Podcasts about Nagano

El portal Honichi Labo preguntó a los turistas extranjeros cuáles son sus lugares preferidos en la prefectura de Nagano. La lista de los 10 destinos más votados la encabezan el Castillo Matsumoto, el Puente Kappa de Kamikochi, el Parque de Monos Jigokudani y las Cascadas de Shiraito. Escuche AQUÍ ⇒

Slavné hokejové vítězství na zimních olympijských hrách v Japonsku 22. února 1998. Prezident Václav Havel přijal po návratu hokejisty u sebe na zahradě slovy: „Díky vám dnes ví miliardy lidí, co to je Česká republika. Zasloužili jste se o její známost a dobré jméno víc než mnoho politiků.“ Český tým přitom odjížděl do Japonska spíš v roli outsiderů. NHL totiž kvůli olympiádě přerušila svou soutěž. O Naganu se okamžitě začalo mluvit jako o „Turnaji století“.

Rit priekšpēdējā Milānas-Kortīnas olimpisko spēļu dienā. Daudzos sporta veidos izšķirošās cīņas jau beigušās, bet dažos tās vēl priekšā. Arī mūsu bobslejistiem, distanču slēpotājiem un biatlonistēm. Būs ļoti aizraujošas sacensības – tā pirms šodienas bobsleja četrinieku pirmajiem diviem braucieniem saka Latvijas komandas treneris Emīls Cipulis. Starts šīm sacīkstēm jau 11 no rīta. Trasē dosies Jēkaba Kalendas pilotētas kamanas ar Latvijas vārdu. Šodien distanču slēpošanā karaliskajā 50 kilometru slēpojumā dosies arī divi mūsu cīnītāji – Raimo Vīgants un Niks Saulītis. Sākums sacensībām - tieši plkst. 12. Bet drīz pēc maratonistu finiša Latvijas līdzjutēji varēs pievērsties šīs dienas saldajam ēdienam olimpiskajās spēlēs. Ja vēsturnieki neko nav sajaukuši – pirmo reizi Latvijas sieviešu biatlona vēsturē šodien masu startā slēpos un šaus divas mūsu biatonistes. Masu startā iekļūst tikai pašas labākās. Latviju pārstāvēs olimpisko spēļu debitante, Eiropas junioru čempione Estere Volfa un pieredzējusī Baiba Bendika. To, ka ikviena no viņām var cīnīties par augstu vietu, abas jau šajās spēlēs ir pierādījušas. Biatlonistēm starts plkst. 15.15. Gaidot šo startu, saruna ar Lillehammeres un Nagano olimpisko spēļu dalībnieci Ievu Cederštrēmu-Volfu – Esteres Volfas mammu.

Latvijas biatlona vīru kvartets noslēdz olimpiskās spēles ar stafeti, izcīnot 18. vietu.  4x7,5km distancē pirmais devās Andrejs Rastorgujevs. Viņš abās šaušanas reizēs izmantoja pa divām rezerves patronām un nodeva stafeti Renāram Birkentālam 10. vietā. Renārs šaušanā iztērēja tikai vienu rezerves patronu un pacēlās uz 8. vietu. Trešajā etapā startēja Rihards Lozbers, kuram neveicās šaušanā, un viņš finišēja 17. vietā. Bet ceturtais startēja Edgars Mise. Stafetē Latvijas sportisti atgriezās pēc 16 gadu pārtraukuma, iepriekšējo reizi latvieši vīru stafetē piedalījās 2010. gada Vankūveras spēlēs un palika 18. vietā. Labākais sasniegums šajā disciplīnā bija 1998. gadā Nagano spēlēs ar Oļega Maļuhina, Ilmāra Briča, Gundara Upenieka un Jēkaba Nākuma pūliņiem izcīnītā 6. vieta. Vēl šovakar bobsleja divnieku ekipāžām trešais un ceturtais brauciens. Jēkabs Kalenda un Matīss Miknis pēc pirmās dienas ir olimpiskajā sešiniekā. Pēc plkst. 22, kad sāksies noslēdzošie braucieni bobslejistiem, sāksies arī Latvijas hokeja izlases dalība izslēgšanas turnīrā. Spēle ar Zviedriju.  Cerot uz veiksmi, uzklausām izlases kapteiņa Kaspara Daugaviņa iedvesmas vārdus savai komandai un arī līdzjutējiem. Un vēl kāds pārsteigumus – novēlējumu mūsu hokejistiem atsūtījis Kaspara Daugaviņa draugs un arī liels hokeja entuziasts, bijušais Latvijas basketbola izlases kapteinis Dairis Bertāns.  

In a tribute to the 2026 Winter Olympics being held right now in Cortina, Italy, Amy takes up a discussion of skiing in Japan. Japan has hosted the Winter Olympics 2 times: 1972 (Sapporo) and 1998 (Nagano). Amy introduces previous Washington Post Tokyo Bureau Chief T.R. Reid's guidebook called Ski Japan! (Kodansha, 1993). T.R. Reid lived in Japan for five years during the early 1990's. When the Gulf War started, the world turned its attention to that news, leaving foreign journalists in Japan with some unexpected free time. Reid and his family took action: they went skiing! The result is his 1993 guide to skiing in Japan, called Ski Japan!Tasked with updating the book for 2026-27 skiing and snowboarding audience, Amy talks about some of the points in Reid's book: things that have changed as well as those that have not, and the affects of mass-tourism on Japan's ski resorts.Ski Resorts Mentioned:Niseko, Asahidake, Furano, Naeba, Hakuba Valley, Madarao and Tangram Ski Circus, and Myoko Ski Resorts.Literary Ski SpotsYasunari Kawabata's Snow Country took place in Yuzawa Onsen, the train station you get off at to get to Naeba Ski Area. There's a Snow Country museum behind the station which is excellent.In Sapporo's Odori Park, there is a statue of Ishikawa Takuboku (1886-1912), author and poet: A Handful Of Sand, Romaji Diary and Sad Toys.In Asahikawa, Hokkaido, there is the lovely, contemplative Miura Ayako Literature Museum dedicated to the Christian novelist who lived from 1922-1999, and wrote Shiokari Pass as well as other works not yet translated into English. It's a lovely 30-40 minute walk through the snow from the back of Asahikawa station.There are also several statues and plaques dedicated to the two Austrian fathers of Japanese Skiing: Theordore Von Lerch and Hannes Schnieder. Von Lerch monuments can be found in the front of Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido, and at Joetsu, Niigata, the latter considered the birthplace of skiing in Japan.   The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press. Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

With the 2026 winter games underway, we thought we'd go back to 1998 in Nagano and check out Konami and Midway's take on the games from nearly 20 years ago!Send a text or voicemail to the show completely free at: voicecast.app/remember64

Česko na olympijských hrách v Itálii reprezentují nejen sportovci, ale také umělci. České centrum v Miláně otevřelo výstavu s názvem Hry zimních obrazů, kde vystavuje 23 děl inspirovaných hrami. V dalším díle olympijského zápisníku se vydáme nejen na prohlídku této výstavy, ale taky na cestu časem do roku 1998 a na hokejové Nagano.

Česko na olympijských hrách v Itálii reprezentují nejen sportovci, ale také umělci. České centrum v Miláně otevřelo výstavu s názvem Hry zimních obrazů, kde vystavuje 23 děl inspirovaných hrami. V dalším díle olympijského zápisníku se vydáme nejen na prohlídku této výstavy, ale taky na cestu časem do roku 1998 a na hokejové Nagano.Všechny díly podcastu Seriál Radiožurnálu můžete pohodlně poslouchat v mobilní aplikaci mujRozhlas pro Android a iOS nebo na webu mujRozhlas.cz.

Ett närapå traditionellt HockeyVIKen den här veckan. Alexander Åhman, känd främst från Fotbollsviken, gästar och det blir ett samtal om väldigt mycket: respekten för Morgan Andersson, Patrik Wirengårds omdöme, nya säsongen av podden, VIK:s senaste matcher, Jacob Tenemyrs betydelse för laget, OS i Nagano 1998, en stökig pondhockey-final i Oskarshamn och den eventuella politiken bakom Emil Andraes bristande speltid i NHL.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ce sont des images que les télévisions du monde ont diffusées en boucle : le 20 février 1998, sur la glace des Jeux Olympiques de Nagano, au Japon, la Française Surya Bonaly crée l'événement. À la fin de son programme de 4 minutes, elle saute, se renverse en arrière, comme suspendue dans les airs, et atterrit sur le pied droit. Le public du stade et les commentateurs du monde entier en restent bouche bée. Elle est la première patineuse de l'histoire à avoir osé réaliser un salto arrière en compétition. La figure est considérée comme trop dangereuse par la Fédération, et donc officiellement interdite. Aujourd'hui encore, Surya reste la seule athlète à réussir cette figure, hommes et femmes confondus.Que s'est-il passé dans les patins de Surya Bonaly quand elle a décidé de réaliser ce geste fou devant le monde entier ? Quand elle a décidé de ne pas respecter un programme pourtant millimétré et minutieusement répété pendant 2 ans ? Quand elle a décidé de risquer sa santé, voire sa vie, pour quelques secondes de spectacle ?CRÉDITSUn podcast d'Anne-Cécile Genre, réalisé par Theo Boulenger. Musique originale, montage et mixage : Théo Boulenger. Direction artistique : Julien Cernobori. Prise de son : Quentin Bresson. Identité graphique : Thomas Steffen et Manon Louvard (Upian). Chargée de production : Juliette Livartowski et Manon Racz. Chargée d'édition : Camille Regache. Direction des programmes : Joël Ronez. Direction de la rédaction : David Carzon. Direction générale : Gabrielle Boeri-Charles. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Milānas-Kortīnas olimpiskajā spēlēs rit otrā pilnvērtīgā sacensību diena, kurā, protams, startē arī Latvijas sportisti. Par medaļu kamaniņu sacensībās šodien, 8. februārī, cīnīsies latviešu sportists Kristers Aparjods. Jauktajā stafetē startēs arī Latvijas biatlonistu komanda. Bet paralēli sporta notikumiem satraucošas ziņas saņemam no Itālijas, kur esot notikusi dzelzceļa mezglu sabotāža pirms atklāšanas ceremonijas. Tas gan esot noticis vairāk uz dienvidiem Boloņas apkārtnē, ne Milānas vai Kortīnas reģionos. Esot vērojamas līdzība ar sabotāžām, kā pirms Parīzes Olimpiskajām spēlēm 2024. gadā. Kamaniņu sacensībās Kortīnā vakar aizvadīti pirmie divi braucieni vīriešiem. Kristers Aparjods ierindojas uzreiz aiz goda pjedestāla (4. vietā), savukārt Gints Bērziņš noslēdza labāko desmitnieku. Šodien noslēdzošie braucieni plkst. 18 un plkst. 19.30. Gaidot startu vakarpusē, uzklausām abus kamaniņbraucējus – Kristeru Aparjodu un Gintu Bērziņu. Pēc diviem braucieniem ātrākais ir vācietis Makss Langenhans un austrietis Jonass Millers, trešajāvietā itālis Dominiks Fišnallers no līdera atpaliek 0,298 sekundes. Šodien biatlona jauktajā stafetē startēs arī Latvijas biatlonisti un biatlonistes – ilggadējais izlases līderis Andrejs Rastorgujevs, jaunā Latvijas cerība Renārs Birkentāls un dāmas – Baiba Bendika un šī brīža Eiropas junioru čempione Estere Volfa. Biatlonistiem starts plkst. 15.05. Vai varam gaidīt patīkamus pārsteigumus? To vaicājam Jēkabam Nākumam no leģendārā Nagano četrinieka un šobrīd sava Ogres biatlona kluba vadītājam. Bet, gaidot olimpisko hokeju, neliela saruna ar mūsu izlases vārtsargu Elvi Merzļikinu.

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fWotD Episode 3199: Tara Lipinski Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Friday, 6 February 2026, is Tara Lipinski.Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she was the 1997 U. S. national champion and world champion, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (1997–1998), and the 1998 Olympic champion. Until 2019, she was the youngest single skater to win the U. S. Nationals, and the youngest to become an Olympic and world champion in figure skating history. She was the first woman to complete a triple loop–triple loop combination, her signature jump element, in competition. Starting in 1997, Lipinski had a rivalry with fellow skater Michelle Kwan, which was played up by the American press, and culminated when Lipinski won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.Lipinski retired from competitive figure skating in 1998. She performed in live shows before retiring from figure skating in 2002. Lipinski became one of NBC's primary figure skating commentators in 2014, alongside sports commentator Terry Gannon and fellow figure skater and good friend Johnny Weir.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:11 UTC on Friday, 6 February 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Tara Lipinski on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Stephen.

France St-Louis, pionnière du hockey féminin, partage son regard sans filtre sur l'évolution du hockey et l'arrivée de la LPHF !Elle nous partage son incroyable parcours, de la première compétition mondiale en 1990 aux Jeux olympiques de Nagano en 1998, jusqu'au jeux de Milano où elle sera spectatrice cette fois. Elle nous raconte :Les débuts de son sport aux olympiquesL'évolution du hockey féminin et l'impact de la LPHF La situation du hockey au QuébecL'importance de développer les habilités chez les jeunes Les défis pour les femmes dans le sport Et on finit avec un petit quiz musical exclusif et nos fameux tirs de barrage.Une discussion authentique pour célébrer les femmes dans le sport et inspirer la prochaine génération.Le balado Isa, Femme de sports présenté par IGA est diffusé le jeudi 16h30 à TVA Sports. Suis-moi sur les réseaux sociaux : Facebook : /isa.femme.de.sport Instagram : /isa.femme.de.sports Abonne-toi, pour ne rien manquer. #femmedesports #FranceStLouis #hockeyfeminin #EquipeCanada #LPHF #pwhl #JeuxOlympiques #womenhockey

Une invitée exceptionnelle ce samedi dans Mondial Sports. Surya Bonaly, légende du patinage artistique et icône sportive française, se raconte en BD ! Un palmarès exceptionnel, une personnalité et des figures à part et surtout une empreinte indélébile dans la mémoire de ses fans ! Avec ses cinq médailles européennes, ses trois médailles d'argent aux Mondiaux et son salto arrière interdit aux JO de Nagano, Surya Bonaly est une immense vedette des années 1990. Aujourd'hui installée aux États-Unis, elle se rappelle au bon souvenir du public français à travers une BD. Dans Le Feu sur la glace, aux éditions Marabulles, Surya Bonaly revient sur son parcours très particulier, des montagnes de l'arrière-pays niçois aux sommets du patinage européen.   Elle se raconte également au micro d'Hugo Moissonnier dans Mondial Sports ! Rendez-vous ce samedi à 16h10 TU !

Vom 06. bis zum 22. Februar 2026 finden in Mailand und Cortina d'Ampezzo die XXV. Olympischen Winterspiele statt. Wir begeben uns zur Vorbereitung mit Holger Gertz von der Süddeutschen Zeitung auf die lange Reise von Innsbruck 1976 bis zu den Spielen in Peking. Mit Goldmedaillen-Gewinnern wie Toni Innauer, Schorsch Hackl, Leonhard Stock, Christoph Langen, Michaela Dorfmeister, Michael Greis, Felix Loch - and many more …

Aufgewachsen ist der Amerikaner mit japanischen Wurzeln in Kalifornien auf einer Farm, ohne Fernsehen, Kino und Stereoanlage. Stattdessen gab es ein Klavier. Und darauf wurde Hausmusik gemacht. Dies hat Nagano bis heute nachhaltig geprägt.

