Hiragana Times Archive
History - Hiragana Times Archive
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Why is The Tale of Genji still so Popular After 1,000 Years?
2008 marks 1,000 years since the first recorded mention of The Tale of Genji. The anniversary is being celebrated across the country including at the Yokohama Museum of Art, Kanagawa Prefecture, which is holding the exhibition “A Thousand Years of The Tale of Genji” . ...
Jesus in Japan: Is the True Tomb of Christ in Aomori?
1935 was an interesting year in world history. Over in the U.S., Babe RUTH hit his 714th home run, while in Europe storm clouds began to gather as Adolf HITLER violated the Versailles Treaty and announced Germany was rearming. In Japan, something less well known occurred ...
Passionate Poetess who Boldly Expressed Her Love
About a hundred years ago there was a poetess called YOSANO Akiko (1878~1942). She boldly expressed her feelings to the man she loved through her poems, as shown below. ...
A Dog that Continued to Wait for his Dead Master
Dogs are known to be the most loyal animals to human beings, and in Japan, there is a famous dog that showed this quality until the day it died. The dog’s name was “Hachi” (1923~1935) and is generally called “Chuuken Hachi-kou” (loyal dog Hachi). ...
A Model of a Good Wife who Supported her Husband’s Success During Wartime
YAMAUCHI Kazutoyo (1545 ~ 1605), who had an unstable life after the fall of his master’s family, married Chiyo (1557 ~ 1617) who had experienced a similar life. The poor couple dreamed Kazutoyo would become a lord of a country (state) some day. ...
The Man who Stole 300 Million yen without Harming Anybody
On the morning of December 10, 1968, a cash transport car belonging to the Kokubunji branch of Nihon Shintaku Ginko (bank) containing Toshiba Fuchu factory employees’ bonuses of 300,000,000 yen cash packed into metal boxes was stopped in a street next to Tokyo Fuchu prison by a young policeman riding on a police motorcycle. ...
The History Making Home-run King of Japanese Baseball
Baseball is more popular than football in Japan. Japanese baseball championship games are held in October and Japanese are fascinated by the sport. In the history of the game in Japan, one of the standout names is OH Sadaharu, the great first field home-run batter. ...
A Boy who Became a Model of Diligence for the Japanese
When foreigners are asked what the most distinguishing characteristic of Japanese people is, many answer “diligence.” Japanese are certainly diligent. NINOMIYA Kinjiro, later called NINOMIYA Sontoku, is the symbol of Japanese diligence. ...
Sympathized Class A War Criminal Who Accepted Death Penalty Without Any Defense
The year of 2005 marks 60 years after the end of World War II and the Prime Minister's visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine has become a big issue. China and Korea are opposed to Koizumi's visits since 14 Class A war criminals are enshrined together with ordinary soldiers. ...
Last Cry of Youth Destined to Die
The year of 2005 marks 60 years since the end of World War II. Among the many stories about the war, the one that still moves people to tears even today is about the tragedy of the approximately 4,600 soldiers of the Kamikaze Suicide Squad. ...
Mysterious Queen Highlighted Ancient History
The Emperors of Japan have all been men. After some expectant years of waiting, Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako had their first child in 2001, but it was a girl. ...
A Diplomat who Issued Life Saving Visas Against Orders
Sixty years ago in May 1945, Japan's wartime ally Germany accepted an unconditional surrender and Japan did the same in August. Thus World War 2 came to a close. This tragic conflict began when Hitler's Germany invaded Poland in 1939. At that time there was a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania who granted life saving visas to many Jewish who were being persecuted by the Nazis. ...
A Heretic Rationalist who Drove the Unification of Japan
Aichi prefecture is also known as the town of three great warriors in Japan's history. These men are ODA Nobunaga, a revolutionist of the medieval age, TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi, who unified Japan for the first time and who succeeded Nobunaga, and TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, who formed the Shogunate in Edo (present day Tokyo) after destroying the Toyotomi family. ...
A Hero of the Meiji Restoration who Saved Edo from the Fires of War
Ueno Park is known as a prominent cherry blossom viewing spot, and in the park is a statue of a man walking with a dog. The man in Japanese clothing is SAIGO Takamori (1827~1877). Who was he? ...
Japan’s First Emperor Who Appeared as a Descendant from a God
The 11th of February is the national foundation day of Japan. The definition of foundation differs by nation. While most emerging countries set it as their day of independence, most Japanese don't know how the national foundation day of Japan came about. ...
The Strategy Genius Expelled by the first Shogun
There were four major turning points in the history of Japan. Going back in history, they were World War?which occurred about 60 years ago, the Meiji restoration (the war between supporters of the Emperor and those of the Shogun) in the late 19th century, the age of provincial wars aimed at uniting the nation in the late 16th century, and the Gen-Pei war in the late 12th century. ...
The Ghost Writer with Two Names
Lafcadio HEARN is one of Japan's greatest writers. While there have been many films and television programs produced about his life and work, he is almost unknown in his native Ireland. How did this occur? ...
Man who opened the door of Japan to the world
If there is one man who has made a significant difference to modern Japan, it has to be American Matthew PERRY. PERRY was a Commodore in the U.S. Navy who was credited with prying open Japan to the rest of the world and setting the country on the path to 'internationlization.' ...
Re-builder of Post-war Japan
When the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, one of the men who signed the surrender document on September 2, 1945 was a man who would soon play a key role in the shaping of post-war Japan. The country was devastated ? ...
