Japan In Five Lives

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan's women's volleyball team at the 1964 Olympics. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's history to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his first essay, Dr Harding recalls the first time Tokyo was due to host the Olympic Games in 1940. War intervened, the Games were cancelled and the young Daimatsu "The Demon" Hirobumi found himself in the army, learning tough lessons in survival. Postwar, he forged a career as the fearsome coach of the women's national volleyball team, pushing them to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. "As the scale of destruction visited upon Asia and the Pacific by Japan became clear in the years after war's end, national self-questioning had turned into a painful business - a matter not so much of 'Who are we' as 'Is this who we are?' The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, in October 1964, was a precious opportunity for the Japanese to offer the world - and themselves - a more hopeful account."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan at the 1964 Olympics.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan's women's volleyball team at the 1964 Olympics. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's history to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his first essay, Dr Harding recalls the first time Tokyo was due to host the Olympic Games in 1940. War intervened, the Games were cancelled and the young Daimatsu "The Demon" Hirobumi found himself in the army, learning tough lessons in survival. Postwar, he forged a career as the fearsome coach of the women's national volleyball team, pushing them to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. "As the scale of destruction visited upon Asia and the Pacific by Japan became clear in the years after war's end, national self-questioning had turned into a painful business - a matter not so much of 'Who are we' as 'Is this who we are?' The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, in October 1964, was a precious opportunity for the Japanese to offer the world - and themselves - a more hopeful account."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan at the 1964 Olympics.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his final essay, Dr Harding reveals his sense of the transience of life inspired by Mount Fear on the northernmost tip of Japan's main island of Honshu. It prompts him to recall the first known named person in Japanese history, the shaman-queen Himiko.

"By the time of Himiko's birth, attempts to grapple with the strangeness of life and to find ways of belonging in the world had resolved into the role of the shaman. Himiko was likely regarded, by dint of family or force of personality, as a shaman of particular potency." She received lavish gifts from the Wei Emperor in China and, "It seems ...that alongside mustering small armies she could also summon spirits. It may have been these that her enemies feared more."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his final essay, Dr Harding reveals his sense of the transience of life inspired by Mount Fear on the northernmost tip of Japan's main island of Honshu. It prompts him to recall the first known named person in Japanese history, the shaman-queen Himiko.

"By the time of Himiko's birth, attempts to grapple with the strangeness of life and to find ways of belonging in the world had resolved into the role of the shaman. Himiko was likely regarded, by dint of family or force of personality, as a shaman of particular potency." She received lavish gifts from the Wei Emperor in China and, "It seems ...that alongside mustering small armies she could also summon spirits. It may have been these that her enemies feared more."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his fourth essay, he compares Japan and the UK as mirror images of each other: two island nations, "both known for a certain reserve in their national characters, and both enjoying the stability that comes with constitutional monarchy." Murusaki Shikibu, who wrote "The Tale of Genji", had a ringside seat as lady-in-waiting to the eleventh century imperial court. "Here was a society blessed both with an almost impossible level of sophistication - in its poetry, pastimes, dress and general comportment and with female chroniclers capable of wringing every last delicious detail out of the personal foibles, fashion faux-pas and social missteps of those who inhabited it."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present"

The quoted translations are taken from "The Diary of Lady Murasaki" (Penguin, 1996) by Professor Richard Bowring.

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his fourth essay, he compares Japan and the UK as mirror images of each other: two island nations, "both known for a certain reserve in their national characters, and both enjoying the stability that comes with constitutional monarchy." Murusaki Shikibu, who wrote "The Tale of Genji", had a ringside seat as lady-in-waiting to the eleventh century imperial court. "Here was a society blessed both with an almost impossible level of sophistication - in its poetry, pastimes, dress and general comportment and with female chroniclers capable of wringing every last delicious detail out of the personal foibles, fashion faux-pas and social missteps of those who inhabited it."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present"

The quoted translations are taken from "The Diary of Lady Murasaki" (Penguin, 1996) by Professor Richard Bowring.

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. The subject of the third essay is the ruthless sixteenth century warlord Oda Nobunaga. Living at a time when order had broken down into warring fiefdoms, he paved the way for unified secular rule in Japan by attacking the military and political influence of the Buddhist sects. A fearsome warrior steeped in samurai culture, "Nobunaga was imagining its re-unification by identifying it with himself."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. The subject of the third essay is the ruthless sixteenth century warlord Oda Nobunaga. Living at a time when order had broken down into warring fiefdoms, he paved the way for unified secular rule in Japan by attacking the military and political influence of the Buddhist sects. A fearsome warrior steeped in samurai culture, "Nobunaga was imagining its re-unification by identifying it with himself."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his second essay, he describes how the artist Tezuka Osamu helped shape post-war Japanese pop culture through manga and anime, Japan's instantly recognisable style of comic books and animated films, that he made famous worldwide. Dr Harding places Tezuka in Japan's centuries' old tradition of satirical art, though reflects that his Disney inspired creations such as Atom Boy may leave him "one day remembered for fostering a form of popular culture that was insufficiently angry, satirical or creatively critical of politics."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his second essay, he describes how the artist Tezuka Osamu helped shape post-war Japanese pop culture through manga and anime, Japan's instantly recognisable style of comic books and animated films, that he made famous worldwide. Dr Harding places Tezuka in Japan's centuries' old tradition of satirical art, though reflects that his Disney inspired creations such as Atom Boy may leave him "one day remembered for fostering a form of popular culture that was insufficiently angry, satirical or creatively critical of politics."

Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 - the Present".

Producer: Sheila Cook
Editor: Hugh Levinson

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.