Tokyo from Edo to Showa - Book Review
Edward Seidensticker’s definitive two-volume English history of the city from 1867 to 1989 is finally back in print.
Showa Japan - Interview
Author Hans Brinckmann on his new book, Showa Japan: The Post-War Golden Age and its Troubled Legacy, and the past, present and future of The Land of the Rising Sun.
A Convenient Truth - Business
Every visitor to Japan has seen them, and almost as many have used them. They are ubiquitous, commanding every street corner it seems, and Japan’s convenience stores, or combini as they are known here, have proven to be a rags-to-riches retail success story.
Waterworld - Travel
“Venice of the Orient.” Trite though it may be to modern ears, this was how Western commentators described the Japanese capital of Edo, later to become Tokyo, when they arrived in newly opened Japan in the 1850s. Read the rest of this entry »
As Above, So Below
Under Construction
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The Waiting Game - Travel
“This was the first pope,” says Tran Van Hoan, pointing to a dog-eared photograph. “He died in 1933. Or 1934.” “And this,” he says, producing another sepia-coloured snapshot, “was the last pope. He was forced away in 1956.”On a feverishly hot September day, Tran is fanning himself with a handful of old photos and explaining why the huge, regal chair in what is surely the kitschiest church in all the world remains empty. It is the pope’s chair; and the pope is gone.
Nectar of the Gods - Wining and Dining
According to legend, Susano no Mikoto, brother of the sun goddess, first brewed sake as part of a cunning plan to rescue a beautiful princess from the eight-headed serpent of Lake Yamagata. Lured by the delicious liquor, the serpent left its lair and drank, whereupon Mikoto slew the intoxicated beast and freed the young maiden. His supernatural brewing techniques were passed on to the Japanese people, who have been producing heavenly sake ever since.