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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 27, 2010

Geisha Chikako Pari

Chikako Pari, whose stage name is Ichizuru, is the last geisha, also known as geiko, of a small town in Kyoto Prefecture. Her unusual last name, Pari — written in kanji — refers to the city of Paris and her French ancestry, although the details of her French great-grandfather's life were never revealed...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
May 25, 2010

Expat dancer Hibari Misora-inspired

Chris Chavez maintains an upbeat outlook about life in Japan but leaves the rosy-tinted view for idealists or those newly arrived. This Mexican-American's snapping brown eyes differentiate clearly the good, bad and indifferent of living as a foreign woman in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

New history of art in the 21st century

To the extent that it exists in the popular consciousness, contemporary art is frequently associated with ideas of "newness" and "antitradition." This is partly to do with the legacy of the early 20th-century Dada movement. Responding to the social ferment surrounding World War I, the Dadaists rejected...
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2010

A splendid tour through the 'real' Tokyo

It is likely that as many people will appreciate Donald Richie's "Tokyo Megacity" as a tasteful addition to their living room decor as will open it, and that most who do open it will assiduously avoid Richie's text in favor of Ben Simmons' photographs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 14, 2010

'Whip It' with Drew

HOLLYWOOD — "The politest thing I can say is, 'It's about bleeping time!' " says Drew Barrymore with a giggle reminiscent of Gertie, the "E.T." role that made her famous back in 1982.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 9, 2010

To realize its cultural potential, Japan must celebrate its strengths

Europe received a cultural shock of major proportions during the last quarter of the 19th century. The exquisite shikisai kankaku (sense of color), the startling spatial and compositional elements and the sublime craftsmanship of the Japanese arts took the continent by storm. Many well-known collectors...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 8, 2010

Weaving a bridge between cultures with new fabric

Love of art and a desire for understanding different cultures — so as to find a way to build a bridge among them — have been important aspects of Micaela Metri's life since her youth, when she was a student on a full scholarship at the L.B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Canada.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2010

The Zen nothingness of Zamami

Thinking that Japan is too expensive for them, many budget travelers eschew this archipelago for Southeast Asia. But with a mountain bike and a tent, it's quite possible to travel in Okinawa on ¥1,000 a day — and enjoy it — especially on Zamami Island.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 2, 2010

Renho: Japan's fiscal firebrand

Renho, a first-term Upper House member from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, shot to stardom in Japan last November when, as a member of a government committee tasked with screening ministries' budget requests, she had several fierce, face-to-face battles with bureaucrats.
JAPAN
May 1, 2010

Government, industry join to promote luxury travel

From a helicopter ride to see the crater of Mount Fuji to an exclusive entrance to a renowned historic temple, luxury travelers demand rare experiences.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 1, 2010

An artist's love affair with ceramics

Ceramic artist Swanica Ligtenberg returned from her native Holland in early January with a new sense of purpose. She no longer felt an outsider in a family of goldsmiths and silversmiths, because in speaking with her uncle — still creatively active at age 91 — she realized that the roots of his and...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2010

Floor manager bids Kabukiza adieu

When the Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo's Ginza district closes its doors Friday after nearly 60 years, its floor manager will be bidding farewell to a place where he was devoted to providing the best of hospitality for the past 13 years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 27, 2010

Craftsman gets creative with Yakushima wood

Derrel Grisham is an American, but it was a sense of nostalgia that drew him to the island of Yakushima off the southern coast of Kagoshima Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010

Gods are on boom

An eighth-century lacquered sculpture of Ashura, the Buddhist deity of war, reached superhero status last year when it was taken from Kofukuji Temple in Nara to be displayed at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, then later at the Kyushu National Museum in Fukuoka.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 24, 2010

American expat finds Sierra Leone heritage

To some in Japan, the word "expat" is often associated with negative images — isolation, language and culture barriers, and a general lack of interaction, connection, acceptance and/or understanding. For California native Francesca Conate, however, the life of the expatriate means opportunity — the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Apr 23, 2010

"Taylor Deupree: Unseen"

NADiff ClosesApril 25
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 22, 2010

Meiji delivery people Masayoshi and Haruko Yoshikawa

Masayoshi and Haruko Yoshikawa (79 and 73) deliver milk and yogurt to homes in Tokyo's shitamachi (downtown). Every morning, except Sundays, the two make their rounds carrying dozens of old-fashioned, small glass bottles of Meiji milk to their faithful customers, many of whom have been drinking it daily...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 18, 2010

The glories of Yakushima

There's a film you should see before you go to Yakushima, an island off the southern coast of Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. It's more informative than the average guidebook or, for that matter, the island's World Heritage-listing citation from 1993, which misleadingly talks about "the sacred values...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 16, 2010

'Carriers (Phase 6)'

With the pollen-infused, mask-wearing allergy season in full swing, our thoughts will no doubt at some point turn to viral outbreak — or so the Japanese distributors of "Carriers" (released in Japan as "Phase 6") are likely hoping. This little-seen, under-appreciated horror film that opened in the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 16, 2010

Gary Moore

There's something mean and misshapen about Gary Moore, both physically and musically. With a scarred face (apparently the result of a pint glass rammed in his face at an early age) and a meaty physique that seems too big for his bones, the guitar legend, who plays his first gigs here in 20 years this...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 13, 2010

Nutritionist praises traditional diet

Erica Angyal, the 40-year-old official nutritionist of Miss Universe Japan, is on a mission to bring balanced meals back to the Japanese table.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 11, 2010

Under the volcano, Iwate's capital keeps its rich history alive

The signs of boredom on this first morning in Morioka are manifest. Arriving ill-equipped for the pouring rain, there is a limit to how much interest can be squeezed from the otherwise admirable station facilities. After two hours of window- shopping and an over-surfeit of canned coffees, I'm ready for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2010

'Io, Don Giovanni'

A pivotal moment in Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" is when sex fiend Giovanni's servant tells one of his master's conquests how many women he has had over the years. In Europe and Turkey, the total tops 3,000 and, upon hearing this, the girl swears vengeance.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 9, 2010

Suntory Museum of Art wears Japan's heart of glass on its sleeve

The Japanese spirit is present in all forms of art, but one place you might be surprised to find it is in the nation's glassware.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 9, 2010

'Roppongi Crossing' may be better when crowded

At the opening press conference for "Roppongi Crossing 2010," the U.S-based French artist Jules de Balincourt said that he was impressed how the exhibition revealed to him that the contemporary art being produced in Japan could just as easily have been created anywhere in the world — that trends in...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 6, 2010

Yakushima keeps expat busy as a bee

Long-term residents of Japan might remember the name Rainer Kaminski. In 1985 he made headlines as the first Westerner to become a taxi driver in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 4, 2010

Warming to Ryukyu culture

The air is stifling in the cement interior of the Ishikawa Dome, despite the sides being open to the weather. I shift my limbs, in danger of losing circulation on the unforgiving benches, while my right arm furiously works my paper program as a fan in a desperate effort to gain respite from the Okinawan...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 28, 2010

Study of Noh continues in West

Dec. 10, 1939

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?