The Whispering of the Gods
Midnight Eye reviews Tatsushi Omori’s controversial film THE WHISPERING OF THE GODS, which was released last year independently from Japan’s distribution system to avoid censorship problems.
Jun 24, 2006
21_21
PingMag has a fun piece up on the upcoming 21_21 Design Sight — a dream design project that brings together such luminaries as Issey Miyake, Taku Satoh, Naoto Fukasawa, and Tadao Ando. The logo, designed by Satoh, is now up on the project’s official site, ready to be played with (see what people are doing with it at this Flickr group).
Jun 24, 2006
Oh! Mikey Night
Patrick brings news of an “Oh! Mikey Night” (well, series of nights, as it’s happening throughout July) where they will be screening some of the more adult-oriented episodes of the cult series. More info on Patrick’s Agenda.
Speaking of OH! MIKEY, I saw bits from the new American adaptation, and I can tell you that the dub just doesn’t do the show justice. Even if you can’t understand Japanese, you need to see it in Japanese with English subs, as the voices in the American version are just wrong.
Jun 24, 2006
Bandai Museum to Move
Remember the Bandai Museum I visited recently (see Flick photoset here)? Seems like it’s about to move into a new facility.
Gunota reports Bandai Museum has announced it will close its Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture on August 31st. Bandai will open a brand new cultural facility, “Toytown Bandai Museum”, next year at Mibu, Tochigi Prefecture. Meanwhile, part of the Gundam Museum exhibit will relocate to Bandai Hobby Center in Shizuoka. (AICN)
Jun 24, 2006
David Choe Jail Art
A couple of years ago, American comic artist David Choe was jailed in Tokyo for punching an undercover cop, and here is a gallery of the art he created while in solitary confinement, using whatever material he could get his hands on.
Jun 22, 2006
This Week at Gridskipper
You can read all of my Gridskipper posts here (or even subscribe to a feed).
Jun 22, 2006
Shinjuku Eye
I don’t remember ever seeing this artwork by Yoshiko Miyashita at Shinjuku station, but I thank Patrick for pointing it out.
Jun 21, 2006
Two Projects from Wonderwall
Wonderwall has updated its site with two more projects that were done last year: the B&B Italia furniture boutique (pictured here) and the And A Homme menswear store.
Jun 21, 2006
This Week in Time
I have a piece in this week’s issue (June 19, 2006) of TIME (Asian and European editions). “Brain Fodder” covers the Cow Books bookstore, and you can read it online here.
Jun 20, 2006
The Masters and Jidaigeki
Time for another round of classic Japanese films presented with English subtitles at a very nice price: “The Japan Foundation Film Series Part 6: The Masters and Jidaigeki.”
Most readers of the English edition of REALTOKYO are probably familiar with The Japan Foundation’s series of screenings of Japanese films with English subtitles. This sixth installment focuses on jidaigeki (historical play) style movies, and features a total of six titles including Kurosawa Akira’s “Rashomon”, Ichikawa Kon’s “Revenge of a Kabuki Actor”, and Uchida Tomu’s “A Bloody Spear at Mt. Fuji”. With the likes of Ichikawa Raizo, Bando Tsumasaburo, Kataoka Chiezo and others, the array of actors and actresses appearing here is equally gorgeous. Also planned is a lecture by film specialist Macdonald Keiko, so for those aspiring to become experts in Japanese cinema, the set of screenings and lecture is especially recommended. The venue this time is the OAG Hall at Goethe Institut Tokyo. (REALTOKYO)
Jun 20, 2006
Japan-Photo
A reader recently made the comment that I should feature more works of Japanese photographers. Well, I have the site just for you: Japan-Photo. I’ve now added the site to my list of subscribed feeds.
Jun 19, 2006
Yamanote Line Alarm Clock
I love this! From The ODK:
JR East has begun selling a Yamanote Line alarm clock that plays those melodies you hear at various stations. Each station has its own melody which gets hammered into the subconscious of commuters.
Jun 19, 2006
Shigeki Hayashi
Josh Spear highlights Shigeki Hayashi’s latest work, “Entertainment Ceramics 2.” More picture of the installation here.
Jun 17, 2006
Super Normal
The “Super Normal” event at the AXIS Gallery should be listed in my TAB selections, but here’s more from REALTOKYO:
Fukasawa Naoto and Jasper Morrison, who are lucidly capturing voids of the daily routine in their products, have collected a number of different things they classify as “more normal than normal”. In the words of Morrison, the forms accumulated in the everyday are examples where “things simply fell into their places”. Big hints related to products and their designs can obviously be found especially where there’s nothing special at all. Fukasawa and Morrison carefully scoop up things one usually sees but not really notices, and this exhibition is an occasion to find your own answer on the question, “What do these products reveal to us?”
Jun 17, 2006
Jean Snow is a contributor to 
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of 
