Episode 182 - Building Better Worlds
This week, we're doing a biography of the little known Buddhist socialist Seno'o Giro. How do you reconcile Buddhism and Marx? Find out this week!
Episodes
History of Japan
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
Episode 181 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 6
This week, we round out our look at the hard left in Japan. Militant communist uprisings (if less than 100 people counts as an uprising), electoral maneuvering, recycling policy -- this episode has it all.
Episode 180 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 5
This week: the Japanese left is relegated to permanent opposition status in the postwar period. How did the revolutionary moment come to this?
Episode 179 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 4
This week, the floodgates are open! The system has fallen, and the left is poised to seize power...or not!
Episode 178 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 3
Today, a specter is haunting Japan. But that specter is not communism; it's the ghost of the communist party, dead before it truly lived. This week on the podcast: how to kill a communist party in a few easy steps.
Episode 177 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 2
The revolution comes to Japan...but not really. Today we explore the birth and very rapid death of Japan's first socialist party, and the rise of its communist movement.
Episode 176 - Red Star Over Tokyo, Episode 1
Today, we'll turn our attention to a set of ideas that will ultimately fall flat on their face in Japan (and most other places): Marxism. How did the hard left come to Japan? And before that, what even is Marxism?
Episode 175 - The Great Commoner
This week, it's time for Japan's first party politician: Hara Takashi. Was he a populist hero or a wannabe elite? And in the end, does that even really matter?
Episode 174 - All The World's A Stage
This week, we explore the history of one of Japan's most popular art forms: kabuki theater. Major themes include prostitution, Tokugawa era morality laws, stagecraft, prostitution, and the superiority of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine over The Next Generation.
Episode 173 - The Maelstrom, Part 11
Today, we'll wrap up our look at the Russo-Japanese War with some thoughts on its long term consequences. How much of an impact can a war that lasted for a year and a half really have?
Episode 172 - The Maelstrom, Part 10
Apologies for the technical delay! Today, we'll watch Russia descend into chaos, and take a look at the peace negotiations that result as both sides realize they can't keep this war up.
Episode 171 - The Maelstrom, Part 9
It's time for the Imperial Japanese Navy to bail out the Imperial Japanese Army. But first, let's enjoy the Russian Baltic Fleet's Party Cruise to the Pacific!
Episode 170 - The Maelstrom, Part 8
In the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, two great powers enter and...two great powers leave? Wait, I'm confused. How are the Japanese winning every battle and still not winning the war?
Episode 169 - The Maelstrom, Part 7
The Russians retreat, the Japanese advance, the losses pile up. Things are starting to get a bit worrisome for the Japanese army; could they potentially win every battle and still lose the war?
Episode 168 - The Maelstrom, Part 6
This week: the Port Arthur campaign, from start to finish. Wasn't this supposed to be a cakewalk?
Episode 167 - The Maelstrom, Part 5
The war rages on as the Japanese land in Port Arthur and press the attack, and Oyama Iwao advances north. The Russians will attempt to make a stand as divisions open up in their leadership.
Episode 166 - The Maelstrom, Part 4
Today, we're starting a war! The battle for Manchuria begins as Japan and Russia confront each other on land and at sea for the first time. But will the daring Japanese plan to win the war quickly pay off? Well....kind of.
Episode 165 - The Maelstrom, Part 3
This week -- negotiations between the two sides begin in St. Petersburg, but neither Japan nor Russia is really committed to peacefully working things out. In Imperial Japanese Army HQ, the first steps towards an actual plan for war are formulated: but how to neutralize the many advantages Russia holds?
Episode 164 - The Maelstrom, Part 2
This week, we're going to cover the incompatible goals that led Japan and Russia towards war. Why did each side see the other as a threat? Why was war even on the table in the first place? Can't we all just get along?
Episode 163 - The Maelstrom, Part 1
This week, we're turning our attention to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. In our first episode, we'll introduce our stage -- Manchuria -- and our players -- Russia and Japan.
Episode 162 - Best of Frenemies, Part 8
This week, we close out this series with a look at the relationship between South Korea and Japan. Also included; Isaac's patented speed run of South Korean history. Enjoy!
Episode 161 - Best of Frenemies, Part 7
This week, we discuss Japan's relationship with the modern day Hermit Kingdom, and to explain North Korean policy and how those policies effect Japan. It's gonna be a long ride into the web of madness that is the world's only communist monarchy, so grab your Kim Il-sung pins and strap in!
Episode 160 - Best of Frenemies, Part 6
This week, it's time to join the resistance. We'll trace the birth of the Korean resistance from protests in 1919 to its bifurcation into two rival movements. The first, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, will be based in Shanghai and dominated by the charismatic American-educated Syngman Rhee. The second will be an armed anti-Japanese insurrection in Manchuria led by a man whose life is more myth than fact: Kim Il-sung.
Episode 159 - Best of Frenemies, Part 5
This week -- what was colonial Korea like? We'll do a quick overview of 35 years of colonial economic, political, and social policy to give you a feel for what Japan's goals in Korea were and how those goals effected the lives of ordinary Koreans.
Episode 158 - Best of Frenemies, Part 4
This week, the Korean Kingdom's final years see the desperate bid of King Gojong to salvage Korea's independence. Ultimately, however, Korea's royal family will be unable to save itself, and in 1910 Korea's independence will be snuffed out completely for the first time since the era of Kublai Khan.
Episode 157 - Best of Frenemies, Part 3
This week, a three way competition for control of Korea between Japan, China, and Russia heats up! Factional fighting in the Korean court will drag Japan and China into conflict; in the end, the Koreans themselves are sidelined when it comes to controlling their own fate.
Episode 156 - Best of Frenemies, Part 2
This week, Korea encounters the West. We'll introduce the early Western forays into Korea, explain how Japan came to sign the first unequal treaty with its neighbor, and look into the factionalization of the Korean royal court.
Episode 155 - Best of Frenemies, Part 1
This week: we get up to speed on Korean history, so that we can begin exploring the turbulent Korean-Japanese relationship. Pirates, coups, Mongols, poetry battles -- we've got it all!
Episode 154 - Zen at War
This week: what happens when Buddhists go to war? We'll explore the relationship between the Japanese Empire and the Zen Buddhist establishment.
Episode 153 - The Birth of the Samurai, Part 8
This week, we conclude our series on the rise of the samurai with murder, intrigue, political reform, and gratuitous Game of Thrones references.