Saša Michailidis se ptá předsedy Amatérské divadelní asociace, vedoucího ochotnického spolku Žumpa Jakuba Pilaře a koordinátora projektu Amatéři sobě, programového ředitele Jiráskova Hronova Jana Julínka z Národního institutu pro kulturu. Hraní amatérského divadla v Česku se ocitlo na Reprezentativním seznamu nehmotného kulturního dědictví lidstva UNESCO, 16. ledna to ochotníci oslaví v pražské Kulturní stanici Galaxie. Co to pro divadelníky znamená?Všechny díly podcastu Akcent můžete pohodlně poslouchat v mobilní aplikaci mujRozhlas pro Android a iOS nebo na webu mujRozhlas.cz.

durée : 00:10:16 - Sean Shepherd - On a clear day - dimanche 28 décembre - Le violoncelliste Jan Vogler et le chef d'orchestre Kent Nagano interprètent l'oratorio pour violoncelle, chœurs et orchestre de Sean Shepherd, On a Clear Day. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

durée : 00:10:16 - Sean Shepherd - On a clear day - dimanche 28 décembre - Le violoncelliste Jan Vogler et le chef d'orchestre Kent Nagano interprètent l'oratorio pour violoncelle, chœurs et orchestre de Sean Shepherd, On a Clear Day. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

durée : 00:10:16 - Sean Shepherd - On a clear day - dimanche 28 décembre - Le violoncelliste Jan Vogler et le chef d'orchestre Kent Nagano interprètent l'oratorio pour violoncelle, chœurs et orchestre de Sean Shepherd, On a Clear Day. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody wander straight into the delightfully unhinged heart of Japanese folklore, where the landscapes are beautiful, the temples are ancient, and the raccoon dogs have… opinions. And tricks. And extremely versatile anatomy. Fresh off Shea's travels through Nagano, the conversation opens with reflections on Japan’s quiet magic — misty mountains, timeless streets, and the spiritual gravity of places like Zenkoji Temple, where centuries of belief hang in the air like incense smoke. From there, things take a turn. A tanuki-shaped turn. Enter the Tanuki: real animal, legendary menace, folkloric chaos goblin. Known in English as the Japanese raccoon dog, the tanuki occupies a strange and wonderful space where biology collides with myth. Shea and Jody dig into how this very real creature became one of Japan’s most beloved tricksters — a shapeshifter, a prankster, and a master of illusion who delights in confusing humans, impersonating monks, and generally causing low-stakes supernatural nonsense. And then there’s the scrotum. Yes, that scrotum. In tanuki folklore, it’s not just anatomy — it’s a multipurpose magical object capable of stretching, transforming, disguising, and occasionally funding a night out. Shea and Jody unpack how this bizarre detail isn’t just crude humor for humor’s sake, but ties back to real historical practices, particularly Kanazawa’s gold-leaf industry, where tanuki legends became symbols of wealth, flexibility, and good fortune. Folklore, it turns out, is nothing if not practical. Along the way, the episode explores why tanuki statues are everywhere in Japan — outside restaurants, shops, temples, and bars — grinning, wide-eyed, eternally mid-prank. These statues aren’t just cute roadside oddities; they’re cultural shorthand for prosperity, humor, and a reminder not to take life too seriously. Or at least to keep an eye on your wallet when magical animals are nearby. The discussion weaves together travel stories, religious history, art, pop culture, and the enduring appeal of a creature that refuses to behave. From ancient tales to modern anime, the tanuki continues to evolve, shape-shift, and bounce gleefully through Japanese storytelling, dragging its legends — and its lucky bag — right along with it. It’s an episode about Japan’s ability to hold beauty and absurdity in the same breath. About sacred spaces and silly stories. About how folklore survives because it entertains as much as it teaches. And about a mischievous raccoon dog whose legacy proves that sometimes, the weirdest stories are the ones that stick the longest. Visit our website for pictures from Shea's trip to Japan plus links to social media and more! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com Looking for a gorgeous SEO optimized website? We owe ours to www.easybrzy.com 

durée : 01:28:17 - Kent Naganov, toute la maîtrise d'un chef classique et contemporain - par : Aurélie Moreau - Kent Nagano, chef invité par les meilleures formations internationales, a été nommé Chef principal et directeur artistique de l'Orchestre et Chœur National d'Espagne à partir de septembre 2026. Aujourd'hui : Brahms, Chopin, Canteloube, Dvořák… Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Ai microfoni di Degiornalist - Gli Spaccanotizie, con Fabiana e Claudio Chiari, è stato ospite nella puntata di giovedì 11 dicembre Kristian Ghedina, allenatore di sci alpino, ex sciatore alpino, uno dei migliori specialisti delle prove veloci degli anni 1990, vincitore di tre medaglie iridate e di 13 gare in Coppa del Mondo. È appena stato pubblicato il libro Ghedo. Non ho fretta ma vado veloce, scritto insieme a Lorenzo Fabiano: «Ho raccontato un po' della mia vita, già mi era capitato ma sono successe altre cose, oltre alle gare che ho disputato - ha raccontato ai nostri microfoni Ghedina -. Ci sono state situazioni spiacevoli, tra l'altro, che avrebbero potuto fermarmi a livello di gare sciistiche, invece ho deciso di proseguire.GIOCHI OLIMPICI - Fabiana ha chiesto, nel prosieguo della chiacchierata: «Rileggendo il libro, ti sei corrisposto all'immagine che gli altri hanno di te?» e Kristian Ghedina ha risposto così: «Devo dire di sì, ed è stato molto bravo Fabiano perché mi ha aiutato tantissimo: in un'estate è stato fatto un lavoro che da solo avrei portato a termine fra dieci anni. Quando incontro le persone, mi dicono soprattutto: "Ma sei così anche davvero?" e ovviamente la risposta è sì, e lo considero un complimento». Ghedo ha disputato cinque Olimpiadi, ha sostenuto che la migliore - forse - è stata quella di Nagano, perché la pista era una delle sue preferite. Su Milano Cortina 2026: «Vorrei che le strutture costruite poi non restassero cattedrali nel deserto».

