author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 26, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 15, 2017
A scorched-earth fix to a celebrity scandal
Scandals can send a celebrity's career careening off a cliff. This is especially true in Japan, where minor violations of the social code can lead to major personal repercussions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 14, 2017
Sion Sono serves up some blood-sucking fun in 'Tokyo Vampire Hotel'
Vampires have been a staple of Western pop culture since Bram Stoker published his best-selling novel "Dracula" in 1897. The hit "Twilight" series of films (2008-12) made the monsters hot again as millions of teens swooned to the romance of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and ageless vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson)....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2017
Kendo drama 'Mukoku' takes a stab at Showa Era sports spirit
One of the attractions of Asian martial arts for many Westerners (including this one) is the promise of self-improvement that goes beyond better street fighting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2017
'To Each His Own': Every wage slave needs a friend like this, but who is he?
Izuru Narushima's 'To Each His Own' is a serious treatment of the theme of 'black companies' that flirts with fantasy in its first half but shades to heart-warming melodrama in its second.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2017
Love comes as a light in the dark in 'Radiance'
'Radiance,' winner of the Ecumenical Prize at Cannes, is being promoted as a love story, but director-scriptwriter Naomi Kawase has more on her mind than getting her age-inappropriate pair into a clinch.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
May 27, 2017
Kyoko Sato: Curator inspired by New York's artistic energy
Kyoko Sato hit bottom soon after arriving in New York in 2002 to be with the man who was to become her husband (since divorced). "I had been able to work freely in Japanese society, so I really suffered when I came (to the States) since I couldn't do that anymore," she says. "I had really loved my job...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2017
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia teams up with Exile's Hiro to create a contemporary fusion of vision and sound
From its debut in 1999 as the passion project of actor Tetsuya Bessho, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia has grown into a big event on the local and regional film calendar. Size is one reason: The 19th edition, which unspools from June 1 to 25 at six venues in Tokyo and Yokohama, features nearly 250...
CULTURE / Film
May 24, 2017
'A Beautiful Star': I'm an extraterrestrial, get me outta here
In 'A Beautiful Star,' Lily Franky plays the father in a family that turns out to be made up mostly of aliens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 18, 2017
Japan's filmmakers expand their idea of overseas opportunity
The Japanese film industry has long been insular, making films by and for Japanese with little input from, or concern for, the outside world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2017
Takeda scores a KO in 'Poetry Angel'
In last week's review of Yuya Ishii's "The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue," I wrote that poetry-based Japanese films are rare — but here seems to be another: Toshimitsu Iizuka's "Poetry Angel." One more example and I'll have a trend.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2017
A love story that's overly dense with prose
These days, Japanese films are based on everything from novels to game apps, but Yuya Ishii's "The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue," which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, is a rare feature inspired by a book of poetry. Its author, Tahi Saihate, is only 31 but has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2017
'Teiichi: Battle of the Supreme High' takes high school politics to a whole new level
Japan's film and TV industries are populated by hundreds of comedy writers, but few find politics funny, at least in public. One exception is filmmaker Akira Nagai, whose power struggles unfold not in the Diet, but at an elite boys' high school in "Teiichi: Battle of the Supreme High."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2017
'Blade of the Immortal': Film version of manga hit goes overboard in its execution
Based on Hiroaki Samura's long-running (1993-2012) manga, the samurai swashbuckler "Blade of the Immortal" promises the sort of fun, over-the-top action that has long been a trademark of its director, Takashi Miike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 19, 2017
Roger Pulvers challenges the idea of a hero in directorial debut, 'Star Sand'
Roger Pulvers has had the sort of free-ranging, multifaceted career that seems like a dream in this specialized age, when academics labor in their narrow professional silos.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 19, 2017
Romance takes an unusual turn in 'Love and Goodbye and Hawaii'
"Breaking up is hard to do," goes the old song, and for some, it's so hard that they never quite manage it. A typical example is the partner (or, worst-case scenario, the spouse) who one day tells you they're back with an ex.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2017
The young comics of 'Laughing Lucky Cats' learn that in comedy, timing is everything
The struggles of comics, be they up-and-coming or down-and-out, is a popular theme in Japanese film and television. A recent example of this was "Hibana," a 10-part original Netflix drama about the decade-long career arc of a manzai (comic duo) act.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 5, 2017
Acting is a fighting sport in 'Matsumoto Tribe'
The feature mockumentary doesn't have many practitioners in Japan. Two who do come to mind are TV comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto ("Big Man Japan," 2007) and Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Girls in the Psychic Club," 2014). Both have a dry sense of humor and a bit of a cruel streak.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 29, 2017
'Nekoatsume House': The cat's meow of Japanese comedy
Japanese audiences never seem to tire of movies about dogs and cats. The millions of devoted pet owners here are certainly one reason, though the Brits, also known for their animal worship, do not express it as often in films.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 22, 2017
Shinobu Yaguchi can make sparks fly, even off the grid
When I met Shinobu Yaguchi at a Chicago sushi restaurant on March 1, I made my usual mistake with well-known directors: mention that I had interviewed him before. He, understandably, blanked, since the interview was 20 years ago for his 1997 indie comedy "My Secret Cache" ("Himitsu no Hanazono")
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 22, 2017
'Policeman and Me': Love that needs a little law and order
A 26-year-old cop becomes engaged to a 16-year-old high school girl, and her mom and dad more or less go along with it (dad a lot less than mom). Sound like a pervy fantasy?
Taiwan stuns Samurai Japan to capture Premier12 title
Japan starter Shosei Togo reacts after allowing a three-run home run against Taiwan in the fifth inning of the Premier12 final on Sunday.
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
Preparations for Osaka Expo well underway amid lack of excitement
The Grand Ring, a symbol of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka
Ishiba shelves proposal for liaison offices with North Korea amid rising tensions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks on Saturday in Tokyo at a rally that was held by a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

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