Before the Era of Geisha and Oiran: Shirabyōshi – Dancers with a Sword at Their Side and Real Influence on the Power of Medieval Kamakura

Artistry, Courage, Refinement In Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s woodblock print Shizuka as a Shirabyōshi Dancer 『白拍子静』 from 1830, we see a figure who at first glance eludes simple categorisation. Who is she?

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Let us walk together to the sacred Mount Fuji – a journey among kami, yōkai, demons, and ancient tales

Onward! Did you know that Mount Fuji – the same mountain we see on banknotes, posters, and woodblock prints – is not merely a dormant volcano and a symbol of

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I don’t know who I am or why I’m here – so I put on a samurai armor and start scrolling. Ironic Compassion in the Art of Tetsuya Noguchi

What to do with oneself after stepping off the stage? A samurai stands in full armor – every detail crafted with the meticulousness of a museum reconstruction: the kabuto gleams

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"In Praise of Shadows" by Tanizaki – Let Us Touch the Japanese Beauty of Twilight, So Different from the Western Aesthetic of Light

An old essay by a very original thinker There is something fascinating about encountering cultural differences—not to judge them, but to experience even a fleeting spark of understanding. Coming into

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The Black Shōgun Before the Age of the Samurai – Tamuramaro

A Shōgun Without the Samurai We all know the great shōguns of Japan. Tokugawa Ieyasu – the architect of enduring peace, who in the 17th century extinguished the flames of

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Smoke and Jazz of the Shōwa Era – What Do Coffee and Nostalgia Taste Like in Japan’s Kissaten?

“Hospitality – Priceless” Somewhere in a shaded alley, nestled between the scent of pine and a futon shop, stands an unassuming building with a wooden façade and a brass lamp

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Inugami – The Dog to Whom Loyalty Was Repaid with Betrayal and Cruel Death. How Do Japanese Yōkai Portray Generational Family Trauma?

Colorful Little Monsters Not So Pastel After All The Japanese world of yōkai—those whimsical, grotesque spirits, monsters, apparitions, and oddities—has captured the hearts of people across the globe. It is

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Goze: Blind Female Artists of Feudal Japan – Dignity in a Journey through Snow and Rejection

Wandering in Darkness and Frost They wandered in silence. Blind, clad in layers of thick fabric, they moved slowly through the snowdrifts of the Echigo province, resting one hand on

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What does “Fuji” really mean – what secrets are hidden within this Japanese sacred mountain and linguistic sphinx?

A linguistic enigma Not every mountain bears a name that survives thousands of years, becomes a national icon, and at the same time retains an aura of mystery. Even fewer

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Honor Did Not Belong Only to the Samurai – Bravery, Courage, and the Ethos of Life of the machi-shū

Once again, Western pop culture got everything tangled up In medieval Japan and during the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside the samurai culture—honor, valor, and the cult of death—another Japanese culture of

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The Shogunate’s Reliable Couriers – Hikyaku and the Carrier Market of Medieval Japan

Precise, swift, reliable Through the empty alleys of morning Edo echoes a familiar sound — chirin, chirin — the rhythmic chime of a bell fastened to a waist sash. It’s

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Haikyō Onsen – Japanese “urbex” amid the abandoned beauty of 1980s resorts

Extinct worlds Everything that lives leaves behind warmth. But here, in the heart of this abandoned onsen, only cold stones remain—cold cigarette vending machines and lonely toys scattered on the

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The Potato Festival in Japan: Jaga Matsuri’s Spud Dances beneath Mount Yōtei

Shared Delicacies of Poland and Hokkaidō August 2 is approaching. An immensely important day in Japan – but why? It is a celebration that, in a curious and roundabout way,

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The Real Sengoku – What Was Life Like for the Swordless in the Shadow of Samurai Wars?

A Grim Gaze into History Every era wears its own mask. The Sengoku period — the time of civil war in Japan, which flooded the country with an ocean of

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Not the right smile, not the right pause. The grammar of silence in Japan’s high-context culture

Like a blind man with a deaf one 馬の耳に念仏 (lit. “a nembutsu prayer into a horse’s ear”) In Japan, a conversation may sometimes fall apart before a single word is

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Fur That Earns Billions – Yuru-kyara, or How Every Japanese Town Has Its Own Adorably Awkward Mascot

The Cat Samurai and the Crazy Eel Airplane Imagine an otter. A pink one. Wearing a diving helmet. With an unsettlingly wild-eyed stare and a plastic stick in its paw.

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Let’s Go Shopping in Japan… During the Tokugawa Shogunate Era in Edo

The Ritual of Shopping In the very heart of Edo, on the bustling street of Nihonbashi, where the day began with the hurried clatter of sandals and the cries of

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Kemari – A Ball Game from Medieval Japan That Taught Self-Control Instead of Competition

Different Values, a Different Sport On the hardened temple courtyard, in the shade of four trees—pine, maple, cherry, and willow—marking out a 15 × 15 meter field, several aristocrats of

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The Man of Brass and Stars – How the Brilliant Inventor Hisashige Tanaka Thrust Samurai Japan into Modernity

The Man Who Was a Vehicle of the Future In an era when Japan, still kneeling on its bamboo legs of tradition, first encountered the electric West, a man appeared

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The Hour of the Rat, the Koku of the Tiger – How Was Time Measured in Shogunate-Era Japan?

The Hour of the Rabbit, the Hour of the Dragon “A band of samurai snuck into the castle at 11:00 PM” — something feels off, doesn’t it? While it may

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「心は風の歌に乗せて。」

(Kokoro wa kaze no uta ni nosete.)

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未開ソビエライ

An enthusiast of Asian culture with a deep appreciation for the diverse philosophies of the world. By education, a psychologist and philologist specializing in Korean studies. At heart, a programmer (primarily for Android) and a passionate technology enthusiast, as well as a practitioner of Zen and mono no aware. In moments of tranquility, adheres to a disciplined lifestyle, firmly believing that perseverance, continuous personal growth, and dedication to one's passions are the wisest paths in life. Author of the book "Strong Women of Japan" (>>see more)

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Mike Soray

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