Visual Anthropology of Japan - 日本映像人類学

"Ainu musician brings tradition and global sounds to New York"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:56:22 +0000

Photo caption: Ainu musician Oki plays the tonkori during a performance in New York on June 4, 2026. (Photo not for sale)(Photo courtesy of Richard Termine/The Japan Society)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo Image: Kyodo

Photo and text from Japan Today, 8/11/26. Source: https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/feature-ainu-musician-brings-tradition-and-global-sounds-to-new-york

Ainu musician Oki returned to the city where he first began exploring his identity, bringing with him a sound that blends the traditional music of Japan's indigenous people with influences ranging from rock and reggae to African rhythms.

In early June, the sound of the tonkori, a traditional Ainu stringed instrument, reverberated through a concert hall in New York as Oki, 69, performed with the Oki Dub Ainu Band, the group he leads.

His music fuses traditional Ainu music with genres such as rock, reggae and Afrobeat. Returning to the city that had prompted him to reflect on his Ainu roots, he performed the distinctive style he continues to refine.

"I'm back home, New York City!" he called out during the concert. The packed hall erupted in cheers.

Oki was 4 when his parents divorced, and he grew up in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo with his mother and stepfather. He did not learn that his biological father was Ainu until he was 22 and studying metalwork at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Although he visited relatives in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, he felt like an outsider. He was neither "fully Japanese" nor Ainu, and struggled deeply, feeling lost and unable to define his own identity.

He had aspired to a career in contemporary art but could not find a form of expression that felt truly his own. At age 30, he moved to New York without a concrete plan.

While visiting art exhibitions, he met people from indigenous communities. He traveled to Arizona to visit one of them -- a Navajo artist -- and was struck by their traditional way of life. The experience deepened his awareness of his own roots.

He studied film production in the United States with the intention of building a career in the field, but a Japanese film project he was involved in fell through. He decided to start his life over in Hokkaido.

There, he encountered the tonkori, a five-stringed instrument passed down among Ainu who had migrated from Sakhalin to Hokkaido. At the time, there were no players left, and efforts to revive the instrument were just beginning within the Ainu community.

"Maybe this was the way I could find my own voice," he thought.

Through trial and error, he learned to play the instrument using postwar recordings as a guide and began composing songs in the Ainu language. He combined the electrified tonkori with bass and drums, blending it with reggae and African music he had experienced live in New York.

Today, Oki enjoys international recognition and is invited to world music festivals across the globe.

"I don't want being Ainu to be the first thing people associate me with," he said.

He sees interest in the Ainu -- who have historically faced discrimination -- as separate from appreciation of his own music.

"People who are only interested in the story of a young man of Ainu heritage playing the tonkori aren't really interested in my music," he said.

At the same time, he recognizes the importance of the Ainu telling their own stories.

Last year, he made his directorial debut with the documentary "Everyday Ainu," produced by the National Ainu Museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.

Speaking at an event at the Japan Society in New York the day after the concert, he said he wanted to make a film that tells "our own story," noting that many documentaries about the Ainu had been made by outsiders.

This is a rare example of how anthropologiy and salvage ethnography actually helped the Ainu (rather than stealing bodies and artifacts and basically decribing them as primitive barbarians). At the time Oki became interested in the tonkori there were no Ainu musicians who knew how to play it. He found old audio recordings taken by researchers and ethnomusicologists between the 1940s and 1960s. Oki had to listen to the poor quality recordings and learn how to play the instrument by ear, imagining how the fingers moved on the strings to make the tones and sounds.

Additional sources:

Oki / Tonkori In The Moonlight (Varja, 2022). https://note.com/yasuhide1978/n/nc161bc80e256?hl=en

Music as Weapon: Ainu musician fights for cultural survival (Tomoko OTAKE, Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, July 6, 2005) https://apjjf.org/tomoto-otake/1621/article

"Old-Fashioned Sake Bar" Orihara Shoten - Monzen Nakacho ・「伝統的でありながらモダン角打ち」折原商店 - 門前仲町

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 06:23:00 +0000

Orihara Shoten is a liquor shop and a "standing drink bar" usually known as 立ち呑み屋 (tachinomiya). This shop many shelves with various kinds of alcohol and refrigerators filled with cold bottles of 日本酒 (nihonshu) - there is a lot to choose from! They sell bottles and single drinks as well. This kind of shop is known as a 角打ち (kakuuchi); it does not have a license to be a restaurant but can still sell drinks and simple snacks. It is standing room only - there is no seating available.

Orihara Shoten's roots go back to 1924 in Ikebukuro, but the shop in Monzen Nakacho opened in 2011 as a part of its "second foundation." It has the traditional vibes (matching the 下町 [shitamachi] atmoshpere, or old, nostalgic downtown of commoners), with all the modern conveniences (payments accepted in cash, credit cards and various digital wallet services). I like to stop in for a few quick drinks and snacks (usually before I take the shinkansen back home to Osaka) and always manage to have interesting conversations with the staff and customers. The also sell a variety of old-fashioned 駄菓子 (dagashi), inexpensive candies and snacks for children (so I can buy a few last minute omiyage/treats for my daughter).

It is also a great place to take photos (I asked for permission). You can see what I shot on my recent fiedtrip to Tokyo. There are also a few links at the end of the post for information about and access to the shop, and how it was featured in a popular 飯テロ (meshi tero) TV drama.

Orihara Shoten website: https://www.orihara-net.co.jp/oriharashoten/

Orihara Shoten - Monzen Nakacho access ・折原商店 - 門前仲町アクセス (source: https://www.orihara-net.co.jp/oriharashoten/shop/)

Orihara Shoten featured on ワカコ酒 (Wakako Sake), Season 3, Episode 9 (TV Tokyo, 6/2/18): https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/wakako_zake3/story/index.html?story=s_09

Story about Orihara Shoten featured on ワカコ酒: https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/plus/drama/entry/2017/016147.html

*Setting the record straight (regarding Inō Tadataka @ Tomioka Hachiman Shrine (富岡八幡宮) in Monzen Nakacho)...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

OK, so Inō Tadataka「伊能忠敬」lived from February 11, 1745 to May 17, 1818. And he wasn't really drinking with me at the izakaya (at least not in person). Inō sensei was a famous Japanese surveyor and cartographer. It is not such a stretch to suggest he was an ethnographer of sorts. I met him, or got to know him, by chance. On the last day of my recent research trip to Tokyo I had to check out of the hotel at 11:00 AM. I had an hour to kill before I could go to one last fieldsite, a close-by kakuuchi (see the next post). The Tomioka Hachiman Shrine was located next to my hotel, and I found a nice shady spot nearby to sit and wait. It happened to be near the bronze statue of Inō. It was a cool statue and I thought I might be able to use a picture of it in a class or something. I got up and took some photos. After a while, and much sweating in the hot summer sun, I was able to go to the kakuuchi (and its air conditioner). It was only later when I returned to Osaka that I did a little research to see who this person was and what his conection to the shrine was.

