Maintains a good story, factual & humorous. At times insightful. Thanks!

My main problem with this podcast is the author’s complete failure to appreciate any form of literature which requires a human soul to enjoy. I began listening as a kind of brush-up for my MA exams, but by the time I finished them (and had listened enough that the topics about which I pride myself in being knowledgeable could be covered), I realized the flaws and simple carelessness of the author’s research. Though factual historical information is often (but not always) correct, whenever there is any call to interpret, he tends to run with a preconception, singling out one or two other scholars who - at least partially - share his views, or else simply declaim opinions with no academic backing whatsoever. To give a particularly egregious example, the first episode on Kawabata Yasunari may be more or less factually correct, but his errors do not end with a total misunderstanding of Kawabata’s aesthetic. I have no idea how one could read the term “mono no aware” and decide the closest translation was “impermanence.” (This calls to attention another of the author’s failings: a modest capability with the Japanese language at best.) “Aware” is most often interpreted as “pathos,” so “mono no aware” is most often rendered as “the pathos of things.” It is an aesthetic of wonder and pain, care and loss and terrible but subtle beauty, and yes it would not be meaningful without impermanence, but that does not make them the same thing. The closest translation to the English word “impermanence,” and the Buddhist concept which Myers - for some incomprehensible reason - quotes directly from the Heike is “mujou.” I have to say, as a PhD student in Classical Japanese literature myself, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone evoke the Heike in a discussion of “mono no aware.” For the very simple reason that the two concepts are essentially chalk and cheese. It was painful to listen to Myers even mention the kokugaku movement - and Genji monogatari itself! - but not Moto’ori Norinaga’s obsession with the Genji, the work from which Norinaga himself coined “mono no aware” as an all-encompassing aesthetic and mood of the work, and of Heian literature more broadly. Norinaga was notably much less interested in literature created AFTER the Heian Period. Such as, for example, the notably un-aesthetically motivated war story, Heike monogatari. As for why this topic was so particularly painful to me as a human being, I initially started writing my MA thesis on “mono no aware,” and read all three major translations, as well as the original Genji obsessively for the first two years of my degree. I later switched to reading gender politics in Heike, thus I consider myself relatively well-read in both these works. And what, I gather, Myers was attempting to seek out in bizarrely quoting Heike in discussing “aware” was the Buddhist overtones of the text, a later and likely politically-motivated addition to make the whole work - originally a disjointed collection of anecdotes from the Gempei War - more cohesive as a narrative. It is not an aesthetic. And fundamental misinterpretations like this, quite frankly, could only be made by someone with either a poor understanding of the Japanese language - like the high, obscure and lyrical language which Kawabata was known for - or lacking a soul entirely. I would sooner trust Myers’ political episodes, but the blatant ignorance toward not only literary value but the history of Japanese literary scholarship are contemptible enough not to give the show any of your valuable time or attention.

This is like a masters level colloquia on the history of Japan. It is well researched and well delivered.

How do i get to episode 1 without scrolling thro 400 episodes

Explains nearly everything from the feudal era to the modern period, from intricacies of the Shinto religion to major political scandals, providing a comprehensive overview of Japan. The channel usually runs with multi-part series, broken up with pieces about important literature and poetry. Meyer handles subjects with care, offering all sides but without sacrificing objectivity, something sorely needed for exploring the history of the LDP, and calls out exceptionally foolish people with a wry sense of humor.

This unassuming podcast serves as an incredible and in-depth survey of (literally) all of Japanese history. Don’t let it’s simple delivery deceive you: this is in substance a Hardcore History of Japan, but with infinitely greater frequency. I look forward to being a supporting listener. If you’re interested in Japan or Japanese history—DO NOT skip this podcast.

Within this world of podcasts, in which there is so much useless garbage, Isaac's is awesome and of high-value! This has become one of my favorites shows and I look forward to enjoying it every week!

I'd like to thank you for an excellent look at the history of japan, this time in great focus on characters stories, and it seems for me to fill in the blank spots that the Sengoku Daimyo podcast, and vice- versa, as the narrator is also excellent, and tends to focus on detailed literary and archeological evidence, how we understand then vs now thinking, whereas this show tells a more linear storyline, and for the purpose of memory this for me really cements the whole picture into a comprehensive look at general Japanese history for Laymen, especially for non-Japanese speakers like myself. Thank you i tunes for adding this podcast to the network!

Podcast is great, interesting background stories on Japanese history. Know it’s costly, but try to get better sound equipment,

How can this audio series offer such horrible tin-can audio?

