44 - Imperial Japan pt. 14 - the Great Waltz, the Ōtsu Incident, and Russo-Japanese Relations

Today we wind the clock back a bit and discuss some geopolitics to better contextualize Imperial Japan, and to understand the different factions within the Japanese government. Specifically, we talk about the pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions, who they were, who backed them, and how the alignments worked. From there, we discuss the Ōtsu Incident, weirdly not very well-known in the West, which was when a Japanese police officer attempted to assassinate the Tsarevich Nikolai II on a visit to Japan. This prompted a massive international incident. You know I have to get a bit nutty discussing the would-be assassin. To wrap it up, I discuss a few more obscure Japanese secret societies, and the Russo-Japanese war.

Note: over time the free episode feed will post less regularly, eventually down to maybe one episode a month, but for now, it'll probably be every other week

Song:

Jazz Suite, Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich