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July 16, 2024
 

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Mark Schreiber

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Mark Schreiber
Mark Schreiber worked as a salaryman in travel, consumer electronics, computer software, advertising and market research before turning to translation and writing full time. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has lived in Tokyo since 1966.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 11, 2009
From rags to riches
In 1578, the lord of Musashi Province (present-day Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture and eastern Kanagawa Prefecture) authorized a tax-free market in Setagaya, then a small castle town under a minor vassal of the Hojo clan, which ruled the Kanto region from its fortified base in Odawara.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 28, 2008
Folklore meets detection in Asia
CURSE OF THE POGO STICK by Colin Cotterill. New York: SOHO Press Inc., 2008, 240 pp., $24 (cloth) Some mystery series adopt a backdrop in which indigenous cultures are forced to deal with the incursion of a more modern and powerful civilization. One example would be Eliott Pattison's of mysteries...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 23, 2008
Tight budgets or not, the year's hit products roll on
As the year rushes toward its finale, Japan's media devotes a lot of coverage to identifying hitto shōhin (ヒット商品, hit products) that have succeeded in capturing consumers' hearts and minds over the previous 12 months.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / BEST OF BOOKS: 2008
Dec 14, 2008
Ready for a little Yuletide reading?
THE FOURTH WATCHER by Timothy Hallinan (William Morrow)
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 28, 2008
A hideaway in Mito
The historic city of Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture serves as the transfer point to the JR Suigun Line, a narrow-gauge single-track line that runs along the scenic Kuji River en route to the Fukuroda Falls.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2008
Bite-'em-up exploits in lower Manhattan
YEAR OF THE DOG by Henry Chang. New York, Soho Press, Inc., 2008, 231 pp., $24 (cloth) Set in lower Manhattan's Chinese enclave, Henry Chang's latest novel is a sequel following the exploits of NYPD detective Jack Yu, who made his debut in "Chinatown Beat" in 2006.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 14, 2008
From Mitsukuni to natto
Mito, the historic seat of ancient Hitachi Province — present-day Ibaraki Prefecture — has all the right prerequisites for a nonstrenuous daylong excursion from Tokyo: convenient access, plenty of attractive sites, exotic foods and hospitable people.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2008
How Japanese mysteries evolved from imitation to adaptation
PURLOINED LETTERS: Cultural Borrowing and Japanese Crime Literature, 1868-1937, by Mark Silver. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 217 pp., $52 (cloth) Western-style stories of crime and detection began making their appearance in Japan from the mid-19th century, initially as translations...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 10, 2008
A short trip to 'paradise' at Yokohama's Hakkeijima
Yokohama's close proximity to Tokyo — less than half an hour by express train on the various JR, Tokyu or Keihin Kyuko lines — makes it exceptionally easy to get to, and I'm always looking for an excuse to visit this friendly and cosmopolitan town.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 7, 2008
New Japanese makes inroads into Chinese vocabulary
In my last column, on Aug. 5, I discussed how Japanese people still find it practical to use kanji (Sino-Japanese ideographs) when adopting new foreign terms and modern concepts.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 28, 2008
Western heroes in Asia: missing and believed dead
A certain thriller novel, whose title shall remain unnamed, was recently plopped into my hands by a friend whose career included an extended stint on a colonial police force. "I had trouble getting through it," he said, sounding glad to be rid of it.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 24, 2008
A tensely wrought tale of true believers
PROMENADE OF THE GODS by Koji Suzuki, translated by Takami Nieda. New York: Vertical Inc., 2008, 320 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Late one night, cram school operator Shirow Murakami is awakened by a cryptic phone call from an old school chum, Kunio Matsuoka, requesting that he move Matsuoka's car. Murakami...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 20, 2008
A tease stripped of credulity in Chicago's Little Vietnam
THE LAST STRIPTEASE, by Michael Wiley. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007, 245 pp., $23.95 (cloth) In this novel, winner of last year's Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin's Press Best First Private-Eye Novel Contest, Chicago private investigator Joe Kozmarski is retained by an ex-judge to...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 22, 2008
Adding too much fiction to the history
PEARL HARBOR: A Novel of December 8th, by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007, 366 pp., $25.95 (cloth) Last week, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said on CBS-TV that the U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow enemy combatants...
CULTURE / Books
May 18, 2008
Manhunt for a Chinese woman
THE FINDER by Colin Harrison. New York: Sarah Chrichton Books, 2008, 325 pp., $25 (cloth) In this tightly woven page-turner by Colin Harrison, Jin Li, a young Chinese woman with an advanced university degree, engages in industrial espionage, setting off a series of violent events.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 20, 2008
A Tibetan terror rules the waves
THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. New York: Warner Books, 2007, 388 pp., $25.99 (cloth) Tales of suspense that incorporate obscure aspects of the supernatural from ancient civilizations have long enjoyed a popular following. Take William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (1971),...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 23, 2008
Astute teenage detective in a thriller for grownups
THE DEVIL'S WHISPER (Majutsu wa Sasayaku) by Miyuki Miyabe, translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi. Kodansha International, 2008, 250 pp., ¥2,600 (cloth) In ancient Greek tragedies, hopeless predicaments were often resolved through on-the-spot intervention of the gods — or rather actors playing...
LIFE / Language
Mar 11, 2008
Smart tips for avoiding those 'White Day' blues
This coming Friday, March 14, is Howaito Dei (White Day), when males follow the custom of reciprocating the Valentine's Day chocolates (or other gifts) they received a month earlier.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 24, 2008
Intrigues above and below the 38th parallel
HIDDEN MOON by James Church. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007, 293 pp., $23.95 (cloth) THE WANDERING GHOST by Martin Limon. New York: SOHO Press, 2007, 314 pp., $24 (cloth)
CULTURE / Books
Jan 20, 2008
A solitary shark hunts in Shinjuku's dark side
SHINJUKU SHARK by Arimasa Osawa, translated by Andrew Clare. New York: Vertical, Inc., 285 pp., $14.95 (paper) Looking for a terse page-turner about a hard-boiled detective on the trail of a psychotic cop-killer? With plenty of tough guys, druggies, sleazy cross-dressers, rock musicians and other...
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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
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