I love just about everything for this podcast. It begins with a quick summary of the political narrative and then breaks down the Japanese historic culture by taking on various topics. It’s amazing listening to the end of the samurai and then the history of Hokkaido and then the rise and fall of communism in Japan as opposed to a single linear narrative gives so much more of an appreciation for one of the most unique countries on earth. For most podcasts that want to talk about modern nations I think they should replicate Isaac more often.

For those of us that love history in general but don’t see or hear much about the whole history of Japan, this podcast is great. The host is very enjoyable to listen to and obviously highly intelligent. ( hence the occasional subtle Star Wars and Star Trek references). But seriously I recommend listening to this podcast, you will learn a lot! Keep up the good work Mr. Meyers, much appreciated.

It’s so great to be able to dive into the history of Japan. Both covering the basic narrative and high politics but also going i to more detail and getting sidetracked. I love all of it, listen to this podcast is become one of my guilty pleasures. My only criticism is that I wish there was more!!!

Very well-researched: more detailed and balanced in viewpoint than any Japanese-language history video or podcast series I have encountered. Provides a basic but multifaceted understanding of important and complex periods or concepts in Japanese history.

Perfect for history buffs in general, but especially if you love Japanese culture!

This podcast is great. Of course it’s not chronological... like, you’d never get to modern stuff if you did it that way? Anyway good show, chill host, etc.

I love the breadth of topics, particularly the time spent on more recent history and culture. You’ll also get to dive into a lot of figures that would be missed in a standard history course!

The series started seemingly well, and then I got to Episode 8, "The Three Unifiers". Yes, it's difficult to cover the period of the Three Unifiers in 27 minutes, but if you're going to do that, get the facts right. The errors were bad enough that I stopped listening to the podcast as it put in doubt the accuracy of the rest of the series. In some cases, it just seemed like Isaac was making things up to bridge gaps in his knowledge and made me wonder if his "former PhD student" status was because he couldn't do basic research. First of all, Nobunaga defeated Imagawa YoshiMOTO, not YoshiTOMO. Yes, a small error repeated several times, but a good researcher gets details right. Second, Ieyasu came from Mikawa, not Mino. Moving on, Hideyoshi did not execute all of Asai Nagamasa's children. True, the one son was killed, but that's to be expected of the times. The three daughters were, in fact, saved. The eldest eventually became a concubine of Hideyoshi and mother of his heir. The youngest daughter later married the future second Tokugawa shogun. Mr. Meyer claims that Hideyoshi was able to avenge the assasination of Nobunaga because he was "nearby". This ignores the fact that Hideyoshi successfully executed one of the most impressive forced marches in Japanese history after quickly concluding a peace treaty with western clans while concealing Nobunaga's death during negotiations. Most egregiously, Meyer claims Ieyasu had an "almost certainly fake pedigree" to be a shogun (you had to be a decendant of the Minamoto clan). Ieyasu's lineage did trace back to Minamoto Yoshiie. What an incredible insult to the Tokugawa legacy from a "former PhD student"!

What I really love about this show is it’s episodic nature. Rather than simply covering every aspect of Japanese history chronologically, the show is broken up into mini-series so the host, Isaac, can cover each topic in fantastic detail. This also allows new listeners to find a topic they are particularly interested in, and start there, rather than having to consume the whole show from start to finish. Great writing, broken up with enough humor to keep things from getting too dry. Highly recommended.

I was late in discovering this, but am going back through the old episodes. Am very interested in the topic, and Isaac really does a great job with topic selection, research, scripts, and delivery. One of my favorite podcasts.

Interesting subjects but it would be great if you could edit out the unrelated banter/talk about whiskey or whatever. Thanks!

Is there a way to find the first 30 episodes that aren’t populating here?

The first 20 episodes cover 2000 years of history in about 20 hours. The next 300 episodes randomly dive into topics in much more detail. Did not enjoy the random order, would have preferred chronological order.

Wide array of topics and critical background delivered with just the right amounts of care and humor.

Thoroughly researched, Isaac fits a boatload of story in every episode.

Isaac Meyers has a way of the best professors: incredibly informative depictions mixed with a bit of levity and thought-provoking statements. More than once I have had to re-evaluate my opinion on a topic because this podcast helped me connect the source material to my life in a new way. The breadth of topics covered, (from global forces to the life of an artist) is quite impressive, and brings together everything that makes Japan what it was once, and what it is today.

It’s a five star show, plain and simple.

All I can say is awesome awesome awesome

Great storytelling and it feels really grounded in the scholarship. The Meiji Restoration and other series have been good. The only complaint is the audio quality.

I spent 5 months listening to the podcast daily. It made my trip way more interesting and provided excellent context for the whole experience. A mixture of recent and ancient, single episodes for interesting events or people, and very easy to listen to. I recommend it highly if you are traveling to Japan.

