Podcasts about Hashi

Hashi Senjoo joins 'The @smoothvega Podcast' On this episode we discuss how He Built Buzz in DFW and Caught T.I.'s AttentionLike. Comment. Follow.

We talk about the famous Wu Zetian, as well as Kings Munmu, Sinmun, and Hyoso in Silla.  These were the rulers at the same time that Uno no Sarara was overseeing things in Yamato.  Here we see a bit of tit for tat politics between Yamato and Silla.  We also get a tale of personal sacrifice from veterans of the Silla-Tang war against Baekje. For more notes and references, check out our blogpost page:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-149 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 149: Kings, Queen, and an Empress   Uno no Sarara and her son, Crown Prince Kusakabe, sat in court.  The trappings of the recent mourning period had been put aside with the recent burial of Uno's husband, Ohoama, and they were now preparing for Crown Prince Kusakabe's coronation.  However, the matter in front of them had nothing to do with that.  Instead, they listened to an official recounting of what had transpired on the peninsula.  The court had explicitly sent an envoy to Silla to inform them of Ohoama's death, but it took much longer than it should have for Norimaro and his party to return.  There had even been an envoy mission from Silla while they were away. As Uno no Sarara listened intently, she found it harder and harder to keep her emotions in check.  She listened as the story of the Yamato mission was told, and as she heard of how her messengers were treated—how they weren't even allowed to tell the Silla court their news all because someone in Silla had decided that they weren't appropriate ambassadors. Silla had finally come to learn of Ohoama's death, and the mission returned home, but this treatment was inexcusable.  These were not just Yamato's messengers, they were carrying the royal word of Queen Uno no Sarara, head of the state and de facto ruler as they mourned the loss of her husband and predecessor.  To have them kept waiting because of some invented protocol was an affront to the nation, but it was also an affront to her. This. Would. Not. Do...     Greetings, everyone!  Thank you once again for tuning in.  As you may recall, last episode we covered the ceremonies around the death and burial of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, as well as the unceremonious death of Crown Prince Kusakabe, leading to the throne being taken by his mother, Queen Uno no Sarara, aka Jitou Tennou.  One aspect of everything that was going on was the relations with the continent.  This included missions from Yamato to the continent—especially those involved with communicating information about the changes in the Yamato court.  So this episode I thought we could look at some of the things we see in the record and go over where things sat with regards to the continent. First things first, let's brush up on where we left off.  Back in episode 140 we talked about how the Silla-Tang alliance had broken down.  With Baekje and Goguryeo both defeated, the Tang had set up commanderies to oversea captured territory in both kingdoms, and even though Emperor Tang Taizong had promised Silla suzerainty over Baekje, his successor, Gaozong, had not adhered to that agreement.  In response, and with the help of Goguryeo rebels, Kind Munmu of Silla had fought back against the Tang forces, eventually consolidating everything south of the Taedong river, approximating the extent of the modern country of South Korea. Meanwhile, Goguryeo rebels continued to trouble the Tang, and King Bojang set up by the Tang dynasty would eventually betray them, allying with the northern Malgal people.  They would continue to fight to restore their sovereignty.  With pressure from Silla and Goguryeo, the Tang commandery pulled back from Pyongyang to Liaoyang—effectively putting the mountainous regions at the head of the Korean peninsula between them and their enemies.  Silla control was de facto, but would not be recognized formally by the Tang dynasty until the early 8th century.  That didn't meant they were completely at odds, however.  Silla would resume diplomatic mission to the Tang, despite their territorial disagreements. Silla's King Munmu, who had pushed back against the Tang, was succeed by his son, known as King Sinmun.  Sinmun had been Crown Prince during the wars against Baekje and Goguryeo.  Much as Ohoama and Uno no Sarara had been doing on the archipelago, he was working to centralize royal authority in Silla. In 681, as Silla was still mourning the death of King Munmu, a rebellion broke out.  It was led by a high ranking Silla official, and father-in-law to Sinmun, Kim Humdol.  It was quickly put down, and Kim Humdol and other officials who were implicated were executed.  This was actually a golden opportunity for the new King Sinmun to help purge the court of any rivals or ministers with less than absolute dedication to his plan to centralize authority. I kind of get the feeling that, for all of the past conflicts between their nations, Sinmun, Ohoama, and Uno might have gotten along quite well.  However, that didn't stop the fact that they were rulers of rival nations, and while they may have had similar concepts of leadership, they also were focused on their own rule and authority. To that end, Sinmun also reached out to the Tang court with tribute missions, and in so doing was at least recognized by the Tang court, who enfeoffed him as King of Silla.  This appears to have been a bit of polite fiction, but that was how a lot of this operated, ultimately.  King Sinmun would have held power in Silla regardless of the Tang court's approval, but the fiction that the court had bestowed his authority no doubt provided some diplomatic benefits, and a context within which to operate on the international stage.  It also no doubt allowed for increased trade, bringing in exotic and high status items, which would have been useful for boosting approval ratings back home. King Sinmun ruled until his death in 691.  He was succeeded by his son, known as King Hyoso.  However, Hyoso was young—about 5 years old when he took the throne.  And so his mother, Queen Sinmok, acted as regent for much of his reign—right up until her death in 700.  Hyoso ended up reigning for a decade, until 702, meaning that he and his mother reigned throughout Uno no Sarara's period as sovereign in Yamato. Hyoso's reign saw continued progress towards centralization of authority, as well as improved relationships with the Tang court.  Silla maintained diplomatic ties and tribute missions, and the Tang court conferred recognition on Hyoso as the King of Silla, in return. Speaking of the Tang Court, Emperor Tang Gaozong passed away before Ohoama had, departing this world in 683.  However, for all that he was the emperor, he had not really been the one running things for some time.  Gaozong came to the throne at roughly 21 years of age, and throughout most of his reign he had to share power with others in the court.  Originally this meant high ranking minister, but there was also his wife, Wu Zhao, aka Wu Zetian.  Wu had been a consort under Tang Taizong, and then continued as a consort for Gaozong as well.  Then, in 655, she was officially made empress. In 660, Gaozong began to suffer from an unknown illness, characterized by headaches, dizziness, , and occasional seizures and loss of vision.  Some have suggested it was a stroke or some form of hypertension.  Either way, these symptoms would plague him for the rest of his reign, and so he began to delegate more and more authority to Wu Zhao, who would handle things on his behalf. Thus, Wu was effectively already running things by the time of Gaozong's death in 683.  At that point, she became the Empress Dowager, and her third son became emperor Zhongzong—at least in name.  Because Wu Zhao maintained all of the power and authority at court.  She was, in fact, the regent, and a mere six weeks after Zhongzong took the throne he was removed by his own mother.  It seems that Zhongzong, who came to the throne at the age of 28, was showing signs of being a little too much under the influence of his wife, Empress Wei.  In fact, he is said to have considered giving her the Empire.  And so Wu had him deposed and exiled.  She then had his younger brother made Emperor Ruizong, though still under Wu Zhao's term as regent. Ruizong was about 22 when he took the throne under his mother in 684.  He would continue to reign until 690, when he abdicated the throne in favor of his mother.  From that point on, Wu Zhao ruled as the sovereign for another 15 years, until the year 705, declaring it a return of the ancient Zhou dynasty.  In other words, for all of Uno no Sarara's reign in Yamato, another woman, Wu Zhao, sat atop the traditionally patriarchal seat of power in the Tang—and later Zhou—court. Wu Zhao is more commonly known to us, today, as Wu Zetian.  This comes from her final title as reigning monarch:  Zetian Dasheng Huangdi, or Heaven-following Great Holy Emperor.  She is often depicted as a ruthless and politically savvy ruler who usurped the throne through her feminine wiles and violence.  We see how she dethroned her own son to avoid him giving up the throne to his wife.  She is also said to have had another son killed because of her ambitions, and is even accused of killing her own daughter just to blame a rival at court.  She is also depicted performing plenty of other unflattering acts. Of course, it is worth noting that she was not the one to write her own history.  After her reign, her epitaph was inscribed by her own political rivals.   It is notable that she is the only Empress to be recognized as ruling in her own right in the entire history of China.  Certainly there were others who reigned as regents, and women with tremendous power and influence, but none of them really held the throne uncontested. Given the animosity of the authors who wrote about her reign, we have to take anything we hear about Wu Zhao with a bit of salt.  On the other hand, Tang dynasty imperial politics were ruthless, and you didn't get to the top because you had a charming demeanor.   While there is no doubt more than a little slander written into the history books, one only has to look at the men who ruled before and after her to wonder whether she really did anything that was so much better or worse than what they did.  Just keep that in mind as we go through some of what she was accused of. Now what we are told is that with her younger son, Emperor Ruizong, she was only nominally pretending to be regent.  She didn't bother to hide behind a screen with him out front and we are told she openly whispered answers and commands that Ruizong would immediately parrot.  Ruizong never moved into the imperial suites of the palace, which his mother maintained.  Ruizong didn't even attend imperial functions, and officials were not allowed to meet with him privately.  An uprising in Yang state was said to be in part because of her rule, and it was suggested that she should step aside and let her son truly rule to restore confidence, but she was having none of it and had those who suggested it arrested.  Later, she would institute post boxes around government buildings for people to snitch on those around them who might be disloyal, and she instituted secret police, who investigated various rumors and false accusations with torture, leading to numerous executions. In 685 she is said to have had an affair with a Buddhst monk, Huaiyi, who was then conferred with various honors.  Then, in 686, she offered to return the throne to Ruizong, but Ruizong, realizing that there was no way she would let go of power, saw it as a test of his obedience, and declined.  In 688 she summoned senior members of the Li Family, the family of the Tang emperors, under the pretense of making sacrifices to the spirit of the Luo river, which flowed through the Eastern Capital of Luoyang.  Several of the Princes of the Li house were worried that she was going to slaughter them all, Red Wedding style, if they showed up, in order to secure the throne to herself, and so they plotted to rebel, but coordination was not the greatest back then, and two princes rose up before the others were ready.  They were crushed, and many other members of the Li family were implicated, arrested, and forced to commit suicide.  In 690, she completely did away with any dissembling and declared a new dynasty—the Zhou dynasty—declaring herself Shengshen Huangdi, or Holy Divine Emperor of the Zhou dynasty.  And yes, this is the same Zhou as the ancient Zhou dynasty—she was apparently claiming descent from the ancient rulers of Zhou. Her son was thus deposed and she ruled uncontested from 690 until her death in705.  She would go by various names.  Three years in and she would add "Jinlun", or "Golden Wheel" to her title, referring to the Buddhist concept of a Chakravartin, or Golden Wheel Turning Monarch. This latter title came in part as she is said to have elevated the foreign religion of Buddhism over the native Taoist religion.  She is also said to have built numerous temples around the capital cities and elsewhere.  In 692, the rising power of the secret police appeared to have been halted.  One of the officials in charge, Lai Junchen, attempted to have a handful of officials executed for false accusastions.  He told them that if they confessed to the accusations, their lives would be spared, and so many of them confessed to the false accusations, but Junchen conspired to have them executed anyway.  One of the officials was none other than the famous Di Renjie.  Renjie wrote a petition on his blanket and then hid that with the laundry that he sent to his family when it was time to change from winter to summer robes.  His family found it and submitted the petition to Wu Zhao, who became suspicious of Junchen.  For his part, Junchen has submitted forged petitions from the prisoners, thanking Empress Wu for preparing to execute them. Other accusations against Junchen's methods came to light, and so Empress Wu interrogated the prisoners personally.  They all disavowed their confessions, and so Wu commuted their sentences from death to exile.  Junchen continued to operate until 697, but there seems to have been a notable decrease in the number of executions after that point.  