Episode 12 - Civilization and Enlightenment

FromHistory of Japan

Start listening View podcast show

Episode 12 - Civilization and Enlightenment

FromHistory of Japan

ratings:

Length:

27 minutes

Released:

Jun 16, 2013

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

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 Japanese history, and I hope you find it as engaging as I do!

Released:

Jun 16, 2013

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 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 21 - The Crash: For our final outline episode, we'll be tackling the origins and effects of the real-estate bubble which devastated the Japanese economy in 1991, and which so brutally halted the story of Japanese growth. In particular, we'll be focusing on the ways... by History of Japan
24 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 31 - The First Shogun: This week, we're going to take a look at the man credited with one of the greatest epochal changes in Japanese history: the shift from imperial to samurai government in the late 12th century. It's time for the life and legacy of Minamoto no Yoritomo! by History of Japan
25 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 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 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 25 - The Shadow Shogun: This week we will be discussing the great political wheeler and dealer of modern Japanese politics: Tanaka Kakuei. We will trace the rise of this man of the people, the heights of his power, and his eventual fall from grace, as well as discussing his... by History of Japan
29 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 30 - A Review of Shogun: This week we'll be tackling our first media review and discussing by far the most influential piece of historical fiction ever written about Japan: Shogun, by James Clavell. Listen to the episode here, and be sure to give me feedback on this one so I... by History of Japan
21 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 32 - The Way of the Sword in the Age of the Gun: This week, we're going to discuss the topic of swordsmanship and kendo in modern Japan. We'll talk about where modern traditions of swordsmanship came from, and why kendo retains such a popular grip on modern Japan. 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
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 41 - Striking from the Shadows: This week, we're going to discuss the ninja, or at least what we can discern about them from the limited information that's out there. We'll discuss their origins, historic exploits, and the mythologization that turned them into the pop culture... by History of Japan
23 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

