HIGHWAYS TO THE SKYWAYS

A pair of action-packed Ultraman Monster paintings by Toshio Okazaki were published in Shōgakukan's 1979 edition of Ultra Kaiju (Shōgakukan Nyūmon Hyakka Series #97). [+] [+] Alien Guts, Windam, Gyango, Black End, Kingsaurus III, Bemstar Alien Icarus, Gomora, Muruchi, Alien Baltan, Alien Magma, Kemular Dancan, Giradorus, Astromons Gandar, Gabora, Alien Metron, Agira, Antlar, Seabozu, Woo [...]

This year's Good Design Expo, which took place at Tokyo Big Sight over the weekend (Aug 27-29), showcased over 2,000 design-conscious items under consideration for the 2010 Good Design Award. Here are photos of a few items that were on display. Goya de Goya: Goya (a.k.a. bitter melon) planter bag that resembles a giant goya [...]

The illustrations of TokyoGenso (a.k.a. Tokyo Fantasy) depict a post-apocalyptic Tokyo devoid of people and overtaken by nature. Shinjuku skyline [+] Tokyo Big Sight [+] Rainbow Bridge [+] Moai statue at Shibuya station [+] Kabuki-za Theater, Ginza [+] Mode HAL iKO Building, Shinjuku [+] Poster for "The Book of Eli" (Japanese title: "The Walker") [+] [...]

Gundam videographer darwinfish105 has captured some dazzling footage of the 8-meter-tall laser-shooting Hello Kitty spectacle at Odaiba Beach, which has appeared as part of a campaign to promote tree-planting activities in Tokyo. + Video The event, which features periodic light and water shows, will continue through August 22.

Here are a few manner posters that appeared in the Tokyo subways between 1976 and 1982. Three annoying train monsters (October 1982) The three annoying train monsters shown in the poster are Nesshii (the sleeping monster), Asshii (the leg-crossing monster), and Shinbunshii (the newspaper-reading monster). * * * * * Don't throw chewing gum on [...]

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto's "1945-1998" is an animated map showing the 2,053 nuclear explosions that took place around the world during the 20th century, from the detonations at Alamogordo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to the tests conducted by India and Pakistan in 1998. + Video: "1945-1998" by Isao Hashimoto The month and year are [...]

+ Video This time-lapse video of the 18-meter (59-ft) Gundam robot in the city of Shizuoka, Japan is the latest in a series of YouTube uploads from Gundam videographer darwinfish105.

Here is a collection of 99 cute characters summoned from the depths of the Japanese Figure Trademark Database. These friendly critters appear in a variety of settings ranging from company logos and promotional materials to product packaging and advertising. This collection represents only a small portion of the figurative trademarks found in the Japanese Figure [...]

Researchers from Osaka University have teamed up with the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) to develop a minimalist humanoid robot that recreates the physical presence of a remote user. Named "Telenoid R1," the teleoperated communication robot measures 80 centimeters (31 in) tall and weighs 5 kilograms (11 lbs). The portable machine features a soft silicone [...]

Here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by Gōjin Ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids' books in the 1970s. The first 16 images below appeared in the "Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters" (1972), which profiled supernatural creatures from Japanese legend. The other illustrations appeared in various educational and entertainment-oriented publications for [...]

Sally Suzuki is media director and co-founder of the collaborative online journal Beholdmyswarthyface.com. Welcome, Sally. Today I want to talk to you about the origins of the Japanese shōsetsu and the genres included in this term. But before we get to that, could you remind our readers of the genres of novel that exist in [...]

On August 22, music store Shibuya HMV shut down operations. Surely it’s never good to see a large-scale culture shop smack middle in Tokyo’s central youth shopping district have to close its doors, but the obituaries have focused more upon HMV’s historical role than the possible contemporary impact of its disappearance. Mainichi called it the [...]

A few weeks ago, I was taking some visiting friends around Asakusa. This was unfortunately the day of the Sumidagawa fireworks, and we were trying to get out of the area in the late afternoon, before the crowds got too insane. Being 5pm, however, the yukata-clad girls and their plain-clothes boyfriends were already filing in, [...]

The latest in a series of graphic design tools for Néojaponisme readers: a number of red, white, and black patterns based on Modern Japanese graphic design from the 1950s. These patterns are free to use for non-commercial applications. (For commercial applications, please contact us for a license.) The patterns are provided in Illustrator CS3, Illustrator [...]

When it comes to artistic contribution and innovation, Shugo Tokumaru remains the most important member of Japan’s indie music scene. Yet Tokumaru also deserves credit for keeping himself in the business of making music within these incredibly turbulent times. Besides moving a good number of albums, he provides tunes for NHK and Mujirushi Ryohin, tours [...]

Tokyo Photo Dead Wave is a new bi-weekly series curated by Néojaponisme showcasing the best up-and-coming new photography from Tokyo. The second photo in the series is by American photographer Patrick Tsai. “This photo was originally full color… anyways Japanese armpit hair is always black… I think.” See the original color version here. For a larger [...]

