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Chris Harding

@drchrisharding.bsky.social
282 followers 212 following 59 posts

Historian & broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh Mainly now here 👉 www.japan-and-the-world.com Writings/podcast/video 👉 linkin.bio/chrisharding

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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
How does the war in Iran look from Asia? My take:
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
20+ years of capturing Japan on canvas. Really enjoyed this conversation with Carl Randall.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Interesting weekend coming up in Japan. By way of an appetiser, here's my piece for @lrb.co.uk.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Do go and see the British Museum's spellbinding new Samurai exhibition if you have a chance. Meanwhile, my essay for Engelsberg Ideas on the origins and legacies of Japan's warrior class:
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Five stars in The Times too… www.thetimes.com/culture/art/...
thetimes.com
Samurai at the British Museum review — a ravishing, bloody trip to Japan
There is beauty and force in equal measure in this riveting show about the warrior class that rose to power in Japan in the Middle Ages and became its ruling elite
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Congratulations to @olegb.bsky.social on a five-star review of the new Samurai exhibition at the British Museum. Opens on 3rd Feb. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Samurai review: Japan’s lethal warrior class are shown in all their sexy, demonic glory
Extraordinary battle armour, complete with moustachioed masks, enlivens this scintillating show, which brilliantly captures the theatrical side of a chivalrous epoch
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
My review of @hirokoyoda.bsky.social ‘s excellent new book:
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
True! I recall the public meeting early on in the film being packed with political commentary. Found it refreshing!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Sweet...!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Ha - lovely!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
That’s fascinating. There were rumours in the UK that some children going back to school after Covid were trying to swipe their fingers up or across paperbacks - again, perhaps not as intuitive as we might think...
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Looking forward to the revised version - things are moving fast, aren't they...! 😅
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Reposted by Chris Harding
Smart Cookies podcast @smartcookies.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
As someone who's moved to JAPAN 🎌 not too long ago, I always wanted to explore the country's fascinating MODERN history... Thanks to @drchrisharding.bsky.social I finally got the chance! Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻 YT: youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Such a great series. @philipgoff.bsky.social was excellent, as was Gilbert Markus talking about 'Is God Nothing?' (of interest to anyone thinking about inter-religious dialogue and concepts of the divine). @takeshimorisato.bsky.social @theosthinktank.bsky.social
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Really enjoyed this conversation!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Fantastic - thank you for sharing this. Have signed up for your Substack and will look forward to more there.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Interesting - thanks!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Thank you for a great thread. What do you make of the claim that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon inside a year, starting from its current tech and resources?
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
I keep reading that the 'permit' NNP might be nuanced or binned - unlikely though, in your view?
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Looking forward to History Hit on Substack…!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
😂
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Seems reasonable. Fingers crossed it helps a bit...!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Or indeed this... (Lib Dem leader, 2024 UK election). 😂
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
😂
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Bluesky worked in my case - thanks for sharing it!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Ha! 😂
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Japan is losing more than 2,000 people every day to population decline. Is automation the answer? This week's Substack post: www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
chrishardingjapan.com
Can Vending Machines Save Japan?
Part II: Salvation Through Automation
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Japan's famous vending machines look like late 20th-century tech. In fact, they're both decades and centuries older. They may also hold the key to the country's future. www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
chrishardingjapan.com
Can Vending Machines Save Japan?
Part I: Trust meets High Technology
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Promises to be an interesting evening - do come!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Kodama Yoshio, born poor in Fukushima in 1911, became an ultranationalist adventurer. He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
In kabuki, kuromaku ('black curtain') are stagehands dressed in black who move sets unseen. In politics, they are the unseen power-brokers: the kingmakers, the fixers, the invaluable intermediaries.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
