Sep 1

Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess

I first discovered stories about the thunder god, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, when I visited the Gion Matsuri last summer. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is...

Aug 19

An Introduction to Shinto

Have you ever wondered about Japanese Shinto shrines? What is the meaning behind those zigzag shapes of paper that hang from a rope, and...

Aug 9

The Chrysanthemum Festival

Do not think yourself The vanishing dew. Think instead Of the long-blooming Chrysanthemum flower. The Heian Court calendar was peppered...

Jan 22

Meet John Paul Foster: Kyoto Photographer of the Floating World

Mamefuji © John Paul Foster Meet John Paul Foster: Kyoto Photographer of the Floating World My Japan Journey Interview 6: John Paul...

Jul 23, 2023

Kyoto Travel Journal: Gion Matsuri 2023

Chigo, Yasaka Shrine Influences and Beginnings When I was in my early twenties, and without much experience of travel, I arrived with my...

Jan 20, 2023

Kyoto and Tokyo Travel Journal, Fall 2022

It was almost three years to the day when we returned to Kyoto in November 2022. In the intervening time, when it was not possible to...

Dec 20, 2022

January In Japan Book Club: The Old Capital

Our JanuaryInJapan Bookclub was so good last winter when we came together to talk about the first chapter of The Tale of Genji, that...

Sep 1, 2022

Zusetsu Book Review: The Old Capital

The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata The novel is set in Kyoto, a city of high art and the cultural soul of Japan since it became the...

Sep 9, 2021

9 September: The Chrysanthemum Festival!

It's the 9th of September, and we're thinking of chrysanthemums today, as it's Kiku no Sekku in Japan: the Chrysanthemum Festival! The...

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