Here’s the closing entry in my set of Field Reports about the ruins of a 16th-century Japanese castle in Suncheon, South Korea. The preceding posts (Part 1 and Part 2) […]
Let’s continue our visit to the ruins of Suncheon Castle (순천왜성), a 16th-century fortress built by the invasion army of Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the coast of Jeollanam-do, South […]
Until recently, my interest in Japanese castles was geographically confined to Japan itself. (Hardly a surprise, since that’s where nearly all of them are.) That changed this past winter when […]
In my previous post, I wrote in detail about the newly reconstructed Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle. Needless to say, that episode was just a slice out of a visit […]
I’ve long had a keen interest in the ambitious project to resurrect the lost Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle: quite possibly one of the most magnificent examples of 17th-century Japanese […]
I’ve been to Kitakyūshū before, but that initial foray was so brief that I had no choice but to come back. And I’m glad I returned, because I found myself […]
Think about the sort of house you’d like to live in after retirement. Will it be a beach-side bungalow, or perhaps a small cottage out in the country? Whatever form […]
The islands of Okinawa Prefecture are sprinkled with the remains of gusuku: massive stone-walled castles that are in some ways similar to, and yet in many other ways different from, […]
Our exploration of Naha’s iconic Shuri Castle continues from my previous post – though we’ll be spending more time outdoors on this occasion. Let’s have a look at some of […]
Before Okinawa was Okinawa, it was the Kingdom of Ryūkyū: an independent nation with its own system of government and unique way of life. That realm was once ruled from […]
Within striking distance 