The Meiji at 150 Podcast

Student Podcast Episode 19 - Political Pop Music

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student catalogues the political and propagandistic messages of popular music in prewar and postwar Japan, from prewar military marches to Occupation-era big band jazz, the 1950's enka ballads of Misora Hibari, and the 1960s pop melodies of Sakamoto Kyū.

Episode 25 - Dr. Amy Stanley (Northwestern)

In this episode, Dr. Amy Stanley (Northwestern University) outlines the impact of the Meiji Restoration on the practice of prostitution in Japan along with the social positions and roles of prostitutes and Geisha.  We discuss distinctions between prostitutes and Geisha, the continuing popularity of "Geisha" and Geisha imagery today, and Dr. Stanley's recent popular historical work on the city of Edo. (Transcript here).

Student Podcast Episode 18 - J-Pop

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student charts the popularity of "J-Pop," or Japanese pop music, spotlighting Japanese pop idols, notable groups, and influential production companies.  We also discuss differences between Japanese and Western musical styles, and the crowd-sourced Vocaloid musical act Hatsune Miku.

Student Podcast Episode 17 - Juken (School Entrance Exams)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class. In this episode, a student sits for an assessment of Japanese school entrance exams, marking the importance of exams, the pressures of exam-taking on students, and the resulting industry of exam-prep Juku, or cram schools, in Japan.

Episode 24 - Prof. Peter Kornicki (Cambridge)

In this episode, Prof. Peter Kornicki challenges the narrative of the Meiji period as revolutionary, instead underlining continuities in literary tastes, practices, and writing through the 1880s.  We discuss the origins, meaning of, and alternatives to the term "Restoration," literary transitions in the mid-Meiji Period, and popular discontentment and protest. (Transcript here).

Student Podcast Episode 16 - Otaku

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class. In this episode, a student introduces Otaku (obsessive fan) culture, discussing its increasing familiarity and popularity, describing its many forms and objects of fandom from anime and trains to Star Wars, and dispelling several misconceptions about Otaku.

Student Podcast Episode 15 - 1960s Counterculture

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student records the subversive music, literature, and film of the 1960s counterculture movement, featuring guerilla folk songs and avante garde films.

Episode 23 - Dr. Marnie Anderson (Smith)

In this episode, Dr. Marnie Anderson (Smith) canvasses the political agency of women's groups during the Meiji period, changes in women's place in public society, and women's active participation in the construction of notions of femininity.  We discuss the modern motivations of, and divisions within, actors in the 1880s Popular Rights Movement, and reflect on the ruptures and transformations of the Meiji period. (Transcript here).

Student Podcast Episode 14 - Ukiyo-e (Pictures of the Floating World)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, two students paint a picture of Edo-Period Ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world," tracing the works and influence of famous artists like Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Student Podcast Episode 13 - Sushi

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student presents the history of sushi in Japan, serving up the different styles of sushi preparation, and dishing out the differences in sushi between Japan and North America.

Episode 22 - Dr. Mark Metzler (Washington)

In this episode, Dr. Metzler (Washington) views the Meiji Restoration from the perspective of global economic history.  We discuss the impacts of global financial crises and international events on Japanese developments, the transformations of the Meiji Period, and the economic motivations of peasant protestors in the 1850s, 1880s, and 1910s. (Transcript here).

Student Podcast Episode 12 - J Hora- (J-Horror)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class. In this episode, a student directs our attention to the horror movie genre in Japan, especially the films of director Miike Takashi.  We discuss differences in the horror genre in Japan and North America, the moral "lessons" of horror films, and ways the horror genre reflects issues in contemporary society.

Student Podcast Episode 11 - Da-ku Souru (Dark Souls)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student walks through the Japanese "Dark Souls" RPG video game series, navigating the complex Japanese videogame market and repositioning the gaming phenomenon within larger Japanese and North American social contexts.

Episode 21 - Dr. Barbara Molony (Santa Clara), Dr. Sabine Frühstück (UCSB), Dr. Hillary Maxson (Oregon)

In this episode, Dr. Barbara Molony (Santa Clara), Dr. Sabine Frühstück (UCSB), and Dr. Hillary Maxson (Oregon) trace how gender norms and the position of women and children changed during the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa Periods.  We deconstruct notions of masculinity, femininity, and childhood, map the unevenness of the "Good Wife Wise Mother" ideology, and debate postwar disruptions of prewar and wartime norms.

