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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

DJ Patrick at Caramill

Patrick did his first DJing stint last Saturday at a shop in Koenji, and he lists a part of what he played in this post. And there’s a moblogged pic of him in action here.

Aug 31, 20040

Anime Giants

An article from the new issue of WIRED takes a look at the growing popularity of anime in America (yeah, I know, old news), while profiling the 3 main creators who all happen to have new films out this year: Miyazaki Hayao (HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE), Otomo Katsuhiro (STEAMBOY), and Oshii Mamoru (INNOCENCE). I do feel that they should have included Kon Satoshi in the bunch (PERFECT BLUE, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS, TOKYO GODFATHERS, PARANOIA AGENT), as he definitely seems to be the new “it” creator in the field. As for Miyazaki’s new one, I saw a trailer for it when I went to see STEAMBOY, and it looks stunning. Looks like another Ghibli classic.

Aug 31, 20040

Shinsaibashi Apple Store

A picture of the new Apple Store that opened in Osaka last Saturday. It looks a lot more spacious than the one in Tokyo. More pics here.

Aug 31, 20042

Capture the Motion

“Capture the Motion” is a collection of 10 very cool shorts inspired by the Olympics, sponsored by Panasonic and RES. Three of them are by Japanese artists.

A thrilling 2004 Olympics wrapped up in Athens over the weekend. RES was happy to be involved this year, by taking part in Olympic (and RESFEST) official sponsor Panasonic’s Capture the Motion short film project. The initiative sought to capture the spirit of the summer games and the essence of the five-ringed Olympic symbol, representing the union of five continents and the meeting of their athletes in friendly competition. RES helped Panasonic commission ten films from around the world that celebrated the Olympics by capturing — in 60 seconds — the beauty of human form engaged in sport. The ten filmmakers were: Ramon and Pedro (Switzerland/US) | Nagi Noda (Japan) | Lobo (Brazil) | Neil Blomkamp (South Africa/Canada) | Daniel Askill (Australia) | Bessy and Combe (France) | Joel Peissig (US) | Koichiro Tsujikawa (Japan) | Takeshi Nakumura (Japan) (RES Alert)

Aug 31, 20045

hpgrp

hpgrp

The hpgrp building in Ginza, where you’ll find the Hanna Gallery.

Aug 30, 20040

Neomarxisme

David, or Marxy, was over here last night, and he brought over a copy of his upcoming album, NEOMARXISME I – KYOSHU NOSTALGIA. I’ve been listening to it all night, and love it. Pop, pop, and more pop, with some very catchy melodies. You can download an MP3 album teaser at the Neomarxisme site.

Aug 30, 20041

Swedish Eyes in Tokyo

Take 4 Swedish photographers, give them Nikon digital SLRs, and you get the beautiful photo project Swedish Eyes in Tokyo. I would love to have a camera like that to play around with.

Aug 30, 20045

OK Fred Radio

Have I piqued your interest?

Aug 29, 20045

Aqui Uzumaki 2

Aqui Uzumaki 2

Another shot from the Aqui Uzumaki show.

Aug 29, 20042

Shiratori Masahiro

It is imperative that you check out Tori Design, the online portfolio of designer Shiratori Masahiro. Lots and lots and lots of beautiful eye candy.

Aug 28, 20040

E2O

E2O

I just love all the products being designed for the E2O project.

The E2O Project has been established by Hokkaido based designers and artists active in the Japanese and international art scene. The project’s objective is to provide a new style of products, where the product itself becomes, or is viewed as a work. The products will be created through worldwide collaborations, incorporating many different artistic mediums and types of products.

Check out the Japanese side for more products than those presented on the English side.

Aug 28, 20040

Aqui Uzumaki

Aqui Uzumaki

The Aqui Uzumaki art show at the Hanna gallery in Ginza.

Aug 28, 20040

Samurai Champloo TV Problems

A reader mentioned the following just yesterday as rumor, and I guess it’s now been confirmed.

Anime News Network reports Fuji TV has announced that after airing episode 17, Fuji TV will stop Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe’s scratch style samurai series. The complete 26 episode series will be broadcast on BS digital satellite television. (AICN)

I’m relieved that they’ll at least finish the series.

Aug 28, 20049

Kawai Misaki

Kawai Misaki

Kawai Misaki is an artist based in New York (according to the address on her site at least) who makes very colorful childlike drawings and sculptures. Definitely fun stuff. She has two upcoming shows in October: in London and NY (more info here). Link via Design is Kinky.

Aug 27, 20047

Marui

Marui

The Marui department store in Shibuya is undergoing some renovations.

Aug 27, 20040

PauseTalk

PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition happens March 8.

PLAY is a series of events with Jean Snow spinning some of his favorite virtual discs in a casual setting at Cafe Pause. The next edition happens in January. See the setlist for previous editions here, and subscribe to a feed of the mixes.
Game

Being a survey of recommended titles for your gaming pleasure. New games are added 2-3 times weekly, and all selections are by your host, Jean Snow, a Tokyo-based writer and gamer.

Jean Snow is a contributor to Arcade Mania, your guide to the arcade gaming scene in Japan (Amazon US/Amazon Japan). He also provided assistance on Tokyolife: Art and Design, a guide to Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives.
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of The Rough Guide to Tokyo and The Rough Guide to Japan, due for release in 2011.

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Jean Snow lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming in Tokyo -- sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for the following online/offline publications: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, Tokyo Q, Superfuture, OK Fred, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, I.D. (International Design), Metropolis, Azure, MoCo Loco, Kateigaho International Edition, Wired's Game|Life, PingMag, CNNGo, and The Japan Times. He also manages the gallery space at Cafe Pause.

He writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the fourth Thursday of every month, in both the print edition and online.

Pecha Kucha Night

I'm also a proud member of the Pecha Kucha Night family, working on various projects, including updating Pecha Kucha Daily, a blog that highlights the creativity coming out of PKN events worldwide.

PauseTalk

I serve as editor-at-large at Néojaponisme, a web journal covering social and cultural aspects of Japan. Read the manifesto, by founder and chief editor W. David Marx.

Colophon

The "Jean Snow" logo is made up of the Blackout open source typeface. The "M31" logo is by Ian Lynam, and is part of a series of 31 unique designs. The site's design is based on the Grid Focus WordPress theme by Derek Punsalan.

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