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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2002

The nature of the Zen mind

Zen gardens, those wonderful treasures of Japan, can be enjoyed in several ways: as pure abstract works of art; as representations of Zen principles; or as tools to transport one's mind from the cares of everyday life to a higher state of consciousness.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2002

Master at the cutting edge of art

Japan is often seen as a blend of the advanced and the archaic. But this combination is nothing new, as a visit to an exhibition of swords now on at the Nezu Museum in Tokyo's Omotesando district makes clear.
COMMUNITY
May 26, 2002

Art and life in a bowl

Like a gossamer web, drifting in mist, the threads that link Japan's traditional arts can be hard to grasp. Yet some links become visible as soon as a keen observer points them out.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Preserving spaces fit for living

JAPANESE COUNTRY STYLE: Putting New Life Into Old Houses, by Yoshihiro Takishita. Forward by Peter M. Grilli. Preface by Sachiko Amakasu. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002, 168 pp., more than 200 color and b/w photographs, floor plans, maps, etc; a bilingual edition. 4,800 yen (cloth) In this stimulating...
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2002

The wrinkles in Botox

Is it just us, or do others have the same reaction to media stories about the mounting popularity of Botox, the toxo-cosmetic touted as death to wrinkles: People are injecting what into their faces?
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 14, 2001

To see a world in a bowl of tea

"Kokoro shugetsu ni nitari," which translates as "My mind is like the autumn moon," is a line from a Chinese poem expressing the Zen sensation felt strongly during this harvest season. Pure and reflecting without hesitation, the moon is a metaphor for our hearts and one that all of humanity could do...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 12, 2001

Picking out Triennale treasures from the trash

Just 100 years ago, Monet was watching light dance over water lilies and Matisse was scandalizing art critics with his wild use of color.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 9, 2001

Vanity thy name is also man

If my mates could see me now, they'd just about die laughing.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001

A 'subversive' finally brought in from the cold

In 1953, Kansuke Yamamoto wrote: "The surreal exists within the real. Tireless experimentation with new photography leads to the creation of a new beauty."
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 12, 2001

Copying Kyoto is way to revitalize Japan, fashion critic says

KYOTO -- If Japan wants to revitalize the sluggish economy and turn its prospects around, there are plenty of indications that Kyoto's way of life as well as its way of doing business are the answer, according to Hiromi Ichida, a fashion critic who has lived in the ancient capital for more than half...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 16, 2001

Belly up to the dance floor

While many hip urban types still seem to view belly-dancing as kitsch, they've probably never been lucky enough to experience the real thing. At its best, Oriental dance is a sublime fusion of body and rhythm, where the dancers allow the sound to ripple through their limbs with mesmerizing grace.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 27, 2001

The Elephant Man's other side

You know the old adage about how consciousness operates? Tell a person not to think of elephants, and they won't be able to stop thinking about elephants.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Mar 1, 2001

International spa secrets

Some of the best recipes for a do-it-yourself spa come from those cultures known to go in for a bit of sybaritic pampering. Japan is high up on the list: A highly developed sense of aesthetics, a long tradition of bathing and a sublime appreciation of ritual have helped beauty practices here evolve into...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2001

Somewhere over the rainbow lies a pot of bliss

In any creative activity, our powers of invention stimulate the mind, in much the same way fertilizer in a vineyard helps the grapes grow to make wine. By engaging these powers, particularly insight and synthesization, our mental and creative capacity is nurtured and nourished.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 3, 2001

A passionate embrace of Nihon

Shinsui Ito (1898-1972) was a central figure during Japan's artistic identity crisis in the 20th century. As wave after wave of artistic movements from overseas broke upon these shores, native artists felt compelled to either abandon their own artistic traditions or embrace them even more strongly.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2001

A living, dancing tradition

Stories may be universal, but story-telling, as a performance art, just doesn't travel well. Kabuki is universally known among the educated in the West, at least by name, while rakugo remains obscure to all but scholars and a handful of devotees. This is an unfortunate, but seemingly intractable position....
CULTURE / Art
Dec 24, 2000

Rene Lalique: the magic of design

"Siren and Frogs" carafe by Rene Lalique Some of the best window shopping this Christmas season is being enjoyed at an exhibition of jewelry and glassware by Rene Lalique (1860-1945), currently on display at Tokyo's most elegant art gallery, the Teien. Held in the Art Deco building that was once the...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Oct 28, 2000

Coal-crusted, ash-glazed, long-fired

From aspiring lawyer to automatic washing machine salesman to master potter, life has been an interesting but rocky road for Shigaraki ceramist Shiho Kanzaki.
COMMUNITY
Oct 5, 2000

Vanity, thy name is . . . Vince?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clairol, the staid manufacturer of women's hair dyes, tried something new this year: It went after kids.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 27, 2000

Yoko Ishii

LONDON -- "I am very proud that I really did find a wonderful job. I can travel the world with my scissors and comb, and wherever I go not only can I find work, but by making people beautiful I can also give them hopes and dreams," said Yoko Ishii.
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2000

Hearts will blossom on a classic ground

One beautiful day in mid-autumn, while watching my silent garden-scape, I remembered a voice I had heard from the flowers in the summer sun. "We flowers want your heart to blossom," they had said in one voice.
CULTURE / Art
May 20, 2000

Hanae Mori at Art Tower Mito

Mito City in Ibaraki Prefecture hardly seems the place to stage an international fashion exhibition, but Art Tower Mito (ATM), in celebration of its 10th anniversary, has done just that.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 5, 2000

Bacchanalian bliss under the blossoms of spring

Dozens of spring perennials are in bloom right now, but none are revered so much in Japan as sakura, or cherry blossoms. The pale pink blossoms hail the true arrival of spring, and their brevity (the shower of petals lasts about a week only) has symbolized the fragility of life for centuries.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2000

Helping kids follow their noses

If you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, they will typically answer with a profession they have seen, either in daily life or on television: veterinarian, pilot, ice skater, or actress. How many times, however, have you heard a child say, "I want to be a perfumer"?
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 27, 1999

The potter who set the scene on fire

In a brief span of time a few decades ago, one Japanese potter set the ceramic scene on fire, and as quickly as a brilliant meteor shooting across a night sky, disappeared. Yet his name and influence still circle the wheel that spins in most potters' studios; his immense impact on contemporary ceramics...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Jul 1, 1999

Be prepared to relax on summer break

It's summer, that getaway time of year when we are allowed a bit of an escape from it all. It is the time we want a break, relaxation of the deepest sort, freedom from everything by which we are ordinarily burdened. Not that I foresee any holiday for myself in the near future, but it is precisely the...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 8, 1999

Kawai exhibit shows grace under fire

The term mingei (folk art) was coined by Soetsu Yanagi in 1926 to refer to common crafts that had been brushed aside and overlooked by the industrial revolution.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 23, 2023

The cherry blossoms are here and business is blooming

Kathleen Benoza explains what's at stake during the hanami season, while Thu-Huong Ha and Alyssa I. Smith discuss the science, symbolism and culture of sakura in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 19, 2023

Racial dynamics are inescapable when dating in Japan. That doesn't mean your experience will be negative.

In the cross-cultural or international dating scene, politics can sometimes sneak in. Avoid the pitfalls simply by being aware of the conversation.

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?