Japan & The World: Crossroads of History
An 8-episode English podcast tracing Japan's most pivotal foreign encounters from 57 AD to 1945.
Episodes (8)
How a feudal samurai society transformed into a modern industrial empire in just one generation. Episode 7 covers the 1868 imperial restoration, the Iwakura Mission, the abolition of the samurai class, and Japan's astonishing rise as the only Asian nation to escape colonization.
Four steam-powered American warships appear in Edo Bay in 1853, ending 220 years of Japanese isolation. Episode 6 traces Commodore Perry's mission, the Treaty of Kanagawa, and how the unequal treaty system planted seeds that would topple the Tokugawa shogunate.
Japan sealed itself off for 200 years but maintained one window through Dejima island.
Portuguese traders brought firearms and Christianity to Japan in 1543, transforming society.
How Japan survived Kublai Khan's naval invasions through tactics and typhoons.
Japan sent scholars to Tang China for 260 years, importing an entire civilization's knowledge.
In 57 AD Japan sent envoys to Han China and received a gold seal — Japan's earliest diplomatic artifact.
The first time in modern history an Asian power defeated a European empire. Episode 8 covers Admiral Togo's stunning naval victory at Tsushima, the brutal Battle of Mukden, and how the war shattered the myth of European invincibility — inspiring independence movements across Asia and triggering revolution in Russia.