History

Karafuto: How Japan Gained – and Lost – a Prefecture

The story of how, for a brief period of time, the island of Karafuto controlled by Russia became an official part of Japan.

Sakhalin Island: Japan’s Final Frontier

How Japan's discovery of a large northern island devastated the island's native population - and how Japan lost control when Russia muscled in.

The Fall of Ezo, Japan’s “Samurai Democracy”

How Japan's samurai resistance fell to the pressure of history - and how its leader went from hatred traitor to respected leader.

The Last Samurai: Enomoto Takeaki and the Warrior Democracy of Ezo

The story of the samurai who fought the rise of modern Japan to the end - and who, when all else failed, founded his own nation-state.

The Student Deployment: When Japan Threw Its Youth Away

When Japan found itself in desperate straits in 1943, it used the one untapped resource it had left: its college youth. A former soldier tells how he survived - and the permanent damage it etched into his soul.

The Colonization of Hokkaido: How a “Foreign” Frontier Became Japan

How a mysterious frontier island peopled by "barbarians" became one of the four main islands of Japan - and how the original inhabitants suffered as a result.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke: A Life of Intense and Fleeting Genius

A brilliant author. A tragic trajectory. A powerful legacy. Learn more about the writer whose works inspired one of Kurosawa's most famous films.

Why Not? How Japan Danced Away Its Samurai Past

How a weird, unexplained event in the capital of Edo kicked off a frenetic dance movement across Japan that brought the era of the samurai to a close.

Tokugawa Ieyasu: The Hero That Everyone in Japan Hates

October 22, 2018
Featured, History, History, Patreon

He ended a century-long war and brought about 264 years of peace. So why does no one in Japan like Tokugawa Ieyasu?

History

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