In my last article, we talked about the rise of the Genpei wars and the rise of the first true military government of Japan, the Shogunate, or Bafuku. This week, I want to fast forward and look at the…
Genpei – Rise of the Shoguns
The court is in turmoil. The child Emperor has died, leaving no heirs. The two most powerful noble families each have their favorite successor. The head of one family serves has served as chancellor for the last twenty years after…
Finding History – Ishibashiyama
A party of samurai camped on a mountainside south of modern day Odawara, answering the call to rise up against the Taira clan who had seized power and replaced the reigning emperor with a puppet of their own bloodline.…
Hikone Castle – One of Japan’s Finest Castles
If you’ve ever traveled around Japan you know that they love their castles. Almost every old castle town has either rebuilt their castles, preserved the grounds as a park, or, in rare cases, preserved their castle through the centuries. …
Kawasaki’s Premier Folk Museum – Nihon Minkaen
A couple months ago I wrote about the number of folk museums in Japan and old buildings that the Japanese have preserved from their history. The best of these folk museums that I have found so far is a…
Odawara Castle: The Rise and Fall of the Hojo
By: Dave Hansche I’ve written about several castles on this blog thus far, but it has occurred to me that I have overlooked a large rebuilt castle in a pleasant city about an hour away. I’ve visited Odawara…
Sorry, but your article is in a different castle
Sorry for the delay, but there will be an update this week, maybe tomorrow, definitely before the end of Wednesday. A heavy work load and a nasty cold have left me unable to complete this weeks article on time. To…
It’s Pronounced “Bah-tah-ahn”
(It’s still 10 PM in Hawaii so technically this is on time. Also, originally posted last year at my comic website www.jakelivescomic.com) At work I’m known for talking about Philippine history, especially in World War II, so I’m occasionally joked…