Articles by JREF

Binzuru (Sanskrit: Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja) was one of the original followers of the historical Buddha and was said to have been a close associate of the Buddha's cousin and attendant, Ananda. He is revered explicitly in Mahayana and Zen Buddhism and is often depicted in Buddhist art. Binzuru (賓頭盧)...

The Soga clan (蘇我氏 Soga uji) was a prominent family that hailed from Yamato (in modern-day Nara Prefecture). The Soga exercised political power, rivalling that of the Japanese emperors in the 6th and 7th centuries CE. References in the Nihon Shoki (720) and Kogo Shūi (807) link the family to...

Inage Shigenari (稲毛 重成, d. 1205) was a military commander of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and a retainer of the Kamakura shogunate. Shigenari was a member of the Chichibu clan, which descended from the Kanmu Taira. He ruled Inage-sō (稲毛荘) in Musashi Province. He was the son of...

This is an alphabetical reference list of sake breweries in our sake section. We use the following format: [Brewery name (linked to the official website)] [Name in kanji] - Clickable tags: [Prefecture] [Brewery] [Primary brand] A Aihara Shuzō (相原酒造) Hiroshima Aihara Ugo no Tsuki Akana...

The God of the Japanese ConstitutionOzaki Yukio (尾崎 行雄, 1858-1954), pen name Ozaki Gakudō (咢堂), was a liberal politician elected 25 times to the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet. Born into a samurai family in Tsukui, Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture), he moved to...

Takashima Castle (高島城 Takashima-jō) is a flatland castle located in the city of Suwa, Nagano Prefecture. In the Edo period, the castle was the residence of the Suwa, who were lesser Fudai daimyō with an income of 30,000 koku. It used to be a water castle jutting out into Lake Suwa and was known...

The Kure Maritime History and Science Museum (呉市海事歴史科学館 Kureshi Kaiji Rekishi Kagakukan), also known as Yamato Museum (大和ミュージアム), is located in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. Its central exhibit is a 1/10 scale model of the IJN battleship Yamato. The Yamato was built at the location of the current...

The Toba Sea-Folk Museum (鳥羽市立海の博物館 Toba shiritsu umi no hakubutsukan) is located in Uramura, just outside of Toba, Mie Prefecture. It houses a collection of over 60,000 exhibits about the history, culture, and traditions of the people living along the coast of Ise-Shima and their relationship...

Tsukimi (月見, "moon viewing"), also known as otsukimi (お月見), or jūgoya (十五夜, "15th night"), is a festival celebrating the harvest moon and the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese moon festival. The full moon festivities usually occur on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese...

Kunōzan Tōshōgū Shrine (久能山東照宮) is the first burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Shintō shrine is located on a steep plateau in Negoya, Suruga, a ward of Shizuoka City, and offers a spectacular view of Suruga Bay. It is the oldest of all Tōshōgū (東照宮) shrines, places of worship that enshrine...

Yokoyama Taikan (横山大観, 2 November 1868 - 26 February 1958), nom de plume of Sakai Hidezō (酒井秀歳) or Hidematsu (酒井秀松) was one of the first Japanese painters to be involved in the development of a modern Japanese painting style called Nihonga (日本画). Taikan was the son of Sakai Sutehiko (酒井捨彦), a...

Gumyō-ji temple (弘明寺), officially known as Gumyōji Zuiōsan Rengein (弘明寺瑞應山蓮華院) belongs to the Kōyasan branch (高野山派 Kōyasan-ha) of the Shingon School of Buddhism. It is located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and is the oldest temple in the city. It is the 14th of the 33 temples in the Kantō...

Ikegami Plum Garden (池上梅園 Ikegami Baien) is a public garden in Tōkyō's Ōta Ward. The park is located west of Ikegami Honmonji Temple and has a plum orchard and a tea house, cleverly using the elevation difference. History: Until the war, this area was the home and the atelier of the painter...

Ikegami Honmonji, officially known as Chōeizan Daihonzan Honmonji (長栄山大本山本門寺) is the head temple of the Nichiren sect in Ikegami, Ōta Ward, Tōkyō. The temple, simply called Ikegami Honmonji (池上本門寺) since ancient times, is one of the fourteen sacred temples of the Nichiren sect and revered as the...

Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保, 1836-1893) was the ninth and last daimyō of Aizu Domain. In the Bakumatsu, the final days of the Edo period, he served as Kyōto Shugoshoku (京都守護職, military commissioner) in the capital. Although he fought the imperial forces in the Boshin War, his life was spared...

The Matsudaira (松平氏 Matsudaira-shi) were a samurai family (武家 buke) from the Matsudaira area in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). Although its exact origins are unclear, the clan claimed descent from the medieval Seiwa Genji (清和源氏) branch of the Minamoto. Its founder was said to be...

Matsusaka Castle (松坂城 Matsusaka-jō) is located in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture. It was constructed in 1588 by Gamō Ujisato with a three-storey donjon. The ruins of the castle were designated a National Historic Site in 2011. Matsusaka Castle is listed in Japan's100 Finest Castles. A local history...

Toba Castle (鳥羽城 Toba-jō) is a flatland-style castle located in Toba, Mie Prefecture. Throughout the Edo period, Toba Castle was the administrative centre of the Toba Domain in Shima Province. It was also known as Toba no Ukijō (鳥羽の浮城, Floating Castle of Toba) as its main gate jutted out into...

Mie Prefecture (三重県 Mie-ken) is located on the eastern side of the Kii Peninsula in central Honshū and bordered by Ise Bay to the east, Kumano Sea to the south, and Wakayama, Nara, Kyōto, Shiga, Gifu, and Aichi prefectures to the north and the west. The northern part of the prefecture consists...

Jindaiji Motomachi (深大寺元町) is a peaceful neighbourhood in western Tōkyō: tranquil, lush with greenery and trickling streams, and rich in local history, it lends itself to those who want to escape the bustling city to enjoy sightseeing, culture, and traditional Japanese goodies. It takes about...