The skeletal remains of a legendary English samurai who landed in Japan in 1600 AD, on his way to the New World with an ill-fated Dutch convoy, have been positively identified by archaeologists. The...
Archaeologists excavating at the residence of the Ashikaga Shogunate family in Japan have unearthed a collection of eight enormous garden stones. The shogunate , was the hereditary military...
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva, in its most general sense, refers to a person who is on his/her way to becoming a buddha. More specifically, bodhisattvas are savior-like beings who forsake their own...
Japanese mythology is collectively chronicled in the Kojiki , the oldest historical record written in Japan in 712 AD, and in the Nihon Shoki written in 720. As was common practice before the age of...
The world’s oldest sake brewery has been discovered by archaeologists excavating in Japan . All over the ancient world people fermented plants and flavored them with fruits and herbs creating ‘stiff...
The word ‘wizard’ is derived from the Middle English word ‘wys’ (meaning wise) and the suffix ‘-ard.’ Therefore, a wizard was basically a wise man, up until around the middle of the 16th century AD...
Tokyo is a modern city, yet it is also a very historic place and it is especially renowned for its temples. One of the most famous temples in Tokyo is the Sensoji Temple. This is the oldest in the...
As far as Asian nations and their histories go, one of the most interesting places that grabs everyone’s attention is Japan. The islands of Japan were always home to many lords, kingdoms, and...
Archaeologists in Kyoto , Japan believe that they have found the remains of an ancient pagoda. This five-story pagoda has been lost for centuries and it dates to the Heian period (794-1185). This...
A fire has engulfed an historic castle in Japan. The blaze badly damaged Shuri Castle on the southern island of Okinawa and destroyed much of the complex. This fortress is a UNESCO world heritage...
The Chrysanthemum Throne is the throne of the Emperor of Japan and a metonym referring to the Japanese monarchy itself. The Japanese imperial family has recently been in the news, due to the...
Gyotaku is a traditional Japanese art form that is highly unique, and some may even say bizarre. The word Gyotaku itself is a combination of two separate words – Gyo , which means ‘fish’, and Taku ,...
In the year 1770, within a large village house by the bustling city of Edo, Japan (modern day Tokyo City), a large collective of apprentices studied under their teacher, Utagawa Toyoharu, in...
A brave Japanese and Taiwanese rowing team has successfully replicated a 32,000-year-old ancient sea migration route in a traditional dugout canoe. After two failed attempts on Sunday afternoon, one...
The practice of Onmyōdō has a contentious history in Japan and, for reasons that will become clear, was outlawed for some time along with its close cousin, Shugendō (修験道). Onmyōdō, means literally, ‘...
The Samurai class was officially dissolved over 150 years ago. Nonetheless, the warriors’ elaborate armor is still recognized globally as an iconic emblem of Japanese military strength and virtue...
The Tengu ( 天狗 ) are possibly the most recognizable of all the Japanese yokai , with their enormous black wings and faces of either a large crow or a red-faced, long-nosed, goblin . They are often...
The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century...
Shinigami are Japanese death gods or death spirits. They are akin to the Grim Reaper in many ways, however these supernatural beings may be somewhat less frightening and they arrived later on the...
The Katana sword was considered as the Samurai soul. That is why some people treat Samurai and katana as synonymous words. It is true that a Samurai and his sword is inseparable, but believe it or...
A ritual based religion, Shintoism is defined as "the way of the gods" in Japan, from the Chinese Shendao. It is the indigenous religion of the country, and survives today as the state religion,...
Thousands of peach pits have been found at a Japanese archaeological site. It seems there is more to the story than simply a fondness for the fruit - sources suggest that the ancient peaches were...
According to the Japanese State Broadcaster NHK, experts have made an astonishing discovery in a Buddhist statuette in Japan. Investigators, from the Nara National University examined the statuette...
Could you imagine? You are tired after working for hours on fixing a roadway when you suddenly find a strange slab of stone. This gives you a jolt of energy and you call a coworker over. Together you...
