William Andrews
@william-andrews.bsky.social
Working on: sociocultural history, radicalism, theatre, countercultures, New Left, memory, anti-Olympics, urbanism. Book on Adachi Masao out soon. PhD on 1960s Japan in progress. https://www.williamandrewswriter.com
The Japanese avant-garde has long had a complicated relationship with commercialism (v. Terayama Shuji and Parco, etc.), but angura actor and butoh artist Maro Akaji fronting a winter campaign for United Arrows (with his son and daughter-in-law) was not something I expected to see any time soon.
December 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The Japanese avant-garde has long had a complicated relationship with commercialism (v. Terayama Shuji and Parco, etc.), but angura actor and butoh artist Maro Akaji fronting a winter campaign for United Arrows (with his son and daughter-in-law) was not something I expected to see any time soon.
NHK is broadcasting a two-part documentary about the Japanese Red Army. It features an interview with the group's former leader, Shigenobu Fusako – her first mainstream media appearance since her release from prison in 2022. www.web.nhk/tv/an/mikaik...
December 1, 2025 at 7:50 AM
NHK is broadcasting a two-part documentary about the Japanese Red Army. It features an interview with the group's former leader, Shigenobu Fusako – her first mainstream media appearance since her release from prison in 2022. www.web.nhk/tv/an/mikaik...
Artist Yoshinao Satoh spliced thousands of newspaper clippings and Steve Reich music into a transfixing short animation, Papers (1991). The result is "a mass-media collage that seems to anticipate the age of information overload". aeon.co/videos/japan...
November 26, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Artist Yoshinao Satoh spliced thousands of newspaper clippings and Steve Reich music into a transfixing short animation, Papers (1991). The result is "a mass-media collage that seems to anticipate the age of information overload". aeon.co/videos/japan...
Zengakuren has seemingly cemented its split from parent organization Chukaku-ha by doing what any New Left group does: publish its own newspaper. mosakusha.com?p=12411
November 19, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Zengakuren has seemingly cemented its split from parent organization Chukaku-ha by doing what any New Left group does: publish its own newspaper. mosakusha.com?p=12411
Very pleased to receive my copy of this comprehensive look at the work of Yanagi Yukinori. It includes an interview with Yanagi surveying his career as well as new essays by Bert Winther-Tamaki, Jane Farver, and Reiko Tomii. I translated several texts in the book. blum-books.com/products/yuk...
November 16, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Very pleased to receive my copy of this comprehensive look at the work of Yanagi Yukinori. It includes an interview with Yanagi surveying his career as well as new essays by Bert Winther-Tamaki, Jane Farver, and Reiko Tomii. I translated several texts in the book. blum-books.com/products/yuk...
Reposted by William Andrews
I wrote this piece about Tamaki Yuichiro's recent rise to populist fame and how centrists are paving the way for a more anti-establishment politics (against their better judgments)
The center’s self-defeating politics
As Japan’s far-right gains political and ideological force, can the center hold? It is a familiar question, one that is now rapidly gaining salience after Takaichi Sanae was elected leader of the Libe...
www.tokyoreview.net
November 14, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I wrote this piece about Tamaki Yuichiro's recent rise to populist fame and how centrists are paving the way for a more anti-establishment politics (against their better judgments)
Reposted by William Andrews
I spoke to Paul Schrader and Alan Poul about the Japan premiere of MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS for the JT. There will be additional screenings of the film in Tokyo this weekend, tickets for which go on sale at noon today.
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
A 40-year wait for ‘Mishima’ ends at TIFF
Paul Schrader’s 1985 biopic of the radical author Yukio Mishima finds its Japanese audience at last.
www.japantimes.co.jp
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I spoke to Paul Schrader and Alan Poul about the Japan premiere of MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS for the JT. There will be additional screenings of the film in Tokyo this weekend, tickets for which go on sale at noon today.
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
Reposted by William Andrews
"We also inaugurate a new section in the magazine of intergenerational transmission entitled “Learning With Our Elders,” in which an activist/militant shares with us something they learn from a past mistake or failure. We are honored to begin with a text by Fusako Shigenobu."
We are happy to share with you our new issue "Building Trans Communities" (November–December 2025), where we mobilize collective embodiments and solidarities against transphobia around the world.
Order your copy here: thefunambulist.net/shop/62-buil...
Order your copy here: thefunambulist.net/shop/62-buil...
November 3, 2025 at 11:04 AM
"We also inaugurate a new section in the magazine of intergenerational transmission entitled “Learning With Our Elders,” in which an activist/militant shares with us something they learn from a past mistake or failure. We are honored to begin with a text by Fusako Shigenobu."
Reposted by William Andrews
This scene captures the quiet magic of Tokyo’s unplanned, human-scaled backstreets—where cars are welcome only as guests, weaving their way gently through pedestrians and cyclists. Streets like these remind us that vibrancy and human connection are at the heart of every truly liveable, lovable city.
