Hinoemata Village is located in the southwesternmost part of Fukushima Prefecture. It is situated in the mountainous region between Mount Hiuchigatake, Mount Aizu-Komagatake, and Mount Taishakusan, the highest peaks in the Tohoku region...
Aoiwa
Aomori Prefecture has only a little over 30 Paleolithic sites, which is extremely few compared to other municipalities. The reasons for this are detailed in "[Paleolithic Sites in Aomori Prefecture: Part 2]". Among those, I'd like to highlight...
I was surprised by the news report that "there were lions in Japan too" (announced by the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in January 2026). Originally, Paleolithic artifacts (approximately 125,000) have been unearthed in Aomori Prefecture...
Aomori Prefecture suffered extensive damage from heavy snowfall in the winter of 2026. The average winter temperature is around 2°C even during the day, making it extremely cold. Even 6,000 years ago, during the Jomon period, the average temperature during the coldest winters was around 2°C...
The Esashi Jinku Festival, held annually on May 3rd and 4th in Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, will feature a grand performance of the folk art "Shishiodori" (deer dance), known as "Hyakushika Taigun" (Hundred Deer Grand Group), on May 4th, 2026, the second day of the festival.
Aoiwa
In Towa-cho, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, there is a shrine that enshrines a massive rock as its sacred object, and also worships a local pioneering deity, a practice not seen in other regions. Incidentally, the title "animism" refers to the worship of non-human beings...
Aoiwa
Examples of Itako Spells: As mentioned earlier, Itako chant various incantations, or spells, when performing shamanistic rituals such as spirit mediumship. But what exactly are these incantations like...?.
The Training Process to Become an Itako We've looked at examples of the shamanistic practices performed by Itako, but what kind of training is necessary to become an Itako? Currently, new Itako...
Introduction While reverence for intangible things like "prayer" and "faith" is still valued today, in the past in Japan, these were even more closely intertwined with daily life. That...
"Japanese fossil tigers were actually lions." In January 2026, a shocking research finding was announced. Furthermore, the research subject was a fossil discovered at Shiriyazaki (Higashidori Village) on the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture...
