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Culture — Life in Japan — Page 3

  • culture/ Mar 1, 2026

    A Thousand Tiny Courts

    Hundred-year-old dolls on red-draped tiers, the superstition about putting them away on time, and what Girls Day reveals about tradition

    A tiered display of ornate Japanese dolls on red cloth in a tatami room with shoji screens.
  • culture/ Feb 1, 2026

    Beans and Demons

    Every February, adults throw roasted soybeans at invisible demons and eat sushi rolls in silence facing southeast

    Roasted soybeans scattered across a dark wooden floor with a red demon mask resting in the corner.
  • culture/ Dec 31, 2025

    The 2025 Quiz

    From bear invasions to a new prime minister - test your knowledge of what made headlines in Japan this year

    Large red 2025 numerals with cartoon eyes stand on a sign before a blurred street lined with cherry blossoms.
  • culture/ Dec 31, 2025

    Stacked Wishes

    Osechi-ryori and the edible symbolism of Japanese New Year - why we eat black beans for diligence and herring roe for fertility

    Lacquered tiered boxes filled with colourful New Year foods sit on a wooden table beside a sake flask and garden view.
  • culture/ Dec 18, 2025

    Kentucky for Christmas

    How a 1974 marketing campaign became a national ritual - and what the queues say about how Japan makes meaning

    A Colonel Sanders statue in a Santa suit stands outside a brightly lit KFC decorated for Christmas on a wet street.