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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 25, 2007

Modernizers of Japanese art tended toward tradition

In the drive to modernize Japanese art in the 19th century, artists frequently attempted to create a fusion of Eastern and Western styles of painting. But what at first sight seemed to be radical combinations of the two, now actually appear to be more happily at home within pre-existing Japanese traditions....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 23, 2007

Gender identity transformed from 'freak' into rights issue

'When I was a child, I had a feeling I wasn't satisfied with being a human being. To be a human being didn't seem like a beautiful existence to me," says Otojiro Toriyama.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2007

TV entertainer voted Miyazaki governor

," said Higashi, 49, an apprentice of comedian Beat Takeshi, after learning he had won. "We must change Miyazaki together." Higashi, 49, whose real name is Hideo Higashikokubaru, apparently attracted voters by shedding his image as a comedian and receiving no backing by any political party.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 21, 2007

Dig in at this genuine cantina

OSAKA -- Osaka likes to brag that it is the kitchen of Japan, where the stomach is the most important body organ. But as the guidebooks might say, "Cheap and cheerful is the rule" when it comes to establishing a decent greasy spoon in this city, which prides itself on its working-class, merchant roots....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 20, 2007

Dr. Manny Sultan and Yasuko Emmei-Sultan

Three people have had major influences on the life, character and career of Dr. Manny Sultan, Cairo-born architect, interior architect, and space planner.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 19, 2007

U.S., Japan gymnasts benefit from exchange

They spin and tumble, twist and turn, and bend their bodies, whipping them into shapes that often look like caricatures of pretzels.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 19, 2007

Recital reunites teacher with pupil

The contrabassist Isao Fukazawa will perform a bass recital to celebrate 20 years as principal bassist of Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, at Kioi Hall, Tokyo, on Jan. 25. The program, quipped the "ultimate" contrabass concert program, presents masterpieces spanning many musical eras.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 18, 2007

"The World of Immortals"

Kyoto National Museum Closes in 11 days
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2007

English foibles bear humorous and educational manga

It's New Year's Day and the Yamada family, dressed in kimono, gather around the table for a feast, and to review English phrases they learned the previous year, like "take a breather" or "playing hooky."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 11, 2007

Rooms for art

The hotel, be it flophouse or five-star, is what distinguishes cosmopolitan man from the nomad. Yes, it may be a humdrum need for shelter and food that brings us to hotels. But when we slip into that unfamiliar room, and for one night make it our own, we can also find ourselves transported to a different...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 10, 2007

New light cast on capital-punishment issues

It's not especially pleasing to write about death in the first column of the New Year, but there's a lot of it about.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jan 9, 2007

"Happy Feet," "Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony"

"Happy Feet," Adapted by Kay Woodward, Puffin Books; 2006; 121 pp. Typically, the book comes first; then some smart film director gets his hands on it and turns it into a movie. With "Happy Feet," though, it was the film that came first. But if you haven't watched it -- or if you want the adventures...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 9, 2007

Fighting fingerprinting and roaches

Fingerprinting Regarding the new law requiring the photographing and fingerprinting of foreigners, reader Nick asks about any organizations that are lobbying against the new law.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Jan 6, 2007

Rockin' poet reaches out with messages of caring

It's hard to predict when Tsuyoshi Yumoto will be sitting on the pavement outside Harajuku Station, just before the right-hand turn toward Meiji Shrine. It depends on the weather, you see, and what else he is up to in life.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 5, 2007

Donizetti's bel canto greats hit high notes

The Donizetti Theatre, one of Italy's best-known spaces for traditional opera, is currently touring Japan for the first time.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2006

Palestinian civil conflict leads nowhere

PRAGUE -- Regardless of the latest hastily negotiated truce, the battle between nationalist Fatah and Islamist Hamas seems to be gaining intensity. Palestinian politics, always self-destructive, has reached new heights of internal conflict, pulling the population deeper into disorder and pushing them...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 30, 2006

Jeri Foley

Ten years ago, the "Tokyo Journal" published its first annual list of 50 foreigners "who live here long-term, have been measurably successful in their work, and have made a difference to the Japanese and foreign community."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 28, 2006

Provocative plays in the quiet

Spending as much time as I do in theaters guarantees that I am treated to some brilliant productions, others that are dire, and plenty in between. However, ones truly astonishing and most "provocative" (to use a key word in drama criticism these days), are naturally not thick on the ground.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2006

The U.N. votes, Iran ignores

The United Nations Security Council at long last voted to impose sanctions on Iran for its continuing pursuit of uranium enrichment in defiance of the international community. The Tehran government immediately dismissed the U.N. move and vowed to step up nuclear activities. The stage is thus set for...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2006

Our family festivities run foul of hard facts

Christmas has become a modest affair in our family. Our son gets a few presents and the adults get a day of peace and quiet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2006

Budget gets Cabinet's OK despite failing to address future social needs

The Cabinet on Sunday approved a 82.91 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2007 that could help the government achieve the so-called primary balance -- a key benchmark of fiscal soundness -- earlier than its target of 2011, but experts say policy steps planned for next year will leave the ballooning social...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2006

Lucky breaks in new budget

The fiscal 2007 draft budget, the first one compiled under the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reduces the amount of new debt, lifting hopes for the nation's financial reconstruction. But the reduction is mainly due to lucky circumstances -- not because of strenuous efforts to cut spending....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 24, 2006

The spirit of classics in a luminous new translation

TALES OF MOONLIGHT AND RAIN by Ueda Akinari, translated by Anthony H. Chambers. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006, 236 pp., with 1776 edition woodcuts, $29.95 (cloth). Ueda Akinari (1734-1809), scholar and poet, is remembered for his collection of nine stories, the "Ugetsu Monogatari," first...
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 24, 2006

Find out why a fountain pen 'personalizes' your prose

Kumiko Kumazawa of Pilot Corporation placed four fountain pens in front of me.

Longform

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