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November 21, 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
Oct 17, 2009
Artist of the cross-cultural landscape
The ocean symbolizes both a microcosm of living things and the metaphoric dream of unlimited possibilities. Gazing toward the horizon, Holly Thompson, writer and teacher, seems to find these truths reflected in that hazy line.
COMMUNITY
Sep 26, 2009
Look for the 'mounted knights' at undo-kai
It could be any weekend in September or October, in any town across Japan. Excitement hitches onto every breeze as teams face off against each other, brightly colored headbands proclaiming allegiance.
COMMUNITY
Sep 12, 2009
College head finds magic where he can
The Rev. Frank Howell, president of Sophia Junior College, Catholic priest, educator and debate team coach, finds serenity in an unexpected location amid the bustle of his busy life. He hops a train and heads to another land — Tokyo Disneyland.
COMMUNITY
Aug 29, 2009
Food penetrates all aspects of life in Japan
Autumn enters like a coy mistress. The nights no longer require closed windows and an air-con timer; a gentle breeze tiptoes through the screen with the grace of a lullaby. Hydrangea no longer paint the landscape in vivid blues and pinks; anemones now gently accessorize the green of late summer.
COMMUNITY
Aug 15, 2009
Surviving a Japanese summer boils down to the art of omiyage
, smells of sea salt and suntan lotion on the beach; these images of summer dominate the mental landscape of Shonan, just as the umi-no-ie summer beach houses physically transform the shoreline from Chigasaki to Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture. For me, however, one image reigns supreme during the months of...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 15, 2009
Welsh writer finds inspiration in Japan
Fade in. Swansea, Wales. The scene opens on a hushed front room. A 6-year-old boy taps away on an old-fashioned typewriter, the keys punctuating his thoughts in the gathering shadows. It is past his bedtime, but he fights drowsy temptations, determined to write a novel while his parents sleep. Four hours,...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 24, 2009
Performing opera can easily be child's play
Kids Opera does not have to be a contradiction in terms, as the New National Theatre has proved since 2004. Artistic Director Thomas Novohradsky (2003-2007) first suggested the idea, and now Kids Opera is a regular summer feature. The NNTT takes the original music and text from a classic, reworking the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 11, 2009
Brit muscles way to BayStar success
Young boys, bright-eyed and clutching miniature gloves, gather in ballparks and dream of their own futures as part of a professional team.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 30, 2009
The slippery slope of shogakko
Although July's stickiness unglues most minds from study, it is at this time of year that mothers in Japan turn their thoughts toward school. Enrolling children in summer cram programs, visiting potential private schools, researching every possible option — all are occupations to fill the barefoot...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 20, 2009
Key ingredient in Japanese cuisine found in the mind
It started with a bowl of udon. Elizabeth Andoh, recognized expert on washoku and contributor to Gourmet magazine for over 30 years, cannot really discern a logical path to her success in the Japanese Epicurean kitchen.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 18, 2009
Forget the suicide stereotype
Now that spring has dissolved into the sticky humidity of rainy season, now that go gatsu byo — "May sickness" — has melted away along with the memory of the cherry blossoms, perhaps it is time to wash away one of the most pervasive stereotypes of Japan, its dubious status as a "suicide nation."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 9, 2009
Educator wants credit given where credit is due
Dr. Kazuyuki Matsuo has a dream. He dreams of a different kind of education in Japan, where students receive credit for real-life experience, be it helping Indonesians rebuild primary schools, or digging wells in Tanzania. Matsuo dreams of a system where students are allowed to find their own places,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 25, 2009
Environmentalist David Suzuki has words of warning for ancestral homeland
Long before baseball's Ichiro moved to the northwest coast of the United States of America, another Suzuki had made a name for himself higher up, across the border in British Columbia, Canada. Dr. David Suzuki, environmentalist, scientist, TV producer and writer, was voted, in a nationwide poll in 2004,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 4, 2009
Nihonshu evangelist preaches heady mix of culture, taste
John Gauntner appreciates a great destination, but for him, it's really about the journey. With five books published on sake, and as the only non-Japanese to be recognized as a kikizake meijin (accomplished sake taster) for accuracy in sake tasting, Gauntner is widely considered the leading English-speaking...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 31, 2009
Women, know your place
Every time I open a newspaper or click on the Internet, yet another article appears bemoaning the same tired trend in Japanese society: the falling birthrate. Citing everything from sexless marriages to inequality in the workplace for women, these articles all skirt the real problem — Japanese women...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 7, 2009
Tradition, family serve up a hearty fare
T he band members are dressed in traditional German costumes, and your smiling hostess leads you out in a traditional dance. A modest buffet serves up a bounty of simple, home-cooked German fare: cabbage and sauerkraut, potatoes and sausage. And don't forget the German beer. Just say "Mahlzeit," and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 2009
Living life like a fairy tale
It's 5:40 a.m. Dawn has yet to peek over the mountains, and the forest surrounding Shonenji temple in Takachiho-cho still waits for morning.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 27, 2009
Half, bi or double? One family's trouble
It may not matter for inanimate objects, incapable of altering their own sweet smell, but for humans a name becomes part of our identity. My voice rises slightly as I warm to my argument: It may not be a tangible part of a person, like a hand or foot, but what others call us — and how we name ourselves...
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.

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