Why the Middle Ages ended in 19th century Japan

Yes, you heard us right!! Join Olivia and Aran as they defend their most dubious claim to date, which is definitely not just an excuse to step beyond our usual remit and talk about the wild, delightful world that was Edo Period Japan! We explore why Edo Japan was so cut off from the world and the effects this had on its society, plus some of the cultural developments that took place along the way. Also discussed are

• The legend of the tanuki and the train
  • https://www.proquest.com/docview/1036926966?sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
• Kume Kunitake's diaries of travel in Europle and the United States
  • https://archive.org/details/japanrisingiwaku0000kume/
• An overview of the Satsuma rebellion
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/2383560
• The decline of the Japanese warrior class
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/25790888

The song used in this episode is sōran bushi, a Japanese folk song traditionally sung by fishers.