japan

The Wall Street Journal’s Japan Realtime reports on an interesting show at London’s Wellcome Collection, “Souzou: Outsider Art from Japan”. The venue is intriguing – a home for the collection of a wealthy pharmaceutical magnate who traveled the world and collected art and objects related to medicine – an interesting residence for this particular group show.

The artists are all disabled beneficiaries of Japan’s social welfare program, Haretari Kumottari, which is engaged in the arts as a means of self-expression for marginalized members of society. Over 300 pieces represent the work of “disabled” people with no formal training in the arts, but an uncanny knack for creativity and imaginative expression. They look like a pretty capable bunch to me.

The show is being blogged about, featured in international media, and perhaps raises the aesthetic bar for some people who thought Outsider Art was just scrap metal welded into zoo animals by people who’d never been to a zoo. Now it’s also Gundam mecha made out of shiny twist ties! It definitely looks like a show worth checking out if you’re in London. It runs through June 30th, with free guided tours, and a ton of educational events tied in.

We’re not really fans of the label “Outsider Art”, but it’s not going away as long as it still appeals to the mainstream art market that relies heavily on “Insider” art existing.  The WSJ article seems a bit behind the times on the rise of the Japanese art world beyond what makes it to MoMA, but they still get kudos for spotlighting Souzou.

The work being shared from this show brought me back to 2006, when Eric was invited to be a juror for Takashi Murakami’s GESAI art festival. GESAI has been pivotal in opening up the Japanese art world to more than just the juggernauts, and creating access and exposure for its “outsiders”.  I was lucky enough to go in 2008, and was completely blown away by the wall to wall magic. Every other exhibit booth had work that felt completely original, earnest and gallery-worthy. It felt like home, and we all came back from that trip re-energized and enthusiastic about what supporting artists meant to all of us.

I love when art can do that, when it can create (sometimes inadvertently) a world that you feel a part of. I’m not sure the Souzou artists would want us all up in their heads, but I thank them for sharing these pieces which brought me back to a very special experience, and a reminder of how powerful creative expression can be.

Photos by Ahn Sehong capture “comfort women” in Korea. Most are poor, broke, and even embarrassed. The ones that photographer Ahn Sehong photographs are still living in China, the place they were sent and subsequently “left” after World War 2. It’s a sad tale that has no resolve. (NY Times – Korean Comfort Women)

“Comfort Women” will be on view at the Korea Press Center, 7 Broad Avenue, Palisades Park, N.J., through April 18.

OITA  ~ “Skull Reaper Eiji” (transliterated as “Skull Reaper A-ji” by the Western press) was elected to the city council in this city on the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu back in February promising local folks educational reform and improved social welfare facilities. He managed to garner only 2,828 votes, but that was enough to win him a seat. Eiji, 44, was supposed to attend his first council meeting this week, but his tight-assed council colleagues sucker-punched him by barring him from the meetings until he removed his wrestling mask. The Skull Reaper is the third masked politician elected to public office in Japan.  [TIME ~ Politician Banned for Wearing Wrestling Mask]

Amazing images of how things changed or didn’t too much in Japan. (Rocketnews24 – Tsunami)

Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, elevates the term ‘Winter Wonder Land’ to an all new standard. Tourists are already familiar with the Sapporo Snow Festival and may have even heard of the Asahikawa Winter Festival. Just a two hour bus ride away from Asahikawa, Sounkyo is renowned for its waterfalls and natural hot springs. Once winter sets in, a crew sets to work and constructs an ice castle like something fashioned from a Japanese RPG. (You can see a video showing how its built here). This, coupled alongside the ethereal lights illuminating its frosty walls, creates a feast for the senses. It’s one additional reason why Hokkaido is an ideal destination for the season.

We had a chance to visit and take photographs of the area shortly after night fall. Be aware though, the last bus returning to Asahikawa departs shortly after dusk. Unless you’ve booked a hotel nearby then you won’t have the opportunity to see the firework show that goes off on most weekends until the festival’s closing ceremony.

The Tohoku Cotton Project is one of the many ongoing efforts to recover and empower the land and people who were affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Cotton was planted in the salt-soaked rice fields that had made the region famous. Farmers were given new hope to keep the land alive, and members of the community volunteered to plant and harvest the crop that would speed the recovery of the soil.

Watch the film about the project.

On the whole TCP is genius. It’s about better land usage, rebuilding people’s lives, becoming less dependent on imported raw materials, and moving forward.

Follow the Tohoku Cotton Project on Facebook, and if you’re in Japan, keep an eye out for the logo appearing on goods produced with Tohoku cotton.

Spam, the kind you eat. It’s made it across! (Boston Globe – Spam)

Jim Beam!

Will it drop prices if the Yen gains strength? No! (Bloomberg – Louis Vuitton Japan)

I was surprised to read this story from The Korea Times, since it’s usually big Korean mass-market clothing companies doing the knocking off, but Uniqlo got busted for being copy cats.

Korean clothing company, Coevel caught Uniqlo in the act of copying their “Navajo” socks. It’s a pretty blatant rip-off, and while Navajo inspired designs aren’t particularly unique, the Uniqlo design looks like a direct pull from Coevel’s. The Southwest decor craze of the late 70s, and the pastel version of the late 80s, seems to be on the rise again. Even Shepard Fairey’s  Obey Clothing came out with a series of “Navajo” clothes and accessories.

