Author Archives: philipbrasor

Donald Richie

Posted on February 22, 2013 by philipbrasor

My first encounter with Donald Richie, who died earlier this week at the age of 88, was a pleasant surprise, since it was he who approached me. In late 1995, about a year after I started my Media Mix column … Continue reading →

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Getting it wrong on “bessei”

Posted on February 18, 2013 by philipbrasor

This weekend the Cabinet Office released the results of a survey showing that “fewer people” supported the idea of allowing married couples to use separate names. This issue has been simmering for at least a decade and every time a … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Feb. 17, 2013

Posted on February 17, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the judo scandal. Central to the issue, as far as the media is concerned, is judo’s relationship to the Olympics. In the column I say that organized judo is nothing without the Olympics, a … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 27, 2013

Posted on January 27, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about oidashi beya, a relatively new method of personnel rationalization where redundant employees are assigned to sections that give them nothing to do. The term was made popular in a feature by the Asahi Shimbun, … Continue reading →

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February 2013 albums

Posted on January 26, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the February issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo yesterday. Warrior -Ke$ha (RCA/Sony) Unorthodox Jukebox -Bruno Mars (Atlantic/Warner) P!nk opens her latest record with “R We All We R,” an … Continue reading →

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February 2013 movies

Posted on January 25, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the February issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo today. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel This eminently dismissable comedy belongs to that burgeoning genre featuring older British actors exploring the … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 20, 2013

Posted on January 20, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about the taibatsu (corporal punishment) controversy surrounding the suicide of a high school basketball player in Osaka. So far the main witness to come out against taibatsu in the major media has been … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 6, 2013

Posted on January 6, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the business of seeds in Japan. As I pointed out in the column, the vast majority of Japanese farmers do not make their own seeds because it is a difficult, time-consuming process. Consequently, the … Continue reading →

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Best albums 2012

Posted on December 30, 2012 by philipbrasor

In a year during which my consumption of live music declined considerably I found myself more attuned to the peculiar decisions that musicians make on their recordings. Logistics were the main reason for my not attending as many shows as … Continue reading →

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Best movies 2012

Posted on December 29, 2012 by philipbrasor

These are my favorite movies that were released in Japan in 2012. Of them, only one was produced here and that one wasn’t even directed by a Japanese person, thus demonstrating my continuing resistance to post-bubble Japanese cinema, which isn’t … Continue reading →

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