Tokyo Journal
Encyclopedia
Tokyo Journal is an English-language magazine about Tokyo
and Japan
, which was started in 1981. Its first editor-in-chief was Don Morton, who later became the movie reviewer for Metropolis.
The first issue cost 200 yen and contained 24 black & white pages. It subsequently expanded to become a glossy 82-page, monthly color magazine. As of 2010, it currently retails for 600 yen and says it is published quarterly but it's publication schedule appears to be uncertain.
Tokyo Journal has featured articles on many aspects of Japanese society, including geisha
, the Japanese porn industry, sumo
, traditional Oriental medicine, butoh
, martial arts
, Japanese ghosts, ikebana
, onsen
s, Japanese history, the Japanese far right, yakuza
, tattoo
ing, Zen
, Japanese female wrestling, kabuki
, Japanese baseball, love hotel
s, samurai
, modern ninja
, the sex industry, robot
s, sex doll
s, interracial marriage
, pornographic comics, the Japanese freemasons, Aum Shinrikyo
, the homeless, the Japanese dimension of 9-11, and the recent phenomenon of otaku
, among others. Among those interviewed by the magazine have been Horie Takafumi (founder of Livedoor
), Carlos Ghosn
(CEO of Nissan), Shogo Kariyazaki (ikebana maven), Konishiki (Hawaiian sumo wrestler), Akebono
(first foreign-born yokozuna), Nobuyoshi Araki
(photographer), Shintaro Ishihara
(Governor of Tokyo), Issey Miyake
(fashion designer), Ensari Yenturk (Imam of Tokyo Camii Mosque), Fuyuko Matsui
(artist), Natsuo Kirino (Japanese novelist), and Hello Kitty
. The magazine is owned by Nexxus Communications K.K., a publishing and translation company.
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, which was started in 1981. Its first editor-in-chief was Don Morton, who later became the movie reviewer for Metropolis.
The first issue cost 200 yen and contained 24 black & white pages. It subsequently expanded to become a glossy 82-page, monthly color magazine. As of 2010, it currently retails for 600 yen and says it is published quarterly but it's publication schedule appears to be uncertain.
Tokyo Journal has featured articles on many aspects of Japanese society, including geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
, the Japanese porn industry, sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
, traditional Oriental medicine, butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
, martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, Japanese ghosts, ikebana
Ikebana
is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as .-Etymology:"Ikebana" is from the Japanese and . Possible translations include "giving life to flowers" and "arranging flowers".- Approach :...
, onsen
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
s, Japanese history, the Japanese far right, yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ing, Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
, Japanese female wrestling, kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
, Japanese baseball, love hotel
Love hotel
A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy for sexual activities...
s, samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, modern ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
, the sex industry, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, sex doll
Sex doll
A sex doll is a type of sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner for aid in masturbation....
s, interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
, pornographic comics, the Japanese freemasons, Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
, the homeless, the Japanese dimension of 9-11, and the recent phenomenon of otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, among others. Among those interviewed by the magazine have been Horie Takafumi (founder of Livedoor
Livedoor
is an Internet service provider based in Tokyo, Japan, that runs a web portal and numerous other businesses. The company was founded and led in its first 10 years by Takafumi Horie, known as "Horiemon" in Japan...
), Carlos Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn, KBE , born 9 March 1954, is a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman who is currently the Chairman and CEO of Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan and holds the same positions at Paris-based Renault, which together produce more than one in 10 cars worldwide...
(CEO of Nissan), Shogo Kariyazaki (ikebana maven), Konishiki (Hawaiian sumo wrestler), Akebono
Akebono Taro
is a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
(first foreign-born yokozuna), Nobuyoshi Araki
Nobuyoshi Araki
is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. He is also known by the nickname .-Life and career:Araki was born in Tokyo, studied photography during his college years and then went to work at the advertising agency Dentsu, where he met his future wife, the essayist Yōko Araki...
(photographer), Shintaro Ishihara
Shintaro Ishihara
is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
(Governor of Tokyo), Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.-Life and career:Miyake was born 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. As a seven year-old, he witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He studied...
(fashion designer), Ensari Yenturk (Imam of Tokyo Camii Mosque), Fuyuko Matsui
Fuyuko Matsui
is a female Japanese artist, specializing in Nihonga paintings with a 'grotesque' or supernatural element. Her art has been widely exhibited in Japan and she has been featured on TV and magazines. She was one of the featured artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo's "Annual 2006"...
(artist), Natsuo Kirino (Japanese novelist), and Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
. The magazine is owned by Nexxus Communications K.K., a publishing and translation company.