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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 1, 2016

'The World's Human Body Mysteries'; 'The Flickering Drawing'; CM of the week: Recruit

Most people understand the limits of their bodies and live their lives accordingly, but some don't recognize those limits and they are the subjects of the two-hour special "Sekai Chojintai Mystery" ("The World's Human Body Mysteries"; TBS, Tues., 8:57 p.m.).
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 26, 2016

Designer Jotaro Saito seeks to free the kimono from the confines of tradition

Jotaro Saito has been showcasing his kimono brand at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo since 2006, almost a decade before the eyebrow-raising appearance of X Japan frontman Yoshiki Hayashi's Yoshikimono brand at the event last October.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2016

Altering the history and gender of 'The Danish Girl'

Are you into Scandinavian design? If you are, "The Danish Girl" will have you swooning. Even the first 10 seconds of the opening scene will provoke design envy and, for those who care about the details, Copenhagen apartment envy, circa 1926. Director Tom Hooper is clearly enthralled by Danish art and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Mar 22, 2016

Children's library opens; Tribute to classic art

Children's library opens
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2016

Grim universe of horror manga 'Litchi Hikari Club'

When I was 13, I belonged to a neighborhood gang called, ironically, "The Hoods." We committed minor acts of vandalism as a sort of game and talked about invading the turf of a rival gang a few blocks over (but never got around to it). We were, to put it plainly, idiots.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 1, 2016

Taking a stand and speaking from it with 'to shite'

Introducing various usages of the phrase Xu3068u3057u3066 (as/being X).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 23, 2016

Insect Literature

The Berlin-based author Yoko Tawada recently remarked that one of the difficulties she faced when translating Kafka's short story "Metamorphosis" into Japanese was that the associations Japanese people had with insects — even presumably giant beetles — were different to those of Europeans. Tawada...
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 16, 2016

'It is I who rule' — Japan's 'Manyoshu' morning

What fun civilization is in its infancy! How bright and fresh the world looks at the dawn of consciousness! Listen:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 14, 2016

Experiencing a traditional hotel; taking a culinary trip through China; spa treatments focus on anti-aging

Experiencing a traditional hotel
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 8, 2015

Hanyu, Mao look to make history at Grand Prix Final

Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and three-time world champ Mao Asada will be looking to add to their already illustrious resumes at the Grand Prix Final this week in Barcelona, Spain.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2015

It should be home sweet home, but not in Japan

The destructive nexus between construction companies, bureaucracy and politicians is largely responsible for Japan's glut of rapidly depreciating houses.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 7, 2015

YouTubers in Japan with 100,000 fans and counting

YouTube threw a big celebration for more than 20 YouTubers living in Japan who have over 100,000 subscribers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 24, 2015

Hiroji Kubota's lens is a witness to history

Photographer Hiroji Kubota believes that "everyone has a great drama to tell." With the release of his retrospective photo book, simply titled "Hiroji Kubota Photographer," now it's his turn to tell his.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2015

Refugee Film Festival comes as world's eyes are on crisis

Last month, a heartbreaking photograph of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi's dead body washing up on the shore of Turkey was published by media outlets worldwide. He had fled his home in war-torn Syria with his mother, brother and father. Only his father survived the journey.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 27, 2015

Can art bring people back to Japan's depopulated islands?

I've seen island revitalization projects come and go, but the idea of an NPO riding on the coattails of a successful art trend in the area strikes me as having some promise.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 23, 2015

An unlikely partnership between women blooms in 'Rasen Ginga'

A fresh, incisive take on a common if little-filmed type of relationship, especially in hierarchy-loving Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2015

Olympian effort needed to save Tokyo's, Asia's heritage

The Hotel Okura is just the latest victim of Tokyo's penchant for tearing down its storied past to make way for a generic future.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2015

Grand old landmark Hotel Okura Tokyo says sayonara, for now

The main building of the historic Hotel Okura Tokyo closed Monday for demolition and a rebuild after 53 years of hosting fascinating guests amid Japanese decorative beauty. The hotel's guest list of dignitaries and celebrities has arguably been as impressive as its interiors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 22, 2015

A second look at bloody WWII novel 'Fires on the Plain'

Japanese war films typically frame themselves as anti-war, even when they glorify the sacrifices made by brave Japanese boys in defense of the homeland, as in the 2013 hit "Eien no Zero" ("The Eternal Zero").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 30, 2015

The Edo samurai knew how to look sharp

'The World of Edo Dandyism: From Swords to Inro" at the Nezu Museum is a splendid collection of Edo Period (1603-1868) swords and sword accessories that includes blades, scabbards and metal fittings, as well as decorative sets of inrō (pill boxes) and netsuke (carved toggles). The exhibition looks back...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 22, 2015

When too much is not enough, just dial up the 'sugiru'

When something is in excess, English commonly uses the adverb 'too.' Japanese expresses similar things with the verb 'sugiru.'
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jun 20, 2015

Jomon life 'remained pretty much unchanged'

Jomon Japan is fantastic. It ought to be preserved in stone. It was preserved in stone. For 10,000 years, this New Stone Age culture flourished. It is one of the longest-running single traditions in the world. A man, woman or child dying in, say, 10,000 B.C. and coming back to life circa 400 B.C. would...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2015

Kobe murderer writes ambiguously of regret and pleasure from 1997 child killings

The killer says in a controversial autobiography that he was an “incorrigible sexual deviant” who took grim satisfaction in dissecting animals and, ultimately, in murdering other humans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 6, 2015

Refusing to check out of the Hotel Okura

With the iconic landmark poised to close for renovation in August, we explore its significance to the development of modernist architecture in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 30, 2015

Sayoko Yamaguchi, an enigma to the end

You may not know the name, but there is a good chance you know the face. As Clara Bow, Greta Garbo and Twiggy were iconic of their times, Sayoko Yamaguchi was everywhere in the 1970s. Even if you weren't a dedicated follower of fashion, it would have been difficult to avoid her cool gaze, which appeared...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015

As Geki×Cine raises its game, Amami goes into battle for her man

Geki×Cine isn't really film and it isn't theater, but rather an intriguing blend of the two. With geki meaning "stage," and "cine" representing film, the finished productions are shown on the big screen. So are they stage-to-screen adaptations? Most certainly not. More accurately, they are stage plays...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2015

Sound waves: the music of Okinawa

How is it possible that a people who have experienced poverty, famine and discrimination, outlasted efforts at cultural annihilation and suffered the indignities of occupation can manage to celebrate life in song and dance with a passion and joy that belies everyday reality?
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 4, 2015

Dating in Japan never used to be this difficult — or creepy

It's spring and love should be in the air. But it's a bad, bad time to be out there in the dating scene.

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?