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July 16, 2024
 

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Stephen Mansfield

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Stephen Mansfield
Photojournalist and author Stephen Mansfield's work has appeared in over 70 publications worldwide, on subjects ranging from conflict in the Middle East to cultural analysis, interviews and book reviews. A longtime Japan Times contributor, his latest book is "Japan's Master Gardens: Lessons in Space & Environment."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014
Masks
Born in the late Meiji Era (1868-1912), Fumiko Enchi was not simply the peer, but the equal of writers in the order of Naoya Shiga and Jiro Osaragi. There was praise for her work from such authors as Junichiro Tanizaki and Yasunari Kawabata, towering figures in Japanese literature. Enchi, in other words,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 9, 2014
Sun-dazed on a distant archipelago
It didn't take long for a seasoned group of truck drivers to stake their claim to the best seats in the house or, in this case, ferry. They positioned themselves on tiny plastic seats at the rear of the open deck as the ferry left Tomari Port in Naha City, Okinawa, bound for the island of Kumejima. More...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 9, 2014
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
The torching in 1950 of Kyoto's majestic Temple of the Golden Pavilion remains one of the world's most discussed cases of arson — not least because the act was perpetrated by an acolyte of the temple. Transcripts of his confession and subsequent trial contain a good deal of self-loathing, but a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 12, 2014
Kunisaki: into a world of moss and stone
The sense of antiquity on the Kunisaki Peninsula is immediate. There are those that believe the region — whose name is said to mean "land's end" — was created by demons in the service of powerful gods. You have to take these accounts with a pinch of salt, of course, as each explanation confidently...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 28, 2014
Forget the world in a peaceful Okinawan island garden
First came the Ishigaki-teien, a mass of soaring limestone rocks, judiciously placed cycads and two lines of highly concentrated fukugi, the closely-matted leaves of the trees traditionally used in Okinawa as typhoon barriers. Owned by the Ishigaki family, who have lived on the island of the same name...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 28, 2014
Ring
There is a long history of spooking the reader in Japan. The humid summer months are supposed to be alleviated by spine-chilling ghost stories and scary Edo Period dramas. But no particular season makes contemporary Japanese horror any less terrifying.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 14, 2014
Vita Sexualis
Ogai Mori was either a very fearless writer or someone confident enough to believe his literary status would insulate him against the fallout from publishing a novel guaranteed to raise the eyebrows of even the most enlightened Meiji Era (1868-1912) reader.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 31, 2014
Almost Transparent Blue
Life around a U.S. base camp in Kanagawa in the 1970s may have mirrored certain aspects of American life, but they were often the most self-destructive elements. Set along the urban border between a military camp and Japan proper, the violent milieu of Ryu Murukami's short novel "Almost Transparent Blue"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 24, 2014
One Man's Justice
To borrow historian John Dower's expression, the conflict in World War II between Japanese and American forces was a "war without mercy." The atrocities committed by Japanese forces are well documented, those by American military personnel less so.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2014
Oya: The town that turned to stone
It's always good to know something about the ground under your feet when you visit a new destination.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 19, 2014
Koza: the carbonized city
My first glimpse of Koza was a burned out car on a monochrome print I picked up at a recycle shop in Naha. I would see the image again when I visited the history section of the Okinawa City Hall, where there was a prominent display on the Koza Riot of 1970.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 12, 2014
The Key
When an aging professor attempts to arouse the repressed passions of his wife, he finds that his own declining sexual vigor may fail him in the endeavor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 5, 2014
The Cape And Other Stories From The Japanese Ghetto
When reading Kenji Nakagami, it is best to forget the stylistic niceties and aesthetic fussiness of writers such as Yasunari Kawabata. Instead, this collection of structurally complex stories by Nakagami contains accounts that, eschewing inference for the explicit, are nonetheless highly sophisticated,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 29, 2014
Chishaku-in: a Kyoto garden of deep repose
...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 22, 2014
Go potter in Mashiko
If a visitor to Mashiko had any doubts about the town's dedication to pottery, the giant, iconic stoneware jar that stands near the station ticket barrier, would dispel them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 15, 2014
Scandal
When a respected Catholic novelist by the name of Suguro meets an inebriated woman at a party, he is astounded to hear that she recognizes him from a portrait hanging in a club she claims he patronizes in one of Tokyo's more sleazy night quarters. Though in fierce denial, curiosity gets the better of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 8, 2014
A Strange Tale from East of the River
Kafu Nagai was an unapologetic sentimentalist, always an era out of step with the times. Born in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), he lamented the good old days of the Edo Period (1603-1867); once in the Taisho Era (1912-1926) he looked plangently back on the qualities of Meiji. The Showa Era (1926-1989) brought...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 1, 2014
The Ruined Map
Angela Carter wrote that Tokyo possessed the "indecipherable clarity of a dream," one in which you might think you are in control, but have, in fact, been "precipitated into somebody else's dream." A similar sensation occurs when reading Kobo Abe's novel, "The Ruined Map," though he is careful never...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 1, 2014
The Tattoo Murder Case
Still reeling from the effects of war, Tokyo, in 1948, was ripe with intrigue, not to mention men and women capable of plotting monstrous crimes. Akimitsu Takagi's crime mystery "The Tattoo Murder Case" was first published that year and his gritty scenes of the city are described with the authenticity...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 18, 2014
Exploring the realm of Lewchew
When I told the Japanese woman with whom I'd struck up a conversation in central Tokyo's very handy Haneda airport that I was flying to Lewchew, she looked puzzled.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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