Episode 267 - Do Not Give Up Your Life

FromHistory of Japan

Start listening View podcast show

Episode 267 - Do Not Give Up Your Life

FromHistory of Japan

ratings:

Length:

33 minutes

Released:

Dec 8, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

This week, we cover poet and political activist Yosano Akiko in her drift from icon of the political left to polemicist for the ultranationalist right. What kind of life trajectory drives a person that way? Why did she follow that path? And why did she write so many poems about breasts?

Released:

Dec 8, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

A weekly podcast on Japanese history, covering everything from prehistory to the modern era. Additional information available at the podcast blog, at www.historyofjapan.wordpress.com

Skip carousel

Episode 1 - Introduction: Welcome to our introductory episode! Today we will be covering the basic ideas behind this podcast, including: Who I am What I'm planning to do here Why you should care about history Why Japanese history is important What I need from you, my... by History of Japan
5 min listen
Episode 19 - Rising from the Ashes: This week, we're going to discuss the postwar strategy that enabled Japan to revive itself after World War II. In 1952, most observers believed Japan would become a mid-rank regional power on the same order as Sweden; by 1970 it was clear that would... by History of Japan
21 min listen
Episode 13 - Take Me Out to the Shiai: This week, it's time for a story of triumph and tragedy, racism and acceptance, international relations, and most importantly: baseball! by History of Japan
21 min listen
Episode 4 - The Golden Age of Heian: This week's episode will discuss the Heian Period (794-1185), one of the golden ages of Japanese history. We'll talk about the politics and culture of the period, covering the structure of government, literary styles, and why it is that I think the... by History of Japan
18 min listen
Episode 2 - A Kingdom Called Wa: In this second episode, we discuss the earliest periods of Japanese history (the Jomon, Yayoi and Tumulus/Kofun periods), covering the years from prehistory to 538 AD. It's a long haul to cover! by History of Japan
13 min listen
Episode 7 - Descent into Chaos: This week, we're going to cover the fall of the Ashikaga and the early Sengoku period (rougly 1400-1550 AD). I'll also be briefly discussing the arrival of Westerners and the rise of the militant Ikko Ikki movement. Enjoy! by History of Japan
19 min listen
Episode 15 - The Homefront: This week, we'll be discussing domestic developments in Japan, and the path by which a reasonably (if not totally) liberal democracy in the 1910s and 1920s morphed into a military dictatorship in the 1930s. We'll talk about the various means by which... by History of Japan
21 min listen
Episode 24 - In Buddha's Name: The Rise and Fall of the Ikko Ikki, Part 2: We'll be wrapping up our discussion of the Ikko Ikki this week, as the unstoppable force of the militant wing of Jodo Shinshu meets the immovable objects of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga. What follows is a tale of treachery, war, and revenge worthy... by History of Japan
25 min listen
Episode 3 - The First Capitol: Today we will be discussing the Asuka and Nara periods, and the formation of a centralized, Chinese-style government based in a permanent capitol city. There's intrigue, backstabbing, and stories about poop; should be fun! by History of Japan
18 min listen
Episode 8 - The Three Unifiers: This week, we will be discussing the reunification of Sengoku Japan under the three Sengoku Unifiers -- Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. We will be discussing the trajectory of their careers and the nature of their characters.... by History of Japan
27 min listen
Episode 12 - Civilization and Enlightenment: This week, we're going to cover the early Meiji Period (1868-1900 or so). We'll be covering a wide range of topics, ranging from international relations to politics to social developments. This is one of the most interesting and tumultuous periods in... by History of Japan
27 min listen
Episode 17 - He Who Saves One Life, Saves an Entire World: This week we're going to be taking another break from the forward march of history to discuss the life of a man named Sugihara Chiune. Sugihara worked as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to World War II, and in 1940 he gave up his... by History of Japan
24 min listen
Episode 5 - Dream on a Spring Night: This week, we will be covering the fall of the Heian system, the massive Genpei War between the Minamoto and Taira families, and the rise of the first shogunal government (called a bakufu) under the auspices of the brutal Minamoto no Yoritomo. by History of Japan
19 min listen
Episode 29 - The Great Saigo, Part 2: This week we have the second and final part of our series on Saigo Takamori, covering his rebellion against the government, his death, and his legacy. Tune in for one of the most famous stories in Japanese history! by History of Japan
