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Japan

Vincent Willem van Gogh’s Studio, Kuwakubo Toru, 2015

These Powerful Paintings Show Why van Gogh Fell in Love With Japan—and Why Japan Fell in Love With van Gogh

A new exhibition examines how the Dutch artist drew inspiration from Japanese art. It also explores how he influenced 20th- and 21st-century Japanese painters and photographers

Ispace posted a video of Resilience circling the moon shortly before it lost contact with the lander. 

The Resilience Spacecraft Likely Crashed on the Moon

Early reports suggest that an issue with the Japanese lander’s sensors prevented it from sufficiently slowing down

An artist's rendition of Resilience on the lunar surface, where it is scheduled to touchdown later today. 

Ispace’s Resilience Spacecraft Is Set to Land on the Moon Today—Here’s How to Follow Along

The Japanese company’s second attempt at a lunar landing can be streamed live this afternoon

A tsunami might have occured some 115 million years ago, near where deposits of Cretaceous amber were found in Japan.

This Deposit of ‘Weird’ Cretaceous Amber Could Reveal Hints to Long-Forgotten Tsunamis in Japan

A new study highlights the potential of amber fossils to capture evidence of powerful, prehistoric ocean waves

Dumbo octopuses, like the Opisthoteuthis agassizii seen here during a 2019 dive, are the deepest-living group of octopuses known.

Humans Have Seen Only 0.001 Percent of the World’s Deep Seas, Leaving Most of the Planet a Vast Mystery

Researchers argue that expanding deep-sea exploration is vital to understanding and managing these marine habitats

A whisk and bowls of matcha tea and tea powder

Discover the Centuries-Old Japanese Matcha Tea Ceremonies That Last for Hours and Require Beautiful Utensils

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art showcases the longtime cultural meaning in the practice of chanoyu

A detail shot of Triptych #3, David Gootnick, Alaskan yellow cedar and redheart on washi paper, 2023

See the Mesmerizing Interlocking Geometric Patterns Produced With This Ancient Japanese Woodworking Technique

The art form, known as kumiko, is now practiced by designers from around the world

Neil Frye was just 20 years old when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A Young Sailor’s Remains Return Home 84 Years After He Was Killed at Pearl Harbor

Neil Frye was 20 when Japan launched its surprise attack on December 7, 1941. He has been laid to rest with full military honors in his home state of North Carolina

Glenn Hodak, a corporal in the U.S. Army Air Forces, has been accounted for nearly 80 years after he died in a fire at the Tokyo Military Prison in 1945.

Remains of American Soldier Captured by the Japanese During World War II Identified Nearly 80 Years Later

After his plane was shot down, Glenn H. Hodak was sent to a military prison in Tokyo, where he was killed by U.S. firebombing in May 1945

Visitors to Manzanar National Historic Site will be able to run the bases around the restored baseball field, sit on the bleachers and look out into the looming mountain range from home plate.

The Moving Story of Bringing Baseball Back to Manzanar, Where Thousands of Japanese Americans Were Incarcerated During World War II

In honor of his mother and others imprisoned at the internment camp, baseball player Dan Kwong has restored a diamond in the California desert

The three-inch Flamin' Hot Cheeto was sold in a custom case with a custom Cheetozard Pokémon card.

This Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Is Shaped Like a Pokémon Charizard. It Just Sold for Nearly $90,000 at Auction

The “Cheetozard” resembles an orange dragon-like figure from the popular Japanese franchise. Its seller had purchased it on eBay for $350 in 2019

Fumika Fujibuchi, an official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, certified the park in late February.

See the World’s Smallest Park, a Teeny-Tiny Enclave in Japan That’s About the Size of Four Sheets of Paper

The record-breaking park features some grass, a seat and a decorative stepping stone. It’s even smaller than Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, which had held the title since 1971

Tourists sunbathe on Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui's eastern coast.

The Secret World War II History of Koh Samui, the New Setting for ‘The White Lotus’

Behind the dreamy scenery of the HBO show’s latest location lurks an explosive story of Thailand’s involvement in the conflict and a sunken Japanese tanker

Rosenthal’s iconic shot came early in the bloody campaign, and it led him to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that year.  

On This Day in History

The Story Behind the World-Famous Photograph of U.S. Marines Raising the American Flag During the Battle of Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal’s iconic photos from Iwo Jima helped the United States raise $26 billion for the war and served as the basis for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia

An oarfish surfaced in Playa El Quemado, Mexico, earlier this month.

Cool Finds

See a Deep-Sea Oarfish Caught Alive on Video in a Rare Encounter on a Beach in Mexico

In Japanese folklore, appearances of these elusive marine creatures dubbed ‘doomsday fish’ are believed to foreshadow earthquakes, though scientists found no strong relationship between these events in a recent study

This suit of armor bears the crest of the powerful Ikeda family. The helmet dates to the 14th century, and the suit—including the bear-fur shoes—dates to the 18th.

A Blockbuster Exhibition on Samurai Reveals How the Warriors Dressed the Part

The display of exquisite samurai armor in Oklahoma highlights the importance of aesthetics to Japan’s famed fighters

Herbert O. Yardley claimed that the Black Chamber deciphered more than 45,000 diplomatic code and cipher telegrams of foreign governments between 1917 and 1929.

Untold Stories of American History

The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

Experts determined that the Japanese hand grenade was inactive.

Staffers Find a Japanese Hand Grenade From World War II at a Museum in Kentucky

After police and the nearby bomb squad investigated to the scene, they announced that the weapon was inactive and safe

When a Japanese aquarium closed for a six-month renovation project, a sunfish named Mambo stopped eating and began rubbing up against the side of its tank. Aquarists wondered if the creature was lonely. (Mambo is not pictured.)

A Sunfish Got ‘Lonely’ When Its Aquarium Closed for Renovations. Then, Staff Found a Creative Way to Cheer It Up

The solitary fish named Mambo stopped eating and seemed to be missing its human visitors—so aquarists attached photos of human faces and uniforms to the side of its enclosure

A new study on "contagious urination" only looked at captive chimpanzees, but researchers suspect the phenomenon may also exist in the wild.

For Chimpanzees, Peeing May Be Contagious—Just Like Yawning Is for Humans, Study Finds

Scientists suggest captive chimpanzees engage in ‘socially contagious urination’—that is, when one primate starts peeing, others quickly follow suit

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