‘The sense in Japan of a society and culture under threat and in need of defending is set to be a potent force in politics for a good while to come.’ My piece for @thetimes.com today: www.thetimes.com/world/asia/a...
thetimes.com
Tourists love Japan, but under the surface it’s a Land of Rising Anger
Nationalism and discontent are bubbling over in this country of high taxes and resentment against its sometimes obnoxious visitors
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
For more on how Japanese philosophy can help us live well, watch or listen to my conversation with @takeshimorisato.bsky.social. 👉 www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/how-can-ja...
historywithchrisharding.com
How Can Japanese Philosophy Help Us To Live Well?
An Interview with Takeshi Morisato
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
From this outlook came 4 aesthetics: ✨ Yūgen: a mysterious sense of the other side. 💧 Mono no aware: the pathos of fragility and everything passing away. 🍵 Wabi-sabi: beauty in (apparent) imperfection & incompleteness. 🍂 Iki: elegance with restraint/understatement.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Unlike Western philosophy, which often seeks universal truth, Japanese thought has leaned more toward: • imperfection • finality • particularity
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
At its roots are 3 traditions: 🌿 Shinto mythology (indigenous, ritual & nature-based) 📜 Confucianism & Taoism (imported from China) 🪷 Buddhism (via people, texts & art making their way into Japan from mainland Asia) Japan wove these threads together in remarkable ways.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
One of the things that first drew me to Japan was its philosophy: growing out of myths, rituals and an awareness of impermanence, and worked into everyday life & art. A short 🧵 for anyone new to this... @takeshimorisato.bsky.social
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Reposted by Chris Harding
Tobias Harris @tobiasharris.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
A new Today in Japanese Politics: The first candidates announce their intentions as the LDP debates how to elect a new leader. Plus, a milestone meeting of defense ministers in Seoul. open.substack.com/pub/observin...
open.substack.com
The first day of the post-Ishiba era | Today in Japanese Politics
The LDP leadership race takes shape
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Looking forward to chatting with you about it soon, Ginny!
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Another one for the 'and they wonder why Japanese people don't like tourists' file... www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09...
japantimes.co.jp
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
On Tuesday, the Australian Embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure 'appropriate behavior' while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the incident.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Ishiba is off! Japan's PM is stepping down, following two disastrous sets of election results on his watch. A battle for the soul of the LDP - still Japan's largest party, despite its recent woes - ensues. Backstory: www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/rise-of-th... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigns
The prime minister had struggled to inspire confidence as Japan faced economic headwinds.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
7/ For deeper coverage, follow: @nickkapur.bsky.social @mrjeffu.bsky.social @unseenjapan.com And for my own take, as a cultural historian: www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/rise-of-th...
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
6/ - Emperor restored as head of state - Rights curtailed - Pacifism abandoned - Controls over media and education. Some outlets report that Sanseito is in favour of Japan having nuclear weapons.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
5/ Opposition to same-sex marriage, LGBT rights and migration isn't uncommon in Japan. But Sanseito have been accused of peddling conspiracy theories and their ideas for replacing Japan's American-authored constitution are pretty dramatic:
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
4/ ... but what kind of balance will it now be? One of the insurgent parties is the pragmatic centre-right 'Democratic Party for the People (DPFP)'. The other is Sanseito - and their rise is sparking real alarm.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
3/ The upshot: After the recent Upper House election, and for the first time since its founding, the LDP along with its coalition partner Komeito hold no majority in EITHER house of parliament. A major shift in Japan’s political balance.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
2/ Frustrated voters, including younger Japanese who came of age during the slow-growth era are helping to catapult new parties into the limelight. They're angry at stagnant wages, high taxes, expensive essentials (eg rice) and - in some cases - foreigners.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
1/ Postwar Japanese politics has been dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party - rarely out of power since 1955. Things have been rocky for them since the 1990s - slow growth, epic corruption - but Japan’s opposition parties have struggled to unite and impress.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
For someone not previously much interested in Japanese politics, the last few weeks and months have been fascinating - and maybe historic. A short 🧵 for anyone curious about what's going on.
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Chris Harding @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
A side to Japan that not many people have seen - even if they've heard of @yokoono.bsky.social Fascinating stuff!
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