How Empresses Shaped Japan – Books on Asia Podcast 37
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. […]
From the world’s first pots to Cool Japan: In Book Brunch
Lesley Downer on how she has told Japan’s history – in 50,000 words. […]
Japan’s Court Ladies, Warrior Women and Courtesans: In Historia Magazine
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.[…]
A Master Class: In The Camden New Journal
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. […]
Kyoto: Japan’s Imperial City- Echoes of History Podcast
Hugely enjoyed delving deep into Kyoto life in the glittering Momoyama period … Hideyoshi’s tea parties and cherry blossom parties and much else. Please have a listen! […]
HUGE NEWS! THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF JAPAN – out in Australia on June 4th and the US on July 31st
The exciting, engrossing and thrilling story of the whole of Japanese history – 16,500 years in a few pages, from 14,500 BC (world’s first pottery) to yesterday, to make you think, ‘Wow, Japanese history is really exciting!’ […]
History of Geishas – Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Hugely enjoyed talking about all things geisha with Kate Lister on the Betwixt the Sheets podcast … find out all about my life among the geisha and what geisha really do! […]
In the 80s Japan WAS the future!
Happy to be included in Johny Pitts’ series The Failure of the Future on BBC Radio 4 – including my memories of the Tsutsumi Seibu empire, which I wrote about in my book The Brothers. […]
Octopus dreams: Japan, Stonehenge, Knossos
Cultural echoes spring up tentacle-like in the most unexpected of places. Japan and Stonehenge, Japan and Knossos – who would have thought it? … Read more
The Shortest History of Japan: coming SOON!
Out June 2024 in Australia and July 31st 2024 in the US and Canada.
The story of a small Asian country with an extraordinary aesthetic tradition that avoided colonization and overcame the devastation of World War II to become a highly prosperous modern force, while preserving its unique spirit and culture.