iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 3h

If restored it would be a beautiful example of a storehouse or Kura. Found in the centre of Marugame this has been neglected for years and indtead is likely to stay that way because of ownership issues. #Japan #Kagawa #architecture

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 4h

Shodoshima’s first olive trees were planted in 1908, after the government chose the island as a trial site because its climate was thought closest to the Mediterranean. The experiment failed more than once. Salt wind, typhoons, and poor stock... #Japan #Shodoshima #Setouchi #Kagawa #olives

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15h

Tokyo, 2007. Midtown Tower rising over Roppongi, with a little greenery tucked uneasily in between the concrete. With Shinjuku stacked on the horizon. Still one of the best city views in the world me thinks. Vintage digital 📷 Nikon D50 #Japan #architecture

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

七浦弘子 Hiroko Nanaura. A Japanese actress who appeared in a handful of films and TV in the mid-late 1950s, suddenly stopped and disappeared from public view.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Vintage Japan. Studio portrait, hand-tinted, for sale to tourists. Said to date from 1880 but more likely 1890s. 📷 Unknown.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Olive beef: before cooking and after! Sanuki Olive wagyu is Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) beef with the cattle fed on a diet of toasted, dried olive pulp from the olive oil presses of Shodoshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

From the Guardian. Structural decline: what happened to Japan’s iconic buildings? – in pictures Japan once had a reputation for statement architecture – yet many buildings have been torn down since 2000. A new book reminds us of their futuristic beauty. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

theguardian.com

Structural decline: what happened to Japan’s iconic buildings? – in pictures

Japan once had a reputation for statement architecture – yet many buildings have been torn down since 2000. A new book reminds us of their futuristic beauty

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Tokyo then and now. I've compared the 1961 aerial photo of Tokyo using a current image from Google Earth.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Aerial view of Tokyo - at the time often described as 'the world's largest village. The Diet building is bottom right and the view is looking east, with the moat of the Imperial Palace and then a low rise Maranouchi. Dates from ~ 1961. 📷 Torao Saito.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

When I'm out walking ~ 6am, the farmers are already out working. Kawasaki and his team once spent the entire day in the fields, but the heat has made that impossible. “Now we start early in the morning and work until around noon,” he says. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.com

As Japan swelters, farmers turn to new heat-resistant rice varieties to boost staple crop

New rice varieties give hope that farmers can overcome the climate emergency and a warmer future that threatens harvests

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Three camera manufacturers' ads from 1960. Two include women in it targeting while one is for men only. Guess which out of Nikon, Fuji and Olympus.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I was talking to someone today about The Peanuts who emerged at the end of the 1950s and became a highly popular singing duo. They even appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and had some success in the US and continental Europe. They also enjoyed a short film career. youtu.be/gRG34B54y-0?...

youtu.be

恋のバカンス - VACANCE DE L'AMOUR - ザ・ピーナッツ - The Peanuts (1963年) - Lyrics ENG / Paroles FR / Letras PT-BR

YouTube video by Your Humble Servant My Highness

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Early Japanese cinema. 🎥🎬🍿🇯🇵 A Page of Madness (狂った一頁, Kurutta Ichipēji) is a 1926 Japanese silent horror film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. Lost for 45 years until it was rediscovered by Kinugasa in his storehouse in 1971. #Letterboxd #filmsky youtu.be/wP0JDiaCpWA?...

youtu.be

A Page of Madness / Kurutta ippeji (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)

YouTube video by Great Movies

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

♨️元銭湯のアートカフェ🍰 Tadotsu.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Keiko Tsushima's role most known by Western audiences is in Seven Samurai (七人の侍). She plays Shino (志乃), where she is disguised as a boy to protect her from the samurai. Unsuccessfully as she has a relationship with Katsushirō, and loses her virginity to him.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

津島恵子 🇯🇵🎬🎥 KEIKO TSUSHIMA (1926-2012) 緑の着物と黄色い帯が美くしい色彩のハーモニイをかなでる津島さんの春の一刻。お父様ご自慢の渋い日本間の色が更に津島さんの美くしさを浮び上らせます。 📷 (ローライオートマットV・テッサード3.5・F4・25分の1秒・エクタ →クロームBタイプ・ライト4個使用・最能・小林） Her final film role was in Nagoriyuki (2002). #FilmSky #Letterboxd 🍿

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

鳴門の渦潮, Naruto no Uzushio. The Naruto Whirlpools are well known. The British first mapped them in 1861 in the Bunkyū Era (文久). 👇 But they need to be visited at the right time to see them at their most ferocious - Spring high tide is one such time as in the photos below which date from April 2014.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Adolf Hitler receiving members of the Japanese Diet and officials from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government who presented him with handicrafts during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Part of a collection of photographs found in a Presentation Photo Album for Japan, which has a dedication "...

