A TREE MOVES IN MINATO-KU It’s a matter of priorities.  Minato Ward has its right! Unbeknownst to me, the powers that are in Tokyo’s Minato ward, where many Embassies are located, and many international residents of Tokyo live, decided that the venerable camphor tree in the historic Arisugawa Park needed to be moved.  By chance or…

The work of Jin MORIGAMI is currently being shown in his first U.S. solo at Tai Modern Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, until September 22nd, 2018. Morigami’s delicate designs are presented as a radical departure from traditional Japanese bamboo basketry.   “To materialize your vision in bamboo art, you have to keep working with…

3 minute video The late kabuki actor, NAKAMURA Kanzaburo V, performs a comedy medly of dance styles inspired by a number of famous kabuki performers of the 20th century.  Biography  Nakamura died at the young age of 57, in 2012. The 3 minute video focuses on a legendary 1930’s tap dance-inspired performance.  If you have…

A review by John Dwaine McKenna of Barry Lancet’s latest book Although prognostication and predicting the future isn’t what we normally do here at the MBR, there’s always exceptions, and this is one.  I’m gonna stick my neck all the way out to the cut-on-the-dotted-line tattoo and forecast the near future.  In about a week…

By Mark Schumacher In Buddhist sculpture and painting throughout Asia, the Buddha (Nyorai, Tathagata) are generally depicted with a characteristic hand gesture known as a mudra. Mudras are used primarily to indicate the nature and function of the deity. They are also used routinely by current-day Japanese monks in their spiritual exercises and worship. One…

by Gail Rieke Japanese design demonstrates its genius in myriad ways when it comes to reusing materials. The pottery town of Tokename in Aichi Prefecture has an area of town called Dokanzaka that is paved with recycled clay rings and walls of recycled imperfect shochu bottles. This street transforms into an installation piece. Often old…

Cetaceans in the Sea of Okhotsk By Mark Brazil Blue above then blue below. Viewed from just below the pass at Mt Mokoto on the northern rim of the Kussharo Caldera, a low sea of cloud blankets Kussharo-ko, Japan’s largest caldera lake, from view. Beyond the rugged, forested far rim of the caldera to the…

There was, in late June, in Sacramento California, an unprecedented event: a seminar ran by a very prominent player in the Japanese sake-making world. It was a seminar taught by Japanese master sake brewers for the 15 or so craft sake producing companies in North America. It was, as might be expected, very, very cool….

My first teacher in Japan: Mari Horie by Nancy Craft The news headlines about this summer’s brutal heat wave in Kyoto reminded me of the first summer I spent there 32 years ago. I had spent a magical 3 weeks in Kyoto during cherry blossom season a few years before, and that had led to…

Stagiaire, literally “trainee” in French, often refers to short kitchen stints where a cook works for free.  This labor exchange is generally to learn from a great chef or as part of the process to obtain a job.  I was in Tokyo for the former. The only issue was I had no contacts, knew no…