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November 22, 2024
 

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Damian Flanagan
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 24, 2016
Shizuoka: Where writers go to hide from the world
Ask a Japanese person which part of Japan they most associate with writer Lafcadio Hearn and they are likely to instantly respond: Matsue, a seaside town in Shimane Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 13, 2016
Writing Technology in Meiji Japan
The industrial and social revolution that Japan underwent in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) was accompanied by an equally tumultuous revolution in the Japanese language. It's perhaps hard to fathom today that throughout the latter half of the 19th century, an almost unbridgeable gulf existed between written...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2016
Bushido: Soseki, 'Star Wars' and the samurai
In September 1912, Gen. Maresuke Nogi — a hero of the Russo-Japanese War — committed ritual suicide. His sensational death took place on the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, making it an act of junshi (following one's lord in death) and a high-water mark for the samurai code in the modern era.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2016
'Inventing the Way of the Samurai': Debunking the myths surrounding Bushido
Oleg Benesch's "Inventing the way of the Samurai" is a seminal, scrupulously researched work that teems with ideas. Its content is profoundly relevant to current political developments in Japan, as questions about the Constitution and the nation's identity come to the fore.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 23, 2016
Wandering the 'real Japan': Following the far-north footsteps of Alan Booth
Renowned travel writer Bruce Chatwin believed passionately in the importance of walking in the wild. The problems of humanity, he contended, were borne out of people being settled and static.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2016
Bushido: The samurai code goes to war
In a scene from the 1957 film "The Bridge on the River Kwai," a haughty British Col. in a prisoner-of-war camp confronts the camp's Japanese commandant. Citing the Geneva Convention as justification, he argues that his officers should not be forced into manual labor, which makes the commandant furious...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2016
'The Maid': A mind reader probes the intimate thoughts of her employers
In Japan, true feelings (known as honne) are often hidden behind the mask of a false front (tatemae). So the comic potential of a mind-reading maid working in private family homes — encountering sexual frustrations, jealousy and the mutual resentment of parents and their children — sounds rich indeed....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 16, 2016
Bushido: The awakening of Japan's modern identity
Opinions are divided when it comes to Japan's current Constitution, issued during the U.S. Occupation of 1945 -52: Is it an American imposition that unfairly refuses to recognize the nation as a "normal country" or a precious war-renouncing document that reflects Japan's unique status as the only country...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 18, 2016
Why are Japanese women still bewitched by the Brontes?
Some years ago a sassy Osaka lady asked me to introduce her to the pleasures of Western literature. I duly handed her a variety of classic books, including "The Turn of the Screw," "Heart of Darkness," "Lolita" and "A Study in Scarlet." They were all methodically if unenthusiastically read, but when...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 14, 2016
'Spectacular Accumulation' explains three warlords' obsession with objects
In "Spectacular Accumulation" Morgan Pitelka relates the thrilling interactions between three "unifiers" of Japan in the tumultuous decades of the late 16th century and early 17th century. This trio of warlords includes the bloodthirsty Oda Nobunaga, the vainglorious Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 30, 2016
'Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories' is feminist fiction at its most disturbing
"Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories" is a superb collection of short stories written in the 1960s by one of the most significant feminist writers of postwar Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 23, 2016
In search of Japan's own Shakespeare
April 23 marked the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the greatest dramatist of the English speaking world. The anniversary has a particular resonance here: Few countries in the world have embraced Shakespeare with Japan's sustained passion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 5, 2016
Ryu Murakami turns on another light in Tokyo's lurid basement
This collection of short stories arrived with a warning from the publisher: "Graphic sexual content." Perhaps it was worried that reviewers would blush to the tips of their toes upon reading it. However, anyone who has encountered Murakami's excruciating 1992 sadomasochistic film "Topazu" ("Tokyo Decadence")...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 30, 2016
The Whale That Fell in Love with a Submarine
Akiyuki Nosaka (1930-2015), was a man of many parts, variously a singer, lyricist, comedian and politician as well as a novelist and short story writer. His diverse successes in later life however betrayed an extraordinarily traumatic youth that saw his mother die soon after birth, his adoptive father...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 23, 2016
Insect Literature
The Berlin-based author Yoko Tawada recently remarked that one of the difficulties she faced when translating Kafka's short story "Metamorphosis" into Japanese was that the associations Japanese people had with insects — even presumably giant beetles — were different to those of Europeans. Tawada...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 16, 2016
Lost Japan
Originally published in Japanese in 1993 (with the English translation following in 1996), "Lost Japan," the first book by Alex Kerr, has recently been re-released by Penguin. A fascinating chronicle of Kerr's diverse interactions with the country, the book spans such subjects as restoring a traditional...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 2, 2016
A Fantastic Journey: The Life and Literature of Lafcadio Hearn
Paul Murray, biographer of both Lafcadio Hearn and his close contemporary Bram Stoker, has combined working as a writer with a distinguished career in the Irish Foreign Service, including a stint in Tokyo in the 1970s before eventually becoming Irish ambassador to South Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015
Flipping back through the good reads of 2015
Before we turn the page on the year, here's a selection of our reviewers' favorite books.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015
Partners in Print: Artistic Collaboration and the Ukiyo-e Market
The purported thesis of this book — that the art of publishing is a collaborative process involving the cooperation of writer, illustrator, patron, publisher and (shock) even consumer — seems obvious. Yet the four academic essays on ukiyo-e art contained within are both stimulating and beautifully...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 21, 2015
Yukio Mishima's enduring, unexpected influence
Forty-five years ago this week — at just after 10 a.m. on the bright, cold morning of Nov. 25, 1970 — a telephone rang at the Tokyo home of popular enka singer Hideo Murata. On the line was author Yukio Mishima, a man who in the short space of his 45 years had lived life more fully than perhaps seemed...
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.

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