History of Japan
Isaac Meyer
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 17, 2017 • 32min
Episode 198 - Fist of Legend, Part 5
This week: can a martial art be a philosophy of life? Can it rise to the level of a religion?
Jun 10, 2017 • 29min
Episode 197 - Fist of Legend, Part 4
This week: karate comes to mainland Japan (and gets a rebrand in the process), and the Butokukai's attempts to militarize the martial arts backfire when the Americans come to town.
Jun 3, 2017 • 28min
Episode 196 - Fist of Legend, Part 3
This week: the rise of judo and of the modern budo, and karate strikes back!
May 27, 2017 • 29min
Episode 195 - Fist of Legend, Part 2
This week: who wants to swing a sword when you can just shoot a gun?
May 20, 2017 • 26min
Episode 194 - Fist of Legend, Part 1
This week: where do Japan's traditional martial arts come from?
May 13, 2017 • 30min
Episode 193 - No Country for Young Women, Part 2
This week: what are three educated women to do in a society that doesn't value their education?
May 6, 2017 • 29min
Episode 192 - No Country for Young Women, Part 1
This week: the beginning of a two parter on Japan's first ever female exchange students.
Apr 29, 2017 • 31min
Episode 191 - Lifting the Lost, Part 9
This week: what, in the end, did the Occupation mean -- for both the occupied and the occupier?
Apr 22, 2017 • 28min
Episode 190 - Lifting the Lost, Part 8
This week: what was it like to live through the Occupation? How did people get by? And why is Kurosawa Akira objectively the greatest director ever?
Apr 15, 2017 • 30min
Episode 189 - Lifting the Lost, Part 7
This week: the social reforms of the Occupation. Economic policy, education policy: it's like our very own C-SPAN screening!
