Explore a little-visited region where Shinto gods congregate and masked dancers tell ancient legends

Samurai rose to be global emblems of honour and courage, but their story doesn’t always match the myths they told about themselves, as a British Museum exhibition shows

Exhibition of the week Samurai British Museum, London ...

Discover Kobe city’s famous Wagyu beef, visit one of Japan’s few ‘original’ castles and meet the small-town brewers and potters that make this region so special

The most sensual pictures of women sprang from Ovid’s verses, the Aeneid gave Turner his longest-lasting subject matter and Edward Burne-Jones saw himself in Arthur’s deathless slumber. Carla Passino explores how literature influenced art

The Nagato area flies under the radar of everyone but Japanese travellers, who have long seen the appeal of its onsen towns, craggy isles and fishing heritage