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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 20, 2011

Rediscovering the neglected master of Japan's avant-garde

The fickle hand of artistic fate is seen not so much in whom it plucks from the depths of obscurity, but in how high those chosen are raised up. A case in point is the multidisciplinary avant-garde artist Hideo Sugita, better known by his alias Ei Q (1911-60).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 20, 2011

Japanese arts course opens door to English speakers

There is a small slither of land in Tokyo's Kita-Aoyama district that is wedged between the rolling grounds of the grand, neo-Baroque-style Akasaka Palace state guesthouse and the equally expansive, tree-lined grounds of the granite-constructed Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. Given the nature of the...
COMMENTARY
Oct 15, 2011

OWS protesters demanding ultimate entitlement

The tea party's splendid successes, which have altered the nation's political vocabulary and agenda, have inspired a countermovement — Occupy Wall Street. Conservatives should rejoice and wish for it long life, abundant publicity and sufficient organization to endorse congressional candidates deemed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 14, 2011

Busan festival takes a bold step, but is Asian cinema ready?

"Change" was the key word at this year's Busan International Film Festival, and not just because the organizers finally succumbed to the host South Korean port city's request to change the name from "Pusan." Lee Yong Kwan took over as festival director from founder Kim Dong Ho, who is credited with turning...
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Sep 30, 2011

Just in case: Retailers urge customers to buy ahead

No matter where you are, you should be thinking ahead and preparing for the worst-case scenario.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011

Aussie pronatal policy is not a model for Japan

Since reaching a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.57 in 1989, Japan has been deeply concerned about demographic trends and future prospects. Below replacement fertility — measured as less than 2.1 children per woman — has been a feature of Japanese demography since 1974.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Sep 27, 2011

Ichifuji owners Midori and Takashi Nakao

Midori and Takashi Nakao, 55 and 61, are the owners of Ichifuji, a shop selling Japanese crockery in Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market. Established in 1951, the store is located in one of the oldest buildings in the jōgai shijō or outer market. More than 5,000 types of Japanese tableware are available to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 16, 2011

Pizzeria e Trattoria da Isa: Proper pizza and pasta — and yes, it's in Tokyo

"You can't get proper Italian food in Japan." "It's all too pretty-pretty and refined." "There's no soul in it." These are the plaints of people pining for the taste of home. People who have never been to Pizzeria e Trattoria da Isa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Sep 13, 2011

The strength of Tokyo's minimalists, Knit for Japan and rediscovering Beams

MISHA JANETTE and PAUL McINNES 'Irving Penn and Issey Miyake' For 13 years, celebrated fashion photographer Irving Penn took inspiring images of every Issey Miyake collection, without the designer himself ever stepping foot into the studio to guide him.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 11, 2011

The Russians are coming!

SATORI, by Don Winslow. Grand Central Publishing, 2011, 548 pp., $7.99 (paper) 9 GOLD BULLETS, by Christopher G. Moore. Heaven Lake Press, 2011, 365 pp., $14.95 (paper) Readers of mystery and thriller fiction can be extremely loyal and publishers, knowing this, sometimes arrange to bring fictional characters...
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 3, 2011

Yoshida's late goal propels Japan past North Korea

Maya Yoshida headed in an injury-time goal to get Japan's bid to qualify for a fifth successive World Cup off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory on Friday night.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 3, 2011

When people ask, 'Do you remember me?'

Believe it or not, many Japanese people go to the beach just once a year, go skiing for one day a year and have a BBQ . . . once a year! It's no wonder Western holidays such as Valentine's Day and Christmas have become so popular in Japan — they happen just one time a year! And it's no wonder that...
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Sep 1, 2011

Tough commute? Let these apps ease the pain

No, there's not an app for lessening commuter rush-hour congestion, but there are a few that can make the journey a bit more bearable.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2011

Sachiko Hara makes her mark in Germany

Tokyo-born Sachiko Hara, 46, was the apple of her ordinary, working-parents' eye. She was encouraged to get a degree in German studies from the prestigious Sophia University, and after that it seemed some sort of high-flying career was hers for the taking.
BASKETBALL
Aug 28, 2011

St. John's alum Burrell joins B-Corsairs

Former St. John's forward Justin Burrell, the Big East Conference's 2011 Sixth Man of the Year, will play for the bj-league's Yokohama B-Corsairs during their inaugural season, according to published reports.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2011

Tyranny of the quest for shortcuts

It is said that Americans have a genius for simplification. Gradually, however, the quest for it has become a global trend, one that continues to conquer new territories, just as blue jeans once did.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 6, 2011

Nakazawa hoping to return to national team

On Tuesday afternoon, Yuji Nakazawa could never have imagined the events that would unfold over the course of the week.
Reader Mail
Jul 31, 2011

Where are the rewards for effort?

My father has been a woodworker for 35 years. He makes wooden bowls and such, and lacquers them Japanese-style. My mother helps my father and makes chopsticks, using various kinds of wood. They run a shop in a small town and struggle to earn a living. They seem to work eagerly and put their hearts into...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 29, 2011

BayStars' Leach loses season debut to Giants

Yokohama BayStars pitcher Brent Leach's belated debut was almost like something out of a dream.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 28, 2011

Art Fair Tokyo shows off some of Japan's best talent

Welcome to the "art museum" where everything is on sale.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 26, 2011

The more things change ... the more they stay the same

Ex-Alien chief picks five phenomena from '90s Japan that are gone but not forgotten
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 22, 2011

Very different approaches to the struggling hero theme

James Gunn wrote the screenplay for 2000's "The Specials," a low-budget indie comedy that mocked superheroes, showing them kicking back, whining about their action figure deals or bloviating about their origin stories, but never once engaging in actual crime-fighting.
Reader Mail
Jul 21, 2011

Winding road to one's potential

Regarding Roger Pulvers' July 17 article, "In charting their life's course, today's youth might better stay foolish": Wonderful article! I read the Steve Jobs' speech cited by Pulvers several years ago, and it continues to inspire me through thick and thin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Jul 21, 2011

Broken Haze

DJ Broken Haze is making big strides with his latest release, "Broken Haze vs. B. Bravo," as well as monthly podcasts cohosted by DJ XLII. The Japan Times takes a look inside his record bag.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2011

'Peace'

Most serious documentaries made in Japan, especially for television, follow a basic just-the-facts format. A presenter or narrator and various talking heads explain and interpret what we are seeing, from beauty shots of tourist spots to footage grabbed on the run in a war zone. Meanwhile, in the background,...
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jul 11, 2011

Cool drinks and eats to beat the heat

Chilled curry sauce on nuddles? Doughnut jellies? Menthol Shock? Japan's got 'em all this summer.
Reader Mail
Jul 10, 2011

The talent to help prevent suicide

Tokyo English Life Line suggests that journalists and anyone writing about suicide please read the readily available "Guidelines on Reporting Suicide in the Media" (www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/426.pdf).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2011

Sendai girls end healing Aloha home-stay

The brightly colored markers and the construction paper are ready. Stamps and stickers, prepped to be peeled. Scissors sit on piles of magazines spread out on the table.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 5, 2011

Disunited 'English-speaking diaspora' bites back

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 3, 2011

Have a hideously good time in Tono's past and present

The professor's snoring had kept me up until the wee hours of the morning. When I awoke, the reading light in the hostel's upper bunk was still on and a copy of "The Legends of Tono" lay open at the page where I had dozed off. With that book being full of hobgoblins, ravaging wolf packs and rural satyrs,...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake