Sanada Yukimura defended Ōsaka against Tokugawa Ieyasu's army – and became an icon of the honourable last stand. History, myth…

⏱ 6 Min. reading time

Date Masamune was 17 years old when he took control of Oshu, and nearly unified Japan. The story of the…

⏱ 6 Min. reading time

Sekigahara 1600 — Japan's largest samurai battle, decided by betrayal. Course, strategy, consequences. Exhibits at the Samurai Museum Berlin.

⏱ 8 Min. reading time

Ashikaga Takauji overthrew Emperor Go-Daigo and founded the Muromachi shogunate – yet is still regarded as a traitor in Japan.…

⏱ 6 Min. reading time

Tomoe Gozen – warrior, legend, question. What do we really know about Japan's most famous onna-musha? History & fact-check at…

⏱ 12 Min. reading time

Uesugi Kenshin was deemed invincible – a Buddhist monk who fought in the name of the war god Bishamonten. History,…

⏱ 7 Min. reading time

Kusunoki Masashige – guerrilla tactician, imperial loyalist, myth. Who was the most loyal samurai really? History, facts & exhibits at…

⏱ 16 Min. reading time

For 56 years, Japan was ruled by two emperors at once. The Nanboku-chō period: civil war, the collapse of loyalty,…

⏱ 10 Min. reading time

The Meiji Restoration ended 700 years of warrior rule. How Saigō Takamori, the sword ban and Shiroyama sealed the end…

⏱ 7 Min. reading time

The Kamakura shogunate, the Mongol wars, and the Muromachi bakufu: How Japan developed samurai rule between 1185 and 1467. Samurai…

⏱ 7 Min. reading time