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Kosuke Atari models for GAP – Tokyograph
Singer Kosuke Atari will soon be making his ‘world debut’ as a model. He has been chosen to participate in GAP’s 2008 spring campaign. The fashion brand has previously used Japanese celebrities in its campaigns; last year, Ken Watanabe, Puffy, and Ai Tominaga appeared in ads. Atari has recently been gaining popularity in Taiwan and…
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Tutorial: Tuning your sanshin, Part 1
When something gets requested here enough times, we’ll do our best to get it to you. So here it is, our first video tutorial on tuning your sanshin. Be sure to check out our “Tuning Your Sanshin” page for more info. I’ll also have it up for download — at a better quality than streaming…
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Site News: New year link cleansing
Just an announcement that I’ll be going through my blogroll links to delete the ones that look abandoned or dead.
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Okinawan music and dance performance: ‘Loochoo nu Kwa, Children of Loochoo’
Norman Kaneshiro-sensei emailed information on an Okinawan music and dance performance his group has lined up for March 28, 2008, a Saturday. Titled “Loochoo nu Kwa, Children of Loochoo,” the performance featuring the talented members of Ukwanshin Kabudan will be held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (<rant>for those like me who are irritated…
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Desktop: Takeshi Kaneshiro’s ‘Sweet Rain’
Gosh, it’s seems like ages since I last saw Takeshi Kaneshiro in a Japanese film. It think it was 2002’s “Returner.” This time around, Takeshi plays a shinigami (death god) in a film called “Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido” that’s about to begin its road show on March 22nd. From the looks of the trailer,…
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Web: Uta Sanshin Circle
Found a link to this wonderful website (kept by a fellow Mac user too 😀 ) in my referral log and I thought I’d share it with everyone. The Uta Sanshin Circle is a resource for those who live in (or are visiting) the mainland USA with information on classical and minyou classes. It looks…
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J-pop singer melody.’s first single of 2008: ‘Haruka’
Long a favorite J-pop artist of mine, melody. will release her first single of the year on February 13. The single, “Haruka,” is the theme song for the J-drama “Daisuki!!” from the TBS network. The single will also include the songs “Plumeria” (no doubt a tie-in to her roots in Hawaii) and an English cover…
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Beni Arashiro to release best of album in March
J-pop singer and soon-to-be big screen actress Beni Arashiro (21) will release her best of album on March 5th. The yet untitled album will include her singles from 2004’s “Harmony” to 2007’s “Luna.” Also included on the album will be the songs “SouthernStar,” “BIG BANG,” and “Mellow Parade.” At ¥800 more than the regular version,…
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J-Pop CD Cover Art Shares Amuro Cover via Feed of Pop
[Blogs] J-Pop CD Cover Art Shares Amuro Cover: “‘PLAY’ Front Covers + Promo Recommended ogling. It would’ve been nice to have a scan of that back cover where Namie’s wearing that magnificently sexy eyepatch…” Link (Via Feed of Pop.) Continuing onto 2008 with the great success of her PLAY album Namie will be releasing a…
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Winter 2008 J-drama watch list
I’m a little behind in posting about this since the 2008 winter season already started but it’s not too late to start watching the following Okinawan actors in these J-drama. (Images via DramaWiki.) “Saito-san” (comedy, family), which just began its run January 9th on NTV, stars Shintaro Yamada (younger brother of Yu Yamada, more on…
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