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July 16, 2024
 

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JAPAN LITE

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 1, 2003
Tips on teaching yourself sumo at home
The sumo world is being turned upside down, so to speak, with the recently retired yokozunas (grand champions) and the proliferation of foreigners reaching high ranks in the sport. The first foreign-born yokozuna was Akebono (born in Hawaii), followed by Musashimaru (born in Hawaii) and Asashoryu, from...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 22, 2003
Men get naked for a year of good luck
Talk about male bonding! Have you ever gotten together with your buddies, stripped down to your thongs and paraded around the neighborhood? In groups of 10 to 12 people at night? In midwinter? No? Well, get with the program -- men in Okayama have been doing this for 400 years. Since I know you are dying...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 15, 2003
'Yaido': the deep art of beheading people
Have you ever had the urge to behead someone? Now you can. Behead as many people as you like, and additionally slice off their limbs. But there are some restrictions: only between the hours of 7 and 9 on Tuesday nights at a particular dojo in the city of Okayama. Ueno-sensei would be your teacher --...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 8, 2003
Walk-in freezer homes breed brutes
If you have never been inside a Japanese house, just imagine throwing a bunch of furniture, your computer and your TV into a walk-in freezer. Inhabitants walk around in special thick socks and "chan-chanko," traditional Japanese-style overcoats made for wearing inside the house. Walk into the bathroom...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 1, 2003
Would you send a poor fly to the U.S.?
I walked into the dentist office, and sitting at the table was "Dude." Dude is a 22-year-old dental technician who wears black concert T-shirts under his lab coat. He also wears an earring and a black leather bracelet with silver studs. I know Dude because he dropped out of my "Dental English" class...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 25, 2003
'Gaijin' do just the strangest things
People often ask me what I find strange about being the only "gaijin" living on a Japanese island. I wonder if people also ask the residents what they think is strange about the gaijin living on their island. Indeed, we gaijin seem to have unlimited ways of causing consternation and raising eyebrows...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 18, 2003
Starting the year with a 32-person cold
It's January, when you see many Japanese people wearing surgical masks. No they are not doctors on call. Those people have "pulled the wind," as the Japanese say: They have caught a cold. They wear the masks either to contain their germs and avoid spreading them to others, or, more likely, to hide their...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 11, 2003
Get ready for Japanese inside and out
People often ask me what they should expect before coming to Japan. It's hard to say, but if you don't speak Japanese, at first you'll be limited to communicating with Japanese people who can speak English. Be ready to meet these people:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 4, 2003
How to turn your house into a mosh pit
Already broken your New Year's resolution? Let me guess. You have yet to start dieting, and saving money is impossible during this season of "o-toshidama" and company parties to start the new year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 28, 2002
Three baas for the year of the sheep!
Baa-aa! Yes, you herd me right -- it's almost the year of the sheep. It's going to be a long year of itchy sweaters and mothballs. So put on your woolies and finish writing those New Year's cards.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 21, 2002
You call that twig a Christmas tree?
The Japanese have adopted Christmas with great zeal, in the same manner they have adopted other Western things such as Snoopy and Disney. The holiday -- with glittery trees, sparkly lights and fairy-tale songs -- is irresistible to the Japanese. This, along with the "If it blinks I want it!" mentality,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 14, 2002
A nation that's set up for looking down
Only in Japan is it possible to ride a crowded train to work, stop to buy your "o-bento" lunch at the convenience store, and arrive at work -- all without ever having eye contact with anyone. That is because people spend a lot of time looking at the ground in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 7, 2002
Japan: Where every day is a diet date
It's the holiday season and on my planet, the United States, that means people are preoccupied with how to stay slim during this season of indulgence. Magazines typically feature articles on how to burn calories by doing ordinary things -- such as walking to the mailbox instead of driving, or by choosing...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 30, 2002
Roaches with secret technology win war
I came home the other day and noticed someone had been eating my porridge. "Someone's been eating mine too," said my husband. "And there he is!" I got my shotgun and pointed it at the roach. Bam! He's gone now.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 23, 2002
How to coax warmth out of Japanese food
In Japan, since there is no central heating, there is a sincere attempt to warm the body from the stomach out. And since this is Asia, where the stomach is considered the body's Command Central, it bodes well to keep your stomach happy, and above all, warm.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 16, 2002
'Oba-chan' mutiny brings funeral chaos
There was so much activity on Shiraishi Island, it was almost seismic. Elderly women grouped outside their houses whispering. The Buddhist priest was so busy, he wasn't answering his cell phone. Ferries kept bringing more people dressed in black.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 9, 2002
Hunching to keep from dying of cold poisoning
If I could bring one thing from my home country to Japan, it would be a fireplace. Of course, the hearth wouldn't make it through the security check these days. But still, to have an open fire blazing in the living room would be nice, not to mention warm.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 2, 2002
Cute, single, self-made millionaire girls
Japan wonders why the birth rate has plummeted. There are theories ranging from the fact that women aren't given painkillers during birth to the fact that women are waiting longer to get married. But the real reason women are not having babies is much simpler: This generation has grown up with Hello...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 26, 2002
Getting clubbed to keep up with the Satos
I have often thought I should "level up" my "life communication space" by joining one of the various clubs in my community, such as the pottery club or stained glass-making club. Although I would like to interact with my island community more, I hesitate because of the commitment. In Japan, people pursue...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 19, 2002
Kenka Matsuri: death and hairy butts
Butts! Hairy butts! That's all I could think of among the chaos of men in loincloths rushing around Shirahama in Himeji last weekend. I was there for the Kenka Matsuri, or Fighting Festival, at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine. The official name is the Nada Fighting Festival, perhaps because that is what the...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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