Like kabuki, the traditional art of rakugo storytelling developed in the densely populated regions of Edo (present day Tokyo) and Kamigata (encompassing Kyoto and Osaka). Each became a distinctive sty...

BERLIN (AFP-Jiji) — Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof on Saturday won the top prize at the Berlin film festival for “There Is No Evil,” a searingly critical work about the death pena...

Jidaigeki (period drama) is a traditional genre in Japanese movies, TV programs and theater. Broadly speaking, these dramas are set in Japanese society before the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Many movi...

In my previous column, I wrote, “Noh and kyogen are said to be twin performing arts.” A similar thing can be said of kabuki and bunraku puppet theater. This is so even though kabuki is said to hav...

“There is a good chance some FBI agents aren’t reading that bestselling book series or watching that popular show depicting the FBI. They can be difficult to engage in without hurling the book acr...

If there’s such a thing as normal, Vivian is far from it. She has no job, and she hasn’t looked at herself in a mirror or showered in ages. Her quirkiness baffles almost everyone she encounters. M...

What would you do if you had to choose either putting your life at risk for a righteous deed or becoming a part of horrible atrocities to survive? Lale Sokolov chose to survive — while knowing that ...

Noh and kyogen are said to be twin performing arts. While noh plays are mainly tragedies, Kyogen plays are comedic in style. Performances of the two traditionally alternate on the same noh stage. Th...

Benten Kozo, a thief, disguised himself as a beautiful daughter of a samurai family and entered a shop to steal a large sum of money by tricking its operator. On the verge of taking away the money, ho...

The Tokunaga Brothers stand out in many respects. Despite their young ages, Kentaro, 28, and younger brother Kojiro, 26, are already accomplished flamenco guitarists, improvising freely and showcasin...

Italian chef Luca Fantin offers creative Italian fine cuisine at Bvlgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, on a corner in Ginza, Tokyo — a special spot, as all four corners of the intersection are occupied...

Celebrity is a hall of mirrors, and Rikio can’t escape. But then again, maybe he doesn’t want to. He’s been disconnected from reality so long that the surreal world of movie sets and screaming ...

KYOTO — The Imperial court in Kyoto was deprived of its real power in politics and military affairs for a period of about 700 years, from the 12th to 19th centuries, by samurai warrior rulers who we...

Wild plants are something usually admired in the mountains, fields or roadsides where they are found. Known as sanyaso, these plants have of late been gaining popularity and can be found at more flowe...

Tuesday in Roppongi and my colleague and I are looking at a line forming in front of our eyes. This district in Tokyo once known for its disco halls is still popular for its clubs and bars, but it isn...

Over the next few days, your eyes will create enough tears to fill a wine bottle — even if you’re not feeling sad. According to “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” by best-selling nonfiction aut...

Unusual new kabuki plays based on world-famous stories are currently being performed at Tokyo’s three major theaters, adapted respectively from a fairy tale, a manga and a comedy film. Each is a nov...

A special exhibition titled “Man, God & Nature in the Ancient World: Masterpieces from The Al Thani Collection,” which aims to evoke the ancient world through 117 items from the collection assembl...

When journalist Shiori Ito told police in Tokyo of her claim she was raped by a TV reporter in April 2015, police issued an arrest warrant, but they suspended it in June that year, according to media ...

KYOTO — Although different clans held power at different times, buke military aristocrats controlled policy in Japan for about 700 years, starting in the late 12th century. Members of the buke famil...

LOS ANGELES — Three Japanese animated feature films were nominated in the independent film category of the Annie Awards, the International Animated Film Association said Monday. The awards are of...

CHIBA — Amid a solid increase in both foreign tourists and foreign residents in Japan, greater attention is being paid to smooth and accurate communication between them and locals. Advanced translat...

Kabuki, a Japanese traditional performing art, can be roughly sorted into two categories: Edo kabuki and Kamigata kabuki. Edo is present-day Tokyo, while Kamigata is an area that includes Kyoto and ...

When denim lovers think quality, they think Japan. So it should come as no surprise that a small Kyoto-based label has won a luxury lifestyle award for Best Artisan Denim Design Specialists 2019 from ...

A seven-day solo program by popular rakugo storyteller Shunputei Ichinosuke was held at the Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, from Oct. 21 to 27. I went to all the performances — three e...

Tara Westover, born to a Mormon fundamentalist family in 1986, received no formal schooling but taught herself enough to enter college, eventually earning her PhD in history at the University of Cambr...

Matsumoto Hakuo II is the rare actor who can perform at a high level both in Japanese traditional kabuki and Western musicals. He has played the lead role in “Man Of La Mancha” since it premiered ...

