On May 1st 2019 Japan entered a new official era to mark the new emperor’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The name chosen for this era, Reiwa, uses two Chinese characters 令和, which were taken from an ancient Japanese poetry collection called the Man’yōshū. Oddly … [Read more...] about A Myriad Leaves: The Timeless Poems of the Man’yōshū
Japan
Udatsu-no-Machinami – The Old Townscape of Wakimachi in Tokushima
Udatsu-no-Machinami (or Udatsu Old Street) is a historic streetscape in the old town of Wakimachi now located in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture. Around 430 meters long, this preserved street is lined with 85 traditional buildings which date from the middle of the Edo era in the … [Read more...] about Udatsu-no-Machinami – The Old Townscape of Wakimachi in Tokushima
A Trip to Tokushima
Last week we took a short three-day trip to Tokushima, a prefecture on the east side of the island of Shikoku. Driving down from Kobe, if you have a car, it's fairly straightforward. You take the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge over the sea to Awaji Island, and then drive the length of … [Read more...] about A Trip to Tokushima