Isao Tomita

A thousand years after its creation, "The Tale of the Genji," acclaimed as the world's first novel, comes to us via late 20th century technology--a full orchestra of Western and Japanese instruments augmented by synthesizer, plus super-sharp images delivered through a wall of high-definition video monitors, the standard for the start of the next millennium.

A thousand years after its creation, "The Tale of the Genji," acclaimed as the world's first novel, comes to us via late 20th century technology--a full orchestra of Western and Japanese instruments augmented by synthesizer, plus super-sharp images delivered through a wall of high-definition video monitors, the standard for the start of the next millennium.

Serious fans of organ music could have taken issue with any number of things about Christoph Bull's fun-loving program "Organica" Wednesday at UCLA's Royce Hall. They would have missed the point. Bull, an accomplished player and the official UCLA organist, is out to spread the gospel of his instrument's power and range.

Among the millennial compulsions now upon us are interpretations of epic works of literature by electronic-media-minded composers. Last month for Houston Grand Opera, the venturesome Tod Machover chose Tolstoy's turn-of-the-century novel "Resurrection" as his subject. In October, UCLA will present Laurie Anderson's new multimedia opera based upon "Moby Dick." But nothing beats an actual millennium concept like Isao Tomita's new symphony with film projections evoking "The Tale of Genji."

One of the hottest titles in the non-theatrical home-video market is "The Planets," a tour of the solar system narrated by Patrick Stewart, who plays Jean Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Needless to say, Trekkers are into this 51-minute video, which sells for $17. Produced by Malibu Video Inc. and distributed by BMG, it's a space trek with music--Isao Tomita's "The Tomita Planets," an electronic interpretation of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" suite.

For Westerners unschooled in the way of the movie samurai, the classic image of the loyal retainer doubtless looks something like Obi-Wan Kenobi -- or the late John Belushi. A genial riff on the great Toshiro Mifune, star of such Akira Kurosawa masterpieces as "Seven Samurai," Belushi's satiric samurai perfectly distilled the image of the warrior as lethal enigma -- a powder keg with a topknot and very short fuse.

Foreign investors have spent years playing a fiscal version of "Where's Waldo?" searching for bad real estate deals and other debt bombs buried deep inside Japanese companies. Now they are finally getting help in their bid to expose this often dark, fetid area of Japan's economy. And if the early disclosures are any indication, Japan's day of corporate reckoning will be ugly.