This week: where does our stock image of the sohei come from, and why does it tell us more about…
This week: what does the historical record have to say about the veracity of the image of the warrior-monk, or…
This week, we’re wrapping up our look at Sakamoto Ryoma’s life and legacy to see how he was transformed from…
This week: Sakamoto Ryoma commits fully to the loyalist cause, but ends up on a turbulent journey that will take…
This week, we return to the turbulent age of the Bakumatsu–the collapse of the Tokugawa state–with a biography of one…
This week: just what sort of scandal sent Nakanoin Nakako to the far end of Japan, and how did fate…
This week on the podcast, we’re exploring the life of a woman whose story would normally be confined to the…
This week on the podcast, we’re talking the tale of the iconoclastic monk Ikkyu Sojun. His fame is predicated on…
How can a man who was terrible as a ruler also be one of the most important tastemakers in Japanese…
Today, we’re looking at a rather unusual scandal from early 20th century Japan, and what it shows us about the…