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offers. Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your offer. This week, I'm going to recommend

Nip the Buds Shoot the Kids by Oye Canzaburo.

The basic pitch for this that you usually hear is Japanese Lord of the Flies set during World War II,

and frankly, that's pretty accurate.

I happen to like this a bit more than Lord of the Flies, though,

thanks in large part to Oa-Kinsaburo's incredible

writing, which I think is incredibly psychologically powerful. So, if you're at all curious,

check it out, go to audible trial.com slash Japan to claim your copy.

Thank you. Hello and welcome to the history of Japan podcast. Episode 384.

The Iron Road, Part 1.

This week, I will finally get to one of the most requested topics that I have seen throughout my time working on this podcast.

It's a very important topic, and clearly a bunch of y'all are very invested in it because

you are, and I say this with so much love, a bunch of nerds.

Which is great. I love nerds. So today, we're going to talk about the history of Japan's railway system.

And if some of y'all are already rushing to switch to something else, I promise this is a very interesting

and rich topic. Railways might seem like a very niche subject, but I think that's because

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