Kagawa: Japan Cinephile's House Reborn as Cinema Warehouse; 1,300 DVDs, 1,000 Film Books Open to Public
These items belong to the collection of Junji Nagao, who served as the town's superintendent for a decade from 1994. A former elementary school teacher, Nagao began frequenting movie theaters at a young age. In 2019 he died at the age of 88. His sister, who has managed the house, decided to open it to the public, as she felt his large collection was too good to just dispose of.
With the help of former students and acquaintances of Nagao's, she spent about a year on renovations until the space reopened as KineKura (Cinema warehouse) Nagao-tei in May. The walls of the earthen warehouse-style building are lined with shelves of DVDs of classic films from years past.The collection comprises films mainly spanning the 1940s to 1990s, including those by such masters as Yasujiro Ozu and Akira Kurosawa, with a wide range of genres including comedy, romance, westerns, horror and animation. Among them are also more relatively recent works such as 'Titanic' and the Lord of the Rings series.
Visitors can come and watch DVDs on a projector or read reviews Nagao contributed to a monthly magazine for over a decade.
Reservations are required with a ¥2,000 fee for four hours of use.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
13-07-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kagawa: Japan Cinephile's House Reborn as Cinema Warehouse; 1,300 DVDs, 1,000 Film Books Open to Public
UTAZU, Kagawa — The home of a late cinephile in Utazu, Kagawa Prefecture, has been reborn as a community space housing about 1,300 DVDs and 1,000 movie-related books amassed over decades. These items belong to the collection of Junji Nagao, who served as the town's superintendent for a decade from 1994. A former elementary school teacher, Nagao began frequenting movie theaters at a young age. In 2019 he died at the age of 88. His sister, who has managed the house, decided to open it to the public, as she felt his large collection was too good to just dispose of. With the help of former students and acquaintances of Nagao's, she spent about a year on renovations until the space reopened as KineKura (Cinema warehouse) Nagao-tei in May. The walls of the earthen warehouse-style building are lined with shelves of DVDs of classic films from years collection comprises films mainly spanning the 1940s to 1990s, including those by such masters as Yasujiro Ozu and Akira Kurosawa, with a wide range of genres including comedy, romance, westerns, horror and animation. Among them are also more relatively recent works such as 'Titanic' and the Lord of the Rings series. Visitors can come and watch DVDs on a projector or read reviews Nagao contributed to a monthly magazine for over a decade. Reservations are required with a ¥2,000 fee for four hours of use.
SoraNews24
26-06-2025
- SoraNews24
Fuji TV president to lean heavily into anime production to revive beleaguered network
Is anime the answer or just the only answer he knows? Fuji TV has long had a somewhat bad rep among Japanese television networks. The network itself has made headlines for inappropriate behavior like revealing magic tricks on live TV, adding a countdown ticker for the execution of ISIS hostages, or showing the movie Titanic two weeks in a row days after a sub traveling to the Titanic imploded and killed everyone inside, to name a few. They even pissed off Shohei Ohtani by reporting the location of his newly bought home in California, resulting in my favorite Ohtani clip, where he totally blows off the Fuji TV crew right after winning the World Series. ▼ A guy tries to call Ohtani over to the Fuji TV reporters. Despite Ohtani's euphoric feeling at the moment, you can see his face darken as he mouths something dismissive and then goes the other way, leaving the guy to give a little 'Well, I tried' look to the camera. 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This, of course, turned out to be a fatal flaw when the Nakai scandal drove away all advertisers from Fuji TV. Content creation in the form of anime and dramas is more costly, but offers protection from an exodus of advertisers because they can also generate money by being exported to other countries or through merchandising. There's also the added benefit of anime not having any real humans who can get embroiled in scandals, though Goku was up to some questionable stuff in his early years. ▼ If you've been watching Fuji TV in the early part of 2025, you'll likely have seen public service announcements from NPO AC Japan/Advertising Council Japan, like