Essay
Did Japan Nearly Have its Own Prohibition Era?
Japan has a noted drinking culture. Yet, as Japan modernized, a surprising number embraced the foreign concept of alcohol prohibition.
February 13, 2023
Japan has a noted drinking culture. Yet, as Japan modernized, a surprising number embraced the foreign concept of alcohol prohibition.
Why some license plates in Japan are named after a delicious food (and no, it doesn’t mean your car’s been boiled in oil).
“Mama” and “papa” are such ubiquitous parental terms in Japan that it’s easy to forget they’re foreign words – words the government once tried to ban.
In Japan, the recent past is often obscured beneath endless concrete. Meiji Mura is one of the few places to discover the atmosphere of modernizing, turn-of-the-century Japan.
In Tokyo, the recent past is often obscured beneath endless concrete. Take a journey through the city’s history to discover why.
In 1873, the newly-minted Meiji government banned the age-old practice of kataki-uchi: blood revenge. Seven years later, the son of a murdered samurai would take his vengeance nonetheless.
As the era of the samurai ended and Japan rushed towards modernization, a rough-scrabble fashion movement called the Bankara rose in opposition.
Amidst the backdrop of World War II’s start, one last survivor of the old Edo period order died. Who was Hayashi Tadataka, the last daimyo?
Eerie and beautiful, Kwaidan is the perfect introduction to the classic ghost stories of Japan. Further revelations await those who look deeper into its dark mirror.
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