Repaired artworks keep Japan’s unique aesthetic alive PREMIUM
Culture
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Kyogen: Inconclusive conclusions drawn by conventional phrases PREMIUM
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 ...
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Playing the part to liven up art in Tokyo PREMIUM
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...
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From street style to elegance — popular luxury brand items in Japan today PREMIUM
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Black comedy highlights tragedies of war for war’s sake PREMIUM
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...
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Japanese duo Chemistry’s new album revisits their natural vocal chemistry PREMIUM
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Feudal armor combined beauty and function PREMIUM
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‘Joker’ depicts one man’s horrifying transformation in a world gone mad
An air of menace and a cloud of controversy accompany the arrival of Todd Phillips’ “Joker” like a thick perfume. That, in itself, could be something to celebrate. Danger isn’t a quality often...
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Mountain film festival in Japan attracts, inspires many audiences
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New cast to rev up play based on 19th-century Japanese novel about heroes with magic orbs
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Salient life experiences of centenarians culturally diverge
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Hidetoshi Nishijima brings warmhearted yakuza to life in new film
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Noh: Roots lie in outdoor performance
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Pianists bring individuality to music in new Japanese film
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Something for everyone at Japan Writers Conference
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Sukegawa describes days of frustration in new novel
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Three key concepts for author MacLeod: contrast, connection, communication
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Japan musical stars to tackle ‘The Story of My Life’
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Exhibition focuses on anime director Isao Takahata’s quest
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Kyoto: Descendants of ‘kuge’ aristocratic families still inheriting court culture
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‘Orchestra without composer’ thrives on Ginza rooftop garden
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Temirkanov to conduct 2 Brahms works with Yomiuri symphony orchestra
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Kishin Shinoyama wraps up powerful series
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 ...
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Ishinomaki art fest adds to rebirth of devastated area
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi — The Reborn-Art Festival will run through Sept. 29 in Ishinomaki and nearby municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture, to support reconstruction from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthqua...
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Actress uses more than her eyes to play the role of a blind ex-cop
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Hokkaido quake survivors struggle to move on
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Unpredictable journey draws a line across North America
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...
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Workman’s clothes a bright spot in slumping Japan’s apparel industry
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Gen Hoshino is a natural in music, acting, anything
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Vinyl: The format that refuses to die
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Kyoto: Mid-career geiko help preserve traditional entertainment
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...
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Ex-SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi shows his ‘scummy’ side in new film
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Promote museums as cultural hubs, international conference declares in Kyoto
KYOTO — An international conference on museums wrapped up on Saturday with a resolution stating that museums around the world should play a central role as “cultural hubs” for exchanges that tr...
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Performers from 9 Asian cities to present stage act ‘Drifters’ in Tokyo
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Tochigi: Potter’s collection shows passion for Japanese traditional crafts
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...
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Muslim clothing made of Japanese kimono materials
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Unlucky worker’s ties to hometown strained, broken, lost
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...
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Kabuki: Actor from non-kabuki family in spotlight with Hatsune Miku
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Painting tied to smiling Tokyo statue to go on display at Ibaraki gallery
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Japanese artist’s imaginary cityscapes shine with real emotion
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Kyoto’s Reizei family passes down waka style bearing name of Teika
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A musical film for the musical-shy
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Sebastian Weigle to conduct a hidden gem at a Yomiuri orchestra concert
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Kabuki: Actors’ great performances supported by prop masters behind scenes
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...
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‘The Bodyguard’ musical to make Japan debut PREMIUM
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Sacoches rise, handbags shrink
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Vadim Repin ready for BBC Proms in Japan
Avid classical music fans know how special the BBC Proms is. Held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the music festival with a history of more than 120 years has a mission to bring class...
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Japanese hair, makeup artist Hirofumi Kera leaps across boundaries
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Tokyo: ‘Town of Movies’ promotes Japan’s cinematic history
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...
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Fumiya Fujii dazzles with fine art prowess
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Creative talents meld to cross boundaries for ‘pleasant feelings of strangeness’
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Iemoto: Hereditary keepers of Japan’s traditional arts
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Mental sparks fly in welding workshops
Large sparks flying, a welder in a protective mask joins together iron parts using thousands of degrees of heat. This is a familiar scene at construction sites and factories, but it’s rare to experi...
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Kodan: Storytelling tradition emerges into the limelight
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Kitaoka examines Japan’s role in world
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Anthropologist ventures into the culture of online gaming
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Refreshing ‘Turandot’ brings new perspective to ending
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Musical about domestic violence premieres in Tokyo
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Animals, Shinto serve as gateways into Japanese art
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...
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Noh: Steeped in history, traditional theater leverages modern language to connect
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Tears, trials brought ‘King and I’ cast together
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From Tokyo, ‘Turandot’ set to rock the world
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Rakugo: Momentum builds to find new audiences overseas
Rakugo is a one-person show in which the performer — wearing a kimono and kneeling on a traditional square cushion — tells a usually comical story, distinctively portraying multiple characters thr...
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Gallery opens one day a week — inside a hair salon
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...
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New Godzilla film a worthy successor to the original
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...
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5-min ‘battles’ add flair to flower arranging
Floral designers and practitioners of traditional Japanese flower arranging put their skills to the test in a “hanaike flower arranging battle” held in Ota Ward, Tokyo, in late May. The event had ...
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Hisashi Inoue works get memorial series
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Kabuki: Nakamura Shido man of innovation, tradition
Kabuki star Nakamura Shido II upholds the career theme of “tradition and innovation.”
Kabuki actors form troupes in “family” units with their “specialty” basically passed down from fat...
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Koi winning fans around the world
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Vienna’s glory re-created at Tokyo exhibition
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Yamada to conduct rare gems
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Kabuki: There’s no substitute for being there
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Japan warms up to steamy Finnnish tradition
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...
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Tokyo waterfront bicycle jaunt reveals 2020 Olympic venues taking shape
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...