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A treasury of beauty: 65th Shoso-in exhibition shows creativity of...
“Urushi Kinpaku E no Ban” (56 centimeters in diameter, 17 centimeters high) Yomiuri Shimbun Oct 8, 2013 NARA—Beautiful craftwork pieces symbolizing the splendor of the Tempyo period in the eighth...
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The embracing Sky Father and Mother Earth and the Heavenly Ropevine
Meotoiwa, “husband and wife cliff”, Futami, Mie, Japan 夫婦岩、三重県二見町 Photo: Wikimedia Commons Meoto Iwa (夫婦岩), the Husband-and-Wife Couple or the Wedded Rocks, are a couple of small rocky stacks in the...
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Taka-ma-HARA, or High HARA — the celestial shining mountain peak; the...
Takamagahara, Shigakogen, Japan Photo: A. Kawagoe The etymology and meaning of “hara” and the possible origins of the Takamahara (or Takagamahara) cosmology The concept of “hara” is such a fundamental...
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In the news: Oldest ‘suizo’ shogi piece found sheds new light on game’s...
The Asahi Shimbun October 25, 2013 Kanji characters for a “suizo” (drunk elephant) are written on the face of a wooden shogi piece found in the remains of a well in Nara. (Kazunori Takahashi) By...
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In the news: Mystery dagger molds imply ancient links to northern China
August 09, 2013 The Asahi Shimbun TAKASHIMA, Shiga Prefecture–Ancient molds for daggers with a double-ringed pommel and a straight blade, which have no precedent in Japan or even the nearby Korean...
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In the news: Researchers confirm work by Kamakura Period sculptor Kaikei;...
A stone sculpture of Yakushi Nyorai kept at Jishoin temple is believed to be the work of acclaimed sculptor Kaikei. (Provided by Sango town research group) September 02, 2013, The Asahi Shimbun By...
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In the news: Researchers unearth old canal used to build ancient capital in...
The remains of a ditch, believed to have served as a canal to convey materials when building the Heiankyo, are uncovered in Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward. (Noboru Tomura) October 18, 2013 The Asahi Shimbun By...
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In the news: Modern technology gives new look at ancient military ruins
An image of the recreation of the gilt-bronze decorative fitting (Provided by Kyushu Historical Museum) Asahi Shimbun, December 04, 2013 By Shunsuke Nakamura KOGA, Fukuoka Prefecture–Even after being...
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In the news: Ancient rice uncovered at archaeological site
Yayoi period rice grains unearthed from the Akitsu archaeological site Courtesy of Nara Prefectural Archeological Institute of Kashihara January 21, 2014 The Yomiuri Shimbun (Retrieved on the dame...
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The Tang Dynasty cosmic worldview that Nara Japan inherited
Layout of cosmically heaven-aligned city, Changan of the Tang Dynasty, Shaanxi History Museum: “Scenes of Flourishing Tang”, P27. Zhejiang People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, 1999. During the Nara...
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Update: Oldest pottery in the world no longer out of Japan, but has been...
Ice age foragers cooked with ceramic pots long before farmers did Science News by Bruce Bower JUNE 28, 2012 Pottery making got off to an ancient, icy start in East Asia. Pieces of ceramic containers...
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Origin of the Japanese number system
The system of Japanese numerals is the system of number names used in the Japanese language, and its forms evolved as the language evolved. There are two sets of counter words and two sets of...
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Study finds ancient Han Chinese ancestors of the Hakka and Minnam peoples...
A 2009 study found that the Japanese in Central Japan and Chiba share a genetic trait with the Han Chinese Hakka and Minnam populations (with origins in Central China) – high frequencies of their...
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6th c. terracotta figurine find from major silk manufuring region of Japan...
Japan archaeological find shows 1,400-year-old roots of silk weaving. City of Shimotsuke education board A terracotta image of a person weaving silk with a loom. The figurine was found in a...
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NHK news: Lost paintings of Horyuji digitally restored
NHK — Mar 29 Digitally restored Horyuji painting A group of experts has recreated Japan’s oldest Buddhist wall paintings with cutting-edge digital technology. The paintings were lost in a fire 65 years...
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Kamakura sculpture found within later-era statue
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Mar 20, 2014 [Online Source] KYOTO—A wooden sculpture portraying the head of Rankei Doryu (1213-1278) was recently found inside a seated statue of the same man. Rankei Doryu was a...
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Evidence of Japan’s oldest human tools uncovered in Okinawa
These 20,000 -year-old shell artifacts on display in Naha, have chips at their tops and are believed to have served as blades (Shunsuke Nakamura) Oldest signs of Japanese using tools uncovered in...
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Mural paintings of ‘Asuka beauties’ to be conserved outside burial mound
Mural paintings of ‘Auka beauties’, a group of female figures found on the mural wall of the stone chamber in the Takamatsuzuka burial mound in Asuka Nara Prefecture, are shown in this photo taken in...
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The Legend of how Lake Titicaca got its name from Japanese (Jomon period)...
Lake Titicaca Photo: Wikipedia A Japanese documentary recently broadcasted on NHK terrestrial TV, featured the theory of the origin of the name Lake Titicaca, and various lines of evidence supporting...
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Asahi Shimbun reports: Tens of thousands of coins from Muromachi Period...
The pot containing more than 40,000 coins dating back to around the 15th century that was recently unearthed in Kyoto (Tsuyoshi Sato) The Asahi Shimbun, July 09, 2014 By TSUYOSHI SATO/ Staff Writer...
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