Archive
Interview: Producer Thelma Holt – Anjin: The Shogun and the English Samurai
“The influence of Japanese theatre has been and is tremendous!” Thelma Holt
Thelma Holt CBE began a long and distinguished theatre career as an actress. She then founded the Open Space Theatre in Tottenham and has worked for the Roundhouse, the National Theatre and the Peter Hall Company. She went on to found her own theatre production company, Thelma Holt Limited. She works with the distinguished Japanese Director Yukio Ninagawa to bring Anglo-Japanese theatre to the Read more…
Interview: Actor Stephen Boxer – Anjin: The Shogun and the Samurai
“What I love is how their friendship [Anjin and Tokugawa] crossed boundaries and superseded all that and became mates!” Steve Boxer
Stephen Boxer is an Olivier nominated stage, film and television actor. A veteran of the RSC he has performed widely at, amongst others, the National Theatre, the Barbican, the Duchess Theatre, and the Hammersmith Lyric. He won a London Fringe Award for Best Actor in his role as the Governor in ‘The Clearing’ at the Bush Theatre and his performance with the RSC as Read more…
Interview: World Class Pianist Chisato Kusunoki
“Music is a sublime form of spiritual existence for me.” (Chisato Kusunoki)
Chisato Kusunoki is an award winning world class pianist who has been described as being one of the most talented players of all time. She attended and read music at the University College, Oxford where she graduated with the prestigious Gibbs Prize in performance. Her outstanding performances at various prestigious venues around the world, such as the Purcell Room in London, the Mendelssohn Institute in Leipzig, the Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo, and Read more…
Interview: Actor Denden – Uzumaki, Cold Fish, Himizu
“I found it really difficult. It was really hard because it was so real!” (Denden on filming Himizu)
Between 13 – 15 April 2012, actor Denden attended the Terracotta Far East Film Festival in London to promote the theatrical release of Himizu, a hard-hitting film by maverick film director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Guilty of Romance) set soon after the 3/11 Japan earthquake/tsunami in which Denden plays a brute money lender, a character-type he is best known for to Western audiences. But in reality he is a very warm, funny, friendly man, which is a Read more…
NEO Magazine Issue 101 Out Now! Featuring High Kick Girl Rina Takeda and Director Shinya Tsukamoto
On sale from 10th August!
Fresh from celebrating its 100th issue, NEO magazine returns with batch 101, packing a double cover; Blue Exorcist on one-side, with a full-length feature on the school-based hell raiser; and Tales of Graces f, as the publication explores the vast history behind the hit Japanese RPG franchise.
That’s not all! This month’s profile series focuses on Karate Girl and Dead Sushi star Rina Takeda. Also Read more…
SFX Collection: The Ultimate Guide to Anime
On sale: 20th July
Cover price: £7.99
Popular UK magazine SFX is back with another fantastic special edition, this one revealing everything you need to know about the anime scene. Hot new shows detailed, DVDs reviewed, stars interviewed and more! With columns from some of the UK’s best-known commentators on the subject, tons of information on anime old and new, and a celebration of seminal series Dragon Ball Z, you won’t want to Read more…
Interview: Comedy Actress Eri Fuse – Cutie Honey, Adrift In Tokyo, GTO
“As long as I can act and I can eat something nice I’m happy!” Eri Fuse
Back in February of this year (24th – 26th February 2012 to be exact), comedy actress Eri Fuse and her husband film director Miki Satoshi came to the UK to appear as special guests at the three-day London event Hyper Japan 2012 Spring and took to the stage for a Q&A session hosted by Adam Torel of Third Window Films. They were also gracious enough to give up some of their valuable time for Diverse Japan to take part in a Read more…
Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) Master Shoho Teramoto & The Enso Of Zen
Japanese calligraphy is an art-form that can reveal the depth of enlightenment and the personality of the artist!
Many of us are familiar with Japanese calligraphy. Although we may not know the meaning of a particular character, its formation is instantly recognisable as being a symbol of the Far East which in itself is just a communication tool. However, as the calligrapher forms a spiritual union with his/her brush and ink it then becomes known as ‘Shodo’, meaning to express the Read more…
Interview: Maki Tsukada – Olympic & World Judo Champion
“The more confident I am, the more strict I am with myself!” Maki Tsukada
Female judoka Maki Tsukada has become one of the most revered figures of the popular martial art deviced by Jigoro Kano. During her competition years, Tsukada was a force to be reckoned with – an absolute powerhouse who has won a mass of awards. She won the 2003 World Judo Championship Games and became a gold medallist in the Women’s Judo +78kg catergory at the Read more…
Interview: Miki Satoshi – Inventive Director Of Adrift In Tokyo & Instant Swamp
“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I’m always open minded!” Miki Satoshi
The inventive director of comedy films, Miki Satoshi, is making much headway in the West of late thanks in part to Third Window Films releasing DVD’s of his films, which include Adrift In Tokyo, Instant Swamp, and Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, available separately or collectively as a box set. His films can best be described as Read more…
Video Interview: Antony Cummins – Author & Ninja Historian
Antony Cummins disples the many myths surrounding the ninja!
