Posted inArt, Prehistory

Shakōkidogū, the Enigmatic Humanoid Figurines with Glasses from Prehistoric Japan

From the late prehistoric Jōmon culture in Japan, which extends approximately from 14,000 to 400 BCE, numerous small humanoid figurines have been found, known as dogū (literally, clay figure). They have been discovered throughout the country except in Okinawa Prefecture, and they all share a similar style, ranging in size from 10 to 30 centimeters, […]

Posted inGeography

The Colossal Underground Tunnels Shielding Tokyo from Floods at 164 Feet Deep

In a country like Japan, where torrential rains and typhoons are recurring phenomena, water management becomes a vital necessity. In response to the persistent flooding problems in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Japanese government undertook the construction of one of the world’s most impressive hydraulic infrastructures: the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (MAOUDC), known […]

Posted inAge of Exploration

The Great Fire That Destroyed 500 Palaces, 350 Temples, and Almost the Entire Capital of Japan in 1657, Giving Rise to the Yakuza

If we talk about the number of fatalities and the degree of destruction, three major disasters stand out in Japan. Two are well known: the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, which reached 8.3 on the Richter scale and claimed the lives of about one hundred and fifty thousand people, and Operation Meetinghouse of 1945, an […]