Are “Racist” and “Sexist” Still Insults?
When virtually everyone is “racist” and “sexist,” it seems, no one is.
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The City & the City
Japanese filmmakers once used city settings to address the loneliness and futility of modern life. Now, they are becoming symbols of hope.
China’s Lost Tradition of Journalism
China once had a rich tradition of independent journalism. What’s happened to it?
Shunga: Beyond “Edo Porn”
Shunga were highly erotic Japanese paintings and woodblock prints characterized by meticulously detailed genitalia, astonishing physical contortions, and occasional witty dialogue or commentary.
The Mad Women in the Attic
Gothic literature is strewn with the tortured genius of women at the mercy of the restrictions placed on them by society — and their own minds.
The Artist of Japan’s Bloody Era
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Japan’s last great printmaker, captured the spirit of an age of carnage.
Don’t touch this.
FICTION | Honor
Tales grow in the telling, they say, and so they do, and yours most of all, a tale that has grown to become legend.
Exploring the Malaysian Jungle With Someone Who Hates the Malaysian Jungle
So you want to explore the Malaysian jungle? Let me start by saying this is a terrible idea. Almost everything here will try to bite you, sting you, or suck your blood.
The Fire Sale of Ideas
Which ideas should Democrats salvage from the Trump train wreck?
Shuten Dōji: Demon Lord, Hero of the Downtrodden
Why is a Japanese demon lord who devoured women also an underclass hero?
Into the Woods
Why do we relish horrifying tales where jealous mothers kill their children and little girls dance themselves to death? Because the darkness in stories helps us confront the darkness inside ourselves.
FICTION | BETA
“Are you alive?” he asks me. What is alive? I say. He can’t answer me.
Who’s the Second Most Powerful Person in China?
Trying to identify the second most powerful person in Xi Jinping’s China is a difficult task.
At Nightmare’s Edge, Lifelike Dolls
Thousands of people collect hyperrealistic vinyl babies – but how do they sleep at night?
In Praise of Plum Blossoms
Lost and found over the centuries, the Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom, one of the earliest printed art books in the world, is itself a small miracle.
How Toxic Positivity Is Stifling Japan
Japan can be a place of repressed psyches where it’s difficult to express negative feelings.
Antiracism is Racist
By encouraging everyone to see the world through a racial lens and discriminating against people on the basis of skin color, the ideology of antiracism is inherently racist.
FICTION | The Tunnel
She was going to bring it in and get us all sick, and a quarantine with secret hook-ups is not a quarantine at all.
These violent delights have violent ends.
