Today on TokyoMango, I wrote about how to make your kid into a stuffed animal; Takashi Miike's new movie, Sukiyaki Western Django; why it's hard to be prime minister in… Read the rest of the article: Today on TokyoMango

German design duo Pixelgarten has a big campaign in Tokyo right now that has the city covered in giant comic book exclamations. PingMag posted an interview with them and a… Read the rest of the article: German comic book art covers Tokyo

This weekend on TokyoMango, I wrote about cool sci-fi self-portraits by Erina Matsui; a teddy bear that doubles as a cell phone; Japanese Internet bad-boy Hiroyuki Nishimura; rollerskating ninjas; and… Read the rest of the article: This weekend on TokyoMango

Akino Kondoh is a Japanese contemporary artist who makes neat black-and-white video art. This one is called Ladybirds' Requiem. She uses pencil, pastel, and acrylic for the original illustrations, combines… Read the rest of the article: Akino Kondoh's black-and-white video art

The Fall issue of Buddhadharma magazine has a feature-length profile I wrote of Tendzin Choegyal. He is the Dalai Lama's youngest brother and was once an influential member of the… Read the rest of the article: The Dalai Lama talks about his brother, his family

This fun song featuring a dancing 8-bit skeleton is actually a remix of what is believed to be the oldest Japanese song in the world. The song is called Kokoriko… Read the rest of the article: Electropop remix of the oldest Japanese song ever

This week on MangoBot–my biweekly column about Asian futurism on io9–I wrote about the yellow peril and the portrayal of Asians in science fiction: Back in the 1920s and 30s,… Read the rest of the article: The history of yellow peril science fiction

Today on TokyoMango, I blogged about a guy who turns into a robot from a Hayao Miyazaki anime; a new technology that fights bird flu; and a silly man who… Read the rest of the article: Today on TokyoMango

In an attempt to put a halt to wandering pedestrians and cyclists, Shanghai police are going to post photos and videos of offenders all over the media–in newspapers, on TV–just… Read the rest of the article: Jaywalkers in Shanghai to be punished with shame

Archeologists in Mexico think they might have discovered Xibalba, a mythical Mayan underworld also known as the "place of fear." After some serious scuba diving and inching across deeply submerged… Read the rest of the article: Ancient Mayan underworld discovered in Mexico

Winged cats have been known to exist since the 19th century, but only a handful of people have actually seen–let alone owned–one. This woman in Sichuan province watched as her… Read the rest of the article: Winged cats discovered in western China

Japanese humor is slowly but surely infiltrating mainstream media in the US. Fake Japanese game shows on ABC, human Tetris on Fox, the YouTube video of the guy that shoots… Read the rest of the article: A quick and dirty Japanese humor tutorial

Sculptress Jennifer Maestre makes colorful abstract and plant-like pieces using colored pencils. She turns each colored pencil into beads by cutting them into inch-long sections and then drilling a hole… Read the rest of the article: Sea urchin-inspired art made from pencils

Today on TokyoMango, I wrote about the Gallympics, a mock sporting event where hot girls compete in Twister and limbo; Lolita pop art by one of Takashi Murakami's cohorts; USB… Read the rest of the article: Today on TokyoMango

Chris Baker sez: "Brandon Sheffield, editor in chief of Game Developer magazine and creator of site InsertCredit, dug around in the Google patent archives and found some cool old patents… Read the rest of the article: Vintage never-made game patents from Nintendo and Sega

Last month, The New Republic had a fascinating piece by Columbia University China expert Andy Nathan that explained the sticky political situation and human rights violations that went on behind-the-scenes… Read the rest of the article: Medals and rights: TNR debunks the myth of order in pre-Olympic China

Japanese author/translator Hiroko Yoda was having trouble signing up for a Facebook account. Every time she tried registering with her real full name, she got an error message. She suspected… Read the rest of the article: Japanese with common last name Yoda denied Facebook account

Lunatica Desnuda has compiled a mini-photo gallery showing different depictions of the Mona Lisa by artists like Andy Warhol, Rene Magritte, and Keith Haring. While some simply add their flavor… Read the rest of the article: Mona Lisa remixed by famous modern artists

Today on TokyoMango, I wrote about ping pong-playing fashionista Naomi Yotsumoto; pondered the question of whether soy sauce would taste good with yogurt; rocked out to a catchy 90s song… Read the rest of the article: Today on TokyoMango

On top of being one of the greatest Japanese novelists of all time, Haruki Murakami also has a knack for scoring awesome international edition book covers. A new collection of… Read the rest of the article: Haruki Murakami book covers from around the world