History of Japan

Isaac Meyer
undefined
Aug 1, 2025 • 36min

Episode 588 - The All-Seeing Eye, Part 5

This week, we're covering the postwar "Red Scare" in Japan, which has roots going back to the early 20th century but which was boosted during the postwar era by right-wing politicians and even members of the American occupation government. That conspiracy would, in turn, help shape both prewar and postwar politics on a profound level. Show notes here. 
undefined
Jul 25, 2025 • 39min

Episode 587 - The All-Seeing Eye, Part 4

This week, conspiracism takes a new twist in Japan, from paranoid worries about Christianity to paranoid beliefs in "Western encirclement". How did this new form of conspiracism help drive Japan's descent into fascism, empire, and eventually the self-destructive decisions of the Second World War? Show notes here. 
undefined
Jul 11, 2025 • 38min

Episode 586 - The All-Seeing Eye, Part 3

This week, we explore the "Christian conspiracies" of Edo Period Japan. Working backwards from the Osaka Incident of 1827, when a group of supposed Christian spirit mediums were uncovered as a part of a fraud investigation, we'll look at how Christianity was transformed from an actual religion into an evil spiritual threat to the foundations of Japan itself. Show notes here. 
undefined
Jul 4, 2025 • 38min

Episode 585 - The All-Seeing Eye, Part 2

Japan's "Christian Century" is the source of many fascinating aspects of Japanese history, from modern firearms to tenpura. But there's one more way that the century from 1543-1639 shaped Japan--as the source of its first conspiracist moment! Show notes here. 
undefined
Jun 27, 2025 • 37min

Episode 584 - The All-Seeing Eye, Part 1

This week, something a bit different: the start of a history of conspiracy theories in Japan. This first episode is mostly framing: what is conspiracism as a mindset, and how is it different from actual conspiracies?  Show notes here.  
undefined
Jun 20, 2025 • 42min

Episode 583 - The Men of Chivalry, Part 3

This week: we take a look at the genre of the yakuza movie, or ninkyo eiga, which started off as a branch of the samurai film genre before becoming very much its own thing--and, for a decade  or so in the 1960s and 1970s, dominating the Japanese box office. Show notes here. 
undefined
Jun 13, 2025 • 43min

Episode 582 - The Men of Chivalry, Part 2

This week: we take a look at postwar samurai film/jidaigeki in order to understand better the trajectory of the most influential genre in the history of Japanese film. Why did jidaigeki, a staple of pre-1945 film, storm back with a vengeance to the big screen after the end of World War II? What makes post-1945 samurai films distinctive or unique? And what about their relationship to another archetype of international film: the American Western? Show notes here.
undefined
Jun 6, 2025 • 35min

Episode 581 - The Men of Chivalry, Part 1

This week, we're starting a history of the most famous genre in the history of Japanese film: the jidaigeki, and its related genre of the ninkyo eiga. This week: what do we know about early jidaigeki, and how do they fit into the wider history of early Japanese film? Show notes here. 
undefined
May 30, 2025 • 40min

Episode 580 - The Kings of the Ring, Part 7

This week: we wrap up the miniseries with the end of Akebono's career, as the first gaijin yokozuna takes his post-dohyo trajectory in a very different direction from the other yokozuna before him (or at least, from most of the other yokozuna before him). Plus some final thoughts on sumo today. Show notes here.  
undefined
May 23, 2025 • 38min

Episode 579 - The Kings of the Ring, Part 6

This week: Akebono becomes a yokozuna, and finds himself burdened with new expectations on and off the dohyo. Plus, a brief foray into pay and compensation for rikishi, and a final section on one of the most infamous moments of the 64th yokozuna's career. Show notes here. 

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app