WOMEN
Mibuchi Yoshiko: How Japan’s Trailblazing Female Lawyer Overcame Prejudice
Until 1933, women in Japan were forbidden from being lawyers. This is the story of how Mibuchi Yoshiko overcame the law -…
taisho era
WOMEN
ENTERTAINMENT
Inside the Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s Biggest Literary Award
The Akutagawa Prize has made the career of many up-and-coming Japanese writers - but it's not without its controversies. Learn more about…
FOOD
Japan Debates: What’s the Best Raw Egg on Rice Recipe?
Do you stir before putting the egg on - or after? And IS there one right way to eat tamago kake gohan,…
HISTORY
Moga: Japan’s “Modern Girl” of the Taisho Era
She was a symbol of prewar prosperity - and controversy. How the "modern girl" of Japan's roaring 1920s defined a new path…
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Group Promoting Latin Characters for Japanese Writing Gives Up
Earlier this year, a group that aimed to replace the Japanese writing system with the Latin alphabet admitted defeat.
WOMEN
Tamura Toshiko: The ‘New Woman’ Feminist in Early Modern Japan
In Taisho era Japan, Tamura Toshiko emerged as one of the preeminent writers of the "New Woman" movement. Her legacy extends farther…
HISTORY
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.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Mama, Papa: How the Japanese Words for Parents Lost Out to English
"Mama" and "papa" are such ubiquitous parental terms in Japan that it's easy to forget they're foreign words - words the government…