The akagome rice ritual helps preserve a resilient, ancient grain in Tsushima and the ceremony has been recognized as an Intangible Folk Cultural Heritage.
Who doesn't enjoy watching the sumotori performing their high-stomping warmup before a match? But there is far more to the stomp, and sumo, than meets the...
Sugawara no Michizane was an eminent poet of the Heian period. His love of plum blossoms has been passed down over a millennium to the children...
If you visit the Ume Matsuri at Mito Shrine between February 11- March 19 this year, you will be greeted by six charming, kimono-clad Plum Blossom...
The position of women in the Gion Matsuri tradition has changed over the centuries, but the fact is that the Gion Matsuri could never be staged...
"Think of the Yamaboko Junko as a giant, serpentine magnet circulating through the festival zone drawing ekijin spirits of disease into the yama and hoko.”
“I have made it my life’s mission to tell the world, starting with Japan, what a beautiful country this is, and what a rich and inspiring...
August 15 — Despite sweltering weather, thousands of people flocked to the Yasukuni Shrine to commemorate peace and pay respect to those who died in past...
From ancient times, horses, especially white horses, were highly revered in Japan, and it was believed that sometimes kami arrived on horseback.
The parade of floats are famous, but decidedly secondary to the evening processions that take Yasaka Shrine’s three deities into the city for a one-week stay.
The Gion Matsuri story crosses many cultural lines. Was Muto-shin really Susanoo-no-Mikoto or a Korean god? And in which country did the Shorai brothers live?
Seen during the Gion Matsuri, many Kyotoites to this day still paste such charms outside their doors, proclaiming that they are descendants of Somin Shorai.