TJ Expert (86)
My Language Creates Me
My Language Creates Me
By David Nunan
I’VE never met Costica Bradatan, but I would like to. I recently came across a newspaper article he wrote in the International Herald Tribune. I like the International Herald Tribune even though I usually only get to read it when I come across a copy left in a coffee shop or when it is distributed for free on an international flight.
On this occasion, I was flying from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. The flight attendant handed me a copy of the International Herald Tribune and I began leafing through it while waiting for the in-flight movie to begin. But then I came across an article by this man I’d never met or heard of and I immediately forgot about the movie. The article was called “Born Again in a Second Language.” In it, Bradatan talks about what it is like to write in a second language. He begins his article by quoting a French philosopher, activist and writer who wrote: “For any man [or woman] a change of religion is as dangerous a thing as a change of language is for a writer. It may turn out to be a success, but it can also have disastrous consequences.” He goes on to argue that a language is a way of experiencing the world. “The world reveals itself in a certain manner to the Japanese writer, and in quite another to the one who writes in Finnish.” A writer’s language is more than just a tool. It’s a part of who they are. The implication here is that in order to write in another language you have to become a different person.
Building the World’s Best Smart City for the Tokyo Olympics
Building the World’s Best Smart City for the Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO will host the 2020 Olympic Games. Since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan has achieved miraculous advancements in economic growth and infra- structure through the development and application of cutting-edge science and engineering technologies. During the 1970’s and 80’s, air pollution in Tokyo was a major problem, and I often returned disappointed from the blue skies of California. Since then Tokyo has become one of the largest and the most advanced cities in the world in areas such as: cleanliness, safety, dining, accommodation and transportation.
Japan is the world leader in utilizing energy efficiency for the purpose of developing GDP. The use of energy per GDP is less than half of the USA and 4.5 times less than China. Japan has advanced technologies for building a cleaner city.
Standing Up To Culture
Standing Up To Culture
By Daniel Yankelovich
IN a changing world, Japan and the United States face similar challenges even though our histories and cultures are very different. In both nations, the influence of tradition and culture is wearing thin while individual choice grows stronger. This places a heavy burden of responsibility on the individual, more than most people are comfortable with.
In late September, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe wrote an editorial in The Wall Street Journal 1, titled “Unleashing the Power of Womenomics.” He out- lined a series of policies for which the dual purpose is to boost women in the workforce significantly and thereby also raise fertility rates.
Prime Minister Abe is well aware that combining these two goals runs counter to the long-held belief that female participation in the labor force lowers fertility rates. He cites a number of government policies that would make his twin goals compatible. These include: expanded day-care and nursing-care services, flexible work arrangements and better pay for women.
文化への抵抗
ダニエル・ヤンケロビッチ
この変化の時代にあって、日本と米国は、歴史的文 化的背景が大いに異なるとはいえ、似たような問
題 に直面している。日米のいずれでも、伝統と文 化がすたれつつある一方で、個人の選択が優先されるよ うになっている。この流れにより、多くの人が望む以上 に個人に重い責任がのしかかっている。 この秋、ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル紙に安部 晋三首相の寄稿があった。タイトルは「安部総理、ウィ メノミクスのパワーを解き放つ」。女性の雇用を大幅に増 やし出生率上昇を促す一連の政策をまとめたものだ。
この2つの目標を掲 げることが、女性の雇用増は出生率 を下げるという長く正しいとされてきた論理に反するこ とを、安部首相は十分承知している。そのうえで彼は、 この2つの目標を両立させるための多くの政策に言及し ている。デイケアや介護サービスの拡大、柔軟な就労形態、 女性の賃金増などである。
Moments in Construction
Moments in Construction
by H. Suzuki
TJ: Can you describe the process of taking photographs at a construction site?
SUZUKI: Shooting in monochrome is an expression by a single color consisting of light and shadow or white and black. The subject is achromatized and the composition of the picture is decided based on white (light) and black (shadow). The light and angle of the Sun, which is the origin of light, is one of the most important elements. Therefore, the time of the shoot and the weather are critical.
TJ: What are the biggest lessons you have learned about photography since you started?
SUZUKI: I try to find the perfect date and time for ideal light. However, sometimes I can achieve more in unexpected circumstances. Therefore, I have learned that I should be proud of myself for behaving casually.
