Boars are not an animal one would expect to find guarding a Shinto shrine. The story of how wild boars became divine guardians is an obscure and interesting one.| More Than Tokyo
An excerpt from Eike Exner's book Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics, which tells their story from the 19th century to the present day.| Yale University Press
A conversation with graphic narrative historian Eike Exner about his book, Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics| Yale University Press
Anyone who has visited a Shinto shrine in Japan has surely seen a collection of ema, or prayer tablets, containing the various prayers or thanksgivings| More Than Tokyo
Jizo (also written Jizō) is a bodhisattva, that is, one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood in order to help others.| More Than Tokyo
The lucrative Kitamaebune trade was a vital conduit for commerce and cultural exchange from Kyoto and Osaka to Hokkaido from the mid-18th to 19th centuries.| More Than Tokyo
Shinto was born from the Japanese people's instinctive awe and respect toward the power, beauty, and ravages of nature and gratitude for its bounty.| More Than Tokyo
Itoigawa, Niigata, was once the hub of a thriving jade trade. This jade was brought to the surface during tectonic upheavals that shaped the Japanese landscape.| More Than Tokyo