History of Japan

This episode starts with the 1974 bombing of Mitsubishi’s Tokyo headquarters and traces the radical movement behind it. Part 1 looks at how the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front emerged from Japan’s 1960s and connects that story to the broader New Left.

The East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front expands beyond its original four members, publishes its manifesto, and launches a wave of terror bombings. This episode follows the group through a botched attempt to assassinate Hirohito, its eventual downfall, and the larger question of what any of it achieved.

Daidoji Masashi’s path from Hōsei University student to terrorist is traced through the student movement and New Left politics of 1960s Tokyo. The episode examines how anti-Japanism and campus radicalism shaped his turn toward violence as a political tool.

Matagi hunting takes center stage as the episode explores how a hunt actually works, how matagi culture changed across the 20th century, and why many believe the tradition itself may be nearing extinction. It promises both practical detail and a broader look at cultural survival.

Feudalism is the episode’s central puzzle, starting with why the term is so difficult to define at all. It also turns inward, asking whether describing medieval Japan as a feudal state actually makes sense.