Old Tokyo is a fascinating pictorial history of modern day Tokyo depicted through e-hagaki (Japanese postcards).

From the site:

With the establishment of the Meiji Restoration, Japan’s modernization began. Many modern practices, conveniences, and processes were imported, adopted, or acquired, including the Western-style printing press1 that would allow for the rapid reproduction and dissemination of artwork worldwide. Dutch traders introduced photography into Japan during the waning years of the Tokugawa shogunate; Japan’s modern postal service was formed in 1871. These three developments combined together to create the e-hagaki, the Japanese picture postcard, the earliest of which displayed a unique blending of Old and New Japan.

Similar in style to Western-style picture postcards then in vogue, e-hagaki combined Western technology with Japanese sensibilities. The subject matter was wide and varied: famous landmarks, tourist destinations, popular past times, scenes of everyday life, and important historical moments were all portrayed in color at a time when color photography did not exist. Long experience with traditional woodblock printing, ukiyo-e, enabled Japanese artists to reproduce subtle tinted colors, sometimes applied by hand, in ways that had not been before seen in the Western printing. Reproductions of ukiyo-e were realistically limited to a few hundred copies; the Western collotype printing process and, later, the offset printing press, made possible reproductions numbering in the thousands.

The results were a plethora of very beautiful, inspired artistic renditions that even the later development of the color lithographic process could not match. This site comprises a sampling of e-hagaki, and other Tokyo postcard images, from the early years of the 20th century.

The above picture is of Ginza crosing in 1903, the beginnings of what was to become Tokyo’s most sought after and expensive retails real estate - where today a square metre can set you back tens of thousands of dollars. In the background on the left hand side ofthe picture is the Hattori clock tower, home of K. Hattori & Co., the company who would later introduce later introduce the brand name “Seiko” to the world.

The above picture taken from the 1907 Meiji Industrial Exposition at Ueno Park shows the first swimming pool in Japan.

More awazing photos, maps and Tokyo history can be found at http://oldtokyo.com/

Tim Ferris, author of the Four Hour Workweek, demonstrates the essential skills of being a student in Japan - learnt while on a high school exchange programme. Shown here, in order of difficultly is The Wheel, The Helicopter, The Drummer, The Pincher and The Flip.

and here is the real deal (note - an essential part of mastering these tricks is the ability to appreciate speed j-rock)…

An interesting look at Tokyo juxtaposing a car-ride on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway taken from Tarkowsky‘s 1972 film Solaris with the same ride filmed in 2005.

http://www.fischerelsani.net/kelvin/tme_v.html

Via vvork.

The New York Times has an interesting audio visual piece on Japanese photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki, who is suddenly gaining a bit of interest again in the US, for his documenting of couples having sex and the peeping toms who observed them in Tokyo parks in the 1970s.

“What is so striking … is that everyone is crossing the line. The couples who engage in sex in public, the peeping toms who tresspass on that intimacy, he photographer who has betrayed his acquaintances’ trust, and of course, us, so willing to look at what was not meant for us to see.”

Yoshiyuki’s exhibition at Tokyo’s Komai Gallery in 1979 was an underground success. For the exhibition the photos were blown up to life-size, the gallery lights were turned off, and visitors to the gallery were given flashlights. But shorly after the show, fearing recriminations, Yoshiyuki destroyed the prints.

The photos, simply entitled The Park, resurfaced last year, with the publication of The Photobook: A History, Volume II, by Martin Parr. Parr writes:

“The Park is “a brilliant piece of social documentation, capturing perfectly the loneliness, sadness, and desperation that so often accompany sexual or human relationships in a big, hard metropolis like Tokyo.”

Gallery link: Yossi Milo Gallery

Via Funkalicious

There’s another sunset event happening at Enoshima this weekend. They are always good to go to - spectacular venue and a friendly, up for it interesting crowd… like these cool cats…

Here are a couple more snaps from the last event…

Superpitcher is in town. And to honour the fact, we bring you an oldie, but a goodie, from the man himself.

Listen to the classic Superpitcher Beats in Space Mix.

Playlist:
1. Superpitcher - Tell Me About It - Kompakt
2. DJ Koze - Hicc Up - Kompakt
3. Isolee - My H-Matic - Playhouse
4. Wighnomy Brothers - Frelekksemplar - Freude-am-Tanzen
5. Odyssey - Odyssey - My Best Friend
6. Baxendale - I Built This City (Michael Mayer Mix) - Kompakt
7. Justus Kohncke - Krieg - Kompakt
8. Trulz & Robin - Turn My Head - Planet Noise
9. Pom Pom - Pom Pom 21 - Pom Pom
10. Tocotronic - Pure Vernunft Darf Niemals Siegan (Superpitcher & Wasserman Maxi Mix) - Kompakt
11. Heiko Voss - Running Free - Firm

Just listened to an interview with Michael Hirschorn about his piece in the Atlantic Monthly about “Contemporary Quirk,” worth a read if you’re into indie film/music/culture.

