TRAVEL
Cherry Blossoms, Miyagi Style: The Shiogama-sakura
On the grounds of Shiogama City's Shiogama Shrine are very special double-cherry blossoms. Here, we introduce you to their story. 💮
Tohoku
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TRAVEL
HISTORY
Stronger than the Wave: Five Southern Tohoku Folk Traditions
The Tohoku region's endured a lot over the past 200 years. How five rich folk traditions capture the durability and diversity of…
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…
BOOK REVIEWS
Food from the Wild, Food for Thought: “Eating Wild Japan”
Winifred Bird's Eating Wild Japan is an in-depth, humanistic, and fascinating journey across the wilds of the country in search of foraging.
HISTORY
The Indomitable Lady Onami of Sukagawa
Too often, history leaves out the Japanese women who left their mark on the world around them. Meet Lady Onami, who led…
FOOD
A Forgotten Samurai Energy Drink
Hundreds of years before Red Bull, the samurai of the house of Date were drinking a powdered concoction said to replenish a…
HISTORY
A Forgotten Tohoku “Tree War” and an Enduring Rivalry
To this day, a rivalry exists between the northern Japanese prefectures of Aomori and Iwate. And its source? A bunch of trees.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Zuzu-ben: How Japan’s Northern Dialects Became Shorthand for “Hick”
Why a wide range of local dialects in Japan's north are intrinsically - and unfairly - associated with rural backwardness.