He would eventually go too far, and planning to accuse the Li and Wu princes and princesses of treason, but they acted first and he ended up being executed.  Without Lai Junchen, the secret police seem to have largely fallen apart. As for Di Renjie, he eventually worked his way back into the good graces of Wu and the court, eventually being recalled to Luoyang to serve.  Di Renjie's own legend grew, and in the 18th or 19th century he was recast as a kind of Tang dynasty detective in the historical crime drama genre popular at the time.  The book, "Di Gong An", or "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee", was found by a Dutch Ambassador to China, Robert van Gulik, in a used bookstore in Tokyo, of all places.  Van Gulik would go on to translate the stories and penned a number of others using the style and characters of the original.  Judge Dee was cast as the "Sherlock Holmes of China" and has since become popular in both China and the West.  The first novel in the series was actually set in the time of Empress Wu. Robert van Gulik also had several scholarly works, including a translation of the Tang Yin Pi Shih, a 13th century manual for magistrates with examples of cases spanning approximately 1400 years, from the Qin to Song dynasty.  This work really helps to illuminate how the ancient justice system worked back then.  Fictional detectives aside, Empress Wu would continue to reign over an impressive period in history.  There were plenty of deadly politics, various attacks by outside forces, and more. Overall, it was a fairly prosperous time for the empires. When Wu passed away in 705, her son, Emperor Zhongzong, resumed the throne, ending the Zhou dynasty and resuming the Tang dynasty of the Li family.  Still, Wu Zhao, aka Wu Zetian, would be well remembered.  She was buried in the Qianling Mausoleum, near Chang'an, alongside her late husband, Emperor Gaozong.  Various other members of the Royal Li family were also buried there, and many of their tombs have been opened.  The paintings, statues, and artwork and funerary goods provide a tremendously detailed look at Tang court culture and society at this time.  Statues outside indicate officials and ambassadors from across the Tang courts sphere of influence.  There are depictions of court dress and the elaborate hairstyles, fabrics, and more, as the tombs generally include court men and women.  The famous mural of the Ambassadors is shown with Korean, western, and possibly even a Japanese envoy.  The murals also show architectural elements of ancient Chang'an and more. The tombs of Gaozong and Zetian clearly known, but currently have not undergone excavation.  Much like with the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, the government has put a moratorium on opening the tombs until they can be sure that everything can be properly protected as they do so.  There is a huge concern that the tombs could be robbed or that priceless works could be damaged if they are opened improperly or without sufficient techniques to adequately preserve them. As noted above, although Empress Wu is often demonized by historians, we have to ask if her reign was truly so much different from others.  She was certainly a woman taking power in a male-dominated system.  Where a man projecting power was seen as normal, Empress Wu was seen as perverting the natural order.  An emperor taking to bed numerous consorts and concubines was considered only natural.  However, Empress Wu taking to bed various men for her own enjoyment was seen as licentious and indecent.  The double-standard seems pretty clear. I even have to wonder about things like the secret police.  While it certainly is alarming to see a government sending people out to arrest and charge people on the barest of evidence, often with little or no accountability or transparency, one should consider what justice looked like at the time, more generally.  Tang dynasty justice was often harsh, and torture was considered a standard practice to elicit a confession.  Once someone was accused of a crime, their guilt was assumed, and it was on them to prove their innocence.  This was a tall order, as the thinking of the day was often that if you hadn't done anything wrong, why would anyone risk falsely accusing you?  So clearly you had done *something* to disrupt the social order, even if it wasn't what you were actually accused of. Furthermore, there is a fine line between rooting out disloyalty to the regime and rooting out corruption.  Anonymous tips can be used to call SWAT to someone's house, but it can also be a way for a whistleblower to alert those in authority that something untoward is going on.  And something begun with the best of intentions, can easily be corrupted, especially in the wrong hands. And so I think we can give Empress Wu at least the benefit of the doubt that she seems to have tried to do right by the people and her country.  The Tang court, by all accounts, was a nest of vipers, and I don't think she was a saint, but neither was she the devil incarnate. In fact, a lot of the accusations against Empress Wu would appear to be paralleled, years later, in the archipelago—possibly being parroted by men who were aware of the anti-Wu propaganda.  Kouken Tennou—who would also reign a second time as Shoutoku Tennou, was embroiled in conflict. Like Wu, she came to power in a court embroiled in familial politics.  She was known to be a supporter of Buddhism, and she was also said to have had an affair with a monk, Doukyou, upon whom she is said to have lavished power and authority.  She is also said to have modeled her nengo, the auspicious names for the year, off of Empress Wu.  After her death, her reign was used as a reason why there was not another regnant female sovereign on the throne until the Edo period, and she is often seen as the Last Female Sovereign, much as there was never another Empress regnant amongst the various Sinic dynasties. However, returning ourselves back to the 7th century, those histories had yet to be written.  Instead, one has to wonder how much communication there was between the continent and the archipelago.  Did Uno no Sarara realize that she was not the only woman taking charge at that time?  Was Empress Wu considered a model for her?  Or was she seen as more of a rival?  Or was it neither?  Did either one regard the other at all, embroiled as they were in their own, local and domestic pursuits? If they did, there isn't much, if anything, in the record. There is plenty to be said about relations with both Silla and the Tang dynasty in general, however.  Most of the focus was actually on Silla, to be honest—not surprising given Silla's place in the international arena in relation to Yamato. Last episode we mentioned that an embassy was sent to Silla to announce the death of Ohoama.  It was only several months after he had passed away, on the 19th day of 687.  The chief and assistant envoys were Tanaka no Ason no Norimaro and Mori no Kimi no Karita.  Norimaro is listed as Jikikwoshi rank—the lowest of the Jiki category, which was the 3rd of 6.  This put him about 24 ranks down in the 48 rank system.  Karita, on the other hand, was Tsuidaini, putting him at about 43 of 48 court ranks.  Normally, I don't pay too much attention to the ranks that are given in the Chronicles, mainly for two reasons.  First off is that you aren't always sure that the rank given in the Chronicle corresponds with the rank at the time of the event—sometimes we see ranks that are clearly anachronistic—typically later in their life.  Since people don't typically drop in rank, unless they are demoted, this usually gives you some information, but not always. The second reason I often don't pay attention is because it usually isn't germane to the story.  It is why I'll also drop the uji and the kabane, once we establish a particular person.  Otherwise it feels like word salad. Every once in a while I do like to look at the ranks, however, because they do give us information about things like the individual's general position in the court hierarchy.  In this case we see that, of the officials selected for this assignment, one was near the bottom of the upper half of the court, while the other was really in a much more junior position.  I believe this may also be important later on, because there was a certain expectation that the person representing a sovereign in diplomatic situations would have sufficient rank to indicate some amount of pull, back home. The mission of Norimaro and Karita to Silla may have been ordered in the first month of the year, but it seems it likely took time before it actually left—or something happened.  I say this because in the 9th month we see an embassy from Silla arrive, and they are apparently unaware of any changes in the archipelago.  The embassy was headed by the Prince Gim Sangnim.  We are also told that there were two other officials, Gim Salmo and Gim Insyul, both of Geupson rank.  Then there was So Yangsin of Daesa rank.  That was two of vice ministerial rank and one of lower official rank.  These ranks were connected both to their office and to their family, as Silla still used a fairly rigid system based on the rank of one's family, similar to the way that the old Kabane system worked before it was reformed under Ohoama in the previous reign. The embassy from Silla also included a student-priest, Chiryu.  Presumably Chiryu was from Yamato and had gone abroad to study, and was now making his way back home. It appears as though the embassy had no idea that Ohoama had passed away as we are told that they had to be informed by the Dazai—the Viceroy of Tsukushi.  Once they were informed, they all put on mourning clothing, turned towards the east—towards the capital of Yamato—and they bowed three times and then cried out lamentations three times. I would note that there is another record in the first month of the following year, which states that Gim Sangnim and his colleagues were informed of Ohoama's death and lamented three times.   That could just be a misplaced duplicate of the previous entry, about the embassy—possibly it got recorded multiple times and different ways and on different dates.  It isn't exactly clear.  Either way, it seems that this was not meant to be an official condolence envoy, but just a regular embassy bringing trade goods disguised as tribute.  In fact, in the 2nd month of 688 we are told that the Viceroy of Tsukushi presented the tribute from Silla to the capital.  It is said to have included gold and silver, thin silks, cloth, skins, copper, and iron.  There were also images of the Buddha, all kinds of coloured fine silks, birds, and horses.  Sangnim himself had presents of gold and silver, colored stuffs, and various rarieties—80 items all told.  Sangnim and his crew probably didn't travel to Asuka, because we are told that as of the 10th day of the 2nd month of 688 they were being entertained in the Tsukushi government house, where they were given various gifts by the court, and then they headed out on the 29th day of that month. A year after that, in the first month of 689, Norimaro and Karita returned from Silla, suggesting that the two embassies really had just passed each other—such were the issues with international travel back in the day. Now, normally, we don't hear much about what happened during these embassies.  The Nihon Shoki doesn't typically record anything, possibly because they just didn't have any records.  And the records in the Samguk Sagi often don't mention anything, either.  It is possible that it was just considered too routine to mention the ins and outs.  However, in this instance, we may have some insight, because it is mentioned later in the narrative. You see, four months behind Norimaro and Karita came the formal Silla condolence envoy.  It was headed by Gim Dona, of Geupson rank—so a vice minister instead of a prince heading up the embassy.  Silla also sent student-priests Meiso, Kwanchi, and others, along with a gold-copper image of Amida Buddha and a gold-copper image of Kannon and an image of Daiseishi Boddhisatva, along with colored silks and brocades. A month after they arrived, the condolence envoy received a message from none other than Queen Uno no Sarara herself, but this was not necessarily a good thing.  In fact, she appears to be dressing down the Silla envoys and the Silla court more generally, because of how things had gone with Norimaro and Karita—and this possibly also explains why it took so long for them to get to Silla and back. According to the Yamato court, Norimaro and Karita were sent to Silla to announce the death of Ohoama.  However, Silla protocol stated that persons charged to deliver a royal message had always had the rank of Sopan. This appears to be equivalent to the rank of Japchan, and indicates the third rank in Silla's system.  Because of this, Queen Uno's message goes on to state, Norimaro and Karita were not allowed to deliver their message about Ohoama's passing to the court.  However, back when Karu—Koutoku Tennou—had passed away in 654, Kose no Inamochi went to announce the funerals dates, and he was received by Gim Shunshun listened to the report.  So saying that it is someone of the third rank that is needed goes against precedent. Furthermore, when Naka no Oe passed away in 671, Silla sent Gim Salyu, who was of 7th rank, but now they send someone of 9th rank.  So if precedent was to be followed, wouldn't that also be a problem? This whole thing is really fascinating in that it demonstrates the kind of delicate balance and back and forth that was going on—and I suspect that it was growing even more specific as each country was adopting more rules and laws, and compiling them into codes.  It is notable that the Chronicles make sure to state the rank of each ambassador from Silla, at least in the last several reigns.  That suggests that the government was tracking such things, and that it was important. The rest of the screed by the Yamato court seems a little more about setting out Yamato's position on Silla-Yamato relations.  Here Yamato puts words into the mouths of former Silla officials, claiming that they always addressed Yamato's sovereign with deference.  Yamato claimed Silla had promised service to Yamato since the remote royal ancestors, promising that the oars of the ships bringing tribute to the archipelago would "never become dry", and yet this time, there was only one ship that came to offer condolences.  