He’s catching some flack for allegedly “attacking” talented directors like Wes Anderson and well-meaning artist/entertainers like Ira Glass of This American Life, but I understand where he’s coming from. In the interview, Hirschorn says that he likes, respects and enjoys the quirky charachters and meandering non-event storylines everywhere now (see Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, Napoleon Dynamite), but what started out as fringe culture (think “Ducky” from Pretty in Pink) now dominates the big and small screen. And while these fairly benign non-stories are usually fun today’s talent is capable of much more, if they didn’t use quirk as a crutch.

There’s an undercurrent of baby-boomer melodrama here (or maybe that’s the Gen X cynicism he writes about), but he’s right: instead of making movies with gravity and meaning, today’s top talent tell stories of hanging out and not much else.

Wonder how long it will take for the Big One to take it all down.

I’m still blown away at how over the top Hello Kitty Puroland was. As I said before, I was expecting an excruciating day of rusty bumper cars and chiffon colors, but was shocked to find a technicolor Vegas acid trip instead. You’d have psychedelic Cirque du Soleil moments like this:

And then absurd battles with cheeseburgers the next:

Then there was this forest-themed toilet.

See that sign to the left? It’s pointing to an outhouse with a freaking ANIMATRONIC BEAR taking a dump! (While humming/grunting “Home on the Range,” no less). Don’t believe me? Checkit:

Apparently, in Kittyland, bears DON’T shit in the woods. Well actually, that’s not entirely true – there seemed to be some kind of bears-relieving-themselves-in-nature theme going on in murals on the walls.

Am I lying? And can someone please tell me what the hell that organ grinder monkey is doing?

I checked out the Hitotsubo Photography Exhibition at Guardian Garden this morning, and now wished I had seen it earlier so I could have recommended it for this week’s upcoming HYPTYO list (Closes Thursday, Sep 6th) . I’m not usually a fan of art competitions (you could argue that as an oxymoron, actually), but the photography here was great. Each artists was given 1.82 x 1.82m space to show their photographs. Most were interesting, but one of my favorites was Susumu Shimonishi:

It’s a simple idea: travel the world with a remote shutter release, capturing self portraits in various places (Istanbul, NYC, Disneyland).

But may fave part is at the top left corner of his space. Called “I Am On the Air,” that’s exactly what it is: him with a camera behind TV reporters in Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, etc.

Another favorite was Yosuke Ashida geometric train designs:

He filmed trains at Shinjuku Station for 6 minutes, printed them, cut them out and then made the above design. A closeup:

Look, as you may have guessed, Blade Runner made a huge impact on me, but c’mon, Ridley. How many versions are you gonna do, anyway? My favorite quote from the recent Reuters piece:

“A good film is like a good book, you might go to the shelf and take it off and revisit it. There are not a lot of films I can do that with from my collection of material,” said Scott, whose other titles include international hits such as the first Alien, Thelma & Louise and Gladiator.

Who approved the pic for this ad? Not the most welcoming gesture I can imagine the good people of India are capable of. Ok, so when you get a little closer, her warm smile wins out, but try walking by this and NOT seeing a woman telling every commuter in Shimbashi Station to fuck off…

We rented a car this weekend to take the kids to a farm in Chiba, but when it rained, we needed an alternative. My wife suggested Sanrio Puro-land, home of the Hello Kitty overload. “I know, I know,” she said, “but it’s indoors, ok?” Normally, this would be grounds for divorce, but I had a headache and my mother was visiting, so I played along.

I am SO glad I did. The kitsch was completely off the charts. Every inch was covered in syrupy cuteness. I was expecting to spend hours waiting in lines for run-down amusement park rides, but Puroland is basically shows full of glittery dance routines somewhere between a Vegas floorshow, a Miyazaki film and that friendly village in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We were right up front, next to the unicorns and jugglers:

I was damn-near giddy, giggling as I walked around snapping shots of every little bizarre detail: Kitty dancers in black pleather mini-skirts; walls painted like library with book titles such as “Pyramids are our Friends” and “Is sound Pink?”; a forest-themed toilet with an animatronic bear taking a dump. Every so often I got self-conscious and though I shouldn’t find this place so fascinating. Then I bumped into a pierced-up gaijin punk, and we both gave a knowing nod. Now I understand why goths have their own day at Disneyland.

