Actor Naoto Takenaka's commanding presence grabbed my attention in "Seiten wo Tsuke" (Reach beyond the blue sky), Japan Broadcasting Corp.'s (NHK) year-long historical TV drama series that started ...

Feudal Japan was a complex society with a hierarchical structure of power. At the top was the Emperor, who was considered the undisputed ruler of Japan but held little actual power. The Shogun, or ...

In 16th century Japan, the Daimyo feudal lords, like their Medieval European counterparts, battled to secure control of the realm. Today, in the current US presidential race, a similar conflict ...