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Category: History of Japan Podcast

Episode 433 – The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 1

April 8, 2022 Isaac Meyer

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 Isaac Meyer

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 Isaac Meyer

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 Isaac Meyer 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 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

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

Episode 428 – The Highest Bidder

March 4, 2022 Isaac Meyer

Today, we’re looking at a rather unusual scandal from early 20th century Japan, and what it shows us about the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Imperial Navy, Japan, scandal, Taisho

Episode 427 – The Ones Who Walked Away

February 25, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re taking some material from the cutting room floor of last series to talk about the stories of…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Christianity, History, Japan, Nagasaki, Samurai, Sengoku

Episode 426 – The City on the Edge of Forever, Part 5

February 18, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

Our final episode of this miniseries will detail the early decades of the Christian persecutions in Nagasaki. Once the religion…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Christianity, History, Japan, Nagasaki, Tokugawa

Episode 425 – The City on the Edge of Forever, Part 4

February 11, 2022 Isaac Meyer

This week, Hideyoshi’s death seems to suggest an end to the persecution of Nagasaki’s Christians. However, the city quickly finds…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Christianity, History, Japan, Nagasaki, Tokugawa

Episode 424 – The City on the Edge of Forever, Part 3

February 4, 2022 Isaac Meyer

This week: Hideyoshi’s ‘friendship’ proves less useful than hoped, resulting in a 1587 ban on Christianity and Nagasaki losing its…

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

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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.

Support the Show

Support the Facing Backward network on Patreon to get access to our bonus features, including our bonus episodes about historical fiction.

The History of Japan Patreon is still live, and subscribers will be able to get the weekly newsletter there as well.

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Recent Posts

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