Matsuda

Matsuda Seiko (松田聖子) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter and is one of Japan's most influential female artists. "Snow Garden" is her 11th compilation release. It was released as a special Christmas album containing a different kind of tracklist for each side of the LP.

La raccolta di racconti di Matsuda Aoko, "Nel paese delle donne selvagge", osa e mostra un’ampia serie di intrecci narrativi. Il tono varia, passando dal commovente al comico al contemplativo, spesso all’interno della stessa storia. Si percepisce una sensazione di grandezza, poiché l’autrice racchiude e trasforma noti racconti della tradizione popolare giapponese in modo inaspettato. Oltre al folklore, la raccolta dà spazio a “rubriche” di consigli, figure di imbroglioni e ciarlatani, rabbia femminista senza freni, satira sociale, aromaterapia soprannaturale, orrore del corpo, solitudine postmoderna e molto altro. Altrettanto ambizioso è l’aver bilanciato il tenore ludico e creativo di racconti popolari rivisitati, permettendone un’interpretazione allo stesso tempo tradizionale e contemporanea.

Seiko Matsuda's second full album of authentic jazz projects! As a member and producer of 'Take 6', Marvin Warren has been awarded the 5th Grammy Award as a producer, and a jazz album full of gems full of famous songs is completed.

This is a story about a free-spirited man Ohara Shosuke whose life is turned upside down when he is ordered to serve the clan lord. Having lost his fortune and leading a life of leisure he is ill-prepared for the rigorous life of a samurai, the very definition of which is "To Serve.." But before that, he must solve the dilemma of two down-on-their- luck ronin who stand before him ready to duel to the death! This superb swordfighting comedy is filled with clever exchanges and glimpes of the powerful Japanese battle swords that were popular in that day.

We meet our heroine Oichi as a young child, who has just been being abandoned by her mother - not sure what happened to father, but we later discover Mom's a prostitute, so can probably fill in the blanks ourselves. To make matters worse, the tree under which Oichi takes shelter from a storm is struck by lightning, rendering her totally blind, in a way that's - probably wisely - left medically unexplained. However, she is then taken in by a kind gentleman, who brings her up, and on into adulthood.

Oichi was back in action, and at the start of Trapped, seems quite content with her life as a bounty-huntress. She has even adopted an orphan, just as she herself was taken in herself, but two things wreck this relatively happy situation. She discovers her protege is really a runaway, not an orphan, and consequently has to abandon her - again, as she was discarded. Worse yet, she incurs the wrath of fellow bounty-huntress Oen (Matsuoka), a kitten with a whip and pockets full of venomous snakes, who leaves Oichi for dead. Luckily, she is nursed back to health by Matsuka (Irikawa), a farmer who doesn't care about her shady past, and Oichi discovers the joys of a simpler existence - specifically, one not involving the slaughter of criminals for cash. Of course, the inevitable eventually happens: local thug Bunzo (Abe) starts taking the locals' rice stocks, with Oen closely in tow. No prizes for guessing that the quiet life isn't going to last long, especially after Matsuka is manipulated by Oen into owing a gambling debt to Bunzo.

Still censored in its own country, In the Realm of the Senses (Ai no corrida), by Japanese director Nagisa Oshima, remains one of the most controversial films of all time. A graphic portrayal of insatiable sexual desire, Oshima’s film, set in 1936 and based on a true incident, depicts a man and a woman (Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda) consumed by a transcendent, destructive love while living in an era of ever escalating imperialism and governmental control. Less a work of pornography than of politics, In the Realm of the Senses is a brave, taboo-breaking milestone.