History of Japan
544 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 597 ratingsThis podcast, assembled by a former PhD student in History at the University of Washington, covers the entire span of Japanese history. Each week we'll tackle a new topic, ranging from prehistoric Japan to the modern day.
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Episodes
Episode 242 - Castaway
June 02, 2018 12:00 - 27 minutes - 23.7 MBThis week, the story of Nakahama Manjiro, the castaway turned American whaler turned gold miner turned samurai turned English professor.
Episode 241 - All in the Family, Part 3
May 26, 2018 11:00 - 26 minutes - 23.3 MBThis week, we conclude our up close look at the Shimazu family and Satsuma domain with a consideration of how the domain fit into Edo society, and its position in modern Japan.
Episode 240 - All in the Family, Part 2
May 19, 2018 11:00 - 30 minutes - 26.6 MBThis week, we cover the sengolu era history of the Shimazu clan, and their meteoric ascent from minor lords to major ones in the span of a few decades. Plus, the Tokugawa and the Shimazu, the role of sugar in the Shimazu clan's fortunes, and the invasion of the Ryukyu islands. It's a packed episode!
Episode 239 - All in the Family, Part 1
May 12, 2018 11:00 - 26 minutes - 23 MBThis week, we start a short series on the history of one of the most influential fiefdoms in Japanese history (Satsuma) and the family who ruled it (the Shimazu). How did this little chunk of land on the edge of Japan grow to national importance?
Episode 238 - Hell is Empty
May 05, 2018 11:00 - 29 minutes - 25.5 MBThis week, we tackle the evils of Unit 731 -- its history, its experiments, and its ultimate escape from any real justice.
Episode 237 - Princess, Lover, Soldier, Spy
April 28, 2018 11:30 - 31 minutes - 27.3 MBThis week, we take on the scintillating story of the Manchurian princess Kawashima Yoshiko, who grew up in Japan before becoming an agent for Japanese intelligence.
Episode 236 - Never Look Away
April 21, 2018 11:00 - 35 minutes - 30.3 MBThis week, we discuss the career of Japan's most legendary director, Kurosawa Akira. From humble, middle class beginnings, our story will take us through some of his most notable films, and include detours into the lives of Mifune Toshiro, George Lucas, and even Francis Ford Coppola!
Episode 235 - Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
April 14, 2018 11:00 - 28 minutes - 24.6 MBThis week: the story of a relatively unimportant man who appears briefly and dies spectacularly, and the long chain of events that led to those moments. Politics, betrayal, war, and a dog -- what's not to love?
Episode 234 - The Oldest Profession
April 07, 2018 11:00 - 31 minutes - 27.5 MBNote: Since this week we're talking about the sex trade, I've taken the precaution of giving this episode an explicit tag. However, it does not include any more language than usual; it's just a precaution because iTunes can get pretty finicky about this stuff. So with that in mind, let's get down and dirty into the world of prostitution!
Episode 233 - A People Apart
March 24, 2018 11:00 - 28 minutes - 24.5 MBThis week, we tackle the history of the Burakumin. Where did this outcast group come from? Why does discrimination against them remain an issue? What steps has the government taken to protect them, and what steps have they taken to get organized and push back? AMA link here.
Episode 232 - A Thief in the Night
March 17, 2018 11:00This week, we spend an entire history podcast talking about someone who may not even have actually existed -- the legendary thief Ishikawa Goemon. The live link for the AMA is: https://whatpods.com/ama/history-of-japan/.
Episode 232 - A Thief in the Night
March 17, 2018 11:00 - 26 minutes - 23.1 MBThis week, we spend an entire history podcast talking about someone who may not even have actually existed -- the legendary thief Ishikawa Goemon. The live link for the AMA is: https://whatpods.com/ama/history-of-japan/.
Episode 231 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 6
March 10, 2018 12:00 - 32 minutes - 28 MBThis week, we wrap up the life of Japan's 124th Emperor. What, in the end, did it all mean?
Episode 230 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 5
March 03, 2018 12:00 - 29 minutes - 25.7 MBHow does a man raised to be a military autocrat become a democratic emperor in just a few short years? Or is that even possible?
Episode 229 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 4
February 24, 2018 12:00 - 30 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week: Hirohito goes to war. What did he know, how much did he direct things himself, and ultimately, how much responsibility does he bear for the greatest cataclysm in the history of East Asia?
Episode 228 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 3
February 10, 2018 12:00 - 28 minutes - 25.3 MBThis week, we take a look at Hirohito's life before World War II. What kind of ruler was Japan's new emperor when the chips came down?
Episode 227 The Measure of an Emperor, Part 2
February 03, 2018 12:00 - 29 minutes - 25.6 MBYoung Hirohito goes on trips, serves his first turns in politics, and gets married! Join us as we look at the future emperor's first steps into the life that he never really had a chance to choose for himself.
Episode 226 - The Measure of an Emperor, Part 1
January 27, 2018 12:00 - 33 minutes - 28.9 MBToday, 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
January 20, 2018 12:00 - 28 minutes - 25.3 MBThis 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
January 13, 2018 12:00 - 31 minutes - 27.5 MBThis 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
January 06, 2018 12:00 - 26 minutes - 23.5 MBThis 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
December 16, 2017 12:00 - 27 minutes - 24.4 MBThis week: was Japan's 5th Tokugawa shogun really as crazy as everybody says? Spoilers: no.
