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What does Kamata mean?

Discover the fascinating history of Kamata, from an ancient samurai clan's influence to its transformation into a modern, safe urban suburb. Uncover the secrets of cattails, plum blossoms, and the yakuza's impact in this intriguing journey through Tokyo

蒲田Kamata (Fields of Cattails)It’s been a minute. Post-pandemic depression yada yada yada. But that’s not important to y’all. So, let’s just get right into it, shall we? The Meaning of Kamata (TDLR) Kamata is most likely related to the Kamata Clan. It’s unclear whether the clan gave their name to the area or the area gave its name to the clan. But for such a sleepy, boring, and inconvenient…

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[japanthis]

What does Kamata mean?

蒲田Kamata (Fields of Cattails)It’s been a minute. Post-pandemic depression yada yada yada. But that’s not important to y’all. So, let’s just get right into it, shall we? The Meaning of Kamata (TDLR) Kamata is most likely related to the Kamata Clan. It’s unclear whether the clan gave their name to the area or the area gave its name to the clan. But for such a sleepy, boring, and inconvenient…

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Waking Up

It’s been three years since I’ve updated this site.The pandemic left me stateless and homeless for that time. It was hard. And the Japanese Government didn’t make that easy for me. So, without being on the ground and feeling betrayed by my adopted country, I couldn’t bring myself to write anything. Being homeless didn’t help either lol. Anyhoo, I’m back in the game. I just ask for encouragement.…

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Book Review – Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan

Yoshiwara: the Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan by Cecilia Segawa Seigle is a great social history of Edo's pleasure quarters.

Yoshiwara:The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan Cecilia Segawa Seigle There are a few accessible books out there about Edo’s licensed pleasure quarters, the Yoshiwara. But many are out of date or include weird biases specific to the times they were written1. When it comes to something as rarified yet celebrated as this subject, I think only academic books can do it justice. Having read…

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What does Shibuya mean?

What does Shibuya mean?

渋谷 Shibuya

(Bitter Valley)

Crazy Shibuya

渋谷 Shibuya is one of 東京 Tōkyō’s iconic neighborhoods. It’s famous for fashion, nightlife, and noise. 渋谷駅前交差点 Shibuya Ekimae Kōsaten Shibuya Crossing, better known as 渋谷スクランブル交差点 Shibuya Sukuranburu Kōsaten Shibuya Scramble or Shibuya Crossing, has the dubious honor of being the World’s Busiest Intersection or the World’s Wildest Intersection1.…

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Book Review – Anjin: The Life & Times of Samurai William Adams

Book Review – Anjin: The Life & Times of Samurai William Adams

Anjin – The Life & Times of Samurai William Adams 1564-1620

Hiromi T. Rogers

I’ve always called William Adams, better known in Japan as Miura Anjin, the patron saint of foreigners living in Japan. Although I didn’t know it was partly based on a true story, the first time I got some idea about his life was when I watched the nine-hour mini-series SHŌGUN with my family as a child1. The show…

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Why is Nihonbashi called Nihonbashi?

Why is Nihonbashi called Nihonbashi? http://wp.me/pKCCc-oH #japanhistory #japanesehistory

日本橋 Nihonbashi

RED: fa0509

(Japan Bridge, more at “the Bridge to Japan”)

Former Nihonbashi Ward. What started as a mere bridge became a collection cramped and bustling commercial neighborhoods synonymous with Edo’s shitamachi culture.

日本橋 Nihonbashi means “the bridge to Japan,” indicating the zero-mile marker of the Five Great Highways which connected Edo to the provinces. The formal…

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What does Ginza mean?

What does Ginza mean?

銀座 Ginza

(the Silver Guild; more at “the Mint”)

Ginza architecture at night I wrote my original article on Ginza back in 2013. It was only about two paragraphs long, so I decided it was time to rewrite the whole thing in order to bring it up to modern standards[i], including 40 footnotes to enhance your reading experience. After posting this, I unpublished the original article, so this…

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Amaterasu and the Rock Cave Explained

Amaterasu and the Rock Cave Explained

天岩戸の説明 Ama no Iwato Shinwa no Setsumei Explanation of the Creation Myth

Welcome to Japan’s Most Famous Legend

Also, if you haven’t read Amaterasu and the Rock Cave and all of my footnotes, go do that first. Otherwise, none of this will make any sense to you.

