Hiragana Times Archive
People - Hiragana Times Archive
Premium Subscriber can read full texts.
Premium Subscribers' area | Who is a Premium Subscriber?
Spreading Japanese Baseball in Cyberspace Jun. 15
Despite the boom in interest in Japanese baseball thanks to the World Baseball Classic and Major League stars like SUZUKI Ichiro and MATSUZAKA Daisuke, there is still not always sufficient English-language information to satisfy dedicated yakyu fans. Sure, there are some excellent books by Robert WHITING and Robert FITTS and weekly articles in the ...
From Adversity to “Hero”
OHASHI Hiroe’s parents firmly believed it was important for her to lip speak (read people’s lips and speak aloud) instead of using sign language in order to live among people who can hear without being discriminated against. They taught her to understand the concept of language and use her voice, although she couldn’t hear it with her own ears. ...
Traditional Storyteller Focuses on Social Issues
Kodan (professional storytelling) is a traditional form of Japanese entertainment with a history of over 500 years. Kodan was originally a way of passing on history, but recently the stories are not limited to only past events. Professional storytellers sit in front of a small desk and talk for about 20 minutes to one hour. ...
People Attracted by Awa Odori
Awa Odori is a summer dance with a 400-year history that originated in Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku. It is still popular now and performed all over Japan. Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori (Suginami Ward, Tokyo) is the second biggest Awa Odori Festival after Tokushima and features over 70 dance teams and about 10,000 dancers, attracting over 1.2 million spectators every year. ...
Volunteers: Sending Picture Books to Children Abroad
Recently, several interesting ways of donating to charity have been attracting attention. There have been soda vending machines that have a “donation” button that deducts 10 yen or 100 yen when you buy a drink, companies that donate a certain amount depending on how far someone jogs, or companies that donate 1 yen every time someone visits their website. ...
A Passion for Traditional Transformation
Donald FOUNTAINE has been in the spotlight since he was a child. The New Yorker was once a baby model, but is now a very different kind of performer. And the story of how he fell in love with traditional Japanese art is unlike any other. ...
Art Project
to Support
New Orleans
Japanese artist HORISAKI Takashi has been exploring his own identity through artwork for the past eight years in the US. “I’ve found that contemporary art allows me to express my feelings as well as my commentary on our society,” he says. ...
International Couple Driven by Their Destiny
NONAKA Nobuyuki and his wife Tatiana live in Karuizawa Town in Nagano Prefecture, where they work for a company that matches overseas companies and Japanese companies and also for a business supporting overseas companies. Their meeting was predicted by Tatiana’s mother, Victoria. ...
Holocaust Center
in Hiroshima Aims to Promote Peace
Holocaust is originally a Greek word that means to burn up everything, but it has come to mean the genocide committed by the Nazis (in power, 1933~1945). A diary written by one of the victims, Anne FRANK, became a global best seller and was also made into a movie. About one million people visit Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Holland annually. ...
The Japanese Photographer who Preserved Mother Teresa’s Work
News photographer OKI Morihiro first went to Kolkata (at the time Calcutta) in India in 1974, driven by fears for the future at a time when India was said to be the starting point of a global population explosion. There Oki saw firsthand the miserable reality of destroyed houses, garbage piled in the streets and people living homeless. ...
“Your Smile Makes me Smile”
It’s hard to imagine a more approachable person than HIRAI Keisuke, standing among vibrant smiling faces in photos he has taken in Cambodia, Mongolia and Nepal. It might seem the native of Kagawa Prefecture inspired his subjects to smile with his innocent grin alone. But behind each of these faces are stories of friendship, hardship and strength. ...
University Professor’s Welfare Inventions Helping Disabled People
In line with the effects of Japan’s aging society, the number of people requiring care is increasing throughout Japan. These disabled people often have wishes that many people living normal lives are unaware of. For example, a wife who has been forced to live her life in a wheelchair had a small wish to be able to look at the outside from upstairs. ...
It’s the Bizarre World of Chindougu!
It’s baby clothing with cleaning mops. What is this? “Wouldn’t it be great if the baby cleans up the floor as it crawls along?” KAWAKAMI Kenji, an inventor of the “Baby Mop” says as if it were nothing. “The baby is practicing filial devotion to its parents already!” ...
First Time Ever in Japan – a Cancer-Sniffing Dog!
On the seashore at Shirahama, Chiba prefecture, a soothing sea breeze is blowing in. On the beach is an amazing dog that has the ability to sniff out the smell of human cancer. The dog’s name is Marine, a 5-year-old female black Labrador Retriever. Marine looks like a normal dog, but why can she discover cancer? ...
Braille Goddesses Brings Light to Visually - Impaired People
Every month from around the middle of 2005 Hiragana Times editorial section has received telephone calls from a women's group soon after the magazine became available in the shops. The caller usually points out misused characters in the text. We have some staff engaged in proofreading in the editorial section to make sure there are no spelling mistakes, however, the caller still points out two or three misused characters or typos every month. We are astonished at their sharp perception. ...
"Don Quixote de Tokio" in quest for ever-lasting dreams No expiration date for adventure in life!
What will you do when you are retired? It is difficult for most people to consider this when they are young and working. What is a man to do when he is set free after years as a workaholic? Some people plan in advance. But for those who meet their retirement day without any planning, what will happen? ...
A Family Inn in Shitamachi Overflows with Foreign Guests
Tokyo is rich in variety. Each region, including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Akihabara and Roppongi, has its own peculiarities. One of the more interesting areas around Yanaka, near Ueno station, is called “Shitamachi.” There are many temples and shrines in this area and you can sense a taste of the past when you visit. ...
A Wise Missionary Connecting Japan with Brazil
SUZUKI Kenichi, a Japanese-Brazilian doctor, first came to Japan 25 years ago and completed the department of engineering doctorate course at Tokyo University. ...
Traveling Around the World Seeking a Liberal Way of Living
The awareness of Japanese youths is changing significantly. Even now, not a few young people want to become government employees or enter leading companies, but the number of people who prefer to buck such a fixed and restricted life and search for their own way of life is increasing. ...
Happiness is a Daily Decision
Happiness has been described as being as fleeting as a leaf flying about in the wind - easy to see, but difficult to catch. Just what is happiness anyway? And how can we find it? One man who holds some of the keys to unlock the secrets of happiness is Australian writer Andrew MATTHEWS. ...
The fate of "Madame Platinum"Trapped in the Bubble Economy
Fifteen years ago Japan's bubble economy collapsed and the country slid into a long depression. It has seen symptoms of recovery in recent years, but many good Japanese people were swallowed by the wave of the recession and are still left behind. ...
NPO Founder is Friend of Weak and Downtrodden
In Shinjuku's Kabukicho, Japan's number one entertainment district, the lights never go off at the Shinjuku Relief Center, NPO Japan Social Minority Association headquarters. ...
Who is the Traditional Japanese Wife Behind the Godfather?
Tainaka Acupressure & Massage Company headquartered in Nagaokakyo in Kyoto is growing at a rapid pace. The company started from zero three years ago and now have approximately 60 clinics around Kyoto and 200 massage staff. ...
