The Momoyama period of Japanese art history, at the turn of the 16th century, is perhaps best known to the West through the resplendent paintings of the Kano ma

First published in 2003. Built in 1628 at the Koto-in temple in the precincts of Daitoku-ji monastery in Kyoto, the Shoko-ken is a late medieval daime sukiya Ja

Can a Japanese samurai of impeccable lineage in Edo period Japan get away with being gay? Can he break all the rules of society and get away with it? It all sta

“A delightful tour of the tearooms that dotted the nation in the first half of the twentieth century . . . [an] irresistible slice of American popular culture

When I visited Kyoto, I popped into a small tea room and ended up sitting next to a young couple, Ms Yin and Mr Yang. They ‘squidged up’ and we got chatting