The River of Heaven - Tanabata in Japanese Poetry

Curious this day on which long ago they must have pledged their troth; like the River of Heaven's waves rising - this is sent out. This...

A Review of our JanuaryinJapan Online Book Club Event!

We loved looking at this beautiful image of Murasaki Shikibu. What could the significance of the green and red colours in her juunihitoe...

Karuta and the Hundred Poets

This week we've been looking at the traditional Japanese card game called karuta. It's a fascinating competitive sport in Japan, which...

Tanabata: the July 7th Star Festival!

Tanabata wish cards :) Two Tanabata Poems Don't look up by yourself at the sky where stars meet - the wind from the Milky Way blows cold....

Our Hanami Story!

It's officially cherry blossom season! And that means hanami time :) Hanami (花見) literally means "flower viewing" and it's a Japanese...

Genji and the Changing Seasons

A scene from Chapter 24 'Butterflies', The Tale of Genji, illustrated by Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613) and Choujirou, Kyoto National Museum...

BLOG