It turns out that after he retired from business at the age of 50, Inō lived close to the shrine in the Edo neighborhood of Fukagawa Kuroecho, which is now known as Monzen Nakacho. He was said to pray to the diety at this shrine before his first mapping trip to Hokkaido in 1800 and other subsequent trips. It became an important ritual for him, and since he was successful in 10 journeys, the shrine came to be associated with travel safety. The bonze statue of him was built in 2001 to commerate his ritual and work.

So if he could, why wouldn't he want to share some drinks and interesting discourse with a contemporary anthropologist?

This is a photo of Tomioka Hachiman Shrine I took in July 2023.

Scroll down to Set III in the this link of more photos of Tomioka Hachiman Shrine at that time: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/07/vaoj-s2023rt-arc-theres-more-to.html

This is the shrine now, undergoing some refurbishment.

English translation:

Tomioka Hachiman-gu Shrine

400th Anniversary of Enshrinement Commemorative Project

Donations Now Being Accepted

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is conducting a commemorative project leading up to the 400th anniversary of its enshrinement in Reiwa 9 (2027). We ask for everyone's understanding and financial support. For details, please inquire at the shrine office.

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine Office

QR codes to give more information about shrine activies.

The Bronze Statue of Inō Tadataka at Tomioka Hachiman Shrine

English translation of information plaque:

Master Inō Tadataka, the pioneer of modern Japanese cartography, moved to Edo (now Tokyo) at the age of 50 after finding success in business. He established a residence near this shrine in Kuroe-cho, Fukagawa (currently Monzen-nakacho 1-chome). Approximately 200 years ago, during the Kansei era (Kansei 12, intercalary April 19th—June 11th, 1800, according to the solar calendar), he visited this shrine early in the morning to pray for safety before departing on his survey journey to Ezochi (Hokkaido). Master Tadataka went on to plan and execute a total of ten survey expeditions. Up until the eighth expedition, which mapped distant regions, he made it a strict rule to always visit Tomioka Hachiman Shrine before departing. Leading his internal disciples and attendants, he would pray for a safe journey, return to his residence to complete final preparations, and then head out toward the starting point of his survey. Consequently, this shrine is a place deeply connected to the mapping achievements of Inō Tadataka. To mark the 200th anniversary of the start of the Inō surveys, the "Inō Walk" mapping and surveying committee, land and house surveyors, the Inō Tadataka Research Society, and other related parties took the lead in raising public donations to erect this statue. October, Heisei 13 (2001).

Erected by the Executive Committee for the Construction
of the Inō Tadataka Bronze Statue

So you are probably still wondering how Inō Tadataka got to the izakaya (and the Monzen Nakacho Train Station). I was able to use some online tools (pre-A.I. PicWish) to remove the statue from the original background (of the photo I took), and then I pasted it in to photos of the other locations (which I took). OK, so there is the full disclosure...

Sources:

Brock, John. (2019). Japan’s Most Famous Surveyor: Ino Tadataka and His Iconic 1821 Map of Japan! Tokyo: International Cartographic Association (ICA / ICC Meeting Proceedings) Accessed August 4, 2026. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334378209_Japan's_Most_Famous_Surveyor_Ino_Tadataka_and_His_Iconic_1821_Map_of_Japan

Inō Tadataka Society (伊能忠敬研究会) and Watanabe, Ichirō. (2001). Erecting the Bronze Monument of Inō Tadataka: 200 Years of Mapping Japan. Tokyo: Inō Tadataka Monument Committee / Tomioka Hachiman Shrine Archives. Accessed August 4, 2026. http://www.tomiokahachimangu.or.jp/annai/inoTadataka/inoTadatak.html

Home again...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000

「VAoJ」has returned safely to Osaka after research in Tokyo・「VAoJ」は東京で研究をして、無事大阪に帰りました

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 10:07:42 +0000

Image: Inō Tadataka (1745-1818), the famous Japanese surveyor and cartographer whose bronze statue resides in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine grounds in present-day Monzen Nakacho, joined the 「VAoJ」team at the nearby izakaya Daruma for a few drinks, fieldwork and photography*.

画像：伊能忠敬（1745-1818) ―― 現在の門前仲町にある富岡八幡宮の境内に銅像が立つ、著名な測量家・地図製作者である彼が、近隣の居酒屋「だるま」で「VAoJ」チームに加わり、酒を酌み交わしながら、現地調査や写真撮影を行いました。

Additional photos are scheduled to be released soon.

近いうちに追加の写真が公開される予定です。

*I will explain how Inō sensei was able to come to the izakaya in another post soon...

*伊能先生がどうやってその居酒屋に来ることができたのかについては、近いうちに別の投稿で説明します...

2026 Kayashima Shrine Summer Festival / 令和八年萱島神社夏祭り / Dedicated to my friend and colleague Inge...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:23:00 +0000

This post started after talking with my friend and colleague, Inge. Since we probably wouldn't see each other for a while during the summer break, she asked me to send her a couple of pictures. So the nearby summer festival at the Kayashima Jinja gave me a chance to do some interesting photography and get a couple of good shots for Inge. I chose the two shots above because they illustrate the fun and crowded atmosphere of the night fair where people go to meet up with friends and buy delicious summer snacks and drinks. My photos feature my favorite festival treat, tamago senbei: a crisp shrimp cracker with a fried egg, savory sauce and mayonnaise. As I was enjoying my tamago senbei, many people around me were enjoying theirs as well. I hope you like these shots, Inge!

The shrine ・神社・ jinja

Of course, being a visual anthropologist, I wanted to do more in this post and show the context and components of this occasion to add to my several previous posts about the summer festival and other events at or near the shrine. Kayashima Jinja, while small, is famous because its primary deity is a large tree. When the Keihan Kayashima Train Station was constructed, it was built around the tree. The tree/deity is said to be quite powerful and generous, so it attracts a lot of people at new years, the setsubun celebration and summer festival. I have included a list of previous VAoJ reporting with more facts and observations at the end of this post readers and viewers who want more specific information.

This year, this sacred wood branch「御神木の枝」which is part of the camphor tree「クスノキ」at Kayashima Shrine considered to be a Shinto deity「神・ kami」was prominently displayed.

The local standing drink bar ・地元の立ち呑み・ jimoto no tachinomi

For several years, this drinking establishment always sold corn-on-the-cob roasted in butter and soy sauce. I always looked forward to this treat. But recently the tachinomi was bought by new owners who decided not to sell it this year. Very unfortunate...

