Episode 232 – A Thief in the Night

March 17, 2018

This week, we spend an entire history podcast talking about someone who may not even have actually existed — the legendary thief Ishikawa Goemon.

Listen to the episode here.

The link to submit questions for the AMA is here.

Sources

Brandon, James R. Kabuki Plays On-Stage: Villainy and Vengeance, 1773-1799

Morris, Ivan. The Nobility of Failure.

Botsman, Daniel. Punishment and Power in the Making of Modern Japan.

Images

An Utagawa Kunisada print of Ishikawa infiltrating “Mashiba’s” palace from Sanmon no Kiri.
A Toyokuni print of Goemon’s death from the late Edo period.
An Utagawa Kunisada print of the final scene of Sanmon no Kiri, showing the death scene.
A modern Goemonburo, made of ceramic instead of metal.
Nanzenji temple, which, to be fair, does appear to be a fairly pretty place to be boiled alive.