The Essay

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the fourth of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls his quest to record wild voices in the darkness and isolation of Dryburn Moor in Northumberland. It can be a real challenge to find a truly isolated place in the UK, but here on the high Pennines, Chris was rewarded with a serenade of birds, which he can hear but can’t see until the night evolves into day. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the third of five illustrated essays, Chris vividly recalls his quest to capture the voices of a black throated diver or, 'musta kuikka', on an isolated lake in Finland having been inspired by a painting of Lake Keitele by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Surrounded by a vast forest, he experiences a powerful sense and spirit of place as he watches, waits and listens. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the second of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls an exhausting and chilling climb to the pinnacle of Skellig Michael, an isolated rock which rises over 700ft out of the Atlantic Ocean off the south west coast of Ireland to capture the wailing cries of the inhabitants which return here at night under the cover of darkness. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the first of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls a trip to Antarctica, to a landscape which has been described as ‘The Great White Silence’ to record one of the greatest transitional events on the planet; the sounds of a glacier being transformed over the Antarctic summer from a solid mountain of freshwater ice into the salt water of the Ross Sea. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol. Photo courtesy Chris Watson.

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his final essay, Dr Harding reveals his sense of the transience of life inspired by Mount Fear on the northernmost tip of Japan's main island of Honshu. It prompts him to recall the first known named person in Japanese history, the shaman-queen Himiko. "By the time of Himiko's birth, attempts to grapple with the strangeness of life and to find ways of belonging in the world had resolved into the role of the shaman. Himiko was likely regarded, by dint of family or force of personality, as a shaman of particular potency." She received lavish gifts from the Wei Emperor in China and, "It seems ...that alongside mustering small armies she could also summon spirits. It may have been these that her enemies feared more." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present".Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Hugh Levinson

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his fourth essay, he compares Japan and the UK as mirror images of each other: two island nations, "both known for a certain reserve in their national characters, and both enjoying the stability that comes with constitutional monarchy." Murusaki Shikibu, who wrote "The Tale of Genji", had a ringside seat as lady-in-waiting to the eleventh century imperial court. "Here was a society blessed both with an almost impossible level of sophistication - in its poetry, pastimes, dress and general comportment and with female chroniclers capable of wringing every last delicious detail out of the personal foibles, fashion faux-pas and social missteps of those who inhabited it." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present"The quoted translations are taken from "The Diary of Lady Murasaki" (Penguin, 1996) by Professor Richard Bowring.Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Hugh Levinson

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. The subject of the third essay is the ruthless sixteenth century warlord Oda Nobunaga. Living at a time when order had broken down into warring fiefdoms, he paved the way for unified secular rule in Japan by attacking the military and political influence of the Buddhist sects. A fearsome warrior steeped in samurai culture, "Nobunaga was imagining its re-unification by identifying it with himself." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present".Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Hugh Levinson

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his second essay, he describes how the artist Tezuka Osamu helped shape post-war Japanese pop culture through manga and anime, Japan's instantly recognisable style of comic books and animated films, that he made famous worldwide. Dr Harding places Tezuka in Japan's centuries' old tradition of satirical art, though reflects that his Disney inspired creations such as Atom Boy may leave him "one day remembered for fostering a form of popular culture that was insufficiently angry, satirical or creatively critical of politics." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present".Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Hugh Levinson

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan's women's volleyball team at the 1964 Olympics. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's history to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his first essay, Dr Harding recalls the first time Tokyo was due to host the Olympic Games in 1940. War intervened, the Games were cancelled and the young Daimatsu "The Demon" Hirobumi found himself in the army, learning tough lessons in survival. Postwar, he forged a career as the fearsome coach of the women's national volleyball team, pushing them to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. "As the scale of destruction visited upon Asia and the Pacific by Japan became clear in the years after war's end, national self-questioning had turned into a painful business - a matter not so much of 'Who are we' as 'Is this who we are?' The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, in October 1964, was a precious opportunity for the Japanese to offer the world - and themselves - a more hopeful account."Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present".Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Hugh Levinson

It's the mid-1990s. Joanna Robertson lives in tumultuous Albania, where she's moved to be a journalist. King Leka Zogu returns from exile in a quest to regain his throne. Joanna meets the king as he campaigns in rural, monarchist strongholds ahead of a national referendum. But the country is unpredictable and dangerous, still in the throes of anarchy and violence, largely controlled by armed criminal groups. Does Joanna now know too much? When she’s the target of a shooting, and is later ambushed at gunpoint, she has to ask - has the time come to leave?Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer, from the book ‘Long Life to Your Children!’