It was a dark and stormy night. A young Buddhist monk named Kukai was aboard one of four ships crossing the East China Sea from Kyushu to Tang China, fearing, as did all aboard, for his life. He prayed for rescue to Munakata Omikami, a goddess of the sea, and also invoked the help of … Continue reading Chinkokuji: preserving part of Kukai’s legacy
Ibaraki's Kasama is a bit of a hidden treasure. Just a couple of hours from Tokyo, it is relatively unknown by foreign tourists, and even by most Japanese. Yet it offers many interesting sights and activities, especially at this time of year. Kasama hosts an annual azalea festival from mid-April to early May (in 2023, … Continue reading Kasama: abundant azaleas (and other delights)
This article in Japan Today describes things to see and do on the border islands of Tsushima and Iki, closer to Korea than to the Japanese mainland with history to match their location. (Archived article published in Japan Today.)
Seventh century Japan wasn't yet a nation-state, but neither were any of its Asian neighbors. Nonetheless, the most powerful of the various groups on the Japanese archipelago, the Yamato, had regular trade and cultural exchanges with its counterparts on the Korean Peninsula, especially the kingdom of Baekche (southwestern quadrant of the peninsula). So when the … Continue reading Kikuchi Castle: an ancient mountain fortress
The island of Iki sits in the Tsushima Strait, about halfway between the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula and the northwestern shore of Kyushu island. Given its position, it has seen a lot of historical events. Iki was once commonly known as Onigashima (Ogre Island) thanks to a legend that a band of ogres … Continue reading Ondako: a curious symbol for an historical island
This year’s most noteworthy snowfall may have been the 1,720 centimeters the fall in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and Nevada. And that is, indeed, a lot of snow! But the stricken area is relatively sparsely populated. Consider the situation of Sapporo on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. A city with a population of … Continue reading Significant snowfall city Sapporo finds ways to keep its streets clear
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