Furthermore, the Silla kings were to serve the sovereigns of Yamato faithfully, but they had now broken the faith. Therefore their tribute goods were sealed up and returned back. That said, they weren't completely breaking off communications.  This was a rebuke, certainly, but they were willing to keep channels open with hopes that relations might improve in the future. My read on all of this is that the Yamato envoys to Silla had been snubbed by that court for not being of appropriate station by Silla's rules.  Therefore, in a tit-for-tat move, Yamato was treating the condolence envoy similarly. That doesn't mean they didn't show them any hospitality, though.  Queen Uno no Sarara had the Viceroy, Awada no Mabito no Ason, give the student-priests Meiso and Kanchi, who had just come back with the condolence envoy, 140 kin of floss silk for their teachers back in Silla, in apparent gratitude.  And then a few days later they were entertaining the condolence envoys in Wogohori in Tsukushi, and giving them various presents for their trouble. This is likely the kind of "don't shoot the messenger".  Sure, they were returning the tribute and sending a message to Silla, but that wasn't the fault of Gim Dona and his colleagues.  And they were now taking a rather disappointing message back with them—I doubt anyone wanted to be in Gim Dona's shoes as he told the court what had transpired. Gim Dona and crew left shortly after that.  From there, we don't have a lot of information on what happened.  The Silla annals of the Samguk Sagi don't record Gim Dona's embassy, let alone what happened when they came back.  However, Silla  would send future envoys, and diplomatic relations between the two countries continued throughout the reign.  The Silla embassies from that point on are largely, for our purposes, unremarkable.  I may mention them if they relate to other items of note, but for the most part there is really only two other embassies of note, and they were in the year 693.  The first was from Silla, led by Gim Gangnam of Sasan rank, along with Gim Yangweon of Hannama rank—so 8th and 11th rank in the Silla hierarchy, apparently.  They had come to announce the death of King Sinmun, who had passed away the previous year.    And so, on the 16th day of the 3rd month, an embassy was prepared to depart for Silla.  It was headed up by Okinaga no Mabito no Oyu, of Jikikwoshi rank—much as Norimaro had been.  He and his proposed vice envoy, Ohotomo no Sukune no Kogimi, who was Gondaini rank—27th of 48—were both given gifts prior to their election as ambassadors, and were sent as condolence envoys, themselves. Meanwhile, let's take a look at Yamato's interactions with the Tang dynasty. First of all, we see a note in the 6th month of 689 that presents of rice were given to Xu Shouyen, Sa Hungko, and others from the land of the Great Tang.  So was this an embassy?  Not quite. Remember that little scuffle back in the 660s on the Korean Peninsula?  That special military operation by Silla and Tang forces against Baekje, where Yamato had tried to assist, only to have their navy bested by Tang forces? Well during the fighting , there had been numerous prisoners taken, on both sides.  Xu Shouyen and Sa Hungko were two such prisoners.  Except that "prison" in this case was largely being sent to live off the land.  They were probably forced to do labor, though if they had special skills, such as reading and writing, they may have been put to work in another way.  Indeed, we later see these two mentioned not as prisoners or even slaves, but as teachers of "pronunciation".  They were even given rice-land and stipends of their own.  Granted, this is decades after they first came to  Yamato, so this wasn't exactly a smooth ride. But it wasn't just Tang prisoners in Yamato.  Yamato soldiers had also been captured and taken prisoner by Tang forces.  And so, in the 9th month of 690, we see three priests who had gone to the land of Tang to study returned in the company of a Silla escort envoy, and they brought back with them a soldier, Ohotomobe no Hakama, from the Upper Yame district in Tsukushi. The three priests, Chishiu, Gitoku, and Jougwan all made their way to the capital, arriving several weeks after they first made landfall in Tsukushi.  At this point, Prince Kawachi was the Dazai in charge of affairs out there, and soon after the priests arrived at Naniwa and made their way to the capital, in Asuka, messengers going the other way made it out to Tsukushi with orders to give presents and gifts to the Gim Gohun, the escort envoy who had shuttled them all back from the continent. But even more impressive was the royal edict that was dated a week later for Ohotomobe no Hakama.  It lays out the circumstances of his capture and what happened to him that he stayed in the land of the Tang for so long.  You see, Hakama was one of many soldiers who was captured during the war to defend Baekje.  But three years after that conflict, the Tang dynasty was no longer trying to keep them prisoner.  This was a time when you didn't necessarily need to have buildings with walls to keep people prisoner—you just moved them to a new area where they could farm or otherwise set up a livelihood, or starve.  Travel was dangerous and expensive, especially if you didn't speak the language.  Nonetheless, if you did wish to return, there wasn't a lot stopping you, beyond just having the means to do so. And so this group of Wa soldiers got together and debated what to do.  We are told that it was four men—Hashi no Hoto, Kohori no Oyu, Tsukuhi no Satsuyama, and Yuge no Gen Jitsuni—the last one apparently having taken a local name on the continent.  Amongst themselves, they wanted to return to the archipelago not just to see their families and friends, but also to let people back home know about the changing conditions on the mainland.  As you may recall, around this time, Yamato was fiercely building up forces and defenses because they were convinced that there was going to be an attack by the Tang and Silla forces at any moment. The only problem that these four had in getting back was that they had, well, nothing.  They had neither the clothing nor provisions to make such a journey.  What would they eat and how would they pay for passage?  As such, they were unable to get back.  Hearing this, Ohotomobe no Hakama spoke up.  He declared that, as much as he also wished to return, he could at least help them out.  He offered to be sold into slavery so that his companions could obtain money with which to buy food and clothing. And so they did.  Hakama was sold, and he probably had no idea what happened to the four after that. It turns out, however, that they did make it back and were able to give the Yamato court some idea of what had happened.  Meanwhile, Hakama remained in a foreign land as a slave for some 30 years, until he was finally able to make it back to Yamato, apparently with the help of the three monks. This whole story was relayed to the court, and when the Queen heard it, she decided to act.  And thus the edict.  Not only did she recount his story and praise him for his loyalty, but he was granted certain honors.  First off, he was granted the rank of Mudaishi—the 39th rank in the court hierarchy, which gave him not a small amount of status, especially if he stayed in Tsukushi.  He was also granted5 pieses of coarse silk, 10 bundles of floss silk, 30 tan of cloth, and 1000 sheaves of rice.  On top of that, though, he received four chou of rice-land, which was given to him and his descendants, until at least his great-grandchildren.  Finally, his parents, siblings, and children, were also exempted from having to ever provide corvee labor. Now, nobody could give him back his 30 years, but this was quite the consolation prize, at the time.  To basically get rank and status, a stipend down four generations, and exemption from forced labor for him and his relatives, that was pretty incredible, if you think about it. Hakama wasn't the only one who had suffered in the country of the Great Tang and was rewarded for it.  Mononobe no Kusuri, from Iyo, and Mibu no Moroshi, in Higo, were also paid out handsomely in consolation for their sufferings,  though we aren't given details on their stories, or even when they came back. There are also other descriptions of Tang men, but it seems that these were individuals in a similar position to Xu Shouyen and Sa Hungko—they had been captured and were now living in Yamato.  That they were integrating into Yamato society seems clear from the fact that they were given rank and similarly treated like vassals of the throne. What we don't see, however, are any further diplomatic missions.  Those wouldn't start up for a while, and so even if Queen Uno no Sarara had wanted to confer with another female monarch, it would have to have been done through the auspices of Silla, who at t his point seem to have largely controlled the flow of goods, people, and thus information between the straits. And with that, I think we can close out this episode.  Moving forward, we have more details about a lot of different things, and yet others are still lacking.  It is my goal to try and be a little more selective about the passages we pull from the Chronicles.  We don't need to go over every natural disaster or prayer to the wind-gods.  We will take a look at things like the completion of the Fujiwara capital, as well as the 22 volumes of the Asuka-Kiyomihara law codes.  And then there are a few persons of note that we should probably mention as well, such as the appearance of Fujiwara no Fubito.  We should also talk about some of the other royal edicts that were made. All of that for later.  For now, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

In this masterclass, I'm pulling back the curtain on everything I teach inside my eight-week program Ignite and distilling it into one power-packed masterclass. If you've been doing "all the things" and still feel like your body isn't responding, this one is for you.   What We Cover: The difference between metabolism, metabolic health, and hormonal changes — because they are not the same thing, and confusing them is costing you results. The top 5 struggles women come to us with: Metabolic dysfunction (gaining weight, energy crashes, cravings) Hormonal chaos (mood swings, anxiety, irritability) Sleep disruption (why 1–4 AM wake-ups are telling you something) Loss of body confidence and identity Information overload and no clear strategy Why your symptoms are the messenger, not the root cause — and how to start asking the right questions of your doctors, trainers, and yourself. Blood sugar & insulin — the most underutilized tool for stabilizing blood sugar isn't a supplement. It's strength training. Protein: the non-negotiable macro — how much you actually need (hint: most women are underestimating), how to hit 30–40g per meal, and why food prep beats meal prep every time. Building muscle in your 40s, 50s & 60s — what progressive overload actually means, why cardio classes are not your best investment, and the five non-negotiables for real body recomposition. Why eating less and pushing harder is working against you — and what to do instead. Thyroid health & Hashimoto's — what to ask your doctor to test (beyond TSH), why antibodies matter, and how Christine got her Hashi's into remission. The scale is the last metric we use — progress photos, tracking your lifts, and measuring what actually matters. Food noise, GLP-1s & the wellness marketing machine — how to cut through the noise and find what your body actually needs. Key Takeaways: Your muscle mass impacts your metabolism more than your age does One poor night of sleep is enough to dysregulate hunger hormones and increase cravings Consistency over perfection — nail one habit before adding another Stop cutting carbs; your thyroid needs them The boring basics work. My most successful clients are my most "boring" ones. You don't need more equipment — you need more education about your body   Mentioned in This Episode: Andrea Donsky's book Nourishing Menopause and her research on 103 symptoms of perimenopause/menopause Dr. Bill Campbell's body composition lab at the University of South Florida MyFitnessPal for macro tracking Jill Harris as a client case study (9 lbs lost, Hashimoto's into remission over 3 years) Vitract / Tiny Gut Health for stool/microbiome testing   Let's dive in! Thank you for joining us today. If you could rate, review & subscribe, it would mean the world to me! While you're at it, take a screenshot and tag me @jennpike to share on Instagram – I'll re-share that baby out to the community & once a month I'll be doing a draw from those re-shares and send the winner something special! Click here to listen: Apple Podcasts – CLICK HERESpotify – CLICK HERE This episode is sponsored by: withinUs | Use the code JENNPIKE20 at withinus.ca for a limited time to save 20% off your first order and 20% off your first subscription order St. Francis | Go to stfrancisherbfarm.com and save 15% off your all your orders with code JENNPIKE15  Eversio Wellness | Go to eversiowellness.com/discount/jennpike15 and save 15% off every order with code JENNPIKE15 /// not available for "subscribe & save" option Free Resources: Free Perimenopause Support Guide | jennpike.com/perimenopausesupport Free Blood Work Guide | jennpike.com/bloodworkguide The Simplicity Sessions Podcast | jennpike.com/podcast Get 20% on thewalkingpad.com using code "JENNPIKE20" Metabolic Guide | jennpike.com/metabolic-guide Get discounts at happybumco.com using code "JENNPIKE" *code doesn't apply with Black Friday sale* Programs: Ignite: Your 8-Week Body Transformation Program | https://jennpike.com/ignite The Peri & Menopause Project  - Join the Waitlist | jennpike.com/theperimenopauseproject Synced Virtual Fitness Studio | jennpike.com/synced Services: Work With Jenn | https://jennpike.com/work-with-jenn/ Functional Testing | jennpike.com/testing-packages Business Mentorship | The Audacious Woman Mentorship:  jennpike.com/theaudaciouswoman Connect with Jenn: Instagram | @jennpike Facebook | @thesimplicityproject YouTube | Simplicity TV Website | The Simplicity Project Inc. Have a question? Send it over to hello@jennpike.com and I'll do my best to share helpful insights, thoughts and advice.

