Art In Japan

Craft beer from the Land of the Rising Sun

2012-01-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

Shigeharu Asagiri loves beer so much he has even brewed it by the light of the moon.

He’s not a bathtub hootcher with vampiric tendencies, but the boss of Japanese microbrewery Coedo and a man committed to putting his craft beer on the map, no matter what it takes.

His nighttime brewing activity came just after the earthquake that rocked Japan’s Tohoku region last March led to frequent blackouts at his brewery just outside Tokyo.

From those difficult days and dark nights, Coedo has continued to make some award-winning beers that are helping to put the spotlight on interesting microbrews from Japan.

Earthquakes and blackouts aside, it hasn’t been easy for Coedo, founded in 1997 by Asagiri’s father-in-law. It wasn’t until prohibitive laws against small commercial breweries were repealed in 1994 that a microbrew scene in Japan could emerge.

Even since then, breaking the chokehold the big four Japanese brewers – Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo - have on the domestic and international beer market has been a challenge. What Coedo produce in a year is the equivalent to what just one of the big boys produce in a day.

The taxman in Japan still takes around $2.50 on every liter of beer brewed there, which has led to the big breweries creating cheaper “beer-like” drinks (alcoholic and often additive-rich) and further diluting the market among a local population more familiar with types of sake than varieties of beer.

“For most (Japanese) people, beer is just beer, no one orders it by name; it’s no fun, but it should be,” says Asagiri. “Beer is exciting!”

Asagiri discovered the thrill of beer while backpacking across Europe after graduating from university. After a desk job in Tokyo, he took over the reins of Coedoin 2003; the highpoint for the number of independent breweries in Japan.

That number has been declining since with only around 50 operating microbreweries today, says Asagiri. But if the number of breweries has decreased, the quality of the brews has generally risen. By bringing in a German braumeister to train the Coedo staff and using German and Austrian grains, Asagiri decided Coedo would emphasize quality with its five brews.

Coedo’s beers aren’t pasteurized so strict hygiene is enforced at the state-of-the-art brewery; employees aren’t even allowed to eat natto, a typical snack of fermented soya beans, for fear of bacteria spoiling the beer. The award-winning Beniaka ale also has a nice twist as it is brewed with locally-grown organic sweet potato as one of its ingredients.

But Asagiri is keen to point out that his beer and Japanese microbrews in general shouldn’t be viewed as novelty ales; something they generally were until recently.

From porters to wheat beers and IPAs, many Japanese microbrews are picking up international awards for their quality and getting a higher profile in bars and restaurants away from Japan’s shores.

Hitachino Nest Beer, distinctive with its “kawaii”, or cutesy, owl logo, is sold at over 500 places in New York alone, and Hong Kong distributors have doubled the amount they’re selling in the Chinese city since 2009. Minoh Beer from Osaka is another that is making a name for itself in Japan’s growing craft beer bar scene, regularly picking up World Beer Award medals.

With another Coedo “Oktoberfest” in the town of Saitama planned later this year, Asagiri is convinced real beers with character, allied to a smart bit of lifestyle marketing, will win a place at top tables across the world.

“Our motto is ‘Beer Beautiful.' I want everyone to see real beer that way,” he says.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/01/26/craft-beer-from-the-land-of-the-rising-sun/?hpt=hp_bn8

Japanese Snow Viewing Tea Ceremony Feb. 4 at Anderson Japanese Gardens

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Rockford’s Anderson Japanese Gardens will offer the rare opportunity to participate in a yukimi chakai, a traditional Japanese Snow Viewing Tea Ceremony, Saturday, Feb. 4.

The demonstration will be in Anderson Japanese Gardens’ 16th-century Sukiya-style Guest House.

Participants will gather in the Visitor Center, where they will enjoy a hot cup of genmaicha, roasted rice-flavored tea while viewing the picturesque beauty of the gardens below. Following this warm introduction, guests will be guided through the winter landscape to the Guest House.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, participants are invited back to the Visitor Center to view an extraordinary display of tea bowls and tea ceremony-related items, which will be available for purchase.

Kimiko Gunji, professor emeritus of Japanese Traditional Arts and Culture and the former director of Japan House at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be the host of this event.

The tea bowls are crafted by Jason Armour, one of her esteemed students. Armour’s goal is to help people “find beauty in plainness and tranquil simplicity through set naturalistic aesthetic values” — a concept derived from his interpretation of the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi.

Professor Gunji states: “As technology continually advances, human beings are so enraptured by its power and capability; however, through this captivation, they often succumb to surrendering the very element that makes them human: the use of their five senses. My concentration is to impart to those with whom I encounter through my teachings and my art, the significance of becoming a fine human being through the vitalization of the senses and the natural manifestation of one’s kokoro.” Kokoro can be translated into “mind, spirit and heart.”

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony times will be 10:30-11:10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-12:10 p.m., 1-1:40 p.m., and 2-2:40 p.m.

Cost to participate is $25 per person. Reservations are required. Space is limited to 15 participants for each of the Tea Ceremony times. For reservations or more information about the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, contact Julie Pastore by phone at (815) 229-9390, ext. 10, or by e-mailingjpastore@AndersonGardens.org.

Anderson Japanese Gardens is at 318 Spring Creek Road, Rockford, and can be reached at (815) 229-9390 or online at www.andersongardens.org.

http://rockrivertimes.com/2012/01/18/japanese-snow-viewing-tea-ceremony-feb-4-at-anderson-japanese-gardens/

Edible Installation Art in Tokyo

2011-11-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Food and art make provocative bedfellows. At Tokyo’s recent Open Harvest event, food served as both medium and message to a project intended to spark discussion about sustainable agriculture in Japan.

Held inside Content, a restaurant at the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, the event billed itself as a “participatory edible art installation.”

After passing through a noren curtain of dried rice stalks and grazing on a garden-like arrangement of potted salad greens, guests were free to forage among the food stalls, which had been arranged to evoke fields and ponds. Posted on the walls and projected onto large screens at the back of the venue were portraits of local farmers and fishermen, as well as images of the Open Harvest crew harvesting rice and visiting producers.

Sam White, a Chez Panisse maître d’ who co-produced Open Harvest, said he’s been thinking about holding a food-and-art event in Tokyo for more than a year, and he began discussing the possibilities with Sylvan Mishima Brackett, owner of Bay Area catering company Peko Peko.

“Given the fears about radiation, this seems like a special time in Japan when people are thinking critically about where their food comes from,” Mr. Brackett said.

That reality was on display at several points during the evening. In the middle of the room, near a stand serving wild pigeon and mushrooms, a group of chefs plucked and gutted a basket full of the birds before carrying them to the kitchen to be sautéed in wine and butter. Onlookers snapped photos as a deer was skinned, dressed and later served as delicious venison burgers.

More harrowing were the crowds, which filled every inch of the space, forcing diners to balance paper plates and glasses while trying to eat with chopsticks. The threat of being doused with hot bouillabaisse loomed around every corner, and was, unfortunately for me, eventually realized.

Tickets to the main event cost 10,000 yen per person (about $129), but the organizers said that the idea was not to turn a profit but to break even.

While they have no firm plans to make it a regular event, they’re open to the idea, Mr. White said. “We have created friendships and alliances that will undoubtedly work together.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/11/30/edible-installation-art-in-tokyo/

Osamu Tezuka: the man who set manga in motion

2011-09-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Japanese comic strip meets contemporary dance in this show based on the work of Japanese cartoon artist Osamu Tezuka.

A show based on the work of Japanese cartoon artist Osamu Tezuka – revered in his homeland as “the god of manga” – is a prospect apparently designed to raise the hackles of anybody wary of contemporary dance. It certainly raised mine.

Despite the lofty reputation of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, the half-Flemish, half-Moroccan choreographer whose new creation, TeZuKa, is currently in rehearsal in his native Antwerp, I was ready to be baffled by the sight of dancers “becoming” Japanese calligraphy, mimicking strokes of the pen with their bodies, and by the unfamiliar culture of an artist whose best-known character is a robot child named Astro Boy.

Yet within a couple of minutes of entering the theatre in Antwerp, all scepticism was blown away. It was a remarkable sensation: a lesson. What struck me was the sheer completeness of the enterprise; the certainty with which Cherkaoui is seeking to reveal the imagination of Tezuka.

With the help of some top-drawer collaborators – Nitin Sawhney with a sinewy and melancholic score, a set of beautiful simplicity by Willy Cessa, on-stage musicians and a cast of 10 drawn from both Japan and Europe – it is clear, even at the rehearsal stage, that Cherkaoui is giving us an entire world in TeZuKa, one that is both alien and resonant.

Amid long white blinds – like scrolls of paper – on to which are projected shifting squares representing frames in an animation, the dancers perform moves that do, indeed, resemble the strokes of a pen. But what they also conjure, far more tellingly, is the very act of artistic creation.

The piece also offers segments from stories by Tezuka, which generate a serious rethink of what animated art actually is (in Japan, of course, no such rethink would be necessary, but the British view of manga is rather less elevated). Tezuka began work in the bleak years after the Second World War – he died in 1989 – and saw what it meant to rebuild a society, how progress brings with it both good and evil. His stories are like little myths. At times, they are also incredibly dark and daring – “One story can take on four taboos,” as Cherkaoui says – and deal with issues such as homosexuality, incest and religion.

For example, a passage in TeZuKa depicts the relationship between a priest and a boy whom he has raped. Their twisted connection makes for an intensely powerful duet, while above the dancers’ heads, extraordinary images from the original cartoon are projected. It is an eye-opener in every sense and explains why Cherkaoui, three years ago and with the backing of Tezuka Productions, was inspired to create this work. “It’s impossible, in one piece, to honour him enough,” he says.

Now 35, Cherkaoui grew up watching Tezuka on French television, drinking in a morality that “shows consequences, but does not make judgments”. A character such as Astro Boy could be seen as merely a child’s superhero; in fact, as Cherkaoui convincingly asserts: “Comic books are not just for children – there’s real authorship in them, and because you also have to be able to draw, they are really just like theatre.”

His passion is echoed by Daniel Proietto, the Argentinian-born dancer who plays the priest’s lover and whose dark doe eyes are, as his choreographer says, “a bit like animé, you know?”

Proietto – who dazzled in Russell Maliphant’s AfterLight in 2009, and later in Faun, Cherkaoui’s homage to Nijinsky – is relishing the challenges of this dense ensemble piece. “It’s complicated but exciting. Tezuka is so rich. You constantly have to figure out how to solve problems. I find it magical.”

Cherkaoui clearly thrives on the responses of intelligent dancers. He draws an analogy between Tezuka’s work and his own creative process. “He would draw a character with a scar, say, and then afterwards find a reason why there was that scar… For me that’s something recognisable, because with choreography you will see something in your mind, but you only find out what it really is later on, by trying things.”

He himself used to draw, but moved into what he calls the “more sensual” world of dance. Watching a friend imitate Kate Bush was an early inspiration. Then came work with the Belgian collective Les Ballets C de la B. His career has been notable not just for its success – most recently, a 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Babel – but for the diversity of the worlds it explores.

The 2008 work Sutra, for example, was a collaboration with Antony Gormley and Shaolin monks. In 2009, he worked with the flamenco dancer Maria Pagés on Dunas. Ook, an early work, developed from a workshop for mentally disabled actors. Last year, he was the choreographer on a production of Das Rheingold at La Scala. “That really did feel like a different world. Wagner was much more exotic to me than Tezuka.”

Cherkaoui is an intellectual at heart, highly courteous and articulate, a faintly donnish figure as he moves delicately among his cast before resuming his seat in the stalls behind a laptop, surrounded by books and photographs of Japanese costumes. “His mind is almost mathematical,” says a colleague. “He is on top of everything – budget, travel arrangements… He has hundreds of Post-it notes about the show, and the next day they might all be shuffled around, but he always has a sense of where everything is going.”

It is ambitious, though. To render one art form through another is not easy. The separate parts of this show are certainly mesmerising; one hopes that the whole will convey what Cherkaoui intends.

“As an adult, we sometimes try to undo our childhood. We are discouraged from saying what we really care about – things like cartoon books – but now I want to uncover it instead.”

Hence, TeZuKa: a deeply complex work, born of simple childlike passion.

'TeZuKa’ opens at Sadler’s Wells on September 6 and is performed as part of the Out of Asia season; www.sadlerswells.com
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8730938/Osamu-Tezuka-the-man-who-set-manga-in-motion.html

The art of spying on bathing beauties

2011-07-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Women at times are like canvases. You see them on the trains, painting their faces, or else walking around wearing intriguing outfits, usually somewhat poker-faced. Consequently, the thought keeps occurring that perhaps they want to be looked at rather in the same way that a painting is looked at — to be appreciated without acknowledging it.

It is this quality — one that invokes the voyeur — that has made women such suitable subjects throughout the ages for artists such as Goyo Hashiguchi, the early 20th-century print maker, who is the subject of the latest exhibition at the Chiba City Museum of Art.

As with the work of his contemporaries, Kiyokata Kaburagi and Yumeji Takehisa, it is the undominating presence of Hashiguchi's ladies that paradoxically dominates his works. Their seemingly patient, passive but thoughtful expressions seem to tolerate our gaze as it roves over the gentle curves of their bodies or the gorgeous patterns of their attire.

Hashiguchi, who was often in poor health and died at the age of 41 in 1921, is known for a handful of very high-qualityukiyo-e woodblock prints produced as part of the shin hanga (new prints) movement. Indeed, he was so fussy and exacting about the quality of his prints that after a single collaboration with Shozaburo Watanabe, the famous publisher who was the driving force behind the movement, he was dissatisfied and decided to go it alone.

While featuring excellent examples of his most famous prints, this exhibition greatly expands Hashiguchi's oeuvre by including pencil sketches, designs, posters, and even oil paintings that he produced while a student at Tokyo School of Fine Arts, under the tutelage of Seiki Kuroda. These tenebrous daubings show that oil painting was never going to be his forte. However, his poster designs, including those he did for an international steamship company and an impressive hanging scroll painting, "Yellow Rose" (1912), reveal the breadth of his talent.

One of the biographically most interesting parts of the show, and indeed the catalyst for the exhibition, is the section on his illustrations for Natsume Soseki's famous novel "I Am a Cat" (1905).

"We decided to organize this exhibition firstly because we specialize in ukiyo-e prints," museum curator Junko Nishiyama explains. "But also because two or three years ago a collector entrusted his collection to us and it had a lot of artwork connected to Hashiguchi's illustrations for 'I Am a Cat.' Hashiguchi was acquainted with Soseki through his elder brother who had been a student of Soseki's."

Although the illustrations are mildly intriguing and it is interesting to see how many different designs were used for a novel in those days, artistically this is the weakest part of the show. No doubt the academic and historical element of this section provided a useful counterbalance to the numerous frankly suggestive sketches and prints that make up the mass and main artistic interest of this exhibition. But, just as the "pornographic" aspect of baroque European art was mitigated by references to classical myth and occasionally the Bible, Hashiguchi's nudes can also be viewed "innocently" as a celebration of Japan's onsen (hot spring) culture.

"In 1911 he went to the hot springs in Beppu in Oita (prefectures in Kyushu) and saw many bathing females," explains Nishiyama. "In that he found a very impressive theme — bathing girls."

In artistic terms, Hashiguchi was inspired by the 18th-century ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro; but, as Nishiyama points out, there are also traces of a fascination with English Pre-Raphaelite art, most notably in "Woman Combing Her Hair" (1920).

"Natsume Soseki went to Britain, and when he came back he introduced Hashiguchi to many Pre-Raphaelite works of art," Nishiyama explains.

Although he also tried other subjects in his prints — the landscape "Rainfall at Yabakei" (1918) is particularly impressive — his pencil sketches reveal an artist who was most at home contemplating the female figure and exploring new ways to show it.

The sketches also reveal that Hashiguchi was intrigued by the potential of using reflection to add an extra voyeuristic element of interest to his compositions However, little of this interest made its way into the final prints, except for "Hot Springs Inn Woman" (1920), where we catch a glimpse of nipple in the reflection of the woman bending down to dunk her tenugui towel into a bucket of water. The surreptitious pleasure that this picture gives us has an element of the Peeping Tom about it, but backed up by the knowledge that Japanese ladies in ukiyo-e prints don't mind too much being spied on, our injured sense of chivalry can be kept within manageable bounds.

"Hashiguchi Goyo" at the Chiba City Museum of Art runs till July 31; admission ¥1,000; open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Fri., Sat. till 8 p.m.). For more information, visit www.ccma-net.jp (Japanese only).

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fa20110707a1.html

Let's Talk About Art: Raku is so hot

2011-06-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

Raku is a pottery-making technique that originated in Japan nearly 1,000 years ago. The dark lead-glazed pieces were used in tea ceremonies.

Fast forward to 2011: As a down and dirty creative activity, raku is one of the hottest forms of pottery-making in America. The fun includes starting a fire in a garbage can -- seriously! Finished pieces of earthenware are funky and rugged looking.

Layne Wyse, ceramics coordinator at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, says raku is exciting because of the "red hot parts and smoke." He recently gave a tour of the facilities and explained the process for making raku pottery at PCA.

First, you form clay by hand or on a pottery wheel. At this stage the clay is called "greenware," and it is soft. The greenware is fired at a low temperature, becoming more porous and able to hold glaze.

Glaze is poured over the pot, and then it's time for the second firing, which happens in the specially constructed raku pavilion. Built in 2007, the Mr. and Mrs. Ira H. Gordon Pavilion has become a popular addition to PCA's campus, doubling as an intimate outdoor venue for summertime concerts and performances.

A large kiln is wheeled into the pavilion and hooked up to a gas line. The pots are placed inside, heated to 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, then pulled out of the kiln by staff using gloves, eye protection and a mask. The pottery is then placed directly in the garbage can, with the lid closed.

This part of the process causes color and finishing changes to the pot. Areas with no glaze turn black, and glazed areas get a black crackle look with rich copper colors, Mr. Wyse explains. The finish could be glossy, or it might have a more matte-like texture.

"Part of the fun is that raku is unpredictable."

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts offers raku summer camps as well as a variety of other ceramics classes, including tile-making, mosaics and wheel-throwing. For more information: 412-361-0455.

By Anna Venishnick for PF/PCA
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11179/1156618-437.stm

More young women mastering art of giving

2011-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Growing numbers of Japanese have been showing interest in helping those in need, whether through charity or volunteer work, since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami left tens of thousands in the Tohoku region in dire situations.

But among young women, altruistic deeds started to take root even before the disaster, with many of them, often facing disadvantages at work, finding social contribution fun and hip, and something at which they can shine and feel a sense of achievement.

Some are purchasing street magazines from homeless people, while others engage in pro bono work to utilize, and even polish, their skills.

Osaka-based Big Issue Japan, which publishes magazines aimed at helping the homeless become independent by letting them sell magazines and keep the majority of the revenues, said 70 percent of its readers are women.

A young woman recently seen purchasing a copy of The Big Issue from a homeless man near Tokyo's JR Mejiro Station said she has been buying the magazine every month for six months. "For some reason, I can't help but care," she said.

"Perhaps women face more disadvantages in the workplace and other areas than men, so they can feel for others more," said Miku Sano, manager of the magazine's Tokyo office. "Some of our readers sympathize with the homeless because their fathers lost jobs."

The homeless vendors keep ¥160 of the ¥300 cover price when they sell a copy of the London-born publication, whose subjects range from entertainment to social issues.

"It's great because the relationship isn't one way in which I give and they receive, but it's an even one where I'm purchasing a product from them," said Tomoe Nagasaki, 32, who started buying the magazine when it was first published in Japan in 2003, and now works for the publisher.

"It also gave me a way to interact with homeless guys who I've long been concerned about," she added.

Women are also increasing their pro bono work, in which volunteers offer their professional skills for public services.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110623f3.html

Meetings With Remarkable People in Japan: Eriko Horiki -- Pioneer on the Washi Frontier

2011-06-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Traditional handmade washi paper can be found everywhere in Japan, from name cards to beautiful wrapping paper. Until now, the largest washi never exceeded 3 feet x 6 feet long. But washi as large format installation art, using paper tapestries up to 50 feet long, brings this ancient process to a new artistic and technological level altogether.

Situated in a narrow old Kyoto neighborhood is the studio and showroom of one of Japan's most successful contemporary artists, Eriko Horiki. As each distinctly different, 10 foot long sample of her washi art after another is rolled out on ceiling tracks, the paper reveals its beauty: thin fibers creating delicate swirls around tiny bits of mulberry bark, long coarse strips of bark floating dramatically in what looks like churning whirlpools. Washi's color and texture are enhanced by light, and as Horiki slowly shifts the light source from the front to the back of the piece, the fibers within the paper become illuminated and then disappear, creating an ethereal experience for the viewer.

It takes ten skilled workers to produce a piece of Horiki's large format washi -- five artists and five craftsmen in an elaborate, almost choreographed operation. Horiki explains, "Washi can be created to specifically match any architectural need or function." However, there is an additional, unknown element that always finds its way into this art. "Because the paper involves natural bark fibers floating in water, we cannot completely control the outcome of the finished work. We have come to accept nature as a part of the collaborative process."

Horiki came from neither an art nor a craft background. After working for four years in banking, she moved to the accounting department of a company that specialized in developing products made from washi. She then came into contact with professional paper artisans in the washi-making town of Imadate in Fukui Prefecture. Becoming completely captivated by the workmanship of these craftsmen, she decided to devote herself to this paper production to help ensure that washi making skills handed down over 1500 years would be passed on to the next generation. Today, you will find her works provocatively installed as walls, room dividers, ceilings and windows in restaurants, hotel lobbies, and public spaces throughout Japan, bringing drama and exceptional beauty to the surroundings.

"I was a complete amateur when I jumped into this business," Horiki confesses. "If I had had more experience, I would only have seen impossibility in the task I had chosen." But through visits to public buildings, study of their design and decoration, and sheer perseverance, her studio was born.

Public places are plagued with cigarette smoke, direct sunlight and human beings with curious fingers. Washi can tear, burn, lose color, get dirty and contract or expand, making it difficult to use as a building material. It takes as much effort to protect the washi as it does to design and create it. But Horiki likes challenges. "I have always believed that, no matter how seemingly impossible a project, if it is an idea which came from a human mind, then a human mind can come up with a solution. I must go forward and do it."

Horiki found the solutions to many potential problems through technology, sandwiching her washi in glass when necessary, and allowing the stunningly warm, soft and radiant paper to thrive in the harshest environments. But since standard glass creates distracting reflections, her team had to painstakingly innovate ways to prevent glare, all while following safety laws that obliged them to use the same shatterproof glass as in car windshields. In addition to being artists, her crew must also be scientists.

One of Horiki's most exciting projects was a collaboration with cellist Yo Yo Ma, a 46 foot long by 13 foot high single piece of washi that is the stage backdrop for his "Silk Road" concert tour, which debuted at Carnegie Hall. "Yo Yo Ma first found out about us when he saw our work here in Kyoto," Horiki explains. "We talked about the traditional and innovative aspects of washi, and new possibilities in music and stage decoration."

"The Silk Road symbolizes the connection between time and place," Horiki says, and her team worked for two months to create a set embodying the essence of the Silk Road, the ancient Asian highway which connected peoples of many cultures from east to west. For some 20 minutes during the show, the entire stage environment slowly changed as Horiki's work was illuminated through lighting techniques corresponding to the inflection of the music.

Committed to excellence, energized by challenges, talented and hard working, Eriko Horiki is an inspiring example of how traditional Japanese crafts are being reinvented as one-of-a-kind works of art for the 21st century.

Yet to a Westerner her pieces might not even look Japanese, but amazingly international. Horiki sees this, in part, as the flow of ideas enabled by our contemporary world: "People meet and are influenced by each other, people are influenced by previous eras, people from different countries influence each other. From all of this interchange comes the birth of a new culture."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-beimel/meetings-with-remarkable-_2_b_875348.html

Benton Museum Reopens With Three Shows

2011-05-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Emerging from a two-year construction project, the William Benton Museum of Artat the University of Connecticut in Storrs is opening its first summer exhibitions since 2009, and as if to meet pent up demand, three shows open Tuesday.

The emphasis is on a lovely collection of colored woodcuts from 19th-century Japan, combining the museum's recent gift of works focused on Japanese theater with landscapes lent from St. Joseph's College's museum, and rounded out by Benton acquisitions.

What were once printed as souvenirs of Kabuki productions now stand as art on their own, with intricate lines, swirls of patterns, alluring color and innovative printing techniques, even on the most common of images, such that the swords and metal shine with metallic-flecked paint.

Many of the images are by Konishi Hirosada, who worked in the theater community of Osaka in the early 19th century. He often presented key scenes from Kabuki productions, alongside close-ups of the actors, who were also widely known at the time. In Kabuki makeup, their often scowling faces are rendered flat, their relatively tiny hands often clenched in passion or clutching swords.

The images were acquired over the years by George Lincoln, UConn Class of 1960, and his passion for woodcuts (and for donating to college museums) was matched by the Rev. John Kelley, who collected landscapes and scenes of everyday life in Japan caught at about the same time.

His collection, donated to the St. Joseph College Art Gallery in 1966, includes Utagawa Hiroshige's 1857 New Year's image of a haunting skulk of foxes gathered below a garment nettle tree, under the stars at Oji, and several of his views of Mt. Fuji from varying parts of the landscape.

The Cat in the Hat would never be mistaken for a Kabuki actor (though it would be a good stunt for him and Things 1, 2 and 3). But a second new exhibit, "The Art of Dr. Seuss" opens in an adjoining gallery Tuesday.

It features more than a dozen iconic characters created by Springfield-born Theodor Seuss Geisel, in drawings, sculptures and paintings. Organized in conjunction with a summer performance of "Seussical: The Musical," opening on campus June 16 by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the exhibit also includes his own version of trophy heads and a few later, whimsical paintings.

The Benton also takes the opportunity to show off a number of works from its own eclectic holdings. "The Sum of Its Parts: Selections from the Benton Collections" range from Dutch and Italian etchings from the mid-17th century (including one from Rembrandt) to new acquisitions from Peter Waite and Alfredo Jaar. It's an opportunity to show an impressive new woodcut and relief print from 1983 by Frank Stella, "Imola Five II," which the museum was given last year. It hangs next to the previously acquired Stella, "Steller's Albatross," bought when it was new in 1977.

Representative works from Robert Henri's early-20th-century followers, known as The Eight, are on display, as are works by feminist art from Kiki Smith and Nancy Spero, among others, and a few examples of German pop art, including works by Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and Dieter Roth.

The three shows run from Tuesday through Aug. 7.

Also This Week

The traditional Japanese woodcut as created by Keiji Shinohara is part of a show of five Connecticut printmakers opening Wednesday at the Slipe Gallery in Taub Hall at the University of Hartford's Hartford Art School.

"Focus on Process," presented by Paper New England, will also feature work by Bryan Nash Gill, Chet Kempczynski, Michael Levine and Robert Parker. Several of the artists will demonstrate their processes at an opening reception June 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. The show continues through June 30.

A reception is set for Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. for "Tearing Silk," a show of recent silkscreens by Miguel Trelles at the Broad Street Gallery, 1283 Broad St., Hartford. The show continues through June 18.

Among the current shows at the UConn Health Center in Farmington are "Epic Shadows," which features Indian shadow puppets from the collection of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UConn, and "Nature's Watercolors," an exhibit of paintings by Sharon Kocay of West Hartford.

"Strictly Fanciful," a show of paintings by Terry Lennox, opens Wednesday at the Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam. An opening reception is set for June 3 from 6 to 8 p.m.; the show continues through June 26.

A watercolor show by Moodus artist James R. Riccio, "In Natural Light," opens at the Gallery at the Mill House in Chester Wednesday. A reception is set June 4 from 2 to 5 p.m.; the show continues through June 30.

The Paradise City Arts Festival is this weekend at the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton. The event has been named one of the top three art fairs nationwide and the only New England event in a list of top 10 art fairs nationwide. Among the 260 artists — including 19 from Connecticut — are 40 new exhibitors. It runs Saturday through Monday.

Also in Massachusetts, a new show that may be more suited to Labor Day Weekend than Memorial DayWeekend: "The Workers," opening Saturday at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, features the work of 25 artists interpreting the way labor is represented today. That Mass MoCA is housed in a huge factory whose failure affected the region underscores the show's theme. A reception is set from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday; it runs through March 12.

In conjunction with the exhibit, an area called "I Am Searching for Field Character," run by the Bureau for Open Culture operated by James Voorhies, opens today, promised to be part beer garden, part work space, part slideshow stage.

The Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon has canceled its planned Fire It Up! Summer kick-off bash Friday because of forecasts for rain. No makeup date has been set.

>> Send news of exhibits and openings to rcatlin@courant.com.

By ROGER CATLIN, rcaltin@courant.comThe Hartford Couranthttp://www.courant.com/entertainment/arts/hc-artweek-0526-20110526,0,3536552.story

Exploring the edible art of Japanese grilling

2011-05-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Cooking prime cuts of meat and other foods over live fire is considered a quintessentially American activity, the heart of many celebrations and holiday meals. In Japan, the native grilling tradition has even deeper roots -- starting centuries before Christopher Columbus ever saw his first ship.

"The Japanese Grill," by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat, explains that in ancient times, Japanese homes were built around an open hearth, supplying warmth and a place to grill fish for the entire family. Traces of that grilling-centered diet can be found in the modern Japanese breakfast of rice, pickles and grilled fish, even if that fish gets cooked on apartment stoves.

*********

The Japanese Grill by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat

Ten Speed Press; 184 pages, $25

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A thousand years of refinements and innovations have brought Japanese grilling to an edible art, where even the alignment of chicken pieces and scallions on a skewer is considered for aesthetic affect. In their second book together, Ono and Salat offer a primer on classic Japanese grilled dishes, marinades, sauces and side dishes, plus the best Japanese approaches to American grilling classics.

Yakitori -- skewers of meat, seafood or vegetables grilled over charcoal -- are "one of the most popular and beloved foods in Japan," the authors write.

The best yakitori are assembled with painstaking care, focusing on specific sauces and skewering techniques to bring out the best flavor. In Japan, as many as 30 different cuts of chicken are prepared on skewers, including livers, necks and skin. The cooking technique is a two-stage process, partly cooking the meat, then brushing on sauce that caramelizes as the food finishes.

Authentic chicken teriyaki tops the book's poultry offerings, which also include chicken as spice-rubbed wings, pounded breast cutlets, butterflied legs; Japanese-style turkey pastrami and miso-glazed quail.

For grilling fish and seafood, the book concentrates on using a few flavors to draw out the best in the ingredients. Salt-grilled head-on shrimp and whole red snapper with ponzu dipping sauce rely on obtaining top-quality ingredients.

Applying Japanese flavors and techniques to American classics like a porterhouse steak results in crossover temptations like the porterhouse with garlic-soy marinade. Cooking the meat partway, then helping the surface brown with more brushed-on marinade, promises crusty yet juicy results.

Most of the recipes in "The Japanese Grill" can be executed using ingredients found in well-stocked Western New York supermarkets or Asian markets, but shoppers may have to mail-order some ingredients, like spice mixtures, that may not be available in local stores.

agalarneau@buffnews.com

By Andrew Z. Galarneau

NEWS FOOD WRITER

http://www.buffalonews.com/life/taste/kitchen-bookshelf/article425399.ece

Tsunami reverberates in isle arts communities

2011-04-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hawaii entertainers are altering and sometimes canceling their tours in Japan

The impact of last month's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan continues to ripple through Hawaii's entertainment and arts communities.

Some of the same performers who have been donating their talents to disaster relief efforts in Hawaii have had to cancel long-scheduled shows in Japan because many venues are no longer functioning, rolling blackouts are affecting large swaths of the country, and there are understandable concerns about radiation leaks from the damaged nuclear reactors.

Add to that the still-unknown costs of rebuilding, the tremendous personal losses, and the feeling shared by many Japanese that it is wrong to enjoy oneself when so many others are suffering such a great misfortune, and it's no wonder that some entertainers have canceled their tour dates.

Jack Johnson was in Osaka for his "To The Sea" tour when the earthquake struck March 11. He performed there as scheduled several hours later but postponed his remaining stops in Sendai, Budukha, Fukuoka and Tokyo. On Friday the singer-songwriter announced he was canceling the remainder of his Japan tour because he wouldn't be able to work in rescheduled concert dates.

Johnson, who performed at the April 10 Kokua for Japan fundraiser at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, also said he is donating $50,000 to GlobalGiving's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

Grammy winner Daniel Ho said he had a tour in June that was canceled, but he will be playing dates at the end of June in Okinawa, Osaka, Tokyo and Fukuoka for the U.S. Embassy's American Centers.

"We want to support Japan in the little ways we can," Ho said Friday via email. "We have many family and friends there."

A spokeswoman for ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro said he will be going to Japan as planned this summer although a television appearance scheduled for the end of this month was postponed.

"(Jake) needed to find out whether it was safe enough to go or not," Yukari Takai said via email. "But now it seems that things got a little better so Jake has decided to go not just to do the filming but also a charity concert. … We are planning to have his annual summer tour as scheduled."

Robert Cazimero had a Japanese tour scheduled for late last month but now will be going sometime in July, according to Leah Bernstein, spokeswoman for the Mountain Apple Co. record label.

Raiatea Helm was in Tokyo with Elmer "Sonny" Lim Jr. and Bryan Tolentino when the quake hit, Bernstein added, and her tour was also cut short.

The Makaha Sons were 30 minutes from landing at Narita Airport when the earthquake and tsunami hit. Their flight was diverted to Kansai and they arrived in Tokyo the following day.

"We did one show there, (but) two other luncheon shows got canceled because they were afraid of the rolling blackouts that started, and also a lot of our fans from the affected areas just couldn't make it," said singer-guitarist Jerome Koko.

"We're still waiting to hear if we'll have any of our other shows or performances canceled. We do our northern (Japan) shows every other year, and this year all our shows are in the southern or Tokyo area. … If you had a show in the impacted areas, your show is surely canceled. For now we just send all our love and prayers to all of our family and friends in Japan."

Hawaiian music recording artist Eric Lee, just back from performing in Tokyo, is one of those who is eager to return to show his support for the disaster-wracked nation. He will perform this summer in Shinjuku, Miyazaki, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Okinawa.

"When I was in Shinjuku last week, I did notice a diminished supply of drinks in the convenience store. Some stores were completely sold out of water by 10 a.m.," Lee said via email Friday. "But I feel it's important to keep going to directly help to help keep their spirits up and encouraging them to keep moving forward through our music and dance."

On the other hand, "Territorial Airwaves" host Harry B. Soria Jr., a popular concert emcee on both sides of the Pacific, said via email that he will not be going to Japan as usual for sakura (cherry blossom season) because of the conditions there. Soria was among those questioning whether the Japan disaster may affect attendance at this month's Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, which always draws a large contingent of fans from Japan.

Grammy-nominated slack-key master Cyril Pahinui said he usually travels to Japan with the winning Merrie Monarch halau, and that plans for a separate trip later this year are still on.

While he didn't have a professional engagement booked, Bill "Billy V" Van Osdol, morning announcer on Hawaiian 105 KINE, said he canceled his annual "spring break" vacation to Hokkaido after rising radiation levels were registered in the eastern coastal city of Yokusuka.

"My wife said, ‘No, we're not going,' so we canceled our personal plans," Van Osdol said Friday. "The entertainers who are still going, like Nathan Aweau, are going to places that aren't anywhere near the earthquake.

"It's hard for some of the people over there to hold concerts and activities where there's ‘joyful music,' and the closer you get to the disaster area the more likely they are to hold back. Only now with the opening of baseball and some of the other events, people are starting to see a somewhat normal lifestyle that includes entertainment like ours."

Hawaii's musicians are not the only members of the arts community to be affected by the Japan disaster. The earthquake and its aftermath scuttled plans by the Honolulu Academy of Arts to send to Japan its touring exhibit of works by famed Japanese artist and printmaker Hokusai.

"The Japanese really wanted (the exhibition)," academy spokeswoman Lesa Griffith said, but concerns about potential radiation exposure contaminating the art or harming the curators resulted in the tour's cancellation.

She could not give an estimate of how much revenue would have been generated by the touring exhibit, but said it was more important to protect the artwork from inadvertent radiation exposure.

Ironically, Hokusai's best known work, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," shows what is generally perceived as a tsunami, although art experts say it is actually "a large wave of the open sea" and not a tsunami.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/featuresstories/20110419__Tsunami_reverberates__in_isle_arts_communities.html

Moon Photographer Raises Money for Japan Relief Efforts

2011-03-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

A local photographer is holding an art sale to benefit victims of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

If you ask Rob Larson, every little bit counts.

The Moon-based photographer set out last week with a simple goal in mind: To raise some money for Japanese tsunami relief efforts through his artwork -- no amount raised would be too modest, he said.

As the death toll from Japan's earthquake and tsunami earlier this month stretched to more than 8,000, Larson began reaching out to friend and clients. He offered them a piece of his work in exchange for a donation to Japanese victims. So far, the Moon Area High School graduate has raised a couple hundred dollars in the sale.

"I've seen a lot of artists creating things to help Japan," said Larson, who works as an editorial and commercial photographer. "Maybe creating one-of-a-kind posters or whatever medium they work in. It's really cool."

Larson said 80 percent of the cost of each piece purchased will go to an aid organization of the donor's choice, including the American Red Cross and Global Giving. All of the donations are processed through PayPal.

"I know that with Japan it's not exactly the same thing as with Haiti, where they desperately need money," he said. "But it's so easy to forget about a thing like this when it falls out of the news."

Larson, whose portfolio ranges from portraits to surreal landscape photos, said he's never before used his art to raise money for a cause quite like the disaster in Japan. News of the devastation left after the earthquake and tsunami, however, prompted to him to get involved.

"Not to be crude, but it's sort of like dangling a carrot in front of people," Larson said. "They get a cool print and a piece of art and hopefully we can help the relief effort."

To donate or learn more, visit Larson's website.

http://moon.patch.com/articles/moon-photographer-raises-money-for-japan-relief-efforts#photo-5341872

By Jenna Staul | Email the author | March 21, 2011

Japanese Earthquake Relief

2011-03-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

My prayers go out to all of those affected by the earthquake in Japan. It has been horrific to see all the devastation and loss of life this disaster has caused.

Below is a link to an article on the Huffington Post that will show what you can do to help, please send your aid to Japan in this time of need

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/14/how-to-help-japan-earthquake-relief_n_834484.html

Thank you,

Craig

Also, if anyone has any stories they'd like to share, feel free to leave them in the comment box and I will post them.

Top 10 reasons to visit Niigata, Japan

2011-02-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Top 10 reasons to visit Niigata, Japan

By Sharon Levy Pagan

Special to The Daily News

Published February 27, 2011

During 1964, my grandfather Ben Levy, a Galveston businessman, had the extraordinary opportunity to visit Niigata, Japan, shortly before it became our official sister city. My grandfather was an active member of Galveston Rotary and planned to attend several Rotary meetings as he journeyed through Japan.

Plans to establish a sister city relationship were under way when then Mayor Edward Schreiber learned of my grandfather’s trip, so he asked him if he would be willing to make an overnight stop in Niigata to personally deliver “greetings.” My grandfather was thrilled to take this excursion and thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to the Niigata community.

Just recently, my son Stewart and I joined the privileged few from our island who have actually visited our dynamic sister city Niigata, and it was an experience I will forever treasure.

Stewart is a junior at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he is majoring in Japanese and minoring in business. For the past six months, Stewart has lived in Nagoya, Japan, where he is a study-abroad student at Nanzan University.

Last summer, while serving as an intern for Mayor Joe Jaworski, Stewart learned more about Galveston’s sister city relationship with Niigata. With the help of Patricia Bolton-Legg, former councilwoman and current chairwoman of the Galveston-Niigata committee, and her contact Jonathan Carll, who works in the foreign affairs division for the city of Niigata, Stewart and I visited the fair city during the first days of 2011.

There are dozens of compelling reasons to journey to Niigata, but here are our top 10:

1. Mayor Akira Shinoda and his four senior staff members of the foreign affairs division welcomed us with numerous, thoughtful gestures, including the flying of the American flag outside city hall on the day of our meeting.

Foreign affairs staff members included Ms. Hiroko Saito, Mrs. Keiko McGinty, Mrs. Naoka Yamamiya and Mr. Kazunori Yoda, who chairs the Galveston-Niigata committee.

During our meeting, I learned Mr. Yoda traveled to Galveston after Hurricane Ike and personally delivered funds, which were used to purchase replacement trees for our city.

While Niigata has relationships with other sister cities, their relationship with Galveston is the most long-standing, and they truly are invested in our continued recovery.

They had numerous questions about the recovering of our hotel industry as well as the revival of the Historical Strand District. It was heartwarming to have the opportunity to talk with them, and they made our trip to their city worthwhile, in and of itself.

2. The ANA Crown Plaza Hotel, where you can begin your day with freshly baked, thickly-sliced Texas-style toast. It was memorable and delicious.

3. The Cave D’occi Winery, part of a first-class property that cultivates rows and rows of European-style grape vineyards.

Since freezing cold temperatures prohibited us from touring the grounds, we visited the gift shop where I discovered the most delicious apple-raspberry preserves I have ever tasted. I wish I had purchased more jars.

4. The World Class Spa adjacent to the winery. We briefly talked with a husband and wife who were celebrating their anniversary and enjoying a couple of nights of pampering there.

5. The 130-year-old, award-winning Takarayama Sake (Japanese rice wine) Brewery. Our guide was the great-granddaughter of the original owner, and his portrait was proudly displayed in the sake tasting room. The sake was light and dry, and delightful to sample as we watched the snow falling on that picturesque winter afternoon.

6. Dinner at Bistro Tsubaki (Tsubaki means camellia), which specializes in sweet Nanban prawns. We were welcomed by long-standing members of the Niigata-Galveston committee.

In addition to Mr. Yoda, we were introduced to Mr. Kenji Nagai, Mrs. Fujiko Tanaka, Mrs. Naoko Yokoyama and Mrs. Yukari Omori.

Mr. Nagai spoke fondly of his meetings with former Mayor Jan Coggeshall and civic leader Don Hubbell. Mrs. Tanaka happily reminisced about being a houseguest of Joan and John Hyatt and told us she really enjoyed Dickens on The Strand.

You could not ask for more delightful dinner company, and we will never forget the hospitality.

7. The new concept shopping center, which included state-of-the-art fish markets, grocery stores and diners. At the grocery store, samples of home grown Nagoya pears were available to taste. They were juicy, tasty and are known for their sweet smell and smoothness.

The grocery store featured local specialties such as packaged pear pastries for purchase. If you love pears as much as we do, you will not want to miss this variety.

8. The small and cozy Ramen Noodle Diner with a single counter that seats 10 customers at one time. We walked in, selected our favorite flavor of Ramen from a handy vending machine, took our seat at the counter and, minutes later, were served piping hot and delicious Ramen soup. Such an efficient operation and a wonderful, hearty treat for us.

9. Shirone Giant Kite History Museum, which is the largest kite museum in the world and houses a collection of kites from all around the world.

10. And, the former Niigata Customs House, which was built in 1869 to coincide with the opening of the Niigata port, one of the five major ports opened to foreign trade at the time.

Our 48 hours in Niigata were over before we knew it, and Keiko, Naoko and Jonathan escorted us to our departing train. Without hesitation, they boarded the train with us, secured our luggage and proceeded to hand-select the seats they believed would provide the most beautiful view of the upcoming, snowy countryside.

After Stewart and I settled in our seats, I glanced out of the window and saw Keiko, Naoko and Jonathan patiently waiting outside, warmly waving goodbye. During our visit, they attended to our every imaginable need, placed all their responsibilities on the back burner and made us feel so incredibly welcomed.

Visiting Niigata was a dream come true for Stewart and I, and I hope to return again to experience the unforgettable hospitality.

Sharon Levy Pagan lives in Galveston.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/214602

Lisbon’s Orient Museum to host Namban Art exhibition

2011-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

The Orient Museum in Lisbon has launched an inaugural exhibition on 'Namban art', a rare collection of over 60 pieces of 'Namban' furniture, textiles, arms and paintings.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans in Japan and 'Namban art' is any artistic expression from Japan and China in the 16th and 17th centuries that resulted from the influence of these European sailors.

With artefacts dating back to 1640, this exhibition in the Orient Museum is titled "Namban Commissions: The Portuguese in Modern-Age Japan," and includes rare pieces from various collections, including extraordinarily-illustrated screens and military masks.

This exhibition is divided into four sections with the first section focusing on 'The Art of War'. The arrival of the Portuguese in Japan in1543, coincided with a period of great political instability in the region, and the exhibits in this section of the exhibition are a product of the civil war that devastated the country for more than a century.

The second section focuses on 'Kirishitan' Art. Kiritishan means 'Christians' in Japan, and this section of the exhibition displays items linked to the presence and the actions of Christian missionary religious orders in Japan - inlcuding military objects associated with the great Japanese lords who had converted to Christianity as well as items designed for Catholic worship and liturgy. The exhibition also features a section dedicated to objects that reflect the influence that Namban art has had from other cultures and geographical contexts, namely Gujarat in India and China.

The exhibition is open until 31st May 2011.

http://www.easier.com/83722-lisbon-orient-museum-namban-art-exhibition.html

Indoor Grass Art Frames

2011-01-04T08:34:00.001-08:00

The Indoor Grass Planter series, from Japan-based Metaphys’ products, brings greenery into your home. The planters were created to replicate picture frames in square, rectangle and circular design shapes. The mini-gardens are designed for people with a love of gardening.

“We designed planters to enjoy the contrast between the plants planted and a scenery picture shown on the planter. You can select whether to hang it on the wall or place it on the table,” explains Metaphys.

Visit: http://www.metaphys.jp/

Is Japanese manga moving into mainstream art?

2010-12-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

While manga is one of Japan’s most powerful mediums, with a huge influence on many industries including publication, film, games and even electronics, the art world has never quite embraced it as high art.

But now is perhaps the time to change that mindset, as Artsonje Center, a private art museum in Hwa-dong, central Seoul which usually presents contemporary conceptual art, has taken the bold step of opening its space for a special exhibition on Japanese comics.

Organized by SAMUSO and The Japan Foundation, the exhibition “Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Comics Today” makes the case for why and how manga should be viewed as art.

“We pondered the question of how manga, which is born to be sold in the form of comic books in book stores, could be displayed at an exhibition. We also questioned the limit of manga; if it should stay as a commercial product and be bought and shared by many people, or become something more. We hope this exhibition will pave the way for more discussions on manga,” Takahashi Mizuki, curator of the exhibition, told the press Friday.

Manga’s sudden intrusion into a lofty art museum definitely seemed to have caught the media’s attention as the museum was unusually packed with journalists on the opening day. Setting aside all the lingering questions, the general response was that the show offers heart-fluttering memories for hardcore manga fans and an easy introduction for manga first-timers. Divided into nine sections, the show features some original illustrations from nine manga strips ― “Number Five,” “The World God Only Knows,” “Sugar Sugar Rune,” “BECK,” “Children of the Sea,” “Solanin,” “Five Minutes from the Station,” “Sennen Gaho” and “Nodame Cantabile.”

“Only the most representative manga that are translated into Korean and widely read here were selected for the show to better reach out to the public,” explained Mizuki.

Unlike in some exhibitions fe aturing comic strips which simply display the original illustrations, exhibition designer Toyoshima Hideki created something like a 3-D realization of the comics by adding whimsical props and installations that look like they just popped out of the comic books.

The section dedicated to Wakaki Tamiki’s “The World Only God Knows,” for example, is presented like a classroom with a chalkboard, a lecturn and 12 desks and chairs, just like it is illustrated in the comics. Brief introductions on the characters are written on the board in adorable handwriting.

The highlight and finale of the show is “Nodame Cantabile,” manga which was also made into a TV series and a movie that were extremely popular in Korea. Original illustrations and rough copies of the manga are exhibited behind a player piano that plays Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 13 No. 8, a significant musical number in the story.

The complete collection of the comics featured in the show are on display on the first floor of the museum. A guide book is distributed to visitors so even those who are not familiar with the original works are able to get a picture of what they are going to see before jumping into the sea of 3-D realized imaginations.

The exhibition runs through Feb. 13 at Artsonje Center in Hwa-dong, central Seoul. Tickets are 1,500 won for students and 3,000 won for adults. For more information, call (02) 733-8945 or visit www.artsonje.org/asc.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

http://www.koreaherald.com/entertainment/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101205000235

Holy comicbook exhibition, Batman!: Japan's artists put their own twist on America's iconic superheroes

2010-12-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Cristoph Mark / Daily Yomiur Staff Writer

In a publishing market so dominated by illustrated stories--i.e. manga--it is sometimes surprising the only exposure Japanese audiences have to American comicbook superheroes is in the form of blockbuster Hollywood movies.

Using that very point of entry, Parco Factory's latest exhibition, DC Comics Super Heroes!!!, explores a small but significant corner of that increasingly popular American art form.

"We felt this exhibition would be a good way for light fans who became interested in America's comicbooks through films to learn about the genre in an accessible, fun way," says Rui Shigeto, who curated the exhibition.

The show covers the history of some of America's favorite comicbook heroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern (most of whom have appeared in film). Starting with the Golden Age (ca 1938-1952)--which was heralded by the appearance of Superman in Action Comics No. 1, and later introduced Batman in Detective Comics--a number of replica covers from each era illustrate the changes in artistic attitudes and societal norms.

Each of the major turning points in comicbook history--which also include the Silver Age and the Modern Age--is marked by a distinct approach in terms of both artistic style and story content. Early stories were a bit on the dark side, before taking a turn for the camp during the 1960s. Later, characters struggled with issues such as drug abuse and, in the case of Frank Miller's brilliant The Dark Knight Returns, nuclear war and misplaced patriotism. As one might imagine, a dark realism--both visually and thematically--has taken hold in the Modern Age of American comics.

Hanging on the walls of the exhibition space are recent issues of series dealing with these classic characters, each of them handled by a different writer and artist. Grant Morrison's Old West version of Batman, any one?

"I think one of the interesting things about American comicbooks--as opposed to Japanese manga--is that different artists [and writers] handle the same character, thereby giving the art a different flavor and the storylines a different structure," says Shigeto. "In Japan, you would never see several mangaka taking on the same character's story."

For Super Heroes, however, Japanese artists get to do exactly that: 22 artists and designers try their hands at re-envisioning these classic icons. Shunya Yamashita, who designs game characters, imagines Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Catwoman as kawaii sexpots straight out of anime; illustrator Hiroki Tsukuda applies traditional Japanese craft to an ink recreation of the Batmobile from the recent Batman films; and the designers at Be@rbrick turn Batman into its trademark cute bearshaped toy.

"We wanted to make use of the various styles, genres and ages of the participating artists--which include graphic designers and mangaka, among others--as a filter through which to view the world of American comicbooks," Shigeto says. "I feel that this varied mix really resulted in a particularly 'Tokyo' sensibility. This is an exhibition that really only could have been done here in Japan."

But the most famous redesigns of America's comicbook superheroes have been done by film studios, and there is no shortage of memorabilia on hand at Super Heroes. Among the many items are Val Kilmer's cowl from Batman Forever, Brandon Routh's glasses from Superman Returns and Batmobile and Batwing models from 1989's Batman. And the most impressive of all: the rhinestoned "S" from Marlon Brando's costume for 1978's Superman.

"DC Comics Super Heroes!!!," until Dec. 19, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Parco Factory in Shibuya, Tokyo. Admission is 300 yen, with student discounts available. For further information, call (03) 3477-5873 or visit www.parco-art.com.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/T101202003565.htm

Japanese Onsen Spa Guide

2010-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

By Shizuko Mishima, About.com Guide

Japanese spa is called onsen. Since Japan is well-known for its many
volcanoes, there are a lot of onsen all over the country. It is very
relaxing to soak in Japanese onsen spas. Japanese people like to spend

holidays in onsen. Open-air spas (roten buro) are very popular and
are wonderful.

There are different kinds of onsen, depending on the amount and
kinds of minerals in the water. (See Kinds of Onsen) Some spas can
be smelly and very hot.

It's good to know how to use Japanese-style bath before you go to
Japanese spas. Japanese spa are usually separated for women and
men. You are supposed to take all your clothes off. People do not wear
bathing suit in Japanese spas.

Top Onsen in Japan
Great Onsen in Japan

Hot Springs in Japan by Region
(Links by Jolsen's, Japanese Guest Houses, and Onsen Mechelin).

1. Hokkaido
Aidomari onsen, Bifuka onsen, Noboribetsu, Rausu onsen

2. Tohoku Region

Akita: Kawarage Ohyudaki onsen

Aomori: Kokanesaki Furofushi onsen

Fukushima: Yonokami onsen

3. Kanto Region

Ibaraki: Gozenyama onsen

Gumma: Ikaho onsen, Kusatsu onsen

Kanagawa: Hakone Yumoto onsen

Saitama: Chichibu onsen

Tochigi: Shiobara onsen

4. Chubu Region

Gifu: Hirayu onsen, Gero onsen

Nagano: Shirahone onsen, Nozawa onsen

Shizuoka: Shuzenji onsen

5. Kinki Region

Kyoto: Kurama onsen

Hyogo: Arima onsen

Wakayama: Kawayu onsen

6. Shikoku Region
Dogo onsen

7. Kyushu Region

Kagoshima: Ibusuki onsen

Oita: Yufuin onsen

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/traditionculture/a/hotsprings.htm

New exhibition charts Japan's influence on the world of haute-couture

2010-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Kyodo) -- The first exhibition in Europe to comprehensively survey avant-garde Japanese fashion has just opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in London.

The display shows how Japanese designers took the world by storm in the early 1980s and how they have continued to have a presence on the international stage.

Works from icons Issey Miyake and Kenzo Takada are among more than 100 garments from the last three decades that have been loaned by the Kyoto Costume Institute.

The exhibition starts with fashions from the early 1980s, when designers like Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto gained critical acclaim for their asymmetrical, deconstructed garments -- where raw edges, exposed seams and distressed textiles give the clothes an unfinished look -- in monochrome palettes.

They rejected the then current obsession with body-consciousness by concealing, rather than revealing, the figure, often in loose swathes of fabric. Commentators called their designs "bag-lady chic" when they exploded on to the scene in Paris.

The display goes on to show how Japanese designers have sometimes used synthetic materials to create innovative designs, as well as employing traditional techniques with a modern twist.

Visitors are able to see the "techno couture" of designer Junya Watanabe, whose honeycomb-structured dresses made out of polyester are particularly striking.

There are also a series of paper garments based on origami techniques from Hiroaki Ohya and Tao Kurihara.

The exhibition also features Kenzo Takada's modern take on the traditional kimono.

The final section of the gallery is dubbed "Cool Japan" and shows work from a new breed of designers who have been influenced by manga, anime and the "kawaii" (cute) culture epitomized by the Hello Kitty brand.

It features pieces by Kurihara, Ohya and Jun Takahashi for the Undercover label.

Here, there is a mixture of styles with some pieces being described as "Lolita", "Gothic", "Victorian" or "Rococo."

Akiko Fukai, director of the Kyoto Costume Institute, told Kyodo News, "From 1980 Japanese designers are trying to remake the western notion of beauty. Before then, nobody knew about Japanese fashion.

"From 1980 the West started to become interested in Japanese designers, who brought a new aesthetic into the fashion world: deconstruction, slashed or tiered clothing. Japanese designers focused on black, grey and white while European designers were focusing on color."

But she admits that Japanese designers now are not as influential as they were in the 1980s.

Despite this, Fukai believes an exhibition in Europe is now well overdue given the wealth of talent in Japan.

Kate Bush, head of art galleries at the Barbican Centre, said, "The great Japanese designers -- Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto -- changed fashion forever in the 1980s.

"The tight silhouettes of western couture were jettisoned for new fluid shapes. Out went the magnificent ornament and extravagant techniques of the postwar tradition and in came a stark, monochrome palette and an entirely new decorative language -- holes, rips, frays and tears -- emerging from the stuff of fabric itself."

"Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion" is on at the Barbican Art Gallery in London until Feb. 6.

(Mainichi Japan) October 19, 2010

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/arts/news/20101019p2g00m0et063000c.html

Japanese Village Creates Art From Hues of Rice

2010-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

INAKADATE, Japan — Nearly two decades ago, Koichi Hanada, a clerk in the village hall, received an unusual request from his superior: find a way to bring tourists to this small community in rural northern Japan, which has rice paddies and apple orchards, but not much else.

Mr. Hanada, a taciturn but conscientious man, said he had spent months racking his brain. Then, one day he saw schoolchildren planting a rice paddy as a class project. They used two varieties of rice plants, one with dark purplish stalks and the other bright green ones. Then it struck him, why not plant the colored varieties in such a way as to form words and pictures?

“I didn’t know it would become such a hit,” he said.

The result was what is now called paddy art, and it has put this village on the map. Every year since 1993, villagers have created pictures by using rice paddies as their canvas and living plants as their paint and brush. As the village’s creations have grown increasingly large, complex and polychrome, they have drawn growing media attention and hordes of the curious.

Last year, more than 170,000 visitors clogged the narrow streets of this quiet community of 8,450 mostly older residents, causing traffic jams and waiting for hours to see the living art.

Indeed, the images may be possible only in Japan, as the product of an amalgam of high technology, painstaking perfectionism and an ancient attachment to rice. To create this year’s football field-size picture of a samurai battling a warrior monk, villagers used a computer model to place more than 8,000 stakes to guide them in planting rice plants genetically engineered to produce three more colors: dark red, yellow and white.

The images have become so detailed that the mayor, Koyu Suzuki, says visitors often ask if they are drawn on the paddies with paints. He said that it was the surprise factor that brought people here, and that the villagers believed they must produce ever more intricate pictures for tourists to keep coming back.

“We have no sea and no mountains, but what we do have plenty of is rice,” said Mr. Suzuki, 70. “We have to create a tourism industry using our own ingenuity.”

Residents of Inakadate (pronounced ee-NAH-kah-dah-tay) hope the paddy art will revitalize their declining village. Like much of rural Japan, the village has fallen on hard times from a shrinking population, a crushing debt load and declining revenues from agriculture.

“So many things have gone wrong, but the paddy art lets the community feel together again,” said Kumiko Kudo, 73, who runs a noodle restaurant.

But so far, the village has failed to turn its accomplishments on the rice paddies to its financial benefit. The visitors who now flood the village during the summer growing season, when the rice stalks grow tall enough for the pictures to become visible, do not spend much.

“Tourists come, say how wonderful it is and then just leave,” said Katsuaki Fukushi, the head of the village hall’s economic section.

Before the paddy art, the village’s only claim to fame was the discovery here in 1981 of the archaeological remains of 2,000-year-old rice paddies, making it one of the oldest rice-growing regions in sparsely populated northern Japan. The village tried to capitalize on the discovery by building a Neolithic-themed amusement park during the better economic times of the 1980s, when Tokyo showered regions with money for public works.

The public works spigot has since dried up, and the park now sits weed-filled and often empty. The park is one reason the village is now saddled with a debt of $106 million, three times as large as its total annual budget.

Villagers say the less expensive paddy art is better suited to the current leaner era. The paddies cost just $35,000 per year to rent, plant and maintain. While the village does not charge visitors to see the paddy art, it does ask for donations, which last year brought in $70,000, more than enough to cover the costs.

On a recent afternoon, throngs crowded an observation deck at the top of the village hall, which is built in the shape of a medieval Japanese castle, to see the paddy art below. Most praised Inakadate for its ingenuity.

“Other parts of Japan need to learn this spirit,” said Masako Sato, 69, a retired teacher from Akita, five hours away.

Volunteers plant and maintain the paddies. In the spring, about 1,200 villagers turned up to plant the half-dozen paddies for this year’s spectacle. That is a far cry from the first art in 1993, when Mr. Hanada and 20 fellow workers from the village hall made a simple, two-colored design representing a nearby mountain.

Along the way, the project has learned from its mistakes. In 2003, a picture of the Mona Lisa ended up looking pregnant, Mayor Suzuki said, because she was too narrow at the top and bloated at the bottom. To correct the sense of perspective, the villagers asked a teacher here to use a computer to map out where to plant stalks so the pictures would have proper proportions when viewed from atop village hall.

The village has also spawned imitators. At least a half-dozen other communities across Japan now create pictures in paddies, though none seem as intricate.

Feeling that they have been left to fend for themselves by Tokyo’s spending cuts, villagers say they must find ways to capitalize on the influx of visitors. Yozo Kikuchi, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, says the village must develop new souvenirs. True to form in Japan, they include a cute mascot, a smiling grain of rice named Little Mr. Rice-Rice.

The mayor has grander plans. He envisions increasing the number of paddy art sites and building new facilities for visitors, including possibly a flower-lined road, to turn Inakadate into an “art village.”

“We used to treat economic benefits as an afterthought,” said Eiji Kudo, head of the village council. “Now we realize how important they are.”

Yasuko Kamiizumi contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26japan.html?_r=1

Call to forge a common East Asian culture

2010-05-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

The shared characteristics of East Asian countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, provide a basis for establishing a common cultural community, experts say.

These characteristics include Confucianism, Buddhism, written Chinese characters as a communication tool, treating humans as part of nature, the emphasis on the community over the individual and the realization of harmony from contradictions, according to Professor Jin Ryong Yoo, of South Korea's Eulji University.

He was speaking at the First High-Level Academic Forum for Asian Culture and Art Circles, held last week in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

"The world is heading toward a multi-polar system under which regionalism has become an essential element of globalization. It is time to put our efforts to form a cultural community based on a common emotional background before setting up a political and economic community," Yoo says.

East Asian values, he says, have played an important role in the success of some Western cultural products, such as Hollywood's Mulan, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and even in Avatar, which has been seen by some to be based on the Taoist ideas of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.

A cultural community of East Asian countries will help them reap the benefits of scale economies in the world cultural industry, he adds.

Calling the culture industry a "sunrise industry", Professor Qi Yongfeng, of the National Research Center of Cultural Industry, Communication University of China, says: "Promoting regional cooperation and communication in Asian cultural industry will not only help optimize and upgrade the economic structure of Asian countries, but also push forward the course of economic integration."

Besides, it will also help remove historical misunderstandings and increase mutual political trust, he says.

According to statistics quoted by Korea Creative Content Agency, in 2009 China accounted for only 4 percent of the world's contents market, but the share of Asian countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, was 22.9 percent. In contrast, Europe's share was 36.6 percent and North America's, 35.7 percent.

"Independently, South Korea, China and Japan may not find it easy to overcome the United States' absolute superiority. But cooperation among East Asian countries can help in the long run," Yoo says.

He adds that China, South Korea and Japan must build a new common cultural consciousness that is different from that of other regions by confirming their emotional identity while comprehending their differences.

This can be done, he says, through common management of and research into the cultural assets of East Asia, cultural exchanges, and cooperation in setting up a legal system for the culture industry.

According to the Annual Report on Development of China's Cultural Industries (2010) by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China produced 456 feature films in 2009, ranking third in the world, after the US and India, with the year's domestic office box income increasing 42.96 percent over the previous year.

Jia Leilei, a research fellow with Chinese National Academy of Arts and one of the sponsors of the forum, says that while the Chinese cultural industry is developing rapidly, it still lags behind developed countries. "We cannot make a film like Avatar overnight. We need more time to acquire the skills for this," he says.

The forum, initiated by the Chinese National Academy of Arts and Korean-China Culture and Arts Forum, attracted more than 50 participants from various Asian countries.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-05/11/content_9833575.htm

Ancient art on display in private, picturesque Japanese gardens

2010-04-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

By Grant Okubo, Stars and Stripes Scene, Sunday, April 25, 2010

For some, Mr. Miyagi and the Karate Kid movies were their introduction to the world of bonsai — the art of growing miniature trees.

There are even a few websites talking about how "Mr. Miyagi" introduced them to bonsai.

But the ancient Japanese art of bonsai has grown past the pop culture references and found its way into gardens around the world.

Originally developed in China 2,000 years ago, bonsai was adopted (and some say perfected) by the Japanese in the 12th century. Growing bonsai requires a specific process of pruning, root reduction and potting to ensure the desired effect.

"There is (a growing) interest in bonsai" outside Japan, said Yoshihiro Nakamizu, president of the Bonsai Network near Tokyo, which connects visitors to Japan with some of the country’s most spectacular bonsai gardens.

Most of his clients come to Japan from Europe, North American and South America specifically for the bonsai tour, he said.

Japan has the best bonsai in the world, said Pedro Morales, president of the Puerto Rico Bonsai Federation, who along with other bonsai enthusiasts from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Columbia and Venezuela spent a recent Sunday touring gardens with Nakamizu.

"If we want to learn the correct way, we have to come to the best," Morales said.

Their first stop was to the bonsai village in Saitama City, just outside Tokyo. Located near Omiya Station, it is made up of several privately owned bonsai gardens in the residential neighborhood Bonsai-cho.

"The serenity, simplicity and peace that you get when you visit the gardens is a very unique feeling," Morales said. He added that both amateur and professionals interested in bonsai definitely have to see the gardens for themselves.

Meeting the bonsai artists is among the highlights of such trips, said Morales, who has made his fifth trip to Japan with bonsai always topping the agenda.

"This place is full of history and to see all the great collections there and to learn where each of the masters came from is a very special feeling. Every (bonsai) master that we spoke with is willing to share their knowledge. The most important thing is that they appreciate that outsiders are learning (this) Japanese art form."

While Japan is a bonsai lover’s paradise, Morales and others have exported the art to their native countries, Morales said.

Though trees and climates vary, the technique remains the same, he said.

The tour also included a stop at the private garden of Masahiko Kimura in Saitama City. Kimura is considered the best of the best in the bonsai world, Nakamizu said.

"Kimura is the Picasso of the bonsai world," Nakamizu said. "You’ll see how his trees are different from the others. He takes the material and makes them into an art form."

The tour ended at bonsai master Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. During the visit, many of the bonsai fans had the opportunity to speak with bonsai practitioners such as Peter Warren, Kobayashi’s apprentice. The native of Yorkshire, England, has studied under Kobayashi for seven years.

"What I’ve learned from bonsai in terms of technique has only been a small part compared to what I’ve gained from this experience on a personal level," Warren said. "Bonsai can be incredibly beautiful, and it makes people happy."

For more information on attending a tour of the various bonsai gardens, visit www.j-bonsai.com

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=69568

Japan's synchronized swimmers face nail art ban

2010-02-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

OKYO (Reuters) - Japan's synchronised swimmers can keep their nose pegs and sparkly costumes but will be banned from having brightly decorated fingernails or dying their hair.

Japanese officials have expanded their ban on swimmers to synchronised and diving disciplines under a policy that formally begins on April 1, local media reported on Saturday.

Swimmers could face lifetime bans if they turn up for competitions with dyed hair, elaborately painted nails or pierced ears.

The tough measures were drafted last year to prevent the country's athletes breaching discipline and looking more like rock stars than swimmers.

Male and female swimmers caught drinking alcohol or sneaking into each others rooms at Japanese training camp will also find themselves in hot water.

The national soccer team were recently labelled a "shambles" by the president of the Japan Football Association for not standing to attention during the national anthem.

A top Japanese snowboarder was the subject of a media firestorm for wearing the national tracksuit in a hip-hop style at the Vancouver Olympics in another breach of protocol.

(Reporting by Alastair Himmer; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE61J1DJ20100220

Flower art blooms among Japan's stressed out men

2010-01-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

By Anna Yokoyama
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Japan's traditional, female-dominated art of flower arranging is returning to its masculine roots, for an entirely modern reason: it's become a way for male employees to prune away their stress.

Ikebana, or "the way of flowers," dates back more than 500 years and first blossomed among male artisans and aristocrats.

Aimed at creating harmony between man and nature as well as heightening the appreciation of the rhythms of the universe, arrangements are conducted in silence using only organic elements put together in a minimalist style.

And it's this creativity and spirituality that has attracted thousands of Japanese men to reclaim the art form that has more recently been associated with women.

"Nowadays there are a lot of people seeking something that makes them feel at ease," said Gaho Isono, a master ikebana instructor at Sogetsu, founded in 1927 and one of the first schools to offer flower arranging courses to men.

"There are many hobbies people can do now and there's no longer the preconception that men cannot arrange flowers. They are free to choose whatever they like and the number of men choosing flowers is actually increasing."

Japanese society has traditionally put much emphasis on hard work and employees regularly put in long hours in the office, which increases the risk of depression, mental health organizations say.

The nation, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, even has a term for death by overwork -- karoshi -- making stress-relieving activities such as ikebana all the more popular.

Flower compositions arranged according to the traditional principles of ikebana are said to represent the relationship between heaven, mankind and earth.
There are an estimated 3,000 ikebana schools across Japan with some 15 million enthusiasts, most of whom see flower arrangement as an antidote to their hectic lives.

"Each time when the class starts at first I feel tired from work," said male student Koji Takahashi, 45.

"But once I begin concentrating on how to combine the flowers and the vase, and I actually move my hands to create the composition, it's a change of pace."

Some men have spent years mastering the art form and now teach new students the therapeutic effects of ikebana.

Minoru Kagata, 61, an instructor at Sogetsu school who took up ikebana almost 20 years ago, said the art "gives life to flowers." It usually takes students more than two years to create beautiful arrangements with few natural elements, he added.

For many male students, stepping into the ikebana studio is rewarding enough, regardless of how skillful they are.

"Flower arrangement adds that unreal flavor to my life and lets my mind roam free," said Koji Otusbo, who has been studying ikebana for more than 15 years.

"At the same time, such an artistic hobby is like a bridge that connects me to the real world."

http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINTRE60Q1TX20100127?sp=true

Japanese create talking toilet

2009-12-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

Major Japanese toilet maker Toto has created a talking commode. The new Neo model has a robotic lid that moves in time with its voice, which for some reason is male.

Neo features in a series of short video ads for the Japanese market, apparently as a joke. The videos show Neo chatting with a man about everyday things like relationships and riding Japan Railways trains.

The company's Tototalk campaign promotes the Neo 2 prototype model, which is currently on display in the Caretta Shiodome mall in downtown Tokyo. Check it out in the video below.

Neo 2 is designed to provide every function imaginable, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Japan's highly engineered toilets. Neo 2's ridiculously long armrest features more than 10 buttons. They can make Neo 2 tell jokes, give the weather forecast, or display an outsize bum scrubber.

The same functions can be controlled via a real-time Web link and Webcam at the Tototalk Web site.

In one joke, Neo talks about the U.S. cities of Onalaska in Texas and Wisconsin. The name is pronounced "Onaraska" in Japanese, and "onara" means "fart."

In their endless quest to engineer toilets into high-tech electronic waste receptacles, Japanese manufacturers have produced Western-style toilets that have remote controls, bum spray and bidet functions, heated seats, and dozens of buttons to control the various functions. Public toilets for women often have a Toto function called Otohime, or "sound princess," which masks the sound of urination with an artificial flushing noise.

Toto was also behind such innovations as the Washlet bum shower, a function called "Tornado flushing" and the tankless toilet. Some have contributed to cutting water use.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10410248-1.html

Obama bows to Japanese emperor and heads to China

2009-11-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

November 17: Obama bows to Japanese emperor and heads to China. The way US President Barack Obama bowed before Japanese emperor has won millions of Japanese hearts as his respect for the ailing emperor looked genuine and not just a formality.

Obama who has just completed a year in office knows the art of winning the heart more than any other leader in the world. He is a warm and lively person who enlightens the most boring meetings.

But will he be able to do the same with Chinese leaders and Chinese people?

Despite being outstanding planners Chinese leaders come as mechanical and a bit boring. Though things are changing fast and President Hu Jintao in particular has tried to change it, but there is miles to go on this front right now.

Meanwhile Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday that the two countries will "take concrete steps" to advance "sustained and reliable" military-to-military relations in the future, official news agency Xinhua reported.

"The two sides will actively implement various exchange and cooperation programs agreed between the two militaries, including by increasing the level and frequency of exchanges," according to a joint statement issued after their talks in Beijing.

Hu and Obama also vowed to deepen counter-terrorism consultation and cooperation between the two countries on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, said the statement, carried by Xinhua.

The two sides promised they will boost joint efforts to combat transnational crime and criminal organizations as well as money laundering and the financing of terrorism, including counterfeiting and recovery of illicit funds.

The two countries agreed to exchange evidence and intelligence on law enforcement issues in a timely and reciprocal manner, and undertake joint investigations as well as provide investigative assistance on cases of mutual interest, according to the statement.

Obama arrived in Beijing on Monday after visiting the nation's economic hub Shanghai on the third leg of his four-nation Asian trip starting from Nov.13 that has already taken him to Japan and Singapore.

During his stay in Beijing, he will also meet with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Premier Wen Jiabao. He is scheduled to leave China for South Korea on Wednesday.

http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29314&Itemid=57&limit=1&limitstart=1

Japan hopes to host National Palace Museum art

2009-10-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

A Japanese delegation of parliamentarians recently told President Ma Ying-jeou that Japan would like to borrow art from the National Palace Museum for exhibit. Taiwan's foreign ministry said that such an exchange would be good for relations with Japan, but Japan must first enact an anti-seizure law to ensure the safe return of the pieces. The ministry cited that France and Germany were also required to amend their laws, which they did, before the National Palace Museum lent them artworks.

Taiwan's National Palace Museum was also praised recently by the International Council of Museums for rejecting the offer of receiving two controversial Qing dynasty bronzes from a French collector this year. They were once the property of the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing, and China insists they be treated as stolen property.

The director of the National Palace Museum said she did not accept the bronzes because of UNESCO guidelines to not accept works of possible illegal origins. The National Palace Museum is currently hosting its first cooperative exhibit with the Palace Museum in Beijing. The exhibit Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times will be on display until January 10th.

http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/GetSingleNews.aspx?ContentID=89194

Important and Iconic Works from the Masters of Asian Art at Christie's

2009-10-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

Also leading this season’s Evening Sale is Zao Wou-ki’s "19-11-59". Estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000 /US$1,025,600-1,538,500. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2009.

HONG KONG.- Collectors from around the world will have the rare chance to acquire exceptional works from the biggest names in Asian contemporary and Chinese 20th-century art in this season’s Asian Contemporary & Chinese 20th-Century Art Evening Sale held on November 29 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Valued at over HK$125 million (US$16 million), the sale will present over 40 iconic works by renowned Chinese 20th Century artists such as Sanyu, Zao Wou-ki, Lin Fengmian, Chu Teh-Chun, and Yun Gee, as well as works by premier Asian contemporary artists such as China’s Liu Ye and Zeng Fanzhi and Japan’s Kenji Yanobe.

Chinese 20th Century Art: Fusion of East and West

The early 20th-century was a time of change and regeneration in China. Against these social conditions, traditional Chinese artistic values faced unprecedented challenges as Western technological advancements began to enter into the country. This fusion of Chinese traditional visual art with Western modern art movements produced the unique East-West aesthetic and technical sophistication found in the works of major Chinese 20th-century artists such as Sanyu, Zao Wou-ki, and Chu Teh-Chun, each of whom are represented with rare and important works in this season’s Evening Sale.

Following the record sale of Sanyu’s "Cat and Birds" at Christie’s Hong Kong in May of this year (HK$ 42,100,000/US$ 5,418,270/£ 3,410,100), comes another major work: "Potted Flowers in a Blue and White Jardinière" (estimate: HK$8,000,000–12,000,000 /US$1,025,600 – 1,538,500), one of the Sanyu’s finest examples of his exploration in uniting Eastern and Western aesthetic ideals. Painted in the 1950’s, "Potted Flowers in a Blue and White Jardinière" uses a striking combination of pink and Prussian blue, with infinite variations of color that create a luminescent glow evoking Mark Rothko and Yves Klein. This skilful technique is also reminiscent of that used to create the rich visual effects produced by variations of black found in Chinese ink-wash painting. The casual simplicity of the lines belies a precise organization in the composition that allows Western spatial abstraction and linear concepts to be expressed through an Eastern still life subject.

Also leading this season’s Evening Sale is Zao Wou-ki’s "19-11-59" (estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000 /US$1,025,600-1,538,500). Embracing the finest elements of Yuan and Sung dynasty landscape painting, Zao’s work strives to finds new meanings in the traditional aesthetic, while also incorporating Western artistic techniques to express color, light, and shadow. The result is an entirely new style of abstract expression through which he captures the subtle changes of space, nature, light and darkness to create a world of vivid and spectacular majesty. In "19-11-59", blue tones shift and swirl in a rising cloud-like mass, creating a fantastic visual experience that seems to expand and evolve in a cool deep calmness. Zao’s technique of using radiant light to create a visual effect of movement within color is exceptional and unique even among Western artists, underscoring his successful incorporation of Western art forms into traditional Chinese art.

"Vertige Neigeux" (estimate on request) is a rare and exceptional work from artist Chu Teh-Chun. Although Chu Teh-Chun's abstract works draw inspiration from Western abstract expressionism, they also exude a poetic sensibility that is deeply rooted in the Chinese view that painting and poetry derive from a single source. Struck by the beauty of a snowstorm scene while traveling in Switzerland in 1985, Chu began painting a select number of snow scenes. A work that was nine years in the making, "Vertige Neigeux" is exceptionally large, a truly rare work not only in size but also as Chu no longer painted snow scenes after 1991. Broad, sweeping strokes suggest rolling mists and flowing waters, while washes of pale green suggest the undefined spaces used throughout traditional Chinese landscapes.

From Wang Huaiqing comes "Six Screens", a large paneled work painted in 2006 (estimate: HK4,000,000-5,000,000/US$512,800-641,000). It is work from a series where the artist reinterprets ancient Chinese culture using Chinese Ming furniture themes. In "Six Screens", Wang employs a highly modernist style of expression in order to deconstruct and reconstruct a screen. He simplifies the original physical divisions into soft, black, geometrical shapes, reminiscent of Chinese paper-cutting, while using the variations of vermilion - a color heavy with symbolic of ‘China red’. By adding texture through the use of oil paint and by exposing different layers of paint with a scraping technique, a thoroughly modern element is injected into the traditional form and color, resulting in a work that is both firmly rooted in China’s traditions while embracing expressive means and methods of Western art.

Asian Contemporary Art: A Window to the Future

Among the contemporary works to be presented at this season’s Evening Sale is a seminal work by acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi. His emotionally raw paintings anticipated the emotional and psychological strain that would haunt the new China as it struggled with modernization and rapid social changes in post-1980’s. Zeng’s concern over the alienation and loneliness inherent in modern life can be found at the very heart of his works. Created in 1994, "Untitled" (Hospital Series) (estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000 /US$1,025,600-1,538,500) is a crucial work of Zeng Fanzhi’s career. This piece from the Hospital series can be considered a milestone in Zeng artistic career which paved the way for the creation of his later and much renowned Mask series of the mid to late 1990s. Untitled (Hospital Series), a monumental and ambitious canvas, features patients with crude and lugubrious bodies and exaggerated and impenetrable gazes being treated by numb indifferent doctors. Zeng’s use of colour and a distorted three-dimensional view heighten the sense of emotional and physical chaos.

From Kenji Yanobe, one of Japan’s most creative contemporary artists, comes the whimsical sculptural work "Soul of Bubble King" (estimate: HK$700,000–1,000,000/US$89,700-128,200). Inspired by the Japanese subculture of Anime and Manga, Yanobe’s works are intellectually inquisitive and convey a stoic persistence in facing adversity in everyday life. Created in 1992, "Soul of Bubble King" is a monumental sculpture that can inflate and deflate, reflecting the artist’s interest in fortification, selfdefence and scientific advancement, executed with playfulness and precise engineering.

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=34064

Asia Society

2009-09-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

725 Park Ave (at 70th St) Upper East Side Map
212-517-2742
Subway: 6 to 68th St–Hunter College Directions
http://www.asiasociety.org

Description

The Asia Society sponsors study missions and conferences while promoting public programs in the US and abroad. The headquarters’ striking galleries host major exhibitions of art culled from dozens of countries and time periods—from ancient India and medieval Persia to contemporary Japan—and assembled from public and private collections, including the permanent Mr and Mrs John D Rockefeller III collection of Asian art. A spacious, atrium-like café, with a pan-Asian menu, and a beautifully stocked gift shop make the society a one-stop destination for anyone who has an interest in Asian art and culture. Read more: http://newyork.timeout.com/venues/upper-east-side/6763/asia-society

For Taiwan craftsman, sword-making is in the bones

2009-09-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

By PETER ENAV (AP)

CHE DING, Taiwan — The sword-maker inserts an 18-inch shaft of metal into his red-hot kiln. Then he adds his special ingredient: a human thighbone.

The bone, says Kuo Chang-hsi, is supposed to purify the metal and give it a special aura.
For the past 30 years, the craggy-faced blacksmith has been replicating ancient Chinese and Japanese swords. At 65, he is Taiwan's last known practitioner of the art. His workshop is a dimly lit set of rooms crowded with sword-making equipment. Framed photographs of him with local politicians and foreign visitors attest to his celebrity.

Kuo's technique features yew- and coal-fed fires, lethal-looking slabs of steel and iron, and perfect timing with those bones, which he keeps in a ceramic urn.

"When I first tried to make a Kanjiang sword I failed," he says, referring to a famous weapon first made in China some 2,400 years ago. "Then I remembered — there's a saying that if one wants to make a good sword, one needs human bones."

Some of them come from disused cemeteries, left over when the bodies were reburied elsewhere. Or from relatives who believe a sword containing their loved one's bone will make a fitting memorial. These bones are retrieved years after the death. A whole side industry of bone-washing exists in Taiwan.

Among Kuo's countless replicas is the "Green Destiny Sword." It featured in the internationally acclaimed martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," directed by Kuo's fellow Taiwanese, Ang Lee.

In Asia, the best craftsmen are the Japanese, who can spend years working on a single sword, Kuo says.

"Makers in the Chinese tradition usually take only a few days," he says. "That has an obvious effect on quality."

Kuo says he spends several weeks making a sword.

He comes from a family of blacksmiths that started in the trade in 1888, specializing in farm tools. He joined the business at the age of 13.

"We were poor. My granddad was a blacksmith, and I followed my dad's path to become a blacksmith too," he said. "I didn't want to be a blacksmith, but my dad told me that if I refused, he would tie me up to stop me from running away."

He branched into sword-making around 1980, and it is now the signature element of his trade. His workshop in Che Ding, a small fishing port in the south of the island, stands among market stalls in a town square smelling faintly of fish.

A sword begins with a slab of iron and steel softened in 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,400 degrees Fahrenheit) of heat. Next comes the bone, its phosphorus content turning the light from the kiln to turquoise. Then the metal goes into an electricity-powered press to be shaped and flattened in dozens of rapid-fire thrusts, and finally is hammered into completion.

"When people worship using these swords, they will feel a strong sense of security," Kuo said. "There are some venerable monks who tell their followers to take their bones and use them in swords that can be used later in religious rites."

Kuo says his most valuable sword was an elaborate Japanese-style weapon he made for a collector 16 years ago in exchange for a new Mercedes-Benz. Five years later, he said, it changed hands for about $200,000 — at least five times what the Mercedes cost. "I wish I hadn't sold it," he said.

Kuo's own collection is in his Museum of Weapon Art, a short drive from his workshop. Meticulously laid out in display cases are 4,800 swords, knives, axes and pieces of armor.
Most are from China, including a few reputed to be more than 2,000 years old. There are also pieces from Mongolia, Turkey and Egypt.

Kuo's grown son has not followed him into blacksmithing so he has hired a 24-year-old apprentice, but insists he has no intention of retiring.

"I'll work here until I drop," he says. "It's impossible to reject orders from my customers. For better or worse, sword-making is the calling God gave me."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hX3fHI4yVxFXHBSwA6UTwBZtY40gD9AITDOG2

After 5: Taste of Japan

2009-08-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

This year's Japanese Fall Festival will offer a little taste of Disney.

Two regular performers at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., will headline the Springfield Sister Cities Association's 14th annual Japanese Fall Festival on Sept. 11-13.

Japanese storyteller and illusionist Kuniko Yamamoto and professional candy artist Miyuki Sugimori will perform in the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave.

The nonprofit Sister Cities Association - which connects Springfield citizens with Isesaki, Japan, and Tlaquepaque, Mexico, through cultural exchanges - is partnering with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board for the weekend event.

Kuniko is known for her Japanese pantomime, dance and music sprinkled with magic. She's spent the last decade traveling the U.S., performing at such venues as The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Disney's Epcot Japanese Pavilion, according to http://www.kunikotheater.com/.

Miyuki sculpts taffy-like candy into animals, flowers and other shapes and decorates with paint and accessories before sticking the finished product onto a chopstick. She has demonstrated her candy art designs, called amezaiku, on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and The Food Network, and she is scheduled to perform at the Greater Kansas City Japan Festival the weekend after visiting Springfield.

A sneak peek of their works is available at www.springfieldmo.gov/sistercities, where YouTube links under the News tab show performances by the artists.

Other festival performers are coming in from St. Louis: Taiko drumming group Osuwa Taiko and traditional Japanese top spinner Hiroshi Tada. Osuwa Taiko is a nonprofit group dedicated to the historic Japanese art of drumming; literally translated, taiko is "big fat drum," according to www.stltaiko.com. The group will be playing at the Missouri Botanical Garden before coming to Springfield, where performances are scheduled for 1 and 7 p.m. Sept. 12 and 1 p.m. Sept. 13.

Local martial artists and Japanese traditions, including sword demonstrations, and a tea ceremony also are highlighted in Springfield's Japanese Fall Festival. Ceremonies kick off 5:30 p.m. Sept. 11 with a children's parade.

http://sbj.net/main.asp?SectionID=18&SubSectionID=23&ArticleID=85275&TM=54198.61

Ramen-making robots cut cooks out of the food equation

2009-08-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

Who needs humans? At a ramen noodle shop in Nagoya, Japan, a pair of robotic arms serve up 80 bowls of noodles a day to their hungry customers. They never get tired and they don't need tips.

Of course, one could argue that there's no art in a robot making food. But with some types of food, no art is needed. You think people at McDonalds are putting their own unique spin on burgers? No. Which is why, eventually, robots will be doing all the work at fast food restaurants. Because a robot never spit in a burger.

http://dvice.com/archives/2009/08/ramen-making-ro.php

Rice Paddy Crop Art in Japan (2009)

2009-07-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

Art has no boundaries, naturally, no the indiscrimination of occupations and races as well. In Japan, the nation whose all citizens love animations, farmers also show their love for the animations in their own way.

The Aomori prefecture is located in the northernmost Japan, over 900 kilometers north to Tokyo. Enter Aomori prefecture and bump along the country road for a while, you will arrive at Inakadate, a small ancient village with a history of 2000 years in planting rice. Since 1993, the village has held a “Rice Paddy Crop Art” every year, which attracts tourists all over Japan or even all over the world to get a view of the huge rice paddy pictures.

To obtain the best visual effect, the farmers of Inakadate get busy as early as when they prepare to plant rice in every April. They design well the pictures that they want to demonstrate this year in advance, and then plant rice with different varieties and different colors of leaf in the rice paddies, thus to “paint” out different kinds of pictures in the rice paddies.

Here, we will share you the harvests of farmers this year: Napoleon, Sengoku-period warrior, Naoe Kanetsugu and Osen

http://news.mmosite.com/content/2009-07-13/20090713022407950,1.shtml

Artistic road to utopia may break down regional barriers

2009-07-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

AUSTRALIA and Japan are developing together a Utopia Project that would present an arts Olympics every two years in an Asia-Pacific centre. They have enlisted the potential support of eight other countries in planning to stage non-competitive arts shows that would include artists, works and performances from across the region. The project would involve exhibitions, workshops and educational presentations, and would move to a different city each time in order to share the costs and the impact.

Alison Carroll, the arts director at Asialink, which is promoting the project, says: "The problem with art biennales, which are popping up everywhere, is to sustain them for the second or third time, in the same location. Our concept would require only a very small secretariat, and tiny administrative costs."

Arts Minister Peter Garrett is being asked to come to this party. If the Australian government offers its support, then Australia and Japan would invite the eight others to join the process formally.

Carroll says: "This trend of collaboration in our region is accelerating now. The structures are growing stronger all the time, in education and the arts. Unless we're proactive, we'll miss the boat because even now, we are not always viewed as part of the region. So we have to demonstrate our commitment."

The East Asia Summit process, in which Australia participates, involves meetings of environment ministers - including Garrett - and Carroll says that arts ministers should meet regularly too.

"Arts are a great way for countries to scrape away preconceptions and present what's really happening today. And we too in Australia tend to have an old-fashioned view of Asia and culture.
"We seem to think that contemporary art only happens in New York or Venice, but it's happening all around us. That's a shame, because in some respects we know more about Asia than any other Western country does. If we don't take advantage of that, it's our loss."

This bold Utopia Project seeks to follow up an extraordinarily successful three-year arts collaboration between Australia and Japan, which has involved four pairings of leading artists. The final exhibition to emerge from a series of exchanges involving artists, curators and other art professionals of the two countries will be shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney from July 28. It brings together the works of Australian Louisa Bufardeci and Japanese Zon Ito, whose collaboration began at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. The curators of the museums found parallels "in their symbolic use of colour and ordered forms, along with their interpretation and unconventional use of space."

Asialink has co-ordinated the exchanges, with support from agencies such as the Australia Japan Foundation. Its arts director Carroll says: "Japan can have anything it wants. It has the resources to go to the Americans and Europeans. And in the past, Australia has been overlooked or dismissed as second best. That Japan's top artists, galleries and hot young curators are today eager for this exchange at this level shows a really significant shift in thinking.

"They are seeing something here with which they keenly wish to engage."

This shift coincides, says Carroll, with a growing comprehension within Asia-Pacific countries that in the realm of contemporary culture "this is a region unto itself. And Australia, like Japan, wants to take a leadership role and be a key player. "We can now do this together, involving our funding and philanthropic organisations. That wouldn't have happened five years ago."

The exhibitions have attracted extensive public interest in Japan, with for instance 51 newspaper and magazine articles written about the most recent show that closed there last October.

Akira Tatehata, director of the National Museum of Art in Osaka, says: "Currently, Australia enjoys an important presence in the Japanese contemporary art scene and is attracting attention from the general public as well as from the art world.

"As the Australia-Japan arts relationship has reached a certain maturity, I believe that it is important for future projects to have a specific focus, to introduce areas that have not been exposed previously to each other."

Shihoko Iida, a curator at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, says: "The number of mutual projects that are held in both countries and initiated by young artists and art professionals has been increasing remarkably in recent years. It is important to continue and deepen our dialogue."

"The Japanese don't want our money" to persuade them to participate, says Carroll. "They want a good show. You can't buy your way into Japan. They want some support, but they mainly want (a show) to enhance their reputations.

"They want a mature relationship" with intelligent contemporary thinkers, she says. "Works that happen to be produced by Australians, that are interesting beyond the limits of boundaries, not items that comprise national descriptors, not works that are patently 'Australian'."

It is impossible to be artistically present in Japan without Japanese support, she says. The initial three-year program - which preceded the program now being concluded - cost the federal government $500,000 and other Australian organisations $800,000. The Japanese partners contributed $1.2 million towards showing Australian art there.

The Patricia Piccinini show proved especially popular, being the subject of more than 100 Japanese newspaper articles. "We couldn't do that for her," says Carroll. "That's what a partner is about. It would be fantastic if we could develop that kind of relationship with other countries in our region, such as China."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25736386-16947,00.html

Art Complex Museum to host tea ceremonies starting June 28

2009-06-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

DUXBURY, MA - The first in a series of four public Japanese tea ceremonies will be offered by the Art Complex Museum at 2 p.m., on Sunday, June 28. Aiko Somi Rogers, who was trained by the Urasenke School of Tea in Japan, will conduct the ceremony. Rogers will explain the ceremony and answer questions. Utensils used for the tea span four centuries, and the ceremony itself is a quiet, simple ritual based on hospitality.

Additional tea ceremony presentations are scheduled for 2 p.m., on July 26, which will be a family event, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27.Admission is free but seating is limited and available on a first-come basis. Guests are advised to dress for the weather. In case of rain, the presentation will take place inside the museum at 189 Alden St., Duxbury The program is supported primarily by the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Family Charitable Trusts, and by gifts from friends of the museum.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/duxbury/homepage/x2085758246/Art-Complex-Museum-to-host-tea-ceremonies-starting-June-28

Master of emotions

2009-06-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

AT the opening ceremony of Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation, the artist most sought-after by guests for autographs and photographs was Takashi Murakami (pic).

One of Japan’s leading contemporary artists, Murakami – the only visual artist to make Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” last year – proved to be a crowd-pleaser. Always smiling and accommodating, he granted the Asian media a brief interview.

Asked how the current art scene is driven by financial motives, Murakami, 46, says it is money that allows creativity to thrive. “At the end of the day, art needs a rich ground like Paris, New York and London.”

He is surprised by Hong Kong’s rise in the art world, and feels the city is headed in the right direction. For example, he points out, the recent Hong Kong International Art Fair (May 14-17) drew a record attendance and robust sales.

Asked what inspires him, Murakami says, “As artists, we need to feel emotions all the time. For instance, I attended a funeral last week and there were a lot of people crying. Although I was sad, I was inspired by all the emotions surrounding me.”

Another emotion that inspires him is anger. “That’s why I am always asking my colleagues to make me angry,” he says, drawing laughter from the crowded room.

His art pieces may be colourful and bright but Murakami explains that “I always emphasise that the dark side exists even in cuteness and in the thoughts of peace-addicted people.”

A graduate of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, this prolific contemporary artist gained fame for his art style, called Superflat, which is characterised by flat planes of colour and graphic images involving a character derived from anime and manga. It is an artistic style that comments on otaku lifestyle and subculture, as well as consumerism and sexual fetishism, he explains.

In past media interviews, he was asked about straddling the fine line between art and merchandising. His reply: “I don’t think of it as straddling. I think of it as changing the line. What I’ve been talking about for years is how in Japan, that line is less defined, both by the culture and by the post-War economic situation.

“Japanese people accept that art and commerce will be blended; in fact, they are surprised by the rigid and pretentious Western hierarchy of ‘high art.’ In the West, it certainly is dangerous to blend the two because people will throw all sorts of stones. But that’s okay – I’m ready with my hard hat.”

According to the Wikipedia, Murakami – like the legendary Andy Warhol – takes low culture, repackages it, and sells it to the highest bidder in the “high-art” market. But unlike Warhol, he makes his repacked low culture available to other markets in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, T-shirts, key chains, mouse pads, plush dolls and limited-edition Louis Vuitton handbags.

In November 2003, ArtNews had it that Murakami’s work was among the most desired in the world. At Christie’s last May, Chicago collector Stefan Edis reportedly paid US$567,500 (RM1.9mil) for his 1996 Miss ko-2, a life-size fiberglass cartoon figure. In May 2008, Murakami’s sculpture of a naked boy, My Lonesome Cowboy, sold for US$15mil (RM52mil) at a Sotheby’s auction.

Wow! Natural Art in the Ocean

2009-06-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

This photo, taken from a NASA satellite, reveals the life embedded in two ocean currents that are converging in the Pacific Ocean.

In the northwest Pacific, the Oyashio Current flows down out of the Arctic, past Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula. Around the latitude of Hokkaido, Japan, it begins to veer eastward and converges with the warmer Kuroshio Current, flowing into the area from the south.

The new image illustrates how the convergence of these two currents affects phytoplankton, the microscopic plant-like creatures that form the base of the marine food web, scientists explained.
When two currents with different temperatures and densities — cold, Arctic water is saltier and denser than subtropical waters — collide, they create eddies. Phytoplankton growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water. The swirls of color visible in the waters southeast of Hokkaido (upper left), show where different kinds of phytoplankton are using chlorophyll and other pigments to capture sunlight and produce food. The bright blues just offshore of Hokkaido may be churned up sediment, rather than phytoplankton.

During the spring bloom season, nutrients are abundant in the surface waters. The water has been "resting" all winter, when light levels were too low — and storms were too frequent — to support phytoplankton growth.

But as the phytoplankton deplete the available nutrients, the bloom will taper off. At this stage, the eddies in the convergence zone can give a boost of nutrients at the surface because they don't just circulate the surface water; they also produce upwelling. The upwelling can draw nutrient-rich water up from deeper in the ocean, allowing smaller blooms to occur later in the growing season.

The washed out appearance of the image at lower left is from sunglint—the (blurred) mirror-like reflection of the sun off the water. At upper right, a plume of haze, perhaps smoke from fires in Mongolia and Russia, cuts across the scene.

The image, from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite, was taken May 21 and released this week.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/090613-ocean-art.html

Asian Art Museum brings way of the Samurai to SF

2009-06-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Asian Art Museum curator Yoko Woodson has organized many important exhibits — including the memorable two-part show of works by Hokusai and Hiroshige a decade ago — but the museum’s upcoming “Lords of the Samurai” may well become her biggest, most spectacular accomplishment.

Woodson brought the Hokusai/Hiroshige drawings from the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ James Michener collection to The City, making their public viewing possible for the first time, although individual pieces had been around.

With the Samurai exhibit, which opens Friday, Woodson is unlocking the key for hidden treasure none of which has been available outside Japan.

In fact, some of the 160 objects — armor, weaponry, paintings, lacquer ware, ceramics, costumes and more — are not readily available to the public even in Japan. The reason: Contents of the exhibit coming to Larkin Street are the private possessions of one family.

Woodson and former museum director Emily Sano began work on the show four years ago when former Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa (in office 1993-94) came to San Francisco on a business trip and visited the museum.

Hosokawa’s family is one of the most prominent Samurai clans, going back more than a half a millennia, between the 14th and 19th centuries, which were dominated by warriors who formed the country’s military aristocracy.

“This is the first time that the family’s heirloom arms and armor, paintings and decorative and applied art objects are to be shown in a comprehensive way in the United States,” says Hosokawa.

“Through the stories of the Hosokawa family, illustrated through their superb collection, we can understand the nature of the upper echelon of the warrior elite in early modern Japan,” according to museum director Jay Xu.

The Hosokawa collection in Japan is housed in the Eisei-Bunko Museum and in the family’s former home, Kumamoto Castle on Kyushu island. Ten of the artworks carry the designation of “important cultural properties” or “important art objects” due to their artistic and historical significance to the nation.

Because of their importance and fragility, some of the works will be rotated Aug. 3, replaced by others.

Besides their primary fame as elite warriors, the Samurai have also excelled in artistic, cultural and spiritual pursuits, all reflected in the exhibit.

“The Legacy of a Daimyo Family,” the show’s subtitle, refers to “great name,” meaning the standing of the Hosokawa family. Throughout 18 generations, the lords practiced and promoted the arts, even more prominently than did ancient European royal families.

Hosokawa, 71, himself is a celebrated tea practitioner, who has won acclaim for his skill as a ceramist and calligrapher. Some of his tea bowls and other tea ceramics are among the many on view in the exhibition.

From an earlier time, Sumimoto Hosokawa (1489—1520) is described as a great archer and horseman, “far above other humans ... also versed in waka [a form of Japanese poetry] and appreciates the moon and the wind.

“Outside the citadel, he takes bows and arrows; in meditation and reading of sacred books he protects Buddhism. Inside and outside, pledging to the mountains and rivers for the sake of the rulers and vassals, always with propriety and benevolence, he attains saintly wisdom.”

IF YOU GO

Lords of the Samurai

Where: Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except closed Mondays and until 9 p.m. Thursdays; show runs Friday through Sept. 20

Tickets: $17 general; $13 senior; $12 college students; $7 youths; discounts after 5 p.m. Thursdays; $5 first Sunday of each monthContact: (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org

http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/Asian-Art-Museum-brings-Way-47280542.html

Japanese Film, Fashion and Art Center to Open in San Francisco

2009-05-29T06:44:00.001-07:00

San Francisco already features one of America's oldest and largest Japantown, but come August 2009, it'll get a fresh infusion of modern J-Pop culture with the opening of New People, a spanking new three-story building that will feature the latest, greatest and coolest films, fashions, art and design straight from Japan. From the movie theater in the basement screening new and classic films to the fashion boutiques featuring top labels straight from Tokyo and an art gallery on the top floor, New People promises to make Japanese pop culture even more exciting and accessible to Americans than ever.

Located at 1746 Post Street (across from the Japantown Center), the 20,000 square foot New People building is currently under construction, and is scheduled to open to the public on Saturday, August 15, 2009. You can follow the progress of this project by visiting the New People website, NewPeopleWorld.com and clicking on the "News" section for the latest photos and updates straight from the site. You can also sign up to receive updates via email, so you can be one of the first to find out about events scheduled to celebrate New People's arrival in the City by the Bay.

So what can you expect to find at New People when it opens? Here's a floor by floor breakdown:
Basement: VIZ Cinema - a 143-seat theater with "high-definition digital projection and THX®-certified sound" that promises to show a mix of current and classic films from Japan, anime and live action movies and documentaries.

1st Floor: Cafe & Restaurant - New People wasted no time in getting two dining establishments that would please even the most picky gourmand to anchor their building. Blue Bottle Coffee Company is a Bay Area coffee roaster and cafe that specializes in absolutely addictive "this ain't your auntie's Starbucks" coffee and espresso drinks. There are already several Blue Bottle cafes and kiosks around town and they always attract a crowd of hardcore caffeine devotees.

Meanwhile, Delica rf-1 (one of my favorite places to eat in the San Francisco Ferry Building) offers gourmet Japanese bentos, salads and snacks that are light, healthy and tasty.
Mezzanine: NEW PEOPLE: The Store - The New People aesthetic comes together in their signature shop, which promises to offer "all that is kawaii (cute), fun, fabulous and bizarre," in apparel, books, toys, DVDs, music, design items, with "exclusive product designs and limited edition goods" to make it extra worth your while to check out items you won't be able to find any where else.

2nd floor: Fashion Boutiques, featuring Baby the Stars Shine Bright, 6% DokiDoki and Black Peace Now - You know all those fabulous fashions you've seen in movies like Kamikaze Girls or in the pages of Gothic & Lolita Bible? Now you can get the hottest styles straight from the streets of Tokyo at these three leading fashion houses. Lolita fashion house Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is opening their first flagship shop in New People. If you're into this fabulously frilly style, you like to know that Baby is looking for a General Manager to run their first US flagship shop. Also on the 2nd floor will be Black Peace Now, a label known for "mixing Japanese gothic and punk details into powerful, exquisite silhouettes." And on a lighter note there's 6% DOKIDOKI, which embodies "girl culture from the center of Harajuku!" Look for "crazy fun, crazy colors and crazy love" in their line of accessories, clothes and "objects that will stir your imagination."

3rd Floor: Superfrog Gallery - Look for modern, fun and thought-provoking exhibits to show up here. Stay tuned for announcements on the artist (or artists) who will be featured in the debut exhibit at this venue.

New People is the brainchild of Seiji Horibuchi, the founder and CEO of VIZ Media, and is fueled by a $15 million investment from Shogakukan, one of Japan's leading publishers, and part-owner of VIZ Media.

"New People is a truly unique space devoted to creativity and self expression, and will become a cultural destination unlike any other in the United States,” says Horibuchi. "New People will help nurture Japanese pop culture and also connect the public with its diverse creators. As North America continues to embrace a variety of hip trends from Japan, we look forward to expanding the vision of New People globally through film, art and other multimedia and forging innovative cross-cultural creative partnerships."

Pretty exciting stuff, right? Makes me extra glad that I call the Bay Area home that I'll be able to experience and enjoy New People often after its debut in August. Stay tuned for more updates as VIZ and New People trickle out announcements about special events that are sure to be scheduled to commemorate the opening of this new J-Pop center.

http://manga.about.com/b/2009/05/28/japanese-film-fashion-and-art-center-to-open-in-san-francisco.htm

Japanese art: Manhole covers

2009-05-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

When you walk down the streets in Japan, you may find yourself stepping on a piece of art. Where is that art? On manhole covers! This may seem like a very bizarre place to find it, but in Japan it is very common.

Japanese manhole cover designs are unique to the locality and utility of the community. The designs may depict famous historical buildings, plants, animals, story scenes, and even cartoon characters. Whatever is famous in that area is likely going to be featured on the manhole covers.
There is a cult interest in taking pictures of these covers, and some online galleries have hundreds of photos.

So when you are walking around Japan admiring all the sights, take a minute to look down at your feet and see what hidden treasure may be there.

An extensive and well organized Japanese manhole cover gallery (Mainly in Japanese)
A flickr group pool of manhole cover photographs
Another manhole cover gallery
One more manhole cover gallery

http://www.examiner.com/x-10430-Japan-Travel-Examiner~y2009m5d24-Japanese-art-Manhole-covers

Momoyama Period (1573 - 1615)

2009-05-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

With the decline of Ashikaga power in the 1560s, the feudal barons, or daimyos, began their struggle for control of Japan. The ensuing four decades of constant warfare are known as the Momoyama (Peach Hill) period. The name derives from the site, in a Kyoto suburb, on which Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598) built his Fushimi Castle. Unity was gradually restored through the efforts of three warlords. The first, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), took control of Kyoto and deposed the last Ashikaga shogun through military might and political acuity. He was followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who continued the campaign to reunite Japan. Peace was finally restored by one of Hideyoshi's generals, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616).

The decorative style that is the hallmark of Momoyama art had its inception in the early sixteenth century and lasted well into the seventeenth. On the one hand, the art of this period was characterized by a robust, opulent, and dynamic style, with gold lavishly applied to architecture, furnishings, paintings, and garments. The ostentatiously decorated fortresses built by the daimyo for protection and to flaunt their newly acquired power exemplified this grandeur. On the other hand, the military elite also supported a counter-aesthetic of rustic simplicity, most fully expressed in the form of the tea ceremony that favored weathered, unpretentious, and imperfect settings and utensils.

During this era, the attention of the Japanese was more than usually drawn beyond its shores. In addition to the continued trade with and travel to and from China and Korea, Toyotomi Hideyoshi instigated two devastating invasions of the Korean peninsula with the ultimate goal of invading China. The arrival of Portuguese and Dutch merchants and Catholic missionaries brought an awareness of different religions, new technologies, and previously unknown markets and goods to Japanese society. Over time, these foreign influences blended with native Japanese culture in myriad and long-lasting ways.

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/momo/hd_momo.htm

Furoshiki--the Japanese art of folding cloth

2009-05-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

When it comes to wrapping a package, especially for a gift, most everyone hopes to create something pleasing to the eye. A wrapping tells a lot about how special the receiver is and even more about the giver.

Bright-colored paper and handmade bows conceal each surprise. So painstakingly wrapped and so hurriedly torn open, wrappings can rarely be used a second time.

In recent years, recycling or "green" alternatives have become more of a daily routine all around the U.S. And many Old World traditions such as decorative cloth gift sacks and squares of cloth wrappings, closed with a knot, are again taking hold.

For centuries, men and women in Japan carried clothing, books, gifts and other belongings in cloth-wrapped parcels. Artsy wraps even enclosed lunch boxes and spread as a placemat during the meal. Japanese furoshiki, as it's known, is a traditional wrapping cloth ranging from hand sized to that of a bed sheet.

With renewed interest in reducing waste and protecting our environment, furoshiki adds a fun and practicality to gifts as it encourages the wrapping's reuse.

Featuring this creative style for residents of the South Hills, Mt. Lebanon Public Library plans a program at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 23.

Furoshiki: The Art, Tradition and History of Folding Cloth and Wrapping Gifts and Treasures will be presented by Rosaly Roffman, poet and professor emeritus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Participants hoping to learn more about this Japanese tradition should bring a box or bottle and a square of lightweight cloth. Tablecloths or fabric remnants large enough to cover their items are good choices. Silk or polyester is recommended since both are thin and easy to knot.

"In Japan I've seen small items and even heavy machinery wrapped in furoshiki," said Rosaly.
In addition to her demonstration, Rosaly will read a few of her poems and speak on Japanese history and culture.

To continue the furoshiki trend, register for the program by calling 412-531-1912.

http://www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/05-20-Roamin-S-Hills-L-Gregus-1-pix-2-info-box

Japan officials promote hip home

2009-05-18T07:50:00.001-07:00

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's grey-suited bureaucrats have teamed up with a blue cartoon cat and Tokyo fashionistas sporting 'Gothic Lolita' urban chic in an official drive to promote hip Japan around the world.

Long famed for its cars and high-tech goods, the world's number two economy has stepped up an official campaign to promote its cultural offerings, from Tokyo city wear to video games and award-winning animation films.

Prime Minister Taro Aso -- an avowed fan of Japan's manga comics -- has thrown his enthusiastic support behind the drive to earn hearts, minds and hard cash by promoting the soft power of "cool Japan" overseas.

His conservative government has earmarked 11.7 billion yen (118 million dollars) for a museum on Japanese cartoon art and pop culture to be built in Tokyo that one English-language daily has dubbed the "anime shrine".

"It will be a centre that allows visitors to see and collect information on Japan's manga, anime, video games and media art," said Akira Shimizu, who heads the arts division at the government's cultural affairs agency.

The museum, to be built in coming years, pending parliamentary approval, is part of Aso's plan to grow Japan's cultural exports into an industry worth 20 to 30 trillion yen (200 to 300 billion dollars) by 2020.

"The word 'manga' has entered the global lexicon," Aso said as he outlined the plan last month. "Japan has materials that attract consumers around the world such as animation, games, fashion -- so-called 'Japan Cool'."

Much of Japanese pop culture has already won fans across Asia and around the world in recent years -- from classic manga characters like Astroboy and video game figures such as the Mario Brothers and Pokemon to Oscar-winning animation movies like Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 film "Howl's Moving Castle."

Manga comics -- an industry worth 4.6 billion dollars in Japan last year, according to the private Research Institute for Publications -- have long ago gone global and have won a cult following in the West.

Not all of Japan's cultural exports have won praise. Some manga comics are notorious for featuring extreme violence and sexual themes, and a video game in which players stalk and rape women has sparked outrage this year.

The government has picked the far more family friendly cartoon characters to promote Japan, and last year appointed robotic hero cat 'Doraemon' as the nation's first "Anime Ambassador".
The foreign ministry has also supported a world summit of cosplay -- short for "costume play", a subculture with a global cult following where hobbyists dress as 'Gothic Lolitas' and other often manga-inspired characters.

This year, the ministry chose three women to represent the "Lolita", "Harajuku" and "School Uniform" styles of Tokyo fashion and sent them off into the world as so-called New Trend Communicators of Japanese Pop Culture.

Takehiko Yamamoto, a professor of international politics at Waseda University, supported Japan's manga diplomacy.

"Japan has been too quiet... and hardly made itself felt" on the world stage, he said, adding that anime and manga are "one of the few ways in which Japan can exert influence on other countries".

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqaiD_pxFwVtuHnxnt8GxhitLBfw

Boise Art Museum Announces John S. Takehara Memorial

2009-05-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

BOISE, ID.- The life and contributions of John S. Takehara, an internationally recognized ceramic artist and Professor Emeritus of Art, Boise State University, will be celebrated Sunday, May 17, in the New Grand Ballroom of the University’s Student Union Building at 2:00 p.m. Professor Takehara died of natural causes on April 1, 2009.

John Takehara lived and breathed clay, and he dedicated his life to the world of ceramic art. He not only made pots and taught about making pots, but he also promoted ceramic art as a sublime medium. He professed the material connected the maker with heaven and earth. He found an essence that “…resembles the creation of man by our Creator.”

This Sunday, friends, colleagues, patrons, and former students are invited to help remember John Takehara. Boise Art Museum, Boise State, and the Cloverdale Seventh Day Adventist Church will join in sharing a collage of stories to create a portrait of this quiet man’s extraordinary life. A community wants to remember a man like John Takehara, because of what we have become as a result of his efforts.

While Takehara is known for his magnificent clay vessels, he created opportunity as well. As an educator, Takehara’s regular and extensive travels were elemental for his teaching as well as his own learning. He did not stand alone and profess; rather, he amassed the voices and experiences of people in the field who practiced excellence – Bernard Leach, Lucy Rie, Shoji Hamada – and brought the aesthetics they represented to his classroom. He collected art from every venture for the purpose of exposing students to creative diversity and inspiring them with the distinctions of fine craft.

Always in the pursuit of excellence, Takehara invited diverse artistic thinkers to expand and round out his own teaching. He expanded BSU students’ learning opportunities through the visiting artist series he initiated early in his tenure at Boise State. He hosted such ceramic icons as Paul Soldner, Peter Lane, David Shaner, and Frank Boyden, to name a few. He recognized the power of women in the field of clay art, too, and the list of visiting artists also includes Ruth Duckworth, Dora Delarious, and Ulla Viotti, among others.

The solution to the ever-present challenge of funding in the arts was simple to Takehara, who proposed to his students that if they created quality work and produced a market venue, this would generate the resources for the visiting artist workshops. Takehara initiated BSU’s annual Ceramic Sale & Student Show. The sale continues today and still provides the prospect for students to sell their fledgling art while contributing to the fund that enhances their own development.

Throughout his career, Takehara collected ceramics through purchases and trades of his works of art, building a collection of museum quality. Takehara maintained friendships with ceramists worldwide and often traveled to foreign countries to visit studios where he acquired many of the works in his collection. In 1994, Takehara donated his collection of fine contemporary ceramics by internationally recognized artists to the Boise Art Museum (BAM). His donation of 165 ceramics has generated numerous purchases and donations to support and further BAM’s ceramics collection.

A relentless perfectionist, Mr. Takehara’s inspiring, large-scale porcelain works helped to define clay as ceramic art in the Pacific Northwest during the latter half of the twentieth century and are widely cherished by devoted collectors. His pieces have an iconic power, calling the viewer to a place of contemplation; a place to recall the sublime.

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=30808

Western celebrates Japan Week

2009-05-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

When Western Japanese professor Michiko Yusa came to Bellingham in 1983, she felt like she stuck out. As a native from Japan, she said some people treated her differently. She said she could not even find the kinds of food she liked to eat. Soy sauce was hard to obtain, yet alone tofu.

Over time, Yusa witnessed Bellingham become a more progressive city. She said people today would never consider treating her as they did a couple decades ago. Three years ago, Japanese language became a major at Western, and sushi is now commonplace.

During April 27 to May 1, the Western community celebrated Japan Week, a tradition Yusa started 13 years ago. She said the original intent of the week was to increase awareness of the Japanese program and to help turn the program into a major.

Yusa said Americans’ understanding of Japan has come a long way in the past few decades.

“Our awareness has completely evolved,” Yusa said. “Overall, it is a totally different world.”

Activities throughout Japan Week included discussions, lectures and film showings. The most attended event was Japan Night, hosted by the Asia University America Program.

Western currently has 32 Japanese students enrolled from Asia University in Tokyo, Japan. The students just reached the midpoint of their 5-month stay and are business, law or economics majors who are learning English.

Past Japan Week topics have ranged from popular culture to war and peace to nature. Last year’s theme was “Return to the Origin,” because it was the 12th annual Japan Week, and traditional East Asian calendars are organized in a 12-year cycle. In 2008, Japan Week looked back at the roots of Western’s Japanese language program and examined how it has grown.

This year’s theme, selected by Yusa, was “Women in Japan.”

The theme was highlighted throughout the week by Western art history professor Julia Sapin’s lecture about women’s portrayal in Japanese advertising and by a Global Gatherings discussion regarding gender roles in Japan and the U.S.

Yusa said the role of women in Japan is a complex issue that needs to be examined from a both historical and present-day perspective.

Yusa said the way women are currently viewed in Japanese society is a result of how women were treated about 300 to 350 years ago during the samurai period. She said it was then that women first became the objects of men and had less power. Until the Middle Ages, women had more power and prestige and could be financially independent, she said.

While it is still harder for women than men to secure a career in Japan, today’s women might have more opportunities than they have had in the recent past, Yusa said.

At the Global Gatherings discussion, Asia University America Program student Sho Shimamura said he could see himself getting married and taking on some of the duties involved in raising a family and keeping up a household, as long as he could also work. The discussion group said if Shimamura is representative of the younger generation of Japanese men, Japan’s standards might be changing.

Dan Lindeman, a fiscal specialist for International Programs and Exchanges, said there is a belief in Japan that companies do not want to hire and train women because they think women will quit as soon as they get married and start a family. Lindeman said this is a belief that creates its own reality because if people believe it is true, women will be more likely to not try to get a job and have a family instead.

Edward Vajda, associate director of the Center for International Studies, helped coordinate Japan Week. He said people were able to look at Japanese culture from many perspectives. The week involved both the Western community and the Japanese international students on campus and incorporated both visual arts and linguistics.

Vajda said it is advantageous to fit many Japanese-related events into one week, otherwise the events might go unnoticed. He said any student could benefit from learning about Japan because of its special connection to Washington through the Pacific Rim and because of the high Japanese population in Washington.

During Japan Night, the Asia University students gave interactive demonstrations of different Japanese traditions, such as tea ceremonies, calligraphy, haikus and fashion.

Ellie McDermott, student services assistant for Asia University America Program, said she personally has had a great experience learning about Japanese culture. She said it was rewarding to see students sharing their own culture with friends from Western and the Bellingham community who came to participate. She said Japan Night was set up differently from other events throughout the week because it was an interactive festival.

“It is a chance to see different aspects of Japanese culture on a more one-to-one level,” McDermott said.

Ai Maekawa, an Asia University student, taught origami at Japan Night. She said origami is fun, and she has done it since she was a child.

Shimamura helped cook the food. Dishes served on Japan Night included okonomiyaki, a pan-fried food mainly made of batter and cabbage; yakisoba, a fried noodle dish; and curry rice. Shimamura demonstrated Kendo, a Japanese sport that means “way of the sword.”

Kendo is a sword-fighting martial art that involves spiritual and mental development, as well as physical improvement. It has its roots in traditional samurai swordsmanship.

Other popular martial arts sports in Japan include aikido, judo, sumo and karate. Shimamura said kendo is the most polite Japanese sport.

McDermott said having international students at Western provides a good opportunity for Western students to grow in their world views through the interactions they have with international students.

Maekawa said she has made some Western friends, but she would like to have more.

“Without leaving Bellingham, you can learn so much about a different culture and how to communicate with people from different cultures,” McDermott said.

Western senior Katy Cumby spent last year studying abroad at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies in Japan.

One thing that stood out to her was how old things were in Japan compared to Washington, Cumby said. As a native of Puyallup, Cumby said she was not used to seeing buildings that were built more than 100 years ago. She said some of the trees at temples she visited were 400 years old.

“There is all this old history, and I thought that was just really [impacting] because I had never thought about it before,” she said.

Cumby’s visit taught her as much about American customs as it did Japanese customs. She said she found out during her stay that some things were not as universal as she once thought they were. Cumby said she was surprised at how painfully slow people walk in Japan.

She said she thought walking with a purpose was a universal concept, but people in Japan tended to walk at a slower pace.

Cumby said a difference she appreciated in Japan was people’s awareness of the feelings of others around them.

She said people’s high awareness of social cues prevented others from having to come out and directly say what they need.

For instance, Cumby said if someone looked uncomfortable in a conversation, a Japanese person would know to change the subject. If someone seemed confused, a Japanese person would likely explain things further without being asked.

Also, people at her school in Japan were much more group-focused than Americans, Cumby said. Most students were involved in clubs, she said.

Despite this emphasis on groups, college students often lived at home with their parents or alone in studio apartments, she said.

Cumby said studying abroad taught her the value of interacting with people from different cultures.

Vajda said Japan Week helps increase the interaction between exchange students and Western students, which is a goal of the International Studies Center.

“One of our goals is to internationalize the campus by both bringing students here and by increasing the interaction,” Vajda said.

http://westernfrontonline.net/2009050510984/news/western-celebrates-japan-week/

Onsen (Hot Springs) in Japan

2009-04-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Ubayu Onsen, Yamagata

Nachikatsuura, Japan

Japanese art do in Delhi

2009-04-27T08:13:00.001-07:00

Traditionally Japanese: At this art do at the Japan Foundation, guests caught a glimpse of the traditional Japanese art. On display were Noh Masks by Goto Terumoto and Japanese calligraphy works by Goto Kazue.

Made in India? The artist couple was visiting India for the first time. Kazue greeted everyone with a namaste. Said Terumoto, “We love Indian food, I don’t think it’s that spicy.” Yuka Koyasu, a guest, said, “Indians are a generous lot, dhanyawad.”

Dance ’n’ Drama: Students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) presented a dance-drama titled, The Lotus Path. Debanjali Biswas, a performer said, “It traces the journey of Buddhism to different parts of the world.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Japanese-art-do-in-Delhi-/articleshow/4451237.cms

Youth Learning Traditions, Future Bearers of the Art

2009-04-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Pass by the seemingly abandoned chapel at the foothills of Diamond Head, and you might be lucky enough to hear the booming sound of Taiko drums echoing from the building.
On this particular afternoon, the drums sound as a group of children play a very energetic and dance-like piece called Yodan-uchi. This piece involves movement around three large taiko drums, and is played to a fast-paced beat. It is an exciting sight for any passerby.

For those unfamiliar with the term, "taiko" means "big drum" in Japanese. Since it was brought to the states from Japan in the 1960s, Taiko has become an increasingly popular art form in North America. This performance art has become well known in various American communities and in colleges across the nation. But for some, taiko is not just about the music.

In an age when President Obama has inspired youth to take on civic responsibility for the good of all, so has the Taiko Center of the Pacific, a Honolulu-based taiko school, inspired youth to learn taiko to become more connected with Japanese tradition and understand their own obligation to pay respects to the art's origins.

In 1994, Chizuko Endo and world-renowned master taiko drummer Kenny Endo established the Taiko Center of the Pacific, or TCP, to provide a school where youth and adults alike could learn to drum while also observing the discipline and practices that are involved with the art form.
For instance, in the dojo they emphasize respect for the teachers, the instruments, for oneself, and for the art of taiko by bowing at the door before entering or exiting.

Through the school, the Endos formed the Taiko Center of the Pacific Youth Group, an accomplished performance group for advanced children aged 5-18. Yodan-uchi is a piece from their performance repertoire, and the energy and love of taiko is ever apparent in each song they play. For TCP, youth are especially important since they are the future of the art of Taiko.
"To be exposed to the artsgives youth better tools for doing well in their own lives as well as enriching the lives of those around them," says Kenny Endo, who has revolutionized the art form with his philosophy of tradition combined with innovation. "The important thing is to find one's path and dedicate their time to something they love."

For members of the Youth Group, taiko is that something.

"Through the years, taiko has provided me with an outlet to express myself. When I play I am able to channel all the emotions in my life into each hit of the drum," says Julia Hirata, who has been performing with the TCP Youth Group for one year, but has played taiko for about two years.

Long-time TCP Youth Group performer Ryan Luce says "there is a feeling, or 'high,' associated with playing taiko music," and he enjoys playing because of the cultural experience he acquires through the art.

This summer, the Youth Group will be taking its first trip to Japan on a Taiko Intensive Study Tour. There, they will have the invaluable opportunity to workshop with some of Japan's top taiko pioneers and apply some of the traditions they have learned.

"The trip to Japan is a natural step to discover the roots of this art form, meet new people and be exposed to the positive aspects of Japanese culture," says Endo. "Hopefully it will also inspire some of them to further learn about the rich traditions and their potential to keep creating."

The TCP Youth group will also be performing on April 25th at the Hawaii Theatre as a part of "Taiko Fest '09! Island Style," a concert organized by the Taiko Center of the Pacific. Also featured will be the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble; Rhythm Summit Trio with Kenny Endo, Noel Okimoto, and Dean Taba; and special guests from a remote island in Japan, Hachijo Daiko.

For those children who wish to play but are not yet at performing level, TCP offers classes for kids ages 5-83, and has also brought back its Family Taiko classes to encourage parents and children to learn taiko and its Japanese traditions together. For more information on this and the concert, visit www.taikoarts.com or email info@taikoarts.com.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090418/GETPUBLISHED/904180347/-1/sportsfront

Japan-America Society of Hawaii's McInerny Foundation Japan Day

2009-04-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Kelsey Soma
Reader Submitted

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) is providing four of Hawaii's high schools with the opportunity to experience Japanese culture at its Japan Day on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 (sponsored by McInerny Foundation) at Hawaii Tokai International College (2241 Kapiolani Boulevard, 8th floor classrooms and 9th floor Auditorium) from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Student participants will come from Maryknoll School, Maui High School, St. Andrew's Priory, and St. Louis School for this half-day program, which features expert, community-minded volunteers who donate their time, energy, and supplies to the event.

The program highlights hands-on cultural activities that include bon dance, bonsai, calligraphy, traditional crafts, ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement), soroban (Japanese abacus), tea ceremony, and yukata wearing.

The program begins with a taiko demonstration by Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, under the direction of Mr. Kenny Endo.

Since its inception in 1993, over 4,500 students from 48 public and private high schools have experienced this educational outreach program.

PROGRAM: Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Hawaii Tokai International College
Opening Ceremony w/ Taiko Performance 9:15 am
On-going Activities 9:45 am 12:15 pm
Bon Dance - Room 810 Bonsai Room 802A
Calligraphy - 9th floor Auditorium Crafts - Room 801A
Ikebana Room 802B Soroban Room 801B
Tea Ceremony - 9th floor Auditorium Yukata Room 809
PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:
*The power and energy of taiko by Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble
*Participation in a traditional tea ceremony performed by Urasenke Foundation
*Honolulu Fukushima Bon Dance Club teaching traditional bon dance
*Creation of Japanese Crafts led by Kikufu Nippon Bunka Kenkyu Kai
*Calligraphy brush lessons by Mrs. Shokyoku Hashiro
*The art of Kimono and Yukata dressing by kimono expert Mrs. Jean Sakihara and students from Kimono Project USA at Education Laboratory School
*Giant Abacus Calculation demonstrations and instruction with Mr. Hideaki Oshima from the Araki Hiroya Soroban School
*Mrs. Jessie Nakata teaching the students the art and aesthetics of ikebana
*Bonsai arrangements led by the Hawaii Bonsai Association

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with the mission of promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of Japan and the United States through the special and unique perspective of Hawaii. The Society is committed to education and conducts six school programs from kindergarten to grade 12 and at the undergraduate level at no cost for Hawaii's students.

Information: Kelsey Soma, JASH, (808) 469-4646, ksoma@jashawaii.org.

Kodo ensemble turns drumming into art

2009-03-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

QUINCY — It’s the rumble that gets you: the thumping, thunderous sounds of the taiko drums that are both unsettling and more than a bit exhilarating. For Kodo, one of Japan’s premier taiko groups, that rumbling is as deeply spiritual as it is dramatic – really, a window into an entire Japanese subculture flush with rites and history.

MUSIC PREVIEW

KODO At Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets $32-$58 available at the box office and by calling 617-266-1492.

The current Kodo group, which performs at Symphony Hall on Sunday afternoon, is more than two decades old. Its forerunner developed on the island of Sado, off Japan’s northwest coast and near Okinawa, which had long had been a refuge for exiles and intellectuals, a magnet for gold diggers (gold was discovered there during the Edo period) and, later, a de facto artist colony, thanks to an influx of students in the 1960s and 70s.

The tight-knit artist community gave birth to a touring drum ensemble – an extension of the intense percussion sounds that have been a part of Japanese music for centuries. The first version of the group, called Ondekoza, debuted in the 70s, and the first Kodo was formed by several of the Ondekoza musicians in 1981. While the contemporary Kodo group draws on a number of styles, taiko drumming remains the core characteristic.

“Taiko is not simply percussion, and for that, it’s very fortunate for Kodo that we’ve had a chance to perform at Symphony Hall,” said company manager Jun Akimoto, who was preparing for what will be the group’s second trip to the hallowed concert hall. “We bring this experience to a broader audience, and to bring it to classical music lovers and jazz lovers and lots of different kinds of backgrounds gets it to people who appreciate music most.”

The Kodo musicians – there are 50 – still live on Sado and harvest rice, run an apprentice program and exist in the same communal fashion as their forebears and the island’s historical inhabitants. Musically, they continue to involve more modern Japanese sounds along with the ancient pieces that form the repertoire. Over the years, Akimoto said, Kodo has attracted former rock drummers, young composers and women.

“We have come to know that female drummers have different ideas than male drummers,” Akimoto wrote in Kodo’s press notes. “And because our different physical characteristics influence how we play, we are finding techniques and styles which male drummers never imagined.”

Akimoto said he wished the group had more time to spend in Boston, but Kodo will most certainly return. Next time, he said, he would like to broaden the visit to include other cultural activities and provide more perspective on Kodo, Sado and the taiko drum’s cultural importance.

“There are many Japanese groups that use taiko drums,” he said. “Kodo is not the same thing as taiko. Kodo is a community.”

http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x1537600482/Kodo-ensemble-turns-drumming-into-art

SCI-TECH: Japanese scientist unveil humanoid walking robot

2009-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

(NECN/APTV) - Japanese scientists on Monday unveiled a new humanoid walking robot at Tsukuba City, in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.

HRP-4C, the latest model showcased to the media by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has a female face which can express various emotions.

Developers at the government-backed organization, said their "cybernetic human," wasn't ready to help with daily chores or work side by side with humans - as robotics has been billed to do in the future.

Japan has been leading the sphere of robotics technology, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth.

Yet, scientists said it was a challenge to develop a robot which looks like human and moves like human.

At AIST, Japan's national body for the state of art technology, developers have been working on such integration for past three years.

Other robots, like the ones from Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science and Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, have human-like faces and have been tested as receptionists.

Demands are growing for socially useful robots, such as those for caring for the elderly and the sick, government officials said.

HRP-4C was designed to look like an average Japanese woman, although its silver-and-black body makes it appear to be wearing a space-suit.

The robotic framework for the HRP-4C without the face and other coverings will

go on sale for about 20 (m) million yen (200-thousand US dollars) each, and its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said.

The robot shown Monday has 30 motors in its body that allows it to walk and move its arms as well as eight motors on its face to create expressions like anger and surprise.

In a demonstration for reporters, the robot waddled out, blinking, a bit like an animation figure come to life, and said, "Hello, everyone," in a tiny feminine voice while its mouth moved.

The big challenge in creating HRP-4C was making the parts small so it looks female, especially its thinner legs, said Shuji Kajita, who leads the institute's humanoid research group.

The robot will appear in a Tokyo fashion show, although without any clothes, in a special section just for the robot next week.

The following story and video is from APTV.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/SciTech/2009/03/16/Japanese-scientist-unveil/1237197705.html

Rape Victim Presses Case of Police Abuse in Japan

2009-03-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Run Date: 01/02/09
By Catherine Makino

WeNews correspondent

In Japan, rape is often kept hush-hush. But the high-profile case of one rape victim is challenging the silent treatment and raising questions about police practices. 'Jane,' as the victim is known, is suing police who required her to re-enact the crime.

(WOMENSENEWS)--An Australian woman who was raped by a U.S. Navy sailor in Japan in 2002 has settled the score, at least for the time being, with her assailant.

"Jane" as she calls herself, filed a civil suit against her assailant, a Wisconsin man named Bloke Deans, after the police here failed to bring criminal charges against him. In November 2004, she was awarded $49,555 in compensation from Japan's Ministry of Defense.

Now she's focused on what she calls her second rape by police officers at the nearby station where she sought help after the attack. The police didn't literally rape her, but they asked her to re-enact the crime in a way that she says left her feeling doubly assaulted.
She is seeking $182,000 in compensation.

She also says she's pressing the case to change a culture that prevents many women from bringing charges. "It is a silent culture where nobody says anything. But things are changing as more women begin to speak out," she told Women's eNews.

Although Jane has kept her real name out of news coverage, she has nonetheless become famous in Japan for talking about the taboo topic of her rape.

She sued the Kanagawa police for mistreatment and last week a judge dismissed her case in Tokyo's High Court.

Jane's lawyer, Mami Nakano, criticized the ruling. "If this kind of idea is tolerated in society, it would hinder rape victims from reporting their cases to police," she said.

In statements to the courts, the Kanagawa police have argued they are not obligated to provide rape victims with underwear or showers and it is an unreasonable request that investigations require the participation of a female officer. The police also said that because rape victims do not need urgent medical treatment they are not required to take them to emergency rooms and they do not believe Jane's assertion that she was too depressed by the crime to return to the scene. Taking re-enactment photos is normal protocol.

On Dec. 22 she appealed to Japan's Supreme Court. Jane says more than 40 lawyers from Kanagawa, Tokyo and Yokohama have offered to represent her appeal for free.

Rape in Van in Parking Lot

In the port city of Yokosuka, Jane was raped six years ago in her van in a parking lot after she left a bar in the early hours.

She says Deans, who was discharged from the USS Kitty Hawk in November 2002, has been allowed to avoid punishment by an unresponsive U.S. government despite her requests to learn how his case would be handled.

"I have been asking since the day I was raped," she says. "I even wrote letters to President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. military and government officials. They still have not gotten back to me."

Jane alleges that after the rape, she went to the police who then kept her in custody for 12 hours. She was afraid they would arrest her if she left and says she was in shock. The police moved her from a small room, then to the scene of the crime, then back to the station in a large room with other people.

She claims she was not fed, allowed to see a doctor, or given fresh underwear.

"I went to the Japanese police to seek help, sadly they didn't believe me," said Jane, who made her standard request for anonymity to protect the privacy of her three sons. "They interrogated me for several hours and the entire time I begged them to take me to the hospital. But they said I wasn't hurt enough and, if I was, then I had to show them where. I was told that on-duty doctors are for urgent patients and rape victims were not urgent."

Asked to Re-Enact the Crime

The worst offense, she says, occurred two months later, when the Kanagawa police asked her to return to the station to help investigators take re-enactment photographs. The photographer asked her to assume the various positions that the rape entailed. Incapable of doing so, Jane gave instructions to male and female officers so the photos could be taken.

"I was forced to become the director of my own rape," Jane says. "Re-enactment photographs must be banned. No human being should have to go through that. The police treated me without compassion or dignity."

Michael O'Connell, commissioner for Victim's Rights Australia, a government advocacy group, calls it one of the worst cases of police re-victimization that he has ever encountered.
"On hearing about Jane's plight, I was appalled that a victim of sexual assault would be treated with so little respect and dignity," he said in an e-mail to Women's eNews. "Internationally, the most progressive police know that their responsibilities to victims include protecting the victim, collecting and preserving evidence, and supporting the victim."

A report in late October by the United Nations Human Rights Committee found Japanese police practices in rape cases insufficient under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also found a shortage of doctors and nurses in Japan trained to handle sexual violence and raised concern about weak-to-nonexistent punishment of sexual violence.

Call for Rape Crisis Centers

"Japan urgently needs to develop a national network of rape crisis centers and hotlines, linking different professionals to support sexual assault victims," Dr. Hisako Motoyama, executive director of Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center in Tokyo, said in a recent interview. "We definitely need to reform our out-of-date criminal justice system, including review of the penal code, systemic training of judges and prosecutors, and enforceable guidelines."

Rape is widely regarded as one of the most shameful experiences in Japan, said Dr. Hisako Watanabe, a child psychiatrist and assistant professor at Keio University in Tokyo who has treated rape victims, including small children, for 35 years. Many victims, she said, suffer the aftermath on their own, without proper medical and mental care or any chances of suing the perpetrator.

In 2006, Japan's Gender Equality Bureau released a study finding that of 1,578 female respondents around 7 percent said they had been raped, at least once. Of those, only about 5 percent--6 out of 114--reported the crime to the police. Of those who remained silent, nearly 40 percent said they were "embarrassed."

"The public assumption in Japan continues to be that rape does not exist; therefore there isn't any need for 24-hour rape crisis centers or support groups," Watanabe said. "Rape is still considered rare and, even when it happens, the victim could be suspected of having enticed the perpetrator into the act. Such an attitude by people around the victim could be more detrimental than the trauma of rape itself."

Catherine Makino is currently the Japan foreign correspondent for Inter Press Service and is president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. She has worked for numerous other major publications and broadcasters.

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3874/context/archive

Expert in Japanese tea and flower arranging traditions demonstrates in WNC

2009-02-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

ASHEVILLE – Devotees of Japanese culture are in for a treat next week when a renowned expert in Japanese art forms — including tea ceremony and ikebana, or flower arranging — shares her knowledge at a meeting of the Asheville chapter of Ikebana International.

Emiko Nishiwaki, cultural liaison from Japan to Western North Carolina, and Choy Falvey, owner of Choy's Flowers and Ikebana in Hendersonville, will present a traditional tea ceremony and a program on kimonos at 10 a.m. Feb. 24 at the Folk Art Center. The public is welcome.
Nishiwaki, who comes from the small town of Agui, Japan, is a master of ikebana in Kyoto, Japan, and a master in the art of tea ceremony, which represents the essence of Japanese culture.

Since August 2007, she has been the Japanese Outreach Program coordinator at Western Carolina University, bringing the Japanese cultural spirit to students in kindergarten through high school, as well as civic organizations, through ikebana, tea ceremony and other aspects of Japanese culture. The program is supported by the Japan Foundation, an affiliate association of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

One of the most easily shared cultural exchanges comes through flowers — the key component of ikebana.

This ancient and disciplined art form brings creative expression through plant materials by applying certain rules of construction. Line, color, space, contrast, texture and other design teachings bring humanity and nature in harmony to create both beauty and a sense of calm to those who create ikebana.

The need for a sense of harmony is universal, Nishiwaki said in an interview.
“Japan is very fast now, very busy,” she said. “But once a week, I can listen to water sounds, listen to the winds … people in modern life need meditation, and I need it too.”

Nishiwaki said she was raised with Western ways and wasn't particularly interested in the centuries-old rituals of her ancestors. But when she traveled in Europe as a teenager and found many Westerners eager to learn more about her heritage, she decided to explore her history and its art forms.

Today, she is excited to share her knowledge with anyone who is interested, and particularly enjoys being in school classrooms in Western North Carolina teaching children about origami, Japanese folk dance and tea ceremony — a ritual that, in Japan, can last as long as five hours, she said.

“This is a great opportunity for me to be here, to see this grassroots exchange of culture,” Nishiwaki said. “I am also learning about American culture, and Asheville is a very nice place to study because it's such an artistic place.”

Sally Robinson, president of the Asheville chapter of Ikebana International, who is hosting Nishiwaki through July in her Montreat home, said she became enchanted with Japanese culture when her husband's job took them to Tokyo for seven years in the 1970s.

“Everyone is really looking forward to the program on the 24{+t}{+h}, and I hope a lot of people will come,” Robinson said. “I think the world needs what Emiko is talking about … quiet times and appreciation of simple beauty. I believe that's important for all of us.”

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902160302

Samurai archery, an ancient sport, still thrives

2009-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

By ERIC TALMADGE

ZUSHI, Japan (AP) — It is about as far from the Olympic sport of archery as it can get. The bow is taller than the person shooting it, and, to the uninitiated, it appears lopsided and unbalanced. There are no sights, no high-tech stabilizers.

And, of course, it is done on horseback, at upward of 40 mph.

It's called yabusame, and it is the sport of the samurai.

Each year, archers in feudal shooting gear climb atop their decorated mounts for a lively competition on the beach of Zushi, a town just south of Tokyo, galloping in the sand as thousands of onlookers cheer and shout. The first competition was held here in 1199.

The scene is like something out of a movie by the great Akira Kurosawa. Banners flap in the ocean wind marking the beginning and end of the shooting runway. Little boys in bright robes and black hats scamper about collecting the arrows and the debris from the wooden or clay targets destroyed by each hit.

"There is nothing like this outside of Japan," said Ietaka Kaneko, who heads the Japan Equestrian Archery Association and the Takeda School of Horseback Archery, which traces its origins back more than 800 years.

The targets, held about seven feet aloft on small poles or scaffoldings, are roughly the size of a mounted opponent's chest. There are three along the runway, which is only 165 yards long, giving the archer just enough time to raise his bow, load and shoot — three times — all the while spurring on his horse.

When the dull, turnip-shaped tip of an arrow strikes just right, the board explodes in a blur of splinters. But as often as not, the arrows miss, sailing past the targets and thudding into the canvas behind them.

In battle, hitting the target was the whole idea. But yabusame has from its origins been almost as much an art as a sport. In many competitions, hitting the target is almost an afterthought — archers are judged, if they are judged at all, on the beauty of their run and the form they display as they release each arrow.

Here, hitting counts.

"Many schools today see yabusame as more of a ceremonial thing," said Kaneko, a retired veterinarian. "In our school, it is our earnest desire to connect."

Each score brings a loud round of awed cheers and raucous applause and each splintered target is branded with a hot iron commemorating the day and recycled as a good luck charm. A long line stretches along the beach well before the competition is over as spectators make sure they go home with a piece for their collection.

Yabusame in Japan is something like polo in England, or rodeos in America.

Very few people actually participate in yabusame, because few have access to horses or the time to learn all the technique involved in riding them for sport. But Kaneko, whose family roots are in the now-defunct samurai class, grew up around them and his steeds were trained specifically for archery competitions.

"I have been shooting since I was 17," he said. He's 87 now, and was on hand to officiate at this year's beach competition, though he did not shoot at any targets. Instead, he started it all off, as drums beat, with a symbolic draw at the cloud-filled sky.

"The most difficult part is staying absolutely stable no matter how fast the horse is galloping," he said. "The style is not like Western or European equestrian riding."

Archers don't actually sit. They squat, using special stirrups and very light saddles.
There are three main types of shooting.

The first, and most common, involves releasing the arrow at a target directly to the side of the archer from about 10 feet. Targets can also be placed obliquely to the front of the archer's path, or up to 50 feet away.

"When people think of the samurai, they don't realize that in the old days, archery was more important in battle than swords," said Hisashi Yoshimi, one of the featured shooters at the beach competition. "Archers didn't shoot at targets close up. They kept a distance and fired upward so that the arrows would rain down on advancing troops."

Yoshimi said that tradition is reflected in the longbows, which are better suited for long-range attacks on a general area rather than picking off single adversaries.

"The bows haven't really been adapted for this kind of shooting, because there is a big part of the sport that is spiritual, rather than practical," he said. "That's a lot of its appeal."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jDHl8FFiJ7cZ1fqDG9kHU-1jjfewD95GD28O0

Azuchi Momoyama Period Art

2008-12-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

Suit of Armor flanked by sword and bow Japan Late Momoyama period-early Edo period early 17th century
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124324682@N01/424133311/

Cherry Blossom Viewing (detail), Momoyama period (1573–1615), 17th centuryKano Naganobu (1577–1654)Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper; each 58 7/8 x 11 ft. 8 1/4 in. (149.4 x 356.1 cm)Tokyo National Museum, National Treasure

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Oribe/8.L.htm

Hasegawa Tohaku. Pine Forest. Momoyama Period. 16-17th C
http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-11-Japan/WebPage-Full.00027.html

Gift Of Conservation From Japan Comes To Houston Museum

2008-12-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

In January 2009, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will unveil a pair of 17th-century six-paneled screens from its permanent collection newly restored by conservation experts in Japan.
The screens were among only nine objects selected last year from prestigious Asian collections around the world for a competitive conservation program overseen by Japan’s National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.

The MFAH will present the transformed screens, last shown at the museum in 2005, in Art Unfolded: The Gift of Conservation from Japan from January 17 through February 22, 2009 in the Caroline Wiess Law Building. The exhibition will feature a presentation describing the conservation process, including materials used, and a video of the Hie Sanno festival depicted on the screens. The screens, titled Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu, will eventually be the centerpiece of a new MFAH gallery devoted to Japanese art scheduled to open in winter 2009-2010.

Conservators at the Association of Conservation for National Treasures, Kyushu Branch Studio at the Kyushu National Museum, carefully implemented their conservation of the Hie Sanno screens over nine months. They treated the painted panels of the screen for surface damage and pigment deterioration, replaced the backing and border fabrics of the panels, and reattached the original metal fittings.

"Japan’s passion for the preservation of tradition and art is well-recognized, and the museum is fortunate to be the recipient of that passion," said Wynne Phelan, MFAH conservation director. "The masterful work of the Kyushu experts has guaranteed the long-term preservation of the screens."

The Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu screens derive from the practice of painting panoramic views of the city of Kyoto and its environs that evolved in the 16th century. Festival screens adopt the same elevated vantage point and panoramic presentation as city view paintings, but also have a unique narrative and anecdotal quality. Festival screens became an independent subject matter in the Momoyama period (1573-1615), and are often remarkably faithful to the topography and events being portrayed.

The Hie Sanno festival is held every April in tribute to peace and a rich harvest. It dates from 1072 and takes place at the Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Sakamoto, an historic village on Lake Biwa that lies at the foot of Mount Hie, near Kyoto. Sairei in the title of the screens means festival and Zu means diagram or illustration.

The MFAH screens, each about 5 feet by 12 feet, describe the village and shrine complex set against the beautiful landscape around Lake Biwa. The narrative of the screen reads right to left. The upper middle part of the right screen shows the Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine complex. A distinctive large red gate (torii) marks the boundary of the shrine’s sacred space.

The Jinko-sai, the great procession of large portable shrines from other villages, departs through the Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine’s red gate toward Sakamoto. The heavy shrines are transported by many men as other men on horseback oversee the proceedings. In the left screen, villagers watch as the portable shrines are carried onto boats on Lake Biwa to return to their villages.
Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu was given to the museum in 1996 as a bequest of Mrs. Dudley C. Sharp, Sr., who was a generous supporter of Asian art at the MFAH. -- www.mfah.org

http://www.huliq.com/13/74758/gift-conservation-japan-comes-houston-museum

6th Asian Print Awards (2008 APAs) Presented in Singapore; Recognizing Innovations and Outstanding Achievements Across Asia

2008-12-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

Singapore, Nov 30, 2008 (ACN Newswire via COMTEX) -- The 6th Asian Print Awards took place at the Shangri La Hotel in Singapore on Friday night, November 28, at a gathering of Asia's leading print professionals and print manufacturers. The event featured more than 20 awards with over 700 participants witnessing first hand the creme de la creme of Asian printers.
Paul Callaghan, Chairman of Asian Print Awards (APA) said, "Print is relevant to most businesses. Such a visual industry requires the recognition and support from its peer members to encourage higher standards and the continual pursuit of the highest possible quality. The event is a platform to showcase the works of even the most humble business alongside with the main industry players to allow a true exhibition of the capabilities present in Asia.

"The objectives set out by the Asian Print Awards are to recognise the best Asia has to offer in all areas of print and packaging production. 'Achieving excellence' and being awarded a medal is the ultimate accolade that Asian companies can strive for. To ensure the value of the awards, fair play is strictly enforced and entries are judged through coded entry numbers to guarantee that neutrality takes place."

The 6th APA has always enjoyed strong support in the Asian print community from countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. This year there is also a huge influx of entries from Japan; an estimate of 250 more entries than the previous year as the awards gain more recognition in Asia. Winning gold at the APA took more on quality than before as jurors said that relevance and excellence were just basics for consideration. Entries have to ensure an element of precise print fineness to win gold.

"It must be remembered that this competition is judged on the quality of the print, it does not matter how fancy or clever a design may be or the number of processes used, the ultimate goal is to achieve print excellence," said Alf Carrigan, chairman of the judging panel for APA.
This evening of celebration has covered all areas of print production, with special focuses on Platinum Sponsor Awards including: Best in digital colour proofing - Epson; Best use of the digital printing process - Fuji Xerox; Best application of creative colour - GMG, Best in Sheetfed offset - Heidelberg; Best in innovative printing - Kodak; Best in more than one production process - Phoenix Blankets; Environmental Printer Awards - technotrans; Best in web offset printing - UPM; and Best in packaging printing and converting processes - Bottcher Systems.

- 6th Asian Print Awards '2008 APA' Winners - 1. Posters, Showcards

Gold - Cyberprint Company Limited - Thailand
Silver - Aksorn Sampas Press (1987) Co. Ltd - Thailand
Bronze - Yamada Photo Process Incorporation - Japan
Bronze - Taisei Futaba Industry Co. Ltd - Japan

2. Leaflets, Flyers, Folders and Brochures

Gold - Taisei Futaba Industry Co. Ltd - Japan
Silver - Ramya Reprographic Pvt Ltd - India
Bronze - Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd - India
Bronze - Aksorn Sampas Press (1987) Co. Ltd - Thailand

3. Postcards and Greeting Cards

Gold - Phongwarin Printing Ltd - Thailand
Silver - Taisei Futaba Industry Co. Ltd - Japan
Bronze - Supornchai Die-cut Part Ltd - Thailand

4. Multi-Piece Productions and Campaigns

Gold - PT Suburmitra Grafistama - Indonesia
Silver - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong
Bronze - Cross Incorporation - Japan
Bronze - Trinity Publishing Co Ltd - Thailand

5. Catalogues, Booklets

Gold - Cyberprint Company Limited - Thailand
Silver - Urano Co. Ltd. - Japan
Bronze - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong
Bronze - Yamada Photo Process Inc - Japan

6. Sheetfed Magazines

Gold - BHS Book Printing Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
Silver - SPH Magazines Pte Ltd - Singapore
Bronze - Amarin Printing & Publishing Public Co Ltd - Thailand
Bronze - Silverpoint Press Pvt Ltd - India

7. Calenders

Gold - Thomson Press India Limited - India
Silver - Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd - India
Bronze - Cyberprint Company Limited - Thailand

8. Limited Editions and Art Reproductions

Gold - C&C Joint Printing Co (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
Silver - Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd - India
Bronze - Cyberprint Company Limited - Thailand
Bronze - Li Feng Ya Commercial Printing (Shenzhen) Pte Ltd - China

9. Book Printing (Less than 4 colours)

Gold - Everbest Printing Co Ltd - China
Silver - C&C Joint Printing Co (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
Bronze - Shoeido Printing Co Ltd - Japan

10. Book Printing (4 or more colours)

Gold - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong
Silver - Eins Corporation - Japan
Bronze - Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd - Thailand
Bronze - Everbest Printing Co Ltd - China

11. Packaging offset printing

Gold - K.P.P. Packaging Pte Ltd - Singapore
Gold - Shanghai Jielong Art Printing Co Ltd - China
Silver - Linocraft Printers Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
Bronze - Printing Solution Co Ltd - Thailand

12. Web Offset (Coated Stock 70gsm and up)

Gold - Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd - Thailand
Silver - Shanghai Li Feng Ya Commercial Printing (Shenzhen) Pte Ltd - China
Bronze - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong

13. Web Offset (LWC 65gsm or less)

Gold - Times Printers Pte Ltd - Singapore
Silver - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong
Bronze - Ringier Print (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong

14. Digital Printing Electrographic/Laser

Gold - PT Suburmitra Grafistama - Indonesia
Silver - Soontorn Film Co Ltd - Thailand
Bronze - C & C Security Printing - Hong Kong

15. Digital Printing Ink Jet

Gold - Standard (Chan's) Co - Hongkong
Silver - Asahi Advertising Incorporation - Japan
Bronze - Shivang Creations Private Limited - India

16. Embellishment

Gold - Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd - Thailand
Silver - Leo Paper Products Limited - Hongkong
Bronze - Winson Press Pte Ltd - Singapore

17. Self Promotion

Gold - Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd - India
Silver - Leo Paper Products Limited - Hongkong
Bronze - ICR Co. Ltd (International Creative Room) - Japan

18. Innovation in Printing

Gold - Siam Offset Co Ltd - Thailand

19. Speciality Printing

Gold - C&C Offset Printing Co Ltd - Hong Kong
Silver - Morio Co Ltd - Thailand
Bronze - Prodon Enterprises - India

20. Digital Colour Proofing

Gold - Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd - Thailand
Silver - Schawk Imaging (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. - China
Bronze - Siam Toppan Packaging Co Ltd - Thailand

- 2008 APA Platinum Sponsor Awards -
I. Best in Sheetfed Offset - Heidelberg Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Cyberprint Company Limited
Country: Thailand
Prepress: Soonthorn Film
Printer: Cyberprint Company Limited
II. Best Application of Creative Colour - GMG Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Shivang Creations Private Limited
Country: India
Prepress: Shivang Creations Private Limited
Printer: Shivang Creations Private Limited
III. Best in Digital Colour Proofing - Epson Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
Country: Thailand
Prepress: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
Printer: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
IV. Best Use of the Digital Printing Process - Fuji Xerox Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: PT Suburmitra GXtra Phoenix Blanket
rafistama
Country: Indonesia
Prepress: Kisah Personal Publishing
Printer: PT Suburmitra Grafistama
V. Best in Innovative Printing - Kodak Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Siam Offset Co Ltd
Country: Thailand
Prepress: Imagin Graphic Co Ltd
Printer: Siam Offset Co Ltd
VI. Best in Web Offset Printing - UPM Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
Country: Thailand
Prepress: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
Printer: Sirivatana Interprint Co Ltd
VII. Best in Packaging Printing and Converting Processes - Bottcher Systems Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: K.P.P. Packaging Pte Ltd
Country: Singapore
Prepress: K.P.P. Packaging Pte Ltd
Printer: K.P.P. Packaging Pte Ltd
VIII. Best in More than One Production Process - Phoenix Blankets Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Hong Kong Economic Times Limited
Country: Thailand
Printer: Cyberprint Company Limited
IX. Environmental Printer Awards - technotrans Platinum Sponsor Award
Entrant: Thumbprints Company Sdn Bhd
Country: Malaysia

2008 APA Gold Sponsors
Agfa, Asian Printing Equipment Centre, CGS Publishing Technologies, Day International, EskoArtwork, Fuji Film, Goss International, Hewlett Packard, Hostmann - Steinberg, IST METZ GmbH, Komori, Konica Minolta, MAN Ferrostaal, MAN Roland, Oce, Ricoh, Dainippon Screen, Thai Print Awards 2007

2008 APA Patrons
Esko Artworks, Canon, KBA, X-Rite (Official Supplier of 6th APA)

2008 APA Supporting Associations
Print & Media Association Singapore (PMAS), The Thai Printing Association, PEIAC, Indonesia Print Awards (IPA)

2008 APA Title sponsor
Messe Dusseldorf GmbH - event organiser of drupa 2008
About Asian Print Awards (APA)

The Annual Asian Print Awards was founded to recognise outstanding achievement in the print and packaging industries across Asia. With more than half the world's population represented in this fast growing area, communication in the form of printed matter links Asia's diverse cultures. It is imperative that such print achievements do not go unrecognised, especially among the population base that Asia enjoys. The entries are judged on a wholly quality oriented set of criteria to ensure that fair play is enacted at all times. To further enforced neutrality, the companies' names will not be disclosed and entries are judged through a coded entry number. The Independent Judging Panel comprises ten highly qualified personnel from within Asia and around the world. Please visit www.asianprintawards.com.sg.

About Callahan Publishing Pte Ltd

Callahan Publishing delivers the only regional printing trade publications in Asia. It closes the knowledge gap between the United States and Europe by delivering the latest development in the Asian markets. The magazines by Callahan Publishing are circulated to more than 11,000 companies in 13 countries monthly, including developing markets like China and Indochina. These magazines are a genuine source of market information for printers, manufacturers and suppliers. It also provides launch platforms for new products introduced to Asia. Please visit www.cpublish.com.sg.

Contact: Callahan Publishing Pte Ltd
116 Lavander Street
Unit 03-02
Pek Chuan Building
Singapore 338730
E-mail: paul[at]cpublish.com.sg
Website: www.asianprintawards.com.sg

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/6th-Asian-Print-Awards-2008/story.aspx?guid=%7B3A1BF1B5-E3B9-4AF1-BBAB-3B6141F94803%7D

Poof! goes the art work as taboos broken

2008-11-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

The skies above the Hiroshima Peace Memorial were perfectly clear last Tuesday morning — until a small plane appeared and started writing in smoke a Japanese word that could be translated as "Bang!"

In an article the next day, the local Chugoku Shimbun reported it was flooded with phone calls from citizens who had seen the skywriting, which was obviously designed to remind them of the atomic bombing of the city 63 years ago. Most callers, the newspaper reported, expressed "displeasure."

It turns out that the stunt was the latest project by artist group Chim 596 Pom, whose shock tactics The Japan Times covered this summer. They were filming the word as it floated in the sky above the memorial that they planned to submit for a solo show at Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art next month.

But not any more. The stunt was denounced by Sunao Tsuboi, head of an association of atomic-bomb victims' groups in Hiroshima, and attracted vitriolic criticism on the infamous 2Channel Web site, resulting in Ryuta Ushiro, the normally footloose leader of Chim 596 Pom, offering a public apology. The exhibition was also canceled.

The Japanese word the artists wrote in the sky was "pika" — the kind of term used in manga to describe bright flashes of light. It is also used in popular literature to describe the blinding flash of an atomic-bomb explosion. Ushiro said he had hoped the work would draw attention to perceived ignorance among younger generations about the atomic bombing.

But that wasn't enough to placate the detractors. Tsuboi commented wryly that the artists were entertaining themselves at the expense of others and that they should think more seriously about the issues involved. 2 Channel was awash with complaints, from resentment that Tokyo-artists were exploiting Hiroshima to simple statements of hatred.

With that abuse, the public apology and, above all, the canceled exhibition, Chim 596 Pom, who had enjoyed a meteoric rise of late, have suffered a big setback. And it has been at the hands of one of this country's long-standing, unique and formidable artistic taboos: facetiousness with respect to the atomic bombings.

Journalist Makoto Murata, who has been observing the Japanese art world for 30 years, says "the atomic bombings have always been a sensitive issue," noting that 10 years ago the Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang ran into similar difficulties when he tried to hold one of his famous explosion works in Hiroshima. (His international reputation has now made such projects possible.)

There are other artistic taboos in Japan that outsiders might find puzzling. The Emperor is accorded such protection that he is no doubt the envy of royal families the world over. In 1986, Nobuyuki Oura's "Holding Perspective," a collage series depicting him alongside, for example, tattooed buttocks, caused a stir when it was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama. Over 300 rightwingers turned up at the prefectural assembly demanding the works be sold, and they ended up getting their way.

Murata remembered that in the mid 1990s, too, another argument flared when a similarly "disrespectful" painting by Kikuji Yamashita was being considered for a major retrospective of the artist. The show ended up going on without it.

Japan's museums have always been averse to sexually explicit art, too, says Murata. "Museums just wouldn't show such work, exercising jishu kisei — or self-regulation or restraint."
Four years ago, the Yokohama Museum of Art was forced to pull a sexually confrontational exhibit from its walls. The video work, by Tadasu Takamine, showed a disabled person being assisted in masturbation.

Still, Murata says the Takamine case demonstrates that over the last few years Japan's museums have become more willing to confront their nation's taboos.

"In the past, museums just wouldn't have shown such work," he says. These days they might show it, but try to circumvent problems by issuing warnings to visitors about the content.
The Mori Art Museum adopted that approach with shunga — pornographic ukiyo-e (genre painting) woodblock prints — in 2003. The Yokohama Triennale has done the same this year.
While purists might fret that such warnings undermine the very shock that such art is likely trying to harness, it seems there is currently no other option.

There are indications that advance notice might have saved Chim 596 Pom, too. Among the shouted abuse online were comments asking why the artists and the museum hadn't informed the victims' groups in advance. The suggestion is that with fair warning, even their understandably delicate sensibilities might have been able to cope with the affront.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fa20081030ec.html