Japan in the News: Mankind Dealt Further Blow As Robot Which Never Loses at Rock-Paper-Scissors Is Developed
According to Rocket News 24, mankind has been dealt further blow as a robot which never loses at rock-paper-scissors is developed in Japan. Engineers from the University of Tokyo have built a robot which uses a camera capable of determining what shape you’re going to throw and then throws the counter-shape within one millisecond.
Can Skynet be far away? I think not …
Photo of the Day: Bridge
Three elegantly kimono clad ladies standing on a bridge admiring the kois swimming on the pond at the Kiyosumi Teien Garden in Tokyo.
Shiseido 3.11 Portrait Project
The 3.11 Portrait Project held an exhibit in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center (JCCC) gallery for the month of June.
This project was to support the recovery efforts in Japan through the power of photography to celebrate the courage and hopes of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami survivors.
A two large transparent boxes held many origami cranes. As you may know, the Thousand Origami Cranes was popularized through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was two years old when she was exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.
A collection of traditional family portraits were taken by volunteer photographers in the midst of one of the largest natural disasters in Japan’s history.
The pictures were simply displayed on the gallery walls.
Moketi: Love Strikes
Moketi: Love Strikes is a 2011 Japanese comedy nominated for numerous Japanese Awards and winning the Most Popular Film. Its Canadian premiere was recently held at the 2012 Toronto Japanese Film Festival held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) in Toronto.
The story is about a 30 year old loser (nerd) who suddenly becomes irresistible to women, this phase in a man’s life is called Moteki. Not really a musical (although it has a J-Pop soundtrack), it sometimes breaks into random singing and dancing. I guess this type of movie is very popular in Japan, I found it a little disjointed (maybe because of the random musical numbers).
Photo of the Day: Ginza Dior
Black and white pictures (I think that is a silhouette of Audrey Hepburn) on the wall of the Dior store in Ginza, Tokyo,
Guilty of Romance
Guilty of Romance is a 2011 Japanese film written and directed by the controversial filmmaker Sion Sono, the third part of his “Hate” trilogy (Cold Fish, Love Exposure). This movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival with mixed reviews. Its Canadian premiere was recently held at the 2012 Toronto Japanese Film Festival held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) in Toronto.
This erotic crime thriller follows the story of 3 women (a housewife, a professor and a detective) whose lives intersect and ends with a bang. Meant for adults (see the 18 in the movie poster above) due to all the sex and blood, this strange movie will appeal to Sono’s fans.
Harakiri: Death of a Samurai
Harakiri: Death of a Samurai is a 2011 Japanese drama (made in 3D) directed by the Takashi Miike (13 Assassins). This movie premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. It was also shown at the 2012 Toronto Japanese Film Festival held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) in Toronto. It stars Kôji Yakusho (Shall We Dansu, Memoirs of a Geisha, Babel), Ebizô Ichikawa and Hikari Mitsushima (Love Exposure, Sawako Decides).
Remade from a 1962 movie of the same name, Harakiri is tale of revenge, honor and disgrace about on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers that his ronin son-in-law planned to commit ritual suicide on premises of a feudal lord secretly hoping to be bought off in order to buy medicine for his sick child. A very sad and tragic story, this movie was beautifully made and well acted. Highly recommended!
Rebirth
Rebirth is a critically acclaimed 2011 drama based on the popular novel written by Mitsuyo Kakuta, winning 10 Japanese Academy Awards including Best Picture of 2011, Best Actress (Mao Inoue) and Best Supporting Actress (Hiromi Nagasaku). Its Canadian premiere was just recently held at the 2012 Toronto Japanese Film Festival at Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) in Toronto.
It is a sad story of a woman who abducts a baby girl from a man who she has had an affair with. After 4 years, the woman is found and arrested, and the child is eventually returned to her birth parents but has trouble adjusting (actually never became close to her parents). And as an adult, returns to the place where she grew up where she finally learns the truth. This is a very moving and emotional story (you may need some tissues), slow at times, switching between the past and present.
Photo of the Day: AKB48 Cafe and Shop
AKB48 is a famous and popular Japanese girl group who have opened their own cafe and shop in Akihabara. The name AKB48 stands for AKihaBara and its 48 team members.
Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The 2012 Toronto Japanese Film Festival is currently being held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center (JCCC) in Toronto from June 7-21.
For the past 6 years, this film festival has showcased the best contemporary Japanese films which have been recognized by Japanese audiences and critics, international film festival audiences and the Japanese Film Academy.
This year, several movies are holding their Canadian or Toronto premieres such as Rebirth, Guilty of Romance, Moteki, Harakiri Death of a Samurai, Ninja Kids, Leonie and Permanent Nobara – most are shown in the programme cover above. Have you seen any of these movies?
