Search - culture

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 30, 2007

Jorge Ferreras

Those who know him well agree that Jorge Ferreras is unusually talented and highly original. With his whimsies, his art and piano he has a gift for lighting up the space he occupies. He is an architect and artist, NHK radio man and university lecturer who came from Argentina to study and live in Japan....
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2007

Education reform for what?

The ruling coalition has passed through the Diet three education-related bills regarded by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as most important. But the bills will result only in more state control of education, imposition of the government's own interpretation of the nation's history and culture on students,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2007

Breathing new life into France's economy

PRAGUE — Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential election triumph in May, and now the victory of his party, the UMP, in the parliamentary election, has created the most favorable opportunity in decades for deep structural reform in France. Not only did Sarkozy win the presidency with 53 percent of the vote,...
Reader Mail
Jun 13, 2007

Warped sense of heroic action

I was disturbed to read the May 27 Associated Press article under the headline "Alabama boy kills monstrous wild hog after 3-hour chase." An 11-year-old boy is presented as a young hero for his achievement in finally shooting a wild boar point-blank in the head with a high-powered pistol.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 10, 2007

In Japan, show reverence where it's due (or not)

Japan is the country that I feel most at home in. Yet, despite having arrived in 1967, and living here for the better part of the intervening 40 years, I still see myself as the odd man out in one particular aspect. I just can't "act Japanese" — if you will excuse the generalization — when it comes...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 4, 2007

Take your partners for economic integration

See related stories: U.S. presidential election casts long shadow Sustained economic growth is a question of balance for China
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 3, 2007

Planells envisions bj-league becoming one of best in the world

When you've worked as a head varsity coach at high schools in Arizona and California, served as a collegiate assistant at a community college and a major Division I university, earned a paycheck as a basketball choreographer for major motion pictures, toiled as a head coach in something known as the...
CULTURE / Stage
May 24, 2007

Defining the nation

When Chikamatsu Yanagi and his collaborators were writing "Ehon Taikoki" in 1799, Japan was arguably enjoying the height of Edo Period culture (1603-1867). In retrospect it was a transitional time — perhaps the last moments of peace before the pressures of the outside world started to affect the island,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2007

Marilyn Manson

Feared in America as the Satan-worshipper who inspired the Columbine massacre, but widely regarded elsewhere as a camp standard-bearer for goth culture, Marilyn Manson talks about marriage breakups, murder and makeup
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2007

Art activist works toward helping spirits flourish

Several years ago, I was privileged to hear the Nubian musician Hamza El Din play at Enkaku-ji temple in Kita Kamakura. The space in which he played was open to the elements, and the sound of rain falling provided an accompaniment to the notes of his instrument, the oud, in a way that still resonates....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2007

'Just for Kicks'

It's funny how sometimes a film will think it's one thing when actually it's something else entirely. Take, for example, "Just For Kicks." This MTV-affiliated documentary directed by Thibaut de Longeville is under the impression that it's about sneakers, sneaker mania and hip-hop. But anyone who watches...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 10, 2007

Modern girls and outrage

The Taisho Era (1912-1926) saw young habitues of Japan's cafe society challenging and outraging their parents as they danced, smooched and smoked cigarettes, aping their idols of the silver screen. Emblematic of the age was the moga (modan gaaru, or modern girl) with her Western shoes, dresses, makeup...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHARTER TURNS 60
May 8, 2007

Sakurai weighs in on patriotism

Love of nation has become a hot political debate topic in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2007

Photos of preteen girls in thongs now big business

Asuka Izumi was modeling for a DVD in July 2005 when the director asked her to put on a string bikini. She was just 12 years old.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2007

'I love my contradictions'

One of Hollywood's most beloved actresses talks to The Japan Times about tough times for female-focused movies, her ability to make millions of dollars here in minutes — and the awful truth about eating pork
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 27, 2007

A little R&R for cosplay casualties

Cosplay has become an integral part of Japan's booming manga culture. The term generally refers to the practice of dressing up like your favorite pop-culture icon or a character from an animation or comic; think of a Trekkie convention, but with an even wider range of outfits to choose from. A quick...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2007

He hits below the belt

Winning the Grand Prix at Cannes last year for "Flandres" has not altered filmmaker Bruno Dumont's particular stance. "Yes, the award is nice, but I know that my films are not for everyone. Some people have rejected it in a very strong way," said the director last month when he was in Tokyo for the French...
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2007

Japan as number-one blogger

Japanese, a recent survey found, is the most common language for blogging. With 70-some million blogs now in all languages, Japan edged out even English and Chinese for the top spot of blog language. A third of all blogs in the world, or virtual world, are written in Japanese. Japan is now number one...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 22, 2007

Imagine all the soldiers and sailors singing and dancing in harmony

With the expected passage of a bill setting procedures for a referendum to revise the Constitution, the Japanese people are going to have to think carefully about what sort of changes they want made to the charter. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has staked his political career on revising the Constitution,...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 15, 2007

Stroll the streets of vending-machine heaven

Fancy some fresh eggs and veggies to go with your can of coffee in the morning? Or how about some sake with a steaming bowl of oden (soy-sauce based stew) for an evening enkai (party)? Who needs restaurants and supermarkets when you can get all you need from vending machines?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2007

Aiming to cook up a storm in the Big Apple

NEW YORK -- Saori Kawano was working five and a half days a week as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan when she realized something had to change.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2007

Transforming our way of living

This year, the Doomsday Clock devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was advanced two minutes, for the first time in five years. It now stands at 11:55 p.m., just five minutes away from the "midnight" of human annihilation. This change not only reflects last year's nuclear test...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 8, 2007

Seeing yourself through the literary ways of others

With the 2007 academic year now about to begin in Japan, it's a good time to take a look at English-language teaching in the nation's universities. Yes, the tides are indeed running there. The emphasis is shifting determindly toward the utilitarian: English as a tool for Internet communication; English...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 5, 2007

"Obey Giant Versus WK Interact"

Tokyo Wonder Site, Shibuya Closes in 18 days
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 29, 2007

Globalization made manifest at Midtown

Hooray. Another high-rise office tower. Another five-star hotel. Another premium shopping mall. Another Starbucks. And don't forget culture. With this new development, Tokyo will show the world the richness of Japan's civilization and society.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2007

Turn Japan-South Korean ties into a real partnership

HONOLULU -- We are dismayed by the current state of Japan-South Korean relations. The two countries are natural partners. Both are U.S. allies, democratic societies, and share similar values and security concerns. During the Cold War, both Japan and South Korea feared expansion of communism from the...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2007

Michelin plans Tokyo eatery guide, vows ratings won't be French-based

The Michelin Guide, the French bible of gastronomy, extended its global reach Wednesday by announcing its first guide to Tokyo's restaurants amid local skepticism that the French would be the best arbiter of Japan's culinary traditions.
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2007

North Korea prefers Bush?

Japan's distress over the rapid progress in U.S.-North Korean talks for normalization of relations is palpable. The government as well as the mainstream media seem united in hopes that Washington will delay normalization until North Korea meets Japan's demands over the abductee issue -- the return of...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat