Author: Staff Nippon

By Alessandro Poletto, Lecturer in East Asian Religions, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis 3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima “The Tale of Genji,” often called Japan’s first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, “Dear Radiance” (“Hikaru kimi...

By Paul S. Atkins, Professor of Japanese, University of Washington 3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima On a recent visit to New York I stopped at a Japanese bookstore in Manhattan. Among the English-language books about Japan, I encountered a section of a shelf marked “WABI-SABI” and stocked with titles such as “Wabi Sabi Love,” “The...

3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima The Pritzker Architecture Prize was awarded to Japan’s Riken Yamamoto in March, who earned the field’s highest honor for what organizers described as a long career focused on “multiplying opportunities for people to meet spontaneously, through precise, rational design strategies.” Yamamoto, 78, has spent a five-decade career designing both private...

3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima When the FX network sent screenwriter Justin Marks a copy of James Clavell’s hit 1975 novel “Shōgun” with the idea of turning it into a series, he initially could not put it down. That was because he was reluctant to pick it up. The book about a British navigator shipwrecked...

3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima The 2024 Oscars showcased the creativity and storytelling skill of Japanese cinema, with unprecedented wins for two of its most iconic figures: Hayao Miyazaki and the legendary kaiju, Godzilla. Hayao Miyazaki won for helming the best animated film “The Boy and the Heron,” the long-awaited fantasy from the director of...

3.11 EXPLORING FUKUSHIMA: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that documented the 13th anniversary of the "Great East Japan Earthquake," tsunami, and nuclear accident, including the conditions of both the people and places that remain affected by the disaster across the Tōhoku region. mkeind.com/exploringfukushima Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, long a popular destination for tourists, has closed off some private-property alleys in its famous geisha district because of complaints about misbehaving visitors. Swarms of tourists have increasingly crowded the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people...