Episode 12 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we’re stomping our way into the world of kaiju. Kevin Derendorf is an expert on the world of giant monster movies and the author of the recently published book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 “Alternative” Giant Monster Movies. In this episode we discuss: What the word kaiju means …

 Episode 11 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we’re exploring the city of Tokyo. Dr. Steven Heine is the director of the Asian Studies Program at Florida International University and author of the book Sacred High City, Sacred Low City: A Tale of Religious Sites in Two Tokyo Neighborhoods. In this episode we talk about: …

 Episode eight of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we’re exploring the fascinating history of shōjo manga. Dr. Deborah Shamoon is an associate professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore. She is the author of Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls’ Culture in Japan, a book which examines the emergence …

 Episode six of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we’re talking about Zen. Gesshin Claire Greenwood is a Zen priest and the author of the book Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love, and Monastic Zen in Japan. Funny, intense, and thought-provoking, the book chronicles the more than five years Gesshin spent in Japan training in …

This time we’re taking a deep deep dive into the history of Japanese animation with Dr. Jonathan Clements. An expert on Asia and anime, Jonathan Clements is the author of many books, including Anime: A History, The Anime Encyclopedia (co-authored with Helen McCarthy), and Sacred Sailors: The Life and Work of Seo Mitsuyo. In this episode we discuss the origins …