Japanese History & Culture

Inari Faith and the White Fox: From the Rice Goddess to the Thousand Torii Gates of Fushimi Inari — Mori no Akari artwork

Inari Faith and the White Fox: From the Rice Go...

Walk through any Japanese town and you will find small shrines guarded by vermilion torii gates and a pair of stone foxes, on the rooftops of city office buildings, in...

Inari Faith and the White Fox: From the Rice Go...

Walk through any Japanese town and you will find small shrines guarded by vermilion torii gates and a pair of stone foxes, on the rooftops of city office buildings, in...

Yoshiwara and the Oiran: Social Structure, Elegance and the Light and Shadow of Edo’s Pleasure Quarter — Mori no Akari artwork

Yoshiwara and the Oiran: Social Structure, Eleg...

In the Edo period, Yoshiwara, or Shin-Yoshiwara, was the shogunate-approved pleasure quarter built at the northern edge of Asakusa. Once you passed through its Great Gate, you…

Yoshiwara and the Oiran: Social Structure, Eleg...

In the Edo period, Yoshiwara, or Shin-Yoshiwara, was the shogunate-approved pleasure quarter built at the northern edge of Asakusa. Once you passed through its Great Gate, you…

Shikigami and the Art of Onmyōdō: Abe no Seimei, the Twelve Heavenly Generals, and Paper Talismans — Mori no Akari artwork

Shikigami and the Art of Onmyōdō: Abe no Seimei...

Explore shikigami in Japanese legend, from paper figures and Abe no Seimei’s Twelve Heavenly Generals to the spirits beneath Ichijō Modoribashi.

Shikigami and the Art of Onmyōdō: Abe no Seimei...

Explore shikigami in Japanese legend, from paper figures and Abe no Seimei’s Twelve Heavenly Generals to the spirits beneath Ichijō Modoribashi.

Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: Prussian Blue, Geometry and the Wave That Changed the World — Mori no Akari artwork

Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: Pruss...

A gigantic wave breaks with its claws outstretched as if seizing its prey, while beyond its fury the sacred peak of Mount Fuji stands calm and solitary. Katsushika Hokusai's…

Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: Pruss...

A gigantic wave breaks with its claws outstretched as if seizing its prey, while beyond its fury the sacred peak of Mount Fuji stands calm and solitary. Katsushika Hokusai's…

Tengu: From Mountain Guardians of Shugendo to the Long-Nosed and Crow Tengu of Japanese Folklore — Mori no Akari artwork

Tengu: From Mountain Guardians of Shugendo to t...

Deep in a mountain forest of towering cedars, a thunderous crash rings out, as if a giant tree has fallen. Yet when people rush to look, not a single tree...

Tengu: From Mountain Guardians of Shugendo to t...

Deep in a mountain forest of towering cedars, a thunderous crash rings out, as if a giant tree has fallen. Yet when people rush to look, not a single tree...

The Real Ninja: Iga and Koga, the Ninja Manual Bansenshukai and the Shogun’s Secret Oniwaban — Mori no Akari artwork

The Real Ninja: Iga and Koga, the Ninja Manual ...

Leaping across rooftops under cover of night, felling enemies with throwing stars and vanishing in a puff of smoke: through films, anime and games around the world, the ninja has…

The Real Ninja: Iga and Koga, the Ninja Manual ...

Leaping across rooftops under cover of night, felling enemies with throwing stars and vanishing in a puff of smoke: through films, anime and games around the world, the ninja has…