History – Japan in Norwich

[S2E28] 🐫 On the Silk Road(s) with Prof Susan Whitfield

Oliver is joined by Susan Whitfield, Professor in Silk Road Studies at the Sainsbury Institute, to gain a new perspective on the mass of historic maritime and land-based routes known as the Silk Roads. Susan gives us a taste of the material and cultural impact of the enormous trade network stretching to the ends of Europe, Africa and Asia from the 2nd Century BCE, as well as highlighting the role of Japan and China in establishing the network as World Heritage.

[S2E27] 🗺️ Maps & Imagined Travel with Dr Sonia Favi

Oliver is joined by Dr Sonia Favi, researcher at the University of Turin, to discuss the history of imagined travel. Sonia’s digital exhibition, ‘Travels in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868): A Virtual Journey’, explores how late-Edo period maps indulged the imagination of those unable to journey across the country, something all too familiar in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

[S2E19] 🤰 Family Planning Policy with Dr Aya Homei

This week we are joined by Dr Aya Homei from the University of Manchester to discuss family planning, looking at how Japan’s history of medical science has influenced policy and its impact on the current aging population. Aya unpacks historical attitudes in Japan towards child-bearing held by individuals and the nation and explains that through scientific thought of the time, such as eugenics, much can be understood about attitudes today in Japan and East Asia.

[S2E18] ⚔️ Samurai in Cinema with Dr Jonathan Wroot

his week we are joined by Dr Jonathan Wroot, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Greenwich, to discuss Samurai in Cinema. Oliver and Jonathan take a look at the many faces of samurai in Japanese cinema and their global influence on film producers. Jonathan also focusses on Zatoichi, the lone blind swordsman that has graced film and TV in Japan and elsewhere for over 50 years.

[S2E17] 🎨 Art & Cultural Exchange with David Elliott

This week we are joined by art historian, curator and writer David Elliott to discuss art as a means of cultural exchange. David shares with us his experience of challenging the Euro-American concept of Modern Art by exhibiting contemporary Asian, African and Latin American artists, as well as his new approach of looking at art history through trousers.

[S2E16] 📚 Knowledge Production During Crisis with Dr Eiko Honda

This week we are joined by Dr Eiko Honda, Research and Teaching Associate in History at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and former Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss Knowledge Production During Crisis.

[S2E12] 🤬 Historians & Online Harassment with Dr Paula R. Curtis

This week we are joined by Dr Paula R Curtis, Postdoctoral Fellow with the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies at UCLA, to discuss Historians and Online Harassment. Paula will share with me her experiences of being harassed by netto-uyoku (ネット右翼), online far-right nationalists who seek to hassle and discredit historians for their critical approach to Japan’s war history, as well as offer advice for researchers of controversial history who run afoul of nationalist netizens.

[S2E9] 🧭 Capitals of Fate with Prof Ellen Van Goethem

This week we are joined by Ellen Van Goethem, Professor in Japanese Humanities at Kyushu University, to discuss Capitals of Fate. Ellen’s research focusses on the history and archaeology of Japan’s early and frequently changing capitals from the Asuka to the early Heian period.