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The Yuta, The Noro, And The “Okinawan Witch Trials”
What does one do when beset by illness, bad luck, or a case of lost keys? If you’re in Okinawa one possibility is to consult a yuta. The yuta are female spirit mediums who have been around for...
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A Beginner’s Guide to Shochu
Shōchū is a liquor with strong ties to Kyushu, especially Kagoshima. My appreciation of shōchū began in the year I spent studying in Fukuoka. I traveled all over Kyushu, but very little in Honshu. Late...
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The Evolution of Karate
Karate stands alongside the likes of judo, kendo, and sumo as one of Japan’s most famous martial arts. However, as Karate Kid II taught us, karate was born in Okinawa. Not only that, but it was born in...
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Lords of Kumamoto: Kato Kiyomasa and the Hosokawa
Last fall I visited Kumamoto Castle. Though mostly a reconstruction, it’s impressive nonetheless. There is currently a regular live show on the castle grounds, in which actors dressed as famous samurai...
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The Ryukyu King And His Fantastic 1-Year-Long Parade
Everyone loves a parade. If you’ve spent time in Japan maybe you’ve been lucky enough to see a festival parade, but today I want to talk about a different sort of parade. During the Edo period, the...
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A Bridge Across Time
Nagasaki’s Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) got its name from the way the reflection of its double arches in the river combine with the bridge itself to look like a pair of glasses. In addition to its...
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Tracing the History of Japan’s Mythical Lion Dogs
If you’ve ever been to a shrine in Japan, odds are you’ve seen a pair of dog-like lions flanking the entrance. If you’ve been to Okinawa you’ve seen them just about everywhere. In fact you can see some...
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The Island Inbetween: Tsushima and the Sō Family
You may have never heard of the island of Tsushima, but for hundreds of years it was the door between Japan and Korea. Tsushima’s location was ideal for international trade, situated roughly fifty...
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The In-between Island: Tsushima and the Sō Pt 2
If you haven’t read Part 1 in this series, make sure to go back and read it, before starting this one. Part 2 will make more sense and you won’t be missing out on all the cool drama, intrigue, cultural...
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Are You Kelping Me? There is More Than One Seaweed on the Menu?
Wrapping your sushi, topping your okonomiyaki, or floating in your miso soup: there’s a lot of seaweed in Japanese cuisine. Seaweed consumption has a long history in Japan. In the Taiho Code of 701,...
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Invasion of the Species
Dear readers, I don’t mean to alarm you, but we are currently experiencing an alien invasion. Some of these aliens are just arriving, but others have been amongst us for decades. They have contaminated...
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Spiders in Japan: The Tiniest Kaiju
Arachnophobes be warned. Today’s article is all about our little eight-legged friends. Spiders, and monsters inspired by them, have held a place in Japanese culture for centuries. Japan is also...
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Christians in Kyushu, Part 1: Guns and Rosaries
In 1543 the first Europeans arrived in Japan. Two (maybe three) Portuguese merchants aboard a Chinese ship were blown off course and forced to land on the island of Tanegashima, just south of Kyushu....
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Christians in Kyushu, Part 2: The Shogun Strikes Back
Be sure to check out Part 1 before engaging in this epic second part. When we last left off, Oda Nobunaga, the padres’ most powerful patron had just perished. The next great unifier to take his place...
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Christians in Kyushu, Part 3: The Last Stand
Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 to understand the history of Japanese Christianity that bring us here! When last we left our holy heroes, the situation for Christians in Japan had gone from...
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Japan’s Wild Boar Problem
In the movie “Princess Mononoke,” a young warrior must save his village from a giant demon that has come rampaging out of the mountain forests. After its death the beast is revealed to be a wild boar...
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The Meaning of 国
Kuni can be a troublesome word. Full of ambiguity, it can be translated as country, nation, state, or kingdom. For native English speakers, the confusion is compounded by the distinctions between...
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Juri and Prostitution in Ryukyu
Prior to 1609, Ryukyu (modern day Okinawa prefecture) was an independent kingdom, but in that year the Shimazu clan of Satsuma (in southern Kyushu) successfully invaded. The Shimazu left the Ryukyuan...
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Samurai Nicknames, Monikers, Aliases, and Pseudonyms
When I studied abroad in Japan I was not the only Adam in my program, so in an effort to differentiate my friends dubbed me “Megane,” due to my spectacular specs. Nicknames are quite common in English...
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Kata and Kiai in Martial and Other Arts
Hi-yah! A stoic martial arts hero dramatically works his way through a series of deadly techniques handed down from generation to generation, punctuated by a fearsome shout. It’s a familiar scene to...
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