20 min listen
Episode 6 - A New Order: This week we will cover the structure of the Kamakura bakufu, the Hojo triumph over the Mongols, the fall of the Hojo, and their replacement by the Ashikaga family. We'll also cover some cultural developments in the fields of Buddhism and Noh... by History of Japan
23 min listen
Episode 22 - The Way of the Warrior: For our first listener-submitted topic, we're tackling Bushido: the warrior code of the samurai class. We'll discuss the evolution of the bushido ideology, the role it played during the ages of warfare in Japan as well as during the Tokugawa, and its... by History of Japan
23 min listen
Episode 11 - The End of an Era: This week, we'll be talking about the period called the Bakumatsu, or the end of the Bakufu. We'll be tracing a complex, but very interesting narrative describing how the Tokugawa went from masters of all they surveyed to defeat and destruction in a... by History of Japan
27 min listen
Episode 26 - The History of Manga: This week, we're going to talk about the evolution of manga. We'll discuss the roots of the comic form in Japan, both Eastern and Western, and its rapid explosion in popularity after World War II. by History of Japan
22 min listen
Episode 18 - Enduring the Unendurable: This week's episode is an overview of the Allied Occupation of Japan. In just seven years (1945-1952), the Allies undertook a massive effort to overhaul Japan's politics, economy, and society. We'll discuss the ways in which they tried to do so, and... by History of Japan
28 min listen
Episode 27 - The Way of Yin and Yang: This week, we're discussing Onmyodo, the mystical study of divination based off of the theories of yin and yang (in-yo or on-myo in Japanese). We'll be covering the entire history of the practice, including its most famous practitioner: Abe no Seimei.... by History of Japan
19 min listen
Episode 28 - The Great Saigo, Part 1: This week, we'll begin another two-parter dealing with the life and death of Saigo Takamori, one of the great leaders of the Meiji Restoration. This week, we'll discuss his rise to public prominence and subsequent fall from grace. Next week, we'll... by History of Japan
23 min listen
Episode 9 - Pax Tokugawa: This week we will be covering the social and political structure of Edo Japan. There's a lot of interesting material to go through, ranging from the social system (hint: it's good to be a samurai [but not as good as you might think]) to the foreign... by History of Japan
23 min listen
Episode 37 - Women Warriors: This week, we'll be tackling an oft-requested topic; women warriors in the samurai class. Contrary to what you might think, women were actually very active in the roughly 800 years that make up the dominant time of the samurai class. Today, we'll be... by History of Japan
23 min listen
Episode 14 - The Course of Empire: Our podcast this week will turn to the subject of Japanese foreign policy from the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 to the middle of the war against Nationalist China in 1940. We will cover the Russo-Japanese War, the steady split of the military... by History of Japan
27 min listen
Episode 35 - Christmas and New Years: For our last podcast of 2013, I thought it'd be fun to do something light-hearted; so let's talk about traditions surrounding Christmas and New Years in Japan. We'll cover how these holidays came to be celebrated in Japan and talk a bit about the... by History of Japan
16 min listen
Episode 20 - Japan as Number One: This week, we'll be talking about the height of postwar Japan during the 1970s and 1980s. On the surface, it's a time of great accomplishment when the dream of catching up to the West had finally been realizing. Looking deeper, however, we find the... by History of Japan
25 min listen
Episode 16 - And Then the War Came: We've arrived, finally, at the Pacific War -- this week, we'll be charting the course Japan took to war, briefly summarizing the cours of said war, and then discussing how the war ended. by History of Japan
33 min listen
Episode 10 - A Day in the Life of Edo Japan: This week, I'll be talking about the life of the average city-dweller in the Edo Period. This is a very wide-ranging episode, covering everything from the schools in which young samurai were trained to the kabuki-based prostitution which those same... by History of Japan
28 min listen
Episode 34 - Japan and Okinawa, Part II: This week we'll finish up our two-parter on Japanese-Okinawan relations with a look at Okinawa during the Imperial Period. We'll be focusing heavily on the bloody Battle of Okinawa, and then wrap things up by looking at the relationship between the... by History of Japan
21 min listen
Episode 23 - In Buddha's Name: The Rise and Fall of the Ikko Ikki, Part 1: For our first two-part episode, we're going to discuss the Ikko Ikki, a militant insurrection of believers in the faith of Jodo Shinshu, or True Pure Land Buddhism. We'll discuss the rise of the movement to political and military prominence during the... by History of Japan
26 min listen

