443 episodes
History of Japan Isaac Meyer
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- History
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4.7 • 520 Ratings
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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.
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Episode 438 - From the Deep, Part 1
This week, we're taking on whaling in Tokugawa Japan. What is 'traditional' whaling in Japan? How and why did people take to the seas to hunt whales? And how is all of this wrapped up in the modern debate around whaling in Japan?
Side note: wet weather in Seattle is giving me mad allergies, so apologies if I sound extra sniffly or anything.
Show notes here. -
Episode 437 - The Fist of the Buddhas, Part 2
This week: where does our stock image of the sohei come from, and why does it tell us more about Japan after the age of warrior-monks than anything else?
Show notes here. -
Episode 436 - Fist of the Buddhas, Part 1
This week: what does the historical record have to say about the veracity of the image of the warrior-monk, or sohei, that is so pervasive in pop cultural understandings of medieval Japan?
Show notes here. -
Criminal Records Podcast - The Yakuza Rocket Launcher Case
There's no regular History of Japan episode this week. Instead, here's a wonderful episode of my other podcast, Criminal Records, about three things of deep concern to any self-respecting podcast audience: organized crime, the drug trade, and rocket launchers!
See you all next week. -
Episode 435 - The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 3
This week, we're wrapping up our look at Sakamoto Ryoma's life and legacy to see how he was transformed from loyalist ronin to posthumous legend. Plus, some quick thoughts on his legacy and enduring popularity. Programming note: no new episode next week! Show notes here.
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Episode 434 - The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 2
This week: Sakamoto Ryoma commits fully to the loyalist cause, but ends up on a turbulent journey that will take him from Kyoto to Edo--and transform him into a very different man.
Show notes here.
Customer Reviews
The Best of What a Podcast Should Be!
Within this world of podcasts, in which there is so much useless garbage, Isaac's is awesome and of high-value! This has become one of my favorites shows and I look forward to enjoying it every week!
Thank you for another excellent history podcast
I'd like to thank you for an excellent look at the history of japan, this time in great focus on characters stories, and it seems for me to fill in the blank spots that the Sengoku Daimyo podcast, and vice- versa, as the narrator is also excellent, and tends to focus on detailed literary and archeological evidence, how we understand then vs now thinking, whereas this show tells a more linear storyline, and for the purpose of memory this for me really cements the whole picture into a comprehensive look at general Japanese history for Laymen, especially for non-Japanese speakers like myself. Thank you i tunes for adding this podcast to the network!
How national histories should be structured
I love just about everything for this podcast. It begins with a quick summary of the political narrative and then breaks down the Japanese historic culture by taking on various topics. It’s amazing listening to the end of the samurai and then the history of Hokkaido and then the rise and fall of communism in Japan as opposed to a single linear narrative gives so much more of an appreciation for one of the most unique countries on earth. For most podcasts that want to talk about modern nations I think they should replicate Isaac more often.