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April 01, 2025
 

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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
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...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 18, 2017
'The Broken Commandment': Toson Shimazaki's humanist bildungsroman of a 'burakumin'
A classic from 1906, Toson Shimazaki's "The Broken Commandment" follows the ideological struggles of a young teacher, Ushimatsu Segawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 4, 2017
'Blue Bamboo: Japanese Tales of Fantasy': Between the fantasy and reality of Osamu Dazai
Osamu Dazai packs wry humor and warm humanity into seven short stories, as his collection, "Blue Bamboo," inventively blurs the line between fantasy and reality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 14, 2017
'A Hundred Years of Japanese Film': Donald Richie gives us the long shot
Donald Richie didn't just open a window on Japanese cinema — the renowned film critic broke down a wall and put in a cultural door.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage / Backstage Pass
Oct 12, 2017
Dance forms mix in pair of shows
Like many art forms in our rapidly shrinking world, dance is constantly experimenting with variants of the cross-cultural, extending and blending boundaries into innovative re-imaginings of genre. Choreographers such as Akram Khan, an English dancer of Bangladeshi descent, have found great success by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2017
'Kotan Chronicles: Selected Poems 1928-1943': Translating poetry about the Ainu and frontier life in Hokkaido
Poetry can be a vital record of the past. Anarchist and poet Genzo Sarashina (1904-1985) was the son of first-generation Japanese settlers in Hokkaido. Later he became an expert on Ainu culture, working tirelessly to conserve the language, fables and songs of Japan's indigenous peoples and publishing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 7, 2017
'Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan': Donald Keene's memoir is not to be missed
For insight into the heart of Japan, pick up Donald Keene's memoir, "Chronicles of My Life."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 23, 2017
'One Piece': Manga still popular, influential after two decades
Eiichiro Oda's long-running contemporary manga "One Piece" is the undisputed king of Japanese pop culture today.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 16, 2017
'The Book of Five Rings': The text that showed many a Japanophile 'the way'
Legendary 17th-century swordsman Miyamoto Musashi authored this book in the last years of his life, expanding his 'two heavens as one' double-sword strategies into a complete life philosophy.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 9, 2017
'All She Was Worth': Step into a world of loan sharks and debt in modern Japan
Give the lingering late-summer heat the slip and duck into the shadows with 'All She Was Worth,' a classic Japanese crime mystery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 29, 2017
'Japanese Reflections on World War II and the American Occupation': War through the eyes of everyday Oita citizens
The deafening report of war is such that the cries of its victims are often hard to hear, even decades later.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 22, 2017
'Tokyo Geek's Guide': Mapping the epicenter of 'otaku' culture
Anyone on the lookout for "weird Japan" culture, take note.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 8, 2017
'Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8': 'The Reason I Jump' author returns with new English collection
The accomplishments of Japanese poet, novelist and essayist Naoki Higashida are impressive. He's published more than 20 books in Japanese, pens a popular blog and is seeing the release this month of his second book in English — all before his 25th birthday in August.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 10, 2017
'Milky Way Railroad': A beautiful if unfinished inquiry into meaning and happiness
This beloved classic of Japanese children's literature is testimony to the difficulties of translation. The title, variously called "Night on the Galactic Railway" or "Fantasy Railroad in the Stars," is a good example.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
May 31, 2017
Puppeteer pulls the strings from the sticks of Toyama, with a point to prove
From Toyama to schools far and wide, Jack Lee Randall lives his lesson — that art can thrive wherever people are.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 17, 2017
Dance troupe Condors summon teen spirit for new show '17's Map'
Sitting down with Condors frontman Ryohei Kondo, he says something a bit surprising: “’17’s Map’ is a work in progress.”
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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