There were more than a few japanese teen goths at Puroland, too, but my fave was this guy:

More Kitty reports to come as I sort thru clips and pics. Goth day link lovingly relayed via Boing Boing

I haven’t stopped listening to the new M.I.A. record since I got it last week. Miss Arulpragasam represents one of my trends in music: globetrotting populists who make music on the fly and on the road (think Manu Chao and Diplo). She’s set her sights on becoming the spokesdiva of the 3rd world, and succeeding. The low-tech mix of worldbeat and old-school electro is as vibrant and seizure-inducing as her site and myspace page.

The video for Bird Flu:

A big farewell and R.I.P. to CBGB founder, Hilly Krystal.

Image from Phawker.com

One of the finest mixes we’ve heard in a long time, this week’s mix comes from Alex Kid. Born in France, with his Mother being Spanish, he was raised in the Balearic Islands, this Kid is currently one of the names to watch in dance music.

So without further ado, here is the Hyptyo MiX of the Week.

Thanks to Jami for the heads up on this one (via Blentwell. I know we’ve blogged briefly about Blentwell before, but if you haven’t yet checked it out, it’s one of the oldest and best DJ mix sites. Respect.).

Catch Jami, yours truly, Bob Miyagi and a host of other DJs at Soft in Shibuya tonight. More details here.

Ping Magazine has a great interview with Richie Hawtin:
A lot of what we do with Minus stems from my kind of experiments with sounds, like what I did with the Plastikman albums. When working with sound, and as my songs don’t contain too much information, I kind of visualise them and place them in a three-dimensional space. For me, to fully understand how these sounds interact physically or in these virtual spaces is to go and see another artist’s representation: standing in front of a Rothko or walking around a sculpture of Serra, go towards his huge pieces of metal and get the weight of the situation. That enables me sometimes to formulate a musical idea. It’s a way connecting to our sonic expression…

Full interview is here

Hawtin also talks about collaborating with visual artist Ali Demirel, who mostly does the VJing and video work for Hawtin and his label minus, and blew the crowd away at Metamorphose this weekend. See some of Demirel’s work here.

Special Bonus, Richie Hawtin documentary:

Highlights of Metamorphose 2007:

Richie Hawtins late night thumping set, and the graphics that accompanied him.

Lindstrom - very slow and very deep electro disco purity.

DJ Calm’s morning relaxation set.

Model 500 live. Some Model 500 classics, some 80s remixes, and electro breaks.

Madd Professor, early morning dub style

I first heard of Kogoro Kurata through his steampunk laptop. Now the guy is making massive armed robots and this giant hand you see here. If his scale continues to grow at this rate, plan on Godzilla’s new nemesis by next summer.

All links through the venerable Engadget

This weekend was also Koenji Awaodori, my favourite of all festivls in Japan. 12,000 dancers take to the street.

First held in 1957, it is not only the most electric, often feeling more like a rock concert than a cultural festival, but also one of the biggest festivals in Tokyo - attracting 1.2million visitors.

The festival has a pretty interesting site in English here: http://www.koenji-awaodori.com/indexEn.html

I guess what I like most about the Koenji Awa Odori is seeing everyone, both the participants and the onlookers, having such a great time - especially seeing young Japanese getting down enjoying their culture so much - something you don’t really see in the West. Ok, on with the videos, not the best quality, and try to imagine the sound about 10 times louder…

Richie Hawtin stole the show at Metamorphose this weekend. A man who is undoubtedly at the top of his game, it is with great glee we present Richie Hawtin as our mix of the week.

Get it here.

I’ll post more on Metamorphose soon…

Ambient devices like the Beacon to the left deliver information in a soft, subtle way. Think about a wall clock or speedometer – you don’t concentrate on it, but merely glance at it occasionally. Ambient Orbs do the same thing: relay information from your periphereal vision. They were originally designed to follow your stock portfolio (red = bad, green = good), but as Clive Thompson points out in Wired, they can be programmed to follow the weather, pollen count, sailing conditions in your area, or more interestingly, monitor your energy consumption.

Or you could just rock out to the Eagles:

Sunday’s Japan Times had a feature on the awesome rice field paintings we wrote about a few months ago.

Apparently, time is running out to see them in full detail because:

…now in August, the lengths of each kind of rice are different due to their different growth rates. Now, we cannot clearly see the drops falling off the waves, as the yellow rice for the drops is shorter than Tsugaru Roman. So by now the drops have begun sinking into the green background of the Tsugaru Roman.”

A great collection of time lapse clips from the PinK Tentacle .

I have always really loved these simple, yet expressive Stop Motion Studies from David Crawford.

