The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (w/Hiromu Nagahara)

Japan By River Cruise

Hiromu Nagahara talks about Princess Mako's engagement and upcoming move to New York and the split in Japanese public opinion, between nationalists, who are angry, and normal people, who don't care.

Ollie pays close attention to the head chopping facilities list on this week's cruise recommendation.

Bobby does NOT like that thing that you all like.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

• How sometimes it's okay to just do something to connect
• Hiromu's recommendation for a way to enjoy studying Japanese history
• Amy Stanley's book:
  Stranger in the Shogun's City
• How learning about the history of the place you live can enrich your day-to-day
• Japan's history of leveraging Japanese art and Bobby and Ollie getting to feel like they contribute to the conversation
• The relationship between exporting/importing cultural products and political developments
• Ollie and Bobby find out that "Japanning" DOESN'T refer to becoming a high-functioning alcoholic
• "Enjoyment" as a catalyst of social change for VERY IMPORTANT REASONS
• The Japanese elite generation who loved Opera and saw their own stuff as backwards
• Princess Mako's upcoming nuptials and relocation to New York
• Why is this a big deal and why are nationalists so upset about it?
• A brief background of the current Imperial Family
• What's the debt scandal around her fiancee Komuro Kei, and his mom's broken off engagement
• The possibility that Princess Mako will turn down and "snub" the lump sum cash gift that royal daughters get when they marry
• The opportunistic timing of Komuro's mom's ex-fiancee's claims
• How Imperial succession works and why that places Princess Mako in a more important (but not THAT important) spot
• How the Ultra-nationalists see Princess Mako, and her duty to not "sully the dignity" of the royal family
• Not all Imperial Princesses are equal
• The unprecedented abdication of the previous emperor whose name I do not know
• The constitutional restrictions placed on the Imperial family
• A comparison between the actual authority of different countries' Imperial households throughout history
• How Japanese emperors have, nonetheless, influenced policy decisions
• How recent decisions and movements in Japan's symbolic monarchy bring up questions of constitutional legality; where do private decisions or expressions of opinion cross over into the iffy legal territory of swaying political decisions
• What's the anxiety around Princess Mako becoming Americanized?
• Who do Japanese royal daughters tend to marry and why?
• The reasons being used against Princess Mako moving to the states
• The fear that Princess Mako could be Japan's Prince Harry

As always, the extras are FANTASTIC, and they're like getting a whole extra show for free. Well, not for free.
For like 4 to 5 dollars a month.
You can get access to the extras by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode by becoming a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

Topics discussed on the extras include:

• Japanese emigration throughout history
• Hiromu's own families
• Reasons for and against Japanese people to seek employment/opportunity/adventure abroad
• What it means to be "kikokushijo: returning ex-pats" in Japan

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Social Media Links:

Hiromu Nagahara: Twitter | MIT Profile | Tokyo Boogie-Woogie: Japan's Pop Era and Its Discontents

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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