History of Japan

This week: the Japanese left is relegated to permanent opposition status in the postwar period. How did the revolutionary moment come to this?

4 Feb 201730min

This week, the floodgates are open! The system has fallen, and the left is poised to seize power...or not!

28 Jan 201725min

Today, a specter is haunting Japan. But that specter is not communism; it's the ghost of the communist party, dead before it truly lived. This week on the podcast: how to kill a communist party in a f...

21 Jan 201727min

The revolution comes to Japan...but not really. Today we explore the birth and very rapid death of Japan's first socialist party, and the rise of its communist movement.

14 Jan 201727min

Today, we'll turn our attention to a set of ideas that will ultimately fall flat on their face in Japan (and most other places): Marxism. How did the hard left come to Japan? And before that, what eve...

7 Jan 201723min

This week, it's time for Japan's first party politician: Hara Takashi. Was he a populist hero or a wannabe elite? And in the end, does that even really matter?

10 Des 201630min

This week, we explore the history of one of Japan's most popular art forms: kabuki theater. Major themes include prostitution, Tokugawa era morality laws, stagecraft, prostitution, and the superiority...

3 Des 201631min

Today, we'll wrap up our look at the Russo-Japanese War with some thoughts on its long term consequences. How much of an impact can a war that lasted for a year and a half really have?

19 Nov 201629min