TJ: 建設現場での写真撮影について説明してい ただけますか?
ス ズキ : モノクロームの撮影は光と影、白から 黒への一色表現です。撮影する被写体の色を消 すことは白い色は光、黒い色は影から一枚の絵 の構図を決めるということ。光の発信源である 太陽の光と角度は最重要項目ですね。だから撮 影の時間の決定と天候がポイント。
TJ: 写真撮影で学んだ一番大きな教訓は?
スズキ : 自分の決めた日程と時間に思いどおり の光が指すかどうか? しかし、想定してない 状況から想定以上の収穫があるので思いついた 自分に正直に行動をとる自分に自信をというこ とが学びです。
Synopsis of Haitian Art
Synopsis of Art by Artists of Haitian Descent in the Diaspora –– Part II
By Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas
One of Haiti’s greatest exports to the world is its beautiful art. To illustrate the four major trends of the Haitian diaspora as outlined in the 2013 Summer Issue of the Tokyo Journal, Haitian art experts Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas cast a closer look on the works of a few selected artists.
THE NAIVE VEIN
When looking at a naive painting a most striking element is the raw quality and directness of the composition and design. Everything is kept simple. What you see is what it is about. Lines and colors are combined to convey a clear image where each element appears necessary for the edification and justification of the whole. As few ornaments as possible are used, making the bluntness of expression look even more evident. The lack of artifice and hid- den meanings maximizes the connection between the picture and observers, many of who lose no time trying to decipher some cryptic iconography or unclear symbols that require initiation rites or specific knowledge. This simplicity can baffle onlookers who try so hard to complicate things based on their own bias or collective pool of references, instead of opening up their minds and let- ting themselves become impregnated by the unique visual and emotional experience that a primitive painting can achieve when it is made by someone genuinely awestricken by an inner vision or a natural phenomenon.
This simplicity sometimes appears in the flatness of shapes. It is as if the artists use some type of magnifying glass that enables them to bring forth every element of a scene as though each one is of equal importance. This way nothing is left behind for the benefit of the observer who can see the relevance of every item as it is conceived in the artist’s mind.The idea is not to judge but rather to take everything indiscriminately at face value.
Natsuko Toda
Movie Subtitling with Natsuko Toda
Interview series with Japan’s most renowned translator of foreign films and interpreter for Hollywood stars, Natsuko Toda
Interview by Miyuki Kawai
TJ: What do you think is the future of subtitling?
TODA: There are not so many subtitlers anymore, and recently people have come to prefer dubbed movies. I believe subtitling will survive, but the number of subtitled movies will decline in the future.
TJ: That’s true. But isn’t it also true that the number of minor movies or TV programs to be subtitled has been increasing?
TODA: Yes, but the payment is very low even though it requires the same amount of effort.
戸田奈津子が語る映画字幕
日本で最も著名な字幕翻訳家でありハリウッドスターの通訳も務める 戸田奈津子のインタビュー・シリース
インタビュー:川合美雪
TJ: 字幕は今後どうなっていくと思われます か?
トダ: 最近は字幕より吹替えを好む人が多く なっています。もちろん字幕は残るとは思いま すが、数は減っていくでしょうね。
TJ: 確かにそうですが、マイナーな映画やテレ ビ番組の数は増えていますね。
トダ: でも同じ手間をかけても作業の単価はと ても安いでしょう?
Alice Cooper Photo Retrospective
On Tour with Bob Gruen
Alice Cooper Retrospective
I first photographed Alice Cooper in 1971 when he played at the legendary Fillmore East in New York City. It was one of the most theatrical shows I have ever seen. Alice goes a lot further than just standing and singing into a microphone; he acts out each song with simple but effective props. During the show he was strapped in a straightjacket, tries to break out, and ends the show in an electric chair. In later shows the electric chair was replaced by Alice getting hanged by the neck from a gallows. Later came a guillotine, which remains part of his act today. Alice has said that his show is about being the bad guy punished for his evil deeds, like a real life horror movie with a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack.
By 1973 I was working more with Alice, who up to that point had several top 10 hits and was becoming a well-known act. The band had rented a mansion in Connecticut and I photographed them there. One of my favorite pictures is Alice looking very comfortable wearing a jacket with stuffed white rats running up the front and on the sleeves. On another occasion Alice came to my studio with the great radio DJ Wolfman Jack to make a Christmas picture with Alice as Santa Claus and Wolfman Jack sitting on his lap like a little kid.