Great podcast. I have been listening to it nightly before bed the past two months and average about three episodes a night. It’s a great compliment to studying Japanese language and history in school.

Isaac Meyer set out to do a Japanese History podcast in the vein of The History of Rome. Mission accomplished. Although the format is more topical and less chronological, I still feel I’m in the hands of an expert with an entertaining, thoughtful style. Well done, Mr. Meyer.

I want to visit Japan someday and this podcast just makes me look forward to the day I visit even more.Thank you very much for this podcast!!!

Interesting

I like it because it brings a different perspective of the country’s history than how I have learned it in Japan.

You can tell he puts a lot of work into the research and he knows how to keep it interesting, rather than just a boring lecture. Some day this guy will be one of those favorite teachers you had in high school.

When I was looking at podcasts for the first time, this one just happened to be the first one I listened to. I was hooked, and I’ve been listening for over a year now. I enjoy a well- delivered, thoroughly researched lecture series, and if you do too, this podcast will not disappoint you!

Incredible podcast, great format, very accessible, love the variety of topics, the “intro” episodes were very helpful and the later episodes are fascinating

It's nice he did the history before just hitting topic after topic. Great job.

The postcast is very informative and entertaining. I've learned a lot about the history of Japan. The episodes are not chronological, though. Rather, they are organized by topic, so it's not unusual to hear a mini-series on WWII and then another on the events of the 15th or 16th century, after which we jump to WWI and then back to Middle Ages. This approach makes it difficult sometimes to see the whole picture. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5. Oh, and I hate, hate, hate the plinking ear-poking intro and outro music. I guess I am not a fan of traditional Japanese musical arts.

After studying Japanese language and history in college, I was curious how much of the content would be new on this podcast. I'm happy to report I've learned a lot! The host is great and makes even complicated sections of history easy to listen to. Great podcast!

Conversational in tone and very detailed, Meyer's podcast is definitely on par with Mike Duncan's series. Having lived in Japan for some time, I can tell you that if you listen to this podcast consistently, you will be fairly adept in your understanding of Japanese history in many cases much more so than the Japanese. I have seen some complaints in the comments section about the pop culture references and the casual tone Mr. Meyers adopts, to which I reply that this is a podcast, not an iTunes U episode. I think Mr. Meyers has the correct tone for the format he is presenting. Great job Mike!

After a relatively quick (for a podcast) breeze through the basics of Japanese history, Meyer did us all a favor and didn't stop there. He went back and topic by topic - be it the Meiji Restoration, or the history of Kabuki, or Japanese ghost stories, or the relationship between corrupt modern politicians and the Yakuza - goes into detail, with a perspective that is both educational and funny. I highly recommend it, and look forward to every new installment. The one thing he's weak on is the Sengoku period. If it isn't part of the final unification of Japan, Meyer thinks it's boring and nobody cares. It's interesting! WE CARE! This is especially funny from a man who manages to make the foibles of obscure Japanese modern politicians completely fascinating.

One of my favorite podcasts, and definitely my favorite podcast about Japan. Starts with a series of episodes giving a general overview of Japanese history, then proceeds to move on to individual topics. Trends in Japanese pop culture, noteworthy politicians past and present, aspects of Japanese society... it's a lot more than just a straight history podcast. Highly recommended for anybody who wants a bit better understanding of Japan.

This is by far the best podcast I've ever subscribed to. Informative, interesting, well structured... it really makes everything else disappointing because nothing comes close in quality.

There are a few other podcasts related to Japanese history that I love and respect but Issac is the best. If you are remotely interested in the topic this is for you. The Hiroshima episodes are so so wonderfully informative! A+ would buy again ;)

This is an excellent podcast covering a long period of Japanese history, but still manages to go into detail about important events and people. He also manages to make it very interesting, not simply informative. The only flaw is that he speaks a little slowly, so I listen on 1.5 speed. ;)

I just discovered this little gem. I am looking forward to some serious listening! Thanks for creating this, as an Asian Studies and History nerd this is fantastic.

For me, this podcast was a super duper find. First, It's accurate (What he says usually checks out with stuff I knew from my other reading about Japan). Second, it's thorough. It's filled in MANY holes in what I knew about this history. Third, Isaac has a pleasant voice, speaks clearly and grammatically, and has an engaging manner. If you want to absorb a couple of thousand years of Japanese history painlessly, this podcast is the place to go.

Fun, informed and engaging speaker. Broken up into 20-40 minute chunks, not unlike the History of Rome. Be sure to check out the series on "Fall of the Samurai," not coincidentally Isaac's thesis topic.