The Meiji at 150 Podcast Tristan Grunow

In this concluding episode of the Meiji at 150 Podcast series, Dr. Grunow joins Dr. Hitomi Yoshio (Waseda) to revisit the background and production of the series, to review the state of the field of Japanese studies around the world in 2019 as seen through the podcast, and to rethink the importance of the Restoration today, before discussing the pedagogical and scholarly benefits of podcasting.  This episode was recorded live at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and made possible by the Top Global University Project.

In this episode, Drs. Zheng and Tierney recount the political discourse of China and Japan at the turn of the 20th century, focusing on the influential translations and political writings of Nakae Chōmin.  We discuss Nakae's political writings, his influence on Chinese reformers including Liang Qichao, understandings of "popular rights" and "popular sovereignty" in Japan and China, and their legacy for state-society relations in both countries today.

In this episode, Dr. Maeda retraces the process of political centralization during the Meiji period, culminating in the establishment of the Imperial Diet in 1890.  We discuss the emergence of national politics, competing political interests at different levels of society, and the impact of Japanese colonialism on national integration along with the idea of a "Long Meiji Restoration." (Transcript here).

In this episode, Dr. Krietman uncovers the history of human waste in Tokyo, from early modern nightsoil collection to postwar sewage systems.  We discuss the Edo nightsoil economy, impacts of infrastructural development and World War II, and municipal efforts to clean up the city leading up to the 1964 and 2020 Olympic games.

In this episode, Dr. Hutchinson traces the origins of many themes in contemporary Japanese video games to the Meiji Period.  We discuss continuity in themes of Japanese identity and colonialism from Meiji literature to video games today, place video games into the context of cultural production, review representations of history in video games, and consider ways to use video games in the classroom to teach Japanese culture.
 

In this episode, Dr. Zohar recounts the history of photography in modern Japan, detailing the contributions of Japanese and foreign photographers.  We discuss the introduction of photography, the role of photography in the colonization of Hokkaidō, and Dr. Zohar's recent work on representations of colonial memory.