In this episode, Dr. Dierkes analyzes how the Meiji Restoration is presented in history textbooks in Japan.  We compare the historiography of the Restoration in Japanese and Western scholarship, as well as discuss recent issues surrounding textbooks in both Japan and the United States.

In this episode, Dr. Craig offers a glimpse of the Meiji Restoration as it was viewed from peripheral regions, in this case rural Miyagi prefecture.  We discuss power dynamics between the central and prefectural governments during the early Meiji Period, and how central government policies were shaped and reshaped at local levels.

In this episode, Dr. Craig offers a glimpse of the Meiji Restoration as it was viewed from peripheral regions, in this case rural Miyagi prefecture.  We discuss power dynamics between the central and prefectural governments during the early Meiji Period, and how central government policies were shaped and reshaped at local levels.

In this episode, Dr. Conlan gives us a view of the Meiji Restoration from the perspective of late-medieval Japan.  We discuss how viewing the Restoration in the longue durée reveals transformations and developments, especially in military technology, that are obscured when the story is started in 1868 (Transcript here).

In this episode, Dr. Conlan gives us a view of the Meiji Restoration from the perspective of late-medieval Japan.  We discuss how viewing the Restoration in the longue durée reveals transformations and developments, especially in military technology, that are obscured when the story is started in 1868.