Komorebi is a word that we English speakers could really use. And not just to add to our vocabulary, but also to our lives. It is formed from the Japanese| More Than Tokyo
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
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
Choosing sake can be daunting on many levels. Once you understand the basics of sake and its varieties, making that choice becomes much easier.| More Than Tokyo
The Obon festival of the ghosts traces its origin to Buddha’s disciple, Mokuren, whose mother had fallen into the world of the hungry ghosts, a hellish realm.| More Than Tokyo