The suicidal kamikazes were the Japanese empire’s last ditch effort to slow advancing Allied forces. Viewed as tragic heroes today, most of them sortied out from Kyushu and many of the former kamikaze bases have sprouted memorial hall museums and…

The suicidal kamikazes were the Japanese empire’s last ditch effort to slow advancing Allied forces. Viewed as tragic heroes today, most of them sortied out from Kyushu and many of the former kamikaze bases have sprouted memorial hall museums and…
Okinawa abounds with legends and myths, surprises where least expected and rare animals that can’t be seen anywhere else. The island is dense with sacred places and scattered tombs that can be found by wandering off an unmarked side trail…
I hate Mondays. Not because it’s the beginning of the work week or a fat cat told me to, but because almost all the museums are closed. So with nowhere to go indoors and rain making the outdoors unpleasant, it…
Today we look at the shared past of Nimitz Park and Sasebo Park as the Sasebo Chinjufu’s Kaiheidan. All history postcards are in my personal collection and all uncredited photography is by me. Photos/Videos of individuals taken with permission. Sakai…
I’m starting to make videos about points of interest in Japan to encourage others to travel and learn about the country. The Shinyo memorial has been a topic I’ve written about before, in The Japanese Home Front V: Kawatana, Home…
It’s hard getting out for a proper adventure between work and weather, but thankfully every hilltop and depression on Okinawa is sacred or has a legend so there’s always a point of interest within reach. This is Mizugama no gama,…
Saigo Takamori was a samurai who helped bring about the modern Japanese state in 1868 with the Meiji Restoration. He led its government for a time but retired after falling out over what he perceived as corrupt politics. A few…
A uniquely Japanese item from World War II was the imon-bukuro (慰問袋), or comfort bag. Similar to modern day care packages, they were hand-assembled packages of comfort items for the troops sent by their supportive home front from the youngest…
I was a few days late for it, but I went to Sasebo for my first takoyaki of the year! Oh, and I also made my first shrine visit of the year too. Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the…
Today is the birthday of Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji, who was born this day in 1852. As emperor he and his government would oversee Japan’s transformation from a feudal to a modern state. His birthplace was this unassuming little house on…