The night fair ・夜店・ yomise

An egg on a shrimp cracker with sauce ・たまごせんべい・ tamago senbei

Yum! おいしい! うまい!

The trash ・ごみ・ gomi

Yes, Japan is such a clean country... And who says there are no trash bins in public? And don't forget to seperate your recyclable trash...

Goodnight ・おやすみ・ oyasumi

It was probably too early when I limped back home struggling to carry my canes, camera and snacks. For many the party was just getting started... But for me, I needed to get home to watch the Hanshin Tigers baseball game.

Day 2: The portable shrine ・神輿・ mikoshi

Back in the day, the parading of the portable shrine or mikoshi, a large one for the adults and a smaller one for the children, to bestow the blessings of the local deity to the residents of the shrine parish, was grand, energetic and exciting. But in the last several years it has become smaller, mellower and easier; it seems more obligatory rather than fulfilling. This is due to demographic trends and shifts in most areas of Japan (i.e. decreases in birth rates and an aging society), a lack of interest and involvement in neighborhood events (much of the neighborhood has been gentrified and turned into a bed-town) and global warming (every year seems to be getting hotter and more humid). The COVID-19 pandemic certainly did not help. In other words, the majority of participants are older people along with fewer young adults and children willing and able to participate in a difficult, laborious and grueling undertaking under the hot summer sun. The adult mikoshi is now carried on a truck rather than the sweating necks and shoulders of strong, young men (and women). Culture changes. Humans need to adapt to a changing environment (ironically caused by the humans thmeselves...).

Previous VAOJ posts on the summer festival at the Kayashima Shrine:

Here is a list of VAoJ posts related to Kayashima Shrine. It probably is not a complete list, but hopefully these are good sources to explore to find more information. As this blog/website is organized by chronological date and time, these posts seem to be a mish-mash of discourses influenced by my observations, interests and personal circumstances during various ethnographic moments. In relation to the VAoJ website/project as a whole, it is interesting to see when I moved from theories, methods and work of others to my own (auto)ethnographic endeavors and productions. It is not so surprising that this change occurred around the time I obtained my Nikon D-700 camera. It is also interesting (and nostaligic in a way) to see pauses and breaks of my work due to injuries, hospitalizations, the COVID-19 pandemic and other important happenings. So rather than a mish-mash, VAoJ might better be described as a multimodal exercise, where one can explore the posts and put together various pieces of the puzzle that is the visual anthropology of Japan.

2013 summer festival in 5 parts:

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri I: The Mikoshi, posted July 30, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri II: Evening Activities, posted July 31, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri III: Tamago Senbei, posted August 1, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri IV: People, posted August 2, 2013.

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri V: くわしく, posted August 3, 2013.

2014 summer festival

Visual Anthropology of Japan, Local Matsuri, 2014 Edition, posted August 17, 2014.

2018 tondo matsuri post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2018/01/remains-of-2018-kayashima-shrine-tondo.html Remains of the 2018 Kayashima Shrine Tondo Festival, posted January 15, 2018.

2018 setsubun festival

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2018/02/2018-setsubun-shots-kayashima-jinjya.html 2018 Setsubun Shots @ Kayashima Jinja, posted February 24, 2018.

2018 summer festival post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2018/07/kayashima-jinja-summer-festival-mikoshi.html Kayashima Jinja Summer Festival: Mikoshi Procession Viewed from the Cool(er) Convenience of My Window, posted July 31, 2018

2019 setsubun festival post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/02/local-setsubun-celebration-at-kayashima.html Local Setsubun Celebration at Kayashima Shrine, Osaka, Japan, Feb. 3, 2019, posted February 3, 2019.

2019 jalan-jalan post on tachinomiya refurbish

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/06/jalan-jalan-68-neighborhood-tachinomiya.html Jalan Jalan (68): Neighborhood Tachinomiya Under Construction - a noren to protect the entrance and a cover for the whole building during renovation... posted June 19, 2019.

2019 jalan-jalan post on tachinomiya new signage

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/06/jalan-jalan-69-and-heres-new-signage.html Jalan Jalan (69): And here's the new signage for the neighborhood tachinomiya (I wish I could have been there for the unveiling...), posted June 24, 2019.

2020 new year's post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/01/ringing-in-reiwa-2-kayashima-jinja.html Ringing in Reiwa 2 @ Kayashima Jinja, posted January 3, 2020.

2022 summer festival post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-subdued-2022-kayashima-summer.html The subdued 2022 Kayashima summer festival - no children and the mikoshi is carried on a truck... posted July 24, 2022.

2023 new year's post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/01/first-visit-to-kayashima-shrine-for-new.html First visit to Kayashima Shrine for the New Year 2023, posted January 3, 2023

2023 summer festival

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/08/kayashima-summer-festival-july-2023.html Kayashima Summer Festival (July, 2023), posted August 2, 2023

2025 summer festival post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/07/kayashima-shrine-summer-matsuri-july-27.html Kayashima Shrine Summer Matsuri (July 27, 2025) / 萱島神社夏祭り（2025年7月27日, posted July 27, 2025.

2026 new year's post

https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2026/01/kayashima-shrine-after-new-years-rush.html Kayashima Shrine 萱島神社 After the New Year's Rush, posted January 4, 2026.

New Book!「The Art of Getting By: Wisdom and Resilience from China’s Migrant Women」by Kevin Ming

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 06:33:24 +0000

My friend and colleague Kevin Ming has published his new book, The Art of Getting By: Wisdom and Resilience from China’s Migrant Women (Algora Publishing 2026). Here is a brief description from the publisher:

Sound Bite

A work that is simultaneously ethnographic fieldwork, social theory, and intimate portraiture, The Art of Getting By takes us into a hidden world and nestles in, learning some of the ways people keep themselves intact in tough circumstances.

Introduction

The Art of Getting By: Wisdom and Resilience from China's Migrant Women invites readers into the disappearing alleyways and vibrant communities of southern China's urban villages, offering an intimate look at the lives of poor migrant women navigating worlds of exposure and exploitation. Through what Kevin David Ming calls a "vagrant anthropology," this book chronicles two decades of walking, listening, and storying with women who work in the sexual labor industry, primarily in falang (hair salon brothels), but also beyond, in China, Malaysia, and Thailand.

This unique narrative gathers fragments of life—snatches of song, shared meals, daily gossip, and poignant personal histories—to illuminate the ingenuity, resilience, and complex desires of its subjects. We meet Wangjing, whose dreams of a modern kitchen reflect aspirations for respectability and security for her family. We learn from Qi Qi about the careful art of "fishing" for customers in upscale hotel bars, a delicate dance of observation and performance. Christine's story reveals a love for literature and a quiet determination to write her own future, even amidst challenging circumstances. These women, often dismissed or stereotyped, are shown to be adept at forming connections and finding temporary inhabitance in worlds designed for their estrangement.

