In this episode, Dr. Siniawer reconsiders the big questions of politics during the Meiji Period, touching on major developments including the construction of the Meiji state, divides within the Meiji ruling regime, samurai rebellions, and the Seikanron ("Punish Korea") debates.  We discuss the radical reforms of the Caretaker Government in the early 1870s, along with the political goals of protestors and violence in the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, before talking about Dr. Siniawer's more recent research on waste in postwar Japan. (Transcript here).