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July 16, 2024
 

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Martin Laflamme
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 28, 2020
‘Tokyo Before Tokyo’: A guided tour through Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Edo
Timon Screech details how Tokyo, formerly known as Edo, developed from a backwater town to the seat of a warlord and, eventually, Japan's modern capital.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 29, 2020
The books that explain Japan's path to war in the Pacific and its denouement
Ronald H. Spector, S.C.M. Paine and Eri Hotta's texts on Japan's involvement in Asia help to understand the origins of the war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 27, 2020
'The Art of Persistence': Toshiko Akamatsu and the ghosts she couldn't forget
Artist Toshiko Akamatsu's depiction of the horrors of World War II earned her renown, but it was her earlier work that came back to haunt her.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 20, 2020
‘Agents of World Renewal’: More than you need to know about short-lived deities
If you're curious about “world-renewing” gods, Takashi Miura's “Agents of World Renewal: The Rise of Yonaoshi Gods in Japan” has you covered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2020
‘The Tatar Whirlwind’: A regional romp of pirates and princesses
The 17th century provided boundless material for the setting of Ryotaro Shiba's final novel, “The Tatar Whirlwind.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2020
'The Dutch East India Company in Early Modern Japan': Water buffaloes, cassowaries and Arabian horses
From exotic animals to spectacles and chandeliers, Michael Laver's “The Dutch East India Company in Early Modern Japan” shows how well-placed gifts were essential in opening up Japan to early European traders.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Feb 22, 2020
'The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction': A literary classic's outsize impact on Japan
In 'The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction,' William C. Helberg delves into Japan's fascination with 'The Water Margin,' and how its influence spread beyond the confines of pure literature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 3, 2020
The battle of ukiyo-e: Hokusai vs. his pupils
Refusing to be bound by tradition or convention, Hokusai bent rules and sought inspiration from all corners — but how did such audacity influence his own students and followers?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2020
'Japanese Woodblock Prints': Mass entertainment began with the humble woodblock
'Japanese Woodblock Prints' exhibits classic ukiyo-e artwork in near-original size, allowing readers to examine them in all their splendid detail. Its 200 reproductions embrace the entire history of the genre and also cover the new print movements of the early 20th century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 18, 2019
Japan's Showa flash flood of photography
The National Gallery of Canada showcases Showa Era (1926-89) photographers, whose documentation and interpretation of politics, culture, social issues and even the quotidian changed the face of modern photography in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2019
'Studies from Nature': Kitagawa Utamaro's glorious prints
Utamaro is justly remembered as one of the greatest ukiyo-e print designers of the 18th century. The Folio Society's reproduction of his 'Studies from Nature' reminds us why.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Sep 28, 2019
Brad Glosserman's 'Peak Japan': Japan on the down and out
'Peak Japan' provides a painstaking overview of the country's social, economic and political trajectory since the 1990s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 7, 2019
'The Barren Zone': A POW's trauma doesn't end at home
Toyoko Yamasaki's 'The Barren Zone' is a chilling portrayal of the harsh realities of being a POW and the social difficulties faced by survivors upon returning to Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 8, 2019
'The Great Successor': The making of Kim Jong Un, North Korea's despot leader
Years of extensive research and interviews make Anna Fifield's biography of Kim Jong Un and others in the Kim dynasty a must-read for those striving to understand North Korea's enigmatic comrade-in-chief.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 8, 2019
In discussion with Anna Fifield, author of 'The Great Successor'
The Washington Post Beijing bureau chief Anna Fifield's new book, 'The Great Successor,' details the life of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
May 25, 2019
'Maritime Ryukyu' review: Marauders, smugglers and a colorful cast of adventurers
As a fulcrum of exchange, the Ryukyu archipelago was multilingual and multicultural from its earliest days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 10, 2019
Ohara Koson: Bringing ukiyo-e back to life
Ohara Koson created a large body of ukiyo-e prints that delighted a foreign clientelle, yet garnered relatively little attention in Japan. More than 70 years after his death, he is finally being honored with a retrospective in his native country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 12, 2019
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, the undisputed master of warrior prints
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was a true son of Edo. Born near Nihonbashi in 1797, his father a dyer, he grew up among the hoi polloi in the crowded streets of the low city, where popular stories of tattooed otokodate, the revered "street knights" of the kabuki stage, were capturing people's imagination. Bluff in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 27, 2018
'Soseki: Modern Japan's Greatest Novelist': A portrait of a brilliant man, neither happy nor endearing
Natsume Soseki, widely viewed as Japan's greatest literary figure, was a complicated man. A new full-length biography by John Nathan, 'Soseki: Modern Japan's Greatest Novelist,' sheds light on the challenging, and often painful, life of this literary giant.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 28, 2018
Old photos illuminate a Japan now 'lost'
In 'Lost Japan,' Rosella Menegazzo brings talented daguerreotype photographer Felice Beato and his previously overlooked photos of daily life in Meiji Era Japan into the foreground.
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.
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.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.

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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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