More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

  On the southern slopes of Mount Taima can be found the Murodani Rice Terraces. In 1999 they became classified as one of the top 100 rice t...

  At the edge of Kawamoto on my way out of town is a small wayside shrine. It is a Tatara Shrine, tatara being the traditional type of forge...

  The Sakurai were a samurai family who controlled iron production in an area of Okuizumo in the Chugoku Mountains of Shimane. Originally fr...

  In the remote Chugoku Mountains of Shimane is a museum featuring many Japanese swords, apparently quite a popular topic for many visitors ...

Japan Museums Tatara are the traditional type of forge used to smelt iron in historical Japan. They used charcoal and iron sand rather than ...

Itohara Memorial Museum The Itohara were a family of high-ranking samurai in the service of the Matsue Domain during the Edo Period. Their b...