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Episode 147 – The Birth of the Samurai, Part 2

May 1, 2016 Isaac Meyer

This week, Minamoto no Yoshiie establishes the power of the Seiwa Minamoto family, upsetting a careful balance of power. Also,…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Heian, Samurai

Episode 146 – The Birth of the Samurai, Part 1

April 23, 2016 Isaac Meyer

This week, we’ll be starting a short series about the advent of the samurai class. First, what came before the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

Episode 145 – An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Part 2

April 16, 2016 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

  What does organized crime look like in modern Japan, and why does anybody put up with it? Also, how…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Yakuza

Episode 144 – An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Part 1

April 9, 2016 Isaac Meyer 5 Comments

  Someday, and that day may never come, I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Yakuza

Episode 143 – Nanjing, Part 2

April 2, 2016 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

  This week, we talk about how views of Nanjing have shifted since WWII, and where the modern right-wing revisionists…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

Episode 142 – Nanjing, Part 1

March 26, 2016 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

NOTE: Though there is substantial photographic evidence of the massacre, I am not going to post it directly on the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: China, Nanjing, WWII

Episode 141 – Fukushima

March 19, 2016 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

  Today we’re going to talk about Japan’s relationship with nuclear power and the catastrophic events of March, 2011. Why…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

Episode 140 – The Stars Our Destination

March 12, 2016 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

  This week, we’ll talk about the birth of the Japanese space program. From its origins as the brainchild of…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

Episode 139 – The Soldiers of the Sun

March 5, 2016 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week: conscription in Japan. What’s it like to be conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army? How are conscripts treated,…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Conscription, Imperial Japanese Army

Episode 138 – The Fall of the Samurai, Part 21

February 27, 2016 Isaac Meyer 4 Comments

Aaand we’re done. This week, some final thoughts on the period and its key players before we put the Meiji…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

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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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