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Zero Fighter to fly above Japan once more in demonstration this month

Casey Baseel
Jan 21, 2016
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Kyushu event will be iconic aircraft’s first flight in Japan since the end of World War II.

Japan
(history • military • planes • World War II • Zero • Zero fighter)

New York Public Library releases digital images of valuable ukiyo-e and photographs of old Japan

Oona McGee
Jan 21, 2016

From breastfeeding mothers to merchant towns and an evening party with kimono-clad girls in Kyoto, these newly released artworks and photos of old Japan are simply captivating.

Japan, USA
(Edo • history • kimono • old photos • photos • samurai • ukiyo-e • ukiyoe)

What a powerpoint presentation by the Tokugawa Shogunate would look like in Edo period Japan

Oona McGee
Jan 20, 2016

In an era of executions and forced suicides, this is one presentation you wouldn’t want to doze off in.

Japan
(animation • computer • culture • design • Edo • funny • GIF • history • samurai • Tokugawa)

Merchant shipping posters invoke romance and wonder of Japan’s Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras

Oona McGee
Jan 19, 2016

There was a time when sumo wrestlers and kimono-clad ladies made shipping companies look beautiful.

Japan
(advertising • art • culture • history • Meiji • posters • ships • Taisho Era)

Interactive online map of Kyoto lets you toggle between modern day and the 9th century

Casey Baseel
Jan 8, 2016

If you’re a history buff, or time traveler, this could come in handy.

Internet, Japan
(culture • history • Kyoto • Map)

Ancient Japanese literary works are now yours to download at the click of a button

Krista Rogers
Jan 7, 2016

Who doesn’t love getting a free book? Especially when that book is over 300 years old!

Internet, Japan
(books • culture • database • download • history • literature • The Tale of Genji)

See Kyoto’s Nijo Castle in its original design with this virtual tour built in Minecraft!

Preston Phro
Dec 21, 2015

Nijo Castle is one of Japan’s hottest tourist destinations…but for a truly unique historical tour, you need this Minecraft recreation based on the original design!

Japan
(castles • history • Kyoto • Minecraft • Nijo Castle • video • video games)

We visit the awesome new Samurai Museum in Shinjuku【Photos】

Oona McGee
Dec 18, 2015

Experience the samurai spirit first-hand with original swords and armour at the recently opened Samurai Museum.

Japan
(cool • culture • Edo • feudal Japan • history • museums • samurai • shinjuku)

Neat footage surfaces of life in small Hiroshima town circa the 1930s【Video】

Mike
Dec 14, 2015

The family of a Baptist missionary stationed in Japan in the 1930s sent DVDs of the Reverend’s home movies of the era to the Hiroshima town of Onomichi.

Japan, USA
(Hiroshima • history • Showa • video • YouTube)

Chilling footage shows Hiroshima eight months after the atomic bombing【Video】

Meg Murphy
Dec 1, 2015

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this color footage of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima should speak entire volumes.

Japan
(atomic bomb • footage • Hiroshima • history • video • World War II)

The life of Satoru Iwata, late Nintendo CEO, remembered in documentary

Anime News Network
Nov 27, 2015

Thousands paid their respect when Nintendo company president Satoru Iwata passed away in July, facing the brunt of typhoon at his service in Kyoto or leaving notes and letters at The Nintendo World Store in New York and the Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Global, Japan
(documentary • history • in memory • nintendo • Satoru Iwata • video • video games)

Edo-period ukiyoe woodblock prints of animals and mythical beasts now available for free online

Oona McGee
Nov 26, 2015

Lovers of art, history and animals are celebrating the release of an exclusive set of ukiyoe woodblock prints from 1857 that are now free to download and share online.

Japan
(animals • art • graphics • history • mythology • tradition • ukiyo-e • ukiyoe)

History’s worst job? Japanese noblewomen used to hire servants to take the blame for their farts

Casey Baseel
Nov 24, 2015

What would be the ultimate luxury in personal service for a highborn aristocrat? Someone to draw your bath? Peel your grapes? Fan you with palm fronds? How about a servant whose job it is to take the blame for your farts.

Japan
(culture • Edo period • fart • funny • history • weird)

Colorized photos of old-timey Philippines bring the past to life

Mike
Nov 24, 2015

Black and white photos of the Philippines from as far back as the late 1800s look shockingly modern with just a splash of color.

Internet, SE Asia
(history • Philippines • photographs • photography)

China’s Dynasty Warriors are here to remind Yokohama commuters how to behave

Master Blaster
Nov 21, 2015

If you take a seat on the Yokohama subway next month don’t be surprised if a warlord from China’s Three Kingdoms period advises you on proper public transport behavior.

Wei leader Cao Cao showing you how to give up your seat, or legendary warrior Lu Bu advising you not to run onto trains are but two of the nine posters recently previewed online. Let’s take a look at them all!

China, Japan
(Cao Cao • Dynasty Warriors • guan yu • history • Koei Tecmo • Lu Bu • romance of the three kingdoms • safety • Three Kingdoms • Yokohama)

37 amazing photographs of the people of old Japan living their daily lives 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Nov 20, 2015

Earlier this month, we looked at a collection of photos taken by the late Kusakabe Kimbei that showed the cityscapes of Japan as they looked in the late 1800s, right before the country’s rapid modernization. But Kimbei didn’t just photograph Japan, he also photographed the Japanese, so today we’re taking another trip back in time, but with a more personal touch, with dozens of photographs that show what daily life was like for the people of Japan generations ago.

Japan
(awseom • beautiful • cool • culture • history • photos)

These gorgeous photos of 19th century Japan might as well be a time machine 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Nov 12, 2015

Take a trip back to 1800s Japan with this collection of breathtaking photographs.

Japan
(awesome • beautiful • cool • culture • history • photos)

The “Nintendo PlayStation”: a look at the console that could’ve changed gaming history【Video】

Scott Wilson
Nov 10, 2015

For most modern gamers, the idea of rival video game giants Nintendo and Sony collaborating on a project is pretty much unthinkable. But believe it or not, back in the day when the Super Nintendo was king, Sony and Nintendo were supposed to team up to make a new console. Unfortunately the deal went sour, and it was thought that all prototypes of the mythical Sony-Nintendo console were gone.

Until now. A working copy of what has been dubbed the “Nintendo PlayStation” was recently brought to light and shown off online for the world to see. Join us after the jump to witness what could’ve been…

Japan
(history • myth • nintendo • playstation • Sony • video • video games)

First, possibly most ironic, underwater ruins discovered in Japan’s largest lake

Master Blaster
Nov 6, 2015

On 4 November, Ei Nakayama of The University of Shiga Prefecture made a historic announcement that eight man-made pillars had been found standing upright at the bottom of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

Despite the country’s long history and relatively changeable landscape due to seismic and volcanic activity, this is actually the first time ruins have ever been found underwater in Japan.