History of Japan

Episode 621 - The Manga Revolution, Part 3

This week: the manga industry during World War II. Plus some thoughts on the development of shojo manga, and finally a look at Tezuka Osamu and the ways in which his work helped create the manga market that exists today. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/03/episode-621-the-manga-revolution-part-3/].

Episode 620 - The Manga Revolution, Part 2

Histories of manga tend to skip from the colorful woodblocks of the Edo period directly to the post-WWII industry we'd recognize today. But what do we lose when we do that? And what do we gain when we do investigate the century or so that lies between those two moments? Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/03/episode-620-the-manga-revolution-part-2/].

Episode 619 - The Manga Revolution, Part 1

This week: manga is today one of the most ubiquitous forms of entertainment in Japan. But the idea of comics as we might understand them has a much longer history. So how did we get from there to here--what, in other words, is the origin of Japanese manga/ We'll look today at the earliest known examples as we try to understand the origins of manga as a form. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/03/episode-619-the-manga-revolution-part-1/].

Episode 618 - Live by the Sword

This week, we're tackling the most legendary samurai in Japanese history: Miyamoto Musashi. Why is he so famous, what do we actually know about him, and why is there such a big gap between the story most are familiar with and what our actual sources have to say? Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/03/episode-618-live-by-the-sword/].

Episode 617 - I am Legend, Part 4

This week, we cover how the legend of Yoshitsune as told in Gikeiki describes his demise. Which is how his tale ends, unless of course you know the truth: that Yoshitsune actually escaped to Hokkaido, became a god, and then left for the mainland to become Genghis Khan. Wait, what? Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/02/episode-618-i-am-legend-part-4/].