In this episode, Dr. Benesch surveys what happens to Japan's medieval castles following the Meiji Restoration, highlighting how they stand for both continuity and change in modern Japan. We discuss the destruction of castles in the 1870s as relics of the feudal past before their re-appropriation by the military in the 1890s, connections between castles and reconstructions of Bushido in the prewar, and finally the rebuilding and repurposing of castles in the postwar for tourism.

The Meiji at 150 Podcast