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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

An unexpected transformation at English school

RED SKY, RED DRAGONFLY, by John Galligan. Madison, Wisconsin: Diversity Incorporated, 262 pp., $14.95 (paper). "Red Sky, Red Dragonfly," a first novel by college writing professor John Galligan, provides ample evidence that he understands the craft he teaches. A humorous and original tale spanning two...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2002

Koizumi must act to end his state of siege

I cannot help but suspect that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the members of his Cabinet feel beset with troubles both at home and abroad as the current session of the Diet enters the homestretch.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

A lost textile art gains ascendancy

THE WORLD OF ROZOME: Wax-Resist Textiles of Japan, by Betsy Sterling Benjamin. Kodansha International, 2002, 224 pp., $49.95 (paper) If the art of "rozome" (wax-resist dyeing) were a moon in the sky, it would be full and glowing brightly. Having waned in importance as a textile-patterning process at...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

Whaling: A live issue over death

Whales dolphins and porpoises, the aquatic mammals collectively called cetaceans, number less than 80 species, or fewer than 2 percent of all mammals. They are, however, probably the most talked about and written about of all wild animals -- despite being some of the most poorly understood creatures...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 19, 2002

Swingin' from Paris to Austin

Since authenticity is an important consideration for the Hot Club of Cowtown, the Austin, Texas, trio who play a mix of Western swing and hot jazz, it's easy to locate them on the musical map. Western swing was mostly invented and popularized by the legendary Bob Wills in the '30s and '40s in Texas,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

Where kujira cuisine is a matter of course

Eating at Taruichi can be a bit daunting. First there's the decor. For those not cowed by the dried, meter-long whale's phallus dangling overhead, the next challenge is the menu.
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

A young man and the sea

June 10, 1966. There was an iceberg in sight, and the water temperature was 3.7 degrees. The Japanese whale-catcher No. 17 Kyo Maru was off Newfoundland, having drifted through the brief summer night and resumed the search for migrating whales at first light.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 19, 2002

The inns and outs in the life of okami

O ne of the subsections of TV Tokyo's large selection of food-travel programs is the "Bijin Okami" special. Bijin okami, which translates as "beautiful mistress of the house," are women who run inns and hotels in resort and hot-spring areas. They are usually married to the owners of the establishments...
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

Thar she blew!

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. -- From the lead boat it was difficult to see the spray rising from the waters off Tomyo Point. The onshore breeze dispersed it before it could rise too high and the choppy waters forced the rowers to concentrate on their task. Nonetheless, the sign was there.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
May 19, 2002

Time is ripe for the taste of Old World fruit

The flowers of an eggplant, like the wisdom of a parent, will never mislead you. — Japanese proverb
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 19, 2002

Where the adventure begins

Wine complements all sorts of moods. At times, it is convivial. We share a bottle around the table, and our group of friends become merrier, the conversation seasoned with laughter. Yet wine can also nourish quiet contemplation. Sip a glass alone or with one other person (a beloved, perhaps), and then...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 19, 2002

Something close to home

Some of Tokyo's best little bars are hidden on tiny back streets in quiet residential neighborhoods. They are the kind of bars that one only discovers by living nearby -- or being taken there by someone who does. So when a friend called suggesting an outing to one of his favorite bars on the outskirts...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Preserving spaces fit for living

JAPANESE COUNTRY STYLE: Putting New Life Into Old Houses, by Yoshihiro Takishita. Forward by Peter M. Grilli. Preface by Sachiko Amakasu. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002, 168 pp., more than 200 color and b/w photographs, floor plans, maps, etc; a bilingual edition. 4,800 yen (cloth) In this stimulating...
JAPAN / Media
May 19, 2002

'Sakura' -- or 'E.T. Comes to Japan'

One of the staples of Japanese daytime television for more than four decades has been the NHK Renzoku Terebii Shosetsu (serialized television novel), broadcast six days per week, Monday through Saturday, from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. Begun in 1961, each "novel" runs for 26 or 52 weeks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
May 19, 2002

When musical blood is backed by the heart

There are generally two types of professional hogaku musicians: those who are born into a musical family and learn from an early age and those who encounter the music later in life and apply themselves to its study.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Repent of Western ways to see the light

A BURDEN OF FLOWERS, by Natsuki Ikezawa. Kodansha International, 2001, 239 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth) A story of two Japanese siblings' rejection of Western values, one eloquent on the dangers of being "too Cartesian in your thinking, too tied up in Western rationalism," is hardly an obvious candidate for...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 19, 2002

Credit companies target the debt-ridden poor

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A bored young man answers his telephone and his face lights up. "Diving?!" he says. "I'll be there." In the next scene we see his friends on a pier, happily putting on scuba gear. Then, from the end of another pier, the young man comes running, with only a snorkel....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2002

A marriage guaranteed to last

Designer dining: It's a minefield in this city. In the past few months, we've sat ourselves down in too many places where the surroundings are flashy but the food is at best ordinary, too often misguided fusion dabblings, and at worst close to inedible. We haven't seen such a major outbreak of style...
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

How deep does our knowledge go?

The group of animals we call cetaceans represent but two-thirds of the orders of "whales" that have ever existed.
EDITORIALS
May 18, 2002

Making a mockery of the public

Once again a Lower House resolution recommending the resignation of the scandal-tainted lawmaker, Mr. Muneo Suzuki, has been shelved. A motion calling for such a resolution to be brought before a plenary session of the House of Representatives was rejected Tuesday, with the Liberal Democratic Party and...
SUMO
May 18, 2002

International trio tied for lead

Yokozuna Musashimaru ousted hapless Takanonami in a quiet storm to remain undefeated Friday but the ozeki duo of Kaio and Tochiazuma were tripped up at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 18, 2002

Troussier pulls squad shocker

Riding the shinkansen from Kobe to Tokyo with Philippe Troussier on May 3, Japan's soccer coach said there would be no surprises when he announced his World Cup squad on May 17.
SOCCER / World cup / COHOSTING
May 18, 2002

Beyond the limits of normalcy

Can Japan and South Korea work together to put on the 2002 World Cup?
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2002

Koizumi overplays his hand in Shenyang

BEIJING -- There is a sharp contrast between Japan and China on how they have handled the incident of North Korean asylum-seekers in Japan's Shenyang consulate general. While Beijing has taken a low-key approach, Tokyo has blown the whole matter into crisis proportion, creating a nationwide sensation...

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’