A journey to the heart of Japan
Tateba or rest stops were located mid-way between post-towns. Typically, they were a small cluster of tea houses which were unofficially established by local people who took advantage of the needs of travelers who would stop for a rest and some refreshment before moving on to the next official post-town. Today, some tateba have disappeared… [Read more]
In the Edo period, craftsmen were recognized as one of the four social classes in Confucian philosophy. The products from their hands were regarded as useful creations which were valued by the other classes. In contrast, the work of the merchant class was viewed as parasitic because nothing useful was produced. Daimyo competed to attract… [Read more]
Like many Asian family systems, the Japanese family system was an extended family which included distant relatives as well as the dead. In the earliest times, and certainly with the influence of China, ancestor worship was a strong and vibrant belief which made deceased real, active members of the family. Noble families, and families of… [Read more]
The first lord of Hikone, Ii Naomasa, had been one of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s most loyal and trusted generals. As a reward for his services the Ii family were entrusted with a hereditary position of high status and authority as fudai daimyo in the Tokugawa shogunate. The Ii daimyo, otherwise known by their honorific title of… [Read more]
Although the centers of commercial activities were located in the towns and large cities which grew up in the Edo period, the old province of Omi, the area south and east of Lake Biwa, played a large role. The Omi merchants became famous throughout Japan, and very rich too, through their base in jute and other… [Read more]
Conditions which were extremely favorable to commerce began to appear, ironically, during the Warring States period. As sengoku daimyo unified and enlarged their domains, they found that although they perhaps wanted the independence which mercantilist policies promised, they could not remain aloof from a national economic system. In fact, many of the policies they pursued… [Read more]
Properly speaking, there have been no dynastic struggles in Japan; only one dynasty has ruled Japan and it continues. That simplistic statement, however, covers up a lot of exceptions to the rule. To begin with, Japanese emperors and empresses (there have been ten empresses with the last reigning from 1762-1771) have seldom exercised much power…. [Read more]
Although closely akin to their Asian neighbors in both physical appearance and cultural background, many Japanese today maintain a strong belief in the unique identity of the Japanese race. Perhaps the strongest argument in support of this notion is the fact that the Japanese language (excluding imported words – mainly from China) has no close… [Read more]
The concept that the emperors and empresses of Japan are descended from gods was enshrined in the Shinto religion, in Japan’s earliest histories, and in the 1889 Meiji Constitution. Article 3 of this constitution stated in its entirety ‘The Emperor is sacred and inviolable’. In Japan’s earliest histories, however, the story is told at greater… [Read more]
The climate of Japan is influenced by its position on the eastern edge of the Eurasian land mass (thus Japan is subject to the effects of both continental and maritime winds), by its latitudinal position (in the temperate zone), and by the annual movement, north and south, of a series of fronts separating different air… [Read more]
The current emperor, the Emperor Heisei, it is claimed, has an ancestry with origins in the Japanese pantheon. Tradition further proclaims that it was the father of the Gods, Izanagi, who thrust his spear into the waters of the earth and so created the Japanese isles from the droplets thus formed. Though most Japanese today… [Read more]
On the fateful night of October 20, 1600, Ishida Mitsunari – commander of the ‘Army of the West’, made the decision to withdraw his forces from Ogaki castle to defend the narrow pass at Sekigahara against the advancing ‘Army of the East’. The twelve mile march took the bulk of his army directly west to… [Read more]
Pachinko is a game which can be found throughout Japan. It is a noisy, garish, glittery form of gambling which never seems to loose its popularity. Pachinko is like a pinball game. The object is to get a metal ball into one of the many holes on an upright playing board. The board is studded… [Read more]
Among the soldiers forming ranks at the battlefield of Sekigahara as dawn broke on the morning of October 21, 1600, there were few who could doubt that a decisive battle here would mark the end of decades of civil strife and that, at the end of the day, a new shogun with power throughout all… [Read more]
Hikone castle is one of only twelve in Japan with its original keep still intact. It is perhaps better known, however, as the home of the Ii – one of the most famous samurai families in Japan. Ii Naomasa, the founder of the line, was a native of present-day Shizuoka prefecture and a close ally… [Read more]
“Sake”, which is pronounced with an ‘a’ as in father and an ‘e’ as in egg, is both a generic term for alcohol and for wine made from rice. The wine was the main alcoholic beverage in Japan until Western wines, beer and distilled liquor were introduced mainly in the 19th century. The alternative to… [Read more]
At the time of the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, some 250 castle towns (jokamachi) formed the core of a well developed urban network in Japan. Although constructed primarily as defended residences for provincial lords (daimyo) and their retainers, castle towns necessarily became local administrative headquarters through which political authority was channeled from the shogun’s citadel… [Read more]
Tracing the path of a bygone highway across Japan, it seems easy to distinguish between the ‘old’ and the ‘modern’ routes. Along the Nakasendo, for example, there are many places where the old and new highways overlap for a while before the two routes diverge. Often this occurs on the approach to an Edo period… [Read more]
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