Japanese Candles Are Made from Tree Berries
Traditional Japanese candles are not made from paraffin. They are not made from beeswax or palm wax or any other […]
The Hibachi Is Not What Americans Think It Is
There is a linguistic problem to sort out before anything else. In English-speaking restaurants since about 1964, “hibachi” has meant
Japan Still Measures Its Rooms in Tatami
A Japanese real-estate listing in 2026 will tell you the floor area of an apartment in square metres and also
Every Japanese Room Has a Story Above the Door
In almost every serious traditional Japanese room — the zashiki reception room of a merchant house, the abbot’s quarters of
The Angle of a Kawara Tile Has Not Changed in 1400 Years
Kawara roof tiles come out of the kiln at exactly the same firing angle that Baekje-Korean potters brought to Japan
Japan Cannot Look Inside Hashihaka Kofun
Hashihaka Kofun is the oldest large-scale burial mound in Japan, and possibly the single most important unexcavated archaeological site in
Nishio Castle Sits in Japans Other Matcha Capital
Nishio Castle is the castle in the other matcha capital. Most English-language Japan coverage of matcha green-tea culture stops at
Komaki-Nagakute Was a Draw That Ieyasu Won
The Battle of Komaki-Nagakute is the one engagement Tokugawa Ieyasu ever fought directly against Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It lasted seven months
Ieyasu Painted Himself Defeated at Mikatagahara
Sometime in the winter of 1573 or the spring of 1574 — the Tokugawa household records are ambiguous on the
How Hashiba Hideyoshi Won Shizugatake in a Five-Hour March
The Battle of Shizugatake was decided before it was fought. Specifically, it was decided during a five-hour forced march that