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Tag: Samurai

Episode 151 – The Birth of the Samurai, Part 6

May 28, 2016 Isaac Meyer

  This week, we let slip the dogs of war as Japan plunges into a new phase of conflict. Though…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Genpei War, Minamoto, Samurai, Taira

Episode 150 – The Birth of the Samurai, Part 5

May 24, 2016 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

We’re live, folks! Sorry for the delay. It’s time for the career of Taira no Kiyomori, the man whose talent…

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

Episode 148 – The Birth of the Samurai, Part 3

May 7, 2016 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

  This week: the Taira family continue their rise to prominence, the Minamoto get stuck spinning their wheels for a…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Minamoto clan, Samurai, Taira

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 37 – Women Warriors

January 18, 2014 Isaac Meyer 4 Comments

This week, we’ll be tackling an oft-requested topic; women warriors in the samurai class. Contrary to what you might think,…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Hangaku gozen, Jingu, Nakano Takeko, Onna bugeisha, Samurai, Tachibana Ginchiyo, Tomoe, Women

Episode 29 – The Great Saigo, Part 2

November 2, 2013 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week we have the second and final part of our series on Saigo Takamori, covering his rebellion against the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Saigo Takamori, Samurai, Satsuma Rebellion, Seinan War

Episode 22 – The Way of the Warrior

September 8, 2013 Isaac Meyer

For our first listener-submitted topic, we’re tackling Bushido: the warrior code of the samurai class. We’ll discuss the evolution of…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Bushido, Meiji, Samurai, Sengoku, Tokugawa

Episode 10 – A Day in the Life of Edo Japan

June 2, 2013 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week, we’ll be discussing the life of your average city-dweller in Edo Japan. This is a huge topic, and…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Bunraku, Edo, Geisha, Kabuki, Prostitution, Samurai, Tokugawa, Yakuza

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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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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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