the qualia journal

I gave a talk at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. The hotel is preparing itself for its 120th anniversary. I was invited to speak on serendipity,...

I think I was a dirty brat. During the elementary school days, I used to take a bath with a book in my hand. Often, I did not wash at all, a...

I was invited to a dinner party in honor of the Archbishop of Canterbury , Dr. Rowan Williams , at the British Embassy in Tokyo. I was intr...

The brain is able to adjust its functions according to the particular context in which the subject is expected to do well. For example, cram...

Yesterday, there was a shooting for the "Untitled Concert" (Daimeino nai Ongakukai) program conducted and introduced by Yutaka Sad...

Being assertive is important in life. Without putting forward one's values and opinions in an explicit way, nothing changes in the tranq...

When I was around 10 to 15 years old, I really loved the musicals. As I recall, the film that kick-started the whole thing was Chitty Chitty...

I went to the Kabuki-za theater in the central district of Ginza, Tokyo with my editor Ms. Yoko Oba, and Ms. Ayako Taniyama, who illustrate...

From time to time I wonder: If I lived this time as a small school boy, what would I have done? How would I have felt about the goings on th...

The speed of the evolution of bacteria is rapid, as it multiples very rapidly, with corresponding changes of generation. It is natural that ...

Breathing in the air on the subtropical Tametomi Island, old memories came back to me. In February 2001, I traveled to Taketomi Island with ...

I love the night breeze on a southern island. As we finished our dinner and gently walked home through the narrow paths, I looked up at the ...

Sunday came, and I traveled to the southern Island of Taketomi, one of the Ryukyu Islands. The district is called Okinawa, after the biggest...

This Saturday in Tokyo was characterized by occasional rainfalls, which became quite strong from time to time, verging on being a pouring ra...

I was 10 or so when I first saw My Fair Lady (film) . I was immediately fascinated by the whole ambience. At that time, video recorders and ...

I knew that Glenn Gould, my favorite pianist, used to like reading Kusamakura (Grass Pillow) of Soseki Natsume. Naturally, I have read the o...

The other day I visited a temple in the Hieizan mountain near Kyoto. I met with The Great Ajari Yusai Sakamoto, who completed the Sennichi K...

From my own experience, and from the general brain scientific point of view, writing has a special significance for the brain. My mentor at ...

There are certain cultural phenomena, which, due to the language barrier, cannot transcend easily to other nations. These are hidden treasur...

I had a public dialogue with the designer Taku Sato . in the Les Deux Magots Cafe Tokyo, Shibuya. Taku is widely known and appreciated for h...