This week, the origins and history of Sumo. Sources Hall, Mina. The Big Book of Sumo. An article from The Guardian on match…
This week, the story of Nakahama Manjiro, the castaway turned American whaler turned gold miner turned samurai turned English professor.…
This week, we conclude our up close look at the Shimazu family and Satsuma domain with a consideration of how…
This week, we cover the sengoku era history of the Shimazu clan, and their meteoric ascent from minor lords to…
This week, we start a short series on the history of one of the most influential fiefdoms in Japanese history…
This week, we tackle the evils of Unit 731 — its history, its experiments, and its ultimate escape from any…
This week, we take on the scintillating story of the Manchurian princess Kawashima Yoshiko, who grew up in Japan before…
This week, we discuss the career of Japan’s most legendary director, Kurosawa Akira. From humble, middle class beginnings, our story…
This week: the story of a relatively unimportant man who appears briefly and dies spectacularly, and the long chain of…
Note: Since this week we’re talking about the sex trade, I’ve taken the precaution of giving this episode an explicit…