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Tag: Heian

Episode 454 – That All My Dreams Might Not Prove Empty

September 16, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week: in 1940, a manuscript lost for over 600 years is recovered from the archives of the Imperial family.…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, Kamakura, Kyoto, Women

Episode 447 – On a Summer Night, The First Thought of Sleep

July 22, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re taking a look at the legacy of one of Japan’s most influential poets: Ki no Tsurayuki. His…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, Heian Period, History, Japan, literature, poetry

Episode 446 – In Days of Old, There Was a Man

July 15, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re unpacking a rather odd classic of Japanese literature: the Ise Monogatari, a collection of short tales that…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, Heian Period, History, Japan, literature, poetry

Episode 436 – Fist of the Buddhas, Part 1

May 6, 2022 Isaac Meyer

This week: what does the historical record have to say about the veracity of the image of the warrior-monk, or…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, Heian, History, Japan, Kyoto, medieval

Episode 383 – Hell Hath no Fury

March 26, 2021 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

Today, we’re taking a look at a fascinating literary text from 1000 years ago, the Kagero Nikki (most commonly translated…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, literature, Women

Episode 368 – The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

December 11, 2020 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re talking about one of the most famous stories in Japanese history: the bamboo princess Naotake no Kaguyahime…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, Kaguyahime, literature, monogatari, taketori

Episode 341 – The Femme Fatale

June 5, 2020 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week, we’re focusing on the story of Ono no Komachi, a mysterious poet from the 800s whose poems were…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, komachi, poetry, Women

Episode 321 – The Regent

January 17, 2020 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week, take a deep dive with me into the life of one of the regents of the Heian Era,…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Fujiwara, Heian, History, Japan, Kyoto

Episode 297 – As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, Part 2

July 19, 2019 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we round out our look at the celebrated women of Heian Japan with two very different careers: that…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, poetry, Women

Episode 296 – As I crossed a Bridge of Dreams, Part 1

July 12, 2019 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week: the start of a two-part series on women in Heian Japan. What makes the social position of women…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Heian, History, Japan, Women

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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.

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