In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined in seventeenth-century Japan by Dr Satona Suzuki and comedian Ahir Shah to learn all about the Edo period and the Tokugawa shogunate. When he came to power in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the first shogun to rule over all Japan. He made Edo – later renamed Tokyo – his power base, and over the 250 years of Tokugawa rule, this small town became one of the largest cities in the world. This episode charts the rise and fall of the shogunate, and explores what life was like for people living in Japan at this time. From politics to theatre, and taking in foreign relations, the class system, art and literature, Greg and his guests get to grips with all aspects of life in the Edo period. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Annabel Storr Written by: Annabel Storr, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
I'm Rory Stewart, and I want to talk about ignorance.
I will die without having read everything.
That was written in classical Latin, because ignorance isn't simply the opposite of knowledge.
It's part of what it means to be human.
Just about every game I can think of involves ignorance.
There's no adventure without ignorance.
There's no narrative.
The long history of ignorance from Confucius to QAnon.
With me, Rory Stewart.
Listen on BBC Sounds.
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Hello and welcome to you're dead to me, the radio four comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
My name is Greg Jenner.
I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
And today we are boarding our black ships and sailing back to 17th century Japan to learn all about life in the Edo period and to help us distinguish our koso dei from Makimono.
We have two very special guests in history corner.
She's a lecturer in both japanese and modern japanese history at SOAS University of London.
She researches and teaches the rise of modern Japan with a particular focus on imperialism, militarism and the relationship between politics and religion.
It's Doctor Satina Suzuki.
Welcome, Satina.