November 2, 2025 at 4:45 AM
This scene captures the quiet magic of Tokyo’s unplanned, human-scaled backstreets—where cars are welcome only as guests, weaving their way gently through pedestrians and cyclists. Streets like these remind us that vibrancy and human connection are at the heart of every truly liveable, lovable city.
Reposted by William Andrews
YIDFF 2025 – report 5: The Future of Dialogue: Yoshida Dormitory, Kyoto University
asian-docs.com/2025/11/02/y...
asian-docs.com/2025/11/02/y...
YIDFF 2025 – report 5: The Future of Dialogue: Yoshida Dormitory, Kyoto University
YIDFF 2025 preview here, report 1 here, report 2 here, report 3 here, report 4 here The Yoshida Dormitory at Kyoto University is the oldest student dormitory still in use in Japan. It consists of t…
asian-docs.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:29 PM
YIDFF 2025 – report 5: The Future of Dialogue: Yoshida Dormitory, Kyoto University
asian-docs.com/2025/11/02/y...
asian-docs.com/2025/11/02/y...
Someone needs to do a deep dive into recent representations of Yoshiwara. The latest example is Tales of Edo Oiran, an immersive theatre event: "a beautiful, fleeting tale of the glamorous courtesans and the lively residents of the red-light district." 1/ immersivefort.com/show/tales-o...
November 1, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Someone needs to do a deep dive into recent representations of Yoshiwara. The latest example is Tales of Edo Oiran, an immersive theatre event: "a beautiful, fleeting tale of the glamorous courtesans and the lively residents of the red-light district." 1/ immersivefort.com/show/tales-o...
New reading for the autumn.
October 19, 2025 at 6:32 AM
New reading for the autumn.
A very insightful review of Adachi Masao's most recent film, Escape: "It's a work of genuine conviction made by an artist who has lived his politics, and it's a haunting and moving film, one that insists revolution is not a historical event but a lifelong condition." icsfilm.org/festivals/ne...
New York 2025 review: Escape (Masao Adachi)
"A work of genuine conviction made by an artist who has lived his politics." "A sunflower, even when cut down, still stands upright." Escape, the latest
icsfilm.org
October 8, 2025 at 11:23 AM
A very insightful review of Adachi Masao's most recent film, Escape: "It's a work of genuine conviction made by an artist who has lived his politics, and it's a haunting and moving film, one that insists revolution is not a historical event but a lifelong condition." icsfilm.org/festivals/ne...
While the 1970 Osaka expo attracted febrile opposition from Japanese artists, the response to the soon-to-close 2025 expo was more muted. An exhibition at Wako University revisits the 1970 anti-expo movement from the perspective of religion and the avant-garde. www.wako.ac.jp/library/news...
October 7, 2025 at 7:03 AM
While the 1970 Osaka expo attracted febrile opposition from Japanese artists, the response to the soon-to-close 2025 expo was more muted. An exhibition at Wako University revisits the 1970 anti-expo movement from the perspective of religion and the avant-garde. www.wako.ac.jp/library/news...
Tosho Shimbun is to shutter next March, bringing to a close the almost 80-year history of the newspaper, which mainly publishes book reviews and author interviews. toshoshimbun.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Tosho Shimbun is to shutter next March, bringing to a close the almost 80-year history of the newspaper, which mainly publishes book reviews and author interviews. toshoshimbun.com
Reposted by William Andrews
In the third instalment of my Japanese Sci-fi History newsletter, I conclude my two part article on the connection between SF and The Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970,
open.substack.com/pub/elikpwil...
#worldexpo #osaka #expo70
#japanese #scifi #history
open.substack.com/pub/elikpwil...
#worldexpo #osaka #expo70
#japanese #scifi #history
JSF#3: The Sci-fi Creators Who Made Osaka Expo ’70 (part 2/2)
How Japanese SF Critiqued Asia's First World's Fair
open.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:59 AM
In the third instalment of my Japanese Sci-fi History newsletter, I conclude my two part article on the connection between SF and The Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970,
open.substack.com/pub/elikpwil...
#worldexpo #osaka #expo70
#japanese #scifi #history
open.substack.com/pub/elikpwil...
#worldexpo #osaka #expo70
#japanese #scifi #history
Both Paul Schrader and Mishima Yukio seem chuffed that their film is finally going to screen in Japan.
October 2, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Both Paul Schrader and Mishima Yukio seem chuffed that their film is finally going to screen in Japan.
Reposted by William Andrews
"Mishima: A life in Four Chapters", directed by Paul Schrader, will get its first screening in Japan at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Schrader plans to attend. That's 40 years after its release, and the 100th anniversary of Mishima's birth. www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/cine...
映画「MISHIMA」完成から４０年後に日本初上映へ…三島由紀夫生誕１００年の節目に東京国際映画祭で
【読売新聞】 １０月２７日に開幕する第３８回東京国際映画祭で、日本とアメリカの一流スタッフが集結して製作した１９８５年の映画「ＭＩＳＨＩＭＡ」（ポール・シュレイダー監督、原題「Mishima: A life in Four Chap
www.yomiuri.co.jp
October 1, 2025 at 6:04 AM
"Mishima: A life in Four Chapters", directed by Paul Schrader, will get its first screening in Japan at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Schrader plans to attend. That's 40 years after its release, and the 100th anniversary of Mishima's birth. www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/cine...