Elad Gil (@eladgil) is CEO of Gil & Co, a multi-stage investment firm, holding company, and operating company working on the world's most advanced technologies. Elad is a serial entrepreneur, operating executive, and investor or advisor to private companies, including AirBnB, Anduril, Coinbase, Figma, Instacart, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Stripe. He was previously VP of Corporate Strategy at Twitter and started mobile at Google. He was the founder and CEO of Mixerlabs and Color. Elad is the author of the bestseller High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People.This episode is brought to you by:Matic the intelligent robot vacuum and mop that navigates obstacles and needs no babysitting: MaticRobots.com/TimAG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/TimEight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/TimTimestamps[00:00:00] Start.[00:02:21] What's the “AI personal IPO” that just quietly happened across Silicon Valley?[00:05:28] Tens to hundreds of millions per researcher: What top AI pay packages actually look like.[00:06:44] The compute ceiling: Why Korean memory fabs are the unlikely bottleneck throttling every AI lab on earth.[00:11:11] From zero to $30B run rate: The fastest revenue ramps in the history of capitalism.[00:17:24] The dot-com survival rate was one in 100. Buckle up, AI founders.[00:20:35] Your value-maximizing window: Why the next 12–18 months may be as good as it gets.[00:21:32] Durable advantage — and why the AI market is an oligopoly (for now).[00:24:12] Exit options for AI founders: labs, hyperscalers, vertical players, and the underrated merger of equals.[00:28:11] Math, biology, and intuitive leaps: Elad's pre-investing background.[00:29:42] Elad's revisionist genesis story.[00:30:50] Go where the cluster is: 91% of global AI private market cap lives in a 10×10 mile square.[00:33:20] The accidental investor: Patrick Collison walks, Airbnb intros, and deals that just happened.[00:34:37] Want money? Ask for advice. Want advice? Ask for money.[00:35:00] The High Growth Handbook: Tactical guide, not bedtime reading.[00:35:41] Market first, team second — with a Perplexity-and-Anduril asterisk.[00:37:43] Smoke in the distance: AlexNet and the transformative GPT-3 moment.[00:45:15] AI cold-reading: Feeding photos to the model and getting eerily accurate personality reads.[00:48:56] Has Elad ever done a retrospective on his own investing?[00:52:13] Power laws are terrifying: 10 companies, 80% of returns, two decades.[00:55:53] Avoiding science projects, and how SPACs accidentally saved hard tech investing.[00:59:20] The one-belief framework: Coinbase = crypto index. Stripe = e-commerce index. That's the whole memo.[01:00:54] Due diligence theater vs. the one question that actually matters.[01:02:13] The four-year vest is a relic: How venture capital ate growth investing.[01:07:16] Boards as in-laws: You can't fire them, so choose wisely.[01:09:47] “Valuation is temporary. Control is forever.” — Naval Ravikant, as quoted by Elad, as relayed to you.[01:11:30] How great companies actually grew: toolbars, name-targeted ads, and billions in distribution spend.[01:15:36] Selling software vs. selling labor hours: The real shift generative AI made.[01:18:40] Spotting a great market: regulatory shifts, technology shifts, and Hashi getting bought by IBM.[01:21:28] Fake TAM, real TAM, and the Coke CEO who realized he wasn't in the soda business.[01:22:47] Right now, consensus is just correct. Save the contrarianism for later.[01:25:15] Market entry vs. market disruption: SpaceX launched rockets, then disrupted the internet.[01:26:16] How Elad learns: X, papers, 20-minute calls with the right people — and four AI models running in parallel.[01:27:15] Deep dive: ADHD, autism, and why diagnostic rates soared without more people actually having it.[01:33:40] Longevity for realists: sleep, creatine, and maybe rapamycin when the real drugs arrive.[01:40:30] Ibogaine, anesthesia, and the next frontier of bioelectric medicine.[01:45:15] Elad's first-ever 10-year plan — and why making one changes everything.[01:46:53] Parting thoughts.*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

幻冬舎の暗号資産（仮想通貨）/ブロックチェーンなどWeb3領域の専門メディア「あたらしい経済 https://www.neweconomy.jp/ 」がおくる、Podcast番組です。 ーーーーー 【番組スポンサー】 この番組は、暗号資産取引におけるフルラインナップサービスを提供する「SBI VCトレード」のスポンサーでお届けします。 ーーーーー SBI VCトレードは、「暗号資産もSBI」のスローガンのもと、国内最大級のインターネット総合金融グループであるSBIグループの総合力を生かし、暗号資産取引におけるフルラインナップサービスを提供しております。暗号資産交換業者・第一種金融商品取引業者・電子決済手段等取引業者として高いセキュリティ体制のもと、暗号資産の売買にとどまらない暗号資産運用サービスや法人向けサービスの展開、さらにステーブルコインのユーエスディーシー（USDC）を国内で初めて取り扱っております。 ーーーーー SBI VCトレード公式サイト：https://account.sbivc.co.jp/signup?hc_ak=1RNML.3.M06AS ーーーーー 【紹介したニュース】 ・アニモカブランズがアバラボへ戦略的投資、エコシステムの成長と普及の支援で ・Sui、ビットコイン（BTC）担保型基盤「Hashi」提供へ。ビットゴーら参加 ・BTQテクノロジーズ、ビットコイン量子耐性提案「BIP360」をテストネットで初実装 ・予測市場カルシ、1Bドル調達で評価額22Bドル到達か＝報道 ・ポリマーケット、DeFiインフラ「ブラフマ」買収 ・GSR、オートノマスとアーキテックを57Mドルで買収、トークン発行体支援を強化へ 【あたらしい経済関連リンク】 ニュースの詳細や、アーカイブやその他の記事はこちらから https://www.neweconomy.jp/

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and CPO of Mysten Labs,  walks through how Hashi works and how it differs from the competition. Can it succeed where others have failed? Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges.  Get started at ⁠nexo.com/unchained⁠ Mysten Labs has announced Hashi, a protocol designed to unlock several financial applications for native Bitcoin in a trust minimized way. Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun walks through how Hashi works and how it differs from wrapped Bitcoin tokens and L2s. He says the protocol is built with institutions in mind, highlighting for one that it does not trigger a tax event like alternatives and also comes with low-premium on-chain Bitcoin denominated insurance. Listen to find out how Hashi manages these and more. Will Mysten Labs succeed in unlocking Bitcoin's long-desired $1.4 trillion liquidity? Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Adeniyi Abiodun, Co-Founder and CPO of Mysten Labs Links Unchained: Sui Blockchain Restored After Six-Hour Outage Sui-Based Typus Finance Loses $3.4 Million in Hack Coinbase's cbBTC Crosses $1 Billion Market Cap, Deploys on Solana New Bitcoin Liquid Staking Protocols Aim to Replicate Lido's Success Kraken Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Token kBTC Top Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) Alternatives You Should Know About Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailOn this episode, Gillis and Tarryn dive into Hashimoto's and how it's more of an immune issue vs thyroid issue. They also discuss what they do for their Hashi's clients to help them make progress. Support the showThank you for listening! Don't forget to share  our podcast on social and tag us in the share to help us get the word out!  Be sure to follow us on social media more education: Tarryn - http://instagram.com/tarryn_nettlesGillis - http://instagram.com/gillis331Interested in working with us?  Reach out us! Tarryn: Tarryn@gtnutritionperformance.org Gillis:   gpellegrinllc@gmail.com We offer 1:1 online coaching, lab reviews, running labs,  1:1 mentoring for coaches, or group mentoring for coaches. Be on the lookout for educational classes/course coming soon! 

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and CPO of Mysten Labs,  walks through how Hashi works and how it differs from the competition. Can it succeed where others have failed? Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges.  Get started at ⁠nexo.com/unchained⁠ Mysten Labs has announced Hashi, a protocol designed to unlock several financial applications for native Bitcoin in a trust minimized way. Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun walks through how Hashi works and how it differs from wrapped Bitcoin tokens and L2s. He says the protocol is built with institutions in mind, highlighting for one that it does not trigger a tax event like alternatives and also comes with low-premium on-chain Bitcoin denominated insurance. Listen to find out how Hashi manages these and more. Will Mysten Labs succeed in unlocking Bitcoin's long-desired $1.4 trillion liquidity? Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Adeniyi Abiodun, Co-Founder and CPO of Mysten Labs Links Unchained: Sui Blockchain Restored After Six-Hour Outage Sui-Based Typus Finance Loses $3.4 Million in Hack Coinbase's cbBTC Crosses $1 Billion Market Cap, Deploys on Solana New Bitcoin Liquid Staking Protocols Aim to Replicate Lido's Success Kraken Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Token kBTC Top Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) Alternatives You Should Know About Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Programa de Radio No.383, Podcast No.532Transmitido el 18 de febrero de 2026 por Radio y TV. Querétaro 100.3 FM¡El Chiptune mexicano sigue vivo! y nos complace compartirles su mas reciente compilado de diversos artistas de la escena actual de este subgénero musical de la música Electrónica, no se pierdan de poderosos temas creados en consolas de videojuegos que  van desde los Game Boy, las computadoras Commodore 64 hasta música hecha con el celular; disfruten de esta selección musical pero también descarguen de manera gratuita el compilado y apoyen a la escena independiente de estos jóvenes talentos.Escucha y descarga el album completo en las siguientes plataformas: https://t.co/dRODmxn5LG

The last time Yamato was heavily involved on the continent, they were defeated militarily, and they returned to fortify their islands.  So how are things looking, now? This episode we will talk about some of what has been going on with Tang and Silla, but also touch on the Mishihase, the Hayato, the people of Tamna and Tanegashima, and more! For more information and references, check out:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-140   Rough Transcript   Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 140: Improving Diplomatic Ties Garyang Jyeongsan and Gim Hongsye looked out from the deck of their ship, tossing and turning in the sea.  The waves were high, and the winds lashed at the ship, which rocked uncomfortably beneath their feet.  Ocean spray struck them from below while rain pelted from above. Through the torrential and unstable conditions, they looked out for their sister ship.  It was their job to escort them, but in these rough seas, bobbing up and down, they were at the mercy of the elements.  One minute they could see them, and then next it was nothing but a wall of water.  Each time they caught a glimpse the other ship seemed further and further away.  They tried calling out, but it was no use—even if they could normally have raised them, the fierce winds simply carried their voices out into the watery void.  Eventually, they lost sight of them altogether. When the winds died down and the seas settled, they looked for their companions, but they saw nothing, not even hints of wreckage on the ocean.  They could only hope that their fellow pilots knew where they were going.  As long as they could still sail, they should be able to make it to land—either to the islands  to which they were headed, or back to the safety of the peninsula. And so the escort ship continued on, even without a formal envoy to escort.  They would hope for the best, or else they would explain what would happen,  and hope that the Yamato court would understand. The seas were anything but predictable, and diplomacy was certainly not for the faint of heart.   We are going through the period of the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou.  It started in 672, with the death of his brother, Naka no Oe, remembered as the sovereign Tenji Tenno, when Temmu took the throne from his nephew, Ohotomo, aka Kobun Tenno, in what would become known as the Jinshin no Ran.  From that point, Ohoama continued the work of his brother in creating a government based on a continental model of laws and punishments—the Ritsuryo system.  He accomplished this with assistance from his wife, Uno, and other members of the royal family—his own sons, but also nephews and other princes of the time.  And so far most of our focus has been on the local goings on within the archipelago. However, there was still plenty going on in the rest of the world, and though Yamato's focus may have been on more local affairs, it was still engaged with the rest of the world—or at least with the polities of the Korean Peninsula and the Tang Dynasty.  This episode we are going to look at Yamato's foreign relations, and how they were changing, especially as things changed on the continent. Up to this point, much of what had been happening in Yamato had been heavily influenced by the mainland in one way or another.  And to begin our discussion, we really should backtrack a bit—all the way to the Battle of Baekgang in 663, which we discussed in Episode 124.  That defeat would lead to the fall of Baekje, at the hands of the Silla-Tang alliance.  The loss of their ally on the peninsula sent Yamato into a flurry of defensive activity.  They erected fortresses on Tsushima, Kyushu, and along the Seto Inland Sea.  They also moved the capital up to Ohotsu, a more easily defended point on the shores of Lake Biwa, and likewise reinforced various strategic points in the Home Provinces as well.  These fortresses were built in the style and under the direction of many of the Baekje refugees now resettled in Yamato. For years, the archipelago braced for an invasion by the Silla-Tang alliance.  After all, with all that Yamato had done to support Baekje, it only made sense, from their perspective, for Silla and Tang to next come after them.  Sure, there was still Goguryeo, but with the death of Yeon Gaesomun, Goguryeo would not last that long.  With a unified peninsula, then why wouldn't they next look to the archipelago? And yet, the attack never came.  While Yamato was building up its defenses, it seems that the alliance between Silla and Tang was not quite as strong as their victories on the battlefield may have made it seem.  This is hardly surprising—the Tang and Silla were hardly operating on the same scale.  That said, the Tang's immense size, while bringing it great resources, also meant that it had an extremely large border to defend.  They often utilized alliances with other states to achieve their ends.  In fact, it seems fairly common for the Tang to seek alliances with states just beyond their borders against those states that were directly on their borders.  In other words, they would effectively create a pincer maneuver by befriending the enemy of their enemy.  Of course.  Once they had defeated said enemy well, wouldn't you know it, their former ally was now their newest bordering state. In the case of the Silla-Tang alliance, it appears that at the start of the alliance, back in the days of Tang Taizong, the agreement, at least from Silla's perspective, was that they would help each other against Goguryeo and Baekje, and then the Tang dynasty would leave the Korean peninsula to Silla.  However, things didn't go quite that smoothly.  The fighting against Goguryeo and Baekje can be traced back to the 640s, but Tang Taizong passed away in 649, leaving the throne to his heir, Tang Gaozong.  The Tang forces eventually helped Silla to take Baekje after the battle of Baekgang River in 663, and then Goguryeo fell in 668, but the Tang forces didn't leave the peninsula.  They remained in the former territories of Baekje and in Goguryeo, despite any former agreements.  Ostensibly they were no doubt pointing to the continuing revolts and rebellions in both regions.  While neither kingdom would fully reassert itself, it didn't mean that there weren't those who were trying.  In fact, the first revolt in Goguryeo was in 669.  There was also a revolt each year until 673.  The last one had some staying power, as the Goguryeo rebels continued to hold out for about four years. It is probably worth reminding ourselves that the Tang dynasty, during this time, had reached out on several occasions to Yamato, sending diplomatic missions, as had Silla.  While the Yamato court may have been preparing for a Tang invasion, the Tang perspective seems different.  They were preoccupied with the various revolts going on, and they had other problems.  On their western border, they were having to contend with the kingdom of Tibet, for example.  The Tibetan kingdom had a powerful influence on the southern route around the Taklamakan desert, which abuts the Tibetan plateau.   The Tang court would have had to divert resources to defend their holdings in the western regions, and it is unlikely that they had any immediate designs on the archipelago, which I suspect was considered something of a backwater to them, at the time.  