The Provocateur: Reconsidering Shintaro Ishihara
Ishihara helped to mould the era, and the era helped to mould him
The Salesman from Hell: Fujiko A.’s Dark Masterpiece
Essentially a variation on the Faust story set in the world of office workers and hostess bars, it is emphatically for adults
Joan Miro’s Japanese Dream
Don’t expect any polite references to wabi sabi or other familiar Japanese aesthetic values
Why has the World Gone Dotty Over Yayoi Kusama? Ask Mark Zuckerberg and Jay Powell!
She staged orgies and a gay wedding in her studio and stripped naked in anti-war demonstrations
Blue Kissa: Coffee, Jazz and Cultural Improvisation
Nobody’s talking. In fact, you’re not allowed to talk. You’re here to listen.
Shibusawa: From Fiery Rebel to Venture Capital Pioneer
By the end of the 1970s, Shibusawa had comprehensively defeated Karl Marx.
Onoda: The Man Who Fought Reality
We too patrol our tiny islands, choosing what to believe and disbelieve and calling the result reality
“Monkey Man”: Book Review
Like Spiderman or Batman, he hides his face when righting the world’s wrongs… his mask is the likeness of Son Goku, the Monkey King
Dancing Cats and White Saviours: Johnny Depp in “Minamata”
Jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk and Chick Corea passed through, as did Salvador Dali and Norman Mailer
The Baron Smiles: The Olympics Win Again
“No Olympics” has historically signalled apocalyptical destruction and the reconfiguration of global power by violence.