Shachi bling
The relationship between the golden shachi of Nagoya castle and the silver ones of Aizu Wakamatsu are seen by some as akin to that of the Go....
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Castle, in Japanese
One particular Chinese character that tends to catch my eye is 城. To anyone seeing this collection of squiggles for the first time, I trus....
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Tsukushi clan Mansion
Literally just down the road from where I live in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, sit the ruins of the Tsukushi clan mansion. Just as it would imply,....
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Kamon, kamon. Do the locomotion with me
Just a quick note to let everyone know about the latest (rolling) update. To most of the Western half of Japan, new domain (藩) & hera....
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A journey of a thousand miles…
…begins with one step. This journey may well end up with me being completely out-of-shape and borderline obese. I was thinking how good it....
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Towering inferno
For those of you not here in Japan, the country is currently experiencing its annual heat-wave. This occurrence may be familiar to you as Su....
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Stamp rally – #1 Matsumoto Castle
Back in June 2007, the Nihon Jōkaku Kyōkai (Japan Castle Foundation) launched a stamp rally to promote their list of the top 100 Japanese ....
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Tsutsujigasaki Yakata
I guess it’s been about two months or so since there’s been a video. Let’s hope was worth the wait. In early August 2010, I found myse....
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Drainspotting – Odawara Castle
The very first destination of my recent trip was the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. Did I visit Odawara castle? Of course. On this....
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The Latest and Greatest
Though still in its early stages, I am so glad that the main JCE site & its accompanying blog (THIS site of course), now share a common ....
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Quick post – major update
Hi all, Please check out http://www.japanese-castle-explorer.com/ to see the latest overhaul of the site. The update is probably most cosmet....
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Bilingual pun #1
舞鶴城 (Maizuru castle) – The dancing-crane castle. Several castles were known as Maizuru castle (Wikipedia lists nine). This one is al....
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August 2010 Trip
Well, the Summer holidays are coming to an end. As much as I’d like them to last for ever, pretty sure that’s an impossibility. Perhaps ....
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Me again!
Well guys I’ve finally done it. I’ve gone and done the bare minimum to align this blog to the rest of the website. No doubt, it is a lit....
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Cosmetic Surgery – A lovely pair!
Look familiar? If so, you're probably thinking it's the Tsukimi Turret of Takamatsu castle. And, you'd be right. And... If it looks very fa....
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Yoshinogari Settlement
Just added a new page to the Japanese Castle Explorer. I've gotta be honest, Yoshinogari has never really appealed to me. It is quite a ways....
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Fukuoka castle tower
Image credit: Yomiuri - http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100702-OYT1T00308.htm There have been so many castles built with massive st....
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Matsue Castle no longer to be an ICP?
Breaking news It appears the days of Matsue castle's main tower being listed as an Important Cultural Property are numbered. They are going ....
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Jin’ya – A castle that isn’t a castle.
Jin'ya? Castle in Japanese - 城, represented a lot of things. It ranged from something massive and modern like Nagoya or Himeji castles rig....
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WWII – Tachiarai Airfield museum
Well, between procrastination and not having a means to visit, I finally checked out the Tachiarai Peace Hall. You may well imagine it to be....
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Back to school
I was walking around the school between lessons looking for a teacher (I work at 8 schools in Kurume city) & came across a room filled w....
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Asahiyama Castle Ruins
Another video! I jumped in the car and drove down the road for about 10 minutes or so. Me and Taiga ended up at the Asahiyama Castle Ruins, ....
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JCE on Gaijinpot
Just a quick note guys. A story has been done about the JCE website and in particular the map and it appears on the Gaijinpot website. Here....
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Travel bug
This is the very bus I took from Fukuoka to Kyoto. It wasn't as confortable as it looks. Choose your own adventure I have got to say tha....
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Shogun 2: Totally Awesome
Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple. First, a bit of backstory. There was a game released for the PC about 10 years....
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Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple.
Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple. First, a bit of backstory. There was a game released for the PC about 10 years....
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All roads lead to Edo
Finally, another post. And, finally another video. Does this video actually answer any questions? I'm not really sure. It's just me driving ....
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Rate my castle
Early this year I added a function that allowed people to rate the castles they'd visited. It's not a perfect system but it has allowed fo....
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Return of the king
Hurrah! Ye olde functionality hath returned! Perhaps I'm being a little over dramatic but after over a year on the back burner (and being co....
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Show and tell – Tsuba II
Earlier this year I introduced to you all my interest in Tsuba, the hand guards of Japanese swords (link). Well, here is another in my coll....
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