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UNSEEN JAPAN

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Mount Fuji next to a deep blue vista, besides which text reads various historical names representing the etymology of Japan.

How Nihon Became Japan: The Etymology of Japan in English

Most languages use a variation of the name Japan - except for Japan itself! Learn the etymology of Japan, and the reason for the difference.
Shirota Minoru, inventor of Yakult, stands amongst cartoon yakult bottles and a splash of milk

Mr. Yakult: Shirota Minoru, the Microbiologist Behind Japan’s Favorite Health Drink

Learn how tragedy inspired Shirota Minoru, father of popular Japanese drink Yakult, to pursue a career in preventive medicine.
A geisha walks in kimono down a Kyoto street, a paper umbrella obscuring her face.

Abuse in the Geisha World: Former Maiko Speaks Out

A former apprentice geisha at a Kyoto geisha house has created a flurry of online activity after describing abuses in the traditional industry.
Edo era woman

Stranger in the Shogun’s City is Masterful History and Storytelling

An historian and scholar of Japan uses her knowledge and talent to bring the story of one 19th-century Japanese woman to life.
The equestrian statue of Date Masamune in Sendai.

Lost and Restored: The Equestrian Statue of Date Masamune

A massive earthquake struck northern Japan, damaging the famed statue of Date Masamune in Sendai. But Date - and Sendai - are nothing if not resilient.

Abortion In Japan: A History

A look at how abortion in Japan evolved throughout the ages, from a financial necessity to a call for the acknowledgment of women's rights.
Picture of the title of the post over a woman talking on her cell phone and expressing various emotions in 14 separate illustrations

Yabai! Its Meaning and Versatility in Modern Japanese

There's no word quite like "yabai" in Japanese - an extremely popular slang term that can mean anything from "awful" to "risky" to "excellent, dude!" Yet the prevalence of "yabai" has some worried.

Shigenobu Fusako, Japanese Red Army Leader, to be Released from Prison this Month

After twenty years, Shigenobu Fusako, the face of the infamous international Japanese Red Army, will see the end of her prison sentence.
A girl engages in saboru - she throws her textbook away.

Saboru: The Strange Origins of “Cutting Class” in Japanese

Mass strikes, the creation of the 8-hour workday, and an early 20th-century vogue for foreign words - all led to the most popular Japanese word many don't even realize is foreign in origin.

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