National / History | THE LIVING PAST Sep 22, 2021
The first chapter in a long tale of Japanese romance
From the coupling of gods to form Japan to a female samurai dying on the battlefield, stories of love have always been intertwined with history.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Sep 18, 2021
A look at the state of our intestinal health delivers a real gut punch
The perfect body — you can't escape it in the media. Some articles on the body's imperfections, particularly of the digestive sort, point out what we should be talking about more.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Sep 4, 2021
What makes a funny joke? Only time can really tell.
Humor has been used throughout history to alleviate the pain we feel in dealing with real-life calamities. However, at what point to the jokes themselves become the agents of harm?
National / History | THE LIVING PAST Aug 22, 2021
A tradition built on faith is put out to sea
In 1565, a temple abbot sets out on a journey at the age of 61 as is expected of him. Alone, he goes berserk and alters a tradition.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 21, 2021
Staying optimistic about the state of the world can be positively challenging
Some see the glass as half empty, but do those who see it as half full really have an advantage over them? Or are they simply caught off guard when bad things happen?
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 7, 2021
The Japanese don’t sleep on trains because it’s safe — they’re exhausted!
Surveying 500 businesspeople aged 20 to 69, President found that 74.2% claimed to have trouble sleeping. This puts them at risk of exhaustion, depression, cancer and dementia.
National / History | THE LIVING PAST Jul 18, 2021
Teach a nation to write and the classics will follow
An era of “great reform” sees Japan introduced to the wonders of Chinese literature and, not so long after, produce its own masterpiece in the “Manyoshu.”
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jul 17, 2021
Time to ourselves is both a curse and a blessing
The wave of loneliness that afflicts modern Japan continues, but an athlete from Myanmar sends a warning not to take what we have for granted.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jul 3, 2021
Japan’s teachers are fed up with staying after school
The Japanese education system, once the envy of the West, is no longer getting the support it used to according to teachers.
National / History | THE LIVING PAST Jun 20, 2021
One era’s eccentrics are another’s model citizens
Would an outcast from the Heian Period feel more at home in the Edo Period? Or are there general characteristics that unites any society’s eccentrics?