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Next year marks the centenary since Japan and the United States exchanged dolls under a project aimed at improving relations that had deteriorated at the time. なまえはブルー。メリカ合衆国のインディアナ州でうまれまし身長は36センチ、体重は580グラムです。昭和2年（1927）に四阪島にやってきましたブルーのような「青い目の人形」は、昭和2年に「平和の使者」としてアメリカから送られてきました。その数は 12000体あまり。

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Takanawa Fire Station Nihonenoki Branch (高輪消防署二本榎出張所) in Takanawa 2-chome, Minato Ward — a working firehouse whose 1933 building is one of Tokyo’s most distinctive prewar public buildings. The reinforced-concrete station was completed on 28 December 1933 and formally opened in February 1934.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

From a Japanese souvenir album dating from 1911, a photograph coloured by the application of oil paint.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A signed photo of the TEIMEI EMPRESS: (1884-1951) Sadako Kujō. Empress consort of Japan 1912-26, wife of Emperor Taishō and mother of Emperor Hirohito. Photographed by the Esaki´s Studio, a Tokyo studio founded by Esaki Reiji (1845–1910), one of the foremost photographers of the Meiji era.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Two beautiful, hand-tinted studio portraits by photography pioneer Raimund von Stillfried-Rattonitz (also: Rathenitz; 1839–1911). A description reads..."who ranks among the most influential European photographers in Meiji-era Japan..

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The poster artist Tony Stella died earlier this year at the age of 45. He is renowned for keeping the art of the hand-drawn movie poster and cover art alive when digital imagery dominates. He had a love for Asian cinema and a deep knowledge of Japanese films. 🎥 🎬🖌️

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Tsugaru Vidro concept 四季を感じるハンドメイドガラス四つの季節がめぐるごとに、そっと色を変える日本の情景。春の桜、夏の祭り、秋の紅葉、冬の雪景色。わたしたちのまわりは季節に染まった豊かな色に溢れています。津軽びいどろは、そんな日本ならではの美しい色合いにこだわったハンドメイドガラスです。幾千とも言われる表情で、ひと時を四季の魅力とともに彩ります。

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A panorama of the Tokyo skyline as Typhoon Dujuan #25 approaches.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi Art Museum 香川県立東山魁夷せとうち美術館 Rising ever higher on concrete pillars, the southern end of the Seto Ohashi Bridge soars into the sky as it leaves Shikoku’s shore-line and points north to Honshu. Designed by an in-house team of the Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority...

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Filmed in 1964, adapted from the novel by Togawa Masako (who portrays the role of the deceived wife), and directed by Nakahira Ko, Hunter’s Diary (Ryojin nikki, 猟人日記) is the most extraordinary film and one that is rarely written about even in Japan. grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2022/05/24/t...

grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com

The Hunter’s Diary

Filmed in 1964, adapted from the novel written by Togawa Masako (who portrays the role of the deceived wife), and directed by Nakahira Ko, Hunter’s Diary (Ryojin nikki, 猟人日記) is the most extr…

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Low rise Tokyo in the early Showa period. This is the Nihonbashi 日本橋. And an image of the area I took a couple of years ago. It's changed from being open to claustrophobic.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

An early Showa-era photo showing Shōwa-dōri, a new road built as part of Tokyo’s reconstruction following the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. It was completed in 1928, with a road about 44 metres wide. This is likely in the vicinity of Edobashi.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

藤田進 SUSUMU FUJITA (1912-1991). One of Japan 's leading movie stars in the 1930s and 40s. ダイナミックな男性の魅力を全身にた、えて重厚な演技で映画界に重きをなす藤田進さんのある日。早春の陽射しを受けて、ちらりと頬をほころばせるこの人は、運ましい男性的魅力と同時に、その表情からはうかごいきれない程の、優しさと善意に充ちた人なのです。撮影所内でも若い演技者のたのもしい先輩であり、頼りになる先生なのです。 🍿🎬🎥🇯🇵🧵

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This Tokyo scene dating from the mid-1960s reminded me that pigeons have largely been eliminated from the city.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

草笛光子 MITSUKO KUSABUE (1933-) コケテッシュな職で、あなたのハートをチャームするな苗さんの春の背。何を想いにふけるのやら、一寸気になります（ローライオートマットV型・F3.5・設F11・25分の 1秒・フィルムSS・ライト4個使用・スタヂオにて） Photo: 1954 🎥🎬🍿 #letterboxd

