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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 15, 2013

Time for a fresh look at the life and art of L.S. Lowry

In a somewhat stark meeting room at Tate Britain, the curators of its forthcoming L.S. Lowry show, T.J. Clark and Anne M. Wagner, are attempting, at my request, to extol the artist's virtues to me. It's a complicated business. For one thing, I have the impression that they regard enthusiasm as infra...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 14, 2013

The economics of men's cosmetics; top six meaty menus; CM of the week: Toyota

Though everyone is fretting about Japan's economic future, the young people who are destined to become tomorrow's leaders have had little opportunity to share their own ideas on the topic. NHK's new information program, "Oikonomia" (NHK-E, Tues., 11:30 p.m.), a madeup term based on the English word "economics,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2013

'Edo's Four Seasons: Seasonal Events and Scenes of Daily Life in Ukiyo-e'

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), celebrating the characteristics of the four seasons was a popular past time, and it involved hosting traditional events that people still enjoy today. These include hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) in the spring, the Tanabata star festival in summer, tsukimi (moon viewing)...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2013

Spotlight on Vladimir Putin's Potemkin love life

Whether a new woman will help to soften foreigners' perception of Russian President Vladimir Putin's cynical diplomacy and brutal rule is open to question.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2013

'To Rome With Love'

Woody Allen rarely laughs, least of all at his own jokes. But in his latest, "To Rome With Love," in which he acts as well as directs, he breaks down from time to time to suppress a giggle and the movie gets an almost imperceptible lift. If Allen is laughing (kind of) then it's surely OK for the audience...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2013

'The Beauty of Imari Sometsuke, Underglaze Blue Porcelain Ware: The Platters of Different Patterns'

Imari, sometsuke, Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
Japan Times
WORLD
May 29, 2013

Storm chasers ride the winds undaunted by danger

Officials expect that the killer tornado that leveled parts of Moore, Oklahoma, last week will turn out to be the most destructive in American history, but none of that damage, it appears, will be to the storm-chasing business.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2013

Innkeeper to offer taste of tradition among glitzy players in Otemachi

In Tokyo's Otemachi business district, home to a legion of foreign-owned upscale hotels, a Japanese-style inn will open as early as summer 2016 even as such traditional facilities struggle in the face of globalization, Hoshino Resorts President Yoshiharu Hoshino said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 27, 2013

The transient rasping that captivates the poets

Do cicadas create a shrieking hell? Are they ugly? There is a striking difference between English and Japanese Wikipedia entries on these transient insects.
LIFE
May 26, 2013

Whatever some say, there's no Japanese-language 'code' to be deciphered

Ever since Japan opened to the outside world in the middle of the 19th century after some 250 years of isolation imposed and enforced by its ruling shoguns, the Japanese language has been widely regarded as a kind of code.
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2013

Managing Mount Fuji's fame

Chances have increased that Mount Fuji will become a World Heritage site in June following an April 30 recommendation by a UNESCO panel. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) noted that the volcano is a national symbol of Japan and blends religious and artistic traditions.
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2013

J. League's opening game stirs memories 20 years on

Players involved in the J. League's first-ever game share their recollections of the beginning of a new era for Japanese soccer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 13, 2013

Can two U.S. senators' bipartisan bill finally halt 'Too Big to Fail' mantra?

Last month, an unlikely pair of senators — Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican — introduced a non-binding resolution calling for the end of the implicit subsidies that "too big to fail" (TBTF) banks enjoy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 12, 2013

Will Mount Fuji celebrate World Heritage status by blowing its top?

On May 1, Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs announced it had received notification that Mount Fuji had been recommended for World Heritage status by the UNESCO-affiliated International Council on Monuments and Sites. Formal approval is expected at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Cambodia next month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2013

The ghouls who played on the Japanese mind

“Japanese Ghosts and Eerie Creatures,” which features a selection of works from the mid-Edo Period to the Showa Era, is mostly play, with little horror.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Ideological splits endanger Arab nation-state

The 'Arab Spring' generated a wave of hope for democratization of authoritarian regimes. The outcomes have called into question the viability of the Arab nation-state.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 5, 2013

Our tree dragon fires new hopes for tsunami survivors

Ever since the massive Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, and the catastrophic tsunami it triggered, badly hit villages, towns and cities in the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu have been struggling to recover and rebuild.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 4, 2013

Master craftsman carries on sashimono tradition

On the floor of an eight-tatami workshop sits master craftsman Yoshio Inoue in a spot he has occupied for decades. His atedai, the long, low slab of wood that serves as a workbench, is in front of him, and within easy reach are scores of tools — chisels, planes, hammers, saws, clamps and other implements...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2013

The disconcerting unity of Raphael

Harmony can sometimes have a disconcerting side. This is one insight to emerge from the Raphael exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art, the centerpiece of which is one of the artist's acknowledged great works, the "Madonna del Granduca" (c. 1505).
JAPAN
May 2, 2013

Heritage status will mean big changes

Local and prefectural governments and businesses surrounding Mount Fuji welcomed the news that the World Heritage Committee is expected to designate Japan's most famous and popular mountain as a World Heritage site, despite concerns about what it will mean to the local environment and questions about...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 28, 2013

A double dose of guidance offers more than usual information

SHINTO SHRINES: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion, by Joseph Cali with John Dougill. University of Hawaii Press, 2012, 328 pp., $24.99 (paperback)
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013

A Pacific idyll where some go to escape, others to connect

A woman from western Japan, who calls herself "Amy," couldn't find paradise in Thailand, Cuba, Brazil or French Polynesia, so with the last of her $300 savings she bought a one-way ticket from Tahiti to Rarotonga. Then, claiming to be penniless, she walked from the airport to the police station and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2013

Extruders have a rock epiphany

"Before the gig, we were quite intimidated: a lowly rock band performing in front of a god. After, we found we could do it, and that was the turning point for us."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2013

i-fls "Diary of Spectre" (self-release)

The first song I ever made — and I'm willing to wager many who graduated high school in the mid 2000s share this experience — was using Apple's GarageBand, a software application that lets people make music on their computers. "I made a killer techno track last night, dude," I overheard one classmate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 18, 2013

"Mono no Aware and Japanese Beauty"

Traditional Japanese art has long shaped outsider's perception of Japanese culture. The precise, yet seemingly fluid lines create a feeling of serenity and wisdom that is very reflective of the Japanese culture. From April 17 to June 16, the Suntory Museum of Art will play host to such meaningful artworks....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2013

'Sakura Namiki no Mankai no Shita ni (Cold Bloom)'

Grief doesn't have a sell-by date, not really. Decades after a loss, the absence is still felt, the memories remain.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2013

"Welcome to the Jungle"

Southeast Asia differs from East Asia greatly, with a variety of cultures and beliefs spread across many countries. In collaboration with the Singapore Art Museum, the Yokohama Museum of Art opens a portal into the diversity of Southeast Asia, hosting an exhibit of 28 works that capture the dynamic zeal...
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2013

Hokkaido opposition to TPP surges

On a late March afternoon in central Sapporo's "raccoon trail," a covered shopping arcade, business is particularly brisk. While Honshu's main cities celebrate under the cherry blossoms, several meters of snow remain piled up beside icy sidewalks — with more expected.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’