The Kojiki

In this episode, we look into the history of Christianity in Japan—especially the role Christianity has played in Japanese literature. Our focus text is Shusaku Endo's Silence.Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us thr ... Show More

In this episode, we take a look at the Japanese proletarian writers’ movement of the 1920s and early 1930s. We also take a deep dive into the life of author Genzaburo Yoshino—not a proletarian writer, but a man who spent prison alongside them and for some of the same beliefs—and ... Show More

For the first time ever, RJL brings you information from an interview with a Japanese author—Akutagawa-winner Keiichiro Hirano. This episode takes up his life and work, the influence of Yukio Mishima on his fiction, and his most-recently-translated novel, Eclipse.CW: attempted su ... Show More

In this episode, Jacke talks to Jeremy Tiang about his new translation of The Wedding Party, a Chinese classic contemporary novel written in the early 1980s by Liu Xinwu, one of the originators of what has been termed "scar literature." PLUS we feature a sneak preview of our conv ... Show More

Through the life of this 17th century Japanese shogun, we explore the role of same-sex relationships in Japanese court culture of the time, the radically different meanings of age and gender in different times and places, and a gay teen romance that ends, alas, with being stabbed ... Show More

By any measure, the ancient Chinese military treatise The Art of War has had an astonishing literary history, proving itself over two and a half millennia to be one of the world's most essential and enduring books. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and legacy of thi ... Show More

Jacke talks to Shin Yu Pai, currently the Civic Poet of Seattle, about her career as an artist and her podcast Ten Thousand Things, which explores a collection of objects and artifacts that tell us something about Asian American life. PLUS Ross Benjamin (translator of The Diaries ... Show More

The Warring States period brought Japan to its knees. It was a time of turbulence and treachery, with rival warlords fighting bitterly for control of the land. But by the dawn of the 17th century, one of Japan's 'Great Unifiers' had emerged victorious - Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ... Show More

The Sengoku Period, also known as the Warring States Period, was a turbulent and violent period of Japanese history when rival warlords or daimyo fought bitterly for control of Japan. The period falls within the Muromachi period (Muromachi Jidai, 1333-1573 CE) of Japanese medieva ... Show More

Show notes | PDF & Infographic | Free audiobook | The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian treatise dedicated to sensual and emotional life, lust, and love.Read on your terms. Get the PDF, infographic, full ad-free audiobook and animated version of this summary of Kamasutra and 1 mill ... Show More