The latest in a series of graphic design tools for Néojaponisme readers: a number of red, white, and black patterns based on Modern Japanese graphic design from the 1950s. These patterns are free to use for non-commercial applications. (For commercial applications, please contact us for a license.) The patterns are provided in Illustrator CS3, Illustrator [...]

The latest in a series of visual excerpts from the out-of-print book 和英文字レタリング (Japanese and English Lettering) by Tsunetoshi Hurusawa (古沢恒敏), a collection of assorted lettering styles culled from history. Originally published in 1978, the book is a great study of lettering used by typical “fancy”/ファンシー businesses — mainly cafés, “snack bars”, cake shops, and [...]

Back online- a handful of patterns that were licensed by Dentsu Canada last year- just click Features -> Pattern Pattern to download. These patterns are free to use for non-commercial applications. (For commercial applications, please contact us for a license.) The patterns are provided in Illustrator CS3, Illustrator CS, and Adobe PDF format. You can [...]

Part Two: Organizational Characteristics of Jimusho — Size and Keiretsu In Part One we looked at labor relations within Japanese entertainment industry management companies. This time, we will look at the jimushos’ relations to each other. As we will see, the industrial field of Japanese entertainment offers less than perfect transparency, and our general understanding [...]

Yes, it’s already time for a new edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 44), set to happen this coming Monday (September 6) at Cafe Pause, with the regular start time of 20:00 — as always, the cafe is reserved for the event from 19:30, so feel free to come early. Although the SNOW Magazine Cafe event ended [...]

I’m not a big fan of Japanese dramas in general, but there are the occasional series that I like to follow, usually something that my wife has been really enjoying. I would include Trick and Jikou Keisatsu in that bunch, and now Atami no Sousakan. Atami is a new Twin Peaks-ish mystery produced by the [...]

A while back I announced that I would be removing the commenting system on this site, instead inviting readers to contribute comments either through Twitter or Facebook. The result? I can’t say that the number of “replies” I get on Twitter has noticeably increased much, but since it’s not like this site was getting a [...]

Is it hot enough for you? In what is turning out to be the most uncomfortable summer yet since my arrival in Japan over ten years ago — and yes, that’s even compared to me lying on my back with a broken spine last summer — I’m just trying to make it until the end. To [...]

I just posted something about the new book Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential on SNOW Magazine, but wanted to mention it here too. It’s Brian Ashcraft’s follow-up to Arcade Mania, to which I contributed, and I can assure you that fans of AM will absolutely love Confidential too. It’s done in the same style and was edited [...]

Yesterday I launched a special blog for the SNOW Magazine Cafe. For those of you who are unable to attend the event here in Tokyo, that’s where you’ll find more details about the show — I’ll be posting stuff throughout the month, including photos and the like. Today I revealed the list of participating titles [...]

Remember that long post I wrote at the end of June in which I talked about me getting back into photography? Well, it appears that my wife’s love for her camera has meant that I’m still not anywhere close to getting a chance to play around with it. Guess it means I’ll need to be [...]

Here’s a little peek at Monday’s PauseTalk Vol. 43, courtesy of Martin Holtkamp. As I said before, we didn’t have a huge attendance (lower than recent editions), but it was still a fun evening. I unfortunately didn’t prepare an attendance sheet this time, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to list names. The next [...]

Apologies to everyone waiting to see and read more about what the SNOW Magazine Cafe looks like. A bit slammed with work right now, but I’ll be posting stuff soon enough, hopefully by this weekend. Really happy with how it all turned out, although was expecting a bigger turnout for the PauseTalk/opening on Monday — [...]

I’m a big fan of what Piers has been doing over the years at PSFK — both with the site, but also through the reports and talk events he organizes — and just wanted to give a heads-up to their latest project, a special report for Unicef on the future of health. As Piers tells [...]

It’s that time of year again. As many of you will know, our office sits overlooking a shrine (there’s a good picture of it on our CScout Japan site) and the past few weeks have seen much noisy activity in preparation for the annual matsuri (festival) this weekend. This was the view from our window today… Of [...]

We spotted this cool Proactiv Solution vending machine in a busy concourse near Yokohama station. It’s quite large, with a touch-screen menu and another monitor displaying product information. Actually, it seems that Proactiv has produced the same kind of vendor overseas already but it was for the most part sadly neglected when we were passing through [...]

It’s one of the key sights of a Japanese summer: women shading their fair skin from the fierce sun with a parasol. But has anyone seen any men? Personally, I’ve yet to catch one myself though I’m intrigued by a new fashion trend, the male parasol-user (日傘男子, higasa danshi). This news might not surprise everyone, especially when [...]

Disgraced entrepreneur Takafumi Horie (aka Horiemon) has already surprised us recently with his entry into the porn business (yes, really). Now the founder of Livedoor seems to be throwing his energies into a literary career! He’s already turned out some books of essays before and next up is fiction. His first novel is called, appropriately, Haikin [...]

J-Cast news is reporting that shimin noen (市民農園, or farms located near cities) have increased threefold over the last 15 years, up to 3,382 sites for fiscal 2008, with local governments and NPOs inundated with applications for certain areas. [Pic via Sanukibito.com] Around 70 per cent of these “farms” are 50 square meters, with the rental cost [...]