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the battle of lake Khasan. On a frost-bitten dawn by the Chaun and Tumen, two empires, Soviet and Japanese, stared at Changkufeng, each certain the ridge would decide their fate. Diplomats urged restraint, but Tokyo's generals plotted a bold gamble: seize the hill with a surprise strike and bargain afterward. In the Japanese camp, a flurry of trains, orders, and plans moved in the night. Officers like Sato and Suetaka debated danger and responsibility, balancing "dokudan senko", independent action with disciplined restraint. As rain hammered the earth, they contemplated a night assault: cross the Tumen, occupy Hill 52, and strike Changkufeng with coordinated dawn and night attacks. Engineers, artillery, and infantry rehearsed their movements in near-poetic precision, while the 19th Engineers stitched crossings and bridges into a fragile path forward. Across the river, Soviet scouts and border guards held their nerve, counting enemy shadows and watching for a break in the line. The clash at Shachaofeng became a lightning rod: a small force crossed into Manchurian soil in the restless dark, provoking a broader crisis just as diplomacy teetered.   #179 From Darkness to Crest: The Changkufeng Battle Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. As remarked in the 19th division's war journal "With sunset on the 30th, the numbers of enemy soldiers increased steadily. Many motor vehicles, and even tanks, appear to have moved up. The whole front has become tense. Hostile patrols came across the border frequently, even in front of Chiangchunfeng. Tank-supported infantry units were apparently performing offensive deployment on the high ground south of Shachaofeng." Situation maps from the evening indicated Soviet patrol activity approaching the staging area of Nakano's unit near the Tumen, moving toward Noguchi's company to the left of Chiangchunfeng, and advancing toward Matsunobe's unit southwest of Shachaofeng. Russian vessels were depicted ferrying across Khasan, directly behind Changkufeng, while tanks moved south from Shachaofeng along the western shores of the lake. The 19th division's war journal states "Then it was ascertained that these attack forces had gone into action. All of our own units quietly commenced counteraction from late that night, as scheduled, after having systematically completed preparations since nightfall." Meanwhile, to the north, the Hunchun garrison reinforced the border with a battalion and tightened security. All evidence supported the view that Suetaka "in concept" and Sato"(in tactics" played the main part in the night-attack planning and decisions. Sato was the only infantry regimental commander at the front on 30 July. One division staff officer went so far as to say that Suetaka alone exerted the major influence, that Sato merely worked out details, including the type of attack and the timing. Intertwined with the decision to attack Changkufeng was the choice of an infantry regiment. The 76th Regiment was responsible for the defense of the sector through its Border Garrison Unit; but the latter had no more than two companies to guard a 40-mile border extending almost to Hunchun, and Okido's regimental headquarters was 75 miles to the rear at Nanam. T. Sato's 73rd Regiment was also at Nanam, while Cho's 74th Regiment was stationed another 175 miles southwest at Hamhung. Thus, the regiment nearest to Changkufeng was K. Sato's 75th, 50 miles away at Hoeryong. Although Suetaka had had time to shuffle units if he desired, Sasai suggested that troop movements from Nanam could not be concealed; from Hoeryong they might be termed maneuvers. Suetaka undoubtedly had favorites in terms of units as well as chiefs. K. Sato had served longest as regimental commander, since October 1937; Okido's date of rank preceded K. Sato's, but Okido had not taken command until 1938. He and Cho were able enough, but they were unknown quantities; T. Sato and Cho were brand-new colonels.  Thus, K. Sato was best known to Suetaka and was familiar with the terrain. While he did not regard his regiment as the equal of units in the Kwantung Army or in the homeland, K. Sato's training program was progressing well and his men were rugged natives of Nagano and Tochigi prefectures. From the combat soldier's standpoint, the Changkufeng Incident was waged between picked regulars on both sides. The matter of quantitative regimental strength could have played no part in Suetaka's choice. The 74th, 75th, and 76th regiments each possessed 1,500 men; the 73rd, 1,200. Even in ordinary times, every unit conducted night-attack training, attended by Suetaka, but there was nothing special in July, even after the general inspected the 75th Regiment on the 11th. It had been said that the most efficient battalions were selected for the action. Although, of course, Sato claimed that all of his battalions were good, from the outset he bore the 1st Battalion in mind for the night attack and had it reconnoiter the Changkufeng area. Some discerned no special reasons; it was probably a matter of numerical sequence, 1st-2nd-3rd Battalions. Others called the choice a happy coincidence because of the 1st Battalion's 'splendid unity' and the aggressive training conducted by Major Ichimoto, who had reluctantly departed recently for regimental headquarters. Coming from the 75th Regiment headquarters to take over the 1st Battalion was the 40-year-old aide Major Nakano. By all accounts, he was quiet, serious, and hard-working, a man of noble character, gentle and sincere. More the administrative than commander type, Nakano lacked experience in commanding battalions and never had sufficient time to get to know his new unit (or they, him) before the night assault. He could hardly be expected to have stressed anything particular in training. Since there was no battalion-level training, the most valid unit of comparison in the regiment was the company, the smallest infantry component trained and equipped to conduct combat missions independently. Sato valued combat experience among subordinates; Nakano's 1st Battalion was considered a veteran force by virtue of its old-timer company commanders. All but one had come up through the ranks; the exception, young Lieutenant Nakajima, the darling of Sato, was a military academy graduate. For assault actions synchronized with those of the 1st Battalion, Sato selected Ito, the one line captain commanding the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion, and Takeshita, 10th Company commander, one of the two line captains of the 3rd Battalion. In short, Sato had designated five veteran captains and a promising lieutenant to conduct the night-attack operations of 30-31 July, the first Japanese experience of battle against the modern Red Army. During the last two weeks of July, numerous spurious farmers had gambled along the lower reaches of the Tumen, reconnoitered the terrain, and prepared for a crossing and assault. Scouts had operated on both the Manchurian and Korean sides of the river. Major Nakano had conducted frequent personal reconnaissance and had dispatched platoon and patrol leaders, all heavy-weapons observation teams, and even the battalion doctor to Sozan Hill, to Chiangchunfeng, and close to enemy positions. In Korean garb and often leading oxen, the scouts had threaded their way through the Changkufeng sector, sometimes holing up for the night to observe Soviet movements, soil and topography, and levels of illumination. From this data, Nakano had prepared reference materials necessary for an assault. Hirahara, then located at Kucheng BGU Headquarters, had established three observation posts on high ground to the rear. After Chiangchunfeng had been occupied, Hirahara had set up security positions and routes there. Regarding Changkufeng, he had sought to ensure that even the lowest private studied the layout. Formation commanders such as Takeshita had volunteered frequently. Sato had also utilized engineers. Since the order to leave his station on 17 July, Lieutenant Colonel Kobayashi had had his regiment engage in scouting routes, bridges, and potential fords. Sato's 1st Company commander had prepared a sketch during 3% hours of reconnaissance across from Hill 52 during the afternoon of 18 July. Captain Yamada's intelligence had contributed to the tactical decisions and to knowledge of Russian strength and preparations. The most important information had been his evaluation of attack approaches, suggesting an offensive from the western side, preferably against the right flank or frontally. This concept had been the one applied by the regiment in its night assault two weeks later; Yamada had died on the green slopes he had scanned. Cloudy Saturday, 30 July, had drawn to a close. The moment had been at hand for the 75th Regiment to storm the Russians atop Changkufeng. Setting out from Fangchuanting at 22:30, Nakano's battalion, about 350 strong, had assembled at a fork one kilometer southwest of Changkufeng. The roads had been knee-deep in mud due to intermittent rain and downpours on 29–30 July. Now the rain had subsided, but clouds had blotted out the sky after the waning moon had set at 22:30. Led by Sakata's 1st Platoon leader, the men had marched silently toward the southern foot of Changkufeng; the murk had deepened and the soldiers could see no more than ten meters ahead. It had taken Sakata's men less than an hour to push forward the last 1,000 meters to the jump-off point, where they had waited another two hours before X-hour arrived. Scouts had advanced toward the first row of wire, 200–300 meters away. Platoon Leader Amagasa had infiltrated the positions alone and had reconnoitered the southeastern side of the heights. Sakata had heard from the patrols about the entanglements and their distance and makeup. While awaiting paths to be cut by engineer teams, the infantry had moved up as far as possible, 150 meters from the enemy, by 23:30. Although records described Changkufeng as quite steep, it had not been hard to climb until the main Russian positions were reached, even though there were cliffs. But as the craggy peak had been neared, the enemy defenses, which had taken advantage of rocks and dips, could not have been rushed in a bound. It had been 500 meters to the crest from the gently sloping base. The incline near the top had been steep at about 40 degrees and studded with boulders. Farther down were more soil and gravel. Grass had carpeted the foot. Japanese Army radio communications had been in their infancy; wire as well as runners had served as the main means of linking regimental headquarters with the front-line infantry, crossing-point engineers, and supporting guns across the Tumen in Korea. From Chiangchunfeng to the 1st Battalion, lines had been installed from the morning of 29 July. Combat communications had been operated by the small regimental signal unit, 27 officers and men. In general, signal traffic had been smooth and reception was good. Engineer support had been rendered by one platoon, primarily to assist with wire-cutting operations. Nakano had ordered his 1st Company to complete clearing the wire by 02:00. At 23:30 the cutters had begun their work on the right with three teams under 1st Lieutenant Inagaki. Since the proposed breach had been far from the enemy positions and there were no outposts nearby, Inagaki had pressed the work of forced clearing. The first entanglements had been breached fairly quickly, then the second. At about midnight, a dim light had etched the darkness, signaling success. There had been two gaps on the right. On the left side, Sakata's company had hoped to pierce the barbed wire in secrecy rather than by forced clearing. Only one broad belt of entanglements, actually the first and third lines, had been reconnoitered along the south and southeastern slopes. Sakata had assigned one team of infantry, with a covering squad led by Master Sergeant Amagasa, to the engineer unit under 2nd Lieutenant Nagayama. Covert clearing of a pair of gaps had begun. The Russian stakes had been a meter apart and the teams cut at the center of each section, making breaches wide enough for a soldier to wriggle through. To the rear, the infantry had crouched expectantly, while from the direction of Khasan the rumble of Soviet armor could be heard. At 00:10, when the first line of wire had been penetrated and the cutters were moving forward, the silence had been broken by the furious barking of Russian sentry dogs, and pale blue flares had burst over the slopes. As recalled by an engineer "It had been as bright as day. If only fog would cover us or it would start to rain!" At the unanticipated second line, the advancing clearing elements had drawn gunfire and grenades. But the Russians had been taken by surprise, Sakata said, and their machine guns had been firing high. Two engineers had been wounded; the security patrol on the left flank may have drawn the fire. Sakata had crawled up to Lieutenant Nagayama's cutting teams. One party had been hiding behind a rock, with a man sticking out his hand, grasping for the stake and feeling for electrified wire. Another soldier lay nearby, ready to snip the wire. The enemy had seemed to have discerned the Japanese, for the lieutenant could hear low voices. Although the cutters had been told to continue clearing in secrecy, they had by now encountered a line of low barbed wire and the work had not progressed as expected. Forced clearing had begun, which meant that the men had to stand or kneel, ignoring hostile fire and devoting primary consideration to speed. The infantrymen, unable to delay, had crawled through the wire as soon as the cutters tore a gap. Ten meters behind the small breaches, as well as in front of the Soviet positions, the Japanese had been troubled by fine low strands. They had resembled piano-wire traps, a foot or so off the ground. The wires had been invisible in the grass at night. As one soldier recalled "You couldn't disengage easily. When you tried to get out, you'd be sniped at. The wires themselves could cut a bit, too." Sakata had kept up with the clearing teams and urged them on. On his own initiative, Amagasa had his men break the first and third lines of wire by 01:50. Meanwhile, at 01:20, Nakano had phoned Sato, reporting that his forces had broken through the lines with little resistance, and had recommended that the attack be launched earlier than 2:00. Perhaps the premature alerting of the Russians had entered into Nakano's considerations. Sato had explained matters carefully, that is, rejected the suggestion, saying Changkufeng must not be taken too early, lest the enemy at Shachaofeng be alerted. The entire battalion, redeployed, had been massed for the charge up the slope. In an interval of good visibility, the troops could see as far as 40 meters ahead. A little before 02:00, Nakano had sent runners to deliver the order to advance. When the final obstructions had been cut, Nagayama had flashed a light. Then a white flag had moved in the darkness and the infantry had moved forward. Sakata's company, heading directly for Changkufeng crest, had less ground to traverse than Yamada's, and the point through which they penetrated the wire had been at the fork, where there appeared to have been only two lines to cut. The soldiers had crawled on their knees and one hand and had taken cover as soon as they got through. It had been 02:15 when the battalion traversed the barbed wire and began the offensive. The Japanese Army manual had stated that unaimed fire was seldom effective at night and that it had been imperative to avoid confusion resulting from wild shooting. At Changkufeng, the use of firearms had been forbidden by regimental order. Until the troops had penetrated the wire, bayonets had not been fixed because of the danger to friendly forces. Once through the entanglements, the men had attached bayonets, but, although their rifles had been loaded, they still had not been allowed to fire. The men had been traveling light. Instead of the 65 pounds the individual rifleman might ordinarily carry, knapsack, weapons and ammunition, tools, supplies, and clothing, each helmeted soldier had only 60 cartridges, none on his back, a haversack containing two grenades, a canteen, and a gas mask. To prevent noise, the regulations had prescribed wrapping metal parts of bayonets, canteens, sabers, mess kits, shovels, picks, and hobnails with cloth or straw. The wooden and metal parts of the shovel had been separated, the canteen filled, ammunition pouches stuffed with paper, and the bayonet sheath wrapped with cloth. Instead of boots, the men had worn web-toed, rubbersoled ground socks to muffle sound. Although their footgear had been bound with straw ropes, the soldiers occasionally had slipped in the wet grass. Considerations of security had forbidden relief of tension by talking, coughing, or smoking. Company commanders and platoon leaders had carried small white flags for hand signaling. In Sakata's company, the platoons had been distinguished by white patches of cloth hung over the gas masks on the men's backs, triangular pieces for the 1st Platoon, square for the second. Squad leaders had worn white headbands under their helmets. The company commanders had strapped on a white cross-belt; the platoon leaders, a single band. Officer casualties had proven particularly severe because the identification belts had been too conspicuous; even when the officers had lay flat, Soviet illuminating shells had made their bodies visible. On the left, the 2nd Company, 70–80 strong, had moved up with platoons abreast and scouts ahead. About 10 meters had separated the individual platoons advancing in four files; in the center were Sakata and his command team. The same setup had been used for Yamada's company and his two infantry platoons on the right. To the center and rear of the lead companies were battalion headquarters, a platoon of Nakajima's 3rd Company, and the Kitahara Machine-Gun Company, 20 meters from Nakano. The machine-gun company had differed from the infantry companies in that it had three platoons of two squads each. The machine-gun platoons had gone through the center breach in the entanglements with the battalion commander. Thereafter, they had bunched up, shoulder to shoulder and with the machine guns close to each other. Kitahara had led, two platoons forward, one back. The night had been so dark that the individual soldiers had hardly been able to tell who had been leading and who had been on the flanks. The 2nd Company had consolidated after getting through the last entanglements and had walked straight for Changkufeng crest. From positions above the Japanese, Soviet machine guns covering the wire had blazed away at a range of 50 meters. Tracers had ripped the night, but the Russians' aim had seemed high. Soviet illuminating shells, by revealing the location of dead angles among the rocks, had facilitated the Japanese approach. Fifty meters past the barbed wire, Sakata had run into the second Soviet position. From behind a big rock, four or five soldiers had been throwing masher grenades. Sakata and his command team had dashed to the rear and cut down the Russians. The captain had sabered one soldier who had been about to throw a grenade. Then Master Sergeant Onuki and the others had rushed up and overran the Russian defenses. The Japanese had not yet fired or sustained casualties. There had been no machine guns in the first position Sakata had jumped into; the trenches had been two feet deep and masked by rocks. To the right, a tent could be seen. Blind enemy firing had reached a crescendo around 02:30. The Russians had resisted with rifles, light and heavy machine guns, hand grenades, rifle grenades, flares, rapid-fire guns, and a tank cannon. "The hill had shaken, but our assault unit had advanced, disregarding the heavy resistance and relying only on the bayonet." The battalion commander, Major Nakano, had been the first officer to be hit. Moving to the left of Sakata's right-hand platoon, he had rushed up, brandishing his sword, amid ear-splitting fire and day-like flashes. He had felled an enemy soldier and then another who had been about to get him from behind. But a grenade had exploded and he had dropped, with his right arm hanging grotesquely and many fragments embedded in his chest and left arm. After regaining consciousness, Nakano had yelled at soldiers rushing to help him: "You fools! Charge on! Never mind me." Staggering to his feet, he had leaned on his sword with his left hand and pushed up the slope after the assault waves, while "everybody had been dashing around like mad." Sakata had encountered progressive defenses and more severe fire. The main body of the company had lost contact with other elements after getting through the entanglements. Sakata had thought that he had already occupied an edge of Changkufeng, but about 30 meters ahead stood a sharp-faced boulder, two or three meters high, from which enormous numbers of grenades had been lobbed. The Japanese, still walking, had come across another Soviet position, manned by four or five grenadiers. Sword in hand, Sakata had led Sergeant Onuki and his command team in a rush : "The enemy was about to take off as we jumped them. One Russian jabbed the muzzle of his rifle into my stomach at the moment I had my sword raised overhead. He pulled the trigger but the rifle did not go off. I cut him down before he could get me. The others ran away, but behind them they left grenades with pins pulled. Many of my men fell here and I was hit in the thighs".  Onuki had felled two or three Russians behind Sakata, then disposed of an enemy who had been aiming at Sakata from the side. It had been around 03:00. On the right, the 1st Company had made relatively faster progress along the western slopes after having breached two widely separated belts of barbed wire. Once through the second wire, the troops had found a third line, 150 meters behind, and enemy machine guns had opened fire. Thereupon, a left-platoon private first class had taken a "do or die" forced clearing team, rushed 15 meters ahead of the infantry, and tore a path for the unit. At 03:00, Yamada had taken his men in a dash far up the right foot of the hill, overran the unexpected position, and captured two rapid-fire guns. The company's casualties had been mounting. Yamada had been hit in the chest but had continued to cheer his troops on. At 03:30, he had led a rush against the main objective, tents up the hill, behind the antitank guns. Yamada had cut down several bewildered soldiers in the tents, but had been shot again in the chest, gasping "Tenno Heika Banzai!" "Long Live the Emperor!", and had fallen dead. His citation had noted that he had "disrupted the enemy's rear after capturing the forwardmost positions and thus furnished the key to the ultimate rout of the whole enemy line." Sergeant Shioda, though wounded badly, and several of the men had picked up their commander's body and moved over to join Lieutenant Inagaki. On the left, Kadowaki had charged into the tents with his platoon and had played his part in interfering with the Russian rear. After this rush, the unit had been pinned down by fire from machine-gun emplacements, and Kadowaki had been wounded seriously. His platoon had veered left while watching for an opportunity to charge. Eventual contact had been made with Sakata's company.   The assault on the right flank had been failing. With the death of Yamada, command of the company had been assumed temporarily by Inagaki. He and his right-flank platoon had managed to smash their way through the entanglements; Inagaki had sought to rush forward, sword in hand. Furious firing by Soviet machine guns, coupled with hand grenades, had checked the charge. Losses had mounted. Still another effort had bogged down in the face of enemy reinforcements, supported not only by covered but by tank-mounted machine guns. Russian tanks and trucks had appeared to be operating behind Changkufeng. Sergeant Shioda had been trying to keep the attack moving. Again and again, he had pushed toward the Soviet position with five of his surviving men, to no avail. The left-flank platoon had sought to evade the fierce fire by taking advantage of rock cover and hurling grenades. Finally, a private first class had lobbed in a grenade, rushed the machine gun, and silenced the weapon. By now, precious time and lives had been lost. Either instinctively or by order, the 1st Company had been shifting to the left, away from the core of the enemy fire-net. Inagaki had decided to veer left in a wide arc to outflank Changkufeng from the same side where the 2nd Company and most of the battalion were at-tacking. There would be no further attempts to plunge between the lake and the heights or to head for the crest from the rear. Military maps had indicated tersely that remnants of the 1st Company had displaced to the 2nd Company area at 04:00, sometime after the last charge on the right by Yamada. On the left front, in the sector facing the main defenses on Changkufeng crest, Sakata had fallen after being hit by a grenade. A machine gunner had improvised a sling. "I had lost a lot of blood," Sakata had said, "and there were no medics. Onuki, my command team chief who had been acting platoon leader, had been killed around here. I had ordered Warrant Officer Kuriyama to take the company and push on until I could catch up." As Sakata lay on the ground, he had seen the battalion commander and the Nakajima company move past him in the darkness. Nakano had said not a word; Sakata had not known the major had been maimed. "I still hadn't felt intense pain," Sakata had recalled. "I had rested after the first bad feelings. In about 15 minutes I had felt well enough to move up the hill and resume command of my company." With both Nakano and Sakata wounded, individual officers or noncoms had kept the assault moving. The 1st Platoon leader, Kuriyama, had been securing the first position after overrunning it but had become worried about the main force. On his own initiative, he had brought his men up the hill to join the rest of the company, while the battalion aide, 2nd Lieutenant Nishimura, had made arrangements to deploy the heavy machine guns and reserve infantry in support. Before 4 A.M., these troops under Kitahara and Nakajima had caught up with the remnants of the 2nd Company, which had pressed beyond the third position to points near the Soviet Crestline.   By the time Sakata had regained his feet and moved toward the peak, somewhere between 03:30 and 04:00, the Japanese had been pinned down. Most of the losses had been incurred at this point. "Iron fragments, rock, sand, blood, and flesh had been flying around," Akaishizawa had written. Grenades had caused the preponderance of wounds after the men had penetrated the barbed wire. Deaths had been inflicted mainly by the Soviet "hurricane" of small arms and machine-gun fire and by ricochets ripping from man to man. Six Russian heavy weapons had kept up a relentless fire from three emplacements, and milk-bottle-shaped grenades had continued to thud down on the Japanese. The grenades had hindered the advance greatly. Mainly at the crest, but at every firing position as well, the Russians had used rifle grenades, primarily to eliminate dead angles in front of positions. There had been low piano wire between firing points, and yellow explosive had been planted amidst rock outcroppings and in front of the emplacements. "The Russians had relied exclusively on fire power; there had been no instance of a brave enemy charge employing cold steel." Only 20 meters from the entrenchments atop Changkufeng, Kitahara had been striving to regain the initiative and to hearten the scattered, reeling troops. One Japanese Army motto had concerned the mental attitude of commanders: "When surprised by the enemy, pause for a smoke." Kitahara had stood behind a rock, without a helmet, puffing calmly on a cigarette—a sight which had cheered the men. Sakata could not forget the scene. "It really happened," he had said, respectfully. As soon as Sakata had reached the forward lines, he had joined Kitahara (the senior officer and de facto battalion commander till then) and three enlisted men. All had been pinned behind the large boulder, the only possible cover, which had jutted in front of the Soviet crestline positions. Fire and flame had drenched the slopes, grenades from the peak, machine guns from the flank. The eastern skies had been brightening and faces could be discerned. Troubled by the stalemate yet not feeling failure, Sakata had said nothing about his own wounds but had told Kitahara he would lead his 2nd Company in a last charge up the left side of Changkufeng if only the machine gun company could do something about the enemy fire, especially some Soviet tanks which had been shooting from the right. "The enemy must have learned by now," the regimental records had observed, "that our forces were scanty, for the Soviets exposed the upper portions of their bodies over the breastworks, sniped incessantly, and lobbed illuminating shells at us." Agreeing with Sakata that the "blind" Japanese would have to take some kind of countermeasure to allow his two available heavy machine guns to go into concerted action, Kitahara had ordered illuminating rounds fired by the grenade dischargers. He had clambered atop the boulder and squatted there amidst the furious crossfire to spot for his guns, still only 20 meters from the Russian lines. Perhaps it had been the golden spark of Kitahara's cigarette, perhaps it had been the luminescence of his cross-bands, but hardly a moment later, at 04:03 am, a sniper's bullet had caught the captain between the eyes and he had toppled to his death. Nakajima had wanted to support Sakata's stricken company as well. The lieutenant had seen the advantage of outflanking the emplacements from the far left of Changkufeng where the fire of two Soviet heavy machine guns had been particularly devastating. Nakajima had swung his reserve unit around the crest to the southwest side, pressed forward through deadly grenade attacks, and had managed to reach a point ten meters from the Russian positions. Perched on the cliff's edge, he had prepared to continue: "Nakajima, who had been calming his men and looking for a chance to advance, leaped up and shouted, "Right now! Charge!" Sword in hand, he led his forces to the front on the left and edged up against the crest emplacements. But the enemy did not recoil; grenades and machine gun fusillades burst from above on all sides. Men fell, one after another. [During this final phase, a platoon leader and most of the key noncoms were killed.] A runner standing near Nakajima was hit in the head by a grenade and collapsed. Nakajima picked up the soldier's rifle, took cover behind a boulder, and tried to draw a bead on a Russian sniper whom he could see dimly 20 meters away through the lifting mist. But a bullet hit him in the left temple and he pitched forward, weakly calling, "Long Live the Emperor!" A PFC held the lieutenant up and pleaded with him to hang on, but the company commander's breath grew fainter and his end was at hand. The time was 4:10 am". Nakajima's orderly said of the event "Lieutenant Nakajima charged against the highest key point on Changkufeng, leading the reserve unit, and ensured the seizure of the hill. The lieutenant was wearing the boots which I had always kept polished but which he had never worn till this day." Akaishizawa added that Nakajima had purified himself in the waters of the Tumen before entering combat, in traditional fashion. Lieutenant Yanagihara had penned a tribute to his young fellow officer, the resolute samurai "Lt. Nakajima must have been expecting a day like today. He was wearing brand-new white underclothes and had wrapped his body with white cloth and the thousand-stitch stomach band which his mother had made for him. .. . Was not the lieutenant's end the same as we find in an old tanka verse? "Should you ask what is the Yamato spirit, the soul of Japan: It is wild cherry blossoms glowing in the rising sun."  On this main attack front, Soviet heavy machine guns and tanks had continued to deliver withering fire against the Japanese remnants, while Russian snipers and grenadiers had taken an increasing toll. Shortly after 04:00, enemy reinforcements had appeared at the northeast edge. Of the company commanders, only Sakata had still been alive; the other three officers had died between 03:30 and 04:30. A machine gunner who had been pinned down near the crest had commented: "It must have been worse than Hill 203" (of bloody Russo-Japanese War fame). Between a half and two-thirds of each company had been dead or wounded by then. Sakata had still been thinking of ways to rush the main positions. After Kitahara had been shot down, he had moved around to investigate. A colleague had added: "The agony of the captain's wounds had been increasing. He rested several times to appease the pain while watching intently for some chance to charge once more." Now, Sakata had been wounded again by grenade fragments tearing into the right side of his face. "It hadn't been serious," Sakata had insisted. As he had limped about, he could see his platoon leader, Kuriyama, sniping at a Russian grenadier.   Much would depend on the effectiveness of supporting firepower. With the death of Kitahara, control of the machine-gun company had been assumed by Master Sergeant Harayama. There had been almost no time to coordinate matters before Kitahara had fallen, but Harayama as well as Sakata had known that the infantry could not break loose until the Soviet heavy weapons had been suppressed. Working with another sergeant, Harayama had ordered his gunners to displace forward and rush the positions 20 meters away. The one heavy machine gun set up for action had been the first to fire for the Japanese side at Changkufeng, after its crew had manhandled it the last few meters to the first Soviet trench below the crest. The trench had been empty. Thereupon, the gunner had opened up against tents which could be seen 20 meters to the rear. Other friendly machine guns had begun to chatter. Kuriyama had dashed up and secured the southeast edge of the heights. Enemy resistance had begun to slacken. What appeared to be two small Soviet tanks, actually a tank and a tractor had been laying down fire near the tents in an apparent effort to cover a pullback. The two vehicles had advanced toward the Japanese and sought to neutralize the heavy machine guns. A squad leader had engaged the tractor, set it afire, and shot down the crewmen when they had tried to flee. Next, the tank had been stopped. The Japanese lead gun had consumed all of its armor-piercing (AP) ammunition—three clips, or 90 rounds—in 10 or 15 seconds. No more AP ammunition had been available; one box had been with the last of the six squads struggling up the heights. "More AP!" had yelled the 1st Squad leader, signaling with his hand—which had at that moment been hit by a Russian slug. A tank machine-gun bullet had also torn through the thumb and into the shoulder of the squad's machine gunner, whereupon the 21-year-old loader had taken over the piece. Similar replacements had occurred under fire in all squads, sometimes more than once in the same unit. "It had been a fantastic scene," Sakata had commented. "Just like grasshoppers! But they had finally neutralized the heavy weapons." The knocked-out Russian vehicles had begun to blaze while the eastern skies had lightened. New enemy tanks (some said many, others merely three) had lumbered up the slopes, but the Japanese heavy machine guns had continued to fire on them, and the tanks had stopped. If the machine guns had gone into action minutes later, the Russian armor might have continued to the top, from which they could have ripped up the surviving Japanese infantrymen: "So we gunners fired and fired. I could see my tracers bouncing off the armor, for there was still no AP. We also shot at machine guns and infantry. Since we carried little ammo for the night attack, my gun ran out, but by then the enemy had been ousted. We had originally expected that we might have to fire in support of the infantry after they took the crest. We lost none of our own heavy machine guns that night, overran four Maxims and captured mountains of hand grenades. By dawn, however, our machine gun company had lost more than half of its personnel—about 40 men".  The light-machine-gun squad leader had been wounded in the hand by a grenade near the site where Sakata had been hit. Nevertheless, the superior private had clambered up the slope with his men. After 04:00, when he and his squad had been pinned down with the infantry below the crest, he had heard Japanese heavy machine guns firing toward the foe on the right: "Our units were in confusion, bunched up under terrific fire in a small area. Getting orders was impossible, so I had my light machine gun open up in the same direction at which the heavies were firing. We could identify no targets but tried to neutralize the enemy located somewhere on the crest. Although Soviet flares were going off, we never could glimpse the enemy clearly. But we heard the Russians yelling "Hurrah!" That ought to have been the signal for a charge; here it meant a retreat".  But, of the ten men in this Japanese machine-gun squad, only four had been in action when dawn had come. The turning point had arrived when the machine-guns belonging to Sakata, and the reserves of the late Nakajima, had torn into the Russian emplacements, tanks, and tents behind. Others had said the key had been the fire of grenade dischargers belonging to the same units. A high-angle weapon, the grenade discharger, had been light, effective, and ideal for getting at dead space. In terms of ammunition, it had been especially useful, for it could fire hand grenades available to the foot soldier. Undoubtedly, the combined action of the grenade dischargers and machine guns (heavy and light) had paved the way for a last charge by the infantry. The four light machine guns of the 2nd and 4th companies had played their part by pouring flank fire against the Russians, who had clung to the position although Kuriyama's platoon had made an initial penetration. At about 04:30, Japanese assault forces could be seen dimly, in the light of dawn, exchanging fire with the Russians only a few meters away on the southern edge of Changkufeng Hill. At the same time, on the northern slopes, enemy reinforcements numbering 50 men with trucks and tanks had been scaling the hill. Around 04:45, Japanese grenades began to burst over the heads of the last enemy atop Changkufeng; the Russians had wavered. After the heavy weapons had finally begun to soften up the Soviet positions, Sakata had judged that there were not many Russians left. He had jumped into the first trench, ahead of his only surviving platoon leader, Kuriyama, and several soldiers. Two or three Russians had been disposed of; the rest had fled. By then the 2nd Company had been chopped down to a platoon; about 40 men still lived. There had been no cheer of banzai, as journalists had written; it would have drawn fire to stand up and raise one's arms. But Sakata had remained proud of the assertion by Sato that, from Chiangchunfeng, he had observed the last rush and knew the "real story," that "Sakata was the first to charge the peak." The regimental eulogist had written that Sakata's earnestness "cut through iron, penetrated mountains, and conquered bodily pain." As for Inagaki, about 15 or 20 minutes after the badly wounded Sakata had managed to reach the point where Kitahara and Nakajima had been pinned down near the Crestline, the lieutenant had arrived with the remnants of Yamada's company, probably by 04:20. The records would have us believe that Sakata had been able to coordinate the next actions with Inagaki despite the storm of fire: "The acting battalion commander [Sakata] resumed the charge with a brand-new deployment—his 2nd Company on the right wing and the 1st Company on the left." Actually, all Sakata could think of had been to charge; it had been too confused a time to issue anything like normal orders as acting battalion commander: "About all I remember asking Inagaki was: "What are you doing over here? What happened to your company commander?" I think he told me that Yamada had been killed and resistance on the right flank had been severe. Undoubtedly, he acted on his own initiative in redeploying. Nor was there any particular liaison between my company and Inagaki's force." To the left of Sakata's survivors were the vestiges of Nakajima's platoon, and further to the left, the outflanking troops brought up by Inagaki. These forces gradually edged up to the rear of the foe, in almost mass formation, on the western slope just below the top. "The enemy soldiers who had been climbing up the northern incline suddenly began to retreat, and Inagaki led a charge, fighting dauntlessly hand-to-hand." As a result of the more or less concerted Japanese assaults, "the desperately resisting enemy was finally crushed and Changkufeng peak was retaken completely by 05:15," three hours after the night attackers had jumped off. Akaishizawa had said that the troops "pushed across the peak through a river of blood and a mountain of corpses. Who could withstand our demons?" Sato's regimental attack order had called for the firing of a green star shell to signal success. At 05:15, according to the records, "the signal flared high above Changkufeng, showering green light upon the hill; the deeply stirring Japanese national flag floated on the top." Sakata thought that this must have been 10 or 20 minutes after the hill was taken, but he remembered no flare. "After the last charge I had no time to watch the sky!" The flare had probably been fired from a grenade launcher by the battalion aide or a headquarters soldier. After the final close-quarter fighting, Sakata had pressed forward while the survivors came up. The captain had deployed his men against possible counterattack. Later he had heard that Soviet tanks had lumbered up to reinforce the peak or to counterattack but that, when they observed the Japanese in possession of the crest, they had turned back. Only after his men had secured the peak had Sakata talked to Inagaki about sharing defensive responsibility. The records described Sakata's deployments at 05:20, but there had been painfully few men to match the tidy after-action maps. Did Sakata and his men push across the peak? "Not downhill a bit," he had answered. "We advanced only to the highest spot, the second, or right-hand peak, where we could command a view of the hostile slope." He had merely reconnoitered to deploy his troops. The senior surviving Japanese officer atop Changkufeng heights had been Sakata. What had happened to Major Nakano, who had been wounded shortly after jump-off? Although his right arm had been shattered, he had dragged himself to his feet, once he had regained consciousness, and kept climbing to catch up. His men had pleaded with him to look after his terrible wounds, but he had insisted on advancing, leaning on his sword and relying on spiritual strength. "Left! Move left!" he had been heard to shout, for the faltering Japanese had apparently been of the opinion that they were at the enemy's rear. Instead, they had pressed against the Russians' western wing, directly in front of the enemy works, from which murderous fire had been directed, especially from machine-gun nests ripping at their flanks. With sword brandished in his uninjured hand, high above his head, Nakano had stood at the corner of the positions. The explosion of an enemy grenade had illuminated him "like the god of fire," and he had been seen to crumple. He had died a little before 0500, to the left of where young Nakajima had fallen at 0430. His citation had said: "The battalion commander captured Changkufeng, thanks to his proper combat guidance and deployments. He provided the incentive to victory in the Changkufeng Incident." A eulogist had called Nakano a "human-bullet demon-unit commander": "All who observed this scene were amazed, for it was beyond mortal strength. One could see how high blazed the flame of his faith in certain victory and what a powerful sense of responsibility he had as unit commander. Major Nakano was a model soldier." When Nakano had pitched forward, badly wounded PFC Imamura had tried to protect the commander's corpse. Imamura had killed a soldier who appeared from behind a boulder, had lunged at another two or three, but had toppled off the cliff. Two other Japanese privates—a battalion runner and PFC Iwata—had been lying nearby, hurt seriously; but when they saw Imamura fall to his death, leaving the major's body undefended, they had dragged themselves to the corpse, four meters from the foe. Iwata, crippled and mute, had hugged Nakano's corpse until other soldiers managed to retrieve it. While death had come to Nakano, Sakata had been fighting with no knowledge of what was going on to his left. Pinned behind a boulder, he had had no way of checking on the battalion commander. Only after Sakata had charged onto the crest and asked for the major had he been told by somebody that Nakano had been killed. He had not even been sure where the commander had fallen. Such had been the time of blood and fury when battalion chief, company commanders, and platoon leaders had fought and died like common soldiers, pressing on with saber or pistol or sniping rifle under relentless cross-fire. Pretty patterns of textbook control had meant nothing. Life—and victory—depended on training, initiative, raw courage, and the will to win. The result of this combination of wills could not be ascertained, on 31 July 1938, until dawn brightened the bleeding earth on Changkufeng Hill. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Tokyo gambled on a night strike to seize Changkufeng, while diplomacy urged restraint. Amid mud, smoke, and moonless skies, Nakano led the 1st Battalion, supported by Nakajima, Sakata, Yamada, and others. One by one, officers fell, wounds multiplying, but resolve held. By 05:15, shattered units regrouped atop the peak, the flag rising as dawn bled into a costly, hard-won victory.

