History of Japan

Latest Episodes:

Episode 450 - Gimme that Old Time Religion Aug 19, 2022

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This week, we're covering the rise of the Hirata school of kokugaku, or national studies, during the Edo Period. How did an intellectual movement devoted to linguistics become a powerful political, social, and arguably religious force by the end of samurai rule--and why did that movement fall from power after just a few short years of influence?

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Bonus Episode - The Chishima Incident Aug 15, 2022

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Enjoy this bonus episode from my other show, Criminal Records, as the podcast takes a week off!

Episode 449 - The Tastemaker Aug 05, 2022

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This week: the career and legacy of the most influential Japanese poet you've probably never heard of, Fujiwara no Teika. Teika's views on poetry and literature have shaped how we read those genres down to the present day, so how did he develop such authority in the field?

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Episode 448 - Abe, Part 5 Jul 29, 2022

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This week, a current events episode on the leadup and immediate aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Note: this episode is intended to be a continuation of Episode 364 (our last episode on Abe).

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Episode 447 - On a Summer Night, The First Thought of Sleep Jul 22, 2022

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This week, we're taking a look at the legacy of one of Japan's most influential poets: Ki no Tsurayuki. His poems may not quite be the popular phenomenon they once were, but his views about how poetry works have always been influential, and shaped how we think about poetry down to this day.

Show notes here.

Episode 446 - In Days of Old, There Was a Man Jul 15, 2022

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This week, we're unpacking a rather odd classic of Japanese literature: the Ise Monogatari, a collection of short tales that are probably about a famously seductive aristocrat, but which were in large part not written by him--and which have oddly political meanings given their often lascivious nature. What are the tales about? And what can we glean from reading them today?

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Episode 445 - A Bowl for a Coin Jul 08, 2022

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This week: we tend to think of tea in terms of the tea ceremony and fancy culture, but what about lowbrows like me who like to drink our tea bottled from a vending machine? This week we'll be looking at tea as a commodity, and how it became a staple of Japan's consumer culture.

Show notes here.

Episode 444 - The Crysanthemum Taboo Jul 01, 2022

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This week: how did a spate of right wing violence in the early years of the 1960s help to fundamentally reshape public discourse around the emperor (and thus around politics and history more generally) up to the present day? And what does all of this have to do with one of the most bizarre short stories that has ever been published?

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Episode 443 - The Collapse Jun 24, 2022

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This week: why did the Japanese Socialist Party and the left more generally utterly fail to capitalize on the momentum of the largest protest in Japanese history? We'll cover everything from party infighting to....well, spoilers, it's mostly party infighting.

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Episode 442 - The Transistor Salesman Jun 17, 2022

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This week, we're kicking off a short series on the transformations of 1960s Japan with a look at the unassuming politician who helped shape Japan's postwar structure: Ikeda Hayato. Who was Ikeda, and how did he get into politics? And how did a man who was once accused of being a callous monster become a beloved everyman of the people?

Show notes here.

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