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July 06, 2026
 

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SHINTO

For one April Sunday each year, the otherwise working class city of Kawasaki becomes host to one of Japan's most unusual-looking festivals.
LIFE / Travel
May 23, 2026
At Kawasaki¡¯s ¡®penis festival,¡¯ phalluses are vessels of compassion
The event ¡®may look weird,¡¯ says a priestess of Kanayama Shrine, but its origins and purpose point to a deeper meaning.
Devotees walk on a forest path as they carry a portable shrine holding a deity back to the Musashi Mitake Shrine on the second day of the two-day Hinode Sai, or Sunrise Festival, in Ome, Tokyo, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2026
Mountain festival marks spring arrival high above Tokyo
The Hinode Sai, or Sunrise Festival, is believed to have started when wandering ascetics climbed Mount Mitake in search of enlightenment.
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.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Apr 13, 2026
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
Japan¡¯s temples experiment with artificial intelligence as questions of faith, presence and care grow more urgent.
The Yamatsumi Shrine festival is held once again in the village of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, in December.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2026
Major shrine festival back in Fukushima village
It had not been unusual for Yamatsumi Shrine, one of rare Shinto shrines dedicated to wolves, to be flooded with people and stalls during its annual festival before 3/11.
Members of the Chunichi Dragons pray at Atsuta Jingu in Nagoya ahead of the start of their season in March.
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2026
Gods and games: Rituals that kick off Japan¡¯s sporting year
From hatsumš­de to victory charms, many athletes have rituals that are rooted in the spiritual side of Japanese sport.
In 2025, the 20 Questions column had 26 total interviews that offered insights into the professional, creative and personal backgrounds of people from various careers and walks of life.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 27, 2025
Finding a balance between tradition and innovation in 2025
With more than two dozen interviews throughout the year, our 20 Questions column highlighted diverse views on creativity, tradition and cultural hybridity.
Newly elected Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi, if called upon to present the Prime Minister¡¯s Cup, should refuse to enter the sumo ring because the »åŽÇ³ó²âš­¡¯s sacred meaning depends on preserving its ritual form rather than modern political symbolism.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2025
Why Prime Minister Takaichi should refuse to enter sumo¡¯s »åŽÇ³ó²âš­
The »åŽÇ³ó²âš­ is not a stage for political theater. It is a sacred space, not a square to be conquered for an #InstagrammableMoment.
Dragons feature prominently in Japanese folklore, though tracing their physical steps through the countryside requires some rural excursions.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 29, 2025
Chasing dragons across the temples of Nara
In two rural prefectures, dragon myths ¡ª and a cave that purports to host some ¡ª make for a unique way to explore the Japanese countryside.
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.
SUMO
Nov 11, 2025
As Japan¡¯s female leader rises, can she cross sumo¡¯s sacred line?
Professional sumo¡¯s ring remains off-limits to women and girls ¡ª not by law, but by centuries of belief and tradition.
Florian Wiltschko¡¯s interest in Shintoism began with a trip to Japan in his teens. He now serves as the supplicant priest at the 355-year-old Hisai Hachiman Shrine in Mie Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 24, 2025
Florian Wiltschko: ¡®Shinto helps me understand and live within Japanese culture¡¯
A Shinto priest from Austria talks about the origins of his spiritual journey and how he spends his days at a 355-year-old shrine.
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.
Prince Hisahito (right) visits Ise Shrine's Geku outer shrine in Ise, Mie Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2025
Prince Hisahito visits Ise Shrine after coming-of-age ceremony
The prince, second in line to the throne, underwent his coming-of-age ceremony on Saturday.
Shinto priests holding traditional umbrellas walk to the main shrine for a ritual to cleanse themselves during the annual Spring Festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in April 2016.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 13, 2025
Dispelling the myth of Yasukuni Shrine
The shrine has been a lightning rod ¡ª especially as it has been used by some of Japan¡¯s neighbors as a convenient means to shift attention away from their domestic issues.
People pray during a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025
Why only Japan is criticized for honoring its war dead
Other countries honor the ultimate sacrifice regardless of whether the war was just, later judged a mistake or involved actions that could be seen as war crimes.
Descendents of the original "Gonin Byakushš­" families are the only vendors allowed inside the gates of Kotohira Shrine, where they sell "kamiyoame," a golden-hued, yuzu-flavored candy meant for good fortune.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 7, 2025
At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree
Located in the mountains of western Kagawa Prefecture, Kotohira has yet to suffer ¡ª or benefit ¡ª from Japan¡¯s overtourism rush.
Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
May 26, 2025
Do Japan¡¯s trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
Trees have long occupied a sacred place in Japanese culture. In the fast pace of the 21st century, however, they¡¯re increasingly losing out to progress.
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.
At each shrine and temple, priests create festive, decorative go-shuin stamps, and you can collect the marks of all seven of the lucky gods on one piece of paper (called a shikishi) to serve as a good-luck talisman.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 27, 2024
Start the new year not with one temple visit, but seven
The seven lucky gods pilgrimage is a less hurried alternative to the often-crowded first temple or shrine visit of the year.
A photo taken on Monday shows a torii gate at the Meiji Shrine on which carvings resembling kanji were found.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024
American tourist arrested over defacing of Meiji Shrine torii gate
Suspect Steve Lee Hayes, 65, allegedly carved letters into the wooden pillar of one of the shrine¡¯s torii gates.
The Kurama Fire Festival is one of Japan's most visceral 'matsuri' (festivals), but growing throngs of spectators could bring changes in the future.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 2, 2024
At Japan¡¯s hottest festival, crowds threaten to smother the flames
Despite the growing throngs of attendees, it¡¯s the smaller details of the Kurama Fire Festival that add up to more than the sum of its parts.
¡®My dream is broken¡¯: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
Murakami says his novels are ¡®different¡¯ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Japan¡¯s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to ¡°spend a long time together¡± with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Okinawa¡¯s seaweed at a crossroads as harvesters and scientists race to save a fading tradition
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex¡¯s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex. ?
Japan¡¯s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to ¡°spend a long time together¡± with her parents.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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