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This 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.
Historian, teacher, podcaster
A twice monthly podcast on crime and punishment throughout history!
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, …
Our first episode about South America gives us a very different perspective on the American fight against Communism. Was promoting America's interests in the Cold War really worth propping up a brutal dictatorship? And why did the international attempt to bring Pinochet to justice involve British Law Lords, a fake case of dementia, and a law that g…
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, …
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? https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/historyofjapan/Episode_378_mixdown.mp3 Sources Galbraith, Patrick W and Jason G. Karlin, eds. Idols and Celebrity in J…
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.
Get your flags and your bibles, we’re hunting Communists. The Red Menace could be lurking anywhere: in your unions, in your movies, maybe even in the very halls of Congress. Show notes, sources, and patriotic films and sources at this link
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. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/historyofjapan/Episode_377_mixdown.mp3 Sources Kaplan, David, and Alec Dubro. Yakuza: Japan’s Criminal Underworld. Yamazaki, Taku…
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 bu…
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 bu…
Take a tour around the swamp with America's favorite rascal. Florida Man's always making headlines for punching alligators, stealing meat, and fighting cops in the buff. But does Florida really deserve its reputation as the weirdest state in the union? And is our nation's most beloved rapscallion the villain of our story, or is he the victim of a l…
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. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/historyofjapan/Episode_375_mixdown.mp3 Sources Larson, Erik, et al. “Emerging …
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. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/historyofjapan/Episode_374__mixdown.mp3 Sources Konishi, Sho. “…
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.
Meet the man who used his artistic talents to resist Nazi occupation, then planned an elaborate scheme to destroy a public records building by posing as a German official. In the occupied Netherlands, a group of artists fought the law with typography and tailoring. Why did Willem Arondeus go from a little-known WII resistance fighter to a hit with …
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.
Was Mao Zedong's fourth wife one of history's deadliest criminals, or was she a scapegoat for a country that needed to preserve the image of its founding father? The answer is complicated, tragic, and involves a surprising amount of high-stakes theater criticism. Show notes, sources, and sacred mangoes at this link…
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 …
China’s last emperor ended up becoming one of history’s strangest political pawns, and ended his life as an avowed communist. How did a man born into unbelievable wealth end up penning a memoir about the evils of the landlord class? And was his disavowal of his privileged upbringing genuine, or was he the victim of a justice system that perfected t…
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Episode 368 - The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
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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?…