Beyond individual portraits, the book uncovers the broader forces shaping these lives: the relentless pace of urban development that obliterates communities, the "cannibalizing capitalist present" that scavenges on networks of care, and the enduring weight of filial obligations. It challenges conventional notions of hope, offering instead a vision of "present hope"—an energetic continuance born from struggle and the indeterminacy of an uncertain future.

For more information: https://www.algora.com/product/the-art-of-getting-by/

"Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:37:00 +0000

Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images. | ©YANAGI MIWA

Photo and text source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/07/10/art/japanese-female-photographers-exhibition/

By Jennifer Pastore, The Japan Times Contributing writer

For decades, women working in photography have had to fight for a place in the spotlight. “I’m So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now,” a 2024 anthology and an ongoing international exhibition, seeks to give them the recognition they deserve.

Tokyo’s T3 Photography Festival previewed part of the exhibition last year, but the larger show, which has toured Europe and North America and attracted some 140,000 visitors, opened July 4 at Hikarie Hall in Shibuya. Organized by Bunkamura, the exhibition expands the roster to 30 women, adding Hisae Imai, Ai Iwane, Aya Fujioka and Tomoko Yoneda and bringing the total number of works on view to 200.

Twenty of the featured photographers attended the show’s preopening at Hikarie Hall. Each was called on stage in an emotional gathering of photographic talent rare in its scope and intergenerational representation.

“For a long time, the Japanese photography world has been a male-dominated society … In most cases, women were either a rare exception or merely an afterthought, says Mariko Takeuchi, a photography critic and the lead curator of the Tokyo exhibition. “The exhibition brought together artists from a wide range of generations. I believe that seeing the journeys of these female photographers come together in this tangible form, as an event that evoked that history, left a strong impression on everyone present.”

Takeuchi says that the participants were selected for their excellence — not just their status as women photographers — and that womanhood was just one aspect among a complex range of identities. The organizers took care to focus on the uniqueness of each photographer, rather than present a generalized survey.

The works are arranged in four sections that explore the possibilities of photography as a medium, its role in memory and documentation, its expressions of gender and the body and its ability to capture both the banality and magic of everyday life. The openness of the high-ceilinged rooms allows large-scale works, some of which hang from the ceiling, to be displayed even more impactfully, as though the photographers are speaking to each other. This characteristic is enhanced by unconventional textures and mediums, including scrolls of photographic paper, ceramic works and even a fabric tent.

The show includes living masters like Miyako Ishiuchi, whose series “Mother’s” (2000-05) meditates on memories of her late mother by documenting her possessions; Mao Ishikawa, who examines the American military presence in Okinawa from her lived experience documenting bars for servicemen; Kunie Sugiura, who blends science and art in photograms that directly capture light on canvas and paper, without a camera; and Miwa Yanagi, who in series like “Elevator Girl House” (1994-99) skewers the rigid superficiality of gender roles through staged, fantastical images, such as a pair of scenes showing dozens of women lined up mannequin-like in glass cases and collapsed onto a conveyor belt.

Foremothers of the genre are also given their dues: Eiko Yamazawa (1899-1995) was a pioneering commercial photographer who developed vibrant abstract compositions in primary colors beginning in the 1950s; Toyoko Tokiwa (1928-2019) opened doors with her 1957 photobook “Kiken na Adabana” (“Dangerous Poison Flowers”) that portrayed Yokohama’s red-light district; Hisae Imai (1931-2009) produced avant-garde images based on literary works like “Hamlet.”

The show also features artists expanding their practices beyond photography and taking the medium beyond two dimensions, as seen in installations by Hiroko Komatsu, Yuki Tawada, Ai Iwane and Yurie Nagashima.

There are also a few surprises: Mika Ninagawa, known for hypersaturated color, turns to black and white with recent video works, while the chance to see Hitomi Watanabe’s shots of the Zenkyoto student uprising of the 1960s, taken from behind the barricades in her urgent yet poetic style, should not be missed as these photographs are rarely exhibited at Japanese museums.

While this exhibition is the first presentation of Japanese women photographers of this scale, it is by no means meant to be comprehensive. It is, however, meant to right a longstanding wrong.

Read more and see more photos of the event at The Japan Times.

A day that will live in infamy: "Trump says 'Islamic Republic of Japan' fired missiles at U.S. aircraft carrier'"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:44:33 +0000

Click on the article to see a clear view.

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/politics/trump-says-japan-rather-iran-in-gaffe-over-missile-attack-on-u.s.-ship (July 9, 2026)

BONUS VIDEO!

Go to 7:00 to see the big news!

Source: The Daily Show with Ronny Chieng, July 9, 2026
YouTube url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpTRbj5mtcM

"EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America" // Exhibition @ Smithsonian National Museum of American History

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 23:45:44 +0000

Image from https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/everybody-artifact-history-disability-america

Thanks to Mori Soya Sensei for sharing information about this exhibition from Corbett OToole's FB post:

Disability History is under attack Right Now.
There’s a new White House report stating that only some Americans should be represented at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
The ONLY comprehensive collection of disability history in the US is at that museum.
If the White House wins, we all lose access to histories of disabled people and all Americans stories and materials. The only materials allowed with be White House approved perspectives (i.e. white privileged)

Links:

EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/everybody-artifact-history-disability-america

Quote:

People with disabilities have been present throughout American history, but rarely appear in textbooks or shared public memories. Curator Katherine Ott introduces a new online exhibition that helps us understand the American experience and reveals how complicated history really is.

Over 100 years ago, an African American woman named Sarah Savage did something that caused her to be institutionalized at Central State Hospital, a "lunatic asylum" in Milledgeville, Georgia. She died there in 1882. Little else is known about her—when and where she was born, who she loved and who loved her, how she died, and what got her locked up. We don't even know if marker #72 belongs to her or a white man named Nathaniel Cowart—the cemetery was segregated and burial numbers used twice.

In the 1860s or 1870s, Benjamin Franklin was caught in a freezing storm in the Dakota Territory, lost his hands and feet to frostbite, and afterwards made a living selling cartes-de-visite (small photographs printed on thick paper cards) of himself.

There are thousands upon thousands of such stories about people with disabilities that never make it into the history books. To broaden the familiar narratives of American history and give presence to some of the "disappeared" in American history, we created an online exhibition about disability drawn from the museum's collections. The online exhibition is at the center of the museum's work in unraveling the intricate ways in which stigma, rights, and everyday realities intertwine.

