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ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 26, 2001

Lesser mole

Events
Oct 16, 2001

New museum celebrates Osaka history

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan, which opened in Osaka in March, draws around 1 million visitors every month, many of them from outside the prefecture.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Jul 8, 2001

Where Nas is coming from

One of the most unlikely roots music success stories of recent years has been Olu Dara's 1998 album, "In the World: From Natchez to New York." Even more surprising than the spontaneous ease with which he combined blues, folk, Afro and Caribbean styles, or his vivid, autobiographical, half-spoken words,...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 4, 2001

Korean imports offer glimpse of a subtle aesthetic

It is not often that such a rare and wonderfully varied collection is put on public view as that currently at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum. This special exhibition, from the permanent collection of the museum, is on display for the first time since 1994.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

Where to find those bygone gems

If you're after antique furniture you don't have to go to Camden Lock or Jubilee market in London to find that "one-and-only" piece. There are antique shops right here full of treasures from home and abroad -- and at reasonable prices.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 24, 2001

Bone collectors dig into our past

Two papers published today shed light on our early evolution, though "early" is a relative term. The first describes what could've been the first species of mammal, a tiny beast that quivered in the shadows of the dinosaurs 195 million years ago. The second reports on a shift in eating habits of early...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 13, 2001

Death and the maidens

TBS's "Sekai Fushigi Hakken," currently the longest-running quiz show on commercial TV, was also one of the first series to combine education and entertainment in a way that didn't compromise either. Whereas the previous record-holder, "Naruhodo the World," which went off the air several years ago, presented...
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2001

The hallucinogenic security of nuclear mushroom clouds

When former U.S. President Bill Clinton was recently in India, the story goes, he was walking along the beach one evening in a contemplative mood. Spying an object sticking out of the ground, he pulled it out, gave it a rub to see what it was and found it was a brass lamp. True to form, a genie appeared...
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

An exhibition of temple treasures to rival any in the country

NARA -- Kofukuji holds a special place in Japanese history, rivaled by few other temples. Throughout its nearly 1,300 years, it has enjoyed the largess of imperial and noble patrons, been home to armies of warrior monks and been rebuilt time and again from the ashes of devastating fires.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2001

K-pop, ya don't stop

BoA Last month, 500 members of the media gathered for the debut of singer BoA at the Roppongi club Velfarre.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 27, 2001

Farewell to the rabbit hutch

THE JAPANESE DREAM HOUSE: How Technology and Tradition are Shaping New Home Design, by Azby Brown and Joseph Cali. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International, 2001, pp. 132, profusely illustrated with Japanese-language translation insert, 6,000 yen. This big, beautiful, well-designed book tells and shows...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2001

Asian continent in league of its own

First of three parts As the third millennium dawned, the light of the rising sun swept westward across the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. It brought a gray half-light that crept slowly across the dark ice-locked wastes of northeast Asia. Farther south, the sun's fiery-orange disc rose majestically...
LIFE / Travel
Nov 29, 2000

Pilgrimage to Chiba's stone daibutsu

KYONAN, Chiba Pref. -- Finding the perfect, companionable Buddha can become an obsession. Foreigners living in Asia are often struck by this calm, enlightened face; its features contrast sharply with the figures of Western religious art and their often contrived depictions of the ecstasy of Christian...
CULTURE / Art
Nov 12, 2000

Investing in life beyond the grave

The Museum of the University of Tokyo has changed and modernized in recent years, emphasizing particularly the use of up-to-date information technology. It is no longer an ivory tower but is reaching out beyond the university community to the general public. Its exhibitions have received favorable attention...
CULTURE / Art
Nov 4, 2000

The good, the bad and the confusing

"No. 7 Needles" (1975) oil on canvas Like many of his paintings, Luc Tuymans is a man easily misunderstood. At first glance, the tall and hulking Belgian seems more like the president of a stodgy old European corporation than the internationally acclaimed avant-garde artist that he is. Tuymans, 42,...
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 20, 2000

Bloodthirsty tales of revenge

The Kabukiza's October afternoon program features Seika Mayama's 1940 masterwork "The Hama Detached Palace" and Segawa Joko's well-known 1853 sewamono (realistic play) "Genjidana." Nizaemon Kataoka takes lead roles in both plays, while Tamasaburo Bando appears as Otomi in "Genjidana."
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2000

Museum buffs image of newspapers

YOKOHAMA -- A museum visit is not likely to raise the pulse rates of children these days, and a museum dedicated to newspapers seems certain to draw only yawns.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Sep 27, 2000

Reading relaxation in tea leaves

Tokyo is a city of surprises. Take a walk down any side street, and you can be sure you'll find an interesting shop or restaurant. Such is the case with Mother Leaf, a pleasant discovery moments away from the Kabuki-za in Ginza.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Nissan releases first model under restructuring plan

Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn leans against the automaker's new Bluebird Sylphy sedan at the car's press preview Wednesday in Tokyo. Nissan Motor Co. launched its new Bluebird Sylphy compact sedan Wednesday as the first of a series of models the struggling automaker plans to introduce during...
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 3, 2000

Eco-conscious but comfortable: making environmentalism hip

Last year when advertising agencies asked Kazumi Oguro what his rival magazine was, he replied: "I wouldn't have to put out a new magazine if there was a rival."
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2000

The sonic dream life of global voyagers

With the recent release of their second CD, the Tokyo-based world-music trio Tatopani sums up two years of experimentation and growth. Following their 1998 release, "Forbidden Fruit," members Robert Belgrade, Andy Bevan and Christopher Hardy brought their eclectic brand of music to audiences around the...
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2000

Softbank to set up sports site

Softbank Media & Marketing Corp., a media-related business unit of Softbank Corp., announced Friday that it will set up a joint venture with Rivals.com Inc. of the United States to launch a Japanese version of Rivals' sports Web site.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

A guide to the music festivals of summer

The recession has reportedly made concert promoters' lives miserable, and yet it doesn't seem to have affected the flood of foreign acts rushing to these shores.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 13, 2000

No easy explanation for overseas Chinese success

ETHNIC CHINESE: Their Economy, Politics and Culture, edited by Yu Chunghsun. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2000, 247 pp., 2,800 yen (cloth). The essays in this book explore the role of the ethnic Chinese economies in economic recovery and development in Asia in the 21st century. They are largely the product...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jul 9, 2000

Take a chance

Here is a quick summary of some of the activities that are available as you look for ways to fill what should be, but rarely are, the less demanding summer months.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.