2014 Kyoto Prize Laureate Fukumi Shimura

Living National Treasure Seeks to Keep the Tradition of Dyeing and Weaving Alive

Fukumi Shimura is not only the 2014 Arts and Philosophy Kyoto Prize Laureate, but was also certified by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a Living National Treasure in 1990. Born in 1924 and currently living in Kyoto, Ms. Shimura is a dyeing and weaving artist who went from studying the beauty of tsumugi kimono to developing her own original style of the art using a colorful range of plant-dyed yarns. She now teaches the traditional folk craft to others with her daughter, Yoko. The Kyoto Prize, Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, was established by the Inamori Foundation in 1985 to honor those who have contributed signi cantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind. Ms. Shimura spoke with Tokyo Journal during her March 2015 visit to San Diego, California for the annual Kyoto Prize Symposium.

MIYAVI, VAMPS and WagakkiBand Tokyo Journal Issue #277’s feature interview with MIYAVI sees the “Samurai Guitarist” talking not only about his music, but his introduction to the world of Hollywood through a 2014 acting role in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, and his reworking of the classic theme song for the new Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. HYDE and K.A.Z. of VAMPS talk about the challenges of going from a headlining band in Japan to an opening act in North America, while the eighth member of WagakkiBand shows the coolness of Japanese culture by fusing traditional Japanese musical instruments with rock and Vocaloid songs.

Garrity's Japan

Japanese Conformity

ANYONE who has spent time in Japan starts to notice something strange about the country. After a while, the strangeness becomes apparent — there is a great deal of conformity. Children wear uniforms to school. Tradesmen wear uniforms to identify their line of work. In fact, a uniform is a sign of status, which is a very important part of Japanese culture.

Mari's Homemade Cooking Recipes

How to Make Miso-marinated Pork

Red miso (hatcho miso) has a very strong flavor. It’s sometimes compared to Vegemite or Marmite, and so some people don’t like to use it for miso soup. However, the strong flavor goes really great with pork given that pork also has a strong flavor.

Note: if you can’t find red miso, you can use 200 grams of brown miso instead.

• Ingredients:
• 4 cuts tonkatsu pork
• Pinch of salt
• 100 grams red miso (hatcho miso)
• 100 grams brown miso
• 4 tablespoons sake
• 4 tablespoons mirin
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey

Transforming Education Through the Virtual Classroom

"...learning can, and does, occur wherever we happen to be."

THE title of this column is "David Nunan's Global Classroom." But what does this really mean? How can a classroom be “global?” Before we address this question, we need to decide what the word “classroom” really means. To paraphrase the dictionary definition, it refers to a room, typically in a school, in which a group of students are taught. If this is the case, then adding the adjective “global” before “classroom” would seem odd, or even downright contradictory. In this article, I want to argue why we can no longer think of a classroom in the traditional sense as a space simply defined by four walls, a ceiling and a floor, inhabited by a teacher and students, and created for the purposes of acquiring knowledge.

Corporate Governance Code in Japan

As one of the measures of the Japan Revitalization Strategy approved by the Cabinet, the Corporate Governance Code was issued on June 1, 2015, a joint effort of the Financial Service Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Accordingly, TSE’s listing rules and regulations were revised. Japan’s initiatives for the corporate governance system have significantly accelerated in recent years.

Minds and Machines

OUR lives depend too much on technology. The theory of Moore’s Law tells us that computing power will continue to double every two years, meaning that technology will become ever more accessible and affordable to people. A result of relying too much on technology is that people tend to live on autopilot with only a dull awareness of even the most special moments in their lives. Tuning out real human connections and experiences brings feelings of isolation, depression and other physical, emotional and psychological dysfunctions, even toxic self-criticism. It’s no wonder that Internet addiction is now considered a legitimate medical disorder.

Life Style

Expat Life

IS expat life a dream come true or an emotional rollercoaster?

Parenting with Lorraine

Living Vicariously Through Your Children

DAY after day we wake up, go to the office and spend the day doing tasks that we really wouldn’t have chosen for ourselves. We can’t see ourselves changing our lives to make them more exciting in the workplace, though sometimes we try. We may even switch jobs, hoping to find something more satisfying. But that may not work either, and so we continue getting up morning after morning to face the day without any real expectations of satisfaction. We ask others for advice, trying to get ideas about how we can make our work more meaningful. But we never seem to find a satisfactory conclusion. This leaves us with a sinking, hopeless feeling when we think about the 30-plus years we have to work in a job that doesn’t fulfill us.

Various Styles

There is a traditional approach to painting in which artists run the gamut of techniques and styles from impressionism to surrealism, symbolism to neo-expressionism to postmodernism, and so forth. These artists illustrate their designs in the service of a wide range of concerns, whether philosophical, spiritual, emotional, historical, anecdotal, mythical or symbolical. The paintings by Robert Sylvain fall into these categories.