The museum has dozens of photographic images of people with disabilities. We know neither the name nor circumstances of most of them. Being anonymous or forgotten does not mean that you are invisible. We can piece together past experiences by combining what the image tells us (about age, clothing, location, era, activity) with what we know about the history of disability in America. Such things as surfaced roads, escalators and elevators, the internet, as well as the closing of asylums and even the availability of inexpensive eye-glasses and a host of medical treatments have created circumstances that enabled political and social change. Our artifacts can explain events such as protests, hospitalization, first communion, and graduation and what they meant in the lives of people. Artifacts give shape and substance to historical experiences in ways that retrieve stories of those who did not have the resources, support, or power to leave a mark.

EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/everybody

Quote:

Many stories and events related to people with disabilities never make it into the history books or shared public memories. Familiar concepts and events such as citizenship, work, and wars become more complicated, challenge our assumptions about what counts as history, and transform our connection with each other when viewed from the historical perspective of people with disabilities, America’s largest minority.

Knowing these histories deepens understanding of the American experience and reveals how complicated history really is. In addition, when history comes through artifacts, distinct themes emerge—for example, the significance of place, relationships, and technology—that are less apparent when only books and words are used.

The EveryBody online exhibition is an introduction to the history of disability in America, covering politics, relationships, work, technology, health and more. Just as language about disability has changed (with movement away from stigmatizing terms such as crippled, handicapped, or invalid), so has understanding of it, with civil rights becoming paramount.

Check this out! Lots of good and important things to see!

The Rainy Season Indeed is Here (the last three Hanshin Tigers games - including today - have been canceled); the stream looks like pea soup but has an awful stench..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:54:38 +0000

Dead Cherry Tree Branches and River Weed before the Onset of the Rainy Season

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 06:21:45 +0000

For a good memory post: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-master-of-canal-with-his-long-pole.html

End-of-the-Semester Summer Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 05:51:00 +0000

After, let us say, a challenging semester, I was able to stay away from campus for a couple of relaxing and stress-free weeks. Upon my return (for a faculty report meeting), I found a wonderful surprise waiting for me in front of my office door: a piece of art and some classic literature. One of my most excellent students, Andrew, saw the Foo Fighters sticker on my computer and made his own rendition of their logo for me. In an addendum to his note thanking me for the semester, he wrote that he originally bought the book for himself but couldn't fit it in his luggage. He said that he thought I would enjoy it if I haven't read it before. I am a little sorry to say that I did read the book before, long before Andrew was even born... But I look forward to reading it again.

Thank you, Andrew, for all of your efforts, the great times in the class and your thoughtful present.

The Re/Construction: January 13 ~ June 13, 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 11:22:00 +0000

This rather large post documents the construction of a new apartment complex (corrected name on the apartment signage:「フォレストグクリエオーレ城垣町 I II」or, Forest Creaole Shirogakicho I and II) in my neighborhood very close to my own house. The overall saga begins with two earlier posts, about the demolition of the previous Showa era house:

「Deconstruction: Demolishing a Showa Era House in the Neighborhood (this post is still under construction...)」: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/09/deconstruction-demolishing-showa-era.html

and the "pre-construction" of the apartment complex:

「Pre/Re/Construction...」：https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2026/01/prereconstruction.html

The main construction began on January 13 and was supposed to be finished in May. Construction ran longer than promised, continuing well into June. The crews started out at 8:00 AM and finished around 6:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. They also worked on some Sundays and national holidays. The finished product consists of two 3-story buildings with 12 1LDK apartment units in each building (for a total of 24 new apartments).

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS A SOUND-ONLY VIDEO. PLAY AT MAXIMUM VOLUME ON YOUR DEVICE TO GET AN IDEA OF THE REAL TIME EXPERIENCE... This is what woke me up almost everyday for the last 6 months. No snooze button, no shut off button...

This noise pollution has been inconsiderate, disruptive and stressful to say the least, for me, my family and many neighbors (who have sometimes complained to the workers). Sometimes we were notified before hand about work on Sundays and national holidays (the documents are included with the photos below), but many times we were not. Calls to the company headquarters went unanswered on Sundays and national holidays as their office was closed, despite the construction workers themselves having to work.

This documentation is not so scientific as the photos were taken haphazardly in terms of time and number of exposures in each photographic session. I tried to capture the weekly changes on Sundays when I could, but there were some periods of illness and hospitalization that prevented me at times. Most of the photos are structural only, without the construction workers or people walking by the site. Still, this project is ethnographic in that is displays the contrast between Showa era and contemporary architecture, contemporary construction methods (which includes far too few workers - usually 2-4 people - resulting in the slow progress) and the gentrification of the neighborhood (within walking distance of the Kayashima Keihan Train station) that adds to the bed town environment where residents do not know each other or interact as a community. This bed town gentrification unfortunately jives with obervations made in my prior research of the neighborhood fall festival, local Shinto shrine and demographic changes (aging society and low birth rates) that have been ongoing in Japan for nearly 30 years.

What follows are 152 photos, 4 documents, 1 timely social media post and information, diagrams and photos from the rental property company. It is a lot of raw data to digest. Good luck and yoroshiku for going through with it all.

January 13-17

January 18-25

January 27-31

February 1-11 (photos taken on 2/11, National Foundation Day, a national holiday but they were still working and being noisy, even on a rainy day...)

On February 3, we received a notification that construction would block traffic on 2/19, 2/20, 2/21, 3/2, 3/3 and 3/4.

February 12-14

February 15-20

February 21-23

February 24 - March 1

March 2 (Street closed for construction...)

March 3-8

Click on the article for a clear view.

On Facebook, March 16, 2026... I don't know... I haven't seen this kind of curtain in Japan before. And certainly the current construction in my neighborhood does nothing to lower noise pollution or improve the aesthetics of the construction site. As for politeness toward neighbors and functional beauty... NO! These are naive foreign stereotypes and assumptions that are not true. Sources like Japan Daily run rampant with such posts.

March 9-15

March 16-23

March 24 - April 12

We received the following notification that the construction crews would be working on a Sunday (4/26/26) and during part of the Golden Week Holidays (May 4, 5 and 6, 2026).

April 13-18

April 19-26

April 27 - May 3

May 4-10

May 11-17

We received this notice which stated that the street would be closed on 5/13/26.

May 18-24

May 25-31

June 1-8

June 9-13

From the Rental Property Website

The following data and photos are "courtesy of" the Rental Property compnay. Click on the image to get a clear view.

https://rent.sumirin-residential.co.jp/rent/?keyword=%E9%96%80%E7%9C%9F%E5%B8%82

Since today's date is June 13, 6 months after I started photographing the main construction, it seems logical to finally post this monster. I promise to add updates if there are any major changes and/or I have the opportunity to view the apartments myself in an open house. For now, I hope for a little peace and quiet, at least until the 24 new tenants move in...

