A Short History of Japan Podcast

"How did it come to this?" - This must have been the question the Christian missionaries asked themselves as Hideyoshi followed by successive Tokugawa Shoguns made life unbearable for Christians in Japan.  If only we had handed over the ship...if only we'd handed over the treasure.....if only we had that Englishman beheaded..... It would be hard to find a group of Japanese more oppressed than the Christians.  But why were they especially targeted?   What threat did they represent?

To Christian missionaries, Japan was a most attractive prospect. Literate, cultured and rich - the Jesuits arrived in Japan in the 1500s and set about a process of conversion: from the lowest peasant to the highest warlord.  In Part One, we chart the rise and rise of Christianity under Nobunaga and Hideyoshi - before things turned sour.

With the destruction of the Toyotomi at Osaka in 1615, the Tokugawa clan were unrivalled in their domination of Japan.  They would establish a Shogunate that would last over 200 years.  But how did they change Japan from a nation perpetually at war to one of enforced peace?

The Siege of Osaka Castle in the winter of 1614-15 and the final Battle for Osaka Castle in the summer of 1615 marks the final chapter in the Sengoku Jidai. After years of rivalry between the forces of the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa the final question of who would dominate Japan for the next few hundred years was decided - but not before conspiracy, cowardice, spanked bottoms and cross dressing was tried as a winning strategy!  Here is a map of the events discussed in the podcast.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and set up organising Japan under his clan's domination.  However, safely ensconced in Osaka Castle was Hideyori, son of Hideyoshi; the last of the Toyotomi.  Tokugawa Ieyasu knew that he would never be safe until the last of the Toyotomi claims to control of Japan were snuffed out.

And the winner is of the Size-L Oda Nobunaga t-shirt - complete with his slogan “Tenka Fubu” (The Realm Subjected to Military Power) is……………………

I went to Japan with 25 students and 2 other teachers.  In this podcast I'll tell you where we went with a particular emphasis on the historical dimension (obviously!) and *drum roll* I bought you a present!!  Well, there is a competition and a prize!  Here is the map of the places we went and a link to a sliderocket presentation with some pics too!

With Hideyoshi's body barely cold, the plotting and scheming began in earnest.  This was the complete opposite of what Hideyoshi had hoped and begged for - for the sake of his infant son.  But promises to a dead man counted for little when the domination of Japan was in the offing.  Here is a google map with a few locations of the places mentioned in this cast

My mother says that the cemetery is full of people who thought they were indispensable - but in Hideyoshi's case, he would have been right.  His fervent desire was to ensure that his son, Hideyori, would be able to maintain the Toyotomi rule over Japan.  In the end, he had to rely on promises of men he clearly didn't trust.

In 1592 and 1598 Hideyoshi pointed the enormous Japanese capacity for warfare at the task of conquering one of the greatest civilizations in the world, China.  In this episode we discuss why he decided that that was a good idea and how it all went.

Hideyoshi, in spite of being a warlord, transitioned Japan from a state of war to a state of peace.  Though Japan wasn't finished with the sengoku jidai by the time he died in 1598, he did put in place a series of laws that made peace more profitable than war.  When it came to creating a sustainable peace for the Japanese nation, he made the bird ‘want to sing'

The rise of Hideyoshi from sandal bearer to dictator of Japan was phenomenal. After hundreds of year of civil war, he, without any sense of irony, brought the country to unified peace with remarkably little bloodshed.  Well, at least a lot less than what one might expect if Nobunaga had lived long enough to make it happen.  Not only did he unify the Daimyo, he set about reorganising the process of taxation and commerce for the whole realm.

If murdering Nobunaga was Phase One of a long thought-out and well-considered plan for the take-over of Japan it certainly wasn't obvious in 1582.  In fact, it hardly seems obvious today!  One thing we do know, Hideyoshi, though flat-out besieging the Mori clan, was not going to let this opportunity pass.  If things went right, he could achieve victory over the Mori, avenge his lord and overcome rivals for control of post-Nobunaga Japan.

Between 1575 and 1582 Oda Nobunaga was sorely tested by the most powerful opponents to his domination; The Ikko Ikki Buddhists, the Takeda Clan and the Uesugi Clan.   In the end, however, it might have been an unpaid dinner tab that killed him.

In 1570 Oda Nobunaga faced a dangerous combination of rival daimyo and religious fanaticism.  He decided to treat Buddhist rivals to his power the same way he did anyone else.  With fire.

Oda Nobunaga took Kyoto in the name of the Shogun and the Emperor in 1568.  By 1570 the Shogun knew that he served at Nobunaga's pleasure and little else.   Nobunaga almost lost it all to traitors and two bullets from a ninja's arqubus andThe Asakura and Asai daimyo took to field against Nobunaga in the famous Battle of Anegawa. Enjoy! (frug.podbean.com). Here is the script.

Oda Nobunaga had the luck, the allies, the staff, the location, the armies and the validation to make a move on Kyoto while the other major Daimyo kept busy fighting amongst themselves.   He also had an ego to match his ambition.  Here is a map of the provinces of medieval Japan and the the script for the episode.

In this episode we introduce one of Japan's three Great Unifiers.  His rise to power was certainly not easy and could easily have relegated him to the status of also-ran.

The Portuguese bumped into Japan in 1543 and brought with them guns and god.  In this podcast we will hear about how Japan received these products of the west.

War in medieval Japan was a colourful bonanza - bravery, cowardice and accounting!

The word sengoku means 'chaotic states' or 'warring states/countries' and 'jidai' means 'age - like 'iron age'.  Betrayal, destruction, suffering and despair.  It's every man for himself - and a few men rose to the top.

The peasants of Japan finally get their turn at dealing out violence!

Every tourist who goes to Kyoto goes here - but its story, and that of the Silver Pavilion, are not well known

Did the Mongols get beaten by typhoons sent by the gods?

The names of Yoshitsune and Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan are legendary in Japanese history.  But how did they seize power from the Taira?  And how and why did they move the de facto capital to Kamakura and usher in a new age in Japanese governance.

Taira Kiyomori  spared the lives of Yoritomo and Yoshitsune - two young children at the time - in order, allegedly, to sleep with their mother. Ewwwww.  But this is a cracking tale of revenge, bravery and betrayal.

In this episode we discuss the near-irrevocable usurpation of power by the warrior class; the samurai.  For anyone thinking about going to Kyoto and Nara, lots of the places and names in this episode will make your trip a little more enjoyable!

The Heian Era is sometimes seen as Japan's classical era. Great works of art, religious thought and crafty politicians make this era fascinating!

Emperor Kammu builds Kyoto, gets pressured by a dead guy and the peasants do what they do best, get oppressed.  Here is the script

In this episode I discuss the construction of the huge temple complex in Nara, Todaiji, the domination of Buddhism and vengeance of Empress Shotoku.  Here is the script

In this podcast I'll be walking through the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, early Japanese attempts at literacy and why they thought China was cool.  Here is the script

In this first episode I talk about the creation myths of Japan, the terribly unreliable source documents and the first emperor of Japan, Jimmu, and his quest to establish court in central Japan.  This is my first go at a podcast so any gentle feedback is welcomed. Here is the script