Category: All Things Japanese

The Life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Towards the end of the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi single-handedly rebuilt Kyoto and changed the course of Japanese history for the next centuries. His life is a true rags-to-riches story: born as a peasant, he used the turmoil of the Sengoku “Warring States” Period to climb the social ladder until he finally found himself Kampaku, advisor to the Emperor, or rather, Imperial regent.

I have written about his life in more detail (I tried to leave out the battles he fought, that would have been too tedious) over on Yamato. It’s free to read, so have a look!

https://yamatomagazine.substack.com/p/the-life-of-toyotomi-hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Keigo Higashino (1958-2026)

Keigo Higashino, one of Japan’s most widely acclaimed author of mystery novels, died on July 23 this year from colorectal cancer.

Born in Osaka in 1958, he started writing in high school but after university in 1981 began work as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co. He wrote novels and short stories on the weekends and submitted them to the annual Edogawa Rampo Prize two years later. In 1985, he won the prize for best unpublished mystery for “After School”. One year later, he quit his job and moved to Tokyo to become a full-time writer.

Until his death, he wrote 78 novels, 24 short story collections, and a number of other books and essays. He was a very popular author in China and his novels were translated into numerous languages. He also won a number of Japanese literature prizes, among them prestigious ones like the Edogawa Rampo Prize, the Naoki Prize, the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize, and the Kikuchi Kan Prize.

Higashino was my favourite author of mysteries, his twists that often come in the very last pages are legendary. By far, I haven’t read all of his novels, not even all that were translated into English. However, I think that his “Devotion of Suspect X” is his best book. Here’s a list of Higashino’s books I’ve read and reviewed (see the MY READING page for details), just in case you’d like to give him a try.

Disaster Prevention, Mt. Fuji Edition

Japan’s nature is beautiful – and potentially deadly: Earthquakes, landslides, typhoons are common, and for such cases, special “disaster prevention drills” exist, starting in school. Guides exist for foreigners as well, but I do wonder how much explanations will be given in English just in case you’ll have to evacuate somewhere, for example. Then again, nowadays everything’s online anyway.

And here’s one of those guides as to what to do in case Mt. Fuji erupts. The video states it is just a question of time, and being prepared is always a good idea. Many things, like having a pantry with food, water, medication and toiletries are common sense and have value even in case of an unexpected illness.

The following official video is interesting for two reasons: First, it’s in English, and they even found a delightful Australian to do the voice-over.

Second, the information regarding volcanic ashfall is valuable even if I don’t live anywhere near a volcano. I had no idea that volcanic ash is coarse and that it can weigh up to 5 times as much as snow, posing a risk to wooden homes if the ashfall is prolonged.

So, even if you don’t live in Japan, this is the perfect video for nerds.

Battle Royale

Koshun Takami

Instead of going on a school trip, 42 junior high school students from the small town of Shiroiwa find themselves on a tiny island in Japan’s Inland Sea. There, they are told that they were chosen for “The Program”, an annual competition where they have to fight each other to the death until only one is left alive. Each of them is given rations for a few days and a randomly chosen weapon and sent off, the game starting immediately.

New, uneasy alliances are forged and old friendships are broken as each one of the 15-year-olds struggles with their conscience, their fear, and raw survival instinct. But who will make it out – the smartest, the most ruthless, or those who can fly under the radar until the end?

This is a fast-paced thriller where I never knew what to expect next. I was worried of losing track of the students’ names, but the author’s choice of introducing them only when they become relevant (i.e., when they get into their first fight) helps to avoid confusion. He also describes the thought processes of the students in realistic terms, with all their juvenile flaws and misplaced confidence and flashes of both brilliant insight and childish ignorance. The deaths were all described in bloody detail, but overall, this didn’t bother me too much, and the twist at the end is satisfying.

What I found most interesting was the setting in a dystopian Japan. While depictions of authoritarian governments in fiction are nothing new, the author lets Japan fall from the Edo period (and the opening of the country) straight into a totalitarian system. Set in modern times when the kids have mobile phones and computers, unfettered access to information, in particular from abroad, is forbidden, just like free travel or rock music. In some ways, it reminded me of the situation in countries like China (in particular Hong Kong) or Iran: As long as you stay within the government-approved mould, you’ll be just fine. Quite worrisome, somehow…

Koshun Takami was born in 1969 in Amagasaki and grew up in Shikoku. After obtaining a degree in literature from Osaka University, he worked as a reporter for the Shikoku Shimbun for five years. Battle Royale, published in 1999 is his first, and so far only novel. Although its violent premise caused it to lose out on a literature prize, the controversy surrounding it made it an instant bestseller. It was adapted into manga and film.

Given the number of dead people in the end, I wouldn’t call this “light reading” or “enjoyable” by any stretch, but it’s a book worth reading. Get it from amazon in many different versions.

The Last Empress of Japan

As it is well known, the imperial house of Japan is (still) facing a succession crisis. With male heirs to the throne in short supply for many years, the entire burden of producing a son is currently resting on a single youth, currently 20 years of age.

While there is no imminent pressure to reproduce for the young prince, the burden might be lessened quite a bit if the Succession Law were to be changed to absolute primogeniture, and women were allowed to ascend to the throne.

There are powerful arguments on both sides, and on the opposing one, one famous story is cited over and over again: That of Shōtoku, the 6th and last “real” Empress of Japan, and her involvement with a certain monk called Dōkyō.

Read the story, which is really nothing more than a juicy 8th century palace intrigue, over on Yamato, it’s a freebie!

The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Love Poems

Having lived in 6 countries, there’s one thing I’ve learned: people aren’t that different, really. Our emotions are the same, just the expressions thereof are determined by culture, upbringing, sex… And the fun thing is that these human emotions haven’t changed much in the last, say 1000 years.

Case in point: Japanese love poems from the Heian period.

The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, compiled in 1235 by Fujiwara-no-Teika, is a collection of 100 poems by 100 Japanese poets who lived from the Asuka period (7th century) to the Heian period (late 12th century). Most of them were aristocrats (the only Japanese who could read and write at the time), but even though their lives are so vastly different from ours, their emotional poetry still strikes a chord.

Read my new take on the Hyakunin Isshu over on Yamato (it’s a free post): https://yamatomagazine.substack.com/p/love-poems-for-eternity-the-ogura-hyakunin-isshu, an old one from this blog is here.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Hisashi Kashiwai

Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter Koishi run a detective agency of a special flavour: From their inconspicuous little restaurant, they track down lost recipes for their clients. Together with the food, they also offer their clients insights into the memories that made the dish so unforgettable in the first place.

This is not so much of a novel, but rather a collection of six loosely connected stories, all centered around a single dish, a single memory. They run the gamut from the funny to the deeply moving, and show how much of our memories are connected to tastes, as well as sights and sounds.

Foodies may want to try and recreate the dishes – from Japanese beef stew and mackerel sushi to Neapolitan spaghetti – and those familiar with Kyoto will enjoy following the Kamogawas on their way through Kyoto’s neighborhoods.

Hisashi Kashiwai was born in 1952 in Kyoto and worked as a dentist. Kyoto city and its neighborhoods features prominently in his writing.

Whether you’re a foodie or a lover of Kyoto, or just somebody who likes escapist little stories, this one’s for you – and available on amazon.

Haru Urara, the Racehorse that Never Won

Haru Urara is probably the most famous of all Japanese racehorses, even though, or rather: because she never won a single race.

Starting out promising with a pedigree full of winners, she lost all of the 113 races of her lifetime. However, her unwavering spirit – perfectly in line with the Japanese ganbatte attitude – made her a household name, saved an entire racetrack, and inspired films, books, and manga.

Read about her life in this free article over on Yamato Magazine: https://yamatomagazine.substack.com/p/haru-urara-japans-most-inspiring-loser

I’ve written about her on this blog before, but now there is so much more information available about her life after retirement, so the article justified an update.

Nitten 2025/26

Last Friday, I was invited to the press preview of the 118th Nitten, one if not the largest exhibition of contemporary Japanese artists. It is a touring exhibition where each stop features about 50% local artists, in this case from Kyoto and Shiga prefectures.

The Nitten comprises five art faculties; namely Japanese Style and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art and Calligraphy. Each of the departments features works of the great masters of the modern Japanese art world alongside the works of new talents. At the press preview, each section was introduced by one of those great masters (I believe) but since the whole preview was limited to one hour, there was not enough time to really appreciate the whole exhibition.

In any case, here are a few of my personal favourites from this Nitten exhibition.

This one is a nihonga – Japanese painting called “Ray of Light”, and on closer inspection it’s red leaves in a forest.

This one is another nihonga, it looks quite abstract on first glance, but it isn’t. I would call it wabi-sabi.

The next images are from the “Crafts as Arts” section. My favourites were the lacquer pieces, but thanks to their shiny black surface they are incredibly difficult to photograph. Hence just an overview. The pieces on the wall are not paintings, but textiles, either woven or in yuzen-dyeing.

My favourite part are always the sculptures. I remember the very first Nitten I want to, where about 90% of the exhibits were nude females standing like soldiers, looking straight ahead. I was so disappointed – what a waste of medium! However, things have improved considerably as you can see, I wonder if the people who choose the art have changed.

This was my favourite piece of the whole exhibition. She looks defiant and confident in herself, yet sensual at the same time. As with most of the art that I like I can’t really say why exacly I like her. Apparently the piece is called “Dusk”.

And here are yoga, Western-style paintings. Tokyo Tower stood out to me, a bustling evening scene in the big city with bright colors and lights everywhere.

And here is Ojii-san, he comes every year to the exhibition and brings his grandchildren. They are growing up! With the horses in the background, it’s probably a nod to 2026, the Year of the Horse. I’ll have to check the other paintings if there’s a similar theme.

That was the Nitten, the last big exhibition for me this year. This is also the last post before I go on my annual Christmas holiday; I’ll be back on January 7th next year or thereabouts.

The Death of the Tea Master

Sen-no-Rikyu (1522–1591) was the most influential of all Japanese tea masters. Not only did he shape tea ceremony as it is practiced today, he was instrumental in the “tea diplomacy” used by his lords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi to unify the country.

Born into a wealthy merchant’s family in Sakai (south of Osaka), he studied tea ceremony from a young age and eventually stripped it from everything he deemed unnecessary. Rikyu’s emphasis on the simple and the idea that everybody was equal before the tea led him straight to the courts of the leaders of the country at the time.

Influential though he may have been, it left him vulnerable to the whims of the very people he served. For some reason – several have been put forward, but which was the true one has been lost to history – Hideyoshi and Rikyu’s relationship soured in 1591, and in the end, Rikyu was ordered to commit suicide. Rikyu is said to have conducted a final tea ceremony for his closest friends, given them all his prized tea utensils, and then calmly followed his lord’s orders.

This is where The Death of the Tea Master starts, a short biography of Sen-no-Rikyu, his tea ceremony and his times. It is this month’s free article on Yamato, I hope you’ll enjoy it! In the future, I will link the monthly free Yamato article here every first Sunday of the month; you have no obligations to read or subscribe.