder Site aims to foster worldwide cultural exchange from its Tokyo bases in Hongo, Shibuya and Aoyama. One of the institution's longest-running projects is "On the Agenda of the Arts," which invites artists and curators from around the world, hosts exhibitions, and organizes roundtable discussions...

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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