Shogunate: Did you mean...?

Stone ramparts of the inner ward at Hara Castle, photograph by Matthew Allison, 4 October 2025. Unlike much of Hara Castle at the end of the Shimabara Rebellion, the ishigaki (stone ramparts) that form the foundation of the inner ward were...

Statue of Amakusa Shiro at Hara Castle, photograph by Matthew Allison, 4 October 2025. Amakusa Shiro (1621-1638) was the supposed leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, a Christian uprising in southern Japan from 1637-1638. After a protracted...

Stone statues overlook the Ariake Sea at Hara Castle, photograph by Matthew Allison, 4 October 2025. At the highest point of Hara Castle, where the inner ward housing the Shimabara Rebellion's leaders would have once been, three stone statues...

Artist's impression of samurai before their shogun, inside a ceremonial building. Created by Amplitude Studios for the video game Humankind.

Fortifications of one kind or another had been used in Japan since ancient times, but in the period from 1576 until 1639, a new and distinctive style of castle was constructed. Rather than being used for fighting, these were impressive structures...

The medieval Ryukyu castles on the island of Okinawa, Japan are impressive testimony to the kingdom's power and wealth from the 12th to 16th century. Notable castles include Shuri Castle, the royal residence, and four excellent examples of...

Scale model of the Honmaru and Ninomaru Palaces of Edo Castle, as they would have appeared during the late Tokugawa Shogunate. (Edo-Tokyo Museum, Japan)

Nijo was built as the main residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. In 1867, the shogunate fell, and Nijo was eventually donated to Kyoto City. It has since become a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular destination for Kyoto travelers...

In which John Green teaches you about Nationalism. Nationalism was everywhere in the 19th century, as people all over the world carved new nation-states out of old empires. Nationalist leaders changed the way people thought of themselves...

The plight of 16-year-old Jerome Amakusa, the supposed leader of the rebellion, and the rebels who accompanied him are at once instantly recognisable to contemporary readers, and yet they were alien, by design, to the populace of Edo Period...