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December 22, 2024
 

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Alice Gordenker

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Alice Gordenker
Alice Gordenker writes the "So, What the Heck is That?" column, providing in-depth, carefully researched explanations of the things foreigners find so puzzling about Japan. Her work has been modified as a textbook for Japanese university students called "Surprising Japan" (Shohakusha, 2012).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2021
Becoming Isamu Noguchi: The making of a sculptor
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum's exhibition showcases the ways in which Japanese culture influenced Isamu Noguchi's career as an artist who created works to be “lived,” not merely “seen.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 19, 2021
Bewitching, beguiling and downright disturbing: Unconventional views of beauty in Japanese art
The upcoming exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, presents artwork that pushed the boundaries of how beauty was portrayed from the mid-19th century until around 1930.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 10, 2020
Captured history: A collection of milestones in early images of Japan
An exhibition of rare photographs gets a second chance to present the evolution of photography in Japan at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 21, 2020
Episode 69: Why we should be celebrating Japan's tattoo culture
Japan has an uncomfortable relationship with tattoos, which are associated with the yakuza and the criminal underworld.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 25, 2020
Where we want to go in Japan once this is all over
COVID-19 has put a pause on travel, but that doesn't mean we can't plan. The Japan Times' Escape page regulars write about where they want to go in Japan once we see the back of COVID-19.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 21, 2019
Pottery island: A three-day tour through Kyushu's ceramics villages
Kyushu is a dream destination for pottery lovers, with famous pottery villages including Arita, Onta and Koishiwara, and museums dedicated to the history of the artform.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 14, 2018
Stoke the flames of tradition on Shimane’s ‘Iron Road’
Shimane Prefecture is an under-discovered wealth of history, natural beauty and high-quality artisan crafts — such as katana-quality steel. On this drive-yourself adventure step straight into Irontown and immerse yourself in the history and culture of tatara steel production.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2018
Legacy of genius: Kyosai and Kyosui
Kawanabe Kyosui might not be as well-known as her father Kyosai, but the prolific painter helped pave the way for women artists in early 20th-century Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 26, 2018
Snow and spirituality in Tottori: Winter on a sacred peak
Mount Daisen in Tottori Prefecture is the largest mountain in the Chugoku region of western Honshu. An isolated peak with views over the Sea of Japan, the mountain stands at 1,729 meters and gets plenty of snow in the winter, making it one of the preferred destination for skiers and boarders living in nearby Hiroshima, Osaka and Kyoto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2017
Kakiemon: Generations of beauty
There's still time to enjoy cherry blossoms. Through May 14, the Toguri Museum of Art in Tokyo is exhibiting a stunning new work by Sakaida Kakiemon XV, the current inheritor of one of the most famous names in Japanese porcelain. The very large lidded jar, commissioned by the museum to commemorate its...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 14, 2017
Sharpen your knowledge of Japanese swords
If you've ever wanted to learn about Japanese swords, now's the time, as an unusually large number of top-quality blades are currently on view at two Tokyo museums. Either exhibition is well worth a visit but together they're dynamite.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 6, 2016
Japan's TOP museum sees the big picture
After being closed for two years for major renovations, Tokyo's best-known photography museum in Tokyo's fashionable Ebisu neighborhood reopened on Sept. 3, just in time to celebrate its 20-year anniversary. The venerable facility now boasts a new look, improved exhibition spaces and a new name in English:...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Nov 28, 2015
Why do we need a little bit on the side?
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Sep 26, 2015
The ups and downs of water taps
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jul 25, 2015
Nihonshu overflow
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 16, 2015
Museums are the place to be this summer thanks to new dinosaur discoveries
Whether you live with a 4-year-old expert in dinosaurs, or were once one yourself, this summer offers some exciting opportunities for further discovery about the giant animals that long ago roamed the Earth. And best of all, they're all right here in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 2, 2015
Painting women of Japan
Ask an art lover to name Japanese women artists active before the 20th century, and chances are they'll draw a blank, despite the fact that many highly accomplished women were painting in far-earlier times.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 23, 2015
Change trays
Dear Alice,
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 20, 2015
Police who stand with big sticks
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 6, 2015
Amputee women in Japan proudly step forward
Japan isn't the easiest place to live for people with disabilities. Buildings and transportation aren't always accessible; people are apt to regard disabilities as shameful; and a societal tendency to turn away from anything unpleasant makes it difficult to effect change. Nevertheless change is possible,...
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
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