Ken Tanaka + Mari Araki

Eyeslit-Crypt favorite, Ken Tanaka, has made a new video in which he encounters a seemingly random Japanese woman while out for a stroll in Little Tokyo. The woman that Ken meets turns out to be Los Angeles based artist Mari Araki. The video shows stills of some of her magnificent pieces as they talk about [...]

Study Japanese with Ken Tanaka: The Power of Music and Coffee

When I was a university student, a band that I was in (and am still “in,” even though I’m an ocean away) – Special Dental Team, wrote several songs with Japanese titles and even one with Japanese lyrics. In retrospect, I do recommend this as a study tactic to be stressed in my 50 Study [...]

Ken Tanaka and Keiichi Niita (Video)

In this video, Ken Tanaka meets photographer, Keiichi Niita, who worked with Terry Richardson for a number of years. The theme of Niita’s show was, “Japanese people should be more open.” After briefly speaking with Niita, Tanaka also visits another gallery, which is showcasing work by two up and coming artists, Martha Chan and Dominique [...]

Ken Tanaka’s “Jacob the Happy Rabbit” #3

Ken Tanaka has once again pulled out his paint brushes and created the third installment to his “Jacob the Happy Rabbit” comic book series.

Ken Tanaka: Jacob the Happy Rabbit 2

Here at The Eyeslit-Crypt, we appreciate the work of the ever-busy, Ken Tanaka. In a recent (or relatively recent) video, Tanaka seems to have put the finishing touches on his new self-published comic book, “Jacob the Happy Rabbit 2.” It’s cute and has a very “happy” story, too. Here is a brief summary of the [...]

Oden with Tanaka, Ken

It was a rainy and slightly muggy Tuesday evening as I caught up with Ken Tanaka in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. Amidst the neon blur of Shinjuku, we found ourselves enjoying Japanese “oden” and sharing some wonderful conversation. Thank you Ken for taking the time to meet up and converse. I hope you will find the [...]

Japanicity: Three Questions w/ Ken Tanaka （田中けんさんとミツの質問）

“Three Questions” is a song by the Kentucky based musician Bonnie “Prince” Billy from his “Master and Everyone” album. This haunting and beautiful song has been with me since winter 2004 and today I would like to incorporate the idea of “three questions” into The Eyeslit-Crypt. It is really quite simple. I choose one person [...]