Episode 221 - The Monster with 21 Faces
December 09, 2017 12:00 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBThis 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
December 02, 2017 12:00 - 30 minutes - 26 MBThis 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
November 25, 2017 12:00 - 28 minutes - 15.6 MBTurns 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
November 18, 2017 12:00 - 28 minutes - 15.7 MBHow 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
November 11, 2017 12:00 - 26 minutes - 14.9 MB100 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.
Episode 216 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 7
November 04, 2017 11:00 - 25 minutes - 14.3 MBThis week: why is a military failure worth 7 episodes of our time? The legacy of the Mongol invasions of Japan, explained.
Episode 215 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 6
October 28, 2017 11:00 - 28 minutes - 15.7 MBThe 1281 invasion is at the gates (or the seawall, I suppose). How will round 2 play out?
Episode 214 - Scourge of the Gods, Part 5
October 21, 2017 11:00 - 28 minutes - 16 MBThis week, we prepare for round two. How are the Japanese getting ready for another invasion, and how does that new invasion begin?
Episode 213 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 4
October 14, 2017 11:00 - 28 minutes - 16 MBThis week, we cover exciting topics like meteorology and internal Mongol family politics! But wait, there's also a bit of Zen theology dashed in to spice things up! It's an eclectic week on the podcast for sure!
Episode 212 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 3
October 07, 2017 11:00 - 26 minutes - 14.4 MBThis week I promise we'll actually get to the 1274 invasion. But first, how were the samurai who defended Japan organized, and what weapons did they use?
Episode 211 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 2
September 30, 2017 11:00 - 30 minutes - 16.7 MBThis week: why did Kublai go to Japan? A quick overview of the tensions that led to the first invasion, and a look at the armies of Mongols and Chinese that would fight it.
Episode 210 - The Scourge of the Gods, Part 1
September 23, 2017 11:00 - 27 minutes - 14.8 MBThis week: where did the Mongol Empire come from, and who was in charge when they decided to come after Japan? Also, why is the Kamakura shogunate the most convoluted form of government in a history of convoluted governments?
Episode 209 - Across the Sea, Part 5
September 09, 2017 11:00 - 27 minutes - 15.1 MBToday, we wrap our look at immigrants from Japan with a brief discussion of Nikkei communities in the Philippines and China, and with a look at Japan's own attempts to have Nikkei return "home."
Episode 208 - Across the Sea, Part 4
September 02, 2017 11:00 - 36 minutes - 19.8 MBThis week: why did the American government think it was necessary to round up Nikkei on the West Coast? And what did that policy mean for the people who actually lived it?
Episode 207 - Across the Sea, Part 3
August 26, 2017 11:00 - 32 minutes - 17.8 MBThis week, we're headed south to take a look at Nikkei communities in Brazil and Peru.
Episode 206 - Across the Sea, Part 2
August 19, 2017 11:00 - 30 minutes - 16.6 MBThis week, we take a closer look at early communities of Nikkeijin -- people of Japanese descent -- in the United States and Hawaii.
Episode 205 - Across the Sea, Part 1
August 12, 2017 11:00 - 29 minutes - 16.1 MBThis week, we begin a new series on the Japanese diaspora!
Episode 204 - No Peace Without War
August 05, 2017 11:00 - 31 minutes - 17.3 MBThis week we tackle the question of Japanese fascism by looking at one of Japan's foremost fascists, the authoritarian scholar Kita Ikki.
Episode 203 - The Old Man and the Sea
July 29, 2017 11:00 - 32 minutes - 17.8 MBThis week: one of Japan's most famous Buddhist masters, Kukai, takes center stage!
Episode 202 - The Old Man Mad About Art
July 22, 2017 11:00 - 29 minutes - 17.6 MBToday we discuss Japan's greatest artistic genius, Katsushika Hokusai!
Episode 201 - The Green Archipelago
July 15, 2017 11:00 - 31 minutes - 17.3 MBThis week: Japan's a pretty verdant place, but how did it stay that way when so many other places were ravaged by human development?
Episode 200 - The 200th Episode!
July 08, 2017 11:00 - 37 minutes - 22.9 MBAll you could ever want to know about podcast recording, UW's graduate program, and why the Japanese definitely are not part of the 10 lost tribes of Israel! That and more! Thank you all for 200 great episodes!
Episode 199 - Fist of Legend, Part 6
June 24, 2017 11:00 - 31 minutes - 18.9 MBIn which we bring things to a close by considering the fall of the Butokukai, the spread of budo beyond Japan, the role of martial arts in the African-American community, the question of Olympic sport status, and the challenge of the UFC. It's gonna be a busy week.
Episode 198 - Fist of Legend, Part 5
June 17, 2017 11:00 - 31 minutes - 19.3 MBThis week: can a martial art be a philosophy of life? Can it rise to the level of a religion?
Episode 197 - Fist of Legend, Part 4
June 10, 2017 11:00 - 29 minutes - 17.5 MBThis week: karate comes to mainland Japan (and gets a rebrand in the process), and the Butokukai's attempts to militarize the martial arts backfire when the Americans come to town.
Episode 196 - Fist of Legend, Part 3
June 03, 2017 11:00 - 27 minutes - 16.4 MBThis week: the rise of judo and of the modern budo, and karate strikes back!
Episode 195 - Fist of Legend, Part 2
May 27, 2017 11:00 - 29 minutes - 17.5 MBThis week: who wants to swing a sword when you can just shoot a gun?
Episode 194 - Fist of Legend, Part 1
May 20, 2017 11:00 - 26 minutes - 15.6 MBThis week: where do Japan's traditional martial arts come from?