Episode 451 - Those Swept Away
Added 2022-08-26 16:32:41 +0000 UTCThis was one of the most challenging scripts I've done in a long time, primarily because Matsuo Taseko's life is actually rather well documented (not to mention all her various and sundry biographies) and so deciding what to include was actually a pretty substantial challenge. Ultimately, I decided to focus primarily on her pre-1862 life and her activities in the Bakumatsu era because I figured that would be the main area of interest for most listeners. However, there's a lot more out there--particularly her relationship with Iwakura Tomomi and his household. If you're interested, Anne Walthall's biography is definitely worth a read.
In retrospect, I wish I had made a bit more room to talk about her poetry, simply because it's not quite what you'd expect. There's plenty of loyalist polemics in there, of course, but (as Dr. Walthall notes) there's also some fascinatingly cheesy love poems and even one really good fart joke--which serve to humanize her in a really wonderful way. Again as Dr. Walthall notes, that side of Matsuo Taseko's life is often neglected simply because it doesn't fit with the image of the stern, businesslike patriot; but of course, nobody is really like that 100% of the time.
