Images

The Naiku shrine at the Ise Grand Shrine, sacred to the Shinto goddess Amaterasu. The shrine was first built in 4 BCE and since the 7th century CE it has been rebuilt exactly every 20 years. Mie Prefecture, Japan.

The wooden Uji Bridge at the Ise Grand Shrine, sacred to the Shinto goddess Amaterasu. The shrine was first built in 4 BCE and since the 7th century CE the bridge has been rebuilt exactly every 20 years. Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Sheets of the Westcar Papyrus, Egyptian, date disputed. (Altes Museum, Berlin)

Sheets of the Westcar Papyrus, Egyptian, date disputed. (Altes Museum, Berlin)

A photograph of a samurai warrior c. 1860 CE.

A 16th century CE print showing a samurai on horseback. From the Night Attack on Yoshitsune.

A modern statue of the legendary samurai Yoshitsune (1159-1189 CE). Mimosusogawa Park, Shimonoseki, Japan.

Ahala, master of the horse, presents the dead Melius to Cincinnatus the Dictator. 16th-century fresco by Domenico Beccafumi in Palazzo Pubblico, Siena.

Statue of Cincinnatus in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain and a place of pilgrimage for followers of Shinto.