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May 05, 2026
 

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Michael Hoffman

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Michael Hoffman
Michael Hoffman is a fiction and nonfiction writer who has lived in Hokkaido by the sea almost as long as he can remember. He has been contributing regularly to The Japan Times for 10 years. His latest novel is "The Naked Ear" (VBW/Blackcover Books, 2012).
A portrait of Hiraga Gennai painted by the artist Nakamaru Seijuro in 1886, currently at Waseda University Library in Tokyo.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 23, 2026
An island tale of myth, desire and the wisdom of laughter
A journey from 91²Ö¿â oldest myths to Edo eccentric Hiraga Gennai, who discovers the absurdity and humor at life's core.
The traditional umbrella has played a part in many Japanese tales.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 6, 2026
The long, humble history of the umbrella
From ancient courts to Meiji streets, the umbrella shelters commerce, faith, folly and fragile human longing.
A statue of Saint Francis Xavier in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture. Christianity spread rapidly in Kyushu before facing brutal suppression under the Tokugawa shogunate.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jan 16, 2026
How Tokugawa Japan learned to fear faith
The Shimabara Rebellion reveals how faith, fear and power converged in Tokugawa Japan, ending in martyrdom, massacre and historical memory.
A folding screen depicts a Dutch vessel allied with the Tokugawa shogunate in its efforts to quash a rebellion of local ronin and Catholic peasants led by Amakusa Shiro.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Dec 20, 2025
Edo Japan¡¯s bloody legacy of Christian revolt
By the end of the 16th century, Kyushu was more Christian than Buddhist ¡ª setting the stage for one of the most violent clashes of the Edo Period (1603-1867).
Before Japanese encroachments onto their native land, the Ainu people in what is present-day Hokkaido lived hunter-gatherer lifestyles supplemented by fishing.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Nov 15, 2025
Timeless tales throw the march of ¡®progress¡¯ into relief
Maybe the Ainu had it right after all? Maybe humankind should have remained in that state? What if we had?
A print by Utagawa Kuniyasu (1794-1832) depicts a bustling scene at a fish market in Nihonbashi.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Oct 18, 2025
Of sound and silence in old Japan
While haiku poets like Basho extolled the virtues of tranquility, premodern Japan was likely a noisier affair than most people imagine.
In the ¡°Kojiki,¡± the origins of the Japanese archipelago are attributed to the coupling of Izanagi and Izanami, two kami from the Plain of High Heaven.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Sep 20, 2025
Humanity's tales of creation, cataclysm and kami
Cultures the world over have invented their own distinctive creation myths since antiquity. In Japan, the ¡°Kojiki¡± offers insight into premodern perspectives on the nation.
Noe Ito (third from right) was editor-in-chief of feminist magazine Seito and her partner Sakae Osugi (second from right) was a prominent anarchist of the Taisho Era. Both were murdered by military police in 1923.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Aug 16, 2025
Taisho Democracy: A turbulent, tenuous era of conflicting ideals
The resilience of Japanese politics, culture and society were tested during the 14 years of the Taisho Era (1912-26).
Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian independence movement with an unshakable faith in nonviolence that arguably dovetailed with Zen philosophy in some respects.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 19, 2025
Gandhi¡¯s philosophy of nonviolence ¡ª and Zen?
The Indian nationalist¡¯s beliefs hewed close to certain aspects of Zen thought, particularly his fearlessness in the face of death.
A statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Tetsugakudo Park, Tokyo. The Indian nationalist saw lessons for humanity in the trajectory of modern Japan and the violence wrought by ¡ª and perpetrated upon ¡ª the nation.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 21, 2025
Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ¡®brute force¡¯ and toward love
¡°I did not move a muscle when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima.¡±
Ashikaga Takauji was a 14th-century warrior whose shifting alliances had a profound impact on the turbulent politics of his day. More than 500 years later, imperial loyalists were moved to channel their lingering fury at Takauji's betrayal of Emperor Go-Daigo.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
May 17, 2025
The emperor and the shogun: A power struggle across the centuries
For imperial loyalists of the late Edo Period, the experiences of Emperor Go-Daigo from five centuries past were an inspiration ¡ª and a warning.
