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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2012

"Keisai Eisen"

Ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Keisai Eisen (1791-1848) is particularly famous for his bijinga (pictures of beautiful women) for which he often accentuated his subjects' voluptuousness. As his reputation soared, he became a leading expert in the genre and published many popular bijinga nishiki-e (multi-colored...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2012

"Photography Today 4: In Their Persistent Endeavours to Meet the World"

This is the National Museum of Modern Art's fourth exhibition aimed at introducing Japanese contemporary photography through the works of young up-and-coming and mid-career artists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2012

"One Hundred Images of Cats: Many Varieties of Cats by Kuniyoshi School"

Japan has long-been infatuated with cats, which are usually seen as creatures of good fortune. This exhibition is dedicated to ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) depicting felines at their cutest moments, such as playing with their fellow cats and struggling against the urge to doze off in front of their human...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2012

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu "Pamyu Pamyu Revolution"

It's fitting that the leadup to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's debut album has focused heavily on her image. She's a fashion blogger and model now pursuing music, her clothes grabbing as much attention as her songs. Her savviest move was releasing three bonkers music videos over the past year featuring stuff like...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2012

"Camille Pissarro: Patriarche de la Modernité"

As the oldest of the French Impressionist group, Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was seen by many artists as a role model. He was also the only artist whose work was featured in all eight "official" Impressionist exhibitions in Paris — a testament to his dedication and skill.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 27, 2012

Anniversary of Okinawa's reversion highlights opposing press views

In February, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba assured the mayor of Iwakuni City and the governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture that Japan would not ask the people they serve to take on "any additional burden" from U.S. forces. Iwakuni already has a Marine Corps air station, and it is thought that the United...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 26, 2012

Taking road less traveled has worked out for Tanaka

Last year may have been a dream come true for Kashiwa Reysol, but forward Junya Tanaka is determined to prevent 2012 from turning into a nightmare.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2012

Japan's stellar speller ready for global contest

Natural learner Haruka Masuda's secret is reading, reading and reading.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 25, 2012

Fest focuses on European film

In Manchester, England, a hallucinating suicidal postman receives philosophical advice from a football legend. Meanwhile, in Sweden, a 12-year-old boy falls in love with the spooky girl next door, only to find out she is a vampire. And then there's the struggling interracial couple in war-stricken Netherlands,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2012

Wi-Fi, Facebook and all that jazz

Fumito Fukuchi, owner and proprietor of Kissa Sakaiki jazz cafe in Tokyo's central Yotsuya neighborhood, grins as he puts the finishing touches to an online schedule.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 24, 2012

"Uemura Shoen: Japanese Arts in Taisho Era — Struggle Between Tradition and Revolution"

Shoen Uemura (1875-1949) was the first woman in the history of Japan to win the Order of Culture for her contribution to nihonga (Japanese painting). She is particularly famous for her depictions of elegant Japanese women.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
May 24, 2012

This Japanese Life

Scholars of Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher best known for his controversial statement "God is dead," have for years talked about a gaping hole in his works: Where are Nietzsche's writings about teaching English to Japanese high schoolers? What has he got to say about the paranoia of being...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 24, 2012

"Realism Today: Masterpieces of the Hoki Museum"

It has been a year since the opening of the Hoki Museum, which won the The Japan Institute of Architects' 2011 grand prize and is the first museum in Japan dedicated to realist painting.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 21, 2012

Save face when taking the expressway

Foreigners in Japan often encounter conversations in which Japanese terms or concepts are expressed in English in ways that, while not necessarily idiomatic, still get the meaning across effectively. One such example would be the Japanese expression 強い (tsuyoi, strong), which in addition to physical...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
May 20, 2012

Back from Antarctica, Hindenburg disaster, Joban Line trains derail, Issey Miyake men's collection in Japan

100 YEARS AGO
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 20, 2012

'Alien' actress at home with a robot

Even today in the performing arts in Japan, gaijin (lit. "aliens"), as foreigners are called, are still often presented like something to be gawped at in a Victorian freak show.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / WEEK 3
May 20, 2012

Artist creates Yokohama bodhisattvas

Eleven bodhisattvas stand in formation, their heads crowned and their almond-shaped eyes and faces dusted with gold.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2012

Outsider of sorts champions his, Okinawa's cultural roots

When observing the history of Okinawa, one can't ignore the fact that since before World War II it has produced more emigrants than any other prefecture except Hiroshima.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 17, 2012

"Shoichi IDA, Prints"

It has been six years since Shoichi Ida passed away. As a prominent woodblock print artist, Ida produced outstanding works throughout his career and is considered a significant contributor to the development of Japanese print art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 17, 2012

"Images Shout: The Power of Creative Woodcut Prints"

The Fuchu Art Museum's last two exhibitions highlighting the art of woodblock prints focused on those of a delicate, sensitive nature. This time, however, it invites visitors to look at prints from a different perspective and to appreciate their versatility in subject and expression. Divided into five...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 17, 2012

Otomo's genga will make you remember

Without "Akira" there would be no "Cool Japan."
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
May 16, 2012

Suzuki aiming higher following best season of career

Coming off the best season of her long career, one might think world bronze medalist Akiko Suzuki could be content to retire from competition and turn to show skating.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 40 YEARS AFTER REVERSION
May 16, 2012

U.S. defense shift keeps Okinawa in strategic mix

The 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan came with a price — the continued use by the United States of sprawling military bases and other facilities in the prefecture to protect Japan and maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
May 15, 2012

Readers vent over 'Bread and becquerels'

Some readers' responses to the April 17 Zeit Gist column by Gianni Simone, "Bread and becquerels: a year of living dangerously":
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 13, 2012

Born of disaster, modern architecture is itself now an ongoing disaster

In the French writer-director Jacques Tati's superb 1967 film "Play Time," people are like prisoners condemned to roam about in and amid the glass cages of high-rise office blocks. They are lost, both to the world and themselves. In the world of Tati, who died in 1982 aged 75, all cities look alike;...
Japan Times
LIFE
May 13, 2012

What awaits Okinawa 40 years after reversion?

On May 15, 1972, Okinawa became a prefecture of Japan once again. Up until then, for 27 years since World War II — when the islands endured some of the most intense fighting of the entire brutal conflict — Okinawa had been under U.S. military administration, so reversion to Japanese rule should have...

Longform

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