Treaty of San Francisco, cornerstone of U.S. Japan defence pact, turns 70 in September
On 8 September 8th, the world will mark the 70th anniversary of the Treaty of San Francisco that Japan signed with the United States in 1951….
History
How the Great Fire of 1657 shaped modern Tokyo
Take a stroll around modern Tokyo and the city appears to be the epitome of orderly peace and calm. It’s hard to believe that it…
1,400 Year Old “Red Sign” Mystery in Japan’s Sky Solved
1,400 years ago Japan was undergoing significant changes. The introduction of Buddhism into the country had led to the development of Japanese literature, art, society…
Japanese Twitter User Shares Grandfather’s Miracle War Story and Photos of Life-Saving Item
This week, survivors of the atomic bombing of Japan during World War 2 marked the 74th anniversary of the attack with a minute’s silence in…
The Edo Period Japanese Folktale Giving UFO Believers Hope
In the early 19th century, a mysterious, unidentified floating object washed up on the shore of the Hitachi region in Japan and was found by…
Rare Restored Footage With Sound Of Kyoto In 1929
It’s always fascinating to take a look back in time to newsreel footage from Japan’s earlier years, particularly footage in vibrant cultural areas such as…
Creepy Abandoned Underground Train Station in Tokyo Now Open to the Public
If you’re interested in ‘haikyo’ (the exploration of abandoned areas for creepy thrills and cool photos), but less excited about the ‘tresspassing’ aspect of the…
‘Nose-hair’ and Other Japanese Family Names That Make People Hate Their Ancestors
Japan is a country with a population of about 130 million people and about 300,000 different family names. You’ve probably heard of the common ones…
Tokyo 1964 and 2020: How the Olympics Have Transformed the City
by Robert Whiting, via JAPAN forward It is something my wife and I look forward to: every morning we walk along the glimmering waterfront at…
4 Tokyo Ninja Hideouts Wannabe Shinobi Need to Experience
Ninjas continue to capture the imagination of overseas visitors as one of the most badass aspects of Japanese history. There are certain prefectures of historical…
Watch Vintage Footage of Famous Sights in Tokyo from 1915
Numbers of foreign visitors to Japan have been skyrocketing recently and naturally Tokyo is getting a lot of the tourism. With that in mind, it’s…
22,000 People Throng To Edo-Tokyo Museum Reopening Event “Edo→Tokyo Vision”
Reopening of the Edo-Tokyo Museum Celebrating its reopening after a six-month closure, the Edo-Tokyo Museum held a spectacular series of events from April 1 to…
Watch How the Edo Period Shaped Today’s Tokyo with Video Celebrating Edo-Tokyo Museum’s Reopening
In the historical sumo area of Ryogoku, there’s an odd piece of architecture. Although it might look like something out of Star Wars, this building…
How Modern Day Services are Adopting a Kyoto Style to Blend in to Historic Neighbourhoods
A big company acquiring premises in a historical area risks spoiling the aesthetics of the whole street. To keep the locals happy it’s important to…
Now You Can Experience Traditional Japanese Art in Mixed Reality at Historic Kyoto Temple
Although Japan is known as the country where modernity and tradition collide, Japanese history has never been brought to life by technology quite like this…