KotobaInteractive
Journal

The Kotoba Interactive journal.

Editorial features on the cultures, history and languages of Asia. Filter by culture, by topic, or search for what inspires you.

Glossary
2 articles
Plan ancien de l’île artificielle de Dejima à Nagasaki, comptoir hollandais en éventail durant la fermeture du Japon.
JapaneseHistoire14 min

Sakoku: How Japan Closed Itself to the World

The history of sakoku, Japan's closure under the Tokugawa. Edicts, Dejima, Christian persecution, Perry's black ships, and the nuance historians now stress.

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Estampe ukiyo-e d’Utagawa Kuniyoshi représentant l’attaque nocturne des 47 rōnin contre la résidence de Kira.
JapaneseHistoire13 min

The 47 Rōnin: history and legend of a revenge

The true story of the 47 rōnin and its legend, the Chūshingura. From the 1701 Akō incident to the seppuku at Sengaku-ji: facts, dates and the myth of samurai Japan.

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