Close your eyes & imagine a scene unfolding in front of you - the air is cold & crisp, your breath barely visible in the darkness as you exhale, the warm air in your lungs condensing into clouds of fog as it leaves your body. Everything is quiet & the trees sit still around you, all of the sounds gently muffled, other than a faint warm rumble of sub frequencies, somewhere in the distance. You can't quite pinpoint it but you follow the sound as your feet softly crunch down on frozen earth. As you get closer, you suddenly notice a mysteriously intriguing concrete structure start to appear in the forest. Lights glowing from windows partly shrouded in freshly fallen snow, resembling an abandoned bunker, eerie but peaceful. The music invites you towards it, so you open the door & step in. Immediately you're enveloped by warm, humid air & hit with a full spectrum of sound, as if the opening of the door was the opening of a low pass filter. For this week's Delayed with edition, we welcome Berlin-based artist Valentin Ginies with a special recording from this bunker in the woods. You may be familiar with Valentin already, as the man behind 11001 Records, or through the festival he organizes outside of Berlin, Third Eye Festival. Last December, he was lucky enough to play an all night long set at this mysterious venue, after the first big snowstorm of the year, with 1 meter of snow on the ground. Aptly named Concrete, the venue is as discreet as it gets, an intimate, minimalist space with no signage on the outside, tucked away in the mountains of a small village in the Japanese Alps called Hakuba, just outside the city of Nagano in Japan. The recording consists of the first 2 hours of his set, where he slowly & steadily drew people into the space, setting the tone for what was to come. @valentinginies www.instagram.com/valentin_ginies/ Write up by @aspetuck Follow us on social media: @itsdelayed linktr.ee/delayed www.delayed.nyc www.facebook.com/itsdelayed www.instagram.com/_____delayed www.youtube.com/@_____delayed Contact us: info@delayed.nyc

For episode 316 of the Glass and Out Podcast we welcome CEO of Sports Innovation Lab Angela Ruggiero. She is best known as a 4x Olympian and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. She was a senior in high school when she played for Team USA and won gold at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. In 2004 she won the Patty Kaizmeir Award as the top player in college hockey. She was also the first woman to play in a regular season professional hockey game in North America at a position other than goalie when she suited up for the Tulsa Oilers in a Central Hockey League game. However, her list of achievements extend well beyond her career as an athlete.  That includes time as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2010 to 2018. She served as a member of the Executive Board of the IOC after being elected Chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, a post which she held from 2016 to 2018. She also has an MBA from Harvard and was a senior management associate with Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. Listen as she shares why learning to love adversity is key to success in life, why utilizing data in sports has to be built on trust, and why athletes are the best opportunity for corporations in the world.

This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by returning guest Paul Volsch of VOW's own Emerald FlowShow (https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshow) as they start things out with a bit of discussion about the recent announcement of Kazuchika Okada as Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement opponent. Once that unfortunate topic is out of the way, they break down NOAH's 11/8 Korakuen show which featured two title changes, one welcome and one not-so-welcome. Plus, they discuss where NOAH might be going for the big 1/1 Nippon Budokan show and look ahead to the rest of their November.Next up, John & Paul break down the opening three nights of the Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League- 11/7 from Korakuen Hall, 11/8 from Gunma and 11/9 from Nagano. They talk the surprising reveal of HANAKO's mystery opponent, fake luchadoras, Mean Bozilla, a whole lot of solid tag matches and more, before looking ahead to an even more packed four tournament nights for next week.Then they give a full review of Tokyo Joshi's 11/9 Korakuen show, which happened to be one they both very much enjoyed. They discuss an outstanding main event, some issues with the tag title match, a bunch of other enjoyable undercard matches and TJPW announcing a match for their 1/4 show that has them both psyched. Finally, they wrap things up by heading back to Dragongate for the first time in a while, with John giving some short-form thoughts on the top matches from their two Osaka shows last week before getting in to a full review of the King of Gate opener from Korakuen on 11/6!Fill out this form if you're interested in appearing on our Wrestle Kingdom Week preview show: https://forms.gle/PoTPsfetRribc4Av9Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The great French soprano Rachel Yakar died on 24 June 2023 at the age of 87. As she frequently performed opposite our last subject, Swiss tenor Eric Tappy, this episode makes a suitable pendant to that one. Celebrated for her transcendent performances of Baroque music, (Monteverdi and the French Baroque in particular), Yakar was (like previous podcast subjects Eugene Holmes, Oralia Domínguez, Hana Janků, Gwendolyn Killebrew, and Teresa Żylis-Gara) also a member of ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, with which company she performed for more than 25 years, singing a dizzying range of repertoire, everything from Mélisande to Arabella, Liù to Rusalka, Euridice to Desdemona. She also performed Donna Elvira and the Marschallin at Glyndebourne; and was an unforgettable Poppea in the Ponnelle-Harnoncourt Monteverdi cycle filmed for Unitel. In her prime she was also a frequent visitor to the recording studio, singing everything from Rameau to Varèse, Mozart to Messiaen, with conductors from Harnoncourt to Boulez, Leonhardt to Nagano. She was also a devoted song recitalist and in the later years of her career, she made two recordings of melodies for Virgin Records with the admirable support of her long-term accompanist Claude Lavoix. For the majority of this episode, I have chosen excerpts from both of those recordings, featuring the songs of Fauré and Hahn, which include settings of poets central to their output, including Paul Verlaine, Armand Silvestre, Léconte de Lisle, and Théodore de Banville, supplementing it with additional material in French by Ravel, Lekeu, Clérambault, Messiaen, and Poulenc. Yakar, who, like Régine Crespin and Nadine Denize, studied under the French dramatic soprano Germaine Lubin, was renowned for her faultless technique, her acting prowess, her peerless French diction, and her communicative artistic sensibility, traits of which are all in evidence in all of her recordings from the 1960s through the end of her career in the mid-1990s. Yakar was especially treasured by her colleagues, friends, and students for the warmth and effervescence of her personality, and her devotion to passing on her knowledge and experience to a younger generation of singers. May you delight in the delicacy, humor, precision, and pathos of one of the most prodigiously gifted and versatile vocal artists of her generation. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and author yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Autumn Heirlooms and Unexpected Friendships Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2025-10-29-22-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 秋の風がそっと吹き、長野のゲートコミュニティは色鮮やかな紅葉で包まれていました。En: The autumn breeze blew gently, wrapping the Nagano gated community in vibrant autumn leaves.Ja: 小さな伝統的な家々には、ランタンと祭りの飾りが飾られ、焼き鳥の香りが漂う中、秋祭りの準備が進んでいました。En: Small traditional houses were adorned with lanterns and festival decorations, and amidst the aroma of yakitori, preparations for the autumn festival were underway.Ja: その日、ユウトは落ち着かない様子で歩いていました。En: That day, Yuto walked around restlessly.Ja: 彼の心はアキコに向けられていました。En: His thoughts were focused on Akiko.Ja: アキコはいつも明るく元気で、コミュニティの伝統を大切にしている女性です。En: Akiko was a woman who was always cheerful and lively, and she cherished the community's traditions.Ja: しかし、祭りの準備中に、大切な家宝を失くしてしまったのです。En: However, during the festival preparations, she had lost an important family heirloom.Ja: 「どうしよう…」アキコは不安そうに呟きました。En: "What should I do..." Akiko muttered anxiously.Ja: その様子を見たユウトは、彼女を助けたいと思いました。En: Seeing her like this, Yuto wanted to help her.Ja: そして、兄のヒロシに協力を頼むことを決心します。En: He decided to ask his older brother, Hiroshi, for assistance.Ja: ヒロシはアキコの兄で、En: Hiroshi is Akiko's older brother.Ja: 少し疑い深い面もありますが、妹のことを大切にしています。En: While he can be a bit skeptical, he cares deeply for his sister.Ja: ユウトがヒロシに対して真剣にお願いすると、ヒロシは少し戸惑いつつも、「わかりました。協力します」と微笑みました。En: When Yuto earnestly asked him for help, Hiroshi, though a bit perplexed, smiled and said, "Alright. I'll help."Ja: 二人は飾り付けを一つ一つ確認しながら、慎重に探しました。En: The two of them carefully searched, checking each decoration one by one.Ja: 「ここじゃないかな」とヒロシが言った瞬間、ユウトは心臓がどきどきしました。En: The moment Hiroshi said, "Maybe it's here," Yuto felt his heart race.Ja: ついに、祭りの飾りの中に隠れていた家宝を見つけたのです。En: Finally, they found the family heirloom hidden among the festival decorations.Ja: 「やった！」ユウトとヒロシは嬉しさのあまりお互いに手を叩いて祝いました。En: "We did it!" Yuto and Hiroshi, overwhelmed with joy, clapped hands to celebrate.Ja: ちょうどその時、夕方の儀式が始まる合図の鐘が鳴りました。En: Just then, the bell signaling the start of the evening ceremony rang.Ja: アキコに報告すると、彼女の顔は喜びで輝きました。En: When they reported to Akiko, her face lit up with joy.Ja: 「本当にありがとう、ユウト、ヒロシ」と感謝の言葉を何度も繰り返しました。En: "Thank you so much, Yuto, Hiroshi," she repeatedly expressed her gratitude.Ja: 家宝が無事に戻り、皆で祭りを楽しむことができました。En: With the heirloom safely returned, everyone could enjoy the festival.Ja: その日の終わり、ユウトは自信を持ち、アキコの感謝とヒロシの尊敬を得ていました。En: By the end of that day, Yuto was filled with confidence, having earned Akiko's gratitude and Hiroshi's respect.Ja: 三人の間には新しい友情が生まれ、心温まる秋の一日が幕を閉じました。En: A new friendship blossomed among the three, bringing a heartwarming autumn day to a close. Vocabulary Words:breeze: 風gated community: ゲートコミュニティvibrant: 色鮮やかなadorned: 飾られlanterns: ランタンfestivities: 祭りaroma: 香りrestlessly: 落ち着かない様子でcherished: 大切にしているheirloom: 家宝muttered: 呟きましたanxiously: 不安そうにassistance: 協力skeptical: 疑い深いperplexed: 戸惑いearnestly: 真剣にdecorations: 飾り付けcarefully: 慎重にheart race: 心臓がどきどきしましたoverwhelmed: 嬉しさのあまりlit up: 輝きましたgratitude: 感謝blossomed: 生まれtradition: 伝統confidence: 自信respect: 尊敬heartwarming: 心温まるceremony: 儀式signaling: 合図returned (safely): 無事に戻り

