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July 16, 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
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 23, 2015
Trocks set to blend ballet and fun
It's Trocks time again, as that madcap melange of comedy and classical ballet trucks into Tokyo this weekend at the start of a monthlong nationwide tour — the troupe's 28th to Japan over more than 30 years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jun 21, 2015
Governance guru pushes Japan Inc. to open up and diversify
Former trailblazing dean Christina Ahmadjian finds her balance between the classroom and boardroom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 20, 2015
Shusaku Endo's 'Wonderful Fool' is an incisive commentary on the materialism and spiritual emptiness of 1950s Japan
There's loads of literature that illuminates the foreigner's struggle in Japan. But these tales about "strangers in a strange land" are mostly written from the stranger's point of view. It's more unusual to read the Japanese perspective, which is one reason why Shusaku Endo's "Wonderful Fool" —...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 27, 2015
In international education in Japan, there's diversity between as well as within schools
Profiles of four schools demonstrate the wide range of philosophies and curriculums that families can choose from.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 28, 2015
Bintley returns with his new-look 'Cinderella'
For dance fans, there's the promise of some glittering Golden Week holiday reunions as David Bintley, long-time director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, returns here with that company for the first time since his four-year stint doubling up as artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan ended last...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2015
Memoirs of Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Manchuria's 'Fragrant Orchid'
Often the conflicts between countries are best expressed through the personal story of a single citizen, and this is true with "Fragrant Orchid," the autobiography of famed actress and singer Li Xianglan. Born Yoshiko Yamaguchi — her birth name as an ethnic Japanese — the book details her...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2015
Excavating Japan's buried baseball history with Masanori Murakami
Sometimes historical analysis can't compete with a good personal story, as Robert K. Fitts — a baseball expert and former archaeologist — proves with his newest book, "Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 18, 2015
'You Gotta Have Wa' is still the best analysis of Japanese culture seen through the lens of sport
Robert Whiting's baseball classic, "You Gotta Have Wa," (updated in 2009) remains the definitive text on Japanese culture seen through the lens of sport. Whiting has an engaging style, his research is exhaustive and his first-hand knowledge has ensured this book is just as entertaining now as it was...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 21, 2015
Black Jack
Although he is best known internationally for creating "Astro Boy," Osamu Tezuka's most popular work for adults in Japan is "Black Jack," a series of short stand-alone stories from the 1970s, documenting the renegade antics of the unconventional title doctor whose mercenary facade masks a wise, compassionate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 21, 2015
Mendeleev's Mandala
"Mendeleev's Mandala" is the most recent collection of poetry from Kansai-based writer Jessica Goodfellow.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 14, 2015
Above the East China Sea: A Novel
Although this is supposedly Sarah Bird's "most ambitious" novel to date — and it is ambitious — it's not the novel that falls short, it's the marketing. Rather than Bird's ticket to entering the "literary elite," it is the best of young adult fiction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 11, 2015
Tokyo Ballet revisits 'Giselle' anew
Ballet legend Vladimir Malakhov's first connection with Japan was more than 20 years ago, when he danced in the World Ballet Festival in Osaka opposite Alessandra Ferri in a piece from Marius Petipa's 1850 revival of "Giselle."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 1, 2015
Four years on, Tohoku towns still waiting for schools, homes, answers
While cooped-up kids need places to play, exhausted residents could do with support from more teachers and caregivers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2015
A 'Swan Lake' of diversity
"Ballet must be accessible," the French choreographer and artistic director of The Ballet of Monte Carlo, Jean-Christophe Maillot, believes — and the upcoming Japan premiere of "LAC," his most ambitious reconfiguration of a classic to date, promises to attract both fans of Tchaikovsky's famed 1876...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 28, 2015
Condors dancers share double bill with rising star
Ryohei Kondo, who founded the popular male dance troupe Condors in 1996, is always brimfull of innovative ideas — even when they're garbed in traditional clothing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 24, 2015
The Ink Dark Moon
No other period in Japan's literary history was as dominated by women as the Heian Period (794-1185). Most Japanophiles know names such as Sei Shonagon ("The Pillow Book") or Murasaki Shikibu ("The Tale of Genji") for their contributions to the world of literature, but Izumi Shikibu (Shikibu is a title,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015
Lingering outside the way station for the dead
It's a hardy soul who braves Osorezan (Mount Osore), a volcano in Aomori Prefecture known as the Japanese way station for the dead. For most, the name conjures up images of the supernatural and the unknown, but for Marie Mutsuki Mockett, it is a place of healing and beauty.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015
Cat Town
Modernist 20th-century writer Sakutaro Hagiwara redefined Japanese poetry with his free-style verse and daringly common subject matter; he reached sublime heights by examining the mundane.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jan 11, 2015
Foreign female dean opens doors for Japan’s working women
A brush with sexual discrimination gave Robin Sakamoto the drive to succeed as a working mom and push for on-campus facilities at Kyorin to help parents.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2015
Cataloging the creatures of the unknown
"Yokai dwell in the contact zone between fact and fiction, between belief and doubt ... Yokai begin where language ends," says Michael Dylan Foster in the introduction to "The Book of Yokai," summing up what words often fail to conjure. His book takes readers on a journey into the inexplicable, mysterious,...
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.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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