Student Podcast Episode 10 - Keigo

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student introduces Keigo, or Japanese honorific language, delineating its complex hierarchies, social uses, and impacts on interpersonal communication and relationships.

Student Podcast Episode 9 - Ō-to Re-su (Auto Race)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student steers our attention to Ō-to Re-su (Auto Race) -- Japanese hi-speed motorcycle racing -- encircling its background, its continuing popularity, and its unique features.

Episode 20 - Dr. Seth Jacobowitz (Yale University)

In this episode, Dr Jacobowitz (Yale) chronicles internal sources for Meiji Period developments in Japanese literary practices and techniques, placing Japan in dialogue with global trends and world history.  We discuss literary innovations, Japanese immigration to Brazil, and the interaction of Japanese and Western literati and intellectuals.

Workshop - Gendering War & Peace in Modern Japan

In this workshop, Dr. Barbara Molony (Santa Clara), Dr. Sabine Frühstück (UCSB), Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh (UBC), and Dr. Hillary Maxson (Oregon) present their recent research and discuss the transwar positionality of women and children, resisting the tendency to see 1945 as a breakpoint and to instead analyze longer-term developments in years of both war and peace.

This workshop was held on March 9, 2018 as part of the Meiji at 150 Workshop Series, hosted by the Centre for Japanese Research, the Department of History, and the Department of Asian Studies, with the support of the UBC Faculty of Arts.

Lecture Series - Sherri Kajiwara (Nikkei National Museum)

In this lecture, Sherri Kajiwara (Nikkei National Museum) traces the history of Japanese immigration to Canada and introduces several exhibits concerning the lived experiences of Japanese-Canadian internment and disposession in 1942 curated at the Nikkei National Museum.

This presentation was delivered on 28th February, 2018 at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 

Episode 19 - Sherri Kajiwara (Nikkei National Museum)

In this episode, Sherri Kajiwara uncovers the roots of Japanese immigration to Canada and the deracination of the Japanese-Canadian population from British Columbia in 1942.  We discuss the lived experiences of Japanese-Canadians in Vancouver pre-1942, their interactions with other immigrant communities, and differences in the practices and legacies of wartime internment in Canada and the United States. 

Student Podcast Episode 8 - Yoshoku (Japanese-style Western Food)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student samples Yoshōku, or Japanese-style Western foods, like omuraisu, napolitan, and kare raisu, tracing their origins and noting their affiliation with "Japanese food," especially overseas.

Student Podcast Episode 7 - Seichi Junrei (Anime "Holy Site" Pilgrimages)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student guides us on a tour of "holy sites" made popular by anime or manga, noting the commercial benefits these pilgrimages bring for local areas and the affective ties fans develop for these places.

Episode 18 - Dr. Radu Leca (Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives)

In this episode, Dr. Leca (Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives) charts conceptions of spatiality in the Tokugawa period and maps continuities in understandings of geographic space into the Meiji period.  We discuss traces of Edo in the urban space of Tokyo, the use of maps as historical primary sources, and global and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching the Meiji period. 

Student Podcast Episode 6 - Japanese Whisky

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student gives us a small taste of the recent popularity of Japanese whisky around the world, sampling the history of whisky production in Japan as well as the rapid growth of the whisky industry in general.

Student Podcast Episode 5 - Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student reviews the making and meaning of the Studio Ghibli film Hotaru no Haka (1988), or "Grave of Fireflies," directed by Takahata Isao. 

Episode 17 - Dr. Kate McDonald (UCSB)

In this episode, Dr. Kate McDonald (UCSB) repositions tourism starting in the late-Meiji period as a site for establishing claims to empire in Taiwan, Korea, and Manchuria.  We discuss the imperial origins of the domestic tourist industry, the place of Korea in colonial advertising and travel itineraries, and the introspective lessons students can draw from studying Meiji period reforms.

Student Podcast Episode 4 - Anime in the West

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student shares his passion for anime and traces the influence of Japanese anime on cartoons in North America.

