About

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Update: Welcome to my little educational site. I live in Fukuoka city which is located on the island of Kyushu.

Education – B.A History/Archaeology James Cook University, Australia.  TESOL Cert IV, Photojournalism Cert I.

Topics:

  • Early State Formation
  • Japanese ancient & medieval history
  • Yayoi/Kofun and Local Kyushu history
  • Japanese Buddhism
  • Japanese Wako (Pirates)

I have been living in Japan now for over 14 years.  I lived in Hokkaido for 6 years, Hiroshima for 5 months, Kumamoto for 6 months and now here in Fukuoka.  During this time I immersed myself in study, teaching and living the Japanese life. My wife is Japanese and all of my children were born in Japan.

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I have travelled to about 17 prefectures in Japan but I think I know Hokkaido and Kyushu the most. I love Japanese castles and have visited about 25 so far. After coming to Kyushu I have become interested in early Japan. For example, the Yayoi through to the Heian periods. Kyushu was the gateway to Japan for centuries due to its close location to mainland Asia therefore we have so many exciting things here to see and explore.

Right now my time is split between running my shop, doing research and visiting historic sites in Japan.  My wife and I own a little Hair Salon and English Cafe in Gintencho, Hakata, Fukuoka City called RUST.

Please contact me if you have any questions about Japan, Japanese history or culture. I can also help with any travel or educational questions.

If you are ever in Fukuoka, please come in to the cafe and say hello!

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Mori residence in Chofu.

20 comments

      1. There is an old saying, That if you make your work fun, then the harder you work the more fun you have!!

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  2. May I ask what you’re background in the academic world is. I am a history student and really like some of your articles. The only problem is that I have to know if your information is academical or not……. (professor’s rules).

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    1. Hello, thankyou for your message. I think you would like to know if you can use the information as source material? Is this correct? Many of the articles I have posted have come from university essays I wrote a while ago. These essays do reference source material but I simplify them for the website. Many of the source materials can be found on the ‘Book and Journal’ page. Please have a look at this page too. This is a list of all the resource materials I have used. Other information I use is from information sheets I get from the places I visit. Some are in English, other I have to translate from Japanese. Also, not all the articles on my site are written by me, I have friends who allow me to use their material as well. As for me, yes I have a B.A majoring in history and I’m a qualified English teacher. Cheers. If you need any help please let me know.

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  3. Pingback: The First Real Neat Blog Award of Yahari Bento! – YAHARI BENTO!!

  4. Hi,
    I have recently been researching this topic and am interested in your amazing website. I would like to reference your name for the task. May I ask what your name is?

    Thanks 😊

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  5. Hi,

    First of all, I wanted to say that I really enjoy reading this blog, and that thank you for providing so much information. Secundly I wanted to ask if it would be possible to contact because I am doing a project (ttrpg) in which your knowledge would be extremely helpful. I myself have a little knowledge of the history of Japan, but certainly not as good as yours. If we could get in touch and you could answer my questions, I would be very grateful.

    Thank you in advance for your answer

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  6. Hello there Stuart,

    I came to your site as I am trying to research two things related to Kyushu for a historical fiction novel I am working on; I am wondering if you can help, since they seem to be connected somewhat to your own research interests. I don’t live in Japan or speak Japanese, so am finding it hard to get answers through internet searches in English; although I am considering travelling to Japan soon and would try to visit Kyushu myself to try to find these answers, in the event I can’t get there, perhaps you can help?

    I am particularly interested in any factual information regarding the presence and activities of wokou pirates under Zheng Zhilong (eg ca. 1630s-40s), who I believe was, along with his famous son Koxinga, born and raised in Hirado, also of the presence and activities of hidden Christians pre- and post-Shimarbara Rebellion in the areas near Hirado, along the Kyushu coast and in nearby islands (Goto, etc), as well as in the diaspora of expelled Christians throughout SE Asia. I am specifically interested in what their actions / interactions of both would have been with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), and if it could be possible that the pirates might have assisted in smuggling Christians out of Japan (I read somewhere how Zheng Zhilong was a kind of ‘Robin Hood of the S China Seas’, but wonder if his ‘charitable’ activities would have extended to the oppressed and persecuted Christians of this region).

    What I do know is that there were although Zheng once worked for the VOC in Taiwan, he / his gangs eventually signed up with the Chinese, subsequently creating a headache of competition and piracy / smuggling / looting for the Dutch too; I know there were hidden Christians in and around Hirado, as well as both pirates and expat Japanese Christians in Tonkin (N Vietnam), so presumably the VOC came into contact with them too. I have also read that while the wokou attacked and looted Dutch ships, the VOC also occasionally had to work with them, however reluctant they would have been to do this, and that the wokou charged water taxes for all sea-going vessels at some point. But that’s all I know.

