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• Japanese Women Writers

  August 29, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

  This episode is rated mature. For decades, writing by women was treated as its own separate genre in Japan, joryu bungaku. In today's episode, we’ll start with an explanation of why joryu bungaku became its own separate genre.  We’ll move…

• Aum Anxiety in Japanese Fiction

  June 25, 2026 · 60 min

  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…

• Yasunari Kawabata

  May 11, 2026 · 58 min

  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…

• Japanese Monster Stories on the Big Screen—Godzilla and Mothra

  February 10, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

  In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra. We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Mothra. We'll close with a reflection on…

• The Japanese Cell Phone Novel

  December 14, 2025 · 48 min

  In this episode, we take a look at the Japanese cell phone novel and the classic story of Train Man. We’re going to start today by explaining the Japanese cell phone novel, including some relevant background like the history of serialized…

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