History of Japan

Today, we're taking a look at a fascinating literary text from 1000 years ago, the Kagero Nikki (most commonly translated as "The Gossamer Diary"). This is the life story of a woman whose name is not known to us, and her tumultuous, borderline abusive relationship with her husband -- and a tale of how, ultimately, she is able to find peace. Show notes here.

This week, we're going to stay in the Sengoku but take a step away from all this samurai action to ask: what's everybody else up to? From farmers in the countryside enjoying the fruits of a more commercialized economy (while fearing being raided by marauding armies) to merchant towns asserting their authority against warlords, it's a fascinating look into a neglected piece of the era's history. Show notes here.

This week, we cover the rest of the lives of Sugen'in, Joko'in, and Yodo-dono (and some other really fascinating incidental lives, like Hideyoshi's wife Kodai'in), and ask: what can we learn from these often overlooked narratives? Show notes here.

This week, we're revisiting some well-trod ground (the final decades of the 1500s and the careers of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi) but through new eyes -- focusing on the stories of Nobunaga's sister Oichi, and her three daughters Yodo-dono, Joko'in, and Sugen'in.

This week, we're starting off a month of Sengoku-themed content with a look at one of the remoter areas of Japan: Tosa province on Shikoku, now known as Kouchi Prefecture. Specifically, we'll be diving into the history of the one-time lords of the area, the Chosokabe family, who rose from minor status to lords of all of Shikoku in two generations, and were then annihilated in the very next. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about the birth of the idol industry in Japan. What are idols, how are they made famous, and what does all of this say about the nature of consumer culture in modern Japan? Show notes here.

This week, we're taking a look at one of the greatest scandals in the history of Japanese baseball, when the black mist of yakuza-driven sports gambling wracked Japan's national pastime. Show notes here.

This week, we're exploring the history of Japan's most famous drink: sake, or Japanese rice wine (though it turns out, 'sake' in Japanese doesn't necessarily refer to what we think of, nor is it actually a 'rice wine' in the technical sense). We're covering everything from tax laws to how to make your own sake using nothing but your own spit, so buckle up! It's gonna be a fun one. Show notes here.

This week, we're wrapping up our history of the colonization of Hokkaido with a look at the impact of the American occupation on the island, as well as some final thoughts on the modern history of the Ainu and their political organizing. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about Hokkaido in the early 20th century, and in particular the stark problems created by the island's rapid colonization: its badly unequal economy and the question of what role the Ainu were now to play in their own homeland. Show notes here.

This week, we're looking at the early decades of Japan's colonization of Hokkaido, and the means by which the island was radically remade within the span of a single lifetime. Show notes here.

This week: how did the threat of Western imperialism change the relationship between mainland Japan and Hokkaido, and help set the stage for Japan's eventual colonization of the island? Show notes here.

This week, we're starting a multi-part series on the history of one of Japan's major islands, and its first colonial frontier: Hokkaido. Today, we'll talk about the early centuries of history between the Japanese and the Ainu, the aboriginal people of Hokkaido. Show notes here.

This week, we're covering the life and career of a poet often overlooked despite her fame in her own lifetime: the shopkeeper's daughter-turned-nun-turned-haiku master, Kaga no Chiyo. Show notes here.

This week, we're taking a deep dive into a distinctly Japanese literary genre (zuihitsu, or 'wandering brush') by looking at two of its most famous exemplars: the Hojoki, or Record of a Hut, and Tsurezuregusa, or Essays in Idleness. What lasts forever in this world? How should we strive to live? What should we do when confronted with gamblers on a losing streak? All this and more, coming up! Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about one of the most famous stories in Japanese history: the bamboo princess Naotake no Kaguyahime and her absolute wrecking ball-esque demolition of Japan's stupidest and most eligible bachelors before she returns back to her home on the moon. Who says classical literature isn't fun? Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about one of Japan's territorial disputes: the bitter debate over ownership of the Senaku Islands/Diaoyu Islands/Pinnacle Rocks. Where do these competing claims over a bunch of uninhabited islands in the middle of nowhere come from? And what has their impact been on Sino-Japanese relations?

This week, we cover Sorge's career in Tokyo, and explore just how he was able to convince so many people that he was exactly what he was not -- a loyal Nazi here to report on Japan for the benefit of Hitler's regime. Plus, some thoughts on Sorge's significance in the history of the Second World War. Show notes here.

This week, we begin our exploration of the life and career of Richard Sorge, one of the most famous spies in Japanese (and arguably world) history. We're beginning this week with the story of his recruitment and his first trip to Asia -- a two year posting in Shanghai. Show notes here.

This week, we outline what Abe's vision to "restore beautiful Japan" meant during his second go-round in office, why he was able to stay in office so long, and what eventually brought him down (hint: it has a lot to do with the fact that many of you are much less likely to be listening to this while commuting than you used to be). Show notes here.

This week: how did Abe Shinzo get back into the PM's office, why did he not fall flat on his face once again once he did, and what are some of the distinguishing features of his policies? We're covering everything from LDP internal elections to macroeconomic policy to social conservatism, so buckle up -- this is gonna be a fun one. Show notes here.

This week, we chronicle Abe Shinzo's meteoric rise up the ranks of the LDP and the Koizumi cabinet, culminating in his first tenure as Prime Minister -- followed by his equally meteoric ascent back down the ranks, as his first attempt at governance will blow up in his face. Show notes here.