The poet Tony Harrison has died. I revisited his poem V, a reflection on grave vandalism in his native Leeds, and preserved in a film shown on TV in 1987. At a time of social divisions, this critique of our vacuous yet entrenched notions of "versus" feels relevant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPut...
Harrison V Part 1
YouTube video by realthedeal33
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 12:25 PM
The poet Tony Harrison has died. I revisited his poem V, a reflection on grave vandalism in his native Leeds, and preserved in a film shown on TV in 1987. At a time of social divisions, this critique of our vacuous yet entrenched notions of "versus" feels relevant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPut...
Kurdish migrants face hostility as Japan wrestles with demographic crisis: “With their allies in the media, they turned this into a public safety issue, but they made no effort to actually engage with us.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
‘My kids are too scared to go outside’: Kurdish migrants face hostility as Japan wrestles with demographic crisis
Antagonism toward migrant communities visible in the UK, Europe and the US appears to be spreading to Japan
www.theguardian.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Kurdish migrants face hostility as Japan wrestles with demographic crisis: “With their allies in the media, they turned this into a public safety issue, but they made no effort to actually engage with us.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Reposted by William Andrews
Gentō and mine protests' screenings in Yamagata (2019)
asian-docs.com/2025/09/25/g...
asian-docs.com/2025/09/25/g...
Gentō and mine protests’ screenings in Yamagata (2019)
Today I’m posting a translation of my piece on gentō (magic lanterns) and mine protests originally published in 2019 in Italian on Alias (Saturday supplement of Il Manifesto) In December 1959…
asian-docs.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Gentō and mine protests' screenings in Yamagata (2019)
asian-docs.com/2025/09/25/g...
asian-docs.com/2025/09/25/g...
The fallout over a sexual assault accusation has led to a major split in Japan's biggest student movement throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2025/09/24/z...
Zengakuren splits and YouTube channel ends in fallout over sexual assault accusation
The far-left group Chūkaku-ha issued an extraordinary statement on 11 September announcing that a leading member of its youth wing, Ishida Mayumi, had been dismissed from his senior positions in th…
throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The fallout over a sexual assault accusation has led to a major split in Japan's biggest student movement throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2025/09/24/z...
New must-buy for readers interested in Japan's Long Sixties, reading the period through the framework of the iconic "snake dance" protest style: Snake People: Zigzag Demonstration, or the Genealogy of Tactics by Sakai Takashi rakuhoku-pub.jp/products/37
『スネーク・ピープル――ジグザグデモ、あるいは戦術の系譜』 酒井隆史
フランスデモ、座り込み、洗濯デモ、棺桶デモ…かつてのデモは多様で柔軟だった。なかでも路上を蛇行するジグザグデモは、デモの華であり、労働者・失業者、老若男女を魅了した。しかし、その自由な乱舞は、大衆の愚かな「はみだし」としてバッシングされ、「迷惑行為」として規制されていく。このデモの誕生から姿を消すまでの軌跡を追尾する。
rakuhoku-pub.jp
September 20, 2025 at 7:56 AM
New must-buy for readers interested in Japan's Long Sixties, reading the period through the framework of the iconic "snake dance" protest style: Snake People: Zigzag Demonstration, or the Genealogy of Tactics by Sakai Takashi rakuhoku-pub.jp/products/37
A far-left activist and lesbian dominatrix with a traumatic past. Who says politics in Japan is dull? throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2025/09/14/c...
Meet the Chūkaku-ha Joan of Arc
News Post Seven published an extensive four-part interview in July with a 21-year-old woman identified only as Ninomiya, described as “Chūkaku-ha’s mystery beauty”. More than the …
throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com
September 14, 2025 at 5:34 AM
A far-left activist and lesbian dominatrix with a traumatic past. Who says politics in Japan is dull? throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2025/09/14/c...
Reposted by William Andrews
Tokyo 68 – a fictionalized graphic novel focusing on women in the Tokyo University struggle of 1968-1969. Rebellious Japanese students of New Left protest movements.
By artist Hélène Aldeguer and historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder. Future versions in English and Japanese. @chelseaszendi.bsky.social
By artist Hélène Aldeguer and historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder. Future versions in English and Japanese. @chelseaszendi.bsky.social
September 7, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Tokyo 68 – a fictionalized graphic novel focusing on women in the Tokyo University struggle of 1968-1969. Rebellious Japanese students of New Left protest movements.
By artist Hélène Aldeguer and historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder. Future versions in English and Japanese. @chelseaszendi.bsky.social
By artist Hélène Aldeguer and historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder. Future versions in English and Japanese. @chelseaszendi.bsky.social