What are Yamanote and Shitamachi? Yamanote (山の手) means “mountain’s hand” or “high land”, and it refers to the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Emperor’s Palace. This was where the samurai and their families lived in Edo, enjoying cooler summers and...
Here are 10 ways the Vikings are still part of our lives today. Place Names: Normandy and Beyond Many places bear names with Viking roots, with Normandy being a prime example. The region in the northwest corner of France is named after the “Northmen” or...
Or so people thought. 50 years on the truth was revealed George V’s personal physician Lord Dawson of Penn kept a secret diary and 50 years later some disturbing evidence was found to contradict the official story of the Kings passing. In 1986 the diary was made...
The year is 1614. The place is Acapulco, Mexico. Hasekura Tsunenaga, a noble warrior from Japan, was on a mission to Europe. He was not alone. Along with him were about 180 people, including merchants, sailors, and Christians. Why were Samurai in Mexico? The first...
Most ancient sites, like temples and palaces, have been rebuilt or restored over time, sometimes more than once. Why is that? Edo: The City of Fire Edo was the name of Tokyo before 1868. It was the capital of Japan under the Tokugawa shoguns, who ruled the country...
