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November 22, 2024
 

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Kris Kosaka

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Kris Kosaka
Kris Kosaka, a resident of Japan since 1996, contributes regularly to The Japan Times. She is a lecturer at Meiji Gakuin University in the Faculty of International Studies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 22, 2017
Author returns to China civil war siege that haunts her, still seeking honor for its dead
Scarred by her childhood ordeal in Changchun, Homare Endo channeled her energies into helping Chinese students in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 22, 2017
Bausch's legacy blossoms as emotions unfold on stage
When the curtain opens on a stage blanketed in silk flowers, a beginner might think "Nelken" ("Carnations") by Pina Bausch was about to offer some sweetly whimsical vision of poetry in three dimensions. That, however, would be to ignore dark underlying themes of power and love, and a certain sagacious...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 11, 2017
'Something Other Than Other': The poetry of Philip Rowland captures quotidian Tokyo life
Tokyo poet Philip Rowland's third full-length collection of verse, "Something Other Than Other," quietly resonates with profound images of the quotidian humanity he finds around him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 28, 2017
'Slam Dunk': Japan's greatest sports manga?
Takehiko Inoue's "Slam Dunk" is one of Japan's most popular manga, spawning four films and numerous video games. To date, more than 157 million copies of this 31-volume series have sold worldwide. Written when Inoue was a rookie, and first serialized in Shonen Jump from 1990 to '96, the manga won a Shogakukan...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 25, 2017
Your school may be international, but what values does it teach?
If you are vested in an international school as a parent, student, member of staff or management, here are four questions to consider.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 7, 2017
'Vagabond': An epic manga based on the life of a 17th-century samurai
Epic samurai manga "Vagabond," first serialized in 1998, is an award-winning series created by author and illustrator Takehiko Inoue after his popular "Slam Dunk" manga. "Vagabond," told across 37 volumes, is based on Eiji Yoshikawa's 1935 historical novel "Musashi," which is a popular account of 17th-century...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2016
A dark, bittersweet childhood becomes a manga masterpiece
"Sunny" is a manga masterpiece. Page by page, it quietly transcends similar slice-of-life comics in its depiction of children in a foster home, their caregivers and estranged parents. Written and illustrated by renowned manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto, this six-volume collection, which won the prestigious...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2016
'Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun': Remembering a traumatic moment in China's history
Homare Endo's memoir, "Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun," vividly captures the psychological and physical trauma of surviving war. Today, Endo is a professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, but she writes from the perspective of her 7-year-old self, lyrically revealing the horror of one...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 23, 2016
For 'student of life' Angela Ortiz, lessons from family and 'Grit MBA' from Tohoku led to dream job
'Being a single parent and main role model for my daughter, I have often wondered: What am I showing my daughter by what I do with my life?' says Angela Ortiz.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 22, 2016
NBA Ballet promises a fine and varied show
The NBA Ballet is set to stage an eclectic bill at Saitama Arts Theater next month, comprising the world premieres of two modern works and 1958's contemporary-style classic, "Stars and Stripes," by the so-called "father of American ballet," Russian-born George Balanchine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 25, 2016
'Contact' enters realms of enigma
The great 18th-century French writer and philosopher Voltaire famously said, "Illusion is the first of all pleasures." His 55-year-old compatriot Philippe Decoufle would probably agree.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 15, 2016
'The First Modern Japanese': Donald Keene pays tribute to poet Takuboku Ishikawa
In "The First Modern Japanese," Donald Keene pays tribute to Japanese poet Takuboku Ishikawa (1886-1912), who he calls "an extraordinary man, at times shameless but always absorbing and, in the end, difficult to forget." Though I'll take his poetry gladly, I struggle to revere this shameless man.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2016
'Underground in Japan': Life as an illegal migrant in '90s Yokohama
First published in 1992, "Underground in Japan" is Rey Ventura's account of his life as a illegal day laborer in the construction areas and docks of Yokohama's Kotobukicho district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 10, 2016
'The Eternal Zero': Naoki Hyakuta's best-selling novel reveals the transformative power of war
Revisit the end of World War II with Japan's all-time best-selling paperback, "The Eternal Zero" by Naoki Hyakuta, originally published in Japanese in 2006. Although the movie adaptation sparked controversy with its nationalistic ending, the book does not glorify war. Hyakuta's storytelling structure,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2016
Shiraishi isn't afraid to ask the tough questions about life
August honors the dead in Japan, so it's fitting that Kazufumi Shiraishi's raw discourse on mortality makes its English debut this month. Originally published in 2008, "Me Against the World" breaks from Shiraishi's fictional works, offering the author's undiluted musings on life. As told The Japan Times...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 23, 2016
Flamenco fusion set to fire up Tokyo
Surrender to the heat of September as the Antonio Gades Company brings its sultry blend of ballet and flamenco to Tokyo, showcasing three of its classic works in two separate programs at Bunkamura's magnificent Orchard Hall.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 6, 2016
The life of Osamu Tezuka, Japan’s ‘god of manga’
Osamu Tezuka, the "god of manga," was born in 1928 in Osaka Prefecture. Though he showed early promise as a young artist and storyteller, no one could have imagined how successful he would become. Tezuka is a hero in Japan, a pioneer on equal standing with the world's other great illustrators and animators,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jul 2, 2016
'The Anatomy of Dependence': Excavating the foundations of Japanese behavior
Takeo Doi's "The Anatomy of Dependence," first published in 1971 and translated into English two years later, remains one of the definitive books about Japanese behavior.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 25, 2016
Gary Snyder: Asia's heavy toll on nature
Enter the mind of American poet and scholar Gary Snyder and watch as time pulls back, perspectives shift and an epoch passes in a single blink. His newest book of prose, "The Great Clod," is a series of essays on Asia's ecological history, combining culture and politics in a way that is, unsurprisingly,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 25, 2016
'Singular Rebellion': the award-winning story of a salaryman gone wild
If you want to get a sense of Japan's upper-crust sensibilities during the 20th century, pick up the 1972 Tanizaki Prize-winner, "Singular Rebellion," by Saiichi Maruya. It is decidedly slow-paced, but the careful prose peels back the layers of Japanese social conventions to reveal a rebellious spirit....
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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’

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