This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: what was life in the Edo period like? We cover everything…
This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: how did the Tokugawa bakufu operate? What did the political structure…
This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: Hideyoshi may have brought peace, but Tokugawa Ieyasu would be the…
Apologies for the delayed release! I had some computer issues on my end, but they are now resolved. This week…
This week: it’s the height of the Edo period, and you sail into Osaka’s harbor. What sorts of things might…
Note: due to a numbering error on my end, I recorded this episode as 487. It is actually 488. This…
If the first translation of a text on smallpox vaccination in Japan was finished in 1820, how did it take another 29 years for the first mass vaccination campaigns to begin? The answers involve everything from a German doctor accused of being a spy to networks of physicians trying to navigate obscure bureaucracy. And they might remind you more of the last few years than you’d think.
This week: Emperor Komei attempts to protect tradition in a nation beset by crisis. However, his efforts will be brought…
This week: the beginning of a multipart biography of two of the best documented figures we know very little about:…
This week: political infighting about purple robes and what it can tell us about Buddhism, political power, and the relationship…