handsome
“Yeah, I rode a Ferris wheel with him once,” you can now say after attending this swoon-worthy event.
If this is what Japanese farmers look like, you can stick me on a train to the nearest country town.
People may think that being beautiful has no downsides; you’re popular, you get drinks for free, you look good in all your clothes.
But believe it or not, being beautiful isn’t always easy! Just ask Kuwaiti actor Abdul Aziz Al Kassar, who was recently arrested in Saudi Arabia for upsetting public order by being “too handsome”.
Posed portraits in history textbooks can all look the same after a while. Formal clothes, dark to create enough contrast for a black-and-white photo; stiff posture because old cameras required the sitter to be still for at least a few minutes; no smiling, in case the photo blurred. It’s no wonder students love to embellish the illustrations in their textbooks with creative graffiti.
Luckily for us, Japanese site Bakumatsu Gaido, an online guide to Bakumatsu, the Edo period’s final years (1853-67), is on hand to liven things up with a light-hearted look at the samurai with the best-chiseled features, sharpest dress sense and most awesome photo poses. Join us after the jump for Japan’s top 10 ikemen (cool, good-looking) samurai, plus a few bonus selections of our own!
MOST POPULAR
Now
Kyoto Whopper divides customers at Burger King Japan
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Japanese burger chain no longer serves onion rings, but offers intriguing replacement【Taste test】
Forbidden area at Japanese mountaintop shrine opens to the public for first time in 400 years
Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Awesome Zelda cosplayer gets help from Smash Bros. creator Sakurai to solve costume problem【Vid】
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
Made In Japan Fender Limited Edition Hello Kitty Stratocaster now on sale in Japan
Cheeseburger rice bowls arrive at Japanese beef bowl chain Matsuya, and in our stomach【Taste test】
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Weekly
- One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】- Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
Tokyo park’s sea of clouds, nighttime illumination, and cosplay days make now perfect time to visit
Samurai ritual suicide contest cancelled by organizer in west Japan
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit- Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
American jackass tourist arrested after carving name into gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine【Video】
Monthly
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】- One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Tokyo Disneyland loses top-attendance crown for Japanese theme parks for second year in a row- Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle theme
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】- Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
- After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve too
What’s the deal with akebi, the perfectly purple, alien-like fruit that’s in season now in Japan?
Yearly
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Awesome Zelda cosplayer gets help from Smash Bros. creator Sakurai to solve costume problem【Vid】
Flying dango: Unique tourist site where Japanese sweets are flown to you over a gorge
Made In Japan Fender Limited Edition Hello Kitty Stratocaster now on sale in Japan
Cheeseburger rice bowls arrive at Japanese beef bowl chain Matsuya, and in our stomach【Taste test】
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Mario Kart Happy Meal toys arrive at McDonald’s Japan, and SoraNews24 has the whole set!【Photos】
American jackass tourist arrested after carving name into gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine【Video】
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Starbucks Japan unveils second Holiday Frappuccino for 2024
Domino’s erupts with a 1kg Cheese Volcano in Japan
Kids takoyaki charity almost shut down by reselling middle schoolers, but owner soldiers on
Japan’s biggest manga magazine is raising its minimum payment rate for creators
Lotus root: the enlightened way to knock out hay fever
Anime mega-store lets fans handcuff themselves to hunky 2-D swimmer for photos
-
