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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 16, 2014

Japan's gambit in WWI set stage for a dark future

One hundred years ago, on June 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. It was the spark that led, one month later, to the beginning of World War I, which originally was expected to be confined to Europe and end in weeks. By the time it ended on Nov. 11, 1918, an estimated...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2014

Severe penalties sought for Riken, Obokata over STAP scandal

A third-party reform panel set up by the government-backed Riken institute has called for severe penalties for stem cell researcher Haruko Obokata and her supervisors, and for the biology center where she works to be disbanded.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 11, 2014

'Beauty on the Edge: Contemporary Art Nara — Magic of Materials and Wisdom'

Sculptors Takashi Kikuchi and Kei Takemata, stone artist Kota Kinutani, print artist Chihiro Shimotani, wood artist Chuichi Fuji, video artist Yutaka Moriguchi and painter Natsunosuke Mise are all connected by their strong afflilliation to Nara Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2014

Roberta Marquez: a Juliet to die for

The Royal Ballet, generally considered to be the best classical company in the world, numbers some 100 dancers from teens of countries who are based at its magnificent and newly refurbished Opera House home in London.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2014

Famed Kinosaki hot-spring idyll immerses itself in performing arts

The small hot-spring resort of Kinosaki beside the Sea of Japan in northern Hyogo Prefecture is as picturesque as it is peacefully genteel. However, with April's opening of the Kinosaki International Arts Center (KIAC), this rural home to fewer than 5,000 now aims to become a major performing-arts hub...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

'Yasuyoshi Sugiura: A Natural History of Ceramics — Making Nature'

While attending college, Yasuyoshi Sugiura was moved by the words of his teacher, who told him, "ceramics are stones." This inspired the artist to explore the potential of clay as a medium, creating works such as the "Stones of Ceramics" series" that, as the title suggests, presented small, realistic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jun 1, 2014

NPO Fathering Japan shows men how to be better dads

Tetsuya Ando, founder of the nonprofit organization Fathering Japan, wants to do everything he can for dads in Japan to encourage present and future fathers to play a more active role in child-rearing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 30, 2014

Shiro Kuramata's iconic sushi bar heads to Hong Kong museum

Sushi is arguably Japan’s most popular cultural export — and modern design would probably run a close second. So when, in 1988, the two were "combined" in the form of a sushi bar designed by the iconic Shiro Kuramata, well, perhaps it was only a matter of time before the whole thing would be dismantled...
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 26, 2014

U.S. life and times of a Japanese portrait artist

Today only a few art aficionados will recognize the name Kyohei Inukai, a New York society portrait artist who married or loved several American women during a period of rising racial prejudice against the Japanese.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 21, 2014

Nash's strong leadership molds Toyama into title contender

Bob Nash's tenure with the University of Hawaii men's basketball team came to an end in March 2010 after a three-year run as head coach and a 34-56 overall record in that span. For Nash, that opportunity came after a 23-year stint as an assistant coach at the school.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 18, 2014

Japan's working poor left behind by 'Abenomics'

Last Christmas Eve, Ririko Saito and her 11-year-old daughter gathered some plastic bottles, pots and a kettle and made several trips to a nearby park to get water. Their utility had just turned off the tap after months of unpaid bills.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2014

Art Basel makes a difference in Asia

Magnus Renfrew, the director of Asia Art Basel, stopped by Tokyo in the lead up to this year's Art Basel in Hong Kong to talk about what it means to have Art Basel purchase Art HK.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2014

'Collection Exhibition 2014: Spiritual World'

For this year's "Collection Exhibition," the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography reevaluates the relationship between Japanese religious culture and visual arts through a pilgrimage of photographs, videos and other works of the museum collection. In search of aspects of spirituality that have been...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2014

'Leandro Erlich: The Ordinary?'

