62: Why & how did Japan go from no power to superpower?

62: Why & how did Japan go from no power to superpower?

From Dad and Me Love History by Paul Letters - WW2 novelist, broadcaster, history teacher; James Letters -

April 16, 2025 · 18 min

About this episode

The episode explores Japan's transformation from isolation to a technological superpower during the Meiji period.

Japan isolated itself from other countries for centuries. In the land of the samurai, tradition and honour were central. Guns were seen as dishonourable – until they weren't. We see how Japan only changes its capital city via anagram (this could be next: Yo-ok-t?). So we investigate the remarkable Meiji modernisation period of a century or so ago, which launched Japan as a superpower – and prepared Japan to be a world-leader in technology, as the country still is today. Check out the photos from our trip on https://www.dadandmelovehistory.com/ After the end theme music you'll find these questions: 1. What was a 'shogun'? 2. What was Kyoto? 3. What anagram of KYOTO did the Japanese capital move to? 4. Which country was Commodore Perry from and what did he force Japan to do in the 1850s and 1860s? 5. Japan modernised its education system, economy, transport, communications and what else? 6. By the early 1900s, Japan's modernisation made its power rise. What countries did Japan invade before 1941? Here's our website, where you'll find photos, info about each episode and links to our social media: dadandmelovehistory.com - here, you can also listen to episodes. We also strongly…

People in this episode

Hosts: Paul Letters, James Letters

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: History Detective, Dad's World War II novels, dadandmelovehistory.com, historydetectivepodcast.com, paulletters.com

Places: Japan, Kyoto, Yo-ok-t

More episodes of Dad and Me Love History

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Dad and Me Love History podcast page.