FOOD
Samurai Cultivator: The Birth of Modern Apple Cultivation in Japan
Apples, such as the delectable fuji, are ubiquitous in Japan. Yet cultivation of the fruit began relatively recently - during the waning…
meiji era
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FOOD
ENTERTAINMENT
Benshi: The Voice and Color of Japanese Silent Cinema
Once, professional live narrators for silent films in Japan were bigger stars than the actual actors onscreen. This is the story of…
HISTORY
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…
FEATURED
Melonpan: The Japan Sweet Bread’s Armenian History
Melonpan, the sweet baked good that delights people across East Asia, was the creation of one Armenian man living in the diaspora…
HISTORY
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…
CULTURE
Hajichi: The Banned Traditional Tattoos of Okinawa
These tattoos, native to the Ryukyuan people, were once banned from being practiced. Now, they're making a comeback.
FEATURED
Japan’s Schindler: How Sugihara Chiune Saved Thousands Of Jewish Refugees
The story of how a Japanese diplomat went against the dictates of his own government in order to issue Jewish refugees with…
HISTORY
The Japanese Who Came to Call Brazil Home
Why are there so many Brazilian-Japanese in Japan? The answer goes back to the Meiji era, and the government's need to get…