Book Review: Japan Rising by Kenneth Pyle
Books, Japan Trends, Reviews, Writers 
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Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Originally published in the JETAA NY Fall 2008 Quarterly Newsletter) Bookstores are stocked full of tomes charting the recent rise of India and China. The IT and computer programming revolution in the former and the manufacturing explosion in the latter have accompanied such massive population growth in both countries […]
JETAA NY Quarterly: Fall 2008 “Politics” Issue
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JETAA NY has just published its Fall 2008 “Politics” Issue of its quarterly publications. Click the image below to read. FALL 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1…..JET Alumni Election Survey Page 2…..Letter from the President Page 3…..Comings & Goings Page 4…..Translators Challenge Page 5…..JETAANY Society Page by Yoku Shitteiru Page 6…..Interview with Inuyama City Councilman […]
Theatre Review Steven Sondheim’s PACIFIC OVERTURES Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Fall 2004 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) When the original production of Pacific Overtures opened on Broadway in 1976, it marked the fourth collaboration between composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and producer/director Harold Prince. The team had challenged the notions of what a Broadway […]
OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW JET Alum Randall David Cook’s SAKE WITH THE HAIKU GEISHA Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Winter 2006 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) Randall David Cook’s new play Sake with the Haiku Geisha, produced by the Gotham Stage Company at the Perry Street Theatre, is a must-see for all past and future […]
Band Review GAIJIN a GO-GO Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Summer 2005 Issue) Last month, I was lucky enough to have stumbled across a band called Gaijin a Go-Go. The Brooklyn-based group is the brainchild of Petra Hanson, a fashion designer who fused her interests in Japanese pop culture with her affinity for swinging 60s pop […]
Film Review ZATOICHI Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Summer 2004 Issue) Takashi Kitano has had a long and varied career as an entertainer in Japan. He burst onto the scene in the 1970’s as one-half of the comedy duo The Beat Brothers and then extended the range of his acting by taking on more […]
Film Review TOKYO OLYMPIAD Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Summer 2008 JETAA NY Newsletter) In 1964, Tokyo became the first Asian city to host the Olympic games. Much like the imminent Beijing games, the tournament was meant to spotlight the rapidly rising economy of the host nation and officially welcome the country into the […]
Film Review TOKYO GODFATHERS Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Spring 2004 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) Since the release of Akira in 1988, Japanese anime has gained respectability in the United States by tackling more and more ambitious themes. The genre reached something of a pinnacle last year when Hiyao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away […]
DVD REVIEW SPOTLIGHT ON: SEIJUN SUZUKI Director of “Story of a Prostitute” & “Gate of Flesh” By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Winter 2006 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) Japan’s Golden Age of Cinema, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s, supplied the international film circuit with a steady diet of respectable award-winning films. However, […]
FILM REVIEW Premiere of RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES Hosted by the Japan Society Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Summer 2006 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) On August 24, Japan Society hosted the New York premiere of the film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Japan Society was kind enough to provide […]
Film Review PAPRIKA Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Summer 2007) Satoshi Kon’s latest film Paprika, is a feast for the eyes and intellect, a combination not commonly found in mass-marketed entertainment. His previous feature, Tokyo Godfathers, was dramatically static and its earthbound narrative undoubtedly imprisoned the active imagination seen in the earlier Millennium Actress and Perfect […]
DVD REVIEW Masaki Kobayashi’s HARAKIRI by Lyle Sylvander (Fall 2005 Issue) The Criterion Collection continues its reissue of classic Japanese films with the release of Masayaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. Harakiri was an enormous international hit and is universally acknowledged as a masterwork of Japan’s […]
FILMS OF YASUJIRO OZU The Criterion Collection Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2005) Despite his popularity in Japan, the filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu remained unknown in the West during his lifetime. Unlike other directors from Japan’s Golden Age, such as Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi, Ozu, who was dubbed “the most Japanese of all filmmakers”, was […]
FILM CORNER Isao Takahata’s GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2008) Perhaps more than any other country, Japan has elevated the art of animation from the confines of children’s entertainment. However, nothing in the anime universe quite compares with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) in terms of emotional […]
Japanese Film Review Kon Ichikawa’s THE BURMESE HARP and FIRES ON THE PLAIN Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2007) The Criterion Collection has released more classic Japanese films than any other DVD distributor. After releasing the films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi, the Collection series has now turned its attention to Kon […]
