Examines various current events along with historical facts
Examines various current events along with historical facts
The Meyasubako (目安箱, suggestion box) was installed in front of the Tokugawa Shogunate’s Council of Ministers (評定所) in 1721. The Meyasubako, which was set up by the eighth shogun, Yoshimune (吉宗, 1716-1745), as one of the Kyoho Reforms (享保の改革), allowed anyone, except…
Oases are places where water miraculously springs up and greenery spreads across the vast, dry desert, which is a harsh environment for any living thing. Just the arrangement of the letters, the sound and resonance of the word “ou-éi-si-s” somehow…
In period dramas set in the Edo period (1603-1868), the standard job of ronin (浪人 or 牢人, masterless samurai) is, above all, reupholstering umbrellas. Many people have probably seen the scene where a ronin brushes glue onto a bamboo frame and…
The word disaster is composed of dis and aster (from medieval Latin dis-astro), and refers to something bad that occurs away from a good star. The word is said to have originated from the ancient astrological belief that an unlucky…