Empire in the Everyday
The everyday concerns of two Korean farmers are a microcosm of the huge changes their country underwent in the early 20th century.
Japan
Chadō
The ‘way of tea’ is a ritual experience that embodies the natural world with all its imperfections.
A Shared Culture
How a German colony laid the groundwork for the alliance between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Uncomfortable History
Japan’s responsibility for ‘comfort women’ is avoided by the state and written out of national histories. Activists are working to make Japan confront its past.
Madam Butterfly and the Forging of Japanese Identity
Puccini’s opera revealed misunderstandings and stereotypes on both sides of the East-West divide.
The Unravelling of Sino-Japanese Relations
The story of China and Japan, and the periodic efforts to find a modus vivendi.
Travels Through Time #14 – Commodore Perry’s Expedition to Japan, 1853
This episode takes us back to 1853 and the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet of ships into Edo Bay.
Why Japan Stopped Fighting
After a disastrous Second World War, Japan abolished its armed forces and embraced pacifism. With renewed tensions in East Asia, can it last?
The Rise of Japan
When it comes to rapid world-changing events, the Meiji Restoration has few equals.
The First Japanese Man in America
A teenager shipwrecked on a Pacific atoll helped transform relations between Japan and the United States.