Japanese Mythology: Did you mean...?

This ancient Japanese incense burner has a lion-shaped weight at the end of its handle. It was cast in bronze and dates from the 8th century CE during the Nara period in Japanese history. (Tokyo National Museum)

Drawing of a Japanese kappa, supposedly caught in 1801 in Mito domain. Illustration from an 1836 copy by Reikai of Suiko Kōryaku by Koga Tōan. The inscription reads: Height 3.5 shaku, weight 12 kamme. The chest protudes, the neck is short...

A drawing of a kappa, a Japanese mythological water sprite, by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) as part of his wider work, the Hokusai Manga, which he began publishing in 1812.

The samurai (also bushi) were a class of warriors that arose in the 10th century in Japan and which performed military service until the 19th century. Elite and highly-trained soldiers adept at using both the bow and sword, the samurai were...

Map of the Japanese Empire, 1895. It was issued shortly after the 1895 Japanese invasion of Taiwan and is consequently one of the first Japanese maps to include Taiwan and Korea as provinces of Imperial Japan. Geographicus Rare Antique Maps...

A traditional hearth in a Japanese home.

A photograph showing Japanese troops at the Mukden Little West Gate during the invasion of Chinese Manchuria (Manchukuo) in September 1931. The invasion caused a crisis with the League of Nations.

A traditional Japanese tea room with tatami matting, caligraphy hanging scroll and a single vase of flowers. The hearth is set into the floor on the left.

The Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The essential implements of the chanoyu or Japanese tea ceremony.