History of Japan

This week I promise we'll actually get to the 1274 invasion. But first, how were the samurai who defended Japan organized, and what weapons did they use?

This week: why did Kublai go to Japan? A quick overview of the tensions that led to the first invasion, and a look at the armies of Mongols and Chinese that would fight it.

This week: where did the Mongol Empire come from, and who was in charge when they decided to come after Japan? Also, why is the Kamakura shogunate the most convoluted form of government in a history of convoluted governments?

Today, we wrap our look at immigrants from Japan with a brief discussion of Nikkei communities in the Philippines and China, and with a look at Japan's own attempts to have Nikkei return "home."

This week: why did the American government think it was necessary to round up Nikkei on the West Coast? And what did that policy mean for the people who actually lived it?

This week, we're headed south to take a look at Nikkei communities in Brazil and Peru.

This week, we take a closer look at early communities of Nikkeijin -- people of Japanese descent -- in the United States and Hawaii.

This week, we begin a new series on the Japanese diaspora!

This week we tackle the question of Japanese fascism by looking at one of Japan's foremost fascists, the authoritarian scholar Kita Ikki.

This week: one of Japan's most famous Buddhist masters, Kukai, takes center stage!