    If you can help in any way, please get in contact, either through my WordPress address at https://www.smallwriteratlarge.com or on janecahane2@hotmail.com – thanks.

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  7. Hello,

    Yes I have found out a little more, but frankly whenever I have hit a wall in my research findings or dates/persons, etc contradict each other, I just end up using my imagination along hopefully plausible lines – which is what I am doing in regards to this, largely.

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    1. Hi. Do you have access to academic journals?

      Here’s a quick list of resources. I have read a couple of them, others I found in a search. Most journals and accurate history books will have a nice bibliography that you can use to search deeper. Although be careful as you may find a rabbit hole and never get out. hahaha

      Try a search by author or title.

      MacKay, Joseph. “Pirate Nations: Maritime Pirates as Escape Societies in Late Imperial China.” Social Science History 37, no. 4 (2013): 551–73.

      HANG, XING. “The Shogun’s Chinese Partners: The Alliance between Tokugawa Japan and the Zheng Family in Seventeenth-Century Maritime East Asia.” The Journal of Asian Studies 75, no. 1 (2016): 111–36.

      Andrade, Tonio. “The Company’s Chinese Pirates: How the Dutch East India Company Tried to Lead a Coalition of Pirates to War against China, 1621-1662.” Journal of World History 15, no. 4 (2004): 415–44.

      Stevens, Keith G. “Images on Taiwanese Temple Altars of Koxinga and His Generals.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch 55 (2015): 157–82.

      Roderich Ptak, and Hu Baozhu. “Between Global and Regional Aspirations: China’s Maritime Frontier and the Fujianese in the Early Seventeenth Century.” Journal of Asian History 47, no. 2 (2013): 197–217.

      This is a review of a book that often pops up, although I have not read the book
      Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1550–1700 by Tonio Andrade, Xing Hang
      Phipps, Catherine L. The Journal of Japanese Studies 43, no. 2 (2017): 430–34.

      Sorry, I cannot answer your question as I haven’t come across anything really that links Zheng Zhilong or Koxinga, with the Christians in Japan. There are some resources that discuss the relationship with the Dutch which may give you an idea about the politics of the region from Taiwan to China and Japan. Although once The Dutch were forced out of Taiwan and Dejima became the main trade port for Japan they monopolised trade which pretty much put an end to any competition.

      I hope this helps a little.

      Stuart.

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  8. Hi there, Many thanks for your reply and the link suggestions – I am familiar with a few of these research papers, particularly Tonio Andrade’s and MacKay’s works; others I may have come across cursorily, but will take note of your other recommendations. I am travelling to Japan soon (March) and will attempt some on-site research in Hirado/Kyushu areas – the tour I am taking includes a boat around the 100 nearby islands off the SW coast of Japan, which I hope will give some info and inspiration regarding pirate lairs, etc.

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    1. Hi, fantastic. I have been out to Sasebo and did a half day sail around those islands which was great. Still wanna go to the Goto Islands one day. Let me know how you get on. If you have time, you’re welcome to come to my shop in Fukuoka city. My wife and I have a cafe/hair salon.

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      1. Hi Stuart,

        My tour ends on Thursday 4 April in Fukuoka after a day trip exploring the islands around Sasebo; if you leave an address for your cafe, perhaps I can come there to visit? However, I need to eat gluten-free or GF-adapted food, so only if that is possible (I’m hoping I can manage with GF soy sauce and a card in Japanese that explains what I can/can’t eat).

        After my tour, I have another 6.5 days/6 nights of solo travel in Japan; I am planning to return to Nagasaki to visit a few further sites relevant to my novel, and am hoping to spend a day travelling around Shimabara Peninsula to visit the Arima Christian Heritage Centre, Shimabara Castle, Hara Castle ruins, and perhaps the Unzen Hell site where Christians were brutally tortured and executed – considering some of these are a little spread out and/or may be a challenge to get to on public transport (especially for a non-Japanese speaker), I am struggling to find an English-speaking guide with car or tour that will focus on these particular historically relevant sites. I’m sure you are busy running your cafe and salon, but if you or anyone you know would be up for going to these places, let me know, as would be happy(ier) paying someone to get me around to all of them!

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      2. Hi. Please contact me on messenger if you have it. Here’s the link to my FB account. https://www.facebook.com/stuart.iles/
        GF, oh yes, that will quite the challenge I think.
        I’m friends with some people who belong to a translator/tour guide company. Maybe you can contact them. Link here. https://k-itg.or.jp/ Send them a message and see how that goes.
        I’d love to show you around but yes, unfortunately I won’t be able to take time away from the shop, it’s only me and my wife. Yes, despite the assumption that Japan has great public transport, which it does in the cities, but once you get out of the city it isn’t great. A car is much more useful.
        This is our shop link. It is about 10min by train out of Hakata. I’d love to meet and have a chat. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2195508190744313

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