Uniqlo issued a public apology on their Korean website, but there’s been no official statement about how the issue will be resolved, and the CEO of Coevel is readying her legal team. Too bad there aren’t any royalties for the Navajo Nation.

Here are the socks in question:

No mention of it on the You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice But We Did blog, but there are plenty of rip-offs to go around these days.

While they are nearly gone, or at least dwindling, they’re alive and well in Japan – the place where people pay to download music, and where the Walkman was still available until recently. The term Galápagos effect is quite funny: “Japan has this Galápagos effect of holding on to some things they’re comfortable with,” said Jonathan Coopersmith, a technology historian who is writing a book on the machine’s rise and fall. “Elsewhere, the fax has gone the way of the dodo.” (NY Times – fax)

Hurt Locker style bomb exploders are still finding WWII bombs in Japanese city centers. 160,000 tons of bombs were dropped in WWII, so plenty are hiding out under buildings built upon lots. It’s an interesting story. (Bloomberg – Hurt Locker)

Women, yes women do the giving. Who likes you? You might find out on Valentine’s Day. Yet, one month later, dudes have White Day to reciprocate. Will they? (Dawn – Valentine’s in Japan)

Although it’s challenging to say that anything at Coachella could be considered ground breaking (especially considering this year’s lineups of reunions vs. new discoveries) it seems that  Hologram Tupac may have led the way for the future of K-pop.

The Korea Times reports that SM Entertainment, home to some of today’s most popular idol groups, are seriously considering investing in holographic theatres that would offer “concerts” of their top acts. As their story points out, they had  to use a hologram Tupac at Coachella, because he’s DEAD.

According to The Korea Times, SM Entertainment  has been wanting to do this for a while, and after they pulled off a successful holographic  Girls Generation concert, their passion for 1980s futurism was re-ignited.

Just imagine how AWESOME it would be to be able to pay to go to a holographic concert, watch the whole thing through your Galaxy s3 screen (wriggling through the crowd of people in front of you with their giant phones blocking your view) while you record the show to post on your tumblr on the subway ride back home to your parents house.

The future is bright for groups like Girls Generation and steady hitter, BoA. At least they get to have boyfriends and be “themselves” in real life, unlike their J-pop counterparts, AKB48.  GR Familia, Anne Ishii wrote a brilliant piece about the weirdness of AKB48′s idol reality.

It’s like K-pop is Jem and the Holograms, and J-pop is the Misfits – seriously, like with the evil manager, and the orphanage, and the holograms, and the Misfits always having hard times but better outfits… Everything we thought was only a cartoon futuristic techno fantasy is our now.

The Japanese whaling industry is dying, but the government is still spending millions to keep it alive. It’s getting a renewed financial boost now. Where is the money coming from? Taxpayer dollars and funds earmarked for tsunami disaster relief.

Despite a decline in the demand for whale meat, nearly 30 years of a moratorium on commercial whaling, a Japanese public ambivalent to keeping the industry afloat, and international pressure to abandon the program, conservatives in government continue to shovel money into its gaping mouth.

The Guardian reports on it, as there’s been increased concern about the government subsidy as the Japanese economy works to recover from the financial crisis topped with the fallout from March 2011.  In an interview with Australian media, Masayuki Komatsu – the man who engineered the “research” program that kept the Japanese whaling fleet in business after the 1986 moratorium on commercial catches – says it’s time for an end to the subsidy. C’mon Japanese people, get mad and put an end to it.

Aida Makoto causing controversy with his latest art exhibition at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum. The location might be a little too public and pop for an exhibition like this to happen without problems. (Bloomberg – Makoto Aida)

This is Makoto Aida in Tokyo. He was a bit strange.

Chiune Sugihara saved thousands during the Holocaust and is remembered in this article. He’s often known as the Japanese Schindler and was the Consul General in Lithuania. (Huffington Post – Chiune Sugihara)

Here’s a doc on the man. The voice makes it sound like a bad docudrama.

Also on Spike you can see the Oscar winning short Visas and Virtues that’s based on Chiune Sugihara. Wish the quality was a bit better.

So much for being past the 30,000 mark, it’s down to merely 27,776. This is still a considerable number every day. In the past the numbers end up being near 100 a day! (CS Monitor – Suicides)

This is the reason why the world seems to be overfished. Why do anything put try and catch a giant bluefin tuna? The sale took place at Tsukiji fish market on January 5th. Obviously it was some type of publicity stunt that worked. “Tiny sushi slices of the prized fish can sell for up to $24, according to the Associated Press. Japanese consume up to 80% of the world’s declining tuna stock.” (Time – Bluefin)

What a tease! It gets announced today, yet there’s no video to show you and they also report that it happened in July 2012. The photo is a screen grab which looks great. Japan’s National Science Museum claimed that the 3 meter specimen was filmed 900 meters deep near Japan. Larger version are said to be 13 meters. Where’s the video? Sushi jokes? (phys.org – Giant Squid)