"The Swimming Pool" by Leandro Erlich is not one you can dive into. From above it appears as a regular deep pool of shimmering water, but it is actually only 10 cm deep. Suspended over a glass sheet, the "The Swimming Pool" can also be viewed from below. Such playfulness in interpretation turns an ordinary,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY AVENUE
Apr 30, 2014

Japan seen through diplomats' eyes

An event to promote the photo exhibition "Japan through Diplomats' Eyes" was held on April 23 at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 30, 2014

Fast lane awaits kabuki actor's bold lead debut

Some roles demand quick changes of clothes or character, but in the whole wide world of theater, "Haji Momiji Ase no Kaomise" ("A Blushing Maple Perspires in Public") — aka "Date no Juyaku" ("The 10 Roles of the Date House") — is probably the only play in which a single actor plays 10 roles, both...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2014

A powerful look at 'exotic' and 'primitive' artworks

The "Power of Images" exhibition at the National Art Centre Tokyo is nothing less than an assault on the senses — a barrage of exotic and vivid anthropological oddities from the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2014

The exodus from Everest

The Everest circus is leaving town. With the decision to cancel climbing this year, Sherpas from the 39 expeditions camped at the foot of the mountain are dropping tents and packing gear. Helicopters fly over the Icefall that leads into the Western Cwm, recovering equipment stashed there before the tragic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2014

Endless inspiration to be found in Mount Fuji and spring flowers

It's often said by Japanese painters that the most difficult subject of all is Mount Fuji. How is it possible to come up with an original take on a theme that has been painted so often and by so many talented artists? Yet for all their angst, artists clearly manage, as demonstrated by the sheer variety...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 21, 2014

Artists' mission to revitalize an onsen town

It begins with a long, slow hiss. The valves open, and a thick fog is released into the air, pouring from the roof of Dogo Onsen Honkan, the famous three-tiered bathhouse built in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, in 1894. It flows down the side of the building, past bathers in bathrobes on the open balcony...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Apr 17, 2014

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Tales of the Weird and the Strange

While many overseas scholars are attracted to the retrained aesthetics of Japanese arts and letters, it was the country's wild and wooly folklore that captivated Zack Davisson, an American writer and translator. While pursuing his masters degree in Japanese studies Davisson immersed himself in the mysterious...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 14, 2014

Suit over dismissal to tackle thorny issue of language teachers' employment status

At the heart of the Sulejman Brkic case is the issue of what, in legal terms, the nature of his employment status was while he worked for language school ICC: Was he an employee or a contractor?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 9, 2014

'As Pure As the Lotus: East Asian Ceramics and the Eyes of the Photographer Muda Tomohiro'

A stark contrast to the muddy waters it grows in, the lotus is a beautiful flower that has a particular significance in East Asia. It is often used as a motif in paintings and artisanal works to symbolize life fulfillment or the affection between men and women, and it is also the emblem of kunshi, the...
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2014

U.S. Navy testing more sophisticated pilotless helicopters

The helicopter kicked up a cloud of freshly fallen snow that partly obscured the ground below, but despite the poor visibility, it gently touched down in a landing that was unremarkable except for the fact no one was at the controls.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2014

The India democracy show

Indians are just days away from the start of the greatest democratic show on earth, as 814.5 million of them prepare to cast ballots at 930,000 polling stations between April 7 and May 12.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 2, 2014

Aichi's thriving drama grassroots

This year is set to be a good one for English theater in Japan, from Shakespearean comedy to original works, from intimate black-box stagings to a rock'n'roll musical. It's not Tokyo or even Osaka serving up this feast, though — but Nagoya, which is home to three thriving companies: The Nagoya Players,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 2, 2014

'Collection of Museo Poldi Pezzoli: The Aristocratic Palace and its Beauty

Founded in Milan in 1881, the Poldi Pezzoli Museum houses the extensive collection of an aristocratic art collector. Nobleman Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (1822-1879) devoted his life to decorating his home with artworks of the Renaissance, amassing around 3,000 pieces, including paintings by Botticelli,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 2, 2014

'French Ceramics at the Time of Impressionism 1866-1886: Maturity of Japonisme'

Most people associate Impressionism with the famous colorful impasto paintings of Renoir, Monet or Manet. Few, however, are familiar with its influence on 19th-century ceramics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2014

A torturer speaks — about the pain and pleasures of Pinter

"Some years ago at Black Stripe Theatre in Tokyo, we did a reading of Harold Pinter's one-act play 'One for the Road,' and I have ever since wanted to put it on.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?