In fact, Yamato would have been much more useful to the Tang as an ally to help maintain some pressure against Silla, with whom their relationship, no longer directed at a common enemy, was becoming somewhat tense. In fact, just before Ohoama came to the throne, several events had occurred that would affect the Silla-Tang alliance. The first event is more indirect—in 670, the Tibetan kingdom attacked the Tang empire.  The fighting was intense, and required serious resources from both sides.  Eventually the Tibetan forces were victorious, but not without a heavy toll on the Tibetan kingdom, which some attribute to the latter's eventual demise.  Their pyrrhic victory, however, was a defeat for the Tang, who also lost troops and resources in the fighting.  Then, in 671, the Tang empire would suffer another loss as Silla would drive the Tang forces out of the territory of the former kingdom of Baekje. With the Baekje territory under their control, it appears that Silla was also working to encourage some of rebellions in Goguryeo.  This more than irked the Tang court, currently under the formal control of Tang Gaozong and the informal—but quite considerable—control of his wife, Wu Zetian, who some claim was the one actually calling most of the shots in the court at this point in time.  Silla encouragement of restoration efforts in Goguryeo reached the Tang court in 674, in and in 675 we see that the Tang forces were sent to take back their foothold in the former Baekje territory.  Tang defeated Silla at Gyeonggi, and Silla's king, Munmu, sent a tribute mission to the Tang court, apologizing for their past behavior. However, the Tang control could not be maintained, as they had to once again withdraw most of their troops from the peninsula to send them against the Tibetan kingdom once more.  As soon as they did so, Silla once again renewed their attacks on Tang forces on the peninsula.  And so, a year later, in 676, the Tang forces were back.  They crossed the Yellow Sea to try and take back the Tang territories on the lower peninsula, but they were unsuccessful.  Tang forces were defeated by Silla at Maeso Fortress in modern day Yeoncheon.  After a bit more fighting, Silla ended up in control of all territory south of the Taedong River, which runs through Pyongyang, one of the ancient capitals of Goguryeo and the capital of modern North Korea.  This meant that the Tang dynasty still held much of the territory of Goguryeo under their control. With everything that was going on, perhaps that explains some of the apparently defensive measures that Yamato continued to take.  For example, the second lunar month of 675, we know that Ohoama proceeded to Takayasu castle, likely as a kind of formal inspection.  Then, in the 10th lunar month of 675 Ohoama commanded that everyone from the Princes down to the lowest rank were to provide the government with weapons.  A year later, in the 9th month of 676, the Princes and Ministers sent agents to the capital and the Home Provinces and gave out weapons to each man.  Similar edicts would be issued throughout the reign.  So in 679 the court announced that in two years time, which is to say the year 681, there would be a review of the weapons and horses belonging to the Princes of the Blood, Ministers, and any public functionaries.  And in that same year, barrier were erected for the first time on Mt. Tatsta and Mt. Afusaka, along with an outer line of fortifications at Naniwa. While some of that no doubt also helped to control internal movements, it also would have been useful to prepare for the possibility of future invasions.  And the work continued.  In 683  we see a royal command to all of the various provinces to engage in military training.  And in 684 it was decreed at that there would be an inspection in the 9th month of the following year—685—and they laid out the ceremonial rules, such as who would stand where, what the official clothing was to look like, etc.  Furthermore, there was also an edict that all civil and military officials should practice the use of arms and riding horses.  They were expected to supply their own horses, weapons, and anything they would wear into battle. If they owned horses, they would be considered cavalry soldiers, while those who did not have their own horse would be trained as infantry.  Either way, they would each receive training, and the court was determined to remove any obstacles and excuses that might arise.   Anyone who didn't comply would be punished.  Non compliance could mean refusing to train, but it could also just mean that they did not provide the proper horses or equipment, or they let their equipment fall into a state of disrepair.  Punishments could range from fines to outright flogging, should they be found guilty.  On the other hand, those who practiced well would have any punishments against them for other crimes reduced by two degrees, even if it was for a capital crime.  This only applied to previous crimes, however—if it seemed like you were trying to take advantage of this as a loophole to be able to get away with doing your own thing than the pardon itself would be considered null and void. A year later, the aforementioned inspection was carried out by Princes Miyatokoro, Hirose, Naniwa, Takeda, and Mino.  Two months later, the court issued another edict demanding that military equipment—specifically objects such as large or small horns, drums, flutes, flags, large bows, or catapults—should be stored at the government district house and not kept in private arsenals.  The "large bow" in this case may be something like a ballista, though Aston translates it to crossbow—unfortunately, it isn't exactly clear, and we don't necessarily have a plethora of extant examples to point to regarding what they meant.  Still, these seem to be focused on things that would be used by armies—especially the banners, large bows, and catapults.  The musical instruments may seem odd, though music was often an important part of Tang dynasty military maneuvers.  It was used to coordinate troops, raise morale, provide a marching rhythm, and more.  Granted, much of this feels like something more continental, and it is unclear if music was regularly used in the archipelago.  This could be more of Yamato trying to emulate the Tang dynasty rather than something that was commonplace on the archipelago.  That might also explain the reference to the Ohoyumi and the catapults, or rock throwers. All of this language having to do with military preparations could just be more of the same as far as the Sinicization of the Yamato government is concerned; attempts to further emulate what they understood of the civilized governments on the mainland—or at least their conception of those governments based on the various written works that they had imported.  Still, I think it is relevant that there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the position of various polities and the potential for conflict.  Each year could bring new changes to the political dynamic that could see military intervention make its way across the straits.  And of course, there was always the possibility that Yamato itself might decide to raise a force of its own. Throughout all of this, there was continued contact with the peninsula and other lands.  Of course, Silla and Goguryeo were both represented when Ohoama came to the throne—though only the Silla ambassador made it to the ceremony, apparently.  In the 7th lunar month of 675, Ohotomo no Muraji no Kunimaro was sent to Silla as the Chief envoy, along with Miyake no Kishi no Irishi.  They likely got a chance to witness first-hand the tensions between Silla and the Tang court.  The mission would return in the second lunar month of the following year, 676.  Eight months later, Mononobe no Muarji no Maro and Yamashiro no Atahe no Momotari were both sent.  That embassy also returned in the 2nd lunar month of the following year. Meanwhile, it wasn't just Yamato traveling to Silla—there were also envoys coming the other way.  For example, in the 2nd lunar month of 675 we are told that Silla sent Prince Chyungweon as an ambassador.  His retinue was apparently detained on Tsukushi while the actual envoy team went on to the Yamato capital.  It took them about two months to get there, and then they stayed until the 8th lunar month, so about four months in total. At the same time, in the third month, Goguryeo and Silla both sent "tribute" to Yamato.  And in the 8th month, Prince Kumaki, from Tamna, arrived at Tsukushi as well.  Tamna, as you may recall, refers to nation on the island known today as Jeju.  The late Alexander Vovin suggested that the name originated from a proto-Japonic cognate with "Tanimura", and many of the names seem to also bear out a possible Japonic influence on the island nation. Although they only somewhat recently show up in the Chronicles from our perspective, archaeological evidence suggests that they had trade with Yayoi Japan and Baekje since at least the first century.  With the fall of Baekje, and the expansion of Yamato authority to more of the archipelago, we've seen a notable uptick in the communication between Tamna and Yamato noted in the record.  A month after the arrival of Prince Kumaki in Tsukushi, aka Kyushu, it is noted that a Prince Koyo of Tamna arrived at Naniwa.  The Tamna guests would stick around for almost a year, during which time they were presented with a ship and eventually returned in the 7th lunar month of the following year, 676.   Tamna envoys, who had also shown up in 673, continued to be an annual presence at the Yamato court through the year 679, after which there is an apparent break in contact, picking back up in 684 and 685. 676 also saw a continuation of Silla representatives coming to the Yamato court, arriving in the 11th lunar month.  That means they probably passed by the Yamato envoys heading the other way.  Silla, under King Mumnu, now had complete control of the Korean peninsula south of the Taedong river.  In the same month we also see another mission from Goguryeo, but the Chronicle also points out that the Goguryeo envoys had a Silla escort, indicating the alliance between Silla and those attempting to restore Goguryeo—or at least the area of Goguryeo under Tang control.  The Tang, for their part, had pulled back their commandary to Liaodong, just west of the modern border between China and North Korea, today.  Goguryeo would not go quietly, and the people of that ancient kingdom—one of the oldest on the peninsula—would continue to rise up and assert their independence for years to come. The chronicles also record envoys from the somewhat mysterious northern Mishihase, or Sushen, thought to be people of the Okhotsk Sea culture from the Sakhalin islands.  There were 11 of them, and they came with the Silla envoys, possibly indicating their influence on the continent and through the Amur river region.  Previously, most of the contact had been through the regions of Koshi and the Emishi in modern Tohoku and Hokkaido.  This seems to be their only major envoy to the Yamato court recorded in this reign. Speaking of outside groups, in the 2nd lunar month of 677 we are told that there was an entertainment given to men of Tanegashima under the famous Tsuki tree west of Asukadera.  Many people may know Tanegashima from the role it played in the Sengoku Period, when Europeans made contact and Tanegashima became a major hub of Sengoku era firearm manufacturing.  At this point, however, it seems that it was still a largely independent island in the archipelago off the southern coast of Kyushu.  Even southern Kyushu appears to have retained some significant cultural differences at this time, with the "Hayato" people being referenced in regards to southern Kyushu—we'll talk about them in a bit as they showed up at the capital in 682.  Tanegashima is actually closer to Yakushima, another island considered to be separate, culturally, from Yamato, and could be considered the start of the chain of islands leading south to Amami Ohoshima and the other Ryukyuan islands.  That said, Tanegashima and Yakushima are much closer to the main islands of the archipelago and show considerable influence, including Yayoi and Kofun cultural artifacts, connecting them more closely to those cultures, even if Yamato initially saw them as distinct in some way. A formal Yamato envoy would head down to Tanegashima two years later, in the 11th lunar month of 679.  It was headed up by Yamato no Umakahibe no Miyatsuko no Tsura and Kami no Sukuri no Koukan.  The next reference to the mission comes in 681, when the envoys returned and presented a map of the island.  They claimed that it was in the middle of the ocean, and that rice was always abundant. With a single sowing of rice it was said that they could get two harvests.  Other products specifically mentioned were cape jasmine and bulrushes, though they then note that there were also many other products that they didn't bother to list.  This must have been considered quite the success, as the Yamato envoys were each awarded a grade of rank for their efforts.   They also appear to have returned with some of the locals, as they were entertained again in Asuka—this time on the riverbank west of Asukadera, where various kinds of music were performed for them. Tanegashima and Yakushima would be brought formally under Yamato hegemony in 702 with the creation of Tane province, but for now it was still considered separate.  This was probably just the first part of the efforts to bring them into Yamato, proper. Getting back to the Silla envoys who had arrived in 676, they appear to have remained for several months.  In the third lunar month of 677 we are told that they, along with guests of lower rank—thirteen persons all told—were invited to the capital.  Meanwhile, the escort envoys and others who had not been invited to the capital were entertained in Tsukushi and returned from there. While this was going on, weather out in the straits drove a Silla boat to the island of Chikashima.  Aboard was a Silla man accompanined by three attendants and three Buddhist priests.  We aren't told where they were going, but they were given shelter and when the Silla envoy, Kim Chyeonpyeong, returned home he left with those who had been driven ashore, as well. The following year, 678, was not a great one for the Silla envoys.  Garyang Jyeongsan and Gim Hongsye arrived at Tsukushi, but they were just the escorts.  The actual envoys had been separated by a storm at sea and never arrived.  In their place, the escort envoys were sent to the capital, probably to at least carry through with the rituals of diplomacy.  This was in the first month of the following year, 679, and given when envoys had previously arrived, it suggests to me that they waited a few months, probably to see if the envoys' ship eventually appeared and to give the court time to figure out what to do.  A month later, the Goguryeo envoys arrived, still being accompanied by Silla escorts, also arrived. Fortunately the Yamato envoys to Silla and elsewhere fared better.  That year, 679, the envoys returned successfully from Silla, Goguryeo, and Tamna.  Overall, though, I think it demonstrates that this wasn't just a pleasure cruise.  There was a very real possibility that one could get lost at sea.  At the same time, one needed people of sufficient status to be able to carry diplomatic messages and appropriately represent the court in foreign lands.  We often seen envoys later taking on greater positions of responsibility in the court, and so you didn't have to go far to find those willing to take the risk for later rewards. That same year, another tribute mission from Silla did manage to make the crossing successfully.  And in this mission we are given more details, for they brought gold, silver, iron, sacrificial cauldrons with three feet, brocade, cloth, hides, horses, dogs, mules, and camels.  And those were just the official gifts to the court.  Silla also sent distinct presents for the sovereign, the queen, and the crown prince, namely gold, silver, swords, flags, and things of that nature. This appears to demonstrate increasingly close ties between Silla and Yamato. All of that arrived in the 10th lunar month of 679, and they stayed through the 6th lunar month of 680—about 7 to 9 months all told, depending on if there were any intercalary months that year.  In addition to entertaining the Silla envoys in Tsukushi—it is not mentioned if they made it to the capital—we are also told that in the 2nd lunar month, halfway through the envoys' visit, eight labourers from Silla were sent back to their own country with gifts appropriate to their station. Here I have to pause and wonder what exactly is meant by this.  "Labourer" seems somewhat innocuous.  I suspect that their presence in Yamato may have been less than voluntary, and I wonder if these were captured prisoners of war who could have been in Yamato now for over a decade.  If so, this could have been a gesture indicating that the two sides were putting all of that nastiness with Baekje behind them, and Yamato was accepting Silla's new role on the peninsula.  