Student Podcast Episode 3 - Americana in Japan

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, a student talks about the popularity of American culture in Japan, as seen in food products, celebrities, and movies.

Episode 16 - Dr. William Brecher (WSU)

In this episode, Dr. Brecher (Washington State University) challenges narratives of Meiji modernization from the “top-down” by exploring tourist sites popular in early Meiji Japan and tracing changes to understandings of individuality as examples of grassroots developments.  We also discuss his more recent work on the internment of foreign nationals in wartime Japan.

Lecture Series - Shunya Yoshimi (University of Tokyo)

In this Meiji at 150 Project Keynote Lecture, Dr. Shunya Yoshimi (University of Tokyo, Harvard University) proposes that a longue durée approach to history presents one possible solution to the crisis of the humanities in Japan and North America.  Noting cyclical trends in Japan's recent history, Dr. Yoshimi calls attention to multiple "scales" of history in 25-year, 50-year, 75-year, 150-year, and even 500-year increments.

Lecture Series - Marcia Yonemoto (Colorado)

In this lecture, Dr. Marcia Yonemoto (University of Colorado-Boulder) details practices of male heir adoption during the Tokugawa period, and charts changes and continuities in adoption in the early Meiji Period.

Student Podcast Episode 2 - Yakyū (Baseball)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture they research in class.  In this episode, two students discuss Japanese yakyū (baseball), comparing and contrasting the onfield and ingame experience for players and fans in Japan and North America.

Student Podcast Episode 1 - Karōshi (Working to Death)

In the Meiji at 150 Student Podcast, UBC students discuss aspects of Japanese culture that they research in class.  In this episode, two students discuss the societal roots and impacts of karōshi, a phenomenon in which Japanese businesspeople literally "work themselves to death." 

Episode 15 - Dr. Marcia Yonemoto (Colorado)

In this episode, Dr. Marcia Yonemoto (Colorado) stresses the continuities between the early modern and Meiji Periods, resituating the Meiji Restoration and the Meiji Charter Oath in particular as products of early modern concerns and conditions.  With this in mind, we evaluate the historical usefulness of categories like "modern" and "early modern" in the Japanese context, date the beginning of Japanese "early modernity," and discuss insights from Meiji-era diarists.

Episode 14 - Dr. David Anderson (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. David Anderson (UBC) appraises historical memory in Japan and the reactions of visitors to Japanese history museums, particularly of the Shōwa Period.  We discuss the interplay of museum visitor and curator in museum exhibitions, social roots of the recent nostalgia for the Showa Period, and the interrelationship of historical narrative, cultural production, and popular memory.

Episode 13 - Dr. Millie Creighton (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Millie Creighton (UBC) revisits the Meiji Period through the lens of tourism, exploring the way the Restoration is repackaged and resold at local tourist sites from Kagoshima to Kochi today.  We discuss the popularity of “historical theme parks” such as Meiji Village and Nikko Edo Village, the UNESCO designation of Meiji-era industrial sites, and the recent boom in TV dramatizations of the Meiji and Showa periods.

Episode 12 - Dr. Naoko Kato (UBC)

In this Episode, Dr. Naoko Kato (UBC) catalogues the impact of the Meiji Period on Sino-Japanese relations through the person of Uchiyama Kanzo and the Uchiyama bookstore in Shanghai.  We also discuss the numerous Japan-related resources located at the UBC libraries and the Meiji at 150 Digital Teaching Resource.

Episode 11 - Dr. Eiji Okawa (Victoria)

In this episode, Dr. Eiji Okawa (University of Victoria) documents how the Meiji Restoration impacted the epistemology of history in Japan and Japanese overseas migration in the late 19th-early 20th centuries.  We discuss ideas of "Japanese-ness" in premodern Japan and find continuities with conceptualizations of identity, language, and group among Japanese diasporic communities in British Columbia in the face of systemic racism and violence.

Episode 10 - Dr. Gideon Fujiwara (Lethbridge)

In this episode, Dr. Gideon Fujiwara (Lethbridge) positions the Meiji Restoration in the comparative context of a global "Age of Revolution."  We discuss the "revolutionary" aspects of the Restoration, including popular involvement, political upheaval, and cultural change during the Meiji Period, touching on the political significance of the Utakai Hajime poetry-reading ceremony and global approaches to the Restoration in the classroom. (Transcript here).