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

OLs enjoying their lunch break in a Tokyo park in 1964.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The Mar-a-lago face would appear to be an anthropological offshoot of the Japanese gal aesthetic.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Japan Up Close Essay Series Through the eyes of researchers, this series offers fresh perspectives on Japanese society, culture, and everyday life to a general audience, highlighting the excellent work of academics across the UK. lo.jpf.go.jp/japanese-stu...

lo.jpf.go.jp

Japan Up Close Essay Series | Japan Foundation

Essays by researchers offering fresh perspectives on Japanese society, culture and everyday life. Read the full series, free online.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

fūrin (風鈴). 増田尚紀 Hisanori Masuda 問鋳金家・デザイナースタジオ吉鋳心/工房房心 Chushin Kobo® T990-0051 山形市銅町2-1-12 Tel:023-625-4485 Fax:023-642-4101 E-mail:info@chushin-kobo.jp Homepage:chushin-kobo.jp プロフィール 1949年静岡県浜松市に生まれる。大学卒業後、恩師である武蔵野術大学教授、芳武茂介先生のアシスタントとして5年間、全国各地の地場産業のテイン開発を手がける。

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Workshop was a self-published journal released by the Workshop Photography School in Tokyo between 1974 and 1976. The school and journal were established by six keyJapanese photographers: Nobuyoshi Araki, Shomei Tomatsu, Masahisa Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Daido Moriyama, and Noriaki Yokosuka.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

A poster from 1968 for an exhibition of Japanese art at the ICA London. The poster's designer 杉浦康平, Sugiura Kōhei 1932- is one of Japan's leading designers. He also designed the interior space of the exhibition.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

さぬき広島の青木（あおき）地区（青木海岸のすぐそば、心経山登山口の近く）に新設された公衆トイレは、環境に配慮した最新のバイオトイレです。主な特徴は以下の通りです。環境に優しいバイオシステム: 環境に配慮した微生物によるし尿処理システムを採用しています。離島の環境に非常に適しており、従来の公共下水道インフラがなくても効率的に機能します。災害への強さ: 自己完結型のバイオシステムであるため、自然災害や緊急時の停電断水時でも問題なく機能し続けるように設計されています。観光に便利な立地: 青木海岸からの美しい夕日を見に来る観光客や、心経山へ登るハイカーなどの利便性を向上させるために整備されまし

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🇯🇵 Movie news 🎬 With $90 million + at the domestic box office, Chiikawa the Movie is Japan’s biggest film of the year so far. The Odyssey came out a few days ago and figures indicate it's been big: #1 at the box office and grossed $3.2 million in three days. www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/...

crunchyroll.com

Anime News, Top Stories & In-Depth Anime Insights - Crunchyroll News

Stay on top of anime news and updates straight out of Japan with Crunchyroll News. From breaking stories to evergreen content, get all your anime and manga news updates in one place. You heard it here...

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Movie Interest...🎥🎬 高美以子, Taka Miiko, as she appeared in 'Sayonara' (1957), signed "To Herbert-san, Thank you for your kind letter and thoughts. Best wishes to you always, sincerely Miko Taka", also signed in Japanese.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Eric Ravilious also added something to the Giant that is not found on the original!

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Japanese contemporary photography. Workshop Collective (Shomei Tomatsu; Daido Moriyama; Nobuyoshi Araki; Eikoh Hosoe; Masahisa Fukase; Noriaki Yokosuka et. al.) WORKSHOP VOL 5-8, 1975-1976 issued as a narrow 4to. Tokyo: Workshop Shashin Gakko. Front covers.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Jeremy Thomas, one of Britain's great film producers, has died. His last collaboration is Takashi Miike's Bad Lieutenant:Tokyo, youtu.be/DrTzZEhBJCY?...

youtu.be

BAD LIEUTENANT 3: TOKYO Official Trailer (2026) Liv Morgan, Takashi Miike

YouTube video by ONE Media

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Good morning from England - jet-lagged.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

From London's Photographers' Gallery: The Japanese “girly photography” movement of the 1990s was a massive phenomenon characterised by diary-oriented snapshots taken with point-and-shoot cameras that captured the everyday lives, friends and self-portraits of young women photographers.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Oppen Cosmetics were once famous for their large neon signs but the only one left is on their facility in Utazu, Kagawa. With its slightly eccentric design, the building itself could be mistaken for a love hotel.

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G M Thomas FRSA FRAS @japanauthor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Various events around Marugame Castle across the next few months. And the new concert hall is now open. #Kagawa

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