May 29, 2022

This week: whaling during the modern era in Japan, and the circumstances that have led to Japan being one of the only first world countries that still hunts whales. Show notes here.

Also: allergies are still a bit rough; excuse any scratchiness, please!

May 20, 2022

This week, we're taking on whaling in Tokugawa Japan. What is 'traditional' whaling in Japan? How and why did people take to the seas to hunt whales? And how is all of this wrapped up in the modern debate around whaling in Japan?

Side note: wet weather in Seattle is giving me mad allergies, so apologies if I sound extra...

May 13, 2022

This week: where does our stock image of the sohei come from, and why does it tell us more about Japan after the age of warrior-monks than anything else?

Show notes here.

May 6, 2022

This week: what does the historical record have to say about the veracity of the image of the warrior-monk, or sohei, that is so pervasive in pop cultural understandings of medieval Japan?

Show notes here.