2025 marks the 80th year since the end of the Second World War. On the 50th anniversary in 1995, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama announced “the Peace, Friendship and Exchange Initiative, consisting of two parts, promoting: support for historical research into relations in the modern era between Japan and neighbouring countries of Asia and elsewhere [and] to further strengthen the relations of trust between Japan and those countries.” One such initiative was the Pacific Venture programme which saw British grandchildren of former POWs invited to Japan to reconcile their personal conflict history through cultural exchange.

On this special episode of Beyond Japan, Oliver is joined by Mary-Grace Browning MBE who was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 2016 for conducting the exchange programme alongside Dr John Pritchard. Mary-Grace shares with us her personal experience of furthering post-conflict reconciliation between the UK and Japan.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: ⁠jasonszklarek⁠ / ⁠MotionElements.com⁠

[L] Commemoration, Remembrance and Reconciliation through Arts and Heritage logo. A Sainsbury Institute project.

[R] Royal Legion wreath of the Burma Star Association laid at a memorial for the Imperial Japanese Army 60th Infantry Regiment which served in Myanmar. Ryozen Kannon, Kyoto, 2023. Photograph by Oliver Moxham.

Copyright © 2025 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2025 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

For Beyond Japan's final episode, Oliver is joined by Aike Rots, Associate Professor of Japan Studies at the University of Oslo, to discuss the agency of animals in influencing human society and cultures. Aike’s collaborative project, Whales of Power, explores how whales have affected ritual practices in coastal communities of East Asia and how those practices have adapted and changed in the 21st century.

Follow the Whales of Power project on Twitter and via their website.

A final message from Oliver:

"After 85 episodes, Beyond Japan now draws to a close as I turn my attention to my PhD research. I would like to thank all the guests who have shared their research with us and to you the listeners who have supported this exciting new medium for sharing academia with the wider world. I intend to return to academic podcasting again in the near future – you can follow my blog at olivermoxham.wordpress.com for updates on that.

For now, enjoy revisiting our back catalogue. As always, thank you for listening."

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Kujirabune gyōji in Yokkaichi (Mie prefecture). Photograph by Aike Rots (2022).

[R] Benzaiten statue comforting a dolphin soul. Shrine near Yobuko. Photograph by Aike Rots (2022).

Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Oliver is joined by Daniel Milne, Senior Lecturer at Kyoto University’s Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (ILAS), to discuss what happens when we memorialise past conflicts through the Kyoto Buddhist temple Ryōzen Kannon. Daniel and I explore how the meaning of monuments to war dead change over time, and compare Ryōzen Kannon’s approach with that of the national war memorial site of Yasukuni Shrine.

Read Daniel's article with David Moreton, 'Remembering and Forgetting the War Dead at Ryōzen Kannon: A Site of Entangled and Transnational War Memories'.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] The enormous Ryōzen Kannon Bodhisattva statue that gives the temple its namesake. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018.

[R] Stained glass window from within the Memorial Hall for the Unknown Soldier of WWII at Ryōzen Kannon. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018.

Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.