For centuries the legend of the ninja has been steeped in mystery, infused by lies fabricated in Japan throughout the 50′s and 60′s, not to mention the countless films produced in the West and Middle East during the 70′s and 80′s making stars of actors like Sho Kosugi (Pray For Death and Revenge of the Ninja).
The image of the ninja dressed in black from head to toe scurrying up walls with a katana on his back has now Read more…
Exclusive Interview: Nao Nagasawa – Actress, Singer And Idol – Super Sentai And Kamen Rider Heroine
“I want to be in a Hollywood movie in the future.” Nao Nagasawa
Nao Nagasawa (長澤 奈央 ), best known to her fans for her roles in various Super Sentai and Kamen Rider TV shows, is someone with more than just a pretty face and a gorgeous body. She’s been a recording artist, releasing singles like “Kiss, Kiss” and ”Game”, and a dancer. But it’s her skills as an actress were she excels and has even led to her winning the Best Actress Award at the Myrtle Film Festival for her English-speaking lead role in Read more…
Interview: Award Winning Artist Gen Miyamura At ICN Gallery “Image Langue: Linear Code”
“Image Langue: Linear Code” ICN gallery 19 January – 22 February 2012
The latest exhibition at the ICN gallery in London entitled “Image Langue: Linear Code” is perhaps the most intriguing so far. Award winning contemporary artist Gen Miyamura presents an innovative definition to his Bokusho (abstract expressionist calligraphy) art works as the alphabet and attempts to give Sho (calligraphy) new meaning.
It may at first sound like a complicated Read more…
Interview: Anthony Laurent – NYPD Detective Smith In “Hotel Chelsea” – A Film By Hiro Masuda
“It is a memory that will stay with me all my life!” (Anthony Laurent on his first visit to Japan)
Back in October (2011), Diverse Japan was delighted to have been given the opportunity to interview Hiro Masuda, writer and producer of the suspense/horror film Hotel Chelsea (Read interview here). We are very honoured to follow this up with an equally enthralling interview with the film’s leading male actor Anthony Laurent who plays NYPD Detective Smith.
Laurent is an actor with a passion for his craft which is evident in the numerous roles he has played in theater, film and television, including several appearances in the hugely popular American TV series Read more…
Interview: Hiro Masuda – Actor, Writer And Film Producer
“I hope I can keep being a bridge between Japan and overseas co-production.” (Hiro Masuda)
For an independent film, Hotel Chelsea has all the suspense and intrigue of a Hitchcock thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last scene (film review). However, getting this ‘little movie’ off the ground was no easy task for actor, writer and producer, Hiro Masuda.
In an exclusive interview for DJ, Mr. Masuda, founder of Ichigo Ichie Films LLC discusses Read more…
Interview: Shonen Knife – The Influencial All-Female Pop-Punk Band
“I think we can make any kind of people enjoy our performance and be happy.” (Naoko)
On Sunday 11th September 2011 at 18.45 at the Scala in London, DJ had the good fortune of interviewing Japan’s finest all-female band Shonen Knife three hours before they went on stage to give a rousing live performance, which included fan favorites like “ESP”, “Banana Chips” and “Twist Barbie”, as well cover versions of The Ramones classic “The KKK Took My Baby Away”, and “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” taken from their recently released Read more…
Interview: Minoru Kanetsuka Sensei 7th Dan British Aikido Federation
“The most important thing is gasho (press hands together in prayer) and rei (etiquette and good manners).” (Minoru Kanetsuka Sensei)
Born in 1939, aikidoka Minoru Kanetsuka Sensei has taught aikido to bodyguards of the royal household of Nepal and self-defense at a police training school in calcutta. He came to Britain in 1972 and became Technical Director of British Akikiai Federation in 1977.
Over the years, Kanetsuka Sensei has contributed immensely to aikido and has devised a style all of his own whilst stressing the importance of the basic principles and methods of this highly respectable and Read more…
Interview: Mio Himemiya/Mooma – J-Pop Singer/Songwriter, Voice Actress & Race Queen
“I’m like a child. If I’m interested in something, I think about it all the time.” (Mio Himemiya)
Born into an artistic family, Mio was exposed to music, art, and animation at a young age. After graduating from Keio University, she started performing. Not only doing music, Mio has a talent in design, MCing, and modelling. She reached the 1st Rank in Myspace Japan’s “Pretty Collection” contest. In 2010 she began working as a voice actress and started her solo music career as Mooma.
With her beautiful singing voice and a talent for writing lyrics, Mio is set for great things. Read more…
Exclusive Interview: Rina Takeda – Actress Idol And Karate Girl
Interview conducted by Spencer Lloyd Peet
“After working on High Kick Girl and Karate Girl, I feel that there is no difference between ‘real’ martial arts and what we did on those films.” Rina Takeda.
She may be small in stature and unbelievably cute, but action star and real-life Ryukyu Shorin-ryu karate champion, Rina Takeda, is anything but a pussy cat. During filming she has taken falls which Jackie Chan would think twice of doing; and delivered lighting kicks that Bruce Lee would have had trouble deflecting. Her outstanding martial arts prowess and lethal kicks and punches in films such as High Kick Girl, Karate Girl, and Kunoichi, which has left audiences wondering if they were for real, has won her a legion of fans and much praise from critics. Her popularity rises from one film to the next and she is undoubtedly set for international stardom. Read more…