Olympic figure skater Nicole Bobek has long been on our list of athletes to interview, and we're thrilled she's able to come on the show! In 1995, Nicole dazzled at the US Championships, winning gold and then taking bronze at the Figure Skating World Championships later that year.  Her career on and off the ice has had a lot of highs and lows, from her beautiful performances to dealing with injuries and the sudden death of her coach Carlo Fassi at the 1997 World Championships where she was still competing. Nicole also represented the US at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics. Nicole has a new memoir out called The Wild One, in which she talks candidly about her skating career and her life afterward, which involved an arrest for being part of an alleged drug ring, for which she served five years of probation.  Since then, Nicole has found her way back, and she embraces her role as a mother....and you can still find her free skating! Find out more about Nicole and her book The Wild One at her website: http://nicolebobek.com Follow Nicole on Insta! @nicolebobek77   In news from Milano Cortina 2026, we now know who will be the first torchbearers for the torch relay. One is a very inspired choice! Also, construction on the Milano Athletes Village has been completed, and Snoop Dogg is back. In news from LA 2028, organizers plan to use electric school buses for some shuttles, and the LA Convention Center is embarking on a massive renovation plan--will it be done in time for the Games? Also, Team New Zealand's planning an epic New Zealand House in Culver City. The International Paralympic Committee had its General Assembly, and we've got the results of some key votes (that not everyone is happy about). Plus, Team Keep the Flame Alive is busy representing TKFLASTAN at multiple competitions. And Listener Erica shared a great article about what author David Davis' book inspired.   For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Like this episode? Have thoughts on the show? Comment/write us a review, and you may be our review of the week!   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!    Photos courtesy of Nicole Bobek. *** Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348      

