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Tag - edo-period

 
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July 25, 2026
 

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EDO PERIOD

Recognized as a tangible cultural property in 2003, the former residence of the Iizuka family is now a boutique hotel in Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 13, 2026
Inside Iizukatei, a 200-year-old home turned boutique hotel in Tochigi
The dwelling stands as the first tangible cultural property in eastern Japan to be transformed into a hotel.
A portrait of Hiraga Gennai painted by the artist Nakamaru Seijuro in 1886, currently at Waseda University Library in Tokyo.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Mar 23, 2026
An island tale of myth, desire and the wisdom of laughter
A journey from Japan¡¯s oldest myths to Edo eccentric Hiraga Gennai, who discovers the absurdity and humor at life¡¯s core.
A statue of Saint Francis Xavier in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture. Christianity spread rapidly in Kyushu before facing brutal suppression under the Tokugawa shogunate.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Jan 16, 2026
How Tokugawa Japan learned to fear faith
The Shimabara Rebellion reveals how faith, fear and power converged in Tokugawa Japan, ending in martyrdom, massacre and historical memory.
A folding screen depicts a Dutch vessel allied with the Tokugawa shogunate in its efforts to quash a rebellion of local ronin and Catholic peasants led by Amakusa Shiro.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Dec 20, 2025
Edo Japan¡¯s bloody legacy of Christian revolt
By the end of the 16th century, Kyushu was more Christian than Buddhist ¡ª setting the stage for one of the most violent clashes of the Edo Period (1603-1867).
A print by Utagawa Kuniyasu (1794-1832) depicts a bustling scene at a fish market in Nihonbashi.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Oct 18, 2025
Of sound and silence in old Japan
While haiku poets like Basho extolled the virtues of tranquility, premodern Japan was likely a noisier affair than most people imagine.
A <i>shunga</i> work by Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825) is on display at an exhibition of erotic Japanese art in the Kabukicho red-light entertainment area in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 8, 2025
Traditional Japanese erotic art exhibition puts female pleasure in focus
An erotic form of ukiyo-e, shunga is often dismissed as mere pornography. An exhibition in Kabukicho aims to highlight its artistry.
Ashikaga Takauji was a 14th-century warrior whose shifting alliances had a profound impact on the turbulent politics of his day. More than 500 years later, imperial loyalists were moved to channel their lingering fury at Takauji's betrayal of Emperor Go-Daigo.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
May 17, 2025
The emperor and the shogun: A power struggle across the centuries
For imperial loyalists of the late Edo Period, the experiences of Emperor Go-Daigo from five centuries past were an inspiration ¡ª and a warning.
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
LIFE / Travel
May 8, 2025
Celebrating Japan¡¯s defeat at Shimoda¡¯s Black Ship Festival
Held this year from May 16 to 18, an event to the south of Tokyo turns a historical episode of national humiliation into a plain old good time.
National agency Heritage Malta worked with Japan¡¯s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the painstaking restoration of samurai armor that spent over half a century forgotten in storage in Valletta, Malta.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History
May 1, 2025
Lost and found history receives glittering homecoming at Osaka Expo
Hidden away since World War II, samurai armor gifted to Malta from Japan in 1862 has been restored to its full glory and put on display at the Malta Pavilion.
UNESCO's executive board on Thursday added Buddhist scriptures kept at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple to its Memory of the World register.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 18, 2025
Zojoji Buddhist scriptures added to UNESCO Memory of the World
The scriptures were collected by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan¡¯s Edo era, and donated to the temple.
Shunbaisai Hokuei's tetraptych from the series "108 Heroes of the Theater Suikoden"
CULTURE / Books
Mar 22, 2025
Osaka¡¯s kabuki fan culture fueled an elusive figure of the ukiyo-e scene
In his new book, John Fiorillo partly lifts the veil on Shunbaisai Hokuei, who dominated the ukiyo-e art world in the Kamigata region during the early 19th century.?
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Feb 16, 2025
Himeji Castle entrance fee to go up 2.5-fold for nonresidents
The city plans to use the resulting windfall for maintenance, online ticket sales, bag check services and guided tours for foreign visitors.
Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama ¡°Unbound¡± began airing this month.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / Longform
Jan 26, 2025
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo¡¯s media maverick
Discover the hometown of the Yoshiwara publisher who helped shape Japan¡¯s artistic legacy and inspired NHK¡¯s latest period drama.
NHK¡¯s latest taiga period drama, ¡°Unbound,¡± centers on Tsutaya Juzaburo (Ryusei Yokohama), a commoner who becomes a successful bookseller and publisher.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 10, 2025
¡®Unbound¡¯ breaks NHK period drama tradition with a hero of the common folk
Public broadcaster NHK marks its 100th anniversary by flipping the script on its long-running period drama series.
A falconer during the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society's event in Tokyo on Friday. Falconry predates recorded history, originating, scholars believe, when nomadic herders observed birds of prey hunting and recognized their potential as partners.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 5, 2025
Tokyo falconers keep ancient traditions soaring
While a recent showcase was all about fun and education, like other sports involving animals, falconry is also serious business for competitors at the upper echelons of the sport.
"Ukiyoe Immersive Art Exhibition" includes an installation of Katsushika Hokusai¡¯s ¡°The Great Wave off Kanagawa.¡±
CULTURE / Art
Dec 25, 2024
Step into ukiyo-e: A digital journey through Japan¡¯s traditional art form
¡°Ukiyoe Immersive Art Exhibition¡± uses 3D animation and projection mapping to reimagine Edo-era woodblock prints for modern audiences.
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda¡¯s surprise hit ¡°A Samurai in Time.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2024
The slow-burn success of ¡®A Samurai in Time¡¯
Junichi Yasuda¡¯s film about a time-traveling warrior is a loving tribute to the ¡°jidaigeki¡± (period drama) genre and its practitioners.
Students from Agatsuma¡¯s butoh workshop, also part of Sumi-Yume, will be joining her and professional butoh dancer Tomoshi Shioya for this weekend¡¯s shows.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 8, 2024
Butoh dances to the sounds of Hokusai¡¯s hometown
Performances of the avant-garde dance form are part of a program dedicated to the revered artist and celebrating the local community in Sumida Ward.
An idealistic samurai (Taiga Nakano) leads a motley gang of felons on a suicide mission to defend a fortress during the 1868-69 Boshin War.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2024
¡®11 Rebels¡¯: Underdog antiheroes deliver a crowd pleaser
A knotty period in Japanese history gets a modern treatment in Kazuya Shiraishi¡¯s spectacle-driven samurai period drama.
Eight warriors fight to end a curse placed on a samurai clan in ¡°Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2024
¡®Hakkenden¡¯ has fun with Edo-era pulp fiction
The film presents both a bio of Takizawa Bakin, whose writing had a large impact on Japanese pop culture, and a snazzy live-action digest of his influential novel.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Head of Swiss euthanasia firm dies after collapsing while ascending Mount Fuji
Around 200,000 people typically scale the 3,776 meter Mount Fuji each year.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse&#039;s brain.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan&#039;s relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces&#039; Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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