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  • Peter Menzel photographs Tokyo-based photographer Vincent Huang who used the giant Burning Man structure and revelers as a backdrop for his photographs of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with performance artist Ken Hamazaki for a Japanese magazine. Burning Man is a performance art festival known for art, drugs and sex. It takes place annually in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nevada, USA.
    USA_BMAN_48_xs.jpg
  • Masato Takeuchi (at left, his ring name is Miyabiyama), a sumo wrestler at the junior champion level (sekiwale)  touches an opponent who he has thrown to the ground during practice for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan. (Masato Tekeuchi is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  Miyabiyama is one of the largest of the Japanese sumos and would probably have moved up even further in the ranks had he not suffered a severe shoulder injury. He is only just now returning to matches. MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_234_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama) makes a handprint during a break at pre-tournment practice in Nagoya,  Japan.  The prints are given to fans and sponsors. (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat, Around the World in 80 Diets.) The caloric value of his typical day's worth of food in June was 3500 kcals.  He is one of the largest of the Japanese sumos and would probably have moved up even further in the ranks had he not suffered a severe shoulder injury. He is only just now returning to matches. MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060628_403_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama) is swamped by the press during a break at pre-tournment practice in Nagoya,  Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat, Around the World in 80 Diets.) The caloric value of his typical day's worth of food in June was 3500 kcals.  He is one of the largest of the Japanese Sumos and would probably have moved up even further in the ranks had he not suffered a severe shoulder injury. He is only just now returning to matches. MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060628_365_xw.jpg
  • Members of Miyabiyama's team enjoy a meal while sitting on tatami mats in Nagoya, Japan. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    Japan_JAP_060628_089_xxw.jpg
  • Faith D'Aluisio, co-author of the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets, interviewing a sumo wrestler in Nagoya Japan.
    JAP_060629_404_xw.jpg
  • A giant french fry sign at a  McDonald's restaurant in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    Japan_JAP_060701_151_xxw.jpg
  • Masato Takeuchi (ring name Miyabiyama), a sumo wrestler at the junior champion level (sekiwale) is the premier wrestler of the Musashigawa Beya, based in Tokyo, Japan.   (Masato Tekeuchi is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_001_xw.jpg
  • Professional sumo wrestler Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama- Graceful Mountain), practicing for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060601_222_xw.jpg
  • Professional sumo wrestler Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama- Graceful Mountain), practicing for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060601_192_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato, a professional sumo wrestler whose ring name is Miyabiyama (meaning "Graceful Mountain"), with his day's worth of food in the team's practice ring in Nagoya, Japan. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP06_sumocomb_0060628_623_746...jpg
  • Masako Mizuhashi, a plastic food artist, eats at home during a lunch break in suburban Tokyo, Japan, with her typical day's worth of food (made of plastic) on the table. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060703_093_2_xxw.jpg
  • Masato Takeuchi (at left, his ring name is Miyabiyama), a sumo wrestler at the junior champion level (sekiwale)  with members of his team during practice a tournament in Nagoya, Japan. (Masato Tekeuchi is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_245_xw.jpg
  • Masato Takeuchi (at right, his ring name is Miyabiyama), a sumo wrestler at the junior champion level (sekiwale) charges at his opponent during practice a tournament in Nagoya, Japan. (Masato Tekeuchi is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_203_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya): the members of Miyabiyama's Sumo Team cook and eat together while practicing for a tournament in Nagoya. The younger ones do most of the work. Sumos cook and eat chanko nabe, a stew pot of vegetable and meat or fish, at nearly every meal. It  is eaten with copious amounts of rice and numerous side dishes. Miyabiyama eats now to maintain his weight rather than to gain it, unlike the younger less gargantuan wrestlers in his stable who are eating a lot to pack on weight.
    Japan_JAP_060628_583_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama) makes a handprint during a break at pre-tournment practice in Nagoya,  Japan.  The prints are given to fans and sponsors. (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat, Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060628_424_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato (inside ring, right), a professional sumo wrestler whose ring name is Miyabiyama (meaning Graceful Mountain), at practice in Nagoya, Japan, just before a tournament.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat, Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060628_286_xw.jpg
  • Takeuchi Masato, a professional sumo wrestler whose ring name is Miyabiyama (meaning Graceful Mountain), after practice with his team in Tokyo, Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat, Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060601_177_xw.jpg
  • Professional sumo wrestler Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama- Graceful Mountain), practicing for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060601_073_xw.jpg
  • Professional sumo wrestler Takeuchi Masato (ring name Miyabiyama- Graceful Mountain), practicing for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.  (Takeuchi Masato is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP060628sumo778_xw.jpg
  • Masato Takeuchi (ring name Miyabiyama), a sumo wrestler at the junior champion level (sekiwale) practices for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan. (Masato Tekeuchi is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_182_xw.jpg
  • After a hard day of work as a bike messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service in Tokyo, Japan, Jun Yajima (left) takes a train ride home. Physically exhausted after a long day's work, he is able to catch a nap standing up on the hour long commute. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_264_xxw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) go through practice routines at their stable in Tokyo, Japan. Younger, smaller, and less experienced sumo wrestlers go through exercises emphasizing team unity at the end of a grueling morning practice. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    Japan_JAP_060601_326_xxw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a bike Messenger, powers down a busy street in the Shibuya Ward (district) of Tokyo, Japan. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_163_xw.jpg
  • A member of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) gets his hair fixed while others clean the practice ring in preparation for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060628_370_xw.jpg
  • Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) practicing in Nagoya, Japan before a tournament.
    Japan_JAP_060628_024_xw.jpg
  • Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) practicing in Tokyo, Japan. Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) go through practice routines at their stable in Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060601_282_xw.jpg
  • Koi Fish pond in the backyard of Demello. California. Koi are a variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Today Koi are bred in nearly every country and considered to be the most popular fresh-water ornamental pond fish. They are often referred to as being "living jewels" or "swimming flowers". If kept properly, Koi can live about 30-40 years. Some have been reportedly known to live up to 200 years. The Koi hobbyists have bred over 100 color varieties. Every Koi is unique, and the patterns that are seen on a specific Koi can never be exactly repeated. The judging of Koi at exhibitions has become a refined art, which requires many years of understanding the relationship between color, pattern, size and shape, presentation, and a number of other key traits. Prize Koi can cost several thousand dollars each.  USA. MODEL RELEASED.
    USA_KOI_02_xs.jpg
  • Koi Fish in the backyard pond of Mr. Cheu. Koi are a variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Today. Koi are bred in nearly every country and considered to be the most popular fresh-water ornamental pond fish. They are often referred to as being "living jewels" or "swimming flowers". If kept properly, koi can live about 30-40 years. Some have been reportedly known to live up to 200 years. The Koi hobbyists have bred over 100 color varieties. Every Koi is unique, and the patterns that are seen on a specific Koi can never be exactly repeated. The judging of Koi at exhibitions has become a refined art, which requires many years of understanding the relationship between color, pattern, size and shape, presentation, and a number of other key traits. Prize Koi can cost several thousand dollars each.  USA. MODEL RELEASED.
    USA_KOI_01_xs.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, makes a delivery on the busy streets of Tokyo, Japan.  (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_161_xxw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya): the members of Miyabiyama's Sumo Team cook and eat together while practicing for a tournament in Nagoya.
    Japan_JAP_060628_590_xxw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a bike Messenger, washes dishes in the kitchen of his tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo, Japan. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_323_xw.jpg
  • A busy street in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan. Shibuya district serves as the administrative and commercial center of Tokyo.
    Japan_JAP_060704_301_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, rides across a bridge over the Tokyo River to make a delivery on the busy streets of Tokyo, Japan.  (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_139_xw.jpg
  • The Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan, serves as a commercial and administrative center of the city.