Or maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it does seem to imply that Silla and Yamato were growing closer, something that Yamato would need if it wanted to have easy access, again, to the wider world. Speaking of returning people, that seems to have been something of a common thread for this year, 680, as another mission from Goguryeo saw 19 Goguryeo men also returned to their country.  These were condolence envoys who had come to mourn the death of Takara Hime—aka Saimei Tennou.  They must have arrived in the midst of all that was happening peninsula, and as such they were detained.  Their detention is somewhat interesting, when you think about it, since technically Baekje and Goguryeo—and thus Yamato—would have been on the same side against the Silla-Tang alliance.  But perhaps it was just considered too dangerous to send them home, initially, and then the Tang had taken control of their home.  It is unclear to me how much they were being held by Yamato and how much they were just men without a country for a time.  This may reflect how things on the mainland were stabilizing again, at least from Yamato's perspective.  However, as we'll discuss a bit later, it may have also been another attempt at restoring the Goguryeo kingdom by bringing back refugees, especially if they had connections with the old court.  The Goguryeo envoys—both the recent mission and those who had been detained—would remain until the 5th lunar month of 681, when they finally took their leave.  That year, there were numerous mission both from and to Silla and Goguryeo, and in the latter part of the year, Gim Chyungpyeong came once again, once more bearing gives of gold, silver, copper, iron, brocade, thin silk, deerskins, and fine cloth.  They also brought gold, silver, flags of a rosy-colored brocade and skins for the sovereign, his queen, and the crown prince. That said, the 681 envoys also brought grave news:  King Munmu of Silla was dead.  Munmu had reigned since 661, so he had overseen the conquest of Silla and Goguryeo.  His regnal name in Japanese might be read as Monmu, or even "Bunbu", referencing the blending of literary and cultural achievements seen as the pinnacle of noble attainment.  He is known as Munmu the Great for unifying the peninsula under a single ruler—though much of the Goguryeo territory was still out of reach.  Indeed he saw warfare and the betterment of his people, and it is no doubt significant that his death is recorded in the official records of the archipelago.   He was succeeded by his son, who would reign as King Sinmun, though the succession wasn't exactly smooth. We are told that Munmu, knowing his time was short, requested that his son, the Crown Prince, be named king before they attended to Munmu's own funerary arrangements, claiming that the throne should not sit vacant.  This may have been prescient, as the same year Munmu died and Sinmun ascended to the throne there was a revolt, led by none other than Sinmun's own father-in-law, Kim Heumdol.  Heumdol may, himselve, have been more of a figurehead for other political factions in the court and military.  Nonetheless, the attempted coup of 681 was quickly put down—the envoys in Yamato would likely only learn about everything after the dust had settled upon their return. The following year, 682, we see another interesting note about kings, this time in regards to the Goguryeo envoys, whom we are told were sent by the King of Goguryeo.  Ever since moving the commandery to Liaodong, the Tang empire had claimed dominion over the lands of Goguryeo north of the Taedong river.  Originally they had administered it militarily, but in 677 they crowned a local, Bojang as the "King of Joseon", using the old name for the region, and put him in charge of the Liaodong commandery.  However, he was removed in 681, and sent into exile in Sichuan, because rather than suppressing revolt, he had actually encouraged restoration attempts, inviting back Goguryeo refugees, like those who had been detained in Yamato.  Although Bojang himself was sent into exile, his descendants continued to claim sovereignty, so it may have been one of them that was making the claim to the "King of Goguryeo", possibly with Silla's blessing. Later that year, 682, we see Hayato from Ohosumi and Ata—possibly meaning Satsuma—the southernmost point of Kyushu coming to the court in 682.  They brought tribute and representatives of Ohosumi and Ata wrestled, with the Ohosumi wrestler emerging victorious.  They were entertained west of Asukadera, and various kinds of music was performed and gifts were given. They were apparently quite the sight, as Buddhist priests and laiety all came out to watch. Little is known for certain about the Hayato.  We have shields that are attributed to them, but their association may have more to do with the fact that they were employed as ceremonial guards for a time at the palace.  We do know that Southern Kyushu had various groups that were seen as culturally distinct from Yamato, although there is a lot of overlap in material culture.  We also see early reports of the Kumaso, possibly two different groups, the Kuma and So, in earlier records, and the relationship between the Kumaso and the Hayato is not clearly defined. What we do know is that southern Kyushu, for all that it shared with Yamato certain aspects of culture through the kofun period, for example, they also had their own traditions. For example, there is a particular burial tradition of underground kofun that is distinct to southern Kyushu.  A great example of this can be found at the Saitobaru Kofun cluster in Miyazaki, which contains these unique southern Kyushu style burials along with more Yamato style keyhole shaped and circular type kofun.  Miyazaki sits just north of the Ohosumi peninsula, in what was formerly the land of Hyuga, aka  Himuka.  This is also where a lot of the founding stories of the Heavenly grandchild were placed, and even today there is a shrine there to the Heavenly Rock Cave.  In other words there are a lot of connections with Southern Kyushu, and given that the Chronicles were being written in the later 7th and early 8th centuries, it is an area of intense interest when trying to understand the origins of Yamato and Japanese history. Unfortunately, nothing clearly tells us exactly how the Hayato were separate, but in the coming century they would both come under Yamato hegemony and rebel against it, time and again.  This isn't the first time they are mentioned, but it may be the first time that we see them as an actual people, in a factual entry as earlier references in the Chronicles are suspect. Continuing on with our look at diplomacy during this period, the year 683 we see a continuation of the same patterns, with nothing too out of the ordinary.  Same with most of 684 until the 12th lunar month.  It is then that we see a Silla ship arrive with Hashi no Sukune no Wohi and Shirawi no Fubito no Hozen.  They had both, previously been to the Tang empire to study, though we don't have a record of them leaving for that or any other purpose.  They are accompanied by Witsukahi no Muraji no Kobito and Tsukushi no Miyake no Muraji no Tokuko, both of whom had apparently been captured and taken by the Tang dynasty during the Baekje campaign.  Apparently they had all traveled back from the Tang empire together to Silla, who then provided them passage to Yamato. The timing of this suggests it may have had something to do with the changes going on in the Tang empire—changes that I desperately want to get into, but given that we are already a good ways into this current episode, I think I will leave it for later.  But I will note this:  Emperor Gaozong had passed away and his wife, Empress Wu Zetian, was now ruling as regent for her sons.  Wu Zetian is probably the most famous empress in all of Chinese history, and while she held de facto power as a co-regent during her husband's reign and as a regent during her sons' reigns, she would actually ascend the throne herself in 690.  Her reign as a woman during a time of heightened patriarchal tradition is particularly of note, and it leads us to wonder about the vilification that she received by the men who followed her rule.  And I really want to get into all of that but, thematically, I think it better to wait.  Those of you reading ahead in the syllabus—which is to say the Chronicles—probably know why.  So let us just leave it there and say that the Tang was going through a few things, and that may explain why students were returning back in the company of former war captives. A few months later, the Silla escort, Gim Mulyu, was sent home along with 7 people from Silla who had been washed ashore—presumably during a storm or other such event, again illustrating the dangers of taking to the ocean at this time.  Perhaps related to that theme is the entry only a month later, which merely stated that Gim Jusan of Silla returned home.  Gim Jusan was an envoy sent to Yamato in the 11th lunar month of 683.  He was entertained in Tsukushi, and we are told that he returned to his own country on the 3rd month of 684.  Now we are seeing an entry in the 4th month of 685 that this same person apparently returned home. It is possible that something got mixed up, and that the Chroniclers were dealing with a typo in the records that made it seem like this took place a year later than it did.  This was certainly an issue at this time, given all the math one had to do just to figure out what day it was.  There is also the possibility that he returned on another embassy, but just wasn't mentioned for some reason.  The last possible explanation is that he somehow got lost and it took him a year to find his way back.  Not entirely impossible back then, though I am a bit skeptical.  Among other things, why would that note have found its way into the Chronicles in Yamato?  While they were certainly using some continental sources, this seems like something they were talking about as far as him leaving the archipelago, rather than discussion of something happening elsewhere. Speaking of happening elsewhere, I'm wondering about another event that happened around this time as well.  In fact, it was while Gim Mulyu was still in the archipelago.  For some reason the Yamato court granted rank to 147 individuals from Tang, Baekje, and Goguryeo.  Interestingly, they don't mention Silla.  Furthermore, there is no real mention of any Tang envoys during this reign.  In fact, there is hardly mention of the Tang dynasty at all.  There is a mention of some 30 Tang men—captives, presumably—being sent to the Yamato court from Tsukushi.  Those men were settled in Toutoumi, so there were men of Tang in the archipelago.  But beyond that, there are only three other mentions of the Tang dynasty.  One was when the students and war captives came back.  Another was this note about giving rank to 147 individuals.  Finally there is a similar record in 686, at the very end of the reign, where it is 34 persons who were given rank.  This time it was to carpenters, diviners, physicians, students from Tang—possibly those who had just come back a year or so earlier.  So if there weren't envoys from Tang, Goguryeo, and Baekje, who were these people and why were they being granted Yamato court rank?  My assumption is that it was foreigners living in the archipelago, and being incorporated into the Yamato court system.  Still, it is interesting that after the overtures by the Tang in the previous reign we have heard virtually nothing since then.  Again, that is likely largely due to the conflicts between Tang and Silla, though now, things seem to be changing.  The conflicts have settled down, and new rulers are in place, so we'll see how things go. Speaking of which, let's finish up with the diplomatic exchanges in this reign.  I'm only hitting some of the highlights here.  First is the return from Silla, in the 5th month of 685, of Takamuku no Asomi no Maro and Tsuno no Asomi no Ushikahi.  They had traveled to Silla in 684, and they did not come back emptyhanded.  The new King of Silla presented them with gifts, including 2 horses, 3 dogs, 2 parrots, and 2 magpies.  They also brought back the novice monks Kanjou and Ryoukan.  Not bad, overall. Then, 6 months later, another tribute mission came, but this one has an interesting—if somewhat questionable—note attached to it.  It is said that the envoys Gim Jisyang and Gim Geonhun were sent to request "governance" and to bring tribute.  This certainly go the court's attention.  They didn't bring the envoys all the way to the capital, but they did send to them, in Tsukushi, Prince Kawachi, Ohotomo no Sukune no Yasumaro, Fujiwara no Asomi no Ohoshima, and Hodzumi no Asomi no Mushimaro. About three months later they send the musical performers from Kawaradera to provide entertainment during a banquet for the Silla envoy, and in payment some 5,000 bundles of rice rom the private lands attached to the queen's palace were granted to the temple in gratitude. The Silla tribute was then brought to the capital from Tsukushi.  This time it was more than 100 items, including one fine horse, one mule, two dogs, a gold container inlaid with some kind of design, gold, silver, faint brocade, silk gauze, tiger and leopard skins, and a variety of medicines.  In addition, as was now common, the envoys, Gim Jisyang and Gim Geonhun, apparently had personal gifts to give in the form of gold, silver, faint brocade, silk gauze, gold containers, screens, saddle hides, silk cloth, and more medicine.  There were also gifts specifically for the sovereign, the queen, the Crown Prince, and for the various princes of the blood. The court returned this favor with gifts to the envoys, presented at a banquet just for them, before sending them on their way. A couple of notes.  First off, it is interesting that they are entertained at Tsukushi rather than being invited to the capital, and I wonder if this was because the sovereign, Ohoama, wasn't doing so well.  This was all happening in 685 and 686, and the sovereign would pass away shortly afterwards.  So it is possible that Ohoama just was not up to entertaining visitors at this time.  Of course, the Chronicles often don't tell us exactly why a given decision was made, only that it was.  And sometimes not even that. The other thing that seems curious is the mention of a request for governance.  That almost sounds like Silla was asking to come under Yamato hegemony, which I seriously doubt.  It may be that they were asking something along the lines of an alliance, but it is also possible that the scribes recording things for Yamato heard what they wanted to hear and so wrote it down in the light most favorable to Yamato laying claim to the peninsula. Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding exactly what they were asking for.  Maybe "governance" here means something else—perhaps just some kind of better relationship. And with that, we'll leave it for now.  There is more developing in the next reign, but I think we want to wait until we get there.  There are still a lot more things to cover in this reign before we move on—we haven't even touched on the establishment of the new capital, on the various court events, not to mention some of the laws and punishments that this period is named for.  And there is the minor issue of a rebellion.  All of that will be dealt with.  And then, after that, we get to the final reign of the Chronicles: the reign of Jitou Tennou.  From there?  Who knows. It is the winter holiday season, so I hope everyone is enjoying themselves.  Next episode will be the New Year's recap, and then we should finish with this reign probably in January or early February. Until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Bleach TYBW Part 4 is officially coming to the Jump Festa Red Stage this year!! A spot usually reserved for the biggest announcements. Could this mean a brand-new Bleach video game, another anime project, or even a new movie? We break down the possibilities and what fans can expect from this massive stage appearance. We also take time to honor the late Takaya Hashi, the legendary voice actor for Robert Accutrone, looking back on his career, his memorable roles, and the heartfelt tributes shared by Tite Kubo and Ichigo's voice actor Masakazu Morita.Beyond that, we cover the latest Bleach pop-up shops in Japan, including a pixel-themed collection with fan favorites like Rukia, Hitsugaya, Byakuya, and Uryu, as well as Bleach Interlude, focused on the anime's iconic eye-catchers. This week's Klub Outside questions dive into which Vizard is the worst morning person, why Gremmy never rebelled against Yhwach, and the symbolic butterfly motifs of Aizen's Hogyoku fused forms. From heartfelt tributes to exciting announcements, this episode is packed with Bleach news, lore, and speculation.