this one advising everyone to check their heart rates regularly, about 1,000 times because no one else was willing to run ads on the network. Leaning into anime seems like a sensible plan to improve the network's financial situation, and Shimizu said he plans to establish an Anime Business Department to oversee the creation and promotion of it. However, some are accusing him of simply wanting to make more anime because that's all he knows as a former producer of it, all while turning his back on a staple genre of live-action Japanese TV. Readers of the news online had mixed feelings about the plan. Variety shows are very popular in Japan so even many anime fans aren't sure they want to do away with them. 'There's a lot of long-running shows that would be a shame to lose.' 'This whole problem was caused by a variety show, so good riddance.' 'Variety? All they have are quiz shows and those don't need a budget.' 'They don't put much effort into variety shows anymore anyway.' 'The only interesting anime on Fuji TV is Sazae-san, isn't it?' 'Dramas don't make money and the actors are expensive, but anime is cheap.' 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Tokyo Weekender
24-06-2025
- Tokyo Weekender
10 Surprising Facts About Japanese City Pop Icons
City pop isn't just about slick synth lines, driving along seaside highways or rainy nights in neon-lit Tokyo. It's a style of music that captured the essence of a particular moment in late '70s and '80s Japan: an era shaped by economic boom and cultural cross-pollination. Though the term 'city pop' wasn't widely used at the time — and still flies under the radar for many in Japan today — the sound has quietly built a global following in recent years. Beyond the genre's groovy baselines and earworm choruses lies a fascinating web of stories that rarely make it into the spotlight. Some artists dropped instant classics and vanished. Others led double lives — as pro wrestlers, authors or actors. There are unexpected connections to Pokemon, Nintendo and even the Titanic. Here are 10 lesser-known facts about the iconic stars of the city pop genre. How many do you know? List of Contents: #10: Mariya Takeuchi and Tatsuro Yamashita Are City Pop's Power Couple #9: Takako Mamiya Released One Album and Disappeared #8: 'Flyday Chinatown' Singer Yasuha Had a Pro Wrestling Stint #7: Pokémon's Wobbuffet Is Based On Yasuha's Father #6: Mariya Takeuchi and Anri Formed a Duo Called Peach&Apricot #5: Junko Yagami Became June Stanley and Moved to California #4: Tomoko Aran Was Also a Published Author #3: Taeko Ohnuki Wrote Music for Mother 3 and Animal Crossing #2: Hiromi Go Collabed with Yuzuru Hanyu and Played a Disillusioned Salaryman Turned Cowboy #1 Haruomi Hosono's Grandfather Survived the Titanic Related Posts Image courtesy of Daily Shincho Inc #10: Mariya Takeuchi and Tatsuro Yamashita Are City Pop's Power Couple Obviously, you can't talk about city pop without mentioning the iconic, genre-defining song ' Plastic Love ' by Mariya Takeuchi, which essentially kickstarted the genre's rebirth as an international phenomenon when the track was reuploaded onto YouTube. Takeuchi has been married to the Tatsuro Yamashita — another city pop superstar — since 1982, and they have a daughter together. Yamashita is not just her husband, but also the producer behind many of her songs, including 'Plastic Love' and ' Single Again ' from her album Variety . Yamashita even joins her in one of her live performances in the Nippon Budokan in 2000, stealing the show with his instantly-recognizable vocals. Image courtesy of Universal Music Japan #9: Takako Mamiya Released One Album and Disappeared Takako Mamiya is something of a mystery in city pop lore. She released just one single and album, Love Trip , in 1982, which featured tracks like ' Love Trip ' and ' Mayonaka no Joke ' which oozed an aura of sultry, urban sophistication mixed with ennui. Despite its current cult status, the album didn't perform well on the Oricon charts when it first came out, and Mamiya herself vanished from the public eye shortly after getting married. Her disappearance has only added to her mystique, with fans continuing to search for more information about her life. In recent years, Love Trip was highly requested by city pop fans and officially reissued by Tower Records under Universal Music Japan. Image courtesy of Universal Music Japan #8: 'Flyday Chinatown' Singer Yasuha Had a Pro Wrestling Stint Yasuha, also known as Yasuha Ebina, rose to prominence in the early 1980s with her bouncy, lively single ' Flyday Chinatown .' Her story didn't end in the recording studio, and she herself had a bit of a chaotic public presence. She married a well-known rakugo (a type of Japanese verbal comedy) performer Koasa Shunputei, and the couple later went through a high-profile and controversial divorce, which they famously announced at a press conference in front of a golden folding screen. Yasuha later published a tell-all memoir titled Kaiun Rikon — or Good Luck Divorce — about the experience. She also took part in a professional wrestling match in 2008. You can watch her deck it out with martial artist Youji Anjou here … somehow a real piglet gets involved in the fray… #7: Pokemon's Wobbuffet Is Based On Yasuha's Father Adding another unexpected twist to Yasuha's story: Her father, Hayashiya Sanpei I, was a famous rakugo comedian whose distinctive gesture (slapping his forehead) and catchphrase, 'That's the way it is, ma'am!' directly inspired the Pokemon character Wobbuffet. In Japan, Wobbuffet's name, Sonans, mirrors the phrase ' sou-nan-su ' or 'that's the way it is.' Image courtesy of #6: Mariya Takeuchi and Anri Formed a Duo Called Peach&Apricot In 2021, two of the genre's most legendary female stars— Mariya Takeuchi and Anri, a.k.a. Eiko Kawashima — teamed up to form a musical duo called Peach&Apricot. The name is a nod to their earlier hits: Takeuchi's ' Fushigi na Peach Pie ' and Anri's debut album Apricot Jam . They released their first song together, ' Watching Over You ,' on November 3, 2021, reuniting them both with 80s city pop maestro Tetsuji Hayashi. Image courtesy of Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings Inc. #5: Junko Yagami Became June Stanley and Moved to California The voice behind ' Tasogare no Bay City ' (stylized as 黄昏のBAY CITY) is also known as June Stanley. After marrying British music producer John Stanley she has been living in Simi Valley, California, since 1986. In 2022, she became the first Japanese person to be inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame, a prize awarded by a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Tower Records Japan Inc. #4: Tomoko Aran Was Also a Published Author Tomoko Aran, the singer behind ' Midnight Pretenders ,' was not just a musical talent — she was also a writer. In 1985, she published a collection of short stories titled Sabishigariya no Omocha Bako ( Imitation Lonely ). Over the years, she also released a children's book, Soshiki-gokko ( Pretend Funeral ), and an essay collection called Koi no Road Sign ( Road Signs for Your Love ). Perhaps the typewriter on the cover of her renowned album Fuyu Kukan was a secret nod to her authorship? Image courtesy of Tower Records Japan Inc. #3: Taeko Ohnuki Wrote Music for Mother 3 and Animal Crossing Taeko Ohnuki, known for her refined, atmospheric voice on tracks like '4:00 A.M. ' and 'Tokai,' remained active in music long after the initial city pop wave. In 2006, she performed ' We Miss You ~ The Theme of Love ~ ' for Mother 3 , the cult classic Game Boy Advance RPG. She also sang the end credits song for Animal Crossing: The Movie , tying her music to two of Nintendo's most beloved franchises. #2: Hiromi Go Collabed with Yuzuru Hanyu and Played a Disillusioned Salaryman Turned Cowboy Hiromi Go, one of city pop's early stars, continues to appear in surprising places. In 2014, he performed live during Fantasy on Ice, a touring Japanese ice show that featured Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu. Together, they performed Go's emotional ballad 'Ienai yo' ('I Can't Say It'). Earlier in his career, Hiromi Go also appeared in a 1994 Canadian film titled Samurai Cowboy , where he plays Yutaka Sato, a salaryman who becomes disillusioned with the hustle of Tokyo and moves to Montana to live out his dream of becoming a cowboy. Image courtesy of Tower Records Japan Inc. #1 Haruomi Hosono's Grandfather Survived the Titanic The ' Koi Wa Momoiro ' singer — as well as a founding member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra — has a family story as legendary as his music. His grandfather, Masabumi Hosono, was the only Japanese survivor of the Titanic. Though he escaped with his life, he was shamed back home for not going down with the ship. However, his grandson would later go on to leave a legacy, fusing funk and synthpop into the genre-defining sound that helped put city pop on the map. Needless to say, we would have missed out a lot if he had perished in the Titanic! Related Posts A Complete Guide to City Pop 7 Songs That Sound Like Mariya Takeuchi's 'Plastic Love' City Pop's Endless Summer Miki Matsubara: A City Pop Icon | Spotlight
