Faculty of ArtIn this episode, Dr. Christina Yi (UBC) 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 of the Meiji at 150 Podcast Now Available!
In this episode, Dr. Peter Nosco (UBC) 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 of the Meiji at 150 Podcast Now Available!
In this episode, Dr. Julian Dierkes (UBC) 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.
Meiji at 150 Podcast Episode 3 Available Now!
In this episode, Tristan Grunow talks with Dr. Kenneth J. Ruoff (Portland State University), who 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.
Meiji at 150 Podcast Episode 2 Now Available!
In this episode, Tristan Grunow talks with Dr. Christopher Craig (Tohoku University), who 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.
Podcast with Thomas Conlan is now available!
The first episode of the Meiji at 150 Podcast, hosted by Tristan Grunow, is now available here.