Libsyn Directory

[RERUN] EPISODE 50 Philosophers and Thugs: Jigoro Kano (Part 2)

Release Date: 11/23/2022

History on Fire

“He must be handed over to a tribunal of the people so it can judge him quickly. We want this, even though we think an execution platoon is too much of an honor for this man. He would deserve to be killed like a mangy dog.” — Future Italian President Sandro Pertini about Benito Mussolini “The world unfortunately continues to be a battlefield where different egos clash, repeating the mistakes of the past.” — Federigo Giordano “Death to the Nazi-Fascists.” — The closing quote of most letters written by Federigo Giordano during WWII I am not done with stories of resistance from...

[RERUN] EPISODE 68: My Grandma and Her Bombs: A Story of WWII

History on Fire

“Women must obey… My opinion of women’s role within the state is against any kind of feminism. In our state, women must not count.” — Benito Mussolini “Yes, I participated in the actions. I usually had the task of carrying the weapons and would hand them to our shooters. As soon as they had used them, I’d get them back from them—still hot.” — Liana Germani “I was mostly afraid of torture had they captured me, of the terrible suffering on the way to the concentration camps. Death seemed simple, something quick, liberating. Fear was a constant element of our...

[RERUN] EPISODE 66: Sex in Ancient Rome

History on Fire

“From an author’s perspective, writing about sex is risky, because if you write well enough, evocatively enough, vividly enough, you make the reader want to put the book aside and go get laid.” — Tom Robbins “Let's live and love, Caring less than nothing for The moralizing of stern old men. The sun sets and rises back again, But an eternal night of sleep awaits us When our brief light turns to darkness. Give me a thousand kisses, and a hundred more. Then a thousand, and another hundred. And then more thousands and hundreds. Let's scatter them, then, So...

Episode 105: Rationalizing Evil in El Salvador

History on Fire

“I didn't know what to do. They were killing my children. I knew that If I went back there to help my children I would be cut to pieces. But I couldn't stand to hear it, I couldn't bear it. I was afraid that I would cry out, that I would scream, that I would be crazy. I couldn't stand it, and I prayed God to help me.” — Rufina Amaya “In El Salvador the rich and powerful have systematically defrauded the poor and denied 80 percent of the people any voice in the affairs of their country.” — Ambassador Robert White “In 1981, as the ambassador to El Salvador, I refused a...

EPISODE 104: The Saint and the Death Squads

History on Fire

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter he kingdom of God.” Matthew 19: 24 "And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed. The...

[RERUN] EPISODE 65: The Taiping Rebellion (Part 3): A River Of Death

History on Fire

“Everywhere in southern Anhui they are eating people.” — Zeng Guofan “Infants but recently born were torn from their mother’s breasts, and disemboweled before their faces. Young strong men were disemboweled, mutilated, and the parts cut off thrust into their own mouths…” — A British testimony on the Qing treatment of POWs If I were to ask you which is the deadliest conflict in history, you’d probably answer WW II. But if I were to ask you, which is the second deadliest conflict ever—at least according to most historians—I’d bet the number of raised hands...

[RERUN] EPISODE 64: The Taiping Rebellion (Part 2): Jesus’ Chinese Younger Brother

History on Fire

“Is not this insurgent movement truly wonderful? These rebels keep Sabbath as we do, they pray to God daily, they read the Scriptures, they break the idols, and they long for the time when, instead of those heathen temples, they shall have Christian chapels, and worship together with us… is it not a remarkable era in China?” — A Christian missionary wife about the Taiping Rebellion “Jesus our Elder Brother showed us the treacherous heart of this demon follower.” — Sign hanging around the neck of a man executed by the Taiping “Those who believe...

[RERUN] EPISODE 63: The Taiping Rebellion (Part 1): Drug Dealers And Visionaries

History on Fire

“The entire story of the Taiping Rebellion might be told, from one perspective, as the rage of a failed exam candidate writ large.” — Stephen Platt “They may not intend to harm others on purpose, but the fact remains that they are so obsessed with material gain that they have no concern whatever for the harm they can cause to others.” — Lin Zexu about British opium traders “Heaven is furious with anger, and all the gods are moaning with pain!... A murderer of one person is subject to the death sentence; just imagine how many people opium has killed!...