Hello Youtube Members, Patreons and Pacific War week by week listeners. Yes this was intended to be an exclusive episode to join the 29 others over on my Youtube Membership and Patreon, but since we are drawing to the end of the Pacific War week by week series, I felt compelled to make some special episodes to answer some of the bigger questions. Why did Japan, or better said, why did Emperor Hirohito decide to finally surrender? It seems obvious on the face of it, but there is actually a lot more to it than bombs or Soviet invasions. I guess you can call this episode a teaser or a shameless plug for going over to my Youtube Membership or Patreon. There's honestly a lot of interesting subjects such as ‘why was the japanese army so brutal”, “Hirohito's war time responsibility”, “the 4 part Kanji Ishiwara series”. Thus if you liked this one please show some love and check out my other stuff on my Youtube Membership or over at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.   Stating all of that lets just jump right into it.   We first need to start off briefly looking at Emperor Hirohito.    Upon taking the throne, Emperor Hirohito in 1926 Hirohito inherited a financial crisis and a military that was increasingly seizing control of governmental policies. From the beginning, despite what many of you older audience members may have been told, Hirohito intensely followed all military decisions. Hirohito chose when to act and when not to. When the Kwantung Army assassinated Zhang Zuolin, he indulged their insubordination. This emboldened them to invade Manchuria in 1931, whereupon Hirohito was furious and demanded they be reigned in. Attempts were made, but they were heavily undermined by radicals. Hirohito could have put his foot down, but he chose not to. On September 22nd, at 4:20pm Hirohito said to the IJA Chief of General staff, Kanaya Hanzo “although this time it couldn't be helped, the army had to be more careful in the future”. Thus Hirohito again acquiesced to the military, despite wanting them to stop or at least localize the conflict. The military had disregarded his wishes, they should have been severely punished. Why did Hirohito not take a firmer stance?    Again for older audience members you may have heard, “hirohito was a hostage at the whim of his own military”. This narrative made it seem he was some sort of hostage emperor, but this is not the case at all. In fact Hirohito was instrumental in many military decisions from 1931-1945. The reason this, I will call it “myth” , went on was because after Japan's surrender, the US basically rewrote the Japanese constitution and covered up the Emperor's involvement in all the nasty stuff, to maintain control over Japan. Yeah it sounds a bit conspiracy esque, but I assure you it was indeed the case. This narrative held firm all the way until Hirohito's death, when finally meeting notes and personal accounts from those close to him came out, illuminating a lot. Though to this day, many records are still red -tapped.   The reason Hirohito did not stamp his foot down has to do with the Kokutai.    The Kokutai   So before I carry on, I have to explain what exactly is the Kokutai.    The Kokutai, loosely translated as "national essence," refers to the qualities that distinguish the Japanese identity. However, this concept is remarkably vague and poorly defined; even Japanese historians acknowledge this ambiguity. In contrast to Kokutai is seitai, or "form of government." While the Kokutai embodies the eternal and immutable aspects of Japanese polity—rooted in history, traditions, and customs centered around the Emperor—Japan's seitai has evolved significantly throughout its extensive history. For instance, shoguns governed for over 700 years until 1868, when the Meiji Restoration reinstated direct imperial rule.   Nevertheless, Emperor Meiji's direct authority came to an end with the adoption of the Meiji Constitution in 1889, which established a constitutional monarchy, introducing significant complexities into the governance system.   Article 4 of the constitution declares: “The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, uniting the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, although subject to the consent of the Imperial Diet.” Under this framework, the Emperor alone possessed the power to appoint or dismiss ministers of state, declare war, negotiate peace, conclude treaties, direct national administration, and command the army and navy.   A glaring flaw in this arrangement is the inherent ambiguity of the Meiji Constitution. While it established a democratic parliament, it simultaneously afforded the Emperor absolute authority to usurp it. The document failed to clearly define the relationships between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and its language was intentionally vague. Most critically, the military—the army and navy—were not directly accountable to the civilian government.    So with the kokutai, the Emperor is a divine figure who embodies the state's sovereignty. It was not necessarily the Emperor's job to surrender on behalf of the official government of Japan, but he most certainly could do so, given the Japanese people still remained faithful to the kokutai.    Now Hirohito did not live an ordinary life. According to the imperial custom, Japanese royals were raised apart from their parents, at the age of 3 he was placed in the care of the Kwamura family who vowed to raise him to be unselfish, persevering in the face of difficulties, respectful of the views of others and immune to fear. One thing that was absolutely indoctrinated into him was to defend the kokutai. It became his top mission as a monarch, it was the only mission in many ways. At the very core of how he saw the world and how he acted, it was always to protect the kokutai.    So when the Japanese military began these insubordinate acts, Hirohito's primary concern was to the kokutai, ie: anything that threatened his imperial authority and the imperial institution itself. Although the military usurped his authority, the operations had been successful. Hirohito was not at all opposed to seeing his empire expand. He understood the value of manchuria, he was fully onboard with the military plans to eventually seize control over it, but these radicals were accelerating things to quickly for everyone's liking. He turned a blind eye, dished light punishments and carried on. However the local conflict escalated. It traveled to Shanghai by 1932 and here Hirohito took action. He understood Shanghai was full of western powers. Nations like Britain and America could place economic sanctions on Japan if things were allowed to get out of hand here. So he ordered General Yoshinori Shirakawa to bring the Shanghai expedition to a close.    During this period, two factions emerged within the Japanese military: the Kodoha, or “Imperial Way,” and the Toseiha, or “Control” faction. The Kodoha was founded by General Sadao Araki and his protégé, Jinzaburo Masaki. Their primary objective was a Shōwa Restoration aimed at purging Japan of corrupt politicians and businessmen, especially those associated with the zaibatsu. Composed mainly of young army officers, the Kodoha espoused a romanticized and radical interpretation of Bushido, idealizing pre-industrial Japan, which Araki believed had been tainted by Western influences. To achieve their goals, they resorted to assassinations and planned a coup d'état.   In response, the Toseiha faction was formed, initially led by Lt. General Tetsuzan Nagata and later by Hideki Tojo. Like the Kodoha, the Toseiha sought a Shōwa Restoration but adopted a more moderate and conservative approach. They recognized the importance of preserving traditional values while integrating Western ideals, advocating for a balanced perspective. The Toseiha promoted pragmatic military strategies to navigate the complexities of modern warfare. Although they acknowledged the existence of corrupt politicians and zaibatsu, they preferred to work within the existing political system, anticipating that future total wars would necessitate a strengthened industrial and military capacity. Their ranks primarily included promising graduates from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Academy, Army Staff College, and select naval members. The most significant distinction between the two factions was that the Toseiha explicitly rejected the use of a coup d'état in pursuit of their goals.   Between 1932-1936 radical officers, mostly of the Kodoha faction assassinated politicians and military leaders trying to usher in a showa restoration. You might be led to believe this was in the interest of Hirohito, you would be mistaken. Hirohito did not want a military dictatorship at the whim of the cult of the emperor. Ironic to say, given how WW2 turns out mind you. This really would have been a hostage situation. Hirohito wanted to maintain the exact ambiguous situation that was Showa Era Japan pre 1945. He saw this as the most ideal structure to defend the kokutai, because blame could not be placed solely upon his shoulders. He always maintained a get out of jail free card one could say.    The February 26 incident of 1936, was the climax of the Kodoha faction. They performed a mutiny trying to usher in a SHowa restoration. They assumed when their messenger came to the emperor he would join them and take direct rule. Instead Hirohito was furious. His first thought was the mutineers were trying to enlist his brother Chichibu to overthrow him. He dragged his brother who was a fraternizer amongst the kodoha members mind you, into a meeting, demanding he never associate with them again nor attempt to challenge him. Then Hirohito furious demanded the mutineers be dealt with. At one point he even threatened to lead the imperial guards to put them down. The coup failed, the kodoha faction was destroyed. Ironically the toseiha faction were the ones to do it and thus they became the defacto ruling clique.    The military, especially the kwantung army did not stop with their insubordination.    On July 8th of 1937 the Kwangtung army performed the Marco Polo Bridge incident, ushering in the second sino-japanese war. This was one of many false flag operations they had pulled off over the years. Upon being told about this Hirohito's first response was whether the USSR would invade Manchukuo over the matter. This is what he said to Prime Minister Konoe and army minister Sugiyama “What will you do if the Soviets attack us from the rear?” he asked the prince. Kan'in answered, “I believe the army will rise to the occasion.” The emperor repeated his question: “That's no more than army dogma. What will you actually do in the unlikely event that Soviet [forces] attack?” The prince said only, “We will have no choice.” His Majesty seemed very dissatisfied. Hirohito furious demanded to know what contingency plans existed and his advisors told him before he gave his red seal of approval to invade northern china.   Henceforth he micromanaged a lot of the military decisions going forward and he oversaw the forming and dissolving of numerous cabinets and positions when things went his way or did not in the military and political scene.  Emperor Hirohito was presented with several opportunities to cause cease-fires or peace settlements during the war years. One of the best possible moments to end it all came during the attack on Nanking when Chiang Kai-sheks military were in disarray. On July 11 of 1938, the commander of the 19th division fought a border clash with the USSR known to us in the west as the battle of Lake Khasan. It was a costly defeat for Japan and in the diary of Harada Kumao he noted Hirohito scolded Army minister Itagaki “Hereafter not a single soldier is to be moved without my permission.” When it looked like the USSR would not press for a counter attack across the border, Hirohito gave the order for offensives in China to recommence, again an example of him deciding when to lay down the hammer.   By 1939 the US began threatening sanctions for what Japan was doing in China. Hirohito complained to his chief aide de camp Hata Shunroku on August 5th “It could be a great blow to scrap metal and oil”. Hirohito was livid and scolded many of his top officials and forced the appointment of General Abe to prime minister and demanded of him “to cooperate with the US and Britain and preserve internal order”.   Fast forward a bit, with war raging in Europe Hirohito, on June 19th of 1940 Hirohito asked if chief of staff Prince Kan'in and Army Minister Hata “At a time when peace will soon come in the European situation, will there be a deployment of troops to the Netherlands Indies and French Indochina?” This question highlighted Hirohito's belief at that time that Germany was close to achieving victory, which led him to gradually consider deploying troops to French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies since neither of those parent nations was in a position to protect their territories and vital resources. Regarding the war in China, the Japanese aimed to stop the flow of materials entering China from places like Hong Kong. Hirohito received reports indicating that Britain would not agree to block the shipment of materials into China via Hong Kong. The military recognized that an invasion of Hong Kong might be necessary, which would mean declaring war on Britain. When this was communicated to him, Hirohito responded, “If that occurs, I'm sure America will enforce an embargo, don't you think?” In response, Kido, the lord of the privy seal, reassured him by stating, “The nation must be fully prepared to resist, proceeding with caution and avoiding being drawn into events instigated by foreign interests.”   Hirohito went through countless meetings, but eventually signed order number 458 authorizing the invasion of French Indochina, knowing full well the consequences. The US,UK and Netherlands began embargoes of oil, rubber and iron. In the words of Admiral Takagai “As time passes and this situation continues, our empire will either be totally defeated or forced to fight a hopeless war. Therefore we should pursue war and diplomacy together. If there is no prospect of securing our final line of national survival by diplomatic negotiations, we must be resolved to fight.” Hirohito understood the predicament full well, that each day Japan was wasting its oil reserves, if they were to strike it had to be quickly.   On October 13th Hirohito told his closest advisor Koichi Kido “In the present situation there seems to be little hope for the Japan–U.S. negotiations. If hostilities erupt this time, I think I may have to issue a declaration of war.”   The reason I am bringing up all this stuff is to solidify, Hirohito had agency, he was micromanaging and forming decisions. After the war broke out with the west, Hirohito did have the ability to stamp his foot down. Of course there could have been wild repercussions, his military could have usurped him with Chichibu, it was definitely possible. But you need to keep this mind set, as far as why Hirohito acts or doesn't, its always to protect the Kokutai. Thus one of the levers for peace, solely rested on Hirohito's perception if the kokutai could be retained or not.    From the outset of the Pacific War, Hirohito believed Germany was going to defeat the USSR. In line with his military leaders, they all believed Japan had to seize everything they could in the asia-pacific and thwart off the US until a negotiated peace could be met. Hirohito committed himself to overseeing the war, determined to achieve victory at any cost. He was a very cautious leader, he meticulously analyzed each campaign, anticipating potential setbacks and crafting worst-case scenario predictions. He maintained a skeptical view of the reports from his senior officials and was often harshly critical of high commanders.   While he did not frequently visit the front lines like other commanders in chief, Hirohito wielded significant influence over theater operations, shaping both planning and execution whenever he deemed necessary. Similar to his approach during the war in China, he issued the highest military orders from the Imperial Headquarters, conducted audited conferences, and made decisions communicated under his name. He regularly welcomed generals and admirals to the imperial palace for detailed briefings on the battlefront and visited various military bases, battleships, and army and naval headquarters. His inspections encompassed military schools and other significant military institutions, adding to his comprehensive involvement in the war effort.   Now the war went extremely well for Japan until the battle of Midway. This was as major setback, but Japan retained the initiative. Then the Guadalcanal campaign saw Japan lose the initiative to the Americans. Upon receiving the initial report of the Ichiki detachment's destruction, Hirohito remarked, “I am sure it [Guadalcanal] can be held.” Despite the numerous reports detailing the devastating effects of tropical diseases and starvation on his troops, he persistently demanded greater efforts from them. Hirohito exerted continuous pressure on his naval and land commanders to retake the island. On September 15th, November 5th, and November 11th, he requested additional Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops and aircraft to be allocated to the cause.   General Sugiyama expressed concerns about dispatching more IJA pilots due to their inexperience in transoceanic combat, preferring to reinforce the North China Army for an attack on Chongqing instead. Hirohito pressed the issue again, but Sugiyama responded that the IJA had diverted its air resources to New Guinea and Rabaul. Undeterred by the objections from senior commanders, Hirohito persisted in his demands. By late November, it became evident that Guadalcanal was a lost cause.   At an Imperial Headquarters conference on December 31st, 1942, the chiefs of staff proposed canceling the attempts to recapture Guadalcanal. Hirohito sanctioned this decision but stated, “It is unacceptable to just give up on capturing Guadalcanal. We must launch an offensive elsewhere.” He insisted on this point, leading to the selection of new strategic targets in the Solomons, north of New Georgia, and in the Stanley Range on New Guinea. Hirohito even threatened to withhold authorization for withdrawing troops from Guadalcanal until a new plan was established. He later opposed the withdrawal from Munda Airfield, as it contradicted the newly defined defensive line.   As the defensive perimeter in the central and northern Solomons began to crumble, Hirohito continued to insist that the navy engage in decisive battles to regain the initiative, allowing for the transport of supplies to the many soldiers trapped on various islands. When he learned of the navy's failure to reinforce Lae on March 3rd, he asked, “Then why didn't you change plans immediately and land at Madan? This is a failure, but it can teach us a good lesson and become a source of future success. Do this for me so I can have peace of mind for a while.” The phrase “Do this for me” would come to be his signature rallying cry.   After Guadal canal, it was loss after loss for Japan. By February of 1944, Hirohito forced Sugiyama to resign so Hideki Tojo could take his position as chief of the general staff, note Tojo was prime minister and army minister at this point. Hirohito worked alongside Tojo to plan some last ditch efforts to change the war situation. The most significant one was Operation Ichi-Go. As much damage as they did to China with that, Chiang Kai-Shek's government survived. Hirohito watched as island by island fell to the Americans. When the Americans were poised to take Saipan he warned Tojo “If we ever lose Saipan, repeated air attacks on Tokyo will follow. No matter what it takes, we have to hold there.” Saipan fell, so Hirohito stopped supporting Tojo and allowed his rivals to take down his cabinet by june 18th of 1944.    Hirohito remained resolute in his determination to wrest victory from the Allies. On October 18th, the Imperial Headquarters ordered a decisive naval engagement, leading to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the war, Hirohito publicly stated, "Contrary to the views of the Army and Navy General Staffs, I consented to the showdown battle at Leyte, believing that if we launched an attack and America hesitated, we might find an opportunity to negotiate." Leyte Gulf didnt work. The military began the kamikaze program. On new years day of 1945 Hirohito inspected the special last meal rations given to departing kamikaze units. Iwo Jima fell. Okinawa remained, and Hirohito lashed out “Is it because we failed to sink enemy transports that we've let the enemy get ashore? Isn't there any way to defend Okinawa from the landing enemy forces?” On the second day of Okinawa's invasion Hirohito ordered a counter landing by the 32nd army and urged the navy to counterattack in every way possible. It was a horrible failure, it cost the lives of up to 120,000 Japanese combatants, 170,000 noncombatants. The Americans lost 12,500 killed and 33,000 wounded. An absolute bloodbath.    The Surrender time   Now we come to the time period where Japan seriously began looking for ways to surrender. In Europe Germany was heading to its defeat and Japan knew this. As for Japan, their army in Burma had been annihilated. Their forces in China were faring better after Operation Ichi-go, having opened up a land corridor along the main railway from Beiping to Wuhan and from throughout Guangdong but still stuck in a deadlock stalemate, facing a guerrilla war that was costing them 64% of their military expenditures. They deeply feared once the Soviets finished up with Germany, they would undoubtedly turn east against Manchuria. With the Soviets attacking from the north, the US would attack from the south, perhaps landing in Shanghai and the home islands. The Kamikaze tactics were proving formidable, but not nearly enough. By 1945, 43% of the IJA were now stationed in Japan, Korea and Formosa, bracing for the final stand. Former prime minister Reijiro Wakatsuki came out of retirement in may of 1945, having heard Germany collapsed, to urge Hirohito and the Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki to open negotiations with the US as soon as possible. However he also said “the enemy must first be made to see the disadvantages of continuing the war”. To this Hirohito's chief counselor Makino Nobuaki said that “the ultimate priority is to develop an advantageous war situation.” Advisor admiral Kesiuke Okada said Japan should wait for “a moment favorable for us,” then make peace. Advisors Kiichiro Hiranuma and Koki Hirota advised the emperor to fight on until the end.   Now I want to bring in a key player to the surrender decision, that of Prince Konoe. Konoe was very close to Hirohito and understood the emperors mentality, especially how he viewed things in relation to the kokutai.    The senior statesman Prince Konoe had been consulting with Hirohito for over 18 months at this point trying to convey the message that if the war continued it would threaten the kokutai. Many months prior, he confided in the emperor's brother, Prince Takamatsu, that the army was suffering from “a cancer” in the form of the Toseiha faction. However, he noted that “Kido and others” did not share his perspective, while “his Majesty is relatively unconcerned with ideological issues.” For the past four years, he continued, the emperor had been advised and still believed that “the true extremists are the Kodoha faction.” In reality, the greater threat to the kokutai arose from the Toseiha faction. Konoe further asserted that if the war escalated, they would attempt to alter the kokutai.   Konoe speculated that whether the threat originated from communists within the nation, primarily referring to left-wing radicals in the Toseiha faction, or from the “Anglo-American enemy,” both would seek to preserve the emperor while pushing towards the country's communization.In his written report to the emperor on February 14, which Kido listened to attentively, Konoe elaborated on his conspiracy theory. He asserted that the Soviet Union regarded Japan as its primary threat in East Asia. The Soviets had allied with the Chinese Communists, the largest and most formidable Communist party in Asia, and were collaborating with the United States and Britain to drive Japan out of China. He warned that they would enter the war when the opportunity arose.   Defeat, he cautioned the emperor, was inevitable if the conflict persisted. However, he emphasized that a far greater fear was the potential destruction of the kokutai. The ongoing war was eroding the domestic status quo, unleashing forces that threatened Japan and its imperial institution from within as much as from external adversaries. The real danger lay in the emperor's and Kido's trust in the generals of the Toseiha faction, who were unintentionally facilitating the communization of Japan. Konoe implored for a swift peace settlement before a Communist revolution emerged, making the preservation of the kokutai impossible. Hirohito agreed with Konoe but stated “ To end the war would be “very difficult unless we make one more military gain.” Konoe allegedly replied, “Is that possible? It must happen soon. If we have to wait much longer, . . . [a mere battle victory] will mean nothing.” Hirohito replied “If we hold out long enough in this war, we may be able to win, but what worries me is whether the nation will be able to endure it until then.”   On February 15th of 1945, Hirohito's intelligence warned the Soviet Union would likely abrogate its Neutrality Pact with Japan. Even Tojo conceded there was a 50/50 chance the USSR would invade Manchuria. In March, the US began B-29 incendiary bombing raids over Tokyo, turning 40% of the capital into ash. On March 18th, Hirohito with some aides drove around the capital to witness the devastation. The civilians looked exhausted and bewildered to Hirohito. Factory production was collapsing, absenteeism was rising, instances of lese majeste were running rampant. For the next 5 months imperial family members and senior statesmen all began speaking to Hirohito about the “crises of the kokutai”. The threat Konoe had warned about for months was becoming the main talking point. It seemed like the Japanese people within the countryside and urban areas remained steadfast in the resolve to obey their leaders, work and sacrifice for their nation, but for how long would they feel so?    It was only after the battle for Okinawa was lost and 60 Japanese cities had been leveled by American incendiary bombs that Hirohito openly indicated he wanted to negotiate a surrender.   Kido's diary reveals the first clear indication that the emperor might be urged to consider an early peace on June 8, 1945, when Kido drafted his “Draft Plan for Controlling the Crisis Situation.” This marked a pivotal moment. It followed the unintentional bombing of the Imperial Palace, the complete loss of hope for saving Okinawa, and coincided with the day the Supreme War Leadership Council adopted the “Basic Policy for the Future Direction of the War.” With the fighting in Europe concluded, Japan found itself entirely isolated. Kido's plan, although vague, proposed seeking the Soviet Union's assistance as an intermediary to help Japan gain leverage in negotiations with its adversaries. By drafting this plan, Kido signaled the end of his long alliance with the military hard-liners. Hirohito's acceptance of it indicated his readiness for an early peace.   Hirohito was moved to an underground bunker in the mountains of Matsushiro in Nagano prefecture where upon those around him noted he fell into a deep depression. On June 22nd  Hirohito informed the Supreme War Leadership Council he wanted them to open diplomatic maneuvers to end the war. In early July Soviet Ambassador Jacob Malik broke off inconclusive talks with Hirota. Hirohito stepped in immediately and ordered a new special envoy be sent to Moscow. However Hirohito nor the Suzuki government had concrete plans on how to mediate a surrender through the Soviets. The only things they did prioritize was a guarantee of the emperors political position and retainment of the imperial system, ie the kokutai. This was taken into consideration rather than ending the war as quickly as possible to save the lives of millions.    From April 8, 1945, until Japan's capitulation, the Suzuki government's chief war policy was “Ketsugo,” an advanced iteration of the “Shosango” (Victory Number 3) plan for defending the homeland. The hallmark of this strategy was a heavy reliance on suicide tactics, including deploying a massive number of kamikaze “special attack” planes, human torpedoes launched from submarines, dynamite-stuffed “crash boats” powered by truck engines, human rocket bombs carried by aircraft, and suicide assaults by specially trained ground units.   While preparations for Operation Ketsu progressed, the Imperial Diet convened on June 9 to pass a Wartime Emergency Measures Law, along with five additional measures aimed at mobilizing the entire nation for this final battle. On the same day, the emperor, who had yet to initiate efforts to end the war, issued another imperial rescript in conjunction with the Diet's convocation, instructing the nation to “smash the inordinate ambitions of the enemy nations” and “achieve the goals of the war.” Concurrently, the controlled press launched a daily die-for-the-emperor campaign to foster gratitude for the imperial benevolence and, from around mid-July onward, initiated a campaign to “protect the kokutai.”   The Americans countered with their own propaganda aimed at breaking Japan's will to fight. B-29 bombers dropped millions of leaflets written in Japanese, announcing the next scheduled targets for bombing raids and urging surrender, while using the emperor to challenge the militarists. Leaflets bearing the chrysanthemum crest criticized the “military cliques” for “forcing the entire nation to commit suicide” and called on “everyone” to “exercise their constitutional right to make direct appeals [for peace] to the Emperor.” They asserted that “even the powerful military cliques cannot stop the mighty march for peace of the Emperor and the people.” One notable batch of seven million leaflets conveyed the terms of the “joint declaration” issued by the United States, Great Britain, and China. “Today we come not to bomb you,” they stated. “We are dropping this leaflet to inform you of the response from the United States government to your government's request for conditions of surrender.... Whether the war stops immediately depends on your government. You will understand how to end the war if you read these two official notifications.”   Amid pressures from imperial edicts to continue preparations for a final battle and focus solely on victory, the Japanese people were also subjected to an intense American psychological warfare campaign in addition to aerial bombardment. During late July and August, prefectural governors, police chiefs, and officers of the “special higher police” submitted reports to the Home Ministry detailing the rapidly deteriorating national morale.    Now on the other side, Roosevelt made it known back in January of 1943 at the Casablanca conference, the allies would only accept unconditional surrender. By 1945, the allies understood the predicament this left Japan with. On May 8th of 1945, Truman added “Japan's surrender would not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people” trying to indicate a non vindictive spirit. However the Kokutai question always remained ambiguous. State Department Joseph Grew, the former ambassador to Japan, began arguing to Truman they needed to make public a clear definition of the terms to persuade Japan to surrender. As he argued to Truman: Emperor Hirohito was seen as the key figure in Japan's surrender, likened to a "queen bee in a hive... surrounded by the attentions of the hive." Throughout the war, he was characterized in various ways—as a “puppet” of the militarists, a constitutional monarch, and a pacifist. Grew had immense faith in the influence exerted by what he referred to as the “moderates” surrounding the Japanese throne.    However many of Grew's colleagues argued the future existence of the monarchy was intolerable as it was akin to fascism. Many wanted to punish the emperor. Truman was in a tug of war. The Potsdam declaration issued on July 26th of 1945 came in the form of a ultimatum aiming to quicken japans surrender. Truman clarified the terms for the unconditional surrender at the end of its terms: "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction." Zero mention of the emperor. Grew had argued to add “this may include a constitutional monarchy under the present dynasty.” But it was deleted from the article. The status of the emperor was not guaranteed, the kokutai was thus up in the air.    The next day, the Suzuki cabinet rejected the terms. The Japanese leadership and Hirohito were still banking and awaiting Soviet replies to their terms.    Lets talk about the Soviet talks now   Back on July 12th ambassador Naotake Satō sent this message to the Soviets: “His Majesty the Emperor, mindful of the fact that the present war daily brings greater evil and sacrifice upon the peoples of all the belligerent powers, desires from his heart that it may be quickly terminated. But so long as England and the United States insist upon unconditional surrender, the Japanese Empire has no alternative but to fight on with all its strength for the honor and existence of the Motherland”.  However the Soviets had made commitments to their allies, promising in fact to invade Japan to aid them.    As for the Soviets their primary objective was to ensure unrestricted access to the Pacific Ocean. The year-round ice-free areas of the Soviet Pacific coastline, particularly Vladivostok, could be blockaded by air and sea from Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands. Securing these territories to guarantee free access to the Soya Strait was their main goal. Secondary objectives included acquiring leases for the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Southern Manchuria Railway, as well as gaining control over Dairen and Port Arthur.   To achieve these aims, Stalin and Molotov prolonged negotiations with the Japanese, creating a false sense of hope for a Soviet-mediated peace. Simultaneously, in their discussions with the United States and Britain, the Soviets insisted on strict adherence to the Cairo Declaration, which had been reaffirmed at the Yalta Conference. This declaration stipulated that the Allies would not accept a separate or conditional peace with Japan; thus, the Japanese would need to surrender unconditionally to all the Allies. The Soviets aimed to prolong the war by opposing any efforts to dilute this requirement. This approach would provide the Soviets with the necessary time to complete the transfer of their troops from the Western Front to the Far East and to conquer Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, northern Korea, South Sakhalin, the Kuriles, and potentially Hokkaidō, starting with an assault on Rumoi. AUGUST 1945   Thus we come to at last the critical point, August of 1945.    The Americans prepared for the deployment of atomic bombs and for an invasion of southern Kyushu, known as Operation Olympic, scheduled to commence on November 1. At 8:15 A.M. on August 6, a single B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay dropped little boy, devastating much of the undefended city of Hiroshima, instantly killing an estimated 100,000 to 140,000 people and leading to the deaths of possibly another 100,000 over the next five years. At the epicenter of the explosion, “a light appeared 3,000 times brighter than the sun,” creating a fireball that emitted thermal radiation capable of “instantly scorching humans, trees, and houses.” As the air heated and rushed upward, cold air surged in to ignite a firestorm. Hours later, a whirlwind escalated the flames to their peak until more than eight square miles were virtually reduced to cinders. Subsequently, black, muddy rain filled with radioactive fallout began to fall. Two days later, using Japan's rejection of the Potsdam Declaration as a pretext, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Then on August 9, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, resulting in the immediate deaths of approximately 35,000 to 40,000 people and injuring more than 60,000.   Meanwhile, in Tokyo, during the critical period between the Potsdam Declaration and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito remained silent about accepting the Potsdam terms. However, on July 25 and 31, he explicitly conveyed to Kido that the imperial regalia must be defended at all costs. The three sacred objects—a mirror, a curved jewel, and a sword—symbolized the legitimacy of his rule through the northern court and were integral to his identity as the divine sovereign. Hirohito's focus was on protecting these symbols of office, as he insisted on having them brought to the palace. This fixation on maintaining his symbols occurred during a pivotal moment when the pressing issue was whether to accept immediate capitulation. Reflecting on this, he was unprepared to seize the opportunity to end the war himself.   Prime Minister Suzuki, following his initial rejection of the Potsdam ultimatum, also saw no need for further action. His Cabinet Advisory Council, which included the president of Asano Cement, the founder of the Nissan consortium, the vice president of the Bank of Japan, and other representatives from the nation's leading business interests that had profited significantly from the war, convened on the morning of August 3. They recommended accepting the Potsdam terms, arguing that the United States would permit Japan to retain its non-military industries and continue participating in world trade.    Here are some reactions to the two bombs and invasion of Manchuria.    Yonai Mitsumasa said to admiral Takagi Sokichi, on August 12, that “I think the term is perhaps inappropriate, but the atomic bombs and the Soviet entry into the war are, in a sense, gifts from the gods [tenyu, also “heaven-sent blessings”]. This way we don't have to say that we quit the war because of domestic circumstances. I've long been advocating control of our crisis, but neither from fear of an enemy attack nor because of the atomic bombs and the Soviet entry into the war. The main reason is my anxiety over the domestic situation. So, it is rather fortunate that we can now control matters without revealing the domestic situation”.    Konoe's characterized the Soviet involvement in the war as “a godsend for controlling the army,”. Kido viewed of both the atomic bombings and the Soviet entry into the conflict as “useful” elements for ensuring a smooth transition. A nascent power struggle was unfolding, rendering the potential death toll—whether one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand—immaterial to those involved, as long as their desired outcome was achieved: an end to the war that would leave the monarchy intact and capable of managing the discontent that defeat would inevitably provoke. Throughout the final acts of this wartime drama, the Japanese “moderates” found it easier to capitulate to external pressures than to take decisive action on their own to conclude the war.   Another illuminating looks at Japan's elite's perspective on surrender terms was the document titled “Essentials of Peace Negotiations” (wahei kosho no yoryo). Drafted by Konoe and his adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Sakai Koji, after Konoe had reluctantly accepted a mission to Moscow, this document, stipulated the preservation of the emperor system, along with most of the imperial prerogatives, as the absolute minimum condition for peace. It defined the “original” or “essential homeland” as including the southern half of the Kurile Islands but showed a willingness to concede all overseas territories to the enemy, including Okinawa and the American-occupied Bonin Islands, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin. The “Essentials” also accepted complete disarmament for an unspecified period, thereby compromising on the issues of demobilizing and disarming the armed forces. More significantly, an “explanation” attached to the “Essentials” emphasized that “the main aim is to secure the imperial line and maintain the political role of the emperor.”    Why Japan surrendered   We come to it atleast after a long podcast. Why did Japan ultimately surrender?   The twin psychological shocks of the first atomic bomb and the Soviet entry into the war, combined with Kido's and the emperor's concern over escalating public criticism of the throne and its occupant, fueled an almost paranoid fear that, sooner or later, the populace would react violently against their leaders if the war persisted much longer. These factors ultimately led Hirohito to accept, in principle, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.   At the first meeting of the six member constituents of the Supreme War Leadership Council, held from 10:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on August 9, Army Minister Anami Korechika, Chiefs of Staff Umezu Yoshijiro, representing the army, and Yonai, representing the navy, along with Tōgō, from the Foreign Ministry, were expected to discuss the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Instead, the conversation revolved around whether to attempt a conditional surrender—specifically, should they insist on one condition, the preservation of the kokutai, or four?   After Suzuki addressed the assembly regarding the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Soviet attack, Yonai, as recounted by Navy Chief of Staff Toyoda, was the first to speak, framing the issue in terms of four conditions. “Let's start to talk, Do we accept the Potsdam Declaration with no conditions? If not, and we wish to insist on attaching hopes and conditions, we may do so this way. First, preservation of the kokutai; then for the rest, the main items in the Potsdam Declaration: treatment of war criminals, method of disarmament, and the matter of sending in an army of occupation.” Thus, the participants identified what they perceived to be the ambiguous points within the Potsdam Declaration and used them as the foundation for their discussions.   The army insisted on four conditions: First, the preservation of the kokutai, which they considered distinct from the Potsdam Declaration itself. The other conditions proposed were, second, that the Imperial Headquarters assume responsibility for disarmament and demobilization; third, a prohibition on occupation; and fourth, the delegation of the punishment of war criminals to the Japanese government. The army equated the kokutai with the emperor's right of supreme command. Their self-serving desire for autonomous war crimes trials was based on the belief that the Allies would use such trials to politically indict the military. Consequently, army leaders aimed to preempt the activities of any international tribunal by conducting their own trials—similar to the approach taken by the uninvaded and unrepentant Germans after World War I.   Supporting the military's views during cabinet meetings that day were three civilian members of the Suzuki cabinet: Justice Minister Matsuzaka Hiromasa, Home Minister Yasui Toji, and Minister of Health Okada Tadahiko. At the imperial conference that night, which extended into the early hours of the tenth, Foreign Minister Tōgō's interpretation of the “preservation of the kokutai” referred solely to the safeguarding of the Imperial House or dynasty, rather than the continuation of Hirohito's reign.   Hiranuma, another advocate for the single condition, interpreted the kokutai as the “emperor's sovereign right to rule the state [not] deriving from national law. Even if the entire nation is sacrificed to the war, we must preserve both the kokutai and the security of the imperial house.” This discrepancy illustrated that there was no completely unified understanding of what the kokutai entailed; the debate over one condition versus four represented conflicting visions for the future of the Japanese state and masked the competition for political power that was already unfolding.   It remains doubtful whether the emperor and Kido initially sided with Tōgō against the four conditions proposed by the senior military leaders. A more likely inference is that both men retained sympathies for the hardliners, both military and civilian, who preferred to continue the futile war rather than surrender immediately and unconditionally. This may explain why, on August 9, Konoe had Hosokawa Morisada approach Navy General Headquarters to urge the emperor's brother, Prince Takamatsu, to pressure Hirohito (through Kido) to accept the Potsdam terms. Later that afternoon, Konoe enlisted the help of diplomat Shigemitsu Mamoru to persuade Kido to reconsider his stance on the four conditions. Ultimately, at the urging of Takamatsu and Shigemitsu, Kido did shift to support Tōgō's position.   At the end of the war, as at its beginning and throughout every stage of its progression, Emperor Hirohito played a highly active role in supporting the actions carried out in his name. From the very beginning of the Asia-Pacific war, the emperor played a significant role in the unfolding events around him. Prior to the Battle of Okinawa, he consistently advocated for a decisive victory. Afterward, he acknowledged the necessity of pursuing an early peace, although he did not favor an immediate cessation of hostilities. Instead, he wavered, steering Japan toward ongoing warfare rather than direct negotiations with the Allies. When the final crisis fully unfolded, the only option left was unconditional surrender. Even then, he continued to procrastinate until the atomic bomb was dropped and the Soviets launched their attack. The wartime emperor ideology that once sustained morale made it exceedingly difficult for Japan's leaders to accept the act of surrender. Aware of their objective defeat, yet indifferent to the suffering the war inflicted on their own people—as well as on the populations of Asia, the Pacific, and the West whose lives they had disrupted—the emperor and his military leaders sought a means to lose without appearing to lose. They aimed to mitigate domestic criticism following surrender while preserving their power structure.   Blinded by their fixation on the fate of the imperial house and committed to an overly optimistic diplomacy toward the Soviet Union, Japan's leaders missed several opportunities to end their lost war. Would Japan's leaders have surrendered more promptly if the Truman administration had “clarified” the status of the emperor before the cataclysmic double shocks of the atomic bomb and the Soviet entry into the war? Probably not. However, it is likely they would have surrendered to prevent the kokutai from being destroyed from within. The evidence suggests that the first atomic bomb and the Soviet declaration of war led Hirohito, Kido, and other members of the court to believe that continuing the war would inevitably result in that destruction. They recognized that the populace was war-weary and despondent, with rising hostility toward the military and the government, accompanied by increasing criticism of the emperor himself. More specifically, Kido and Hirohito were privy to Home Ministry reports, which contained information from governors and police chiefs nationwide. These reports indicated that citizens were beginning to label the emperor as an incompetent leader responsible for the deteriorating war situation.   This is the third variable, never spoken about. Many first look at the atomic bombs. Bigger brain people turn to the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria. But hardly anyone reads about how the collapse of Japan's social fabric, scared the shit out of the Emperor and his closest advisors. You can't have a kokutai, without a populace that worshiped you.    When the emperor expressed in February, “What worries me is whether the nation [could] endure” long enough to achieve victory, he was not merely voicing concern for the suffering of his subjects; rather, he feared that such suffering could lead to social upheaval—in short, revolution. At that time, he referred to the ordinary, war-related hardships of food shortages, air raids, devastated cities, destruction of homes, and the omnipresent grief from the loss of loved ones. The atomic bomb escalated death, pain, and suffering to unimaginably higher levels, intensifying the threat from within. After the bombings of Japan and two atomic bombs, Hirohito was in a dark way, given a golden get out of jail free card. Hirohito could now save his suffering people from further anguish by surrendering, allowing him to deflect responsibility for leading them into misery while adopting an air of benevolence and care. Indeed, Hirohito did care—though not primarily for the Japanese people, but rather for the survival of his own imperial house and throne.   After the bombing of Hiroshima, Hirohito delayed for a full two days before instructing Kido, shortly before 10 A.M. on August 9, to “quickly control the situation” because “the Soviet [Union]” had declared war. Kido immediately communicated with Prime Minister Suzuki, who began arrangements for an Imperial Conference scheduled for later that night. Following the seidan of August 10, Chief Cabinet Secretary Sakomizu took charge of drafting the “Imperial Rescript Ending the War” based on Hirohito's directives. Assisted by two scholars of the Chinese classics, Kawada Mizuho and Yasuoka Masahiro, Sakomizu worked tirelessly for over three days before submitting a version of the rescript to the Suzuki cabinet. After six hours of contentious discussion on the night of August 14, the cabinet modified and approved the document. Hirohito promptly signed it, and Shimomura and Kido persuaded him to record a suitably opaque final version for broadcast to the nation.   On the night of August 14, the Suzuki government notified the United States and other Allied nations that it had accepted both the Potsdam Declaration and the Byrnes letter of August 11. Accelerating the emperor's actions during this climactic moment of the unconditional surrender drama was the American psychological warfare campaign. When a leaflet dropped from B-29 bombers came into Kido's possession on the night of August 13 or the morning of the fourteenth, he conferred with the emperor and explained the gravity of the situation. The latest enemy leaflets were informing the Japanese people of the government's notification of surrender under one condition, along with the full text of Byrnes's response. If this continued, it would undermine the imperial government's reliance on secrecy to obscure the true nature of the lost war and the reasons for the prolonged surrender delay.   Given Kido's and the emperor's concerns about rising signs of defeatism, including criticism of the throne, immediate action was necessary to prevent the populace from acting on their own initiative. Thus, the second seidan was convened. At noon on August 15, the Japanese people gathered around their radio receivers and heard, for the first time, the high-pitched voice of their emperor telling them:    “After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in Our Empire today, We have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered Our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that Our Empire accepts the provisions of their Joint Declaration. To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of Our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by Our Imperial Ancestors and which lies close to Our heart. Indeed, We declared war on America and Britain out of Our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from Our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement. But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone—the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State, and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people—the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers... The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable”.   Clearly Hirohito sought to justify his decision to surrender by citing the dropping of the atomic bombs. He wanted to become the saviour of the Japanese people. Hirohito wanted to obfuscate the issue of accountability, to prevent expressions of strife and anger and to strengthen domestic unity around himself, to protect and raise the kokutai.  Interestingly, the surrender declaration to the civilian population was not the same one sent to the military. On August 17th Hirohito issued a second “rescript to soldiers and sailors” throughout the asia-pacific.   “ Now that the Soviet Union has entered the war against us, to continue . . . under the present conditions at home and abroad would only recklessly incur even more damage to ourselves and result in endangering the very foundation of the empire's existence. Therefore, even though enormous fighting spirit still exists in the Imperial Navy and Army, I am going to make peace with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, as well as with Chungking, in order to maintain our glorious national polity”.   The lesser-known August 17 rescript to the army and navy specified Soviet participation as the sole reason for surrender, while maintaining the kokutai as the primary aim. Dissembling until the end—and even beyond—it was noted that the emperor presented two different justifications for his delayed surrender. Both statements were likely true.   Months later Hirohito's said this about his decision to surrender “The main motive behind my decision at that time was that if we . . . did not act, the Japanese race would perish and I would be unable to protect my loyal subjects [sekishi—literally, “children”]. Second, Kido agreed with me on the matter of defending the kokutai. If the enemy landed near Ise Bay, both Ise and Atsuta Shrines would immediately come under their control. There would be no time to transfer the sacred treasures [regalia] of the imperial family and no hope of protecting them. Under these circumstances, protection of the kokutai would be difficult. For these reasons, I thought at the time that I must make peace even at the sacrifice of myself.”    There exists this sort of childish argument today whether it was the atomic bombs or the Soviet Invasion that caused Japan to surrender. However, this overlooks as I think I've explained in 9000 words jeez, the influence of the kokutai. Defending the kokutai was Hirohito's number one priority. The Soviets threatened it. Communism threatened it. What Japan perceived to be “democracy” threatened it. American victory threatened it. And the destruction of Japan's social fabric threatened it. I love this one piece of history, that I have only come across in one book, that being the main one I am using here.   On August 12th, Hirohito came to the imperial family to tell them he had made the decision to surrender. His uncle Prince Yasuhiko Asaka asked him whether the war would be continued if the kokutai could not be preserved. Hirohito replied “of course”.

