Japanese Literature in WWII: Akiyuki Nosaka

In this episode, we examine the history of the Aum Affair and its lasting impact on Japanese fiction.We'll start out with the history of new religions in Japan, including Aum Shinrikyo. We'll take a look at Haruki Murakami's non-fiction book, Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and ...  Show more

In this episode, we're taking a look at Yasunari Kawabata's life and work.As we tell his story, we'll ask ourselves two big questions. Is Kawabata really a traditionalist? And what is up with the way he writes about adolescent girls?cw: author suicide, problematic imagery about a ...  Show more

Why did the Japanese get involved in the Second World War? Could they have stayed out of it altogether? Robert Lyman speaks to Al Murray and James Holland. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Websit ...  Show more

Author Kent Matsumoto's parents both lived through traumatic experiences during WWII: his mother was forced into an internment camp for Japanese-Americans in the U.S., and his father survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In a new novel, Of White Ashes, Matsumoto and his wife ...  Show more

The Nobel-winning novelist best known for 'The Remains of the Day' and 'Never Let Me Go' reflects on his journeys from Japan to England and from writing songs to fiction; why he has often written characters who deceive themselves and repress their emotions; and why he wanted to a ...  Show more

<div>Two stories from Japan about samurai (and wannabe samurai) following their dreams. Too bad it takes fights with giant creatures and a little bit of murder to do so.

The creature this time is ao nyōbō, and she doesn't want you to stop by her beautiful, horribly dilap ...  Show more