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Mercenaries of Global Terror: Shigenobu Fusako and the Japanese Red Army

Shigenobu Fusako vowed to take the Japanese Red Army global. Her mission ended with dozens of innocent deaths.
Banei Racing

Banei Racing: Hokkaido’s Stubborn Settler Sport of Strength and Spirit

Hokkaido's fascinating Banei Racing, where massive draft horses pull weighted sleighs up slopes, is an intriguing remnant of a colonial history.
An Edo-era woman with naginata and brush stands before the colors of the Lesbian flag, symbolizing the queer aspects of this story.

Queer Echoes: Koike Chikyoku, Unlikely Warrior Artist

The story of a little-know artist-turned-warrior during the waning days of the samurai -- and who just might have been a queer woman.
Cover depicts Narita Airport in the background, juxtaposed to an image of the Sanrizuka Struggle.

Sanrizuka: The Battle for Narita Airport

Narita, Japan's busiest airport, was once the site of a titanic civil struggle that pitted thousands of armed activists and farmers against the state.
Woman samurai in front of Sukagawa fire festival

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 her clan in defiance of the Date clan.
The failed Meiji attempt to ban cremation

The Meiji Government’s Failed Attempt to Ban Cremation

With the end of the age of the samurai, the new Meiji government set off to curb any sign of "barbarity" within Japan - which, briefly, included cremation.
Asama Sano Lodge

Last Stand: The Hostage Crisis That Ended Japan’s Red Army

The disintegration of a far-left paramilitary group led to a standoff that was watched on live TV by 90% of the country - and that changed Japanese politics for decades.

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.
Blood on the Snow - JRA Part 2

Blood on the Snow: The Horrifying Implosion of Japan’s United Red Army

Pushed underground by vigilant police surveillance, Japan's militant far left went down a dark path that would tarnish its name in infamy for decades to come.

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