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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 18, 2015

Underneath the 'Orientalist' kimono

Is it "racist" for non-Japanese to wear kimono? That question has been fiercely debated since protesters entered Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in late June to decry an exhibition encouraging visitors to try on a red uchikake kimono in front of a 1876 painting by Claude Monet of his wife wearing a similar...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 13, 2015

Ian Fleming ensures no cliches about Japan go unexploited in his ethnocentric masterpiece 'You Only Live Twice'

This novel may come as a surprise if you mostly know of James Bond from the movie series. First published in 1964 — the same year that its author, Ian Fleming, died — "You Only Live Twice" adds elegiac gloom to the spy-thriller formula.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 27, 2015

Could Kiyoshi Kurosawa's win at Cannes change Japan's luck?

Kiyoshi Kurosawa won the best director prize in the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section on Sunday, but he also deserves a prize from the Japanese film industry for single-handedly turning its presence at the world's most prestigious film festival from a vague embarrassment to a cause for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2015

Kuriya Kashi Kurogi: Tokyo's sweet shop in the shade of Kengo Kuma

The instant you see Kuriya Kashi Kurogi you know it's special. The hidden location, verdant setting and striking architecture are more than remarkable — they are one of a kind. With the Kurogi name, you expect nothing less.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 11, 2015

Takuboku Ishikawa: engaged observer

The society of Takuboku Ishikawa's era was in dramatic political flux, and its complex issues became his personal obsessions. After his death, Takuboku's preoccupations came to be seen as a symbol of the social and emotional upheavals of his times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 14, 2015

Kafu the Scribbler

"A querulous, self-righteous man, whose social criticism rarely rose above the level of personal complaining ... ."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 10, 2015

Nothing drawn out about Kappo Yamashita

This might be the year of kappo dining for me. Recently, I have often found myself seated at sparse counters opposite small teams of industrious chefs, synchronized by their movements: cutting, peeling, grating, stirring, broiling, searing, tasting and fielding questions from patrons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2014

Disney's 'Big Hero 6' reassembles Japan without the 'cultural cringe'

So we've all heard that it's hard to be a woman in Japan, but being a Japanese geek comes with its own troubles. For some, it's a life lived in front of glowing screens, a dateless existence spent in a six-mat tatami room with posters of idol group AKB48 plastered on the walls. But here's Disney's "Big...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 22, 2014

In Praise of Shadows

Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 20, 2014

Getting crafty with ideas at Maker Faire Tokyo

Walking into the makeshift laboratory of Skeletonics, Inc. in the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji, it's impossible not to notice the nearly 3-meter-tall robotic exoskeleton in the room.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2014

Holiday gifts they'll cherish from cover to cover

As the holiday season rolls around, it's time to dash about in a mad panic in search of gifts that say "I've given this one some thought, honest." Or you can just let us do the thinking for you, with gift suggestions from our regular book reviewers — tailor-made for the Japanophile reader.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 1, 2014

New tech brings cinema to the deaf and blind

The lights dimmed inside the theater at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the audience quieted down. As Masayuki Suo's film "Maiko wa Lady (Lady Maiko)" began, the viewers were ready — with glasses-shaped head-mounted displays and earpieces designed to make cinema accessible to the deaf...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 15, 2014

For Americans abroad, old 'Duke' flicks can transport us home

As expats, our Americatown is the corner DVD shop, where we know who we are and have roots.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2014

Diplomats win kudos in annual photo contest

An arresting image of a man dressed as a superhero parking his bicycle was on Thursday named winner of the Prince Takamado Memorial Prize for the Japan Through Diplomats' Eyes 2014 photography contest.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 13, 2014

Low City, High City

Best known for his translations of "The Tale of Genji" and the fiction of Yasunari Kawabata, for which the author won a Nobel Prize, Edward G. Seidensticker was also an accomplished essayist and historian.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 6, 2014

Kanazawa City: the architecture of tea

One of the first things you see as you exit Kanazawa Station is a giant brass sculpture of a teapot sunken drunkenly into a mound of grass or, depending on your interpretation, tilting to fill a cup of the refreshing green brew the city is noted for. That a municipal piece of art should be dedicated...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 12, 2014

New Kyoto food complex aims to feed the mind and body

On a recent visit to Kyoca Food Laboratory on the edge of Umekoji Park, west of Kyoto Station, I waited more than half an hour for a friend who was "on her way." The mercury was tipping 37 degrees in the midday sun; even the cicadas had given up their racket.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 9, 2014

Critics get frank when it comes to Godzilla

Because Japanese media are incestuous in their inter-corporate dealings, those writers referred to as hyōronka (critics) tend to be less critical about popular culture than their counterparts in North America and Europe. They are more likely to engage in punditry or public relations, because complaining...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014

Danchi No Yume (Dreams of the Projects)

There is such a thing as a Japanese dream, and in many ways it's a lot like the American dream. Japanese hip-hop artist Anarchy's dream has to do with escape, money and, ultimately, getting to a place where he can perform in a music video with bikini-clad babes.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
May 30, 2014

Noh performance on torch-lit stage in Kyoto

Nighttime Takigi Noh will be performed on a torch-lit outdoor stage at Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto this Sunday and Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 30, 2014

Photo series charts the family unit in changing Japan

Family photos in Japan, especially ones taken for formal occasions such as shichi-go-san (seven-five-three) ceremonies, are often as stiffly posed as 19th-century tintypes, with Mom, Dad and Junior never cracking a smile.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 26, 2014

Roll with it: Tama-chan on the art of making maki zushi

With often hilarious and shocking results, Takako Kiyota, aka Tama-chan, embeds illustrations into rice, wraps them in seaweed and presents them as both dishes and artworks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 16, 2014

Arts Council Tokyo sets its sights high

"For decades, many people involved in the arts — including producers, creators, administrators and academics — were pointing to the need for an overall arts-policy body in Tokyo, and finally Arts Council Tokyo came into being in November 2012," its program director, Yuko Ishiwata, noted with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Mar 11, 2014

Ristorante t.v.b: Italian fare worthy of affection

Lunch at Ristorante t.v.b is a measured and timely affair. While it wasn't as long as an opera, it was lengthy, stretching to nearly two hours. This is slow food; I mean that in the flattering and not the pejorative sense. Good food takes time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 24, 2014

Japan finally gets the PS4, "Ryu ga Gotoku" goes back in time and "Assassin's Creed III" has a killer box set

At last, PS4 in Japan
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 7, 2014

American tuna trader shares passion born in Tsukiji with the world

'I want to roll together the beauty of the history and culture of Japan into a quality tuna product and export that to the West,' says American David Leibowitz. 'I want the West consuming that and having it become part of them.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 4, 2014

First female conductor at NNTT performs 'Madama Butterfly'

Japanese audiences, especially women, may have mixed feelings about Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

This special Horse Year kabuki's a real winner

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Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 1, 2014

The most viewed life stories of 2013

From burgers to ballerinas, LINE sending to gender bending, kawaii cute to Nadeshiko adorable, here are the life section stories that caught online readers' eyes in 2013. As a gyaru might say, “Yababa!”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2013

Re-examining Yasujiro Ozu on film

Yasujiro Ozu once had a reputation for making films only other Japanese could understand.

Longform

Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism