This year marks the 82nd anniversary of the Zero’s first flight on Apr. 1, 1939. Like battleship Yamato, the Zero is an instantly recognized symbol of Japan despite its current pacifistic leanings. The design is still aesthetically pleasing making it…
The Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman reopened after a renovation on Apr. 12, 2021. The renovation gave the exhibits a facelift and tweaked their presentation in order to better reach a modern, younger audience growing more distant from the war.…
Meiji-mura is an open air architectural park with dozens of architectural and still functional technological wonders from turn-of-the-century Japan. I came ready to see the era and even dressed in a yukata with fedora, like all the old Japanese men…
(This is a version of the story originally published in Stripes Japan’s Destination Paradise) As the interisland ferry approached Okinoerabujima, I still wasn’t sure if I’d made a mistake coming here. Before us was an island of high sea cliffs…
I did a Top Five Tanks a few years back so decided now would be a good time to do another one but with my top five favorite museum ships. I’m a guy and I love history, so my favorite…
This mini article was first published Jan. 21, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. Last week I went to Tokyo for the Suzu’s…
Saigo Takamori was born Jan. 23, 1828 in Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain. The son of a samurai tax clerk in the poorest samurai district of Kagoshima, I don’t imagine anyone that day would expect this boy to be one of the…
If you ever visit Kumamoto Castle you’ll notice this statue inside without much explanation. The soldier’s name is Tanimura Keisuke and he served at the castle when it was besieged by Saigo Takamori’s rebels during the Satsuma Rebellion / Seinan…
On the foggy morning of Oct. 21, 1600 the 160,000 strong samurai armies of eastern and western Japan clashed for six hours at Sekigahara in the single most important battle in Japanese history. The battle was the beginning of the…
This mini article was first published Sept. 6, 2020 on Wayfarer Daves Facebook. These will not be replacing regular full-length articles but may supplement from time to time on off weeks. In 1985 the television series Sukeban Deka II had…