We travel the world(s) with visits to the Nintendo Museum, secret Nintendo staff cafe 81 Hashi, and Pokemon Worlds. Plus, thoughts on Pokemon Champions and Legends Z-A, Kirby Air Riders, and more!

This episode we continue with the Jinshin War.  This episode we follow Prince Oama on his dramatic escape to the east:  From Yoshino he dashed through the mountains, through Iga and over to Ise.  In so doing he secured both Suzuka and Fuwa--areas that would be important chokepoints throughout Japan's history.   For more information, check out our blogpost at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-130 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 130: Jinshin no Ran, Part II:  Gathering Stormclouds.   The soldier on watch was doing his best to keep alert.  The night shift was never pleasant duty, and it was even less pleasant out here in the mountains.  There were plenty of sounds in the night—birds and animals out in the darkness—but rarely was there much actual action.  At least the sky was clear, with only the occasional cloud. Guarding a post station was hardly the worst duty in the world. There was a decent amount of traffic: after all, they were along one of the major routes between Ise and Yamato.  But at night, well, who wanted to try and navigate the mountain roads?  That was a great way to fall into a river and drown, or get lost in the woods, unable to find your way back to civilization. It must have been a shock when he saw a light in the distance.  There were almost always a few fires somewhere in the village, but most of them were out or covered at this time of night, with the exception of the odd torch.  But this was something more.  At first the guard thought it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.  And then he wondered if it was some kind of mountain spirit—he'd heard of ghost parades that could come and take people in the night.  He shivered, and instinctively checked his own torch to ensure that it was burning well and bright.  Indeed it was. It took him a little time for his eyes to adjust again to the darkness, but now, sure enough, he saw the torches coming—and not just one, many of them, and he could now hear the faint metallic clank of metal on metal.  He then heard a faint sound like a tight rope being suddenly plucked.  It only just started to dawn on him what was happening when the first arrows started to rain down on his position. They were under attack!   Welcome back.  This episode we are continuing with our coverage of the Jinshin no Ran—the Jinshin War of 672—and if you haven't already, I highly recommend you start with episode 129, where we talk about some of the background for what was happening.  That said, let's do a quick recap to bring us up to speed on where we are.  And then we'll dive into an account of an absolutely unbelievable journey, which is impressive for multiple reasons, but mostly for the speed at which it was able to take place. So as you may recall, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, passed away at the end of 671 after months of illness.  After falling ill, the Chronicles tell us that he offered the state to his younger brother, the Crown Prince, Prince Ohoama, but Ohoama was warned that it was a trap, and as such, he turned down the offer.  Instead, he retired from his position to become a monk, and left for Yoshino, taking half of his household with him.  With Ohoama retired, Naka no Oe's son, the 23 year old Prince Ohotomo, took the throne. After Naka no Oe's death, Ohotomo effectively ruled Yamato from the Ohotsu palace in Afumi, running things along with the ministers of the left and right, Soga no Akaye and Nakatomi no Kane, and other high ministers.  Though the Nihon Shoki does not acknowledge it, Ohotomo is thought to have been a formal sovereign, in deed if not in name, at this point.  Much later, he would be given the posthumous name of “Koubun Tennou”. It would seem that Ohotomo and the Afumi court had misgivings about Prince Ohoama's promise to retire from the world and not challenge the throne.  The Nihon Shoki recounts that they began to make subtle preparations for a conflict, including levying men to build Naka no Oe's tomb, but issuing them weapons instead of tools.  They also set up checkpoints along the road from the court in Ohotsu down to Asuka—the main route to where Ohoama was residing in Yoshino.  And then, finally, someone told Ohoama that they were no longer allowing Prince Ohoama's people to cross the Uji bridge to bring him and his household supplies. Prince Ohoama was not going to sit idly by while the Afumi court gathered up enough forces to claim he was doing something treasonous and then march on him in Yoshino.  And so he sent one of his trusted vassals to the east to seek support.  Meanwhile, he himself was making ready to move.  There was just one more thing before setting out:  seeing if he could get posting bells.  This was sparked by the words of one of his advisors, who suggested that they should be careful.  They did not have many soldiers in Yoshino, and they had already sent out a general like Woyori to start raising troops in the East.  At the same time, if the Afumi Court was also maneuvering, it was likely that they would have sent words to the various post stations to bar the roads and prevent any movement. As such, Prince Ohoama decided to send several messengers to ask for Posting Bells, so that Ohoama and his men could make use of the official horses at the various post stations, allowing them to travel much more quickly and freely.  However, it was not clear if such orders had come and, if they had, where the local government officiallys might place their loyalty. Of particular importance was the case of Prince Takasaka, who was in charge of the Okamoto Palace, and thus the governance of the ancient capital. He would be the one to grant posting bells if they were to receive them.  If he provided the bells, then Ohoama and his party could assume they would have little to no trouble making their way East. And so Prince Ohoama sent his evnoys to the Okamoto palace.The messengers requested posting bells, but Prince Takasaka refused to issue them.  This sent a clear message to Prince Ohoama:  the Afumi court had no intention of letting him and his household have free access to the roads, and the local officials in Asuka were not going to provide any support.  In fact, Prince Takasaka now knew that Ohoama planned to travel, and if he wanted to, Takasaka could likely raise troops to try and stop Ohoama from leaving.  At the very least he would no doubt be sending a swift horse to Ohotsu to inform the Afumi court.  Ohoama and his followers would have to hurry if they wanted to do anything. And so, on the 24th of the 6th month, the same day that he got word back about the posting bells,  Prince Ohoama made the decision to move.  He and his entourage left quickly—he didn't even let anyone saddle a horse for him or prepare his carriage.  He just started to head out on foot on a journey to the East – and keep in mind that everything I'm going to describe in the next few minutes happened over the course of one night, truly an epic journey for Ohoama and all of those with him..  The Chronicles lists about 20 men and over ten women who originally set out with Ohoama from Yoshino, including his wife, the Royal Princess Uno no Sarara, daughter of Naka no Oe.  She wasn't walking, however—she followed a little behind in a palanquin, or litter, carried on poles.  I do wonder if those carrying the palanquin are among those mentioned, or were they servants or even enslaved persons who weren't considered worthy of note. The path they traveled wound its way through the mountains.  Streams and rivers had carved channels and valleys into these mountains.  People had settled these areas, and created paths through the wilderness.  Now, the valleys were fairly well populated, with roads connecting the communities that had grown up in the nooks and hollers. These facilitated trade through the mountain communities and between the eastern and western sides of the Kii peninsula, but even still, it was difficult terrain.  Unlike roads in the flat plains, the width of the roads in the mountains would have been constrained by steep mountainsides and the natural twists and turns of the valleys.  There may have been rope or wooden bridges that they had to cross, as streams constantly flow down the hill sides to the river below.  This route would make it much easier to avoid any official Afumi forces that might have been sent out, as those would likely be sticking to the main roads, but there were still government outposts along the way.  If these outposts proved loyal to the Afumi court, they could raise the alarm and send a messenger on horseback, who could likely flee much more quickly than Ohoama's men could follow.  And if Afumi learned that Ohoama was on the move, they could quickly mobilize their forces, secure key strategic points, and Ohoama's mad rush would be for naught.   The path Ohoama chose would lead from Yoshino, through the valleys, up through Iga, and then over to Suzuka, in Ise—modern Mie prefecture.  The journey was long and it wasn't going to be easy, but they needed to move quickly. Speaking of which, since Ohoama was traveling on foot, one of his men, Agata no Inukahi no Ohotomo, gave Prince Ohoama his own horse to ride.  Oh, and in case you are wondering: There are a lot of people named “Ohotomo” in the narrative, not just the Prince, Ohoama's nephew and rival for the throne.  Sorry, it was apparently a somewhat popular name AND it was also a clan, or uji, name as well.  I'll try to distinguish some of them in the podcast blog page. The party hadn't traveled far when Ohoama's own carriage—or possibly a palanquin, like his wife's—showed up for him, so I assume Ohotomo got his horse back, but they were still constrained to the speed of their slowest member, and I doubt that the mountain roads were all that wide and flat—most likely just the opposite. The group journeyed upstream along the Tsuburo river and eventually made it to Aki, in the area of Uda, due east of Sakurai and Mt. Miwa.  Here they were overtaken by two men, known as Ohotomo no Muraji no Makuda and Kibumi no Muraji no Ohotomo, both hurrying on from the Yoshino Palace. Makuda had been at the Afumi court, but word was starting to spread there that there was going to be some kind of move against Prince Ohoama, so he and his brother, Ohotomo no Fukei, had feigned illness and returned to their home in the Asuka region.  Once there, Makuda had made straightaway for Yoshino, only to find that Ohoama was already on the move.  Ohotomo no Fukei, on the other hand, chose to stay in the area of Asuka and see what he could do there.  He was looking to see what kind of forces he could raise in the ancient capital region.  We'll learn more about him, later. It was also in Aki, apparently, where they met Hashi no Muraji no Mate, who was from the Department of the official rice fields.  Even though he was a government official, he was a supporter of Ohoama and his cause, and so he supplied Ohoama and his people with food for their journey. Just north of the Aki fields they came upon Kammura—thought to be near modern Kaguraoka—where the Yoshino forces conscripted 20 hunters into service, almost doubling their numbers, and now they at least had some weapons with them.  Prince Mino, and presumably his men, also joined forces with Ohoama and his party—their ranks were starting to grow. In Uda, they were no doubt glad of any assistance, and at the government offices in the village of Uda itself, they were also warmly welcomed.  There they found 50 pack-horses that were laden down with rice meant for the hot baths at Ise.  The rice was discarded and Ohoama commandeered the pack animals so that his forces could ride, rather than walk.  Nonetheless, it was still a long way to go.  Indeed, night was approaching by the time they reached Ohono—likely the modern area of Muro-ohono and Ohonoji, along the Uda river.  They didn't want to stop, but it could be treacherous trying to navigate in the mountains in the dark.  What they needed was a light source.  And so we are told that they pulled down some of the fences of nearby houses and created makeshift torches to light their way.  Thus they were able to continue on until they reached the town of Nabari at approximately midnight. Nabari was not quite so friendly.  It was the home of a post-station, which had a duty to report things to the Afumi court.  Ohoama and his men arrived with their torches and in the middle of the night they attacked and set fire to the post station.  One can only imagine how surprised those manning the station must have been.  Presumably Ohoama's party took any horses and provisions, both for their own use and so that they couldn't be used against them.  To those members of the village that were woken up and who came out to see what was going on, Ohoama's entourage proclaimed that Prince Ohoama was heading east and that people should join them.  More specifically we are told that he said that the “Sumera no Mikoto” was on his way to the East Country. I want to pause here a moment, because there are some that say that this was the first use of the term “Sumera no Mikoto”, or, as we more commonly read the characters today, “Tennou”.  At the very least we believe that the term “Tennou” may have first used in this time period—though I do wonder about it being used in this particular instance.  I'll come back to this at the end, but for now, let's get back to the story.  So Ohoama announced to the people that he, the sovereign—for he had declared himself as such—was heading to the Eastern lands, and he invited anyone who wished to join him.  Nobody took him up on his offer, however.  It must have sounded crazy.  Ohoama had swept in at midnight, his forces carrying torches, and had attacked the post station, the symbol of the government in their midst.  I imagine that the people wanted little to nothing to do with any further conflict if they could help it. Continuing on in the darkness, Ohoama and his party came to a river—probably the Nabari River.  The Chronicle refers to it as “Yokokawa”, a term that shows up multiple times, and means something like “side river” and I suspect it was just the name for a river that ran alongside the fields or something similar.  