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Dec 23, 2022

This week, for the final episode of 2022: the Zenkyoto movement arrives at Japan's largest private school. Plus: how did a movement that grew so big so quickly fall apart just as fast?

Show notes here.


Dec 16, 2022

This week, we're beginning a month on radical activism in the 1960s with a look at the student uprisings of 1968. Today is all about where those uprisings came from, how they're related to the "two Zens" of the 1960s, and the specific example of the University of Tokyo, where a debate about student medical internships...


Dec 9, 2022

This week: a long-requested dive into the ronin police force known as the Shinsengumi. Who were the members of this group, and how, despite their rather marginal role in the history of the 1860s, have they become one of the most famous organizations in Japanese history? 

Show notes


Dec 2, 2022

This week is all about a biography of a fascinating figure of the Meiji Restoration: Oguri Tadamasa. But it's also about much more: about how the present shapes our view of the past, and about how, as a result, the ways we talk about someone long dead can shift and change as well.

Show notes


Nov 18, 2022

This week, we wrap up our imperial biographies with a look at the Meiji Emperor's relationship to three important aspects of his reign: the constitution, the wars fought in his name, and his heir. Plus, we talk Meiji's death, and his legacy.

Note: no episode next week for American Thanksgiving; show notes