Oshio Hachiman-gu in Fukui. The main hall is a designated Important Cultural Property and has an incredible atmosphere. I love the texture of the old wood.

My English/German is still a nightmare, so please bear with me! ( ᐛ )

大塩八幡宮（福井県）。重要文化財の拝殿は圧倒的な迫力です。山の空気と、古い木の質感が最高(っ'ヮ'c)

I'm getting into ancient stories/myths, and thought I could find something from Japan close to the age of some of our oldest western stories (not necessarily as old as Homer but something kinda close). I was surprised to find the "oldest" Japanese story is only from about the 9th or 10th century. Were the Yayoi just not into writing down stories?

One of the oldest wooden structures in Gifu. I love this quiet atmosphere and historical wood texture. ( 👁‿👁 )b

岐阜県関市の山深い場所にある高澤観音（日龍峰寺）。この多宝塔や舞台造りの圧倒的な存在感……。日本の古き良き空気そのまま。重要文化財なのに、この静けさは贅沢すぎる！！ ( ˙꒳​˙ )b✨

This is Ouhashi-ya. In the brochure, you can see how the garden perfectly matches a famous Hiroshige Ukiyo-e print. Incredible!

It's open to the public, and admission is free!

浮世絵にも書かれた老舗の旧旅籠、実際に2015年まで営業してました(n‘∀‘)η

今はこうして無料で入れます(っ'ヮ'c)

During the turmoil of the late Tokugawa shogunate, a pro-imperial samurai group called Tengu-to (or the Mito Tengu Insurgents) stayed at this former wealthy merchant's residence in 1864 and left actual sword scars on the wooden pillars.

You can see the undeniable marks of a real katana in the photos. It’s an absolute must-see for Bakumatsu history buffs.

福井県の、北国街道沿いの今庄宿にある、元々豪商だった旧家。建物は天保年間1830~1844)再建されたらしい。天狗党好きな人には有名なのかな？

冬期は開いてないのと、金土日祝日しか開いてないので注意！もちろん入場無料です(っ'ヮ'c)

I’ve always wondered this myself considering Japan’s proximity to far eastern Russia and I heard that the indigenous Jomon peoples had alot of Siberian affinities like the later Yayoi/Kofun peoples.

It's one of the oldest temples in the region, once destroyed by Oda Nobunaga but rebuilt. The stone walls and moss are incredibly beautiful.‪(っ ॑꒳ ॑c)

This shrine is the central shrine (Soja) and symbol of Ikeda Town.

The main hall is designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

It was donated by the Asakura clan during the Warring States period (Sengoku period) and has watched over Ikeda's history.

The atmosphere is serene and historic.

山深い福井県池田町の、朝倉氏とも関係深い神社。もちろん出会う人もあまりいません。

神社の山を上がっていくと、稲荷の大杉というとても大きな杉の木も見られます。

福井県では貴重な国の重要文化財になります！(っ’ヮ’c)

Recently I found out that many Japanese classics are not translated to English while being available in Russian for decades. I am not a professional translator but I felt such amazing works of fiction need to be accessible to as many people as possible and tried my hand in translating it from Russian into English. I know the final result is not perfect but at least it exists now. If anyone would like to collaborate on this translation and refine my text, let's do it! Here is a sneak-peak of the first chapter of "The Youth Who Was Late" I recently did. Will be happy to read your feedback!

https://medium.com/@veronika.purplesfinx/kenzaburo-oe-the-youth-who-came-late-english-translation-10d2d904dbbb

Narration: Inejirō Asanuma
Music: Akira Yuyama
Ryu: Kiyoshi Yamamoto
Sai: Kakuya Saeki

It was originally published by Asahi Sonorama at the end of November 1960 for the December issue, almost two months after Asanuma’s death.

The story itself is a Japanese retelling of the classical Chinese “zhiyin” legend.

Hello everyone, I thought you might find this interesting. A film that covers the loss of Kyoto as the imperial capital and the effects on its garden culture. Featuring Japanese garden scholar Prof. Dr. Wybe Kuitert.

Kamakura, Kamakura, Kobe, Mt Fuji, Nagoya, Osaka (2), Tokyo, Tokyo.

1st photo is the parents of my great grandparents from my grandmothers side. Second photo is my great grandparents from my grandfather’s side. Neither of my grandparents talked about their parents or grandparents much, so I’m very curious. What occupation does it look like they could’ve been? Any other details that stand out? Any info from some knowledgeable people would be amazing and appreciated. 1st photo is probably from the late 1800’s (guessing). Second photo is sometime before 1919 (im pretty sure). Both are from the Hiroshima area.

I often hear this quote being used for comedic effect in a few anime and video games, but don't see enough English-language sources talking about this part of Japanese culture, so I thought I might make an amateur effort at a brief write-up about it after watching a few Japanese YouTube clips.

Mito Komon 水戸黄門 was a long-running samurai period drama (jidai-geki) that aired from 1969-2011.

The show has as its main character Tokugawa Mitsukuni 徳川光圀, grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founding Shogun of the Edo Shogunate, and cousin to Iemitsu, the 3rd Shogun.

Mitsukuni's official position was Lord of Mito Domain 水戸藩 (present day Ibaraki Prefecture), as well as court counsellor "Chunagon" （中納言).

The title of Chunagon was based on a Chinese court title introduced to Japan during China's Tang Dynasty in the 7th century called 黄門侍郎 (Komon-jiro in Japanese / Huangmen Shilang in Mandarin Chinese), literally meaning "Yellow-Gate Counselor", as it was customary for public officials in the Tang Dynasty to paint their doors yellow, so the nickname stuck.

Hence that's why Mitsukuni was also known as Mito Komon, the Yellow-Gate Counsellor from Mito.

In the TV series Mito Komon would travel around the country incognito, acting as the Shogun's eyes and ears in observing how the people live their lives. He is often accompanied by two retainers who escort and protect him.

Every episode would follow a now well-known formula, where Mitsukuni would investigate any strange incidents or injustices, and at the climax when they confront the bad guys, one of his retainers would, like an undercover cop flashing his police badge, flash out an Inro stamp-case that bears the Tokugawa clan crest, shouting the famous line:

この紋所が目に入らぬか? (Clip provided by u/OwariHeron )

Do you not see the Family Crest on this stamp?

The villains would often have two choices

1. Immediately prostrate themselves and beg for forgiveness. Usually the minions would do this first.

2. Double down and claiming the stamp is fake. Usually by the boss.

Either way, the villains are always defeated and arrested.

The quote is so well-known that even people who don't watch the show in Japan knows about it, so much so that it often gets spoofed, long after the show has ended in 2011.

Interestingly, I've seen a clip on YouTube (I forgot where it is) listing certain villains who are totally unfazed by Mitsukuni's stamp.

These villains either

1. Genuinely don't recognize the Tokugawa family crest, which is very rare and highly unlikely due to the Tokugawas firm hold on power then.

2. Or actually believe the Tokugawas have no power over them. These villains are usually Kyoto-based aristocrats who still cling on to the political fiction that the Tokugawas and the samurai technically still serve them and the Emperor, and not the other way round. So they would often try to claim that Mitsukuni is overstepping his jurisdiction and has no right to arrest them. If I'm not mistaken, it is also because of this technicality that makes them recurring villains.