Japan

The dako sword found at Tomio Maruyama

Cool Finds

Seven-Foot Sword Unearthed From 1,600-Year-Old Burial Mound in Japan

Archaeologists think the artifact was used to protect against evil after death

About 100 miles northwest of Mexico City in the UNESCO-designated Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, up to a billion of the brilliant-winged insects spend November to March clustered on branches.

A Ring of Fire, Millions of Monarchs and Other Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

Be in the right place at the right time to witness these sublime sights

A grave with bones that were analyzed

Ancient DNA Charts Native Americans’ Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago

Analysis of ten Eurasian individuals, up to 7,500 years old, gives a new picture of movement across continents

This 1605 drawing of a Black sumo wrestler may depict Yasuke.

Who Was Yasuke, Japan's First Black Samurai?

In the late 16th century, the enigmatic warrior fought alongside a feudal lord dubbed the "Great Unifier"

Our ten-most read stories of the year featured the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey, mischievous felines, J.R.R. Tolkien and more.

Our Top Ten Stories of 2022

From a teen inventor to invasive fish to lost cities of the Amazon, these were our most-read articles of the year

Defensive response of a male mason wasp to a tree frog

These Wasps Can Fight Predators With Their Spiky Genitalia

The insects jabbed their spines at hungry frogs in a similar way to how females sting

Japanese American National Museum volunteer Barbara Keimi stamps the Ireichō.

The First-Ever List of Japanese Americans Forced Into Incarceration Camps Is 1,000 Pages Long

The Ireichō contains 125,284 names—and a new exhibition invites the public to honor them

Tomioka Tessai was beloved for the personality and humor he infused in his work, with exaggerated expressions on his figures, and traditional scenes such as that of his 1921 Blind Men Appraising an Elephant (above: detail, 1921).

Meet Tessai, the Japanese Master Who Ushered in Modernism

Excitement builds for a rare showing of works by the 19th-century painter whose dynamic colors and bold brushstrokes mirrored the avant-garde of the West

Ami Okumura Jones and Mei Mac in My Neighbor Totoro

Totoro Finds New Neighbors at London's West End

The stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's 'My Neighbor Totoro' is breaking box office records

American ambassador Joseph C. Grew (left) meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Teijiro Toyoda (right) in October 1941, two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Untold Stories of American History

The American Ambassador Who Tried to Prevent Pearl Harbor

A new book explores the diplomatic efforts of Joseph C. Grew, who was assigned to Tokyo between 1932 and 1942

Streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) sitting on a rock in on Mikura Island in Japan. 

To Survive a Typhoon, Some Seabirds Fly Straight Into It

Streaked shearwaters will face a storm's high winds rather than risk getting blown to land

A close-up of Stonehenge in Salisbury, England

What Do Stonehenge and Japanese Stone Circles Have in Common?

A new exhibition explores the surprising parallels between British and Japanese traditions

A Japanese macaque atop a tower viewer in Kyoto, Japan

City in Japan Under Siege by Marauding Monkeys

Macaques have attacked more than four dozen people in less than a month

Sammy B torpedo tubes

World’s Deepest Shipwreck Discovered Four Miles Underwater in the Philippines

The U.S. destroyer was sunk during World War II

On the island of Dejima, European traders could interact with the Japanese, but with a few (carefully escorted) exceptions, they were barred from continuing on to mainland Japan.

The Wild West Outpost of Japan's Isolationist Era

For two centuries, an extreme protectionist policy barred foreigners from setting foot in Japan—except for one tiny island

The natural colors of a stoneware tea bowl from Japan and dating to 1510-1530 "speak of the spaces where Zen Buddhists practiced," says the Reverend Inryū Bobbi Poncé-Barger, a priest for the All Beings Zen Sangha in Washington, D.C.

How to Find Wholeness in the Cracks of a 16th-Century Tea Bowl

A new exhibition, “Mind Over Matter,” invites viewers to pause and connect with the teachings of Zen Buddhism

Kane Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903.

Kane Tanaka, World's Oldest Person, Dies at 119

According to her family, the Japanese supercentenarian had been hospitalized and discharged repeatedly in recent weeks

Today, Amache is mostly barren grassland dotted with crumbling foundations and a few historic buildings and replicas.

Japanese American Incarceration Camp in Colorado Receives Federal Protection

The Granada Relocation Center, also known as Amache, grew to become the state's tenth largest city at its peak during World War II

Lai Tek's espionage had geopolitical implications across Southeast Asia.

The Vietnamese Secret Agent Who Spied for Three Different Countries

Known by the alias Lai Tek, the enigmatic communist swore allegiance first to France, then Britain and finally Japan

Joro spiders are eye-catching, with bright yellow, blue and red coloration.

Large, Parachuting Spiders Could Soon Invade the East Coast, Study Finds

The authors say the arachnids are harmless to people and pets and may even eat pests like stink bugs

loading icon