The Rock Cave Myth is by far the most famous of all Japanese myths. If we keep in mind that 天武天皇 Tenmu Tennō Emperor Tenmu commissioned the…

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Japanese Cosmology

T大和の宇宙誌 Yamato no Uchūshi Japanese Cosmography

We’re gonna try something new this time. JapanThis! usually focuses on the etymology of Edo-Tōkyō place names, then uses that as an excuse to explore the history and culture of various neighborhoods in what I think is the greatest city in the world. However, from time to time, I like deviate from the standard model to explore things like Tōkyōtrain…

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What does Hatsudai mean?

初台 Hatsudai (the first platform)

Is it Back to Normal Yet?

Well, apparently things aren’t back to normal yet. The Wuhan Love™️ is still out there taking lives, eroding infrastructure, and killing jobs. We’ve just got a few more weeks to put up with this and if we all do our best, I’m pretty sure we’ll come out of this stronger. That said, I hope you’re all doing well, staying inside, socially…

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What does Tennōzu Isle mean?

A rags to riches story. From sandbar to waterfront boardwalk. What does Tennoze Isle mean?

天王洲 I S L E Tennōzu Isle (island of the sandbar of the heavenly king)

So, COVID-19 is Still a Thing

I hope everyone is staying at home as much as possible. Deaths worldwide are up 13,000 since the last article. Yeah, so… you know what? Today we’re going to look at a popular man-made island in 東京湾 Tōkyō Wan Tōkyō Bay that is connected to a 神 kami god who has the power to protect mankind from…

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What does Hanzomon mean?

半蔵門 Hanzōmon (Hanzō Gate)

Today’s place name is from a request from a reader who’s working near Hanzōmon Station. Thanks for your request, Nate! Anyone else who interested in making a request about Tokyo place names, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get to it!

This one is pretty much straight forward.

It’s named after a famous samurai named 服部半蔵 (Hattori Hanzō).

will the real…

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What does Jinnan mean?

Shibuya - shopping paradise? tourist trap? What does Jinnan mean?

神南 Jinnan (southern spirit; more at “south of the shrine”)

Last time, we explored 宇田川町 Udagawa-chō Udagawa-chō which is located in 渋谷 Shibuya Shibuya. One of the points I hoped to start to convey is that place names in 東京 Tōkyō Tōkyō are far more complicated than you’d think at an initial glance. When most people say “Shibuya,” they could be referring to the train station and its immediate…

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What does Udagawacho mean?

What does Udagawacho mean?

宇田川町 Udagawa-chō (Uda River Town)

Good luck getting a photo like this lololol

.Since we’re heading back to 渋谷区 Shibuya-ku Shibuya Ward for the first time since 2013, I’d like to begin this this article by quoting a poem by the late, great 鈴木度助兵衛 Suzuki Dosukebe[i]:

Oh, Shibuya! Thy crazy intersection is overrun by tourists Taking the same goddamn video everyone else taketh. Thy streets, once…

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What does Meoto-bashi mean?

What does Meoto-bashi mean? It's so much darker than you think...

夫婦橋 Meoto-bashi (“lovers’ bridge,” more at “wedded couple’s bridge”)

I often get asked, “Marky, how do you find new place names?” Believe it or not, it’s just random. However, I’d say 80% of the time, I’m just riding a bus or train, and something jumps out and I wonder “why is this place called what it’s called?” That other 20% comes from just looking at random places on maps and wondering the…

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What does Aomonoyokochō mean?

What does Aomonoyokochō mean?

青物横丁 Aomonoyokochō (green things alley; more at greengrocers’ street)

Peas in a pod, veggies in a basket. Welcome to Aomoyoko-chō.

One of the things that make exploring Edo-Tōkyō so fun is that every neighborhood is unique. If you’re in the center of the old city, wherever you are is surely surrounded by a few blocks of something different[i]. A term that comes up time and time again is 横丁…

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