Tag - festival

 
 

FESTIVAL

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2016
Enthusiast teaches Japanese art of goldfish scooping
A common sight at summer festivals is people crouched over pools trying in vain to catch goldfish with a paper scoop.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2016
Keeping it real: Naomi Kawase on filmmaking
Naomi Kawase has always been an outlier in the Japanese film world, if a very successful one. Born and raised in Nara Prefecture, the site of Japan's ancient capital, she started making documentaries while a student at the Osaka School of Photography in the late 1980s, taking as subjects her natural...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2016
SEALDs leader's invite to Fuji Rock sparks online debate
A controversy has broken out on social media after the name of a high-profile youth activist appeared last week on the list of artists attending this year's Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 26, 2016
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia casts Tokyo in a special role
Now in its 18th edition, the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, which will unspool from June 2 to 26 at six venues in Tokyo and Yokohama, has grown into a world-class showcase for short-form cinema.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 18, 2016
Frankfurt's Nippon Connection brings together an extensive collection of Japanese films
What's the best place on the planet for catching up on the entire range of contemporary Japanese cinema, from experimental shorts to commercial hits? My candidate is Nippon Connection, a festival in Frankfurt, Germany, whose 16th edition unspools May 24-29. Headed by festival director Miram Klomfass...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2016
Tokyo's literature festival resurfaces
The Tokyo International Literary Festival got off to a good start. Both the inaugural 2013 event and the 2014 edition were successful, an auspicious beginning to forging cultural and artistic connections between Eastern and Western writers on a global stage. But since the festival's forced hiatus in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2016
Red Hot Chili Peppers return for 20th anniversary of Fuji Rock
Los Angeles alternative rock outfit Red Hot Chili Peppers and Icelandic post-rock trio Sigur Ros were among acts named Friday to perform at the 20th anniversary of Fuji Rock Festival in July.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 10, 2016
The 11th edition of the Osaka Asian Film Festival
Tokyo tends to suck up all the media oxygen when it comes to film festivals and events in this country, but there's plenty going on beyond the capital's borders, as evidenced by the Osaka Asian Film Festival. The 11th edition of the festival, unspooling March 4-13 at venues in Osaka, will present a wide-ranging...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 10, 2016
Exploring Sapporo Snow Festival's winter wonderland
Soaking in an event as elaborate as the annual Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido's largest city over a single weekend means getting off on steady footing in more ways than one.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 30, 2016
Bringing Japanese folk dance into focus
As with many cultures, before modernization the Japanese people relied heavily on agriculture, holding a spiritual affinity with and respecting the power of nature. Bountiful harvests were celebrated in festivities that played a significant role in community activities, and the distinctive folk rituals...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 21, 2015
The foreign element at the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival
While covering the recently ended second edition of the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival, I again realized that being a non-native isn't always such a bad deal in a country that prides itself on its omotenashi (hospitality) to outsiders.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2015
Asia's most important film festival reasserts its independence
Celebrating its 20th year, the 2015 edition of the Busan International Film Festival, held in South Korea's southern port city from Oct. 1 to 10, has a lot to brag about, as it has definitely become the most important film festival in Asia in terms of the quality of its programming, the size and reach...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2015
Refugee Film Festival comes as world's eyes are on crisis
Last month, a heartbreaking photograph of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi's dead body washing up on the shore of Turkey was published by media outlets worldwide. He had fled his home in war-torn Syria with his mother, brother and father. Only his father survived the journey.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 22, 2015
Japanese woman honored for short film at Ottawa animation festival
Tokyo-based illustrator Sarina Nihei's "Small People With Hats" received the top award in the short film category at this year's Ottawa International Animation Festival that ended Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 9, 2015
Kyoto International Art and Film Festival is a challenge to Tokyo's cultural power
The Kyoto International Film and Art Festival, which takes place from Oct. 15 to 18 in Japan's ancient capital, began as a sort of challenge to the local film industry's power center, Tokyo.
WORLD / Society
Sep 7, 2015
Europe's migrant tide is a theme at Venice film festival
Few people have been left untouched by the plight of desperate refugees trying to make it to Europe, and at the Venice Film Festival, actors and directors alike shared their distress over the crisis, pleading for tolerance and compassion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015
Jazz pioneer Bob James' Japan-inspired concerto to premiere at the Tokyo Jazz Festival
Smooth jazz pioneer and inadvertent godfather of hip-hop break-beats, Bob James is about to add another accolade to his list of accomplishments. At this weekend's 14th Tokyo Jazz Festival, the keyboardist will debut his first piano concerto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015
Tokyo Jazz Festival to provide a glimpse into Esperanza Spalding's alter ego
One of the few younger non-Japanese acts gracing the stage at this weekend's Tokyo Jazz Festival is singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding. Though appearing at the city's main jazz event, the multifaceted 30-year-old musician could just as easily be performing at Fuji Rock Festival or Summer Sonic. Truly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Aug 29, 2015
Music festivals are better when the customer isn't always right
In an industry that devotes itself with ever more granular precision to the art of serving you what its research says you want, music and events that demand you meet them halfway are ever more precious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 16, 2015
Four Japanese win best actress award at Locarno film festival
Four Japanese women together won the best actress award on Saturday at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland for their performances in the film "Happy Hour," festival organizers said.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals