In Japanese culture, the heron is said to represent purity, nobility, and grace. The bird is also widely considered to symbolize divinity. Herons appear in numerous Chinese bird symbol paintings ...

Japan does not have an official national animal, but the green pheasant (Phasianus versicolour) is widely recognised as the ...

"Nobody wanted to hire Japanese," she said. So they turned to the skill they had learned in camp, and made and sold bird pins for the next 40 years. Over time, they became the craft's most famous ...