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Oura Castle
Ōura Castle (大浦城 Ōurajō) was a flatland castle (平城 hirajiro) located in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. It is 3 kilometres west of Hirosaki Castle, at the foot of Mount Iwaki. Aerial photographs taken...
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Nomura Samurai House
The former residence of the Nomura family (野村家) is located in Nagamachi, the bukeyashiki or samurai quarter of Kanazawa. This quiet district is characterised by its long, straight mud-daub walls topped...
View ArticleMuromachi Period
The Ashikaga ShogunateThe Muromachi shogunate (1338-1573) was the second of Japan's three military regimes (幕府 bakufu), between the Kamakura shogunate (1192-1333) and the Tokugawa shogunate...
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Iwakura Tomomi
Iwakura Tomomi (岩倉具視, 1825-1883) was a courtier and statesman who played a vital role in the Meiji Restoration. The only court noble in the early Meiji government, he was described as shrewd and...
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The Fujiwara Clan
Fujiwara family crestThe Fujiwara family (藤原氏 Fujiwara-shi) was an influential family of Japanese courtiers that exercised significant political power during much of the Heian Period (794-1185). It...
View ArticleUkiyo-e: Japanese woodblock prints and paintings
Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, lit. pictures of the floating world) are woodblock prints and paintings of a school of artists that emerged in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1868). With the increasing wealth of...
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Horikoshi Castle
Horikoshi Castle (堀越城 Horikoshi-jō) was a flatland castle (平城 hirajiro) located in Horikoshi-chō, Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, in the southern part of the Tsugaru Plain. It was designated as a national...
View ArticleTokyo Skytree - History and Facts
Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリ) is located in Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo. Originally conceived as "New Tokyo Tower" (新東京タワ), it is a broadcasting, restaurant and observation tower with a maximum height of 634...
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Kameido Tenjinsha
. Kameido Shrine (亀戸天神社 Kameido Tenjinsha) is a Shintō shrine in the Kōtō Ward of Tōkyō. It was founded in 1662 and enshrines the deified spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, the patron of scholars and...
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Biwako Terrace
Biwako Terrace is located in Biwako Valley, a mountain resort in Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture. The terrace café lies in the Hira Mountains (比良山地), on Mount Uchimi, at an altitude of 1,103 metres and...
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Uchiyama Castle
Uchiyama Castle (内山城 Uchiyama-jō) is located in the mountains east of Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. The castle was most likely constructed in the early 16th century by the local Ōi (大井) clan who ruled...
View ArticleSake Glossary
A Akiagari (秋あがり): sake brewed in early spring and stored during summer; around September, when the outside temperature and the temperature of the sake are about the same, the sake is released without...
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Daibutsugahana Castle
Daibutsugahana Castle (大仏ヶ鼻城 Daibutsugahana-jō) was a flatland castle (平城 hirajiro) in the southern part of Hirosaki City. It is also called Ishikawa Castle (石川城) or Ishikawa-date (石川館). It was located...
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Edo-Tokyo Museum
The Edo-Tokyo Museum is closed for renovation until the end of 2025. Designed by the renowned architect Kikutake Kiyonori, the Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館) was modelled after traditional stilted...
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Yukio Mishima
Renowned poet, actor, reactionary Born on 14 January 1925, in Yotsuya, Tokyo, under the name Hiraoka Kimitake (平岡公威), the young Mishima was raised by his grandmother Natsu, an illegitimate...
View ArticleMatsumoto Travel Guide
Matsumoto (松本) is located in central Nagano Prefecture and used to be a provincial capital from the eighth century. It was the base of the senior branch of the Ogasawara clan (小笠原氏), the shugo (守護,...
View ArticleKinship expressions in Japanese
8.4. Kinship8.4.1. Kinship reference termsJapanese kinship terms have two categories: reference terms and address terms. The latter is used to call your family without using their name, like the...
View ArticleObon Festival
The Bon (盆) or Obon (お盆) Festival, also known as Urabon (盂蘭盆), is a Buddhist observance to honour the spirits of ancestors. It is traditionally observed from 13 to 15 July in the Kantō and Tōhoku area...
View ArticleJogasaki Coast
The coast of Jōgasaki (城ヶ崎海岸 Jōgasaki Kaigan) is located on the eastern shore of Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture, just south of the city of Itō. The rugged and picturesque coast was formed some...
View ArticleShirihachi-date
Shirihachi Castle (尻八館 Shirihachi-date) is a mountain castle in the eastern part of the Tsugaru Peninsula. Although it has an unusual name, it is said that it was initially called Shiripolo-chashi...
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