KYOTO — Aristocrats serving in the Imperial court in Kyoto were called kuge (court nobles). Unfortunately, the kuge lost political and military power in the Middle Ages. (I’m not a descendant of a...

When we look into the future, we only see imaginary events that could happen. But when we look into the past, we see real events that did happen. It might be said that memory is the closest thing we h...

Next summer, the air above Ariake, a waterfront area in Koto Ward, Tokyo, is going to be filled with bicycles. Airake is to be the scene of many 2020 Olympic and Paralympic events, including BMX races...

What comes to mind when you think of Finland? Perhaps you associate the country with Santa Claus or the Moomin characters. Far more ancient than either of these is the sauna, which is also gaining fan...

One of the best things about kyogen — the comic interludes to Noh plays — is the sheer number of lines delivered with unique intonation. When someone appears on stage, they describe themselves ...

Upon darting into an exhibition room at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Koto Ward, Tokyo, two boys were caught by surprise and took a step backward. “Ugh! What on earth is this?” one of...

If the world’s endless wars are getting you down, a dose of Mohammed Hanif’s dark humor might be the medicine you need. After all, how better to demonstrate the absurdity of war than by telling an...

“I wish people wouldn’t say things like, ‘It’s elaborate and high in quality’ when discussing animation.” I was startled by this remark from animation director Mamoru Hosoda during an Au...

KYOTO — The Reizei family of Kyoto has transmitted the style of waka poems since Japan’s medieval age. Not only the Reizei family but also most of the other aristocratic families that served the ...

The last of a series of exhibitions of photographic portraits by Kishin Shinoyama, 78, who has for decades taken photos of people in the spotlight, is being held at Gallery AaMo at Tokyo Dome City in ...

When American travel writer Porter Fox decided to explore the approximately 6,400-kilometer length of the border between Canada and the continental United States, he started at the eastern end, aboard...

KYOTO — Amid the decline in the number of jikata — the geiko specializing in shamisen and nagauta (long epic songs) — in Kyoto’s entertainment districts, women in their 20s and 30s who have c...

MASHIKO, Tochigi — Utilizing part of the living national treasure potter’s residence, the Shoji Hamada Memorial Mashiko Sankokan Museum exhibits his works as well as handicrafts that he collected...

Ueno Station, the “Gateway to the North,” was where men from Japan’s northern Tohoku region used to arrive in Tokyo by overnight train, looking for work during the high economic growth period, i...

How does a woman find the courage to have a child? In Jessie Greengrass’ intelligent debut novel, “Sight,” she immerses herself in medical history, reading about Wilhelm Rontgen’s discovery of...

The various props used for kabuki plays include swords, smoking pipes, Japanese umbrellas and folding fans, and prop masters must prepare items appropriate to the specific time period depicted in each...

About 40 movie- and video-related companies are active in the city of Chofu, Tokyo, which was once known as “the Hollywood of the Orient.” Clean water for use in film developing was one factor...

The hotter it gets, the more I use my air conditioner. The more everyone uses their air conditioners, the hotter the world gets, thanks to the CO2 from the coal, oil and natural gas burned to generate...

To get anywhere, you need to know where you’re headed. But simply having a compass does not guarantee you’ll reach your destination. There are always pitfalls to avoid on the way, and it takes com...

A festival of events introducing Japanese culture to the culturally diverse United States is being held in Washington and other cities this year. Shinto, animals and “The Tale of Genji” are all ke...

The triumph of the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” has created yet another Queen craze all over the world. Japan is no exception. According to Twentieth Century Fox Japan, the film had been watched by ov...

You may find it difficult to locate the gallery. There’s no sign, and even if you’re in the right spot, you can’t see what it’s like inside because the curtains are drawn tight, as if shutting...

Sixty-five years after first hitting theaters, Godzilla is still going strong and boasts a global following. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” Hollywood’s latest film starring Japan’s iconic k...

Whenever asked what the secret to producing a hit in the business field is, Jerome Chouchan gives the same answer, saying, “You don’t reach a target; a target reaches you.” Such Zen-like questio...

In his first official function as president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in March 2012 — as a replacement for the disgraced Jack Warne...

You are at risk of heart disease. So is everyone else. Heart attacks are “the most common cause of death throughout the world,” according to New York cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar. Fortunately, th...

“Are you, by any chance, taking me to the Sakurai now?” my friend asked, rather excitedly, responding to my brief explanation of a Japanese teahouse I was about to take her to in Tokyo’s Aoyama ...