The Diary Review

‘Then came the tug-of-war. A magnificent tug-of-war, too, one hundred students at one end of a rope, and another hundred at the other. But t...

‘This evening I observed a procession of several hundred people carrying paper lanterns; and, when I asked the reason, I was told that it wa...

‘Audience of the King [Edward VII], . . [He] kept me for about twenty minutes, talking about Japan, the Garter mission, and gardens, such as...

In the moon’s clear light all mundane desires are but a path of dreams So wrote the great poet Saiokuken Sōchō in medieval Japan, half a mil...

Shimazu Yoshihisa, one of the ten most famous Samurai warriors in history, was born 490 years ago today. He went far towards uniting all the...

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbour that brought the United States into the Second World War. A few dia...

’We did enough bombarding to last us a lifetime, I guess the Cleveland and us still hold the title of firing more shells than any other shi...

‘It’s true that I don’t know any cardinal state secrets, now that I’m serving at sea far from the center of government, but I’m sure it will...