In David’s own words:

“It is said that 90% of human communication is non-verbal. In these photographs, the body language of the subjects becomes the basic syntax for a series of animations exploring movement, gesture, and algorithmic montage. Many sequences document a person’s reaction to being photographed by a stranger. Some smile, others snarl, still others perform. Some pretend not to notice. Underneath all of this are assumptions and unknowns unique to each situation.”

I just saw Joelle Bitton’s “Abstract” installation at Gallery Ef in Asakusa. Pretty cool stuff. The gallery itself is in a 140-year old warehouse that’s been converted into a cafe/bar up front with a small gallery in back. You walk through the cafe and then down a step, then crouch through an Edo-era doorway (maybe comes up to my waist. There in this old, darkened room is a white carpet on the floor and a digital recorder directed at…you.

I don’t know the details, but somehow it films you and then projects your form onto the carpet, with a constantly-changing palette of nature scenes, squiggly lines, and the like. I forgot my camera, so these pics come from Gallery Ef’s site. It’s quite cool, and I LOVE the building itself, but it’s hard for me to say “Drop everything and go” because this is it: one very cool interactive piece int the back of a cool cafe. If you are in Asakusa, tho, this is a must.

After writing about the new Joe Strummer documentary below, I remembered reading somewhere about the punk dicotomy represented by the Clash and the Sex Pistols. I thought it was in this great piece from the New Yorker, but I just re-read it and didn’t find what I was looking for.

The point was that with these two bands, you could already see a rift in the newly-formed punk movement: the Sex Pistols represented nihilism and decrepitude, while the Clash represented earnest anti-establishment sentiment. This rang true with me: I discovered the Clash much later than I’d like to admit, mostly because nihilism appealed to the 13-year-old me much more than activism (I was 8 when London Calling came out, btw). I followed that line all the way into college, really (Pistols to Exploited, then Misfits, Cramps, etc). In retrospect, it was rebellion against my orderly Christian upbringing more than anything else, but once I started looking at the world around me, the Clash made much more sense.

One of the main reasons Joe was (and is) loved so much is because he never lost touch with people or took himself too seriously. Promoters here will tell you how he would stay after shows long after the band had packed up, talking with whomever wanted to speak to him. One of my favorite quotes from Steve Buscemi, of all people (he shows up in a Mescaleros video, actually). He talks about when he first saw the Clash play in the 80’s, Grandmaster Flash was the opening act (!). All the punks screamed “Fuck you!” and Joe came out and berated them, saying “Give the guy a chance!” Damn.

Strummer’s very worthy charity is here

Black & White photos by the venerable Bob Gruen (Look here for more). Above photo from Yottamusic.com

Joe Strummer is all but dieified in the minds of many fans (even stronger among Fujirockers), and the new documentary about his life and career, The Future is Unwritten, will likely draw large crowds. And damn well it should.

I saw a little sneak preview of it the other night and was blown away. There are many Strummer disciples here in Japan, and I’m not one of them, but the guy deserves praise more than most rock stars, for sure (reasons could fill many more posts). And as a document of the punk movement, it’s jaw-droppingly great: amazing footage and editing, but always cutting back to friends and old bandmates sitting around a fire relaying their experiences with the guy. Joe himself does most of the voice over. Was afraid this would turn into a petition for sainthood (there are moments), but overall, director Julien Temple (the guy that did Galstonbury, The Movie) shows Strummer as a real person.

There are too many people and great quotes here to choose from, but for some reason a very stoned Johnny Depp shows up and sounds like a putz:

I keep waiting for him to shout “AAARGH!”

Vuk Cosic made these video game-inspired flags. Man, I gotta renew my passport. And does this mean my kids will have citizenship (and bonus points) in both Nipong AND AmericaInvaderz?

Via We Make Money Not Art

PingMag has an interesting piece on the two Ukiyo-e exhibits presently on display in Tokyo. Both deal with Ukiyo-e’s connection with ghosts, Yokai and other spooky/surreal elements.

Lexicon alert! Heard of BACN? You will. According to Lifehacker and the Social, Bacn is the term to use for the stuff filling your in-box that is neither spam nor mail. Instead it’s:

“the middle class of e-mail,” the stuff that isn’t really spam because it’s not totally unwanted, but isn’t really wanted either.

Think newsletters, recommendations, updates from Amazon, wordpress, eMusic and iTunes. Think messages, announcements and friend requests from Youtube, Facebook and Asoboo. On one hand, they’re annoying filler, but on the other hand, I really want to know what’s now available on eMusic and what old high school buddy found me on Facebook. Problem is, when am I gonna look at all of it? Lifehacker says:

As it is I route bacn to a “when I have time” label in Gmail, and often I never get the time.

Sounds familiar…