Old Tobidashi Bōya "Running (or Jumping?) Boy" Sign in my Kadoma-shi Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:45:31 +0000

One day, while out on a jalan-jalan ("walking for nothing") with my camera I happened upon this very old sign. It was located on a storage garage at a Showa-era house in Kamishima-cho in Kadoma-shi.

The sign looked familiar, but I did not know what it really was or what the character on the sign was called. So I did a little AI research...

I uploaded the photo to Google Images and its AI said it was a pictograph or geoglyph. I guess the AI was fixated on the white lines. When I added more information ("Kadoma-shi, Osaka, Japan"), the AI said it was probably something from the Nazca Lines in Peru, because Japanese scientists had done research there (luckily I was familiar with the Nazca Lines after seeing them on the Ancient Aliens show on the History channel...). I typed "no, try again," and the AI said it was an image of Anpanman ("no"), Doraemon ("no"), and then Hoshio-kun (the Baby Star Ramen mascot). I then decided to give up with the AI and try to use my own memory.

I knew I had seen the sign and character before and then I finally found it on another jalan-jalan.

The sign, in flag form, was at an old tako-yaki shop near my home. I asked the master (after I ordered some tako-yaki, a benefit of ethnographic research) if I could take a picture of it. He said yes, of course, and added that the flag had been at the shop for a long time, since the time his father ran it.

I now had a new image to search, and when I did, I found out it was the Tobidashi Bōya (飛び出し坊や, or "Running Boy" or "Jumping Boy"). This character was made by Yasuhei Hisada for the city council of Yokaichi, Shiga Prefecture in 1973 as a warning sign that was adopted by local PTAs and neighborhood associations who placed them around schools and other areas to remind drivers to drive slowly and watch out for children in the street. Tobidashi Bōya spread to other communities who made their own versions.

So the sign I photographed is the Kadoma-shi version (I have seen it in Neyagawa-shi as well). The Kadoma-shi version has made it to also indicate a safety spot (business or home) for children to get help or call 110 to get emergency assistance from the police. I recently noticed that the small hospital behind my house puts the flag up whenever they are open.

Takeaways from this experience? 1) The sign, while severly weathered, is not as old as I thought it was... 2) My memory, also extremely weathered, along with fieldwork, seem to be superior to AI.

For more information, see "50 Years with the "Tobidashi Boy" Sign | Higashiomi, the Birthplace of the Tobidashi Boy Sign": https://tobidashibouya.com/

See also "An Exhibition of Tobidashi Boy": https://www.lmaga.jp/news/2016/08/14038/

A Miracle @ Shirogaki-cho...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 23:47:06 +0000

The Light strikes my Grandmother's confirmation certificate on the morning of May 25, 2026...

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Exhibition "Soup is Life" Directed by Designer Natsumi Toyama

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:58:00 +0000

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT will be hosting the exhibition "Soup is Life" from March 27, 2026. Directed by designer Natsumi Toyama, who has viewed the external environment of the body, such as clothing and housing, and the internal environment of food, as "acts that envelop the body," this exhibition will use soup as a starting point to re-examine the fundamentals of clothing, food, and shelter.

Soup is born from the minimal act of heating water and ingredients, but in that single bowl, diverse layers simultaneously breathe life: the power inherent in the ingredients, the shifting heat, the history of the land, bodily sensations, and the quiet presence of the bowl and dining space. The outer world and the inner world merge into one, and "the very environment of life" rises within the small bowl — Toyama sees this structure as the most straightforward expression of the common principle of "the body being enveloped," which underlies clothing, food, and shelter.

While modern life has become increasingly convenient, the underlying systems and environments have become more complex, and the primal senses that support clothing, food, and shelter are drifting further away. This exhibition re-examines the environment that shapes our lives from the perspective of "enveloping" it, using as clues the material presence emitted by ingredients such as water, salt, and vegetables, how they change with heat, their interaction with vessels and space, the delicate movements of the act of "eating" entrusted to a spoon, and even invisible layers such as memory and scent. It quietly brings to light the function of design hidden between clothing, food, and shelter as abstract structures and the wild senses that remain in the human body. This perspective is deeply connected to the attitude of "thinking about design from everyday life" that 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT has always cherished.

We hope that this experience, starting with the simplest food—soup—will allow visitors to discover new perspectives and insights through their five senses, as their bodies, environment, memories, and time intertwine, and lead them to an experience that touches upon the fundamentals of clothing, food, and shelter.

Special Exhibition: "Soup is Life"
Exhibition period: Friday, March 27, 2026 - Sunday, August 9, 2026
Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 1 & 2
10:00 - 19:00 (Last entry at 18:30; closed on Tuesdays)
General admission: 1,600 yen, University students: 800 yen, High school students: 500 yen, Junior high school students and younger: Free

More information: https://www.2121designsight.jp/program/soup/

See also "Is soup the smallest unit of design? Kitchen, travel, history, body—a world connected by a single pot" article from WORKSITE (May 25, 2026): https://worksight.substack.com/p/197

Some photos from the WORKSITE article:

A scene of the 'Soup Kitchen' sketched by Vincent van Gogh in 1883. From the special exhibition "Soup is Life" photographed by Keizo Kioku.

Scenes from catering at HORO Kitchen. The meals provided at the Hara Museum mentioned in the main text are those shown in the image (Photo courtesy of Natsumi Toyama).

Satoko Kohiyama of Yamafoods is presenting a playful exhibition featuring a dining kitchen designed by Hamaguchi.

!Special Lecture「Japanese Culture」In Three Case Studies… Or, “So, what`s it like to live in Japan?”

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 May 2026 07:37:18 +0000

Student and faculty guests from the College of Charleston are visiting our university this week. We have a very long, close and important reltionship with this college, so the Center for International Education is rolling out the red carpet and pulling out the top guns for a sample Japanese class, lecture on Japanese business and lecture on Japnese culture. I have been tasked with the last. So how am I supposed to explain the complexities of Japanese culture in 90 minutes? To be honest, the longer I have been in Japan, the less I seem to understand.

Around the time I was conscripted for this lecture, I had the pleasure of meeting my cousin's daughter's husband (or first cousin once removed-in-law), Preston. After talking for a while, Preston asked me, "so, what's it like to live in Japan?" I was taken back by this question, no one has asked me this in a long time. I tried to briefly explain my family, neighborhood, job and research. Then it dawned on me, why not organize my lecture in a similar way and call them case studies. So I will be talking about my neighborhood (with a focus on my research of its fall festival), my major research subject (Deaf communities and sign language) and my passion (the Hanshin Tigers).

Thanks, Preston!

I am providing some resources below for my lecture audience (and others who might be interested) with more details about the case studies.

