Random Talks

In 2009, composer Ei Wada and four musician friends―Kimitoshi Sato, Takuya Namba, Yu Yoshida and Tadashi Yoshida―had a wacky retro idea: Let’s mix ana

Shizuka Yabuuchi has fused rhythmic gymnastics, dance and magic to conjure up an entirely new style of performance art. Shizuka began exploring her ow

LJ Rich has a remarkable and rare condition called synaesthesia. A kind of ‘mingling of the senses’ that can manifest itself in a number o

Ever wondered why you’re happy, or how to get that way? Five years ago, filmmaker Eiji Han Shimizu and director Roko Belic began traveling around the

Master percussionist Winchester Nii Tete hails from the honorable Addy-Amo-Boye clans of drummers in Ghana. His finely textured repertoire echoes exub

Kaori Brand says we should realize that we can’t dictate to nature, and that nature in fact rules our days; witness the recent Tohoku disaster and its

Few people would consider the ukulele a serious musical instrument. Until, that is, they hear Jake Shimabukuro play one. Jake’s uncommon compositions

Known in the music realm as Shing02, bilingual rapper Shingo Annen spent his childhood in Tanzania, London and Japan. At the age of 15, he moved to th

At its root, puppet theater addresses issues of identity and existence, as puppets move with striking speed from lifeless object to mythic icon, raisi

Sometimes the libretto to a life is already written. John Ken Nuzzo was a university business major in California before he seriously contemplated a p

When he was just 25, Yoshiharu Habu became the only player ever to simultaneously seize all seven titles of the ancient board game known as shogi. He’

Black’s professional livelihood hangs by a string—and the young Japanese world yo-yo champion wouldn’t have it any other way. After being crowned the

What kind of entertainment would Neo see in the Matrix? No need to imagine, kids̶ just watch Shiro-A. The troupe’s ingenious pop-cerebral antics are r

After a long training of classical ballet from her childhood, YUZUKI Megumi became a professional dancer at the age of 19. Other than ballet, she has

Street culture is about to take possession of a new vehicle for sonic expression. Spinning your wheels on Turntable Rider̶a custom-hacked BMX bike tur

Naomi Kawase’s loving but unblinking cinematic gaze turns ordinary lives and mundane moments into mesmerizing dramas. At the 1997 Cannes International