Welcome! I’m Chris Harding, a historian and broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh.

My weekly newsletter explores the history behind everything people love about Japan, from food, film and famous names to ghost stories, sport and the big 21st-century challenges facing the country.

I’m also really interested in what happens when cultures and people meet for the first time - a combination, very often, of fascination with embarrassment and misunderstanding.

My next book, Barbarians, is about the first century of encounter between Europe and Japan in the early modern era. I’ll be sharing something of my work in progress on these pages.

I’m gradually making audio versions of my essays available at the top of each essay page and as a podcast (link at the top of the page).

I’m also producing short videos for Instagram. The first ones will be ready at the end of the summer. But if you’re on Instagram then please SIGN UP early!

If you have thoughts on my newsletter or would like to suggest a topic for me to cover, drop me a line: hello@historywithchrisharding.com.

Or find me on BlueSky: @drchrisharding.bsky.social.

To get started on the site, have a look at my five-part series - What has Asia ever done for us? - beginning all the way back in ancient Greece, with dreams of strange beasts roaming India’s plains…