While taking refuge on Mount Kasagi from the shogunate¡¯s forces, Emperor Go-Daigo had a prophetic dream that eventually led him to secure the support of military strategist Kusunoki Masashige.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Apr 19, 2025
¡®I scud before the autumn wind¡¯: Emperor Go-Daigo¡¯s fall from grace
The ¡°Masukagami,¡± a 14th-century historical chronicle, offers a wrenching account of the emperor¡¯s struggle for power ¡ª and eventual downfall.
After multiple failed attempts, Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) and his loyalists overthrew the Kamakura shogunate and restored imperial power ¡ª for a time.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 15, 2025
Divine authority and mortal desires in the turbulent 14th century
The literary monk Kenko yearned for an ¡°uncontaminated world,¡± even during the tumultuous rule of Emperor Go-Daigo, who toppled the shogunate and consolidated imperial power.
The monkish aristocrat Yoshida no Kenko extolled the virtues of asymmetry, imperfection and ephemerality in his famed essay collection ¡°Tsurezuregusa.¡±
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Feb 15, 2025
¡®The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty¡¯
A man of leisure from 700 years ago extols the virtues of asymmetry, imperfection and ephemerality.
Those who lived in Japan¡¯s Nara Period, which lasted from the year 710 to 794, by and large knew themselves to be blessed. It wasn¡¯t just those in power who felt it, either. From nobles to commoners, the poets seemed to have democratized joy itself.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jan 17, 2025
From Genji to 'hikikomori,' how we make peace with disappearing
Japan¡¯s reverence for impermanence reveals a profound connection between beauty and loss, from poetic musings to spiritual retreats, echoing in modern expressions of solitude.
The entrance gate to Arakura Sengen Shrine in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, with Mount Fuji in the distance.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jan 15, 2025
From wrath to radiance: Why the 'Manyoshu' feels like paradise lost
While the Bible¡¯s God demands obedience and punishes sin, the 'Manyoshu' radiates innocence, joy and harmony with nature.
The Allied Occupation of Japan after World War II brought an end to the country¡¯s brothels, which resulted in the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1956.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Oct 19, 2024
Edo 91²Ö¿â morals pose a debate for the modern age
Can we judge what¡¯s right or wrong across centuries? Edo¡¯s morals of sacrifice and duty distinctly clash with our own modern ethics.
The conduct and business of love in Japan¡¯s Edo Period (1603-1867) was rough, and nowhere was it rougher than in the pleasure quarters of the capital city.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Sep 29, 2024
Good or bad, both or neither: Edo Japan and the moral conscience
The era's warrior class and its martial virtues were redundant but lived on ¡ª?overshadowed by the pursuit of pleasure.
Only two other class of persons were treated with anything like the merciless ferocity meted out to lovers: subversives and Christians.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Aug 17, 2024
Love was a most subversive affair in Edo Japan
As the shogunate required order in society, love was seen as a threat to rational thinking ¡ª something that you might die for.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024
Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'
The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Water shortages hit tourist spots in Japan during Golden Week
A hot spring facility in the city of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, has suspended the operation of its open-air baths since March.
Strong winds disrupt transport during Golden Week
A map on the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency shows advisories and warnings for strong winds across wide areas of Japan through Monday night.
What is the hantavirus that killed three cruise ship passengers?
The cruise ship MV Hondius floats off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.
China's rare defiance of U.S. sanctions sparks showdown over banks
A Chinese flag flutters in front of the Shanghai Gaoqiao Company Refinery in Shanghai.
Article 9 in focus as Takaichi pushes for revision of Constitution
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives a speech in Hanoi on Saturday.
Fujisawa flashpoint: A mosque project stokes nativist fears
Muslims pray at Tokyo Camii in the Yoyogi-Uehara neighborhood. Though Muslims account for only 0.3% of Japan¡¯s population, rhetoric in online spaces and by conservative politicians has fomented social tensions.
No longer shushed: Japan¡¯s cultural venues make room for children
In 2019, Saitama Arts Theater started permitting children under 3 to some of its shows. Previously, children under 4 were not permitted.
New head chef at Maz explores Peruvian food through a Japanese lens
Since taking over Maz last month, chef Yuya Nakamura has been gradually introducing more Japanese influences to the restaurant's innovative Peruvian cuisine.
For tourists in Japan¡¯s outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan's famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country's outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.
¡®Sashiko¡¯ needlework artisan says craft is about 'the stories behind the stitching'
Traditional Japanese needlework has exploded in popularity, but a book from a third-generation artisan aims to bring more context to the craft's newfound popularity.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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