author

 
 
 Kris Kosaka

Meta

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
Jul 22, 2018
'Miracle' lands Japan-based Bangladeshi doctor with a teaching career once dreamed of but denied
Sabina Mahmood is an associate professor and medical educator at Okayama University, and mentors incoming International Baccalaureate graduates and foreign students at the university.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Jul 21, 2018
Fiercely intelligent and unstoppably prolific, Hiromi Ito is a modern literary provocateur
Love her or hate her — and her work tends to provoke strong passions in critics and fans alike — Hiromi Ito is a defining force in Japan's literary world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 27, 2018
The mind games of choreographer Philippe Decoufle
Choreographer Philippe Decoufle describes his new circus-inspired show, "Nouvelles Pieces Courtes" ("New Short Pieces"), as a "sort of visual and physical mind game."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2018
'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories': Memorable shorts from the greats of modern literature
From Haruki Murakami to Natsume Soseki, 'The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories' serves up a feast of literature, a smorgasbord of over 30 widely varied modern Japanese writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Jun 16, 2018
Danly's 'In the Shade of Spring Leaves' brings writer Ichiyo Higuchi's genius into the sun
Hailed as a true poet and lauded for her humanistic perspective in depicting the seedy underside of the Meiji Restoration, the test of time puts paid to Ichiyo Higuchi's (1872-96) lasting influence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 26, 2018
'Of Dogs and Walls': A concentrated hit of Yuko Tsushima
Pick up this small chapbook for a double dose of classic Japanese short fiction from Yuko Tsushima.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
May 12, 2018
Where would we be without the words of Japanese women?
Often overlooked, female writers in Japan, such as Ichiyo Higuchi and Raicho Hiratsuka, have a staying power that surpasses their male contemporaries. To help amplify these female voices, over the next few months we'll be highlighting some of the lesser read in translation but equally deserving Japanese female writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 28, 2018
'Poet to Poet' finds an English voice for Japan's female poets
A new bilingual poetry publication presents a range of fresh, female voices and satisfies the art of the genre in both languages.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2018
'Lion Cross Point': A child's abandonment, cushioned by hope and quiet resolve
Lion Cross Point' is a novel of intersections: of memory and dream, past and future, rural and urban, of innocence and tragedy. Masatsugu Ono's poignant tale spins out in a child-driven stream of consciousness, unwinding from a series of shrouded traumatic events.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2018
'Territory of Light' is a timely translation that sheds light on Japan's marginalized
Acclaimed novelist Yuko Tsushima spent her lifetime reflecting light on the shadowed voices in Japan, inspired by her own experiences as a single mother facing the censure of a traditionally patriarchal society. In her later years, Tsushima explored the marginalized in Japanese history, writing from...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 28, 2018
From Tohoku to Tokyo, Acchi Cocchi NPO offers healing through art
Acchi Cocchi brings music, dance and the visual arts into everyday life in Tohoku and the greater Tokyo area.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 17, 2018
In 'The Rape of Nanking' Iris Chang deconstructs the horrors of war
Iris Chang's groundbreaking work, "The Rape of Nanking" is widely credited with publicizing the World War II atrocity that many in Japan continue to deny or belittle as exaggeration. Graphically observant to multiple atrocities, it is not a book for the faint-hearted. Despite this, it is immensely readable....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 28, 2018
Florian Busch, the architect who floated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium
Japan-based German architect warns that Tokyo risks squandering a historic chance to offer an ambitious, sustainable vision in 2020.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 24, 2018
Kazuki Kaneshiro's Go: Strength and irony in the face of prejudice
One of the most memorable characters in modern Japanese literature is not Japanese. Sugihara, the 17-year-old narrator of "Go," by Kazuki Kaneshiro, is a third-generation Zainichi Korean in his last year of high school. Son of a North Korean ex-boxer and shrewdly adept at silencing bullies, Sugihara...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 7, 2018
Bringing the great outdoors to Japan's underserved children
Almost 39,000 children are under government supervision in Japan, and 85 percent are institutionalized in various homes around the nation, according to Human Rights Watch. Last August, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare made good on its 2016 revisions to the Child Welfare Act by announcing a new...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 6, 2018
Kazufusa Hosho: 'Noh is necessary in times of social unrest'
The challenge facing Kazufusa Hosho is one that many guardians of traditional Japanese art forms know well: ensuring the survival of a centuries-old culture by attracting new and younger audiences.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 23, 2017
'The Great Passage': Shion Miura's dictionary of life
First published in 2011, Shion Miura's "The Great Passage" still rides high in popularity today. Miura brings together a cast of eccentric characters, united in their aim to publish a comprehensive dictionary despite the cost, reluctance from their publishing firm and the monumental effort involved....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 16, 2017
'Child of Fortune': Yuko Tsushima's prize-winning and feminist novel on womanhood
Yuko Tsushima's "Child of Fortune," winner of the 1978 Women's Literature Prize in Japan, is a classic novel as relevant today as when it was published nearly 40 years ago. Called an "archaeologist of the female psyche," Tsushima wrote a stream-of-consciousness narrative that follows the mental revelations...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 29, 2017
Takao Kawaguchi pays homage to butoh icon Kazuo Ohno by retracing his every move
To see a performance of butoh, the Japanese dance form in which the body twists and contorts on stage, is to almost feel like you're being transported to another world. And noone was more otherworldly than the late Kazuo Ohno (1906-2010).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 25, 2017
'The Paper Door and Other Stories': Naoya Shiga's rollercoaster ride of human emotions
Considered a master of the Japanese short story, Naoya Shiga's "The Paper Door and Other Stories" truly impresses. Seventeen stories explore a vast range of human emotions, from fever-induced insanity in "The Razor" to the analytical musings of a circus performer whose stunt has just gone horribly wrong...

Longform

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