Looking for a different experience in 2025? Try samurai tourism, learn about Japanese swords,...

Paul Martin
Paul Martin is a former British Museum curator, and a Hyogiin (Trustee) for The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Sword Culture (NBSK). He is also a recognized specialist by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
In 1868, during the turbulent Bakumatsu era, two assailants attempted to murder Sir Harry...
This installment in the series focuses on turbulent Bakumatsu Japan and an incident near...
In time, the relationship between the British and the Satsuma blossomed into a...
What happens when a party of foreign tourists is believed to have disrupted...
Ryutaro Araga earns a bronze medal in the men’s kumite over-75 kg division, with...
Ryo Kiyuna delights the host nation by winning the men’s kata title, while Serbia’s...
Spain’s Sandra Sanchez claims gold and Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu nabs silver in the women’s...
Karate is a graceful and disciplined fighting form derived from martial arts, and it...
In my youth, my introduction to Japanese swords (as with many...
Someone once said that studying the Japanese sword is one of the quickest...
After more than 250 years of rule, the Tokugawa government’s power had begun to...