History

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…

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…

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…

Tokugawa Ieyasu: The Hero That Everyone in Japan Hates

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