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.
Koreans were attracted to the high wages and fair working conditions at Japan’s Sado Mines, says economic historian Dr Lee Wooyoun. The notion of forced labor...
The history of the kami honored at the Gion Festival have intriguing parallels - and differences. The Yasaka Shrine claims they are the same, but are...
It’s hardly surprising that the Gion festival became an annual event since epidemics have ravaged Kyoto in the oppressively humid summers up to modern times.
This mid-summer spectacle was born from fear, nourished by hope, and today is an expression of unbridled joy and universal yearning for good health.
The invasion of Ukraine has changed Japanese mindsets, dashing our illusion of peace when a dictator threatened to blow up a country with nuclear weapons.
April 25 is a date of profound significance for the Australian and New Zealand nations, but one that shares strong interconnections with both Turkey and Japan.
If you feel like riding a dog-faced cable car up to a Crouching Tiger-esque mountain temple, hidden in a Studio Ghibli style village, head to Hozan-ji!
Here are some of the oldest things to see in Tokyo to get you started on your heritage trip through Japan’s capital.
The Nasu Tourist Association which has jurisdiction over the Killing Stone held what they called a "Ceremony to Appease the Spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox at...