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July 16, 2024
 

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Thu-Huong Ha
Thu-Huong Ha is the culture critic at The Japan Times, focusing on contemporary art and fiction. Previously she was a reporter for Quartz, an editor for TED.com and an executive producer of TEDxNewYork. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, The Believer, and ArtReview, among others. Her debut novel, "Hail Caesar," was published by Scholastic/PUSH in 2007. Get in touch: [email protected] or instagram.com/whatthusee.
Visitors to the "Henri Matisse: The Path to Color" exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum face tough decisions in the gift shop.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2023
Matisse gachapon, Hockney parfaits: Japan’s next-level art merch
A Tokyo art exhibit doesn’t feel complete without a room filled wall-to-wall with custom trinkets.
A woman takes a picture of the poster for the new Hayao Miyazaki film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 2, 2023
Hayao Miyazaki’s confusing new masterpiece
Our critics Thu-Huong Ha and Matt Schley discuss what they thought of the new Hayao Miyazaki film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
A cinema employee checks on a display showing a digital poster for Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "The Boy and the Heron," on the first day of its premiere in Tokyo on July 14.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023
For his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki recycles himself
While visually and technically stunning, "The Boy and the Heron" might give some viewers an unsatisfying sense of deja vu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 7, 2023
The world’s premier explosion artist buttons up for Tokyo
Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Ramble in the Cosmos ― From ‘Primeval Fireball’ Onward” at the National Art Center, Tokyo gives the artist’s fans something to linger over.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 7, 2023
Why you may never see a permanent In-N-Out in Japan
Did you miss out on June’s In-N-Out Ebisu pop-up? Well, either get ready to wait until 2026 or book a flight to California.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 5, 2023
Would you spend the night in a coffin … for art?
Want to know what it’s like to spend the night in a coffin? Culture critic Thu-Huong Ha joins us to discuss her night in artist Marina Abramovic’s nightmare-inducing Dream House.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Jul 3, 2023
Sixteen hours in Marina Abramovic's nightmare hotel
In rural Niigata Prefecture, you can stay overnight in an artwork dreamed up by the world’s most infamous performance artist. If you don’t mind sleeping in a coffin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 25, 2023
How (and why) to enjoy a 700-year-old painting of Buddhist suffering
A Kamakura Period depiction of Buddha’s death, on view at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, is surprisingly relatable even today.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2023
Losing and finding my cool in Gwangju
Located in a city imbued with a fighting spirit, art festival Gwangju Biennale 2023 provides a backdrop for contemplation about action, strength and inner calm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2023
Yu Yamauchi gets very comfortable in isolation
The photographer, whose exhibition 'Jinen' is on display at this year's Kyotographie photo festival, gets in touch with himself and the world with long, lonely stints immersed in nature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2023
DJ Nobu: The face of Japanese techno is ready to break free
Japan’s current king of underground techno leaves the pandemic years with a renewed desire to defy the status quo... and maybe even skip the country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2023
A new music festival shakes up Kyoto's staid atmosphere
Kyotophonie, a sister event to photography festival Kyotographie, succeeds in its uniqueness and use of storied spaces, but it’s not clear who the event is actually for.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2023
‘The Great Reclamation’ details the horrors of the foreign occupation in Singapore
Rachel Heng’s dazzling coming-of-age novel, set before the island country’s independence in the 1960s, chronicles the tragedy of progress with a vivid cast of characters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 13, 2023
Haruki Murakami’s first novel in six years hits shelves in Japan
The bestselling author spent three years working nonstop on his new novel, 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls,' which reworks the story of the same title from 1980.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2023
600 pages all at once: What readers are saying about Mieko Kawakami’s new novel
Initial reviews of “Sisters in Yellow” say the hefty book is a fast read that leaves an almost painful impression.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2023
In Japan, cherry blossom forecasting is a big deal. Warming is making it harder.
A robust system of forecasting has built up around Japan’s sakura festivities, but climate change is disrupting the former and threatening the latter.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 23, 2023
The cherry blossoms are here and business is blooming
Kathleen Benoza explains what's at stake during the hanami season, while Thu-Huong Ha and Alyssa I. Smith discuss the science, symbolism and culture of sakura in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 19, 2023
'The Flowers of Buffoonery': Osamu Dazai's unexpected portrait of camaraderie
The novel adds new texture to the author's classic 'No Longer Human,' while bringing levity to a somewhat dire thesis: The world is full of inauthenticity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 14, 2023
The guilt of fatherhood helped shape Kenzaburo Oe’s literary vision
The award-winning writer attempted to give his disabled son a voice through fiction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 11, 2023
Artizon Museum's Dumb Type installations will leave you cold
Recent works by Dumb Type have been recreated in and adapted for the Tokyo museum as “2022: remap.” But even for this high-concept collective, some of the works are especially hard to grasp.
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
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