Japanese Life & Culture
Tokyo's Public Bath for "School for the Naked" - Um?
Yes, that's right - a school for the naked at a public bath in the heart of Tokyo. The school offers a class once every month - 460 yen per class, no entrance exam.
April 25, 2017 at 9:58 pm
Rising Shogi Prodigy Fujii Trounced Grandmaster Habu
You recall an episode last year "14-Year-Old Shogi (chess) Prodigy Outplayed 62 Years Older Veteran" (December 27, 2016) of the fast-rising Shogi (chess) prodigy who defeated an elderly master Hifumi Kato in a historic upset.
April 25, 2017 at 10:15 am
LEGO "Babel Tower" Built by Tokyo University Lego Geek
An attractive exhibition is ongoing in Ueno, Tokyo, "Collection of museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Bruegel's "The Tower of Babel" and Great 1th Century Masters, April 18 through July 2.
April 23, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Marin Minamiya, the Youngest Grand Slam Explorer at 20
A solid line drive over the centerfielder into the grandstand will make a grand slam in baseball; so will a clean sweep of four major tournaments be good enough for a grand slam in tennis - but you would have to climb the highest peak in each of the seven continents and visit the magnetic north and south poles to accomplish a grand slam. What a game!
April 5, 2017 at 12:12 am
AI Shogi PONANZA Trounced Top Professional Titleholder in 71 Moves
After Go comes Shogi, Japanese chess, as Grandmaster Amahiko Sato suffered a humiliating loss in 71 moves to AI Shogi PONANZA in the first of the scheduled two games in the Denou Sen - a PC vs. human shogi head-on match.
March 30, 2017 at 4:41 am
Kindai University Library to House 22,000 Manga Titles
Like it or not, the manga is getting to be a near dominant part of Japanese culture for sure, as a local but major university library is now to house over 20,000 titles of manga to help invigorate books-shy students.
March 26, 2017 at 10:49 pm
Korea's Park Junghwan Crowned in World Go Championship
The 3-Nation Round Robin in the game of Go closed with the Korean master Park Junghwan carrying away the grand prize of 30 thousand yen - the Chinese master Ban Yuting finished 2:1, Deep ZenGo 1:2 and Japan's Yuta Iyama boobied 0:3.
March 22, 2017 at 12:55 am
Average Life Span Marked Record Highest in Japan
The Japanese have led the world for some years in the average life span.
March 8, 2017 at 11:39 pm
Hiroshi Aramata to Take Over Kyoto International Manga Museum
Here's a news for those of you who fancy manga culture.
March 5, 2017 at 9:03 pm
Feasts of Dolls on 3rd of March
Japan traditionally features every 3rd of March to wish girls of all ages good health and well-being.
February 26, 2017 at 9:24 pm
What's So Super about a Friday?
Effective from February 2017, the last Friday of the month, the Japanese are to look at Fridays from a fresh perspective - one different from another.
February 15, 2017 at 9:22 pm
Shogi Professional Miura 9-dan Lost First Comeback Game
Shogi is an Asian version of chess just as popular in Japan as the game of Go.
February 6, 2017 at 12:01 am
Oniwa-soto, Fukuwa-uchi! : Bean-Throwing Ritual
February 3 features a unique ritual in Japan: parched beans are thrown to drive evils away and invite good fortune in.
January 30, 2017 at 11:15 pm
Rare Jomon Clayware Unearthed in Okinawa
In the town of Chantancho, Okinawa, a rare piece of clayware of the Jomon Era (14000 BC - several centuries BC) was unearthed - the kind that has been found hitherto only in Aomori, the northernmost mainland region.
January 15, 2017 at 10:10 pm
Outgoing US Ambassador Kennedy Enjoyed "Karuta" at Official Residence January 13
Over sixty Japanese high school students called on the outgoing US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Bouvier Kennedy at her official residence January 13 to join a "Hyakunin Isshu Karuta" game held in conjunction with the annual New Year's poetry reading at the Palace.
