History of Japan

Latest Episodes:

Episode 226 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 1 Jan 27, 2018

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Today, we dive into the boyhood of Emperor Hirohito. What's it like growing up always knowing that your life is a political tool? How do you process your middle school principal killing himself in a show of loyalty to your grandfather?

Episode 225 - Breaking the Bank Jan 20, 2018

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This week, we cover a famous caper that probably sent an innocent man to jail for nearly 40 years. There's poisoning, plotting, and conspiracy galore as we discuss the Teigin Incident.

Episode 224 - Crime and Punishment, Part 2 Jan 13, 2018

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This week, we cover the features of modern Japanese policing, from the friendly face of the koban police boxes to the harsh realities of Japan's rules on interrogation.

Episode 223 - Crime and Punishment, Part 1 Jan 06, 2018

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This week: how has Japan been policed? Was there really such a thing as a samurai cop? Was their hair as good as the samurai cop from the iconic 1991 film? And how did policework in Japan change after the Meiji Restoration? We will answer all but one of these questions; I leave it to you to guess which one.

Episode 222 - The Dog Shogun Dec 16, 2017

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This week: was Japan's 5th Tokugawa shogun really as crazy as everybody says?

Spoilers: no.

Episode 221 - The Monster with 21 Faces Dec 09, 2017

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This week, we cover a crime wave that shocked 1980s Japan, and proved that postwar society was perhaps not quite all it was cracked up to be. Also, there's a lot of poisoned candy.

Episode 220 - The All Seeing Eye Dec 02, 2017

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This week, we investigate the great Zen master Dogen, who was something of an eccentric in his own time but remains one of the greatest Buddhist thinkers in Japanese history.

Episode 219 - The Red Dawn, Part 3 Nov 25, 2017

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Turns out, getting involved in a land war in Asia really is one of the classic blunders.

This week, how did it all pan out?

Episode 218 - The Red Dawn, Part 2 Nov 18, 2017

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How did Japan fit into the broader framework of the Allied intervention? What were the Japanese trying to accomplish in Siberia? And who was even in charge of this damned thing? All that and more, this week.

Episode 217 - The Red Dawn, Part 1 Nov 11, 2017

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100 Years ago, Japan intervened in Russia to create a buffer state against the new Soviet Union. So how did that work out? We'll start answering that question this week.

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