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February 22, 2025
 

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BUDDHISM

Kodai Furutani, the assistant chief priest at Ryugasan Unmon Temple in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, is working to become an interfaith chaplain.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2025
Monk in chaplain training urges people to face death and live life
There is a deep-seated idea in Japan that a monk being seen at a hospital is a bad omen, as their presence reminds patients and medical staff of death.
The monkish aristocrat Yoshida no Kenko extolled the virtues of asymmetry, imperfection and ephemerality in his famed essay collection “Tsurezuregusa.”
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Feb 15, 2025
‘The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty’
A man of leisure from 700 years ago extols the virtues of asymmetry, imperfection and ephemerality.
Monks at the temple of the golden Buddha Dordenma in Thimphu, Bhutan, in 2023
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2025
Japanese-made AI Buddha to make debut in Bhutan
Monks in the country will use the chatbot on a trial basis to further improve its functions and create guidelines on its use.
Rodgers (right) was a longtime managing editor of Kyoto Journal and, alongside colleagues like Susan Pavloska (left) and John Einarsen (center), helped make it one of Japan’s leading English-language publications.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 27, 2025
Ken Rodgers, a fixture of the Kyoto literary scene, dies at 72
Hailing from Australia, Rodgers made a home and community for himself in Japan’s ancient capital across more than four decades.
A drone view shows makeshift tents for quake-affected residents following the earthquake that struck Tingri county, in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, on Jan. 8.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 14, 2025
Earthquake shakes Tibetan monasteries; casualties among clergy unknown
The magnitude 6.8 quake reduced to rubble roofs and walls at a monastery and a nunnery about 15 kilometers east of the epicenter in Tingri county.
At each shrine and temple, priests create festive, decorative go-shuin stamps, and you can collect the marks of all seven of the lucky gods on one piece of paper (called a shikishi) to serve as a good-luck talisman.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 27, 2024
Start the new year not with one temple visit, but seven
The seven lucky gods pilgrimage is a less hurried alternative to the often-crowded first temple or shrine visit of the year.
The Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue, which was taken from Kannonji Temple in Nagasaki Prefecture to South Korea by a South Korean thief ring
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024
South Korean temple pledges to return Buddha statue next spring
In October 2023, the South Korean Supreme Court affirmed that the statue was owned by a Japanese temple in Nagasaki Prefecture.
A police officer directs traffic in front of a court in Hanoi.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2024
Rights group says Vietnam's imprisonment of Khmer monks violated religious freedom
A court in the southern province of Long An condemned the men to prison terms between two and six years.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024
In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’
Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
Shurei Sasai in Nagpur, India, on Oct. 13
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2024
Monk from Japan works to lead people in India to Buddhism
Shurei Sasai has been devoting his life to freeing people from discrimination based on the Indian caste system for more than half a century.
People farm in the Punakha valley, Bhutan, in 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 11, 2024
Buddhist Bhutan to build 'mindfulness city' to create jobs and woo investment
The Gelephu Mindfulness City will lie in a special administrative region with separate rules and laws.
Workers unload a large marble Buddha statue from a truck in Mandalay, Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2024
The marble 'living Buddhas' trapped by Myanmar's civil war
Buddhist-majority Myanmar has been mired in bloody conflict since the military toppled the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
The Kurama Fire Festival is one of Japan's most visceral 'matsuri' (festivals), but growing throngs of spectators could bring changes in the future.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 2, 2024
At Japan’s hottest festival, crowds threaten to smother the flames
Despite the growing throngs of attendees, it’s the smaller details of the Kurama Fire Festival that add up to more than the sum of its parts.
Today's religious thinkers face the challenge of demonstrating that faith offers deeper meaning and understanding in an increasingly secular world.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2024
Is the world ready for a religious comeback?
Individuals are seeking meaning through alternative avenues, suggesting a readiness for religious discourse.
A white hood believed to have been worn by the Sengoku Period warlord Uesugi Kenshin
JAPAN / History
Sep 15, 2024
Repair work begins for hood linked to warlord Uesugi Kenshin
The white hood is expected to be exhibited to the public in 2028 or 2030.
Cleaner Kazuyoshi Taguchi (bottom) and colleague Kazumi Minowa clean the right ear of the Ushiku Daibutsu giant Buddha statue in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2024
Celestial clean: Japanese duo spruce up world's tallest bronze Buddha
The 120-meter statue of Buddha is spruced up once a year.
Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024
Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'
The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Tibetans participate in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2024
Exiled Tibetans fear a future without the Dalai Lama, now 89
The Dalai Lama has said he will clarify questions about succession — including if and where he will be reincarnated — around his 90th birthday.
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
Japanese panel seeks to tighten screening of new universities
Education minister Toshiko Abe (right) receives a report on higher education from an advisory panel on Friday.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.

Podcast

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Longform

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The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

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