This week we start a multipart series on the Muromachi period and the reign of the Ashikaga family. How did…
This week we cover the life and career of the legendary judge Oka Tadasuke, who rose from minor samurai to…
This week, the story of Nakahama Manjiro, the castaway turned American whaler turned gold miner turned samurai turned English professor.…
In early 1868, the armies of the loyalists and the Tokugawa bakufu will clash outside Kyoto. We’ll discuss the…
This week, we cover 1867: the final year of the Tokugawa shogunate (sort of). Caught between a loyalist rock…
1864 is probably the most important year in the Meiji Restoration that nobody really has heard of; the Tokugawa will…
This week, the turbulent politics following the death of Ii Naosuke will result in the rise of one of the…
This week, we’ll be going all Tom Cruise for our second media review, and discussing the actual history behind the…
This week, we’ll be doing our second shogunal biography. We’re going to discuss the life and legacy of the man…
So, for those of you who aren’t caught up yet — I’m in Japan doing some summer work for the…