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The 11th-century Japanese writer Sei Shōnagon’s Pillow Book was written using kana, a Japanese script mainly used by women for nearly a millennium to write literature, arrange secret assignations and express themselves freely within the confines of court life. Women in medieval Japan were discouraged from studying kanji, so they began using kana instead, which transcribe words phonetically. 

A standardisation programme at the beginning of the 20th century saw 90% of the 550 characters used in kana die out. But these forgotten characters are now being kept alive by the artist and master of Japanese calligraphy Kaoru Akagawa, who became fascinated with them after deciphering letters from her grandmother.

Akagawa uses the forgotten kana in a style of calligraphy called kana shodo. “When people talk about Japanese calligraphy, they normally mean kanji shodo,” Akagawa explains, “a style imported from China, practiced by samurais and monks.” Kana shodo, on the other hand, uses a script which was known by the 10th century as onnade, or “woman hand”, which became “the backbone of a female-dominated literary culture”. Sei Shōnagon’s contemporary, Murasaki Shikibu, wrote her masterpiece, The Tale of Genji—often called the world’s first novel—using kana.

The 350 residents of Sommarøy are declaring the small Norwegian island the world’s first time-free zone.

“All over the world, people are characterised by stress and depression,” Kjell Ove Hveding, the leader of the campaign, said. “In many cases, this can be linked to the feeling of being trapped by the clock. We will be a time-free zone where everyone can live their lives to the fullest. Our goal is to provide full flexibility, 24/7. If you want to cut the lawn at 4am, then you can do it.” 

Sommarøy spends November to January in darkness, but in summer, residents know that when the sun rises on 18 May, it will not set again until 26 July. “Here we enjoy every minute of the midnight sun, and yes, a coffee with friends on the beach at 2am is a normal thing.”

Visitors to Sommarøy have reportedly embraced the idea enthusiastically, with some abandoning their watches and attaching them to a bridge leading to the island.

An ancient pilgrimage trail winds through the mountains of Japan’s Kii Peninsula, a densely forested region south of Osaka and Kyoto. It is the Kumano Kodo, a sacred passage of immense natural beauty that has been in use since the 10th century. There are early recorded visits to this region by Emperor Uda (907) and Emperor Kazan (986 and 987) but the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage became more broadly popular in the 11th century. 

The pilgrimage centers around the Three Grand Shrines: Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha, and Kumano Hayatama Taisha. With steep inclines, long stretches of trail without a place to rest, and venomous snakes, it is not a hike for the faint-hearted. Early pilgrims did the arduous trek in crude wooden or straw sandals and kimonos. Many perished on the journey and along the trail are countless Jizo statues dedicated to those who died on the pilgrimage. 

In 2004, this region was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site, becoming one of only two pilgrimage trails in the world to earn that distinction. Spain’s Camino de Santiago is the other.

Japan and India have decided to join forces in the race to discover water on the moon, with the two countries planning to try to land an unmanned rover on the moon’s south pole as early as fiscal 2023.

Frozen water is believed to exist inside craters and other areas of the moon’s poles where sunlight does not reach. The countries plan to use the rover to excavate in such areas and discover water on the moon for the first time. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have already held meetings on the project.

Japan will be in charge of launching the rocket and developing a lunar rover, while India will develop a lander for the mission. The rover will explore an area 500 meters square to try to detect water using onboard analysis equipment.

When hosting an international rugby tournament and welcoming thirsty fans from around the world, the last thing you want to do is run out of beer.

That’s the message from Rugby World Cup bosses to Japanese hosts as they gear up for the global showcase that kicks off on September 20.

Rugby bosses have warned host cities about running out of ale, using anecdotes such as when Australian and Irish fans drank the city of Adelaide dry, forcing emergency supplies to be brought in from surrounding areas.

Around two million litres of beer were downed at stadiums and nearby areas during the 2015 Rugby World Cup with rugby fans having a reputation for outdrinking their football counterparts.

It comes in red, mustard and black, in sizes 6 up to 16; the Boohoo minidress is, according to the online retailer, "perfect for transitioning from day to play". It is not so much the styling and colour, but the price of the £5 dress which attracts thousands of the thriving retailer's U.K. customers to buy it.

The £5 dress epitomises a fast fashion industry that pumps hundreds of new collections onto the market in a short time at pocket money prices. On average, such dresses and other products are discarded by consumers after five weeks. 

But behind the price tag, there is an environmental and social cost not contained on the label of such products. The textile industry creates more CO² a year than international aviation and shipping combined. It also creates chemical and plastic pollution—as much as 35% of micro-plastics found in the ocean come from synthetic clothing, not to mention the scrapped clothing piling up in landfills. 

There is also the question of working conditions in the clothing factories. Research into the fashion industry in Leicester found employees working in appalling conditions, with no employment contracts, earning £3 an hour on average. 

Carol Kane, the co-founder of Boohoo, said the £5 dress was a "loss leader" drawing people to the website.

On June 20, Rui Hachimura became the first Japanese player selected in the opening round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft when the Washington Wizards chose him as the ninth pick.

The 21-year-old played three seasons at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington State, USA, before declaring for the draft. “It is crazy. It is unreal. It means a lot to me, my family, and my whole country. I am so thankful,” said Hachimura. He commented on the pin badge he was wearing showing the Japanese flag: “For Japan, this gives it a chance for exposure, to be seen from the outside world. I thought that I had a duty to showcase my country.”

He is theoretically the second Japanese to be drafted in the NBA, after Yasutaka Okayama, who was selected as the 171st pick in 1981 by the Golden State Warriors. However, Okayama never played in the league, making this a historic moment for Hachimura.

Until recently, Japan didn’t have much of an influx of foreign tourists. Now, it does, and with that comes problems.

For much of the 20th and 21st century, foreign tourism in Japan didn’t really exist. Now, with the rise of Japan’s neighbors in Asia, the country has seen an influx of travelers like never before. In 2018, a record number of 32 million foreign tourists visited Japan, with over fifty percent from mainland China and South Korea. In comparison, less than 5 million foreign tourists visited in 2001. In 1970 there were only 854,000.

This sudden spike has caused growing pains, such as overcrowding and hotel shortages, and conflicts caused by cultural differences over things like smoking and garbage.

However, foreign tourists also spent a record $40.1 billion in Japan last year, which is four times the amount spent in 2012. As TV host Beat Takeshi said, “It’s a matter of do we pick money or do we pick culture?” According to Takeshi, he felt as though allowing lots of visitors will chip away at the culture. “I feel like, wouldn’t it be okay if Japanese were poor?”

Japan has a reputation as being a society that demands conformity: All college graduates seeking jobs should wear dark suits to job interviews, women are expected to cover their mouths when laughing, and many schools require students to wear the same uniforms, shoes and have haircuts that meet school regulations.

In Osaka Prefecture, an 18-year-old girl is suing her public school for mental anguish and other damages. She alleges she was forced to repeatedly dye her naturally brown hair the standard Japanese black, suffering mental and physical damage as a result.

She was asked to dye her brown hair black every one or two weeks. From the second term she was ordered to dye her hair every four days. The effects of the repeated dying on her hair were damage to her scalp and hair, rashes and mental anguish.