More Episodes from History of Japan

Skip carousel

Episode 531 - The New Japan: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the politics of the Meiji Period! After a coalition of samurai, nobles, loyalists, and others succeed in overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate, they must ask themselves: what comes next? And, in... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 530 - Bakumatsu, Part 3: This week: the age of feudalism comes crashing down, as in the span of just two years the Tokugawa shogunate goes from victory to crushing defeat. How did the final years of Tokugawa rule play out? Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 529 - Bakumatsu, Part 2: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the sudden assassination of the tairo Ii Naosuke sparks the rapid ascension of imperial loyalism, an ideology devoted to the undoing of the unequal treaties and the overthrow of the shogunate.... by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 528 - Bakumatsu, Part 1: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the beginning of the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Commodore Perry's expedition to Edo will begin a process of radical political change as a teetering Tokugawa shogunate is forced to confront... by History of Japan
39 min listen
Episode 527 - The Beginning of the End: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: crises about during the late Edo period. A crisis of samurai identity! Questions around vengeance, honor, and duty! And of course, the most confounding subject of them all: macroeconomics. But... by History of Japan
39 min listen
Episode 526 - The Outside World and Tokugawa Japan: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: "closed country" isn't quite the full story. How did Japan maintain its connections to the outside world during the Edo Period? And how do some of those connections, particularly in the... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 525 - A Day in the Life of Tokugawa Japan: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: what was life in the Edo period like? We cover everything from food to school to entertainment as we talk through daily life in Tokugawa-ruled Japan. Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 524 - The Tokugawa System: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: how did the Tokugawa bakufu operate? What did the political structure of the shoguns look like? And what makes the Tokugawa era unique in the history of warrior rule in Japan? Show notes . by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 523 - Reunification, Part 3: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: Hideyoshi may have brought peace, but Tokugawa Ieyasu would be the one to make it lasting. How did Ieyasu seize power from Hideyoshi, and what did he do to secure it? Show notes . by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 522 - Reunification, Part 2: With Nobunaga dead, we turn our attention to one of his generals: Hashiba Hideyoshi, who would take up leadership of the former Oda lands and within the course of a decade complete Japan's reunification. What do we know about the man and motives... by History of Japan
39 min listen
Episode 521 - Reunification, Part 1: This week on the Revised Intro to Japanese History: the beginning of the end of the age of war and the rise of Oda Nobunaga. How did Nobunaga go from the ruler of less than a single province to the most powerful man in Japan in just a few decades? And... by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 520 - The Age of Chaos: This week on the Revised Intro to Japanese History: the social, religious, and economic changes of the Sengoku period. Though this is an age of civil war, it's also an age of tremendous growth and change, and one that will lay the groundwork of much... by History of Japan
35 min listen
Episode 519 - The Low Conquers the High, Part 2: This week, we look at the flip side of the chaos of the Sengoku era in the form of two clans that rose to prominence from obscurity during the age of civil war. The first half is focused on the Mori family of western Honshu, while the second is... by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 518 - The Low Conquers the High, Part 1: This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: our first foray into the age of civil war! We're looking to understand the conflicts of the Sengoku by examining the rapid falls from power during this time of the Yamana and Hosokawa... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 517 - The Center Cannot Hold: This week: the Muromachi bakufu comes crashing down, thanks to a combination of structural weaknesses and a shogun who is more interested in painting than politics. As a result, Japan enters a new age of civil war, which will radically reshape the... by History of Japan
34 min listen
