Ichijoji

It's well into 2026 now, but the catalyst for this rather freewheeling essay was something that is particularly noticeable around the en...

It's a little dark, but you get the idea – a practice fight with bokuto from the film Gohatto I’m not a collector – these days, space is...

  Kano Sanraku (his signature is there in the bottom left corner) - a votive plaque (ema) Horses were, of course, a huge part of the life of...

There are plenty of questions (and, indeed, legends) surrounding Musashi’s life – where was he born? What, if anything, did he study as a ch...

A dynamic illustration of Musashi by Noriyoshi Ohrai You read enough on a subject, and sooner or later you come to find yourself going round...

Travellers sheltering from the rain ‘This endless rain’ wrote Ki no Tsurayuki in the 10th century in a poem about the rainy season. This is ...