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Category: History of Japan Podcast

Episode 438 – From the Deep, Part 1

May 20, 2022 ijmeyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re taking on whaling in Tokugawa Japan. What is ‘traditional’ whaling in Japan? How and why did people…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

Episode 437 – The Fist of the Buddhas, Part 2

May 13, 2022 ijmeyer Leave a comment

This week: where does our stock image of the sohei come from, and why does it tell us more about…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, Edo, History, Japan

Episode 436 – Fist of the Buddhas, Part 1

May 6, 2022 ijmeyer

This week: what does the historical record have to say about the veracity of the image of the warrior-monk, or…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, Heian, History, Japan, Kyoto, medieval

Episode 435 – The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 3

April 22, 2022 ijmeyer 3 Comments

This week, we’re wrapping up our look at Sakamoto Ryoma’s life and legacy to see how he was transformed from…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Bakumatsu, History, Japan, Meiji, Samurai, Tokugawa

Episode 434 – The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 2

April 15, 2022 ijmeyer

This week: Sakamoto Ryoma commits fully to the loyalist cause, but ends up on a turbulent journey that will take…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Bakumatsu, History, Japan, Meiji Restoration

Episode 433 – The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 1

April 8, 2022 ijmeyer

This week, we return to the turbulent age of the Bakumatsu–the collapse of the Tokugawa state–with a biography of one…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Edo, History, Japan, Meiji Restoration, Tokugawa

Episode 432 – The Tale of Nakako, Part 2

April 1, 2022 ijmeyer

This week: just what sort of scandal sent Nakanoin Nakako to the far end of Japan, and how did fate…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, Kyoto, Tokugawa, Women

Episode 431 – The Tale of Nakako, Part 1

March 25, 2022 ijmeyer

This week on the podcast, we’re exploring the life of a woman whose story would normally be confined to the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, Kyoto, Sengoku

Episode 430 – If the Wind Blows, Let it Blow

March 18, 2022 ijmeyer 3 Comments

This week on the podcast, we’re talking the tale of the iconoclastic monk Ikkyu Sojun. His fame is predicated on…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts

Episode 429 – The Glorious Fool

March 11, 2022 ijmeyer 1 Comment

How can a man who was terrible as a ruler also be one of the most important tastemakers in Japanese…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Art, Ashikaga, History, Japan, Muromachi

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About Me

My name is Isaac Meyer, and I’m a  former PhD student at the University of Washington, specializing in modern Japan (with sub-specializations in modern China, modern Europe, and international relations). Today, I work as a teacher at an independent school in the Seattle area.

I also have a tendency to go off on random historical tangents. One day, I decided to combine these two traits in podcast form, and thus was born the History of Japan Podcast!

In 2018, I decided start the Criminal Records Podcast with my wife, Demetria Spinrad. This podcast gives me the chance to talk about world history–and the weird, wonderful world of historical crime and punishment.

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Recent Posts

  • Episode 438 – From the Deep, Part 1
  • Introducing the podcast!
  • The Luddites
  • Episode 437 – The Fist of the Buddhas, Part 2
  • Episode 436 – Fist of the Buddhas, Part 1
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