The wako (also called wokou or waegu) were a group of marauders that dominated the seas of East Asia for centuries. They have been seen by Western historians and culture as a kind of Japanese pirate...
A small village in northern Japan attracts thousands of visitors each year claiming to be the site of the true tomb of Jesus Christ. Local legend has it that he visited Japan during his lost years ,...
Nestled in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture a couple of hours southeast of Osaka, Japan by car lies a world-famous cemetery that is home to the graves of over 200,000 Buddhist monks who are said...
It’s likely that if you’ve ever seen a Hollywood action film you’ve probably heard of jujutsu. Thanks to films like The Matrix and the John Wick franchise, jujutsu is more in the public eye than ever...
When you think of martial arts, karate is probably one of the first that comes to mind. It has appeared in countless action films, TV shows, and video games. Today, parents all over the world send...
Now this is family dedication – a hotel that has been passed down 52 generations of one Japanese family over more than 13 centuries! The hot spring Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan hotel in Japan’s Yamanashi...
The Baku, otherwise known as the dream eater, is a mythological being or spirit in Chinese and Japanese folklore which is said to devour nightmares. The Baku cannot be summoned without caution,...
Throughout time, there are a few instances where the weather became a determining factor in the outcome of a battle. The Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 AD have often been cited as salient...
The Mongols attempted two major invasions of Japan during the 13th century, in 1274 and 1281 AD, led by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan . On both occasions however, a massive typhoon (tropical...
A legendary volcanic rock in Japan associated with an ancient evil vixen-demon, has split in two. While geologists assure the occurrence is natural, others are convinced the chaotic fox spirit has...
The origins of a bizarre creature that resides in a Japanese temple are being studied. While the so-called mermaid is worshipped as such, a folklorist suspects this is another P. T. Barnum special...
Immuring themselves in an underground stone chamber, sealed tight, waiting to die: that is what more than 24 known individuals did in northern Japan from the 1200s until the 19th century, though it...
A team of scientists has mapped the alignments and orientations of hundreds of ancient Japanese Kofun keyhole-shaped burials, only to discover that not some of them, but all of them, face towards the...
After analyzing artifacts collected from three locations in the Saitama Prefecture, which is located just north of Tokyo, a Japanese archaeologist has announced findings that shed new light on the...
The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous monarchy in the world, but it faces a clear succession crisis in the 21st century. Imperial descendance and inheritance is only passed through male...
It is hard to think of Japan without sumo wrestling. This unique and very old sport has been one of the indivisible aspects of Japanese identity for over 1,500 years or more! Granted, sumo wrestling...
A team of Japanese archaeologists have discovered what they consider to be the remains of is the legendary Tokaden royal pavilion. Until the early 8th century the Japanese court was peripatetic,...
Debuted in 1825, The Glasgow Looking Glass - later renamed The Northern Looking Glass - was a satirical publication which lampooned the fashions and politics of the time. The Glasgow Looking Glass...
A team of researchers has launched another attempt answering questions about Native American origins, in other words when and how the Americas were first populated. By analyzing DNA samples and a...
The archipelago nation of Japan has been occupied since the Upper Paleolithic period (36,000 BC), and dual genomic Japanese ancestry has been the dominant theory, up until now. A new study carried...
Japan is a nation rich in history and old, venerated traditions. The enigmatic geisha are considered as one of the cornerstones of that iconic Japanese tradition, and are certainly admired all over...
A new archaeological study in Japan, published in the August issue of Journal of Archaeological Science , has produced evidence supporting the idea that population growth can lead to an increase in...
Who knew innocent little Fluffy could be so devious? Cats’ reputations have often swayed from good to evil over the years as they have been both revered and feared around the world. One of the most...
A new scientific report published in Nature has concluded that the modern Japanese descended from the Minatogawa people of the Paleolithic era. This is based on a DNA study of a 20,000-year-old human...