Flo's History

  Japan is a country with one of the richest cultural heritages. Being one of the rare countries in the world that have never been invaded by foreign power has played a major role in this. One aspect of Japanese culture that does tend to be left on the side is castles . Due to the country’s difficult landscape, mountain regions and unstable soil, it made the construction of fortified positions more challenging than on the continent. However, the Japanese found a peculiar way to build their castle. Instead of being high walls surrounding a set of fortifications, Japanese castles are composed of a set of reinforced terraces. The main structure has less of a defensive purpose, relying more on its hard foundations and the layout of the courts around it for protection. But that’s enough talk about castles in general, as we are here today to discuss the most famous of them, the Himeji Castle. It is located in the Town of Himeji (that’s why they share the same name), in the Hyogo prefectu...

  For those who saw the latest Tomb Raider movie, you may remember the fake antagonist, Queen Himiko. Some of you (like me) may have wondered if this character was taken from history or if she was purely fictional. Well, the answer to the first question is yes, kind off. You see, Himiko’s status is hard to pinpoint between the mythical and down to earth. The main issue with this ruler is that everything we know of her doesn’t come from Japanese sources but from Chinese ones, known as the Wei Zhi at the time. Yes, despite being a Japanese ruler, her own country has no record of her existence. I know this may sound a bit strange, leading some to believe she may have been an invention of the Wei Zhi. Himiko ruled over the mysterious nation of Yamatai. Their whereabouts are heavily debated due to a lack of evidence. The two most popular theories were that they were either located in the Nara or Kyushu region. Yamatai, under the rule of Himiko, was exceptionally wealthy and powerful. Th...