As they were crossing, a dark cloud spread across the night sky for over 10 rods—about 100 feet.  Ohoama kindled a light and took a look at a geomantic rule to determine what it could mean.  This “rule” was possibly a type of stick or even a kind of compass-like device with a square bottom and round top, indicating the heavens and the earth.  He announced to everyone that the cloud was an omen that the country would be divided into two parts but, ultimately, their side would win out. One can only imagine how tired and worn out everyone was at this point, but apparently this urged them onward.  They reached Iga, where once again, they attacked and set fire to the posting station. Now getting through Iga must have had Ohoama's head on a swivel.  After all, Prince Ohotomo's mother was apparently from that region – he was the Iga Royal Prince, after all - so it would be understandable if people were loyal to him.  Fortunately, for Ohoama, he had his local supporters as well.  In fact, Joan Piggot points out in “The Emergence of Japanese Kingship” that Ohoama may have had a surprising amount of support from the various local elites.  Remember that the policies that Naka no Oe and the court had put into place had given power to court appointed officials at the expense of the traditional local elites.  So it may have been that those traditional local elites were more inclined to assist Ohoama against the Afumi Court, while those appointed officials, such as those who were managing the post stations, were more likely to swing the other way, since their positions and their stipends were directly reliant on the court's good graces.  This seems to have been the case in this instance, around Nakayama, in Iga, where we are told that they met with local district governors who had heard that Ohoama was on the move and who had raised several hundred men in support of his cause.  Now their ranks really had grown—compared with the relatively small group that had first set out from Yoshino the previous day, there were now hundreds of men on the march. Ohoama's forces finally arrived at the plain of Tara, or Tarano, by dawn, and with the sun coming over the mountains they briefly stopped for a moment to catch their breath and eat something.  They had just marched through the night—a distance of approximately 70 kilometers, or 43 and a half miles.  That included stops to attack and set fire to two post stations along the way, and much of the journey early on was done on foot.  During that march, their ranks had grown tremendously.  This is an incredible feat, especially with much of it being accomplished at night. Let's also quickly discuss those extra troops that had come to his banner.  Remember that prior to this, Prince Ohoama had sent messengers ahead to Mino and Owari to try and raise forces in those areas.  They had likely traveled these same roadways, and told  any allies they had to prepare.  So while the forces were raised quickly, there were no doubt some logistics that went into it. After a brief rest, the army was back on their feet, heading to Yamaguchi—modern Tsuge city.  Here Ohoama was greeted by his son, Prince Takechi, who had come from Afumi down through Kafuka—modern Kouka, aka Kouga.  He had brought several other men of his own, and presumably soldiers as well. The entire party crossed Mt. Miyama and into Suzuka, in Ise, where they were joined by the provincial governor, Miyake no Muraji no Iwatoko; Deputy Governor, Miwa no Kimi no Kobuto, and the magistrate of the famous hot baths, Tanaka no Omi no Tarumaro, among others.  That same morning, they set a troop of 500 soldiers to guard the pass.  After all, it would do them no good to have a government force suddenly appear behind them.  Also, you may recall that Ohoama's request to his allies in Mino was to take the Fuwa pass, in the north—the area more popularly known today as Sekigahara.  So now, with both the Suzuka and Fuwa passes under Ohoama's control, his forces controlled access to the Eastern countries.  The only other viable route, at least if you didn't want to get lost in the mountains, was to take the road to the north, through Koshi, and that was going to be a slog around or over the Japan Alps. So a garrison was left as a rear guard, but the troops who were not staying to guard the pass continued, turning northwards.  By sunset on the 25th day of the 6th month of 672, they had reached the foot of Kahawa Hill.  Here, Ohoama's consort, Princess Uno no Sarara, asked if they could take a break.  She was not exactly used to this kind of travel, and even riding on a palanquin, she was exhausted and fatigued.  As they looked to the sky, though, it was clear that dark clouds were gathering.  So they cut their rest short and pushed on, hoping to make it to the government offices at Mie—likely meaning modern day Yokkaichi city. Sure enough, as they continued to march, the heavens opened with a thunderstorm pouring down on them.  The entire army was soaked to the bone.  Cold and wet, when they did get to the government center or Mie district, they deliberately set fire to an entire building just so that the troops could try to warm themselves a bit.  Those who had set out from Yoshino had marched over 122km, or 75 miles, including over 700 meters of elevation up and 800 meters down.  Checking a map of the route, it suggests that a person walking it, today, without any breaks, would take around 28 hours to complete the trip, and indeed, Ohoama's took roughly one and a half days.  That includes time for their assaults on the various post stations, and a brief rest at the Tara fields.  Now, granted, they had procured horses for parts of that, and many of the soldiers had not necessarily been there since the beginning, but it is still an incredible feat, when you think about it.  I'm honestly surprised that it doesn't get more of a mention in various historical contexts.  Then again, we are still well before the age of the Samurai, which is the period most martial historians typically examine. So that night, as they were settling in at the Mie government center following their amazing dash across the mountains, word came from forces at Suzuka:  Prince Yamabe and Prince Ishikawa had apparently come to offer their allegiance to Ohoama.  However, as they weren't known to the men, they were held at the Suzuka barrier until someone could verify.  Ohoama sent Michi no Atahe no Masubito to go fetch them and bring them to him. The following morning, Ohoama worshipped towards Amaterasu on the banks of a river in the district of Asake.  Thinking about it, I'm not sure if they meant that he worshipped south, in the direction of Ise Shrine, or if he worshipped east, the direction of the rising sun.  The exact direction doesn't entirely matter, but I think we will come back to this, as it would have consequences later on. Later, Masubito returned from his errand, catching back up to the army, which was continuing on its way.  It turns out that it was not Princes Yamabe and Ishikawa that Masubito had found at Suzuka, but instead  Ohoama's own son, Ohotsu, who had come along to join his father.  I presume he had been traveling under a false name in case he ran into men loyal to the Afumi court.  He was followed by a number of others, including a list of names which I am not going to go over here because it wouldn't mean all that much.  Suffice it to say that the Chroniclers were doing their best to make sure that various families were remembered for what they did. Now just as Prince Ohotsu was joining the main force, Murakami no Woyori arrived with word that 3,000 Mino troops were mobilized and currently blocking the Fuwa Road.  You may recall that Woyori was the one that Ohoama had sent to Mino for just that purpose, scouting out the lay of the land. Ohoama sent Prince Takechi ahead to Fuwa to organize the forces there.  Then he sent two others to mobilize troops along the Tokaido region, and two others were sent into the mountains to levy soldiers from the Tousando region.  As a quick reminder: the Tokaido was the eastern sea highway, while the Tousando, the Eastern Mountain Road, went through the middle of eastern Honshu, through the more mountainous regions.  Together, these two routes would have pulled from the most populous regions of the east. As for Ohoama, he took up residence at the government center in Kuwana, where he spent some time resting for a bit. Now just as Ohoama was building up his forces, so, too, was the Afumi court.  As soon as word made it to the capital that Ohoama was on the move, chaos ensued.  Many people fled the capital, some heading to the East, perhaps to join Ohoama, while others went to hide in the mountains and marshes until all the chaos was over and the dust settled.  The young Prince Ohotomo asked the ministers what he should do, and they recommended that he immediately set out with cavalry to pursue Ohoama and catch him before he could assemble too many troops.  However, he decided not to heed their advice, instead opting to assemble an army of his own, to add to the soldiers that had already been levied.  He sent Ina no Iwasuki, Fumi no Kusuri, and Wosaka no Ohomaro to the East country, while Hodzumi no Momotari, his younger brother, Ihoye, and Mononobe no Hiuga headed to the Yamato capital—which is to say Asuka.  Ohotomo also sent Saheki no Wotoko to Tsukushi and Kusu no Iwate to Kibi, all with orders to levy troops.  He gave Wotoko and Iwate special instructions, since there was some concern that neither Tsukushi nor Kibi would be compliant, as they both had been supported by Ohoama and may feel ties to him.  So if the leaders of either of those areas were to resist, Wotoko and Iwate were authorized to execute them for treason. As Iwasuki, Kusuri, and Ohomaro headed east, they traveled around Lake Biwa and were headed to the Fuwa pass, not knowing that it was already controlled by Ohoama's forces.  Iwasuki, however, was cautious.  He realized that they might be ambushed, and so he held back from the main group.  Sure enough, he was right:  Kusuri and Ohomaro were ambushed and captured, at which point Iwasuki fled, barely escaping. The following day, Prince Takechi sent a note to his father asking him to move closer to Fuwa, so that they could better communicate with the front line.  Ohoama headed out, but left Princess Uno in Kuwana, which was well situated between Fuwa and Suzuka, and was likely far enough from the front lines to ensure that it wouldn't be disrupted by skirmishes at the passes.  As Ohoama then traveled through Wohari, the governor, Chihisakobe no Muraji no Sabichi, also joined him with a force of 20,000 men.  Ohoama had them divided up and set them on roads to various places as needed. Ohoama finally reached Nogami, just on the eastern edge of modern Sekigahara.  This is near where Tokugawa Ieyasu would eventually make his first camp as well, at his fateful battle here just under a thousand years later.  At Nogami, Ohoama would set up his headquarters, Nogami no Miya, or the Nogami Palace.  Meanwhile, Prince Takechi would handle the troops in the main part of the area near the pass, known as Wazami.  As Ohoama reached Nogami, Takechi came to conference with him.  He noted that there had already been an altercation—they had taken prisoners, who claimed that they were actually headed east to raise troops for Ohoama, but given that they didn't know who they were AND that Iwasuki had fled back towards Ohotsu-kyo suggested that this was not exactly the case. Following that incident, and a fair amount of speechifying, Ohoama eventually placed Prince Takechi formally in charge of the army, presenting him the gift of a saddle-horse.  Takechi went back to his camp at Wazami.  That night, a severe thunderstorm broke out.  Ohoama prayed that if the kami favored his case, they would make the storm abate, and immediately the thunder and lightning stopped. The next day, on the 28th, Ohoama traveled over to Wazami to review the troops and check on the military arrangements, before returning back to Nogami.  He likewise went out the following day, issuing commands through Prince Takechi, and then returned again to Nogami. At this point, soldiers were likely on their way from the Eastern provinces and elsewhere.  On the one hand, they wanted to wait and make sure that they had all the troops they needed.  But on the other hand, they didn't want to wait too long.  The Afumi court was likewise building up its forces, and the longer they waited, the greater the chance that they could dig in and entrench themselves.  Something would have to happen, soon. But that something will have to wait for the next episode.    Before we finish, though, I do want to come back to something:  the title “Tenno”, or “Sumera no Mikoto”.  Up to this point, evidence suggests that the term used for the sovereign of Yamato was not “Tennou” as we know it today, but instead was the term “Oho-kimi”.  “Oho-kimi”, or basically the “Big Kimi”—something like the primary lord—was the one lord of lords of Yamato.  But that was probably something based on local concepts of governance.  With the introduction of new ideas of governance, many based on the Han and Tang dynasty models, we see a shift in the terminology. There are poems that come from the era of Naka no Oe—Tenji Tennou—that use terms like “Huang” (皇) and “Di” (帝)—“Kou” and “Tei” in Japanese.  These are imperial terms from the continent.  At some point, however, we see that they use “Tian” (天) and “Huang” (皇).  “Tianhuang” becomes “Tennou” (天皇) when read in Japanese, and it critically utilizes the character “Tian” for Heaven.  Interestingly, this does not appear to be a term that was ever commonly used for rulers in the area of modern China.  I seem to recall that it was used here and there, but not with any frequency.  There is some thought that it may have been pulled from a term for the north star, or pole star, which sometimes used the term, I suspect referring to that star as the Heavenly Ruler—the star that the heavens themselves were focused on. For a variety of reasons, we see a particular emphasis on Heaven, and on Amaterasu, in the decades following 672, and it is thought that this is all connected.  And so it is generally from some time here, in the late 7th century, that we can probably start to refer to the sovereigns as “Tennou”. Although, it is unclear to me if the