2018: 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration ‘When East and West Collided’ Past Lectures: Tuesday November 6th 1.00 – 4.10 pm ANAシンポジウム: 世界から見た明治維新 ANA Symposium: The Meiji Restoration as seen by the World Public lecture and seminar in Kagoshima, Japan 2.30 pm 東と西がぶつかったとき: 明治維新 に 向かって の できごと WHEN EAST AND WEST COLLIDED: STEPPING STONES … Read more
Talking to Joshua Provan about The Shortest History of Japan, and how she found the stories to make Japanese history more accessible than ever. […]
Lesley Downer, the author of The Shortest History of Japan, reviews the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum, open until February, 2025. […]
Speaking about about Matsuo Basho’s haiku, mountain ascetics and Japan’s undiscovered north. […]
Not all shoguns and samurai. On Monday October 21st, I will be speaking to the Japan Society on some of the extraordinary women who populate Japanese history, starting with Himiko the Shaman Queen. […]
Two thousand years ago the land we now know as Japan was a patchwork of over a hundred small kingdoms, perpetually at war. Armies fought to grab more and better land for farming and to control the water supplies of river and lakes, fighting with bows and arrows and stone and bronze weapons. […]
In this piece Lesley Downer, an expert of Japanese culture and history and the author of The Shortest History of Japan and On the Narrow Road to the Deep North, explains how an advanced society sought to move without wheels.[…]
Lesley discusses her just-released The Shortest History of Japan: From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse, which provides a concise yet detailed account of Japanese history. […]
Lesley Downer on how she has told Japan’s history – in 50,000 words. […]
Lesley Downer, the author of The Shortest History of Japan, looks at different roles taken by women during that country’s long history: court ladies, warrior women and courtesans. She shows how, through the ages, they have found ways to use their skills to make their voices heard.[…]
Historian and journalist Lesley Downer’s new book, The Shortest History of Japan, has allowed the South End Green-based writer to bring together a lifetime of study. […]