Memories of Island Life III: Takashi Savory,1972
The final of our three-part series taking a personal look back at the Ogasawara Islands (Parts 1 & 2).
The Ogasawara Islands of Tokyo Prefecture could be mistaken for a Japanese Garden of Eden, located far out amidst the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. The Islands were uninhabited until 1830, when they were first settled by Americans and Europeans who arrived from Hawaii, the US mainland and elsewhere. In 1861, they came under Japanese control and Japanese citizens began to immigrate. To this day, many people of mixed heritage reside here. Following World War II, …»
Skateboard File II: Lesque Skateboards
For Koji Asada and the Lesque (les-ke) team, skateboarding isn’t particularly the answer to all the endless questions we face in life, but rather an essential way of dealing with the tribulations and occasional emotional turbulence of life. This ethos of acknowledging skateboarding as a positive force and its indispensability remains at the center of the Lesque team and their march towards progress. In 2007, the Lesque team formally blasted onto the Japanese skate scene and raised eye brows with an introductory collection of five models and the timely premier of their then new video, “Endless Question.” While 2007 proved to be a tremendously busy and active year for the young skater-run company, the road there was not necessarily the stuff of pipe dreams. This is the story of Lesque Skateboards. …»
Traveling a planet of sound: Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono’s early discography contains the band Happy End (1970-73). Digesting the influences of America’s West Coast rock, they established an idiom for Japanese language rock. Solo releases like “Bon Voyage Co.” (1976), which rediscovered Asia via the perspective of Hollywood, saw him enter a period of exotic sound exploration. Blending in Kraftwerk-style electronica, Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978-83, 1993) took this sound in a disco direction. “Omni Sightseeing” (1989) then delved into the roots of pop worldwide. Throughout, Hosono’s music leads listeners on journeys that transcend both borders and generations. As a record label producer, Hosono ran the YEN label from 1982, the Non Standard label (which released pre-break Pizzicato Five) from 1984, and the Daisyworld label from 1996. The current label’s motto is “Keep Listening, Keep Searching!” …»
Skateboard File I: Photographer Taro Hirano
Taro Hirano is better known as the photo editor of skateboard journal Sb, though its likely many have come across one of his more popular photo books which focused on abandoned skate pools in California. When Taro isn’t taking photographs, skateboarding or working in his darkroom, he’s probably downstairs in his own quaint gallery space, Gallery No. 12. The story goes back to the early 2000s when Taro was searching for a suitable darkroom however the inspiration for opening the gallery comes from the time which Taro spent in the United States, in particular a visit to New York. …»
Memories of Island Life II: Ogasawara, 1990
The second of our three-part series taking a personal look back at the Ogasawara Islands (Parts 1 & 3).
The Ogasawara Islands of Tokyo Prefecture could be mistaken for a Japanese Garden of Eden, located far out amidst the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. The Islands were uninhabited until 1830, when they were first settled by Americans and Europeans who arrived from Hawaii, the US mainland and elsewhere. In 1861, they came under Japanese control and Japanese citizens began to immigrate. To this day, many people of mixed heritage reside here. Following World War II, …»
Writer, Traveler, Global Soul: Pico Iyer
Diplomats travel the globe representing their countries to the world. Pico Iyer travels to represent the world to his many readers. Whether from North Korea or Katmandu, Iyer’s writing describes the collision of cultures occurring in a world set into perpetual motion. Iyer too is in perpetual motion, so much that he “only has an official home where he never actually spends any time.” For the past nine years, however, Iyer’s return tickets have led him to his Japanese partner and a two-room apartment in Nara. Paper Sky stole a moment with Iyer to ask what the rest for the world looks like- and how to get there. …»
Sacred Architecture: The Myojin Sento
The final of our three-part series on The Japanese Sento (Parts 1 & 2)
Tokyo has cleverly disguised it’s Sento as lavish temples and the only evidence of their true identity, and the naked bathing inside, comes from the steam rising above the tiled rooftops and the chrome smokestack. However, careful eyes can pick them out by the “hafu,” a curved wooden shape hanging over the entrance. “It symbolizes an entrance to paradise,” says Sento writer Shinobu Machida. There are only three other places where you can see such a shape: …»
