Niseko United, one of Japan’s most well-known resorts, is the most popular ski resort among international tourists and skiers. Niseko United, which consists of five resorts on a single mountain, is arguably Japan’s largest ski resort. This is reflected in the fact that it has been named Japan’s Best Ski Resort for the past two …
This little mall, located in the most improbable of locations on the outskirts of metropolitan Tokyo, has become a hotspot for DIY fashionistas. The Kitakore Building, a run-down structure, has been restored in the image of several designers. Secret Dog, Garter, Ilil, Hayatochiri, and Southpole are all owned by creative designers who experiment with one-of-a-kind …
Situational Analysis: – Japan is open! Visa-free, independent travel is now possible for most nationalities. – Use the Visit Japan Web app to upload your Covid vaccination status or Covid test results. – If you are boosted with a Covid vaccine, you do not need a negative Covid test before flying to Japan. If you …
Nojiri Kazutoshi (1590-1680), a rônin who served two different daimyo but found himself masterless at the time of Banzan’s birth, three years after the passing of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was the father of Banzan when he was born in Kyoto (1543–1616). The daimyos Sakuma Jinkurô and Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) were served by Banzan’s grandfather (1556–1631). His …
During the Tenpô era (1830–1843), a period of famine and political upheaval that many historians believe to represent the start of the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate, Kido Kôin, a samurai from Chôshû, was born. He was a staunch supporter of the imperial dynasty who made a significant contribution to overthrowing the Tokugawa regime. He …
The Kakizaki family, a Matsumae collateral family that functioned as house councilors (karô), adopted Kakizaki Hirotoshi, the fifth son of the Matsumae daimyo (better known by his studio name, Hakyô). At the age of nine, the Ka-kizaki house head brought him to Edo, where he spent the next ten years living in the Matsumae domain …
You can almost probably find anything in nature if you can think of it. Some species pretend to be other species, live inside or on other species, survive in hot sulfur springs, the deep cold, inside snow, inside other species, and even hunt and store other species for later use. At least 45 species of …
Itô Hirobumi (then known as Hayashi Risuke) was raised as a samurai after being adopted from a farming family in the village of Tsukari in the Chôshû domain (modern-day Yamaguchi prefecture). He studied under the late Tokugawa loyalist scholar Yoshida Shôin and was a key figure in the Meiji Restoration and the early development of …
Koryûsai, one of the few samurai who also created ukiyoe (woodblock prints), was active from 1769 until his death in 1790. Suzuki Harunobu and Torii Kiyonaga had a better reputation as artists than him, although art historians have recently given his innovative contributions a more favorable evaluation. Koryûsai was a talented artist who created more …
During the Tokugawa era, samurai were expected to balance their study of martial techniques and literary (civil) subjects. This idea was known as bunbu. Early in the seventeenth century, maintaining a state of readiness for battle was essential because, under the Tokugawa shogun’s new leadership, the nation faced political instability and, in 1614–1615, conflict broke …