History of Japan

Latest Episodes:

Episode 333 - The Oku Apr 10, 2020

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This week, we tackle one of our more unique subjects. It's time to talk about an institution so secretive that most of its records were almost certainly destroyed to keep them away from prying eyes. No, it's not some secret ninja clan: it's the harem, or Oku, of the Tokugawa shoguns.

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Episode 332 - Lady Kasuga Apr 03, 2020

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This week, we tackle the life of one of Japan's most interesting women, who rose from obscure origins to become a major power player in the early Tokugawa period: Saito Fuku, better known as Lady Kasuga.

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Episode 331 - In the Beginning, Woman was the Sun, Part 3 Mar 27, 2020

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This week we wrap this series up with a look at the changes in the feminist movement during the US Occupation of Japan, and with a look at the postwar careers of Ichikawa Fusae and Hiratsuka Raicho.

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Episode 330 - In the Beginning, Woman was the Sun, Part 2 Mar 20, 2020

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This week, we continue our exploration of the life of Hiratsuka Raicho, and add a new character to our cast: Ichikawa Fusae. How did these two women navigate the tricky waters of 1920s and 1930s Japanese politics, and what obstacles did they encounter along the way?

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Episode 329 - In the Beginning, Woman Was the Sun, Part 1 Mar 13, 2020

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This week, we start off our first ever twinned biography with a look at the early career of one of Japan's pioneering feminists: Hiratsuka Raicho.

Episode 328 - What a Strange Thing! Mar 06, 2020

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This week, we're talking about my absolute favorite poet in the history of forever: Kobayashi Issa. I promise he's great, and I don't just love him for the poop jokes.

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Episode 327 - The Lockheed Scandal, Part 2 Feb 28, 2020

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This week: what happens once the scandal goes public, and what does all this say about postwar Japan more generally?

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Episode 326 - The Lockheed Scandal, Part 1 Feb 21, 2020

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This week, we take a look at one of postwar Japan's most famous political scandals, and how the efforts of one company to revive its fortunes ended up roping in everyone from shadowy underworld figures to the Prime Minister of Japan himself.

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Episode 325 - The Teijin Scandal, Part 2 Feb 14, 2020

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This week, tensions within Japanese society explode as a simple stock purchase turns into a knock-down, drag out fight over corruption in the Japanese state.

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Episode 324 - The Teijin Scandal, Part 1 Feb 07, 2020

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This week, we tackle a political scandal from 1930s Japan to dig deeper into the question: just why did Japan's system of parliamentary government and liberal democracy, which seemed to be flourishing in the 1920s, fall apart so quickly in the 1930s?

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