EPISODE 103: The Lone Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (Part 2)

History on Fire

“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.” — Miyamoto Musashi Ever since I started History on Fire, one topic has been the most consistently requested by listeners. Over the years, I received hundreds of messages asking me to cover the life of Miyamoto Musashi. That time has come. Here we go. Musashi has been the subject of one of the greatest bestsellers ever written, a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa that sold over 120 million copies. And yet, the story of his life is mixed with so many myths and legends that it’s rather difficult to separate fact from...

EPISODE 102: The Lone Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (Part 1)

History on Fire

“All warfare is based on deception.” — Sun Tzu Ever since I started History on Fire, one topic has been the most consistently requested by listeners. Over the years, I received hundreds of messages asking me to cover the life of Miyamoto Musashi. That time has come. Here we go. Musashi has been the subject of one of the greatest bestsellers ever written, a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa that sold over 120 million copies. And yet, the story of his life is mixed with so many myths and legends that it’s rather difficult to separate fact from fiction. He lived across the...

More Episodes

“I teach Kodokan judo as a way of life.” — Jigoro Kano

“Even though he was drunker than usual, Saigo came to the driver’s aid. The burly sailors laughed out loud: “Scram, midget!” Much to their great surprise and considerable pain, in a flash, the pocket Hercules subsequently hurled each of them into the river.” — John Stevens

“I have not been able to transmit my ideals to many students, and there are unfortunately few instructors who can impart proper Kodokan values.” — Jigoro Kano

“The teaching of one virtuous person can influence many.” — Jigoro Kano

In the second half of the 1800s, after the United States made Japan an offer it couldn’t refuse, Japan experienced a period of crisis and extremely fast modernization. Swept by efforts to copy everything that made the West powerful, Japan turned its back on much of its traditional culture. Martial arts were considered anachronistic and irrelevant, and looked well on their way to disappear into the dustbin of history—much in the same way as they had done in other parts of the world. In 1882, a small, nerdy man named Jigoro Kano made his stand to reverse this process. Kano was only 22 years old, and had only little over 5 years of martial arts practice. But what 22-year old Kano started in some spare rooms in a Buddhist temple was going to affect the lives of millions of people.

This story is about martial arts, but is also about much more. This story is about the dramatic transformations in Japanese history in the 1800s (and without understanding them, it’s pretty much impossible to understand the role played by Japan in WWII.) It is a story about how one individual can radically impact millions. It’s about how cultural traditions that are seemingly anachronistic can be reinvented to provide value in a modern context. It’s a story about Taoist philosophy, Olympic Games and U.S. presidents, pro-wrestling and helping society, the tension between globalization and nationalism, the role that physical education can play in shaping a person’s character, and a bunch of other things that have only marginally to do with martial arts per se. Among other things, in this episode:

Shiro Saigo, Kano’s pocket-sized enforcer
Blood oaths
History’s first black belts
The four ‘heavenly lords’ of the Kodokan
Judo gaining a reputation through challenge fights
Leglocks
Shiro Saigo and his NWA attitude
Akira Kurosawa movies
Kano clashing with nationalism and militarism
Theodore Roosevelt
Mitsuyo Maeda
The origins of pro-wrestling
The Olympic Games

So, with this in mind, let’s get rolling.

If you feel generous and enjoy History on Fire, please consider joining my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/historyonfire to access plenty of bonus content.

If you’d like to go to Japan for a historical tour with yours truly as a guide, please check out https://geeknationtours.com/tours/signature-battlefield-series-classic-samurai-from-the-gempei-war-to-the-mongol-invasions-2023/

Big thank you to Athletic Greens for sponsoring this episode. Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit https://athleticgreens.com/HOF

Also a big thank you to Trade Coffee. Trade is offering our listeners a total of $30 off your subscription plus free shipping at https://www.drinktrade.com/historyonfire

History on Fire is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://www.BetterHelp.com/HOF to get 10% off your first month.

TOPICS