author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Kaori Shoji
Kaori Shoji writes about movies and movie-makers for the Film Page, plus takes a turn at the Bilingual Column. Biggest mistake of her career: taking the very dignified Nagisa Oshima to McDonald's for an iced coffee.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 21, 2017
Jackie Chan's latest borrows from the best Westerns
It's China in 1941 and the Imperial Japanese Army is on the move. A band of freedom fighters led by Ma Yuan (Jackie Chan) seek to hijack a train line that transports food supplies to the invaders, get away with the loot and feed the starving locals. Smooth sailing, right? Not if you know Chan's work....
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 19, 2017
The Japanese prefer a raw deal in language
The word 'nama' is a favorite among the Japanese, referring to everything from phone calls to foods to legs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2017
Discovering the 'it girl' of turn-of-the-century Paris in 'The Dancer'
Loie Fuller was the ultimate "it girl." A little-known dancer from Illinois, she wound up in turn-of-the-century Paris, smack-dab in the middle of La Belle Epoque. Her friends? They were artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and filmmakers the Lumiere Brothers, and her protegee was acclaimed dancer Isadora...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2017
'20th Century Women': Smoke signals from the late 1970s
American culture in the mid-20th century begs a multitude of descriptions, but if I had to sum it up in one word, it would probably be "smoking." People chain-smoked through the Vietnam protests, Watergate scandal, Stonewall riots and innumerable other events, both historic and mundane.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2017
Twisted Doc and Marty swap death notes in 'I Am Not a Serial Killer'
As weird as it sounds, 'I Am Not a Serial Killer' feels like a 'Back to the Future' episode gone horribly wrong, proffering a twisted, satanic version of the Doc-Marty relationship.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 1, 2017
Dad-made 'bento' make a splash on the silver screen
Japanese movies tend to portray Japanese dads as male chauvinists who never step into the kitchen if they can help it and have little interest in raising their kids. Consider Yasujiro Ozu's timeless classic "Tokyo Story." Sure, Chishu Ryu played a kind and gentle patriarch — but did he once help the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2017
'Logan' director takes Wolverine character in unexpected new direction
There's a scene in "Logan" — the latest addition to the "X-Men" franchise — where an aged, ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) exhorts Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), to open his mind to the possibility of a normal human existence, with a family to love and care for.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2017
Hollywood's love storyboard
If you're the type who sticks around after a movie to read the credits, you'll know it takes more than one village to make a feature-length film. Ten or even 20 villages is more like it. Among the villagers are people with the title of "storyboard artist" and "film researcher," although, like many artisans...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 10, 2017
'The Bachelor' is looking for love in Japan
There comes a moment of truth in every episode of reality-dating series "The Bachelor" when the handsome and wealthy bachelor must eliminate at least one of the 25 women vying for his affection during a "rose ceremony."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2017
Opinions aren't split on Shyamalan's comeback
I've always had a soft spot for M. Night Shyamalan, even despite the fact that he has made a total of two truly successful films — "The Sixth Sense" (1999) and "Unbreakable" (2000) — over the course of his over-20-year career. The rest of his work has ranged from mildly disappointing to somewhat...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 8, 2017
The delicate Japanese art of rom-com title translation
With so much at stake, it's no wonder distribution companies pour so much thought into coming up with workable, attractive Japanese titles for their films.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2017
As it approaches 50, Iwanami Hall remains vital to cinema lovers
The Tokyo neighborhood of Jinbocho is a favorite of mine. Mostly known for bookshops, it is a bastion of quaintness amid a metropolis that can be downright oppressive at times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2017
Woody Allen learns a new trick for 'Cafe Society'
If you were led blindfolded into a cinema and unaware of what movie you were seeing, I still think that if it was a Woody Allen film, within 20 minutes you'd know it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 17, 2017
Clock ticks for women in Japan seeking love at work
As much as I hate to spoil the 'haru no yoki' (springtime cheer) thing, I have some bad news about Japanese love relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 13, 2017
Fashion's night at the museum
"The First Monday in May" opens April 15 at the Bunkamura Le Cinema Theater in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya Ward (the Japanese title is "Metto Gara, Doresu o Matotta Bijutsukan"). It's a documentary about a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition titled "China: Through the Looking Glass" in 2015.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2017
'The Great Wall' is a colorful foray into Hollywood filmmaking for China's Zhang Yimou
"The Great Wall," a lavish Hollywood production that looks like it cost a gazillion dollars (or, more accurately, $150 million), is directed by China's Zhang Yimou — or Yimou Zhang as he's now known on many online film sites.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 6, 2017
When the talent gets religious
"Ankoku Joshi" is a murder mystery involving six pretty JK (slang for joshi kosei, high school girls)" who all have something to hide. The film's title literally means "pitch black girls," which pretty much explains their characters' personalities in what soon becomes a grisly little tale directed by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 6, 2017
'Samurai Gourmet' explores the art of the meal
In the first episode of Japan's latest contribution to original Netflix programming, "Samurai Gourmet," Takeshi Kasumi enters a small teishoku (set meal) joint and grapples over whether to have a beer with lunch. Inspired by an imaginary samurai, he gets one. That's it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 5, 2017
Roger Ross Williams documents one young man's Disney-indebted triumphs in 'Life, Animated'
When Owen Suskind was 3 years old, he suddenly "vanished," according to his mother, Cornelia. The vivacious little boy she knew had retreated into a shell of silence from which he refused to emerge, and doctors diagnosed him with autism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 29, 2017
'Author: The JT Leroy Story': Was there truth behind the fiction?
Call it a massive literary hoax or twisted identity theft. Or just call it art. Either way, "Author: The JT LeRoy Story" will fascinate and at the same time cause much frustrated head-scratching.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER