#history

Stone houses on a hillside above the sea at sunset, Matsu Islands

11 Feb 20263 min readTaiwan

The Matsu Islands: granite villages at the edge of the strait

A small archipelago off the coast of Fujian, named after the sea goddess, shaped by decades as a military frontier and known today for stone villages and glowing seas.

Osaka Castle's main tower against a blue sky

27 Aug 20252 min readTravel

Osaka Castle, and how to read a Japanese castle

Osaka Castle is one of Japan's best-known landmarks. A little history helps you see what is original, what is rebuilt, and why the stone walls matter most.

A wooden temple hall among maple trees at Ryōan-ji, Kyoto

27 Jun 20252 min readJapan

Kyoto: layers of a former imperial capital

For more than a thousand years Kyoto was where Japan's emperors lived. The city today is a set of layers: a grid plan from the 8th century, temples from many eras, and an ordinary modern city in between.

Red lanterns and a bicycle by an old wall in Hội An

9 Jun 20252 min readVietnam

Hội An, a trading port through the centuries

Before it was a lantern-lit old town, Hội An was a river port where Champa, Japanese, Chinese and European traders passed through. How trade built the town, and how the end of trade preserved it.

9 Jun 20253 min readTaiwan

Tainan, the old capital

Taiwan's oldest city was its capital for more than two centuries. Today it is known for temples on almost every street, slow afternoons and food that leans a little sweet.