Roland Kelts's Blog, page 93

On Japanese simplicity and aesthetics in Adbusters

This is a short series of three related but discrete meditations on simplicity, minimalism and recycling commissioned by my editors at Adbusters magazine. The series was published to accompany a longer feature by my friend Amelia Newcomb, senior editor at the Christian Science Monitor, exploring the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, what some call 'the art of impermanence,' celebrating the bare essentials, humbleness and eloquent ruin. Amelia visits the town of Kamikatsu, whose residents seek...

Steaks by the lake ....

Yomiuri column on Miyazaki, Horibuchi, Schodt and elections

[with Hayao Miyazaki backstage at UC Berkeley, 7/29/09:]
Soft Power, Hard Truths / Miyazaki, Horibuchi and the virtues of changeRoland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

When animation master Hayao Miyazaki observed that I was not wearing a necktie before our onstage conversation at the University of California, Berkeley late last month, he promptly unknotted his own necktie and stuffed the balled-up garment into the hands of his longtime producer, Toshio Suzuki. Then he smiled and nodded at me.

Seiji Horibuchi's New People/J-Pop Center opens tomorrow

A little over a year ago, I filed my Yomiuri column (re-posted below) after giving a talk at the Japan America Society in San Francisco and meeting Seiji Horibuchi, the founder of VIZ media. Seiji told me about his dream project, the four-floor J-Pop Center, which he planned to open in the heart of the city's fading Japantown.
Later in the year, I met Seiji in New York. The subprime spiral was in full downward motion; the economy was tanking. I asked Seiji about his project and he laughed -- so

"The Soul of Japan," my latest for ADBUSTERS

The Soul of Japan

Japan's crisis is not political, but psychological.

Roland Kelts | 10 Aug 2009 | 5 commentsAmerica japan Western[image error]
My latest contribution to Adbusters magazine is now out in the August issue. An excerpt and link to the full story below:
Japan has a curiously utopian image in the West right now. Everything from anime and manga to sushi and sudoku seems to emit the whiff of cool culture in the globalized 21st century. Even Japan's renowned bullet train is on the export docket: Califor

Miyazaki West Coast roundup in LA Times

Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles TimesMiyazaki wowed fans at Comic-Con San Diego recently.
Animator Hayao Miyazaki moves beyond good vs. evil plotsThe famous Japanese director tells an American audience that he deeply mulls the stories behind his popular films, including the upcoming Disney venture, 'Ponyo.'By Charles Burress
August 9, 2009Once the standing ovation died down, anticipation among the 6,500 people packed into a Comic-Con convention hall in San Diego was almost electric as they waited for

"Redline" update: World premiere 8/14 at Locarno Film Festival

Here's my latest for the Yomiuri in Japan: a story about the world premiere of Madhouse's "Redline" anime feature, including interviews with director and animation artist Takeshi Koike ("World Record") and screenwriter Katsuhito Ishii ("The Taste of Tea"). The boffo, over-the-top racing caper will debut next Friday, 8/14, at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland--beneath the stars in the open-air Piazza Grande, no less.
The story features interviews with both Koike and Ishii that I conducted

Keio Academy talk, 7/30/09

KEIO 09
Thanks to Rieko, Miyoshi-san and the other fine folks at Keio Academy New York for a very fulfilling, tour-ending talk last week before a keen 'japan-american' audience (literally half and half), whose questions were astute and plentiful. It was an honor to be invited back, and this year I was better prepared for the age group.
A few photos (courtesy of Miyoshi-san) of me and the kids below. I launched from Tokyo to Sydney three weeks ago, trekked through Brisbane, Melbourne, LA and Sa

Hayao Miyazaki 2

Hayao Miyazaki., originally uploaded by Emily Barrera.

And in B&W. (Photo by Emily Barrera.)

Subscribe in a reader

Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki, originally uploaded by lotusstone.

With Miyazaki-san and interpreter Beth Cary at UC Berkeley, July 25, 2009. Photo courtesy of 'lotusstone.'

Subscribe in a reader