Lecture Series - Gideon Fujiwara (University of Lethbridge)

In this lecture, Dr. Gideon Fujiwara (Lethbridge) discusses the ritualization of the "Utakai Hajime" imperial poetry reading-ceremony in the early Meiji Period.  Within the context of nation-building programs carried out by the Meiji government, the inclusion of poems composed by civilians in the poetry ceremony represented an attempt to make the imperial family more visible to the people.

This presentation was delivered on 24th November, 2017 at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 

Episode 9 - Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh (UBC) sheds light on the story of Nogi Shizuko and her gruesome suicide alongside husband Nogi Maresuke on the day of the Meiji Emperor's funeral in 1912.  Noting the relative silence on Shizuko's role in the story, we discuss the absence of Shizuko as a figure in anti-war or women's movements in the prewar period, her reappearance in the postwar, and the position of women more broadly in Japanese wartime ideology. 

Episode 8 - Dr. David Howell (Harvard)

In this episode, Dr. David Howell (Harvard University) situates the Meiji Restoration as one moment in Japan's longer nineteenth century of social, cultural, and political transformations.  We consider the "spirit of 1868" that informed many of the early Meiji state's reforms, along with their impacts on people in different areas of Japan, including the Ainu population of Hokkaido. (Transcript here).

Lecture Series - David Howell (Harvard)

In this presentation, Dr. David Howell (Harvard University) argues that the night-soil economy of Edo offers a novel way to situate late Tokugawa and early Meiji Japan into the broader history of the nineteenth-century world, while at the same time challenging the tendency to essentialize the “greenness” of early modern Japanese cities.

This presentation was delivered on 10th November, 2017 at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 

Episode 7 - Dr. Ignacio Adriasola (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Ignacio Adriasola (UBC) paints a picture of how “modern Japanese art” was first defined during the Meiji Period.  We discuss the relationship between artists and the Meiji state, the popularity of Japonisme in Western Europe, and the impacts of Japanese art and artists on Western artists and artistic practices.

Episode 6 - Dr. Christina Yi (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Yi reads the Meiji Period from the perspective of literary studies and discusses the impacts of the Meiji Restoration on writers in Japan, especially Korean and Korean-Japanese writers composing literature in Japanese.  We discuss issues of language and identity in the prewar Japanese empire, definition of the “modern" Japanese literary canon in the Meiji Period, and increasing recognition of Korean-Japanese writers in Japanese literature. 

Episode 5 - Dr. Peter Nosco (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Nosco dispels several misconceptions about individuality in Japan prior to the Meiji Restoration.  We then contrast the protest movements of the 1860s in Japan to those of the 1960s, with Dr. Nosco sharing several fascinating anecdotes of personal experiences of the 1960s student protests in the US and Japan.

Episode 4 - Dr. Julian Dierkes (UBC)

In this episode, Dr. Dierkes analyzes how the Meiji Restoration is presented in history textbooks in Japan.  We compare the historiography of the Restoration in Japanese and Western scholarship, as well as discuss recent issues surrounding textbooks in both Japan and the United States.

Episode 3 - Dr. Kenneth J. Ruoff (PSU)

In this episode, Dr. Ruoff explains the impact of the Meiji Restoration in global history and the role of the emperor system in Japanese modernization.  We discuss the longevity of the emperor system in relation to its flexibility, as well as its centrality in both the prewar and postwar Japanese political and cultural environments.

Episode 2 - Dr. Christopher Craig (Tōhoku)

In this episode, Dr. Craig offers a glimpse of the Meiji Restoration as it was viewed from peripheral regions, in this case rural Miyagi prefecture.  We discuss power dynamics between the central and prefectural governments during the early Meiji Period, and how central government policies were shaped and reshaped at local levels.

Episode 1 - Dr. Thomas Conlan (Princeton)

In this episode, Dr. Conlan gives us a view of the Meiji Restoration from the perspective of late-medieval Japan.  We discuss how viewing the Restoration in the longue durée reveals transformations and developments, especially in military technology, that are obscured when the story is started in 1868 (Transcript here).