Jon Steele welcomes back a jetlagged James Taylor for the latest checkup on J3. The episode begins with a brief recap of Sagamihara's Emperor's Cup quarter final (to 02:45), before discussing teams near the top of the table: Nara (to 05:55), Kagoshima (to 09:15), Tochigi City (to 15:40), FC Osaka (to 20:40), and Hachinohe (to 29:25). Then attention turns to the bottom and the perilous predicaments of Nagano (to 37:20) and Numazu (to 40:20), before Jon lets James loose in Kanazawa Korner (to 47:00). Finally, there's a look ahead to the round 27 fixtures (to end).   Thanks for your support of the J-Talk Podcast, J-Talk: Extra Time, and J-Talk: Short Corner. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

Brad Steward didn't just ride snowboarding's first wave—he helped make it. As a teenage builder-rider-organizer, he pushed the sport from outlaw to organized, working alongside Jake Burton and Tom Sims, lobbying the Forest Service when resorts said no, and helping pave the path that led to Nagano. He co-founded one of the early camps where an eight-year-old Shaun White showed up—years before the world knew his name. Then Brad jumped lanes: into the Spike Jonze era of skate-culture filmmaking—directing spots for Cartoon Network (Powerpuff Girls), Adult Swim, AMC, and music work that had him shooting bands like Soundgarden and collaborating with UK labels. Today, his canvas is hospitality: Caravan Outpost in Ojai—a film-set-caliber, not-glamping hideaway that's hosted The Bachelor and a steady stream of celebrity regulars. Today on the show, I'm joined by Brad Steward—snowboarding's early architect, director/producer, and co-founder of Caravan Outpost. In this episode, we cover: How Brad helped move snowboarding from trespass to televised, shoulder-to-shoulder with Jake Burton and Tom Sims—and why the Nagano moment mattered. How an eight-year-old Shaun White landed at his camp—and what that signaled about the sport's future. How the Spike Jonze pipeline turned a DIY camera habit into gigs with Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, AMC, and major-label music videos. Why Caravan Outpost is “production design for memory-making,” not glamping—and how it became a magnet for celebrities and The Bachelor. The throughline: build the culture first, then build the brand.   Connect with Brad on LinkedIn Visit Caravan Outpost's website to book and learn more   Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world's top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we'd love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.

Lyubim Kogan is giving back to our wounded soldier amputees in a big, big way. He is the founder and president of Kogan Financial Group, LLC, a firm that specializes in proactive tax-based financial planning and risk management. For over 14 years, Mr. Kogan has helped hundreds of business owners and professional athletes in the U.S. and internationally to implement tax-reduction strategies, set up and protect investment and business interests, create powerful income strategies, and efficiently transfer wealth to next generations. Lyubim is an Olympic Athlete and participated in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Now, he is the founder and driving force behind “Wings4Heros” a humanitarian mission devoted to helping amputee and disabled veterans rediscover their strength, purpose, and freedom—through flight, connection, and shared experiences that transcend borders. To learn more about Wings4Heros and contribute to Lyubim's amazing work, check out his website: https://wings4heroes.org/ ******************************************** Interested in learning how to scale your business to improve cash flow and maximize profits all while working less and enjoying it more? Then join my Business Success Mastermind group. A new cohort is starting. Now accepting applications: https://ib4e-coaching.com/mastermind ******************************************** Please support this podcast: https://ib4e-coaching.com/podinfo #leadership #leadershipcoaching #business #success #somaticawareness #jenniferzach #leadingwithbodyawareness #ib4ecoaching ******************************************** If you like this podcast, consider supporting the effort. Every little bit helps. Thanks.

