One of Japan's biggest cultural exports is its martial arts: karate, judo, aikido, kendo. Back before anime got really big, Japanese martial arts was one of the big draws that got Westerners saying “I wanna move to … [Read more...]
Last week @ayabuns on Twitter bribed me with this picture to write an article about kendo. I am fairly easy to bribe. Therefore, today you are getting an article about kendo. But not just any article! We'll talk a little … [Read more...]
When people think about Japanese history, there's one group of people that stand out more than any other. NINJA! Even people who know nothing else about Japanese history know about ninja, their clothes, shuriken, and … [Read more...]
But recently, I heard something that blew all of those stories right out of the water. Legendary karate master Mas Oyama apparently fought over 50 bulls hand-to-hand (or hand-to-hoof, as it were), killing each of them with … [Read more...]
If you live in South America and love Japan, then a visit to the Land of the Rising Sun might be closer than you think. Well, kind of. Brazil is not only the home to awesome things like bossa nova and Pelé, but the … [Read more...]