Kirk here with a historical puzzle. It seems that a bathing area that was hidden in a basement in some part of Hitoyoshi Castle. There’s speculation about whether or not it has connections to a Jewish mikveh or to the Myoken sect of Buddhism. My biggest takeaway from the article is that it is quite unique and that’s what’s making scholars scratch their heads. Conjecture about a connection to Judaism strikes me as rather tenuous and far fetched but it’s interesting to me that the possibility of such a connection is even being considered. (The idea is that conversos [Jews forced to convert Christianity] who came to Japan with other Europeans might have had something to do with the bath.)