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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 16, 2005

Diplo throws funky DIY marketing into the mix

"The goal is to expose the artist." Wesley Pentz is on the phone from Hawaii, explaining how he publicizes up-and-coming hip-hop talent. "It's basically putting promotion and marketing in your own hands," he explains. Contrary to what you may think, Pentz is not a record executive; he's a DJ with a passion...
Rugby
Dec 30, 2004

Inventive approach from Toshiba's coach is rewarded with Top League crown

The Toshiba Brave Lupus players may well have made some last-minute additions to the New Year cards they sent out this year following last Sunday's two Top League games.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Dec 19, 2004

Dixieland duo's Wonderful World

Take a stroll down Royal Street in the Adventureland area of Tokyo Disneyland any weekend and you'll likely hear the heart-tugging sounds of Dixieland jazz. What's most surprising, perhaps, is the sheer authenticity of the New Orleanian music re-created by 62-year-old trumpet player Yoshio Toyama and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Dec 15, 2004

We mix you a Merry Christmas; stocking stuffers & party plans

"Drape the Messe in day-glo deco,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 4, 2004

Vitamins, chill pills and indie rock

Everyone goes home, seeks out some sympathetic tunes, and cries now and then. I know hardened punkers with Belle & Sebastian albums hidden under their futon. Let's face it, every rock 'n' roller needs a metaphorical teddy-bear to cuddle at times even if they'd never admit it -- hence the enduring spirit...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 23, 2004

Naughty and nice, sugar and spice

Shimotsuma Monogatari Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Youth fashion in Japan used to march in lockstep from trend to trend, led by magazines with names like pandas...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 10, 2004

To view life in Lomotion, try denying the details

In photography and image processing these days, the general idea is that higher resolution and more faithful color rendition makes for better images. Of course, that is only the general idea. Thankfully, there are some creative types out there who disagree.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Feb 11, 2004

Contemporary art currents crossing at Roppongi's Mori

"Roppongi Crossing," which opened last weekend at the Mori Art Museum, is a smorgasbord of an exhibition, with work by 60 artists and designers from across Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jan 23, 2004

Spinning funky music on Naeba's Snodeck

Let me say right up front that I don't much care for snow. While Tokyo constantly disappoints by failing to deliver a white Christmas, that's about as far as my interest goes. And though I have enjoyed the thrills and spills of skiing a few times (before the advent of the snowboard, I admit), the experience...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2004

A fail-safe genre that rarely misfires

Hollywood Homicide Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Ron Shelton Running time: 111 minutes Language: English Opens Jan. 24 [See Japan Times movie listings] It's interesting to see the different fates allotted to those stars who've entered what used to be termed their "twilight years."...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Nov 14, 2003

On the road to wine-country romance

There has always been a friendly rivalry between Napa and Sonoma, California's two premier wine-growing regions. We think of Napa as Kyoto -- containing stunning vistas, but marred by a tour-bus mentality. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, we sometimes feel "there's no there there." Sonoma, on the other...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 15, 2003

When three women are company, not a crowd

After a one-month break, I got back to my old haunts last weekend and was delighted to encounter -- by pure chance -- two "three-women" plays on Tokyo stages.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 8, 2003

Experts tip All Blacks or England for World Cup

Former All Black legend Colin Meads recently caused a stir when he said that he thought England would beat New Zealand in the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. For a New Zealander to admit such a thing was considered by some in the land of the silver fern to be treasonous!
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2003

Is anyone out there looking?

In streets and parks, at schools, airports or shopping centers, you won't go far in Japan these days without encountering artworks in some shape or form, from monumental sculptures to decorative tiles underfoot -- or even simply children's drawings on display.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 6, 2003

Koinu Entertainment Showcase Volume One

Japan has produced so many great hip-hop DJs, like Krush and Kensei, that it is easy to overlook the dearth of equally great MCs. No surprise then that most of the intriguing artists at this weekend's underground hip-hop confab, sponsored by hybrid metal rap group Koinu, are turntablists such as DJs...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 6, 2003

Kings of Leon: "Youth and young Manhood"

The story about the Kings of Leon, a Nashville-based rock band touted as the next big thing, is that the four young men, with their tight bell-bottoms and shaggy hair are pure throwbacks. Having grown up shuttling between Memphis and Oklahoma City with their itinerant Pentecostal preacher father, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 12, 2003

Mountain man who walked the path of art

"Born alone, will die alone; come alone, will be gone alone; study alone, walk alone": This is said to have been the mantra of one of Japan's greatest 20th-century artists, the boisterous, arrogant and brilliant Rosanjin Kitaoji (1883-1959).
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2003

Love beneath the headlines

LONDON -- France is in everybody's bad books. In Washington, France has been dismissed -- along with Germany -- as "Old Europe," paralyzed by traditional views and unable to come to terms with the security imperatives of the global age. In London, anti-French feeling has been building up in official...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2003

Japanese escape woes in 'Boogie Wonderland'

Middle-aged disco lovers in Japan boogie to the sounds of a past era, when flares, platform shoes and gold medallions were cool and the economy was on the upswing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 16, 2002

Will dramatic arts take a backseat?

Two months ago, my 8-year-old came home from the Japanese elementary school he attends and told me about the play his grade would do at the upcoming gakugeikai (drama festival).
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 23, 2002

Series brings back memories

Episode 5 in the series of Japan Series between the Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions gets under way on Saturday at the Tokyo Dome, and it should be a dandy. My feeling is it will go the full seven games, and I'll predict Seibu will win that seventh game at the Big Egg on Sunday, Nov. 3.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2002

Scouting out the Next Big Thing

At this very moment, thousands of young musicians throughout Japan are busy pursuing the same elusive goal: pop stardom. Some are driven by the need to express their artistic vision; others by the perks of stardom; and still more of them by the simple desire to support themselves by playing the music...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 21, 2002

Sailing in the world

Japan's area is less than that of California, though its economic exclusion zone takes in an enormous 4 million sq. km of ocean. The length of the coastline per sq. km of land is second only to Denmark, yet Japan's annual celebration of its partnership with the sea, Umi no Hi (Marine Day), rated hardly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 16, 2002

Refined wining and dining without pretension

Japan's trendy wine boom ended a few years ago. Still, interest in wine did not plummet; instead, it normalized. In groceries stores, elderly ladies and hip twentysomethings alike scrutinize the wine shelves. At many Tokyo izakaya pubs, diners can opt for a glass of house wine with their sashimi, odenor...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Apr 20, 2002

Gore begins long march to election 2004

WASHINGTON -- The Florida Democratic Convention provided the platform for the return of former Vice President Albert Gore to the national political scene last weekend. He jumped in with both feet in Florida, accusing President George W. Bush of a litany of misconceived policies, from the economy to the...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2002

Honda races to find environmental solutions in F-1 lab

Honda launched its third assault on the Formula One World Championship in 2000 after seven years away from the world's top tracks. So far, though, success has eluded it -- despite this year's massive $210-million budget, which -- according to Euro Business magazine -- tops the lot, with Renault second...

Longform

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