This week, we’re looking at the legacy of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the most famous playwright in Japanese history. During his career,…
This week, we’re taking a quick detour into Isaac trolling fans of Michel Foucault-er, the Edo period criminal justice system.…
This week: Isaac spends 30 minutes unpacking the 400+ page ramblings of a cranky retiree who died about 200 years…
This week, we’re talking about one of the last attempts to save the Tokugawa shogunate: the Tenpo Reforms of the…
We’re trapped in a loop this week as Isaac talks about another Isaac: specifically, Isaac Titsingh, a member of the…
This week: how did the threat of Western imperialism change the relationship between mainland Japan and Hokkaido, and help set…
This week, we’re covering the life and career of a poet often overlooked despite her fame in her own lifetime:…
This week: how do historians learn about the lives of everyday people? Let’s take a look at how it’s done…
This week, we’re talking about one of Japan’s most famous collections of supernatural tales, the fantastic Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of…
This week, we’re talking about popular literature, with a specific focus on one of Japan’s most famous pieces of detective…