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CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2009

Imperial treasures shown in full glory

Few objects have surfaced from early Imperial tumuli as, being graves of an extant family, excavation is at present prohibited by the Imperial Household Agency. Nevertheless, the occasional object has come to light in the course of repairs following damage by natural disasters, and one of the most beautiful...
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2009

Pants-droppingly good rants

THE GREAT FLOOD, by Frank Spignese. Printed Matter Press, 2009, 108 pp., $20 (paperback with CD) Frank Spignese's short book of poetry, "The Great Flood," comes with an audio CD of Frank reading pieces from the collection. I delved into the book first and then listened to the CD. Maybe I should have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 13, 2009

"A Visit to Luis Barraga'n's House"

The Watari Museum of Contemporary ArtCloses Jan. 14
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 8, 2009

Innovation feeds on growing flux in male looks

From their bases on opposite sides of the Pacific, Japanese and American menswear labels have begun to rip up the rule books and reinvent how men think about fashion.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 8, 2009

Cha's genius remains at modern vanguard

EXILEE AND TEMPS MORTS: Selected Works, by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Edited by Constance M. Lewallen. University of California Press, 2009, 277 pp., $24.95 (paperback) Pablo Picasso was a poet and a good one, but it would be a tragedy if his literary work had somehow diverted attention from his achievement...
CULTURE / Books
Nov 1, 2009

Foundations take a new shape

THE CHANGING JAPANESE FAMILY, edited by Marcus Rebick and Ayumi Takenaka. Routledge, 2009, 224 pp., £20 (paperback) The notion of family in Japan conjures up images of stability that are increasingly out of step with emerging realities. Certainly, compared to most other advanced industrialized nations,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 31, 2009

Kidrobots on the block at Tokyo Designers Week

For Tokyo Designers Week, customized Kidrobot figurines go up for auction, with proceeds going to CARE.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 29, 2009

Now's the time to celebrate design

Don't miss Design Week This year, Tokyo Designers Week conveniently kicks off on a Friday — previous years have always seen a Wednesday start — ensuring visitors can make the most of the weekend and the national holiday on Tuesday.
LIFE
Oct 25, 2009

Bodhisattva of the river road

"Have another drink, Boss!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 23, 2009

Adding and subtracting dimensions to further appreciate art

The camera obscura is an optical device that was occasionally used by Dutch painters of the 17th century to help them achieve a superlative level of technical proficiency. Literally meaning "darkened chamber" in Latin, it is a room with a small hole in one wall that lets in light from outside and casts...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 18, 2009

The popular consensus: What's not to like?

FOREIGNERS WHO LOVED JAPAN, by Naito Makoto & Naito Ken. Kodansha International, 2009, 255 pp., ¥1,200 (paper) Arguably, Donald Richie's "The Honorable Visitors," a series of profiles of foreigners who lived or put in significant time here, is the standard against which most writings on expatriates...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2009

Wildlife on your doorstep

To be brutally honest, wildlife photography is mostly about having the means to get to amazing places, where wildlife still abounds. Then it takes heaps of patience. And the final ingredient is a good eye to capture the moment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 16, 2009

Crystal Kay is having a ball

"There is still some racial thing going on," claims a mild-mannered Crystal Kay. "Some people can't accept there are a lot of foreigners out there, even in the industry.
EDITORIALS
Oct 10, 2009

A victory for beautiful landscapes

The Hiroshima District Court on Oct. 1 ordered Hiroshima Gov. Yuzan Fujita not to issue a license sought by the prefectural and Fukuyama city governments to reclaim a portion of a bay in the scenic Tomonoura area for by-pass bridge construction. This is an epoch-making ruling. It has blocked a large...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 9, 2009

Tokyo's new space for Chinese photography

In the 1950s American photographer Robert Frank traveled the United States with help from a Guggenheim grant, taking a series of sublime images of people from all walks of life documenting the mediocrity of diners and cocky cowboys to funerals and soulless bus depots.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 8, 2009

Annals of cheap: Takeya

The discount behemoth Takeya, located near Okachimachi Station, gets by on volume and an almost neurotic obsession with using space effectively.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2009

Burning bright, a light that will never go out

While Sonic Youth just keep getting older and Dinosaur Jr are now all seniors, The Cribs have taken a shortcut to making their own baby-based name sound ironic. The Wakefield, England, band — initially based around twins Ryan and Gary Jarman and their younger brother, Ross — were all in their mid-20s...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Sep 18, 2009

"Showa Boys SF Guide"

Yayoi Museum Closes Sept. 27
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 13, 2009

Tanikawa: A master of foreign ways and Japan's most accessible poet

"We must try to explain everything we think to children. . . . Words that are really rooted in the bones of the Japanese people: Those words are accessible."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 13, 2009

Tribute to novelist Mukoda, Takeshi's World Summit, and the origin of family names

If she were alive today, novelist and teleplay writer Kuniko Mukoda, who died in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1981, would be 80 years old. Her birthday is being commemorated this week with a revival of one of her most beloved family stories, "Haha no Okurimono" (Mother's Gift; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2009

Hiromi "Place To Be"

After leading a trio, dabbling in a quartet and playing duets, Hiromi Uehara is going it alone.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 11, 2009

Keeping it all in wine family

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, will host the Primum Familiae Vini at an exclusive gala dinner Nov. 18.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 6, 2009

Money: the root of all optimism

A New Development Model for Japan: Selected Essays 2000-2008 by Akira Kojima. The Japan Journal, 2009, 362 pp., ¥2,625 (cloth) "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens in the opening passage of his famous novel "A Tale of Two Cities." Although written 150 years ago,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 6, 2009

Donald Keene: A life lived true to the words

Donald Keene is one of the greatest scholars of Japanese literature and has been highly influential in the establishment of Japanese studies in the West.

Longform

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