Japan and the United States share a unique relationship on the global stage. This site has covered some historical aspects of that relationship, from the post war reconstruction of Japan that bred a work culture resulting in the phenomenon of karoshi to the infamous kamikazes of World War II and how they came to be…
Author: Andrew Kincaid
Andrew Kincaid is a writer and a history buff. He has been enamored with history for as long as he can remember. As a kid, he would often go to the library, check out huge stacks of books, and spend hours delving into the dusty past.
Japanese Cults–Koji Takahashi and the Life Space Movement
Japan, like any other country, has its share of odd religious movements. Better known as cults, these groups live on the fringes of society, preying on people who find themselves in a vulnerable position in life. In the last twenty or thirty years, Japan has become a fertile breeding ground for cults and fringe religions…
Worked to Death–Karoshi and Japan’s Deadly Work Culture
The Japanese are infamous for their ability to take things to bizarre extremes. From festivals that look more like riots to pimped out long haul semi-trucks, their capacity for strangeness seems to know no bounds. Reasons for this are hard to pin down, but they might in part be attributed to another well worn stereotype–that…
The Pokemon Panic
Cartoons are usually seen as harmless entertainment for children. Other than the occasional kerfuffle over violence, most parents have no problems allowing their children to sit and watch the latest adventures of their favorite animated characters. The Pokemon cartoon was among the most popular animated children’s show of the 1990s. The show, which was based…
The Karakuri Ningyo–Japan’s Clockwork Puppets
The Japanese fascination with robots might seem strange to outsiders. After all, an entire genre of manga and anime is devoted to giant robots slugging it out (a genre that, for some reason, also likes to make weird Jungian segues into madness.) Additionally, Japan leads the world in the field of robotics. A brief look…
The Kamikaze–Japan’s Three Divine Winds
Japan’s turbulent history was marked by a series of internal wars among various noble factions, vying for the title of Shogun. While most of its history was spent fighting itself, the greatest threat to Japan came from outside, in the guise of Kublai Khan. Grandson of the infamous Ghengis Khan, Kublai succeeded to the throne…