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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 14, 2013

Haruna adds sparkle to a seasonal getaway

As the brilliant red, green and white explosions reflected off the surface of the lake, I turned to my partner with two simple words: "Merry Christmas."
BASKETBALL
Dec 14, 2013

Ryukyu triumphs over Osaka in overtime

The shots weren't falling and their overall game was not a thing of beauty, not a well-choreographed artistic production.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 14, 2013

Japonisme and the Rise of the Modern Art Movement: The Arts of the Meiji Period

There is an art to art collecting that involves quite different skills from those employed by artists. People tend to assume it's all about rich people spending money, but, if that was all that was involved, collecting wouldn't have half the attraction it does for those obsessed by it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013

'Gravity'

Sometimes great results arise out of considering a simple "what-if." For director Alfonso Cuaron and his film "Gravity," the idea seems to have been: "What if you made a cliffhanger ... with no cliffs?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2013

Somewhere between art and craft lies the beauty of Satoshi Someya

Satoshi Someya has produced a cerebrally engaging and visually alluring exhibition. His "Digesting Decoration" positions him among the most significant contemporary lacquer artists working today. The primary concern is with "use," as in the particularly utilitarian function of craft, as opposed to the...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2013

The Japan Times review of 'Ukigusa (Floating Weeds),' Nov. 26, 1959

'Ukigusa" is the latest film of Yasujiro Ozu, the director whom most Japanese consider "the most Japanese director."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 7, 2013

Wabori: Traditional Japanese Tattoo

It may not have been their sole purposes for visiting Japan during their respective reigns, but Queen Victoria's grandson George V and the last emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, both received tattoos on visits to Japan, despite the government's ban on a craft reserved primarily for the branding of criminals....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 1, 2013

Farrow courts controversy with paternity musings

For a while, Mia Farrow was a genuine housewife. In a life of bright lights and dark, dark shadows, this must surely count as one of the most unusual periods of them all: a moment of apparent stability and respectability in the late 70s and early 80s. During this time, she picked up her twin sons Matthew...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 30, 2013

No bridge too far in the home of the Heike clan

The road has thankfully just widened — and by that I mean it's more than 2 meters across — when we meet our first oncoming car.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Nov 30, 2013

Christmas in Japan is only lonely if you let it be

Fifty-one years have rushed by since I first spent a winter in Japan, and 33 years since I first spent a Christmas and New Year in Kurohime, northern Nagano Prefecture. We got our first snows in early November, but at the time of writing, although the mountain peaks are dusted with white, the snow around...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 30, 2013

Penny pinchers and post office patrons; CM of the week: Takarakuji

Last week on comedian Sanma Akashiya's Nippon TV talk show, TV personality Chiaki, whose family is rich, betrayed envy for her less fortunate colleagues when she complained, "Poor people always have lots of interesting stories."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 27, 2013

Takarazuka dances to a different tune

What happens when Takarazuka, Japan's longest-running all-female theater troupe, takes on Masayuki Suo's hit movie "Shall We Dance?," which won 14 Japanese Academy Awards in 1996 and aired internationally in 16 countries?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2013

Can Christie lead GOP back to White House?

Since Chris Christie's landslide re-election as governor of New Jersey earlier this month, which has seen him confirmed as an early favorite for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the question of the precise nature of his political personality, and its appeal, has loomed as large as the man...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2013

Tea bowls, simple emblems of power

"Ido Tea Bowls: Treasured Possessions of Muromachi Daimyo," currently showing at the Nezu Museum, presents an array of 72 rare tea bowls that were once owned by renowned warlords, tea masters and Buddhist temples. Produced by country potters in kilns in Korea's South Kyungsang province, these bowls were...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 18, 2013

J-blip: Tsutaya launches one-stop 'lifestyle' bookshop

Bookseller Tsutaya moves into the lifestyle business and gives consumer more ways to use T-points.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2013

'Lagerfeld Confidential (Japan title: Karl Lagerfeld: Fashion wo Tsukuru Otoko)'

Karl Lagerfeld's digs are gorgeous. Rodolphe Marconi's award-winning documentary "Lagerfeld Confidential" lingers on details in the top fashion designer's resplendent Paris apartment (a movie in itself), which is more art-installation sprawl of everything beautiful than an actual place to live.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 13, 2013

Brecht's 'Fatzer' underground in Kyoto

The term "metatheater" refers to devices in a play that break the so-called "fourth wall" — the illusion of theatrical reality — in order to involve the audience as critical participants in the production. Metatheatricality is a hallmark of early 20th-century Modernist drama, and is often associated...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 11, 2013

Never too early to start your Christmas shopping

To help you get in the right frame of mind, our writers offer a few ideas for gifts that, actually, they wouldn't mind getting themselves.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 11, 2013

Huge headwear, film shorts and the fashion in between

Uniqlo gives the fleece a makeover
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 8, 2013

Capturing the life and lives of Tokyo, one day at a time

Every day we presumably walk past about 2,000 or 3,000 people we don't know anything about,' French photographer Cedric Riveau says. 'But everyone has his or her story to tell.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 8, 2013

Pressure on Man United as Arsenal visits Old Trafford

Wayne Rooney's glass was half-full.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2013

'Everyday'

Michael Winterbottom doesn't have a signature style, nor even a favorite topic. His films can range from a close observation of a lesbian relationship in "Butterfly Kiss" to a slice off the Bosnian War in "Welcome to Sarajevo" to the sublime sci-fi antics of "Code 46." If there's a commonality to these,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2013

Washoku as a cultural heritage

Coming this December, traditional Japanese cuisine, 'washoku,' is likely to be designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage if the voting by UNESCO goes as expected.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 1, 2013

Seven Unlucky Gods sowing misery across Japan

I have a theory about the conspicuous absence of the Seven Lucky Gods: They each have an evil twin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 30, 2013

'Ido Tea Bowls: Treasured Possessions of Muromachi Daimyo'

Originating in Korea during the 16th century, Ido tea bowls are a type of Korai-jawan — decorative bowls that typically feature some sort of motif, such as an animal or floral design.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2013

Manga: Gekiga capture the underbelly of ’70s Japan

'I don't know much about manga but I know what I like' could well be the title of this review. Despite the urgings of enthusiastic friends ever since the 1970s, I sedulously avoided reading works in this genre.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / HOTEL SPECIAL 2013
Oct 24, 2013

Enjoy all the flavors of fall

To coincide with the time of year when nature demonstrates its beauty in a way that symbolizes harvest, prosperity and abundance, Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Roppongi, which is marking its 10th anniversary this year, has added some special fall promotions to its hotel-wide birthday celebrations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 2013

Perfume "Level3"

"Level3" is going to look amazing live. Perfume member Ayaka "A-Chan" Nishiwaki reportedly told producer Yasutaka Nakata that her trio wanted songs suited to the huge venues they'd perform it in. Nakata has obliged. Perfume's fourth studio album — the first with access to Universal Music's deep pockets...

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?