More Episodes from History of Japan

Skip carousel

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
Episode 501 - In the Beginning: We're back at the beginning for Part 1 of a new miniseries: A Revised Introduction to Japanese History. Show notes . by History of Japan
37 min listen
Episode 500 - The 500th Episode: This week, it's a listener question episode! Let's talk about the topics I'd like to cover, a D&D party made of Japanese prime ministers, the future of the show, and more. by History of Japan
40 min listen
Episode 499 - A Rocky Relationship: This week on the podcast: Why are Japan and South Korea’s governments so worked up about some uninhabited rocks in the middle of nowhere? Well, because sometimes those rocks stand for much, much more. by History of Japan
37 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Episode 121 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 5: This week, we're going to stop the forward progress of the narrative and focus on two men who are going to have a large impact on the massive political realignment that's coming down the tubes, though they themselves will not live to see it: Sakuma... by History of Japan
29 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 461 - The Empty Throne, Part 4: This week: the life of the Meiji Emperor in the turbulent 1870s and 1880s. We'll cover everything from the birth of his first surviving child to his drinking habits to his role in various political crises to the complicated process of shaping what a... by History of Japan
36 min listen
Episode 53 - The Sun Queen: This week, we're going to take a look at the first figure in recorded Japanese history: Himiko, queen of Yamatai. Despite the fact that the records on her are extremely brief, she's assumed a position of tremendous importance in our thinking about the... by History of Japan
25 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 317 - Separate Ways: This week, we explore the career of the first woman to make a big splash in modern Japanese literature: Higuchi Ichiyo. We'll talk about her story, her writing, her legacy, and her tragically short career -- and I'll spend a lot of time talking about... by History of Japan
34 min listen
Episode 361 - Abe, Part 1: This week, we're starting our retrospective on the career of Japan's former Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo. We begin with a look at his family history and his career through one of the most tumultuous eras of Japan's modern politics -- the 1990s. Show notes . by History of Japan
38 min listen
#36 - The Italian Mekubalim - R' Emanuel Chai Rico: In this episode we will look at the golden era of Italian Mekubalim in the 1700’s. We start by looking at the basic community structure in Italy. In terms of Historical Legacy, the relativity unknown R' Emanuel Chai Ricco is incredibly important. In... by Jewish History Uncensored
44 min listen
EPISODE 49 The Father of Martial Arts: Jigoro Kano (Part 1) by History on Fire
112 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 103: The Lone Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (Part 2) by History on Fire
133 min listen
3.37 Fall and Rise of China: China & Japan & Korea: Last time we spoke about the modernization efforts of Big Brother and Little Brother, aka China and Japan. Both nations went about the process of modernization in vastly different ways. Japan began its Meiji restoration, an incredible hyper... by Age of Conquest: A Kings and Generals Podcast
37 min listen
Episode 440 - Tipping the Balance: The Jokyu Rebellion is one of the more minor conflicts in Japanese history; yet it also represents a tipping of the political balance of Japan that, eventually, will profoundly reshape the country. This week, we explore one of the chronicles of that... by History of Japan
35 min listen
EPISODE 46 Enjoying Hell: The Life of Ikkyu Sojun (Part 2): “Even if I go to Hell, I’ll find a way to enjoy it.” Ikkyu by History on Fire
99 min listen
Episode 446 - In Days of Old, There Was a Man: This week, we're unpacking a rather odd classic of Japanese literature: the Ise Monogatari, a collection of short tales that are probably about a famously seductive aristocrat, but which were in large part not written by him--and which have oddly... by History of Japan
38 min listen
Episode 414 - The Prince: This week, we're talking about the story of a man whose story we don't really know: the imperial prince Shotoku, who despite being a near-unknown historically is one of the most legendary figures in Japanese history. How is that possible, and what... by History of Japan
34 min listen
The Troubles Shoguns Created in Japanese Food Markets (And How Ordinary Citizens Solved Them): Our guest today is Akira Shimizu who is the associate professor of History at Wilkes University and his focus has been our favorite topic: food. Professor Shimizu recently published an intriguing book titled, “Specialty Food, Market Culture, and Daily Life in Early Modern Japan: Regulating and Deregulating the Market in Edo, 1780–1870”. The book features the very unique period of Japanese history. The Edo era was a more peaceful time than ever thanks to the strong leadership of the shoguns. But because of the strong shoguns, the food supply system was highly regulated and manipulated back then. Professor Shimizu unfolds how the system unfairly worked for small players and how they tried to change it with fascinating examples. In this episode, we will discuss how the shoguns managed to eat the best of the best foods in the market, how privileged merchants enjoyed and suffered their statu by Japan Eats!
62 min listen
Constantine Nomikos Vaporis, "Voices of Early Modern Japan" (Routledge, 2020): An interview with Constantine Nomikos Vaporis by New Books in Early Modern History
43 min listen
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
Episode 124 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 8: This week, the turbulent politics following the death of Ii Naosuke will result in the rise of one of the most famous symbols of the late Tokugawa era: the shishi, or men of spirit. These shishi groups, radicalized by the political trials of recent... by History of Japan
31 min listen
Manga - Reviews of Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler and Message to Adolf: This is NOT the History Channel by The Comics Alternative
95 min listen
Kelly A. Hammond, "China's Muslims and Japan's Empire: Centering Islam in World War II" (UNC Press, 2020): An interview with Kelly A. Hammond by New Books in Islamic Studies
60 min listen
Kelly A. Hammond, "China's Muslims and Japan's Empire: Centering Islam in World War II" (UNC Press, 2020): An interview with Kelly A. Hammond by New Books in Chinese Studies
60 min listen
312 Yukio Mishima by The History of Literature
59 min listen
BONUS EPISODE: Shinzo Abe's Life and Legacy: As Japan's longest serving premier, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, steps down due to health concerns, we examine his life and legacy in a special bonus episode. We were joined by Tobias Harris, author of the new book 'The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe a... by Intelligence Squared
45 min listen
A Brief History of Han with Michael D. Shin: May 2, 2019 - The term han is difficult if not impossible to translate into English – at least not in a word or two. Words such as “rage” or “deep sorrow” are not sufficient to capture the complex of emotions that it evokes. Yet it is... by The Korea Society
39 min listen
Himiko: the Japanese Shaman Queen by For the Love of History
31 min listen
What are omamori? by Bright On Buddhism
31 min listen
Episode 127 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 10: 1864 is probably the most important year in the Meiji Restoration that nobody really has heard of; the Tokugawa will come as close to winning their fight for control of Japan as they ever will, and the shishi movement will end up on the ropes. So, how... by History of Japan
28 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

Discover this podcast and so much more

Episode 12 - Civilization and Enlightenment

Episode 12 - Civilization and Enlightenment

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from History of Japan

Related podcast episodes