Writer

Nyri Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian is an author, recovering academic, raconteur, and Your Favorite History Lesbian. Her PhD thesis focused on the Boshin War in the Tohoku region. She is the author of "Grey Dawn: A Tale of Abolition and Union" (Balance of Seven Press, 2020) and "Confluence: A Person-Shaped Story" (Balance of Seven Press, 2022). She hosts Friday Night History on anchor.fm/fridaynighthistory and the secret to her success is Arabic coffee. She misses Sendai daily.

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Articles by Nyri Bakkalian

53 articles · Page 7

A melonpan atop the flags of Armenia and Japan.

Featured

Melonpan: The Japan Sweet Bread’s Armenian History

Melonpan, the sweet baked good that delights people across East Asia, was the creation of one Armenian man living in the diaspora…

The cover for Winifred Bird's Eating Wild Japan

Book Reviews

Food from the Wild, Food for Thought: “Eating Wild Japan”

Winifred Bird's Eating Wild Japan is an in-depth, humanistic, and fascinating journey across the wilds of the country in search of foraging.

Woman samurai in front of Sukagawa fire festival

History

The Indomitable Lady Onami of Sukagawa

Too often, history leaves out the Japanese women who left their mark on the world around them. Meet Lady Onami, who led…

Powdered energy drink used by samurai of the house of Date

Food

A Forgotten Samurai Energy Drink

Hundreds of years before Red Bull, the samurai of the house of Date were drinking a powdered concoction said to replenish a…

Tohoku forest at center of Aomori-Iwate tree war and rivalry

History

A Forgotten Tohoku “Tree War” and an Enduring Rivalry

To this day, a rivalry exists between the northern Japanese prefectures of Aomori and Iwate. And its source? A bunch of trees.