Junko Koshino
Tokyo's Fashion Queen and Tony Award-nominee Junko Koshino, renowned for her fashion,
costume and uniform design, shares the latest in Tokyo's fashion scene.
Junko Koshino
TJ: What was the first article of clothing you ever designed?
KOSHINO: When I was in the third grade I made a skirt. I grew up in a house with a mother who owned a clothing shop; therefore, designing and needlework were very familiar to me. I made a simple skirt that was just arranged with an elastic band and displayed it in the shop without permission.
TJ: What are your favorite colors to work with and why?
KOSHINO: Red and yellow, or white and black; I like contrasts. I also like the contrast between light and shadow, circles and squares and day and night, etc. I believe that the circle is the shape God made and the square is the shape humans made.
ファッション・衣装・ユニフォームのデザインで知られ、 トニー賞にもノミネートされた東京のファションクイーン コシノ・ジュンコさんに、 東京のファッション・シーンの最新情報を語っていただきました。
TJ: 生まれて初めてデザインした服は？
コシノ: 小学校３年生の時にスカートを作りま した。母が衣料店を経営していたので、デザイ ンや針仕事はずっと身近なものでした。だからウエストにゴムを着けた簡単なスカートを自分で作って、勝手に母の店のディスプレイに飾ったんです。
TJ: 一番好きな色は？その理由は？
コシノ: 基本的には赤と黒です。私はコントラスト、バランスを重視します。光と影、丸と四
角、昼と夜など対極のコンセプトです。たとえ ば丸は神が作ったものの形、四角は人間が作っ
たものの形。赤と黒だけでなく、黄と黒、白と黒といった組み合わせも好きです。
On Tour with Bob Gruen Elton John Retrospective
On Tour with Bob Gruen
Elton John Retrospective
IN 1970 I was hired to photograph a young piano player from England who was going to open a show at the New York City’s Fillmore East theatre for Leon Russell. His name was Elton John. I remember thinking how hard it is to get an interesting picture of someone playing piano. It’s a very large instrument and the player is usually just sitting behind it. But Elton John is not the usual piano player. He is one of the most exciting performers I’ve worked with. He doesn’t just sit at his piano. He jumps around it and on top of it. Sometimes he leaps straight into the air with only his hands on the keyboard. And he’s still playing! He also wears onstage the most flamboyant and colorful costumes and outrageous glasses.
I enjoyed working with Elton for the next several years. At the Fillmore in the spring of 1971 I got a nice and arty double-frame photo of him with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Then I photographed him twice at Carnegie Hall, and later at Madison Square Garden. At Carnegie Hall, his mother made a surprise backstage visit.
Moments in Construction
Moments in Construction
by H. Suzuki
TJ: What makes a good picture stand out from an average photo?
Suzuki: A good picture moves viewers. Good pictures extract the intention of objects and invoke the feelings of viewers. In other words, a dialogue between objects and viewers is enabled.
TJ: Location and weather conditions seem to be crucial aspects to a successful picture. How do you handle these unpredictable factors?
Suzuki: I can’t control them, so it can’t be helped. But I think I am lucky in terms of unpredictable factors. For four years, I had a lot of luck. For example, I took a picture of 2,000 people gathered at a morning meeting in a construction area. Although such meetings were planned to be held regularly after that, they didn’t happen again. I need to rely on luck and instinct.
TJ: 優れた写真と普通の写真を隔てるものは何 でしょうか。
スズキ: 迫ってくるものがあるかないかの違い ですね。被写体の意図を引き出し、見る人の共 感を呼ぶ。つまり被写体と見る人の対話を可能 にするのが優れた写真でしょう。
TJ: ロケ―ションや天候は写真の成否に重要な 影響を与えると思われますが、こうした予測不 可能な要因にどのように対応なさっています か?
スズキ: これはどうしようもないことです。で も、この4年間の経験を考えると、僕はツイて いたと思います。たとえば、ある工事現場で 2000 人が集まった朝礼の写真を撮りました。 その後もこの朝礼は定期的に開かれるはずでし たが、結局 2000 人もの人が集まることは二度 とありませんでした。運と直感は大事だと思い ます。
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