Episode 516 - From the Ashes: This week: Go-Daigo's regime collapses, and a second samurai government, the Muromachi bakufu, emerges. How did Ashikaga Takauji successfully establish Japan's second shogunate--and perhaps set it up for long term failure in the bargain? Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 515 - Slouching Towards Kyoto: This week: the dramatic career of Emperor Go-Daigo, who brought down the Kamakura shogunate and ended Hojo rule in Japan. This despite the fact that just a few months before victory, his forces were on the verge of defeat! Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 514 - The Structure of Medieval Japan: This week, we're taking a look at some of the economic and social structures of Kamakura period Japan in order to answer the question: just what makes medieval Japan so...medieval? Also, I'll be taking next week off for the New Year. See you all in... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 513 - The Specter of the Continent: This week: why did the Mongols invade Japan? How did a seemingly invincible military machine falter in its assaults on the island of Kyushu? And why, in the long term, did the Mongol invasions begin the process of bringing down the Kamakura shogunate?... by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 512 - The New Buddhisms: This week: the advent of the medieval era brings with it new strands of Buddhism that will radically remake the image of the religion from an aristocratic faith to a distinctly Japanese one. So, how do the wildly different beliefs of Zen, Pure Land,... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 511 - Tipping the Balance: This week: the rise of the Minamoto clan, the destruction of the Taira clan, and the birth of a new kind of political arrangement in the form of Japan's first shogunate. Show notes . by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 510 - The Rise of the Warriors: This week, we're covering the beginnings of the rise of the samurai class by looking at the wars of the 1000s, as well as the Hogen and Heiji conflicts which secured the role of the military class in national politics. Show notes . by History of Japan
41 min listen
Episode 509 - The Golden Age of Heian: This week, we turn our attention to two of the defining institutions of the Heian period, both of which will be very important for us going forward. First are the shoen, or private estates, the growth of which led to the fragmentation and... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 508 - The Culture of Classical Japan, Part 2: This week on the podcast, we're all about literature. We'll be exploring the varieties of poetry and prose that have made the Heian period one of the golden ages of literary flourishing in Japanese history. Show notes . by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 507 - The Culture of Classical Japan, Part 1: This week, we take a step away from politics to talk about two crucial subjects. First, we have the evolution of the Japanese language and its incorporation of Chinese influence. Second, we have the evolution of Buddhism and the arrival of two... by History of Japan
35 min listen
Episode 506 - The Peaceful City: This week in the Revised History of Japan: in a bid to strengthen the power of the imperial family, Emperor Kanmu moves the imperial capital one more time to some newfangled place called "Heian-kyo." Plus, the political battle between the imperial... by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 505 - The More Things Change...: Apologies for the delayed publication! This week on the podcast: the Nara Period! Japan has a new capital, and surely that means politics are about to change and become more stable, right...? Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 504 - The Great Change: Part four of our Revised Introduction to Japanese History is all about the Taika Reforms of 645 CE: what drove them, why do they matter, and why does the more traditional answer to those questions leave some important gaps in our understanding? Show... by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 503 - It Takes a Genius to Write It: Part 3 of our Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the emergence of recorded history in Japan brings with it some more clarity on what's happening, but also new uncertainties. Show notes . by History of Japan
35 min listen
Episode 502 - The Age of Myth and Legend: For part 2 of our Revised Introduction to Japanese History: what do we know about the origins of Japan's imperial family? And how does that knowledge line up with the mythology built around the family's rise? Show notes . by History of Japan
36 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Episode 296 - As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, Part 1: This week: the start of a two-part series on women in Heian Japan. What makes the social position of women in the Heian Era so distinct from later points of Japanese history, and from the East Asian cultural sphere more generally? How do we know what... by History of Japan
32 min listen
Rin Ishigaki, "This Overflowing Light: Selected Poems" (Isobar Press, 2022): An interview with Janine Beichman by New Books in Literary Studies
59 min listen
Michael Vatikiotis - Southeast Asia and its peculiar role in global politics: My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia (SEA) since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He cu... by The Voices of War
70 min listen
Eika Tai, "Comfort Women Activism: Critical Voices from the Perpetrator State" (Hong Kong UP, 2020): An interview with Eika Tai by New Books in Chinese Studies
37 min listen
/83/ Now It’s Syrizous [UNLOCKED]: Syriza lost the last Greek elections after 4 1/2 years in power. What happened to a party that, for a time, represented the European radical left's hopes? Did it achieve anything in power? Many talk about Tspiras' "betrayal" - is that the right way ... by Bungacast
68 min listen
Yuichiro Onishi and Fumiko Sakashita, "Transpacific Correspondence: Dispatches from Japan's Black Studies" (Palgrave MacMillan, 2019): An interview with Yuichiro Onishi and Fumiko Sakashita by New Books in African Studies
59 min listen
