Japanese History & Culture

The Stone Walls of Japanese Castles: From Nozura-zumi to Kirikomi-hagi and the Master Masons of the Anoshu — Mori no Akari artwork

The Stone Walls of Japanese Castles: From Nozur...

A gleaming white keep rises against the blue sky, and beneath it, holding up all of that grandeur, are layer upon layer of massive stone walls, or ishigaki. Most visitors...

The Stone Walls of Japanese Castles: From Nozur...

A gleaming white keep rises against the blue sky, and beneath it, holding up all of that grandeur, are layer upon layer of massive stone walls, or ishigaki. Most visitors...

Kumadori in Kabuki: The Colors of Heroes and Villains, from Ichikawa Danjuro I to Edo’s Superheroes — Mori no Akari artwork

Kumadori in Kabuki: The Colors of Heroes and Vi...

Bold lines of crimson like blazing flames, or streaks of indigo with a cold, eerie air, run across a face painted white. In kabuki, Japan's traditional theater, the most iconic…

Kumadori in Kabuki: The Colors of Heroes and Vi...

Bold lines of crimson like blazing flames, or streaks of indigo with a cold, eerie air, run across a face painted white. In kabuki, Japan's traditional theater, the most iconic…

Oda Nobunaga’s Military Revolution: Professional Armies, Firearm Tactics and Azuchi Castle — Mori no Akari artwork

Oda Nobunaga’s Military Revolution: Professiona...

In the unprecedented upheaval of the Sengoku period, the greatest figure to overturn the feudal order of medieval Japan and open the way to national unification was Oda Nobunaga…

Oda Nobunaga’s Military Revolution: Professiona...

In the unprecedented upheaval of the Sengoku period, the greatest figure to overturn the feudal order of medieval Japan and open the way to national unification was Oda Nobunaga…

Susanoo, the Wild God: From Exile in Heaven to Slayer of Yamata no Orochi and Protector Against Plague — Mori no Akari artwork

Susanoo, the Wild God: From Exile in Heaven to ...

Among the countless gods of Japanese mythology recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, no deity carries such a powerful personality and such dramatic contradictions as Susanoo.…

Susanoo, the Wild God: From Exile in Heaven to ...

Among the countless gods of Japanese mythology recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, no deity carries such a powerful personality and such dramatic contradictions as Susanoo.…

The Dragon in Japanese Art: Water Gods, Rainmaking Rituals and the Cloud Dragons of Zen Temples — Mori no Akari artwork

The Dragon in Japanese Art: Water Gods, Rainmak...

It soars freely across the sky, summons thunderclouds and brings life-giving rain to parched land: the dragon, called ryu or tatsu in Japanese, is the supreme sacred beast. In…

The Dragon in Japanese Art: Water Gods, Rainmak...

It soars freely across the sky, summons thunderclouds and brings life-giving rain to parched land: the dragon, called ryu or tatsu in Japanese, is the supreme sacred beast. In…

The Real Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei, the Protected Capital of Heian-kyo and the Magic of Yin and Yang — Mori no Akari artwork

The Real Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei, the Protected ...

In modern novels, films and manga, onmyoji are usually portrayed as mysterious sorcerers in elegant court robes who command invisible spirit servants called shikigami to subdue…

The Real Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei, the Protected ...

In modern novels, films and manga, onmyoji are usually portrayed as mysterious sorcerers in elegant court robes who command invisible spirit servants called shikigami to subdue…