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Tag: Zen

Episode 457 – The Purple Robe Incident

October 14, 2022 Isaac Meyer

This week: political infighting about purple robes and what it can tell us about Buddhism, political power, and the relationship…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, Edo, History, Japan, Tokugawa, Zen

Episode 418 – The Bucket and the Moon

December 17, 2021 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

This week, we have a biography of one of the rare women of medieval Japan who was prominent not just…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, History, Japan, medieval, Women, Zen

Episode 275 – The House of Cards, Part 3

February 9, 2019 Isaac Meyer

This week we turn away from politics to discuss religion, art, and the economy during the age of the Ashikaga.…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Ashikaga, History, Japan, Muromachi, Samurai, Zen

Episode 220 – The All Seeing Eye

December 2, 2017 Isaac Meyer

This week, we investigate the great Zen master Dogen, who was something of an eccentric in his own time but…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Buddhism, Dogen, History, Japan, Soto, Zen

Episode 154 – Zen at War

June 25, 2016 Isaac Meyer

This week: what happens when Buddhists go to war? We’ll explore the relationship between the Japanese Empire and the Zen…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Buddhism, Zen

Episode 6 – A New Order

May 4, 2013 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week’s episode is on the structure of the Kamakura bakufu, its war against the Mongol Yuan dynasty of China,…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Ashikaga, Hojo, Kamakura, Mongol Invasions, Muromachi, Noh, Pure Land Buddhism, Yuan, Zen

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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