    Japan_JAP_060703_309_xw.jpg
  • Pedestrian, car, bus, and train traffic at a busy intersection in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060703_299_xw.jpg
  • Two girls walk past a Condomania condom shop and a McDonald's fast food outlet in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060701_166_xw.jpg
  • A patron finishes his meal at a Shibuya-area Wendy's fast-food restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. The Wendy's hamburger chain closed all of their 71 restaurants in Japan at the end of 2009. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    Japan_JAP_060701_158_xxpw.jpg
  • Teenage girls in school uniforms use a cell phone on a busy street characteristic of the fast paced life of Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060701_046_xw.jpg
  • A wrestler with the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) during practice before a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060629_296_xw.jpg
  • A sumo wrestler who is a member of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) does stretching exercises between practice bouts in Nagoya, Japan, in preparation for a tournament.
    Japan_JAP_060629_081_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya): the members of Miyabiyama's Sumo Team cook and eat together while practicing for a tournament in Nagoya. The younger ones do most of the work. Sumos cook and eat chanko nabe, a stew pot of vegetable and meat or fish, at nearly every meal. It  is eaten with copious amounts of rice and numerous side dishes. Miyabiyama eats now to maintain his weight rather than to gain it, unlike the younger less gargantuan wrestlers in his stable who are eating a lot to pack on weight.
    Japan_JAP_060628_591_xw.jpg
  • Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) practicing in Nagoya, Japan before a tournament.
    Japan_JAP_060628_350_xw.jpg
  • A member of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) during practice in Nagoya, Japan, before a tournament.
    Japan_JAP_060628_254_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) practicing in Nagoya, Japan before a tournament.
    Japan_JAP_060628_039_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) go through practice routines at their stable in Tokyo, Japan.  Sumos cook and eat chanko nabe, a stew pot of vegetable and meat or fish, at nearly every meal. It  is eaten with copious amounts of rice and numerous side dishes. Miyabiyama eats now to maintain his weight rather than to gain it, unlike the younger less gargantuan wrestlers in his stable who are eating a lot to pack on weight.
    Japan_JAP_060601_340_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) go through practice routines at their stable in Tokyo, Japan. A professional sumo wrestler sends his opponent tumbling to the floor during practice with his team.
    Japan_JAP_060601_271_xw.jpg
  • Koi Fish in the backyard pond of Mr. Demello in Northern California. Koi are a variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Today Koi are bred in nearly every country and considered to be the most popular fresh-water ornamental pond fish. They are often referred to as being "living jewels" or "swimming flowers". If kept properly, koi can live about 30-40 years. Some have been reportedly known to live up to 200 years. The Koi hobbyists have bred over 100 color varieties. Every Koi is unique, and the patterns that are seen on a specific Koi can never be exactly repeated. The judging of Koi at exhibitions has become a refined art, which requires many years of understanding the relationship between color, pattern, size and shape, presentation, and a number of other key traits. Prize Koi can cost several thousand dollars  USA. MODEL RELEASED.
    USA_KOI_14_xs.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, powers through downtown Tokyo traffic to deliver a package suspended in his shoulder bag, while also keeping an ear out for his dispatcher to assign him his next pickup location. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_146_xxw.jpg
  • The heavily built torso of Masato Takeuchi, a member of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) during pre-tournament  practice in Nagoya, Japan. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)   He is 29 years of age; 6 feet, 2 inches tall; and 400 pounds. MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060629_303_xxw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya): the members of Miyabiyama's Sumo Team cook and eat together while practicing for a tournament in Nagoya.
    Japan_JAP_060628_615_xxw.jpg
  • Dispatchers who are former bike messengers with lots of experience at T-Serv Bike Messenger service in Tokyo, Japan, talk to delivery messengers on the streets via radio from their control room. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060531_039_xxw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a bike Messenger, rides through a busy intersection in the Shibuya Ward (district) of Tokyo, Japan. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060706_146_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, who works as a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, relaxes at his home in his tiny apartment with a beer and takeout food outside Tokyo, Japan after a long day at work. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_337_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, who works as a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, relaxes at his home in his tiny apartment with a beer and takeout food outside Tokyo, Japan after a long day at work. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_333_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a bike Messenger, gets take out dinner from a  fast food restaurant near the train station close to his home in a suburb of Tokyo, Japan. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_288_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, a bike Messenger, powers down a busy street in the Shibuya Ward (district) of Tokyo, Japan. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060704_154_xw.jpg
  • Bike messengers attend an early morning meeting at T-Serv, a parcel and letter delivery service in Tokyo, Japan, where bike messenger Jun Yajima (with cap and T-serv green striped shirt) works. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) .
    Japan_JAP_060704_072_xw.jpg
  • Pedestrian, car, bus, and train traffic at a busy intersection in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060703_299_xw_1.jpg
  • People walk on a busy street in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060701_162_xw.jpg
  • Teenage girls eat ice-cream from Baskin-Robbins on a sidewalk in the Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060701_132_xw.jpg
  • A fashionably dressed young woman walks past the Angels heart dessert bar in Shibuya District, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060701_012_xw.jpg
  • A meal of chanko nabe prepared by sumo wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) while practicing for a wrestling tournament in Nagoya, Japan. Sumos cook and eat chanko nabe, a stew pot of vegetable and meat or fish, at nearly every meal. It  is eaten with copious amounts of rice and numerous side dishes.
    Japan_JAP_060629_581_xw.jpg
  • A wrestler tidies up the ring during break in practice for a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060629_350_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) tussle in the center of the ring in Nagoya, Japan as Miyabiyama, the premier fighter of the stable, watches.
    Japan_JAP_060629_325_xw.jpg
  • A wrestler with the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) during practice before a tournament in Nagoya, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060629_297_xw.jpg
  • A younger member of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) with a handprint (tegata) on his chest during practice in Nagoya, Japan before a tournament. The handprint is used a an autograph by wrestlers of higher ranks.   The prints are given to fans and sponsors on sheets of rice paper. Miyabiyama put his hand on this young team member's chest at the end of an autographing session as a joke.
    Japan_JAP_060628_440_xw.jpg
  • Wrestlers of the Professional Sumo Team (Musahigawa Beya) go through agressive practice bouts at their stable in Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060601_008_xw.jpg
  • A man walks towards the entrance to the Yasukuni Jinja Shinto Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The shrine was built in 1869 to honor those who lost their lives serving Japan.
    Japan_JAP_060531_004_xw.jpg
  • Jun Yajima, who works as a messenger at T-Serv Bike Messenger service, relaxes at his home in his tiny apartment with a beer and takeout food outside Tokyo, Japan after a long day at work. (Jun Yajima is featured in the book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) MODEL RELEASED.
    Japan_JAP_060705_022_v3_xxw.jpg
  • Takuya Mizuhara, an 18 year old university student (third from the right) with his friends at his favorite meeting place, McDonalds in Shibuya District of Tokyo, Japan. (Takuya Mizuhara is one of the people interviewed for the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    Japan_JAP_060702_151_xw.jpg
  • Working behind a plastic shroud that keeps dust out, NASA engineer Art Thompson of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, works with an early mock-up of what is called Nanorover, a lunchbox-sized space vehicle that will touch down on and explore a one-kilometer-wide asteroid. The small near-Earth asteroid 4660 Nereus is the target of a Japanese space mission that will launch in 2002. When its payload is full, it will return to the Japanese spaceship, which will in turn come back to Earth in 2006. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 127.
    USA_rs_410_qxxs.jpg
  • Many Japanese roboticists were inspired as a child by Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy), a popular Japanese cartoon about a futuristic robot boy who helps human beings (here, it is a 15-centimeter Astro Boy action figure). Astro Boy, drawn in the 1950's, will soon be the star of a major motion picture. In the story line, his birthdate is in April of 2003. Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 197.
    Japan_JAP_rs_244_qxxs.jpg
  • Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps at which Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II. Located at the foot of the imposing Sierra Nevada in eastern California's Owens Valley, Manzanar has been identified as the best preserved of these camps. Route 395: Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
    USA_CA_ES_12_xs.jpg
  • Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps at which Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II. Located at the foot of the imposing Sierra Nevada in eastern California's Owens Valley, Manzanar has been identified as the best preserved of these camps. Route 395: Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
    USA_CA_ES_11_xs.jpg
  • Silicon Valley, California; Woodside, California; Jamis MacNivan, owner of Buck's Restaurant in Woodside, THE place to have breakfast meetings with venture capitalists. MacNivan is demonstrating his invention of a catch-and-release fly swatter. He admires Japanese "chindogu" (literally an odd or distorted tool) and showed us a book of 101 un-useless Japanese inventions. Model Released (1999).
    USA_SVAL_14_xs.jpg
  • Looking into the eyes of Jack the robot, Gordon Cheng tests its response to the touch of his hand. Researchers at the Electrotechnical Lab at Tsukuba, an hour away from Tokyo, Japan, are part of a project funded by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency to develop a humanoid robot as a research vehicle into complex human interactions. With the nation's population rapidly aging, the Japanese government is increasingly funding efforts to create robots that will help the elderly. Project leader Yasuo Kuniyoshi wants to create robots that are friendly and quite literally soft, the machinery will be sheathed in thick padding. In contrast to a more traditional approach, Kuniyoshi wants to program his robot to make it learn by analyzing and fully exploiting its natural constraints. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 56-57.
    Japan_JAP_rs_279_qxxs.jpg
  • Industrial-robot designer Norio Kodaira of Mitsubishi smiles proudly behind his Melfa EN, a robot arm that moves with incredible speed and dexterity to assemble pieces, drill holes, make chips, or just about any repetitive task that needs to be done quickly and precisely. Like many Japanese roboticists, Kodaira was inspired as a child by Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy), a popular Japanese cartoon about a futuristic robot boy who helps human beings (a 15-centimeter Astro Boy action figure). Astro Boy, drawn in the 1950's, will soon be the star of a major motion picture. In the story line, his birthdate is in April of 2003. Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 196.
    Japan_JAP_rs_65_qxxs.jpg
  • Most people in the heavily urban country of Japan, will eat out at restaurants that follow the Japanese custom of displaying plastic models of the food served within. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 182). This image is featured alongside the Ukita family images in Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
    Japan_JAP01_0002_xxf1s.jpg
  • Birthday celebrant has her photograph taken with her family at an Ogimi Village area nursing home in Okinawa, Japan. Most of the community has turned out to honor the birthdays of three residents. (These are traditional Japanese birthdays, not the actual birth dates. 88, for example is celebrated on the eighth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.) Musicians, dancers, and comedians perform as well wishers cheerfully gorge on sushi, fruits, and desserts. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats).
    JOK_5190_f1x.jpg
  • At a senior center in the small city of Nago, Okinawa, elderly Japanese can spend the day in a setting reminiscent of a spa, taking footbaths, enjoying deep-water massage, and lunching with friends. With their caring, community-based nursing and assistance staff, Okinawan nursing homes and senior daycare centers, both public and private, seem wondrous places (vibrant and lively) where friends gather for foot massages, water volleyball, haircuts, or simple meals. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats)
    JOK03_5610_xf1b.jpg
  • Pino, short for Pinocchio (after the fabled wooden puppet that becomes a human boy), is a full-bodied, child-sized, humanoid robot. Even before it demonstrates the ability of a wide range of bipedal movements it already has a national following in Japan after the release of a music video called "Can You Keep a Secret" in which the robot stars alongside one of Japan's most popular recording artists, Hikaru Utada. It has elevated Tatsuya Matsui, the artist who created the robot design, to celebrity status. The robot project is part of a large ERATO grant from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, a branch of the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese government. Project creator Hiraoki Kitano believes that the aesthetics of a robot are important in order for it to be accepted by humans into their living space. At the Kitano Symbiotic Systems, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_Jap_rs_458_xs.jpg
  • Fans invited off a street in Tokyo's Harajuku area to meet Pino pose with the popular robot. Pino, short for Pinocchio (after the fabled wooden puppet that becomes a human boy), is a full-bodied, child-sized, humanoid robot. Even before it demonstrates the ability of a wide range of bipedal movements it already has a national following in Japan after the release of a music video called "Can You Keep a Secret" in which the robot stars alongside one of Japan's most popular recording artists, Hikaru Utada. It has elevated Tatsuya Matsui, the artist who created the robot design, to celebrity status and provoked murmurs of dissent by some in the robotics community who see the robot as a commercial entity rather than a serious research project. Interestingly, the robot project is part of a large ERATO grant from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, a branch of the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese government. Project creator Hiraoki Kitano  believes that the aesthetics of a robot are important in order for it to be accepted by humans into their living space. At the Kitano Symbiotic Systems, Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_Jap_rs_451_xs.jpg
  • The robot, called Kenta, (Ken means tendon in Japanese) has a flexible spinal column that resembles that of the human body; 96 motors; a five-joint neck; a10 joint spine (each with 3 degrees of freedom); and fast-moving stereo vision that can track a flesh color object. The neck and torso are coordinated to respond in concert with the eye's movement. Student researchers create movements for the robot in simulation and then feed the simulations back to the robot. Professor Hirochika Inoue thinks that developing robots with this structure of incredibly decreased weight and fewer parts will reduce the cost and the complexity of robots in the future for more widespread application. Inoue-Inaba Robotic Lab, University of Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_Jap_rs_368_xs.jpg
  • The robot, called Kenta, (Ken means tendon in Japanese) has a flexible spinal column that resembles that of the human body; 96 motors; a five-joint neck; a 10 joint spine (each with 3 degrees of freedom); and fast-moving stereo vision that can track a flesh colored object. The neck and torso are coordinated to respond in concert with the eye's movement. Student researchers create movements for the robot in simulation and then feed the simulations back to the robot. Professor Hirochika Inoue thinks that developing robots with this structure of incredibly decreased weight and fewer parts will reduce the cost and the complexity of robots in the future for more widespread application. Inoue-Inaba Robotic Lab, University of Tokyo, Japan.
    Japan_Jap_rs_366_xs.jpg
  • Relaxing in his office at the Mechanical Engineering Lab in Tsukuba, Japan, Takanori Shibata pats a derivative product from his research: a robot cat named Tama. Shibata is a roboticist who studied with MIT robot guru Rodney Brooks before heading his own lab. Omron, a Japanese engineering company, applied Shibata's discoveries to produce Tama, a mechanical pet with sensors beneath its fur that react to sound and touch.  Omron says it has no plans as of yet to commercialize its robot cats. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 227.
    Japan_JAP_rs_33_qxxs.jpg
  • Sometimes described as the grand old man of Japanese robotics, Hirochika Inoue of the University of Tokyo is one of the directors of the nation's massive effort to develop a humanoid robot. Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 22.
    Japan_JAP_rs_259_qxxs.jpg
  • Sleek and elegant, the head of this unfinished robot was constructed by the Symbiotic Intelligence Group of the Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project. It is funded by an ERATO grant from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, a branch of the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese government. SIG, as this robot is named, has a white outside shell designed by a project artist, group leader Hiroaki Kitano is a firm believer in the importance of aesthetics. Tokyo, Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 80-81.
    Japan_JAP_rs_241_qxxs.jpg
  • Exemplifying the attempts by Japanese researchers to put a friendly face on their robots, DB's creators are teaching it the Kacha-shi, an Okinawan folk dance. Unlike most robots, DB did not acquire the dance by being programmed. Instead, it observed human dancers?project researchers, actually, and repeatedly attempted to mimic their behavior until it was successful. Project member Stefan Schaal, a neurophysicist at the University of Southern California (in red shirt), believes that by means of this learning process robots will ultimately develop a more flexible intelligence. It will also lead, he hopes, to a better understanding of the human brain. The DB project is funded by the Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Humanoid Project and led by independent researcher Mitsuo Kawato. Based at a research facility 30 miles outside of Kyoto, Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 51.
    Japan_JAP_rs_234_qxxs.jpg
  • At a senior center in the small city of Nago, Okinawa, elderly Japanese can spend the day in a setting reminiscent of a spa, taking footbaths, enjoying deep-water massage, and lunching with friends. With their caring, community-based nursing and assistance staff, Okinawan nursing homes and senior daycare centers, both public and private, seem wondrous, vibrant and lively places. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats)
    JOK03_5574_xf1b.jpg
  • Matsu Zakimi (with purple eyeshadow applied by her great-granddaughter) during the celebration for her 97th birthday,at a nursing home near Ogimi Village. Most of the community has turned out to honor the birthdays of three residents. (These are traditional Japanese birthdays, not the actual birth dates. 88, for example is celebrated on the eighth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.) Musicians, dancers, and comedians perform as well wishers cheerfully gorge on sushi, fruits, and desserts washed down with beer and saki. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats).
    JOK03_0381_xf1b.jpg
  • KFC and other fast food chains, both global and Japanese, are a frequent stop for busy Okinawans. Although the island is being studied for clues to Okinawan's great longevity, studies say that the younger population will not live as long because of their diets higher in saturated fats and calories. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats).
    JOK03_0311_xf1b.jpg
  • At a senior center in the small city of Nago, Okinawa, elderly Japanese can spend the day in a setting reminiscent of a spa, taking foot baths, enjoying deep-water massage, and lunching with friends. With their caring, community-based nursing and assistance staff, Okinawan nursing homes and senior daycare centers, both public and private, seem wondrous, vibrant and lively places. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 193).
    JOK03_0007_xxf1.jpg
  • Brilliantly colored parrotfish dominate a stall in the Makishi public market in the Okinawan town of Naha. Meticulously clean, Japanese markets are a testament to the affluence of this island nation. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 190).
    JOK03_0003_xxf1.jpg
  • Instant noodle display in a Japanese supermarket outside Tokyo, Japan. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats)
    Japan_JAP01_0035_xf1bs.jpg
  • A fish vendor in the market area near the train station of Kodaira City, outside Tokyo shows the "wing span" of a flying fish. The fish shop is one of Sayo Ukita's stops on her daily shopping bike ride from her home. As might be expected in an island nation, Japanese families eat a wide variety of seafood: fish, shellfish, and seaweed of all kinds. In any given week, the Ukitas will eat at least a dozen different kinds of fish and shellfish, and three varieties of seaweed. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats) The Ukita family of Kodaira City, Japan, is one of the thirty families featured, with a weeks' worth of food, in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
    Japan_JAP01_0022_xf1bs.jpg
  • During their expedition to Ito Yokado, a Japanese supermarket chain, the Dongs (Mr. Dong at right) of Beijing, China, inspect fresh meat at the butcher counter. In other ways too, the supermarket hews closely to Western models, right down to the workers offering samples. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats). The Dong family of Beijing, China, is one of the thirty families featured, with a weeks' worth of food, in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
    CHI103_0084_xf1b.jpg
  • Matsu Zakimi (with purple eyeshadow applied by her great-granddaughter) during the celebration for her 97th birthday,at a nursing home near Ogimi Village. Most of the community has turned out to honor the birthdays of three residents. (These are traditional Japanese birthdays, not the actual birth dates; 88, for example is celebrated on the eighth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.) Musicians, dancers, and comedians perform as well wishers cheerfully gorge on sushi, fruits, and desserts washed down with beer and saki. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats).
    JOK_0293_f1x.jpg
  • When a terrifying earthquake leveled part of Turkey in the fall of 1999, rescuers had trouble pulling victims from the rubble because it was too risky to crawl through the unstable ruins. As a result, some people died before they could be rescued. Shigeo Hirose of the Tokyo Technical Institute thinks he may have the solution: Blue Dragon (Souryu in Japanese). A light, triple-jointed robot with a digital camera in its nose, Blue Dragon could crawl through an earthquake-damaged building in search of survivors. Wriggling over a pile of shattered concrete on a construction site at the institute's campus, the battery-operated robot fell over several times, but righted itself quickly and continued slithering through the pile of stone. Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page 148-149.
    Japan_JAP_rs_50_qxxs.jpg
  • Robot designer Yoshihiro Fujita stares into the electronic eyes of R100, his personal-assistant robot. The robot can recognize faces, identify a few hundred words of Japanese, and obey simple commands, but its most important job, Fujita says, is to help families keep in touch. If Mom at work wants to remind Junior at home to study, she can E-mail the robot, which will deliver the message verbally. To take the sting out of the command, the robot can sing and dance, a charming feature that is one reason NEC is inching toward commercializing the project. Japan. From the book Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, page166-167.
    Japan_JAP_rs_260_qxxs.jpg
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Peter Menzel Photography

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