WELCOME BACK TO PART TWO OF WOMENS LORE. We have officially entered the Michelle Kwan era! Grab your passports as we travel back in time to Nagano '98 and Salt Lake '02 -- it's a short trip in this episode. There is just too much to cover! LETS GO!Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheRunthroughPodcastYoutube: The RunthroughADAM'S WATCH LISTSurya Bonaly 1995 Worlds freeNicole Bobek 1995 US Nationals FreeLu Chen 1995 Worlds FreeMichelle Kwan 1995 Worlds FreeMichelle Kwan 1996 Worlds FreeLu Chen 1996 Worlds FreeTara Lipinski 1996 Worlds FreeTara Lipinski 1997 US Nationals FreeMichelle Kwan 1998 US Nationals ShortMichelle Kwan 1998 US Nationals FreeLaetitia Hubert 1997 Trophée Lalique FreeTara Lipinski 1998 Olympics FreeJulia Soldatova 1999 Worlds FreeMaria Butyrskaya 1999 Worlds FreeLucinda Ruh 1999 Worlds FreeNaomi Nari Nam 1999 US Nationals FreeSarah Hughes 1999 Worlds FreeSasha Cohen 2000 US Nationals ShortMaria Butyrskaya 2000 Worlds ShortMichelle Kwan 2000 Worlds FreeAngela Nikadinov 2001 US Nationals FreeAngela Nikadinov 2001 Worlds ShortSarah Hughes 2001 Worlds LongIrina Slutskaya 2001 World ShortMichelle Kwan 2001 Worlds FreeSarah Hughes 2001 Skate Canada FreeMichelle Kwan 2002 US Nationals FreeIrina Slutskaya 2002 Olympics ShortSasha Cohen 2002 Olympics ShortSarah Hughes 2002 Olympics Free

Doc Kane Life in Hikone And A Special Offer From Maplopo For Listeners Of Lost Without Japan Season 5 EP 118 Get CLEAR on Japanese grammar with Maplopo's Verb Pro Masterclass. Stop grumbling, stumbling, and fumbling your way through Japanese... and finally get to sounding confident and intelligent in the language this year. For a limited amount of time, Lost Without Japan listeners save 70% off the full retail price and pay only $60 through December 31st. PLUS get access to Maplopo's private Discord community for support on your verb-related conjugation questions. Head on over to maplopo.com/lost-without-japan and begin your transformation today. Website: https://maplopo.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@maplopo LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dockaneinjapan/ Gaijinpot: https://blog.gaijinpot.com/author/dockane/  TokyoDev: https://www.tokyodev.com/authors/doc-kane As always, the link to our shows Google Resource doc can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WEVbRmvn8jzxOZPDaypl3UAjxbs1OOSWSftFW1BYXpI/edit#   

From the icy slopes of Nagano to the high-altitude buzz of Beijing, Tom Kelly has been the voice behind the curtain—shaping how we hear, feel, and remember the Olympic Games. In this episode, we sit down with the legendary communicator, podcaster, and longtime U.S. Ski & Snowboard media maven to uncover the stories behind the stories.Tom shares wild behind-the-scenes moments, the art of interviewing athletes fresh off the podium (or the heartbreak), and why the best Olympic stories aren't always about gold. Whether you're an aspiring sports storyteller or just someone who gets goosebumps at the sound of an anthem, this episode is a masterclass in heart, hustle, and heritage.Plus: Tom reveals his favorite underdog, his most unforgettable Olympic quote, and what it really takes to capture a once-in-a-lifetime moment—on air and in memory.Connect with Tom Kelly:LinkedInInstagram

Review các phim ra rạp từ ngày 25/07 và review sớm phim Jumbo và Người bạn diệu kỳBỘ TỨ SIÊU ĐẲNG: BƯỚC ĐI ĐẦU TIÊN – T13Đạo diễn: Matt ShakmanDiễn viên: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah NilesThể loại: Hành Động, Khoa Học Viễn Tưởng, Phiêu LưuSau một chuyến bay thám hiểm vũ trụ, bốn phi hành gia bất ngờ sở hữu năng lực siêu nhiên và trở thành gia đình siêu anh hùng đầu tiên của Marvel. The Fantastic Four: First Steps là bộ phim mở đầu Kỷ nguyên anh hùng thứ sáu (Phase Six), đặt nền móng cho siêu bom tấn Avengers: Doomsday trong năm sau.THÁM TỬ TƯ: PHÍA SAU VẾT MÁU – T18Đạo diễn: Lý Tử Tuấn, Chu Vấn NhưDiễn viên: Cổ Thiên Lạc, Trương Thiệu Huy, Châu Tú Na, Huỳnh Hạo Nhiên,...Thể loại: Kinh Dị, Tội phạm5 vụ án mạng rúng động, một "trò chơi" sinh tử đầy uẩn khúc - và Cổ Thiên Lạc, trong vai thám tử tư, vô tình bị cuốn vào vòng xoáy kinh hoàng đó. Bí ẩn nối tiếp bí ẩn, ai sẽ là con mồi, ai mới là kẻ săn? Câu trả lời đang chờ được hé lộ…QUỶ ĂN HỒN – T16Đạo diễn: Chad ArchibaldDiễn viên: Ashley Greene, Shawn Ashmore, Ellie O'BrienSau khi tìm về ký ức tàn khốc và chứng kiến hàng loạt sự kiện tang thương, nhà ngoại cảm nổi tiếng Cynthia bất ngờ gặp tai ương sau khi tiếp nhận một khách hàng đặc biệt. Một cô gái trẻ đã khăng khăng rằng mình đang bị một thực thể đoạt xác và chiếm giữ linh hồn. Quá tuyệt vọng và đau đớn nên trước khi linh hồn bị chiếm hữu hoàn toàn, cô tìm đến Cynthia với hy vọng cuối cùng, tuy nhiên QUỶ ĂN HỒN đã trỗi dậy và khiến cơn ác mộng kinh hoàng nhất trở lại…Jumbo Và Người Bạn Diệu KìQuốc gia: Indonesia Thể loại: Hoạt Hình Phiêu Lưu Đạo diễn: Ryan Adriandhy Don, một cậu bê mồ côi 10 tuổi, bị dánh giá thấp vì ngoại hình to lớn, quyết tâm tham gia cuộc thì tài năng để chứng minh giá trị bản thân. Nhờ cuốn truyện tranh kỳ diệu do cha mẹ để lại và cuộc gặp gỡ cô bé Meri, Don bước vào hành trình khám phá lòng can đảm, tình bạn và giá trị bản thân. Cả hai cùng vượt qua nhiều thứ thách để tìm lại cuốn truyện bị đánh cắp và giúp Meri hội ngộ với cha mẹ mình. Hành trình ấy đưa Don đến sân khẩu chính, nơi cậu dũng cảm đứng lên thể hiện bản thân và chia sẽ cậu chuyện của mình với mọi người. Phim mới Jumbo/ Jumbo Và Người Bạn Diệu Kì dự kiến khởi chiếu 08.08.2025 tại các rạp chiếu phim toàn quốc.PHIM ĐIỆN ẢNH THÁM TỬ LỪNG DANH CONAN: DƯ ẢNH CỦA ĐỘC NHÃN - KĐạo diễn: Katsuya ShigeharaDiễn viên: Minami Takayama, Wakana Yamazaki, Rikiya Koyama, Megumi Hayashibara, ...Thể loại: Bí ẩn, Hành Động, Hoạt HìnhTrên những ngọn núi tuyết của Nagano, một vụ án bí ẩn đã đưa Conan và các thám tử quay trở lại quá khứ. Thanh tra Yamato Kansuke - người đã bị thương nặng trong một trận tuyết lở nhiều năm trước - bất ngờ phải đối mặt với những ký ức đau thương của mình trong khi điều tra một vụ tấn công tại Đài quan sát Nobeyama. Cùng lúc đó, Mori Kogoro nhận được một cuộc gọi từ một đồng nghiệp cũ, tiết lộ mối liên hệ đáng ngờ giữa anh ta và vụ án đã bị lãng quên từ lâu. Sự xuất hiện của Morofushi Takaaki, cùng với những nhân vật chủ chốt như Amuro Tooru, Kazami và cảnh sát Tokyo, càng làm phức tạp thêm cuộc điều tra. Khi quá khứ và hiện tại đan xen, một bí ẩn rùng rợn dần dần được hé lộ - và ký ức của Kansuke nắm giữ chìa khóa cho mọi thứ.

El contralmirante Shigetarō Shimada y el vicealmirante Tadamichi Hirayama, de la Armada Imperial Japonesa, proponen construir un super-acorazado. Los almirantes Yamamoto y Nagano , partidarios de los portaaviones, reclutan a Tadashi Kai para que encuentre defectos en la propuesta. Kai es un prodigio matemático autista obsesionado con la geometría. Te lo cuentan María Vázquez y Antonio Gómez. Y recuerda que puedes encontrar el blog 📽️ Todo sobre mi Cine Bélico en https://todosobremicinebelico.blogspot.com/ Casus Belli Podcast pertenece a 🏭 Factoría Casus Belli. Casus Belli Podcast forma parte de 📀 Ivoox Originals. 📚 Zeppelin Books (Digital) y 📚 DCA Editor (Físico) http://zeppelinbooks.com son sellos editoriales de la 🏭 Factoría Casus Belli. Estamos en: 🆕 WhatsApp https://bit.ly/CasusBelliWhatsApp 👉 X/Twitter https://twitter.com/CasusBelliPod 👉 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CasusBelliPodcast 👉 Instagram estamos https://www.instagram.com/casusbellipodcast 👉 Telegram Canal https://t.me/casusbellipodcast 👉 Telegram Grupo de Chat https://t.me/casusbellipod 📺 YouTube https://bit.ly/casusbelliyoutube 👉 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@casusbelli10 👉 https://podcastcasusbelli.com 👨💻Nuestro chat del canal es https://t.me/casusbellipod ⚛️ El logotipo de Casus Belli Podcasdt y el resto de la Factoría Casus Belli están diseñados por Publicidad Fabián publicidadfabian@yahoo.es 🎵 La música incluida en el programa es Ready for the war de Marc Corominas Pujadó bajo licencia CC. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ El resto de música es bajo licencia privada de Epidemic Music, Jamendo Music o SGAE SGAE RRDD/4/1074/1012 de Ivoox. 🎭Las opiniones expresadas en este programa de pódcast, son de exclusiva responsabilidad de quienes las trasmiten. Que cada palo aguante su vela. 📧¿Queréis contarnos algo? También puedes escribirnos a casus.belli.pod@gmail.com ¿Quieres anunciarte en este podcast, patrocinar un episodio o una serie? Hazlo a través de 👉 https://www.advoices.com/casus-belli-podcast-historia Si te ha gustado, y crees que nos lo merecemos, nos sirve mucho que nos des un like, ya que nos da mucha visibilidad. Muchas gracias por escucharnos, y hasta la próxima. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Hall of Fame Week presented by Kentuckiana Friends of V and 5 Iron Golf welcomes it's first gold medalist from the ice! Gold medalist Tara Lipinski joins to talk about her famous win in Nagano, the mental toughness needed to compete in the Olympics, her transition to the broadcast booth and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Locations for One Piece Statues Near Kumamoto, Japan, Lost Without Japan Ep 115 Lost Without Japan Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lostwithoutjapan/  Please Consider Kindly Supporting Our crowd-funded show By Supporting Us Through Our show's Patreon: https://patreon.com/lostwithoutjapanpodcast?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Google Shared Maps For This Episode:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/fimxQf2sPBtFsdAF8 

【欢迎订阅】 每天早上5:30，准时更新。 【阅读原文】 标题：Japan's civil war over surnames Inventive schemes help women dodge inflexible marriage laws 正文：For a couple that has divorced three times, Uchiyama Yukari and Koike Yukio get along remarkably well. The two teachers, who live in the city of Nagano in central Japan, have never fallen out of love. Yet they have parted several times on paper, in order to sidestep a law that requires married people to have the same surname. Most of the time the couple lives happily outside wedlock. Each time they have a child they remarry (because that makes registering the birth simpler) and then divorce again. 知识点：get along phr.v. /ɡet əˈlɒŋ/ to have a harmonious relationship. 相处融洽 e.g. Despite their differences, the two colleagues get along quite well. 尽管存在分歧，这两位同事相处得相当融洽。 获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！ 【节目介绍】 《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。 所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。 【适合谁听】 1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者 2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者 3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者 4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等） 【你将获得】 1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景 2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法 3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

A Glimpse into Japan Craft Beer@echigo_beer @yonayona.ale #craftbeer #japanesebeer #beer #podcast #radioshow Co hosts : Good ol Boy Dave and Good ol Gal Julieanna SUDS  Episode – We embark on a flavorful journey through the world of Japanese craft beer!  As we explore these exceptional brews, expect lively banter, tasting notes, and the signature humor that keeps our audience coming back for more. Tune in to discover how these Japanese beers stand up to their American counterparts and find out which ones earn our coveted Suds ratings! We taste and rate the following beer from 1-5: 5:40      Koshihikari Japanese Rice Lager – using Niigata Koshihikari rice.  5% ABV.  Echigo Beer Co., Ltd.  Nigata-shi, Niigata, Japan   SUDS-4 12:56    Flying IPA- American style IPA .  5.5% ABV.  Echigo Beer Co., Ltd.  Nigata-shi, Niigata, Japan   SUDS-3 20:15    Premium Red Ale – 6% ABV.  Echigo Beer Co., Ltd.  Nigata-shi, Niigata, Japan SUDS-5 28:09    Suiyoubi no Neko - Belgian-style white ale- 5% ABV.  Yo-Ho Brewing Company Saku-shi, Nagano, Japan SUDS-3 37:18    Sorry Umami IPA – brewed with Bonito flakes.  6.5% ABV Yo-Ho Brewing Company Saku-shi, Nagano, Japan SUDS-5 info@sipssudsandsmokes.com X- @sipssudssmokes IG/FB/Bluesky - @sipssudsandsmokes Sips, Suds, & Smokes® is produced by One Tan Hand Productions using the power of beer, whiskey, and golf.  Available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeart, and nearly anywhere you can find a podcast.Check out Good ol Boy Dave on 60 Second Reviewshttps://www.instagram.com/goodoleboydave/ Enjoying that cool new Outro Music, it's from Woods & Whitehead – Back Roads Download your copy here:https://amzn.to/2XblorcThe easiest way to find this award winning podcast on your phone is ask Alexa, Siri or Google, “Play Podcast , Sips, Suds, & Smokes” Credits:TITLE: Maxwell Swing/ FlapperjackPERFORMED BY: Texas GypsiesCOMPOSED BY: Steven R Curry (BMI)PUBLISHED BY: Alliance AudioSparx (BMI)TITLE: Back RoadsPERFORMED BY: Woods & WhiteheadCOMPOSED BY: Terry WhiteheadPUBLISHED BY: Terry WhiteheadCOURTESY OF: Terry WhiteheadPost production services : Pro Podcast SolutionsAdvertising sales: Contact us directlyContent hosting services: Talk Media Network, Audioport, Earshot, Radio4All, PodBeanProducer: Good ol Gal Julieanna & Good ol Boy DaveExecutive Producer: Good ol Boy MikeJapanese Craft Beer, Echigo Beer Co., Koshi Hikari, Flying Ipa, Suyubi Nonero, Wednesday Cat, Sari Umami Ipa, Craft Beer Tasting, Beer Reviews, Beer Ratings, Microbrewery, Japanese Rice Lager, Belgian Style Ale, Beer Pairing, Craft Beer Culture, Niigata Prefecture, Yoho Brewing Company, Beer Enthusiasts, Beer Flights, International Beer Competition 

Episode 178.  In this episode join John and Timothy as they interview Keith Norum.  Keith is a well known figure in the sake industry and he has represented the Masumi brand of sake since 2005.  Keith tells us his story of getting to Japan and finding his way to the world of sake.  What's it like working at a traditional Japanese sake brewery?  Keith gives us a peek behind the noren!  Together we all taste one of the most popular Masumi sakes in the market outside Japan - Masumi Shiro Junmai Ginjo - a light and breezy delight!  Join us and listen in as we chat with our good buddy in Nagano!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show