Episode 566 - The Revolutionary, Part 1

In this episode of the History of Japan podcast, the speaker introduces a multi-part biography series focusing on Miyazaki Manabu, a figure relatively unknown outside of postwar Japanese history circles. The speaker reflects on the limitations of the "great man" approach to history while acknowledging its narrative appeal, particularly for non-historians. The episode delves into Miyazaki's early life, born in 1945 to a yakuza boss father and a pragmatic mother involved in the family's construction business and illegal activities. The narrative explores the family's dynamics, their involvement in organized crime, and the social context of postwar Japan. It also introduces Amagase, a former Imperial Japanese Navy commander's son turned communist radical, who becomes Miyazaki's tutor and introduces him to left-wing political ideas, culminating in their attendance at a protest against the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty in 1960, which profoundly impacts the young Miyazaki.