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July 16, 2024
 

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Michael Hoffman

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Michael Hoffman
Michael Hoffman is a fiction and nonfiction writer who has lived in Hokkaido by the sea almost as long as he can remember. He has been contributing regularly to The Japan Times for 10 years. His latest novel is "The Naked Ear" (VBW/Blackcover Books, 2012).
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Feb 14, 2015
Doomsday fever spurs a religious revolution
Sometimes the world seems eternal; sometimes the end looms black and near. We moderns know the apocalyptic mood well, having survived Dec. 21, 2012, in spite of an ancient Mayan "prediction" of doom on that date, but, facing as we do numerous other portents of extinction — climate change, environmental...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 7, 2015
In violent times, young Japanese just shrug
The weekly Shukan Kinyobi discerns a "new fatalism" among young people. Meaning what? A feeling that effort reaps no rewards and so is not worth making; that the world is what it is and cannot be changed — at least not by me, even if I felt like changing it, which I don't; that luck or inborn talent...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 31, 2015
For All My Walking
Poet Taneda Santoka (1882-1940) cut a pitiful, tragic figure. His mother's suicide when he was 11 seems to have unhinged him for life. After a failed marriage and a failed sake-brewing enterprise he took to drink and hit the road. Someone took pity on him and brought him to a Zen temple, where he studied...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 24, 2015
Amid French crisis, Japan frets over virgins
Still in its infancy, the new year has already spawned a theme: diversity. Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is there any common ground, besides mutual, irreconcilable loathing, between those who declare "I am Charlie" and those who riposte "I am Mohammad"?
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 17, 2015
Seeking independence through civilization
For the first time in 600 years Japan was threatened by foreign aggression. One among many differences between the 19th century American threat and the 13th-century Mongol invasions is this: 13th-century Japan was fiercely militarist, 19th-century Japan was impotently militarist.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 10, 2015
Young adults may be going nowhere after Coming-of-Age Day
Monday is Coming-of-Age Day, in honor of those who will turn 20 this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 27, 2014
Concern for Japan's democratic process
Elections are the lifeblood of democracy. They represent an awesome empowerment — the right of citizens to peacefully overthrow their government and choose another.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Dec 20, 2014
Christian missionaries find Japan a tough nut to crack
My local supermarket plays Christmas music. Yours probably does too. My neighbors have Christmas trees. So do yours, no doubt. At this time of year, in the major cities if not nationwide, you might almost think you were in a Christian country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 13, 2014
Generations square off in a battle for the ages
You'd think they owned the planet. They think they do — pushing into line at supermarkets, hogging seats on trains, generally behaving as though no one but themselves existed except to provide the services they need.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 29, 2014
Debating milk, names and workplace blues
Milk — liquid innocence. If milk lets you down, what won't? It looks healthy, tastes healthy — surely it is healthy? Appearances, we know, are deceiving; still, this particular illusion dies hard.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 22, 2014
Is happiness worth the risk of addiction?
You'll have heard this story before, in one form or another. "Mr. B," 66, is a pachinko addict. Hard core.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Nov 15, 2014
Laughter the best medicine for humanity
What a comical species we are. The proof? Laughter. We laugh. At what? Why?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 8, 2014
Determining good and evil, with the kids
What is "moral education"?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 8, 2014
Zen and Japanese Culture
This is one of those books you read to the last page without ever finishing; you keep going back for more — and finding it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 25, 2014
The romantic notion of rural relocation
Yu Iwamoto began adult life working in the slums, refugee camps and precarious schools of Afghanistan. Had he even heard, back then, of the Oki Islands off the coast of Shimane Prefecture?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 18, 2014
From Race to Ethnicity
The first known Japanese in Hawaii were shipwrecked fishermen circa 1806, unwitting forerunners of a diaspora they can scarcely have imagined.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 18, 2014
Getting to the heart of Murasaki's 'Tale of Genji'
"If any society in the world can be described as unique," wrote historian Ivan Morris, "it is that of Heian Kyo in the time of Murasaki Shikibu."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 11, 2014
The horrific act that connects Islamic State to a few Japanese schoolchildren
Beheadings. Dismemberings. The world is turning into a horror movie.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 27, 2014
Tales from the city show cracks in the system
Why are people unhappy? Think back to just about any historical period you like, from the remote past to times within living memory; imagine people then looking at us now and saying, "How dare you be unhappy? You haven't earned the right!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 27, 2014
Japan — A short Cultural History
If there's room in your life for just one general history of Japan, let this be the one. In the hands of a master, history becomes art. British scholar-diplomat Sir George Bailey Sansom (1883-1965) was such a master.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
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.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
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.
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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