1) My Neighborhood (in Kadoma-shi): Focus on the Fall Festival

Sources:

祭り Matsuri Photo Exhibition 写真展: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2024/01/matsuri-photo-exhibition.html

Japanese Anthropology Workshop (JAWS) Newsletter No. 53: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/04/announcement-new-jaws-newsletter.html

Distributed Multimodalities: Ethnographic Experiments in Memory and Performance: https://distributedmultimodalities.carrd.co/

Distributed Multimodalities on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/search?q=Distributed+Multimodalities%3A+Ethnographic+Experiments+in+Memory+and+Performance

Fall Festival on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/search?q=fall+festival

2) My Primary Research: Deaf Communities and Sign Language

Sources:

「A Primer on Deaf Communities in Japan: Identity, Sign Language and Diversity」@YCAPS, Getting to Know Japan Webinar (2024): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2024/06/announcementa-primer-on-deaf.html

The Embodiment of the Deaf in Japan: A Set of Heuristic Models for Identity, Belonging and Sign Language Use (2023): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2024/01/theres-nothing-like-holding-real-book.html

Sign language, what is it? An ESCAP guide towards legal recognition of sign languages in Asia and the Pacific (2022): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/05/new-publication-from-united-nations.html

Representations of Deaf People in Japan: Inspiration, Outrage and Real Life (2021): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2021/05/representations-of-deaf-people-in-japan.html

Barrier-Free Communication for the Deaf in Japan: A Local Initiative for Medical Interpretation Services in Japanese Sign Language (2021): https://kansaigaidai.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=8036&file_id=19&file_no=1

Performance, Sign Language, and Deaf Identity in Japan (2019): https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/performance-sign-language-and-deaf-identity-in-japan/

Living Partial Truths: HIV/AIDS in the Japanese Deaf World (2006): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2007/08/hivaids-in-japan.html

Deaf and Sign Language on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/search?q=deaf+sign+language

3) My Passion: Hanshin Tigers

Sources:

Hanshin Tigers Webpage (in Japanese): https://hanshintigers.jp/

Food Terrorism and Japanese Baseball: A Hanshin Tigers Case Study@SWCAS 11/4/23: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/11/food-terrorism-and-japanese-baseball.html

Hanshin Tigers on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/search?q=hanshin+tigers

"Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 May 2026 09:44:04 +0000

Photo and text from SoraNews24 via Japan Today, 5/24/26.

Izakaya are a unique part of Japanese food culture. Their closest analogy would be pubs, since izakaya serve a wide variety of alcoholic drinks and food meant to be paired with such beverages. Their menus are much more extensive than just basic bar munchies, though, with things such as yakitori chicken skewers, grilled onigiri rice balls, and plates of sliced sashimi being long-standing favorites. As a matter of fact, unlike with a pub, the expectation is that izakaya customers will always order some kind of food too, though there’s still a greater focus on drinks than at a regular restaurant.

However, izakaya are in a tough spot in Japan these days, and since the start of the year have been going bankrupt at a faster rate than at any time in nearly the past 40 years, according to a new study.

Data from Tokyo Shoko Research, a commerce and industry research organization, shows that between January and April of 2026, 88 izakaya have declared bankruptcy with debts of 10 million yen or more. That’s 54.3 percent more than for the same period last year, and the highest number Tokyo Shoko Research has observed for the first quarter of the year since it began tracking such statistics in 1989, significantly more than the previous high of 59 in 2024.

So what’s causing the closures? A mix of factors, but one of the biggest is rising prices. Japan is experiencing by far its worst inflation in a generation, and costs for not just ingredients, but also for utilities, are hitting izakaya hard. Many are responding by reducing portion sizes, reworking recipes to make use of cheaper ingredients, or raising the prices they charge their own customers to make up the increased expenses. There are limits to how much of those tactics diners will put up with, though.

Facing rising costs for their own necessities such as rent, groceries, transportation, and home utilities, many consumers are becoming much more sensitive to the value they’re getting with the reduced amount of money they have left over for discretionary spending, and izakaya are looking a lot less appealing to many people than they used to. In particular, Tokyo Shoko Research points out that izakaya offers that include a full meal’s worth of food plus unlimited drinks for a period of time (usually 90 or 120 minutes), traditionally some of their most attractive deals, have gotten more expensive and now often cost more than 5,000 yen, a price point that many diners are balking at.

The study also highlights recent changes in dining/drinking patterns in Japan. Traditionally, izakaya have gotten much of their business from groups of coworkers coming in together, either as part of a pre-planned event such as a welcome party for new employees or an end-of-the-year celebration, or as spontaneous excursions to grab a drink after clocking out, sometimes after doing overtime and being too hungry/thirsty to wait until they can commute back home. However, those gatherings largely went away during the pandemic, and while many izakaya weathered that economic storm due to financial support from the government, the custom of coworkers going to drink together hasn’t rebounded to its previous level.

Part of that is due to more people working from home, something that was extremely rare in Japan prior to the pandemic. Many jobs now offer at least some telecommuting flexibility, meaning fewer people in the office, and so fewer people to go grab a cold Asahi with on the way to the station at the end of the day. There’s also been a gradual increase in desire for a more even work/life balance in Japanese society. Even many in management positions are now more aware that constant overtime chips away at morale and the company’s ability to retain workers, and have come to accept that many employees feel that, when overtime does have to be done, having to go drinking with your boss afterward doesn’t make up for it, but actually makes the situation even worse.

So when you combine higher prices, freedom from the obligation to go to izakaya with coworkers, and the possibility of already being at home when you clock out from work, having a drink in the comfort of your living room, and one you purchased at the supermarket for half of what an izakaya would have charged you, becomes a very compelling alternative.

Ah, but what about inbound foreign tourists? Japanese cuisine is one of the top reasons travelers from overseas come to Japan, and with the yen remaining so weak, many visitors still feel like dining out here is a bargain compared to their home countries. Tokyo Shoko Research, though, says that izakaya aren’t drawing in foreign tourists to the same extent that other restaurants in Japan are.

The report doesn’t offer any theories as to why this is, but it likely has something to do with international foodies’ passion for Japanese food being strongly focused on specific dishes, such as ramen, sushi, or curry rice. While many izakaya do have tasty food, their broader menu makes them a little less likely to hook a traveler’s attention than, for instance, a restaurant whose storefront is plastered with signage featuring photo after photo of steaming hot bowls of ramen. Ordering at izakaya is also a little trickier to navigate. There aren’t any vending machines at the entrance to purchase a meal ticket from, and it can be hard for newbies to estimate how many plates of food to order for a filling spread. There’s also the whole otoshi custom of unasked-for appetizers that you still have to pay for, but aren’t told the price of in advance, which can be an unpleasant bit of culinary culture shock.

Izakaya, like all pubs, are about more than just base sustenance. In a sense, they’re a form of entertainment, and much like certain genres of music or movies fluctuate in popularity, there’s a chance that izakaya will bounce back. For now, though, the situation isn’t very rosy, so if you see one that looks intriguing, they’d probably really appreciate it if you came in for a drink and a bite to eat.

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/business/japan%E2%80%99s-izakaya-pubs-closing-at-record-pace-failing-to-attract-foreign-tourists

Be sure to checkout the reader comments as well.

The Department of East Asian Studies - Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna - u:japan lectures - Greg Poole: "In the Shadow of a Mountain: A Community School Coordinator and the Politics of Survival in Rural Japan"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 May 2026 08:30:20 +0000

I am very happy to pass on this announcement about a lecture by my friend and colleague, Greg Poole, from Doshisha University:

CLICK on the photos to get a clear image to read.

| Date & Time |

u:japan lecture | s12e08
Thursday 2026-05-28, 18:00~19:30 (CET, UTC +1h)
***This is 1:00 - 2:30 AM on Friday, 2026-05-29 in Japan***

| Place |

LIVE @ Campus of the University of Vienna 18:00~19:30 (CET, UTC +1h)
Department of East Asian Studies, Japanese Studies
Seminarraum JAP 1, 2K-EG-21, Ground floor to the left
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.4 (Campus), 1090 Vienna, Austria

| Platform & Link |

https://univienna.zoom.us/j/65583867108?pwd=rydxHuWoGcGIV6FFJdrLghDwpucRHd.1
Meeting-ID: 655 8386 7108 | Passcode: 794196
This lecture will not be recorded.

For more information: https://japanologie.univie.ac.at/startseite/einzelnews/news/in-the-shadow-of-a-mountain-a-community-school-coordinator-and-the-politics-of-survival-in-rural-ja/

"The Iran War Is Taking the Color Out of Japan’s Best-Known Snack Bags"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 May 2026 10:13:10 +0000

Text and photo from The New York Times online, 5/13/26. The food giant Calbee said shortages of naphtha, a crude-oil derivative used in inks, were forcing it to switch to black-and-white packaging for its salty products.

The Iran war has wreaked havoc on global supply chains, caused a spike in oil prices and scrambled international trade.

Now it is coming for potato chips.

The Japanese food giant Calbee said on Tuesday that it would temporarily abandon its brightly colored plastic snack bags in favor of black-and-white wrapping because of “instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.”

The company said in a statement that the measure was meant to “help maintain a stable supply of products,” adding that it would not affect the quality of the snacks.

Read the whole story: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/world/asia/calbee-japan-bags-iran-war.html

(Mother's Day) Jalan Jalan (108)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 May 2026 10:57:00 +0000

Critical Sociolinguistics in a Modern World: Proceedings of the 1st Kansai Sociolinguistics Colloquium (update!)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 May 2026 10:43:02 +0000

I participated as a mentor in this great colloquium. Lots of great people, great research, great presentations, great discussions...

Here was the original call: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/05/announcement-call-for-participation-1st.html

Download the newly released proceedings here: https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/entities/publication/dbe455f1-88fc-4999-bdbe-204b7d3e0550

Sometimes it seems that fb really does have a sense of humor (it's all in the timing...)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0000

A post about sumo rankings and a fashion advertisement come together in a funny way on my fb, 4/29/26

"Kyotographie's Daido Moriyama retrospective resonates in an age of endless images"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:11:00 +0000

Caption: A sprawling retrospective on Moriyama, a giant of Japanese street photography, is on view at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, as part of annual international photo festival Kyotographie.

Daido Moriyama is one of my favorite photographers. You can check out his work in Kyoto now.

Selected text (Thu-Huong Ha) and photos (JOHAN BROOKS) from The Japan Times, April 23, 2026.

Daido Moriyama isn’t precious with his photos; he shoots endlessly, automatically. As a new exhibition suggests, we shouldn’t be precious either.

A large-scale retrospective of the giant of Japanese street photography opened April 18 at Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, as part of annual international photo festival Kyotographie. After premiering in 2023 at Instituto Moreira Salles in Sao Paulo and making its way across Europe, the exhibit is showing in Japan for the first time.

“Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective” is massive in scale as well as in scope, covering decades of Moriyama’s work from the 1960s to the present. A discerning viewer will need hours of energy and focused attention to take everything in, not only on the walls, which feature nearly 200 images and 250 printed pages, but on tables that stretch along the galleries. There are another 150 magazines collected, with around 40 books for people to browse, from Moriyama’s acclaimed 2002 photobook “Shinjuku” to his recent “Pretty Woman,” and even a guidebook to Tokyo. The effect is a dizzying, at times overwhelming tunnel of blurred faces and body parts in black and white.

Moriyama, 87, born in 1938 in Osaka Prefecture, is often praised for the way he captured postwar Japan reeling from defeat and pushing quickly toward Westernization. But this characterization only captures a relatively small and early portion of Moriyama’s work, which began in 1965 with his first important series, “Pantomime,” set in an obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture. Though he initially followed rules of classical photography with sharp and focused composition lines, by the late 1960s Moriyama had already begun to break away, capturing subcultures, experimental theater performers and working class life in Japan.

“He shifted to build a less pretentious look at society,” says exhibition curator Thyago Nogueira, head of the contemporary art department at Instituto Moreira Salles Brazil, during a media preview. “He started to document that expression of culture in society, and to build a different eye that was formulating a certain kind of photography that was more introspective and more subjective, a little tilted, dark.”

Moriyama was focused on examining how photos were used by mass media to mediate reality. He photographed images of major events, like the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as shown on TV and in newspapers, as a commentary on visual culture at the time.

“It was important to me to show how Moriyama was part of a generation of people working in an industry of image-making,” Nogueira tells The Japan Times. “They were not only changing the industry, but also changing the vocabulary and the language of photography in a very clever and self-conscious way.”

Moriyama was anti-elite and favored printed materials that could be cheaply produced and circulated easily. (Although decades later production and distribution would become essentially free, and paper would start to seem like a luxury.)

“He was always saying, ‘I'm not interested in dogmatism, I'm not interested in the fetishization of photography. I'm interested in shared conversations,’” Nogueira says. “The deep, philosophical questions he’s asking about photography were being asked in fanzines, in a very cheap Xerox.”

Moriyama, who is still actively working, is ultimately interested in what a photo is for; but throughout his career he has maintained a skeptical stance not just toward the value of photos as art, but the promise of photojournalism.

“That naivety to think you could try and create masterpieces, that naive humanism to try and help people through your art — that is just too optimistic for me,” Moriyama said in 1971. “I am already struggling just to keep grasp of my own existence.”

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/04/23/art/daido-moriyama-retrospective-kyotographie/

There's a whole lot going on at the annual international photo festival Kyotographie. Check out thier website.

https://www.kyotographie.jp/en/programs/2026/