Episode 449 - The Tastemaker: This week: the career and legacy of the most influential Japanese poet you've probably never heard of, Fujiwara no Teika. Teika's views on poetry and literature have shaped how we read those genres down to the present day, so how did he develop such... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Excerpt: /83/ Now It's Syrizous: Syriza lost the last Greek elections after 4 1/2 years in power. What happened to the party that for a time represented the European radical left's hopes? Did it achieve anything in power? Many talk about Tspiras' "betrayal" - is that the right way ... by Bungacast
3 min listen
Carlos M. Piocos, "Affect, Narratives and Politics of Southeast Asian Migration" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Carlos M. Piocos by New Books in Literary Studies
65 min listen
Carlos M. Piocos, "Affect, Narratives and Politics of Southeast Asian Migration" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Carlos M. Piocos by New Books in Anthropology
65 min listen
Carlos M. Piocos, "Affect, Narratives and Politics of Southeast Asian Migration" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Carlos M. Piocos by New Books in Chinese Studies
65 min listen
Episode 442 - The Transistor Salesman: This week, we're kicking off a short series on the transformations of 1960s Japan with a look at the unassuming politician who helped shape Japan's postwar structure: Ikeda Hayato. Who was Ikeda, and how did he get into politics? And how did a man who... by History of Japan
39 min listen
Mona Eltahawy – Writer and Activist: Is genuine liberation for women possible in the Arab world? by HARDtalk
23 min listen
Jane Iwamura, “Virtual Orientalism: Religion and Popular Culture in the U.S.” Oxford University Press, 2011: In popular perception, a certain image arises when we imagine eastern religions. Perhaps, we envision a wise old Asian man in traditional clothing sitting in a meditative state (maybe not). But why does this image emerge? Jane Iwamura, by New Books in Buddhist Studies
76 min listen
Jane Iwamura, “Virtual Orientalism: Religion and Popular Culture in the U.S.” Oxford University Press, 2011: In popular perception, a certain image arises when we imagine eastern religions. Perhaps, we envision a wise old Asian man in traditional clothing sitting in a meditative state (maybe not). But why does this image emerge? Jane Iwamura, by New Books in Religion
76 min listen
James Welker, "Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia" (U Hawaii Press, 2022): An interview with James Welker by New Books in Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
71 min listen
Episode 330 - In the Beginning, Woman was the Sun, Part 2: This week, we continue our exploration of the life of Hiratsuka Raicho, and add a new character to our cast: Ichikawa Fusae. How did these two women navigate the tricky waters of 1920s and 1930s Japanese politics, and what obstacles did they encounter... by History of Japan
36 min listen
James Welker, "Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia" (U Hawaii Press, 2022): An interview with James Welker by New Books in Sociology
71 min listen
James Welker, "Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia" (U Hawaii Press, 2022): An interview with James Welker by New Books in Literary Studies
71 min listen
Amy Sueyoshi, “Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American ‘Oriental'” (U Illinois Press, 2018): In Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American ‘Oriental’ (University of Illinois Press, 2018), Amy Sueyoshi argues that Americans did not always regard Chinese and Japanese in the U.S. by New Books in Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
68 min listen
Myths & More: Deciphering the Haskalah: The Haskala movement, was a Jewish movement of the 18th and 19th centuries which sought to implement changes in Jewish life and society. Often discussed yet just as often misunderstood, it is intriguing as it is confusing. Was the haskala the Jewish Enli... by Jewish History Soundbites
37 min listen
PREVIEW - Postcards from the Ukraine: Katherine Jacobsen: Adrian talks with Katherine Jacobsen, a freelance… by What a Hell of a Way to Die
1 min listen
Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki, "Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire" (Routledge, 2023): An interview with Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki by New Books in Chinese Studies
68 min listen
Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki, "Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire" (Routledge, 2023): An interview with Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki by New Books in Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
68 min listen
Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki, "Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire" (Routledge, 2023): An interview with Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki by New Books in Literary Studies
68 min listen
Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki, "Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire" (Routledge, 2023): An interview with Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki by New Books in Gender
68 min listen
Niki J. P. Alsford, "Taiwan Lives: A Social and Political History" (U Washington Press, 2024): An interview with Niki J. P. Alsford by New Books in Chinese Studies
15 min listen
Ivan Morris, Weeb Superspy 6: Clockwork Albion by The Kingless Generation
120 min listen
Libertarianism, Socialism, Society, and Economics: Episode 57 by Counterflow with Buck Johnson
53 min listen
Between the Streets and the Assembly: South Korean Social Movements before and after Democratization: An interview with Yoonkyung Lee by New Books in Sociology
29 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Episode 267 - Do Not Give Up Your Life

Episode 267 - Do Not Give Up Your Life

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from History of Japan

Related podcast episodes