When Okada Toshiki challenged the Toyota Choreography Award with his piece "Air Conditioner/Cooler" five years ago, no one including the judges was prepared…

At the end of 2009, we published again each RT contributor’s own "top ten events of the year". As usual, it was extremely difficult to narrow my choice…

Cultural anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss passed away at the end of October. While the man himself died a peaceful death at the age of 100, he…

Like every year in autumn, there are again a variety of cultural events going on these days. After being blown away by the speed and power of Yasmeen Godder…

I had the chance to catch a performance by the Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Orchestra (ONJO) in Kyoto (on 10/3 at Kyoto Art Center). According to Otomo’s entry…

"That sounds interesting indeed. But isn't it impossible to see all shows?" For a moment I was at a loss for an answer on this remark. This conversation took place…

"Studio Voice", monthly culture magazine with a history of more than 30 years, will suspend publication after the current September issue (out since 8/6)…

Schauspielhaus Wuppertal On July 1st local time I heard about the much too early death of Pina Bausch. My first "encounter with Pina" was in 1984…

After visiting the 53rd Venice Biennale for "ART iT" magazine, I spent a few days in Amsterdam to check out some promising events at the Holland Festival…

For two days only, Mujin-to Production in Koenji was renamed "Gallery Vagina". It’s surely not the most beautiful name for a gallery. On view was an exhibition by Chim Pom titled "Suterareta chinpo (dumped dick)"…

"ART iT" vol. 23 is titled "Art of memory / art of disappearance". On the cover is a work by Miyanaga Aiko, who has made remarkable progress in recent years…

You'll have noticed that especially the "Diaries" and other columns on RT have rolled to a stop. That’s because we are planning another renewal of the site, following last year’s complete makeover…

The Kawasaki City Museum is currently showing an exhibition titled "Kiyoshi Awazu Retrospective: Re-Reproduction" (through 3/29), and I was appointed moderator for a symposium…

In 2007, a Canada-based advertising agency introduced a watch coat for homeless people to mark the 15th anniversary of the company’s establishment. They named the coat "15 Below"…

In her concert at Daikanyama’s Hillside Plaza on January 31, Mukaiyama Tomoko lived up to everyone’s expectations and delivered another intense performance. As usual, the program was made up of a number of pieces…

One day prior to the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, and again one week later, I went to see the "War & Art — Terror and Simulacrum of Beauty" exhibition in Kyoto (through 2/5 at Kyoto University of Art and Design [KUAD], Galerie Aube)…

For the first time in years I spent New Year’s in London and Paris. While several homeless and other people froze to death in Eastern Europe, where the gas supply via Ukraine was cut off…

We have collected again REALTOKYO contributors' "Highlights of the Year", which you will find listed up on a separate page…

As "Shincho" editor Yano Yutaka mentioned in previous articles on RT, novelist Mizumura Minae’s "Nihongo ga horobiru toki (The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English)" (Chikuma Shobo) is currently…

Inspired perhaps by Barack Obama’s "we can change" motto, the world seems to be experiencing a change/reform boom right now. Or rather, once the global mood of hopelessness and…