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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 19, 2011

"Leo Rubinfien: Wounded Cities"

The terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, are imprinted on the memories of people around the world. Now, after 10 years, the physical damage in New York seems to be gradually mending. But what about the psychological recovery in society?
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2011

An economic dark cloud ahead?

An Aug. 15 preliminary report by the Cabinet Office shows that Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in real terms in the second quarter of 2011 dropped 0.3 percent or an annualized 1.3 percent from the previous quarter — for the third straight quarter of minus growth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 19, 2011

'Usagi Doroppu (Bunny Drop)'

Movies about single guys who become suddenly burdened with the responsibilities of parenthood, whether from Hollywood ("Three Men and a Baby") or Japan (the underrated "Yukai Rapusodi [Accidental Kidnapper]"), follow a pattern set in stone: After rising to various patience- and character-testing occasions,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 19, 2011

DevilCraft: Dying for a crafty pint? Head down to Kanda

The craft beer revolution in Japan is picking up pace. The main event of this summer has been the opening of DevilCraft, an excellent brewpub-to-be that is already serving some of the finest, hoppiest, maltiest, tastiest microbrews around.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2011

Dommune goes outside for summer

Naohiro Ukawa, creator of live-streaming microclub Dommune, is pulling out all the stops this weekend with Freedommune 0 (Zero) in aid of victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, when he takes the studio outdoors for a full day and night of dance music.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Aug 17, 2011

Why do Japanese advertisers suggest Internet-search keywords?

It seems that everywhere you look in Japan these days, printed advertising has Internet-style "search buttons" somewhere in the design, with Japanese text inside a box indicating the term to be searched. And many TV commercials end with a short phrase "such and such de kensaku" ("search on the Internet...
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2011

Venture to push 'anime' in LA

Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a semipublic body tasked with enhancing the value of the nation's businesses, announced Monday it will establish a new firm to remake existing domestic "soft" content, including movies, "anime" (animation), TV dramas and songs, to sell them to Hollywood, aiming...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 14, 2011

Delving into 'white matter'

Last week I watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," a new film about superintelligent chimps that bust out of captivity and rampage across San Francisco in a bid for freedom.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 13, 2011

Young dancers reap fruits of choreographer's expertise

Kimiho Hulbert danced before she could talk. Crawling backstage between dressing rooms of her Japanese mother and British father, both professional dancers in Belgium where she was born, Hulbert even disdained her first official ballet class at 2 years old as "too babyish."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2011

'In a Better World'

Woody Allen once said that it's easy to like people who make us laugh, but people who make us think don't get invited to a whole lot of parties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Moholy-Nagy in Motion"

This is the first retrospective in Japan of the Hungarian contemporary artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), who is known as a Constructivist artist, photographer and a professor at the Bauhaus arts and crafts school in Germany. He worked in a wide range of fields, which included painting, photography,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2011

'The Tree of Life'

When "Days of Heaven" was finally released in 1978 (see last week's review) after two years of perfectionist fiddling in the editing room, director Terrence Malick was given a blank check by his patron at Paramount, industrialist Charles Bluhdorn, to develop his next project. Malick assembled a small...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Inner Voices"

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, has invited a number of female artists from various cultural backgrounds and genres to participate in "Inner Voices," but under one condition — the artist's birth year must be after 1960. The exhibition puts an emphasis on the '60s and the social...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2011

"Cafe in Mito 2011 — Relationships In Color"

Mito's Contemporary Art Center was forced to close its doors after suffering some damage due to the March 11 earthquake, but it has reopened for its annual "Cafe in Mito" — now in its ninth year. The event's name stands for "Communicable Action for Everyday," and its aim is to present art for the masses...
COMMENTARY
Aug 12, 2011

'Don Quixote' is alive and legal in Argentina

It may come as a surprise to many, but "Don Quixote" is still alive, and in a most unlikely place. He lives in Tucumán, my hometown in northern Argentina.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 11, 2011

Summer Sonic prepares for an Asian invasion

Amid all the rivalry between Japanese and South Korean pop groups and the contrived debates about whether the manufactured crap from one country is better than the manufactured crap from the other, fans of independent or alternative music have been left scratching their heads.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 9, 2011

Decent man Kan dealing with LDP's fallout

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 7, 2011

Norway's horrors betray a bigoted ignorance of nationality's meaning

First of two parts
CULTURE / Books
Aug 7, 2011

Chilling Japanese tales just the thing for broiling August

KAIKI: Uncanny Tales from Japan, Volume 2: Country Delights. Kurodahan Press, 2010, 286 pp., $16 (paper) Kaiki, according to my Japanese-English dictionary, means "grotesque; bizarre; mysterious; strange." And since August is the traditional time in Japan for telling hair-raising tales, this anthology...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

"Kukai's World: The Arts Of Esoteric Buddhism"

The Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai, commonly known as Kobo Daishi, traveled across China in the early 800s as an envoy to study esoteric Buddhism. After bringing the fruits of his learnings back to Japan, he later helped found Shingon as one of the main forms of Buddhism in the country.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 5, 2011

Iranian filmmaker seeks Japanese male in his 60s (but not like that)

Kiyoshiro Imawano is gone. Kiyoshi Kodama is gone. Yoshio Harada is gone. Some of the rockin'est, rollin'est, hottest/coolest older guys in the archipelago are no longer around to console us with their sizzling presences.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

"Nobuyoshi Araki: Higan"

Nobuyoshi Araki is most noted for his provocative depictions of scantily-clad women, often posed in submissive positions. His work has garnered him attention and admirers, including stars such as Lady Gaga and Bjork.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2011

"Nihonga in Kyoto: Past, Present, and Future"

The Kyoto Japanese-Style Painters' Association was established in 1941, during World War II, by Seiho Takeuchi, Keigetsu Kikuchi, Kansetsu Hashimoto and a number of other well-known nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artists. The association has since grown to include around 500 artist members.

Longform

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