Of the six fundamental disciplines, the observance of the commandments is considered the most important; of the ten commandments, the prohibition on the taking of life is the prime one. All living ...

The Shintō deities Susanoo and Hachiman are highly revered kami with intriguing—and sometimes violent—backstories. An expert on Japanese mythology looks at the origins of the two gods and their rise ...

Over 800 years ago, Kamakura flourished as Japan’s shogunal capital, with the samurai class and others nurturing a new culture of fortitude and vigor apart from the aristocratic centers of Nara and ...

One of the major problems the two of them were facing together with Yui Yuigahama was the fact that Hachiman and Yukino felt like they were in a co-dependent relationship with one another. The central ...

While paying for lunch at Hirajin, I ask off-handedly if the restaurant has a long history. The wooden building, whose backside overlooks the Yoshida River, doesn’t look particularly old, but a small ...

I had the opportunity to go to Kyushu, so I visited Hachiman Kamado Shrine in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, and Homangu Kamado Shrine in Dazaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, two shrines that I had wanted ...