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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.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 2, 2023
Infinity and beyond: Yayoi Kusama’s next evolution
Culture critic Thu-Huong Ha joins the podcast to explain Yayoi Kusama’s latest stage of evolution.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage / Reviews
Feb 23, 2023
TeamLab goes to the opera
The art collective teamLab attempts to expand its creative empire with a foray into opera. This poses the question, is 'Turandot' a fair play?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 18, 2023
Is this Yayoi Kusama's final evolution?
A recent branding campaign with luxury brand Louis Vuitton raises the question: Is she still interesting?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2023
Could the Akutagawa Prize get its first American winner?
Gregory Khezrnejat, whose short story “Kaikonchi” is up for the literary award, sees writing in Japanese as a minor rebellion against English's assumed dominance in global culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jan 8, 2023
A love letter to hot springs at music festivals
Getting covered in grime, mud and sweat is an expected part of attending a multiday outdoor festival, but in Japan, hot springs provide a surprisingly liberating dimension to the weekend.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 7, 2023
Across Japan, baby names are getting more creative
Despite a government-managed list of acceptable kanji, parents are choosing more unique readings for their children than ever before.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2022
Answers in 2022 encouraged activism, recommended books and provided advice
The 20 Questions section discusses people's experiences of Japan in their own words. As we emerge from the pandemic, an underlying theme in 2022 was fighting for change.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 24, 2022
Is a ¥6,600 parfait worth every bite?
Asako Iwayanagi's premium desserts are as ambitious as they are puzzling.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022
Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'
Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / 2022 in Review
Dec 17, 2022
Art came alive in the great outdoors in 2022
Major art events returned to far-flung locales with tactile and communal experiences in nature.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 17, 2022
All I want for Christmas is fewer illuminations in Japan
Tokyo in December is all lit up with more glitz than good cheer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 3, 2022
Junko Takase’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel is a feminist’s nightmare
“Oishii Gohan ga Taberaremasu Yoni” reads at first like a work place drama but ultimately makes a sinister argument about contemporary feminism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2022
'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki': Compelling confessions of an exhausted millennial
South Korean author Baek Sehee's bestselling mental health memoir is uncomfortably vulnerable and compulsively readable.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 16, 2022
Do you have what it takes to be a novelist? Let Haruki Murakami decide.
In “Novelist as a Vocation,” the prolific author paints himself as an everyman while giving frustratingly unclear advice on being a professional writer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: At Naoshima, three giants of Japanese art wrestle for attention
In spaces that opened earlier this year on Naoshima, the severe architecture of Tadao Ando brings a new edge to the art of Yayoi Kusama and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 1, 2022
Review: Is the new Ghibli Park worth all the hype?
The new theme park in Aichi Prefecture signals a change of direction for the legendary animation studio as it prepares for the next phase of Hayao Miyazaki's legacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 28, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: An autumnal spectacle of light and shadow
Artworks in abandoned houses play with the natural light found on the islands in the Seto Inland Sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2022
Notes from Setouchi: The art of loss brings lesser-known islands to life
Honjima, Takamijima, Awashima and Ibukijima open for the fall season of Setouchi Triennale 2022.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 13, 2022
A first look inside Japan's new Ghibli Park
Unlike at the existing Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, visitors to the theme park will be able to take photos with beloved characters such as Cat Bus, Totoro and No Face to their heart's content.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 7, 2022
Yoshio Osakabe: ‘There are probably a lot of old fans who actually don't want Murakami to win the Nobel’
Coined 'Harukisuto,' or 'Haruki-ists,' for their passionate devotion to Haruki Murakami, one fan talks about the joy he gets from the work of one of Japan's most-treasured authors.

Longform

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