This week, we're starting our retrospective on the career of Japan's former Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo. We begin with a look at his family history and his career through one of the most tumultuous eras of Japan's modern politics -- the 1990s. Show notes here.

This week, we wrap up our look at Soka Gakkai with the history of its split from Nichiren Shoshu. Plus, we take some time to look at the various controversies surrounding the group and what they say about Soka Gakkai's position in Japanese society. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about some of the major projects of Ikeda's time as leader of Soka Gakkai, including both the foundation of Soka Gakkai's political party and the construction of the Sho Hondo, a grand new hall for Nichiren teachings. Show notes here.

This week, we continue our look at the history of Soka Gakkai during the tenure of Toda Josei. We'll also turn to the rise of the most influential figure in the movement today (and arguably its most influential leader ever): the third president of Soka Gakkai, Ikeda Daisaku.

This week, we're starting a multi-episode series on one of Japan's most famous organizations: the study society-turned-religion-turned-political-party known as the Value Creation Society, or Soka Gakkai. Show notes here.

This week: how do historians learn about the lives of everyday people? Let's take a look at how it's done by thinking about a group of people often overlooked in histories of the Edo period even though they made up half the population: women. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about one of Japan's most famous collections of supernatural tales, the fantastic Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) from 1776. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about popular literature, with a specific focus on one of Japan's most famous pieces of detective fiction -- the Hanshichi Torimonocho. Show notes here.

This week, we wrap up our history of Christianity in Japan with a look at the Occupation and Postwar Eras -- and with some final thoughts on what it means to be a part of a faith viewed as "outside" the mainstream of the nation. Show notes here.

This week, we'll cover the striving of Japanese Christians to be accepted as genuine patriots by the government during the pre-war era. This striving will lead to closer and closer ties between the state and religion; it will also invite danger once we get into the war years. Show notes here.

This week, we're going to talk about the heyday of Japanese Christianity during the Imperial era: the 1870s and 1880s, when the church, finally free of government restriction, began to grow. But behind that growth lurked a dangerous reality about the religion's relationship with the state. Show notes here.

This week, we're talking about Christianity during the Bakumatsu Period -- the era that saw the forced opening of Japan and the collapse of samurai government. How did debates around Christianity figure in to this turbulent time in Japanese history? Show notes here.

This week, we're turning our attention to Christianity in Japan after the "Christian Century." Despite its status as a minority religion in Japan, Christianity has had a major historical impact on the country. How did this happen? We'll start this week by looking at the Christian persecutions which destroyed the communities built by European missionaries in the 1500s. Show notes here.

This week, we cover the short yet fascinating history of Islam in Japan. What factors led to a connection between the Islamic world and Japan? Who led the efforts to build bridges between the two? And why is the history of this relationship so generally unknown? Show notes here.

This week, we wrap up the series with a look at black history during the Occupation and Postwar eras, with some final thoughts on the series as a whole. Show notes here.

This week, we turn our attention to the black experience during the war in the Pacific, and to the fascinating story of the Pacific Movement of the Eastern World. Show notes here

This week, we're talking about political and cultural exchange between black communities and Japan in the 20s and 30s, as well as how one prominent black leader found himself bamboozled by Japan's pro-empire propaganda in the 1930s. Show notes here.

This week, we look at Japan's relationship with blackness and black communities in the wake of the Meiji Restoration, and at the beginnings of a movement among black people to make Japan into a champion of non-white peoples. Note: this episode includes some language that may be considered dated or offensive (though no use of slurs). Show notes here.

This week, we're beginning an overview of black history in Japan with a focus on the Sengoku and Edo eras, and especially the fascinating tale of Yasuke. What sources do we have for this moment of cultural contact? Show notes here.

This week, how did the 1964 Paralympics end up in Japan? Who made it happen? And why does 1964 represent an important moment in the history of disability sports in Japan? Show notes here.

This week, we're focusing on the story of Ono no Komachi, a mysterious poet from the 800s whose poems were used to construct a fictional persona entirely separate from who she actually was. How did this happen? Why does it matter? And what can we learn from telling the history of a made up character? Show notes here.

This week, we're covering the career of one of modern Japan's spymasters: Akashi Motojiro, who attempted to build an intelligence network in Russia during the Russo-Japanese War. Why was he given this task? Did he succeed? And what lessons does his career offer in terms of the wider arc of modern Japanese history? Show notes here.

Mawwiage is whut bwings us togethah, today! Today we're talking about the history of marriage as an institution in Japan. How has it changed and evolved? What customs and practices have governed it? And what do those practices look like today? Show notes here.

This week, we finish our look at the Olympic movement in Japan with a series of discussions on the legacy of the 64 games, the Winter Olympics in Japan, and on the prospects for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Show notes here.

This week, Japan finally gets the Olympics; but what does that really mean for Japan? What does hosting really accomplish for Japan's image, and how do the games themselves unfold? Show notes here.

This week, we're starting a series on the history of the Olympic movement in Japan. How did Japan get involved in the Olympics? What factors drove Japanese participation? And what ever happened to Japan's first attempt to host the Olympic games -- the 1940 Olympics that never were. Show notes here.

This week, we're taking an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Ozu Yasujiro, one of Japan's most famous directors -- despite the fact that it's really only in the last decade and a half of his life that he had the freedom to make the films he wanted to make! Show notes here.

This week, we're talking over Japan's response to one of the greatest public health crises of the 20th century: the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19. What strategies did the government put in place to try and counter the flu, how was it treated, and what was it like for the doctors on the front lines fighting to save their patients? Show notes here.