Podcast
History of Japan
Hosted by Isaac Meyer · EN
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.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 632 - The Pretender, Part 2
4d ago00:36:59Tap to summarizeThis week: the question of whether Hirohito would remain emperor of Japan or be replaced with "Emperor Kumazawa" was, in fact, decided before the Southern Court claimant had ever gone public. So why was the idea of removing Hirohito never taken seriously, and what did Kumazawa do once it became clear he was never going to sit on the Crysanthemum Throne? And how, strangely, does this all tie back to a Geocities era webpage about alternative medicine? Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 631 - The Pretender, Part 1
2w ago00:34:25Tap to summarizeIn January, 1946, a man came to the headquarters of the American occupation government of Japan and claimed to be Japan's true emperor. Who was he, why did he do this, and how does his story connect to an obscure figure from a civil war that happened more than 500 years earlier? Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 631 - An Interview with Evelyn Iritani
3w ago00:44:26Tap to summarizeFirst thing's first: I made a numbering error a few weeks back, and so to get us back on the correct count we're just going to skip episode 630! This week, I'm very lucky to be joined by journalist and writer (and Pulitzer Prize winner) Evelyn Iritani to talk about her new book Safe Passage (and a bit about her old book An Ocean Between Us). Check the book out here for a look into an underexplored moment in the history of US-Japan relations. Show notes here.
Transcribe →Bonus episode - The Chishima Incident
Jun 501:03:55Tap to summarizeWe're coming up on the end of the school year here in the US and will have to briefly interrupt our normal programming. To tide you over, here's a bonus episode from my old podcast Criminal Records. We'll be back on June 12! Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 629 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 4
May 2900:36:32Tap to summarizeFate twists once again in Fujiwara no Michinaga's favor as an unfortunate accident of birth sees him solidify his grip on power. This week: the final steps of Michinaga's rise, his legacy, and that of Eiga Monogatari. Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 628 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 3
May 2200:34:29Tap to summarizeFujiwara no Michinaga is on top of the world, but there's one final hurdle to overcome. His deceased brother's daughter is still the leader of the emperor's harem, and his closest confidant in the world. Without a grandson to make crown prince, he'll be finished. What is to be done? And how will his strategy accidentally promote a rivalry between two of the most famous women in all of Japanese history? Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 627 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 2
May 1500:35:07Tap to summarizeThis week: Fujiwara no Kaneie is a name we've encountered once before on the podcast. But now we get to see him in his element as a wheeler and dealer who lays out a perfect blueprint for assuming political power from an older sibling. And we'll get to see Kaneie's sons fight a very similar battle--leading to the rise of the man who would take the Fujiwara to the zenith of their power, Fujiwara no Michinaga. Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 626 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 1
May 800:33:36Tap to summarizeWe're starting a new series taking a look at an oft neglected classic of Heian literature: The Eiga Monogatari, or Tale of Flowering Fortunes, which tells the history of the great Fujiwara family at the height of its power. This week: what do we know about Eiga Monogatari and how it fits into the wider literary history of classical Japan? Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 625 - An Ocean Between Us, Part 3
May 100:36:00Tap to summarizeThis week: in 1988, a Japanese company bought a paper mill in Port Angeles, WA, in a story that basically nobody except one reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer bothered to pay much attention to. But in fact, that story tells us a lot about US-Japan relations. Show notes here.
Transcribe →Episode 625 - An Ocean Between Us, Part 2
Apr 2400:35:03Tap to summarizeThis week: rumors swirled around Port Angeles for decades after WWII that a Japanese man, Osasa Masaru, who had lived there from 1930-39 was in fact a Japanese spy who'd been sent to Port Angeles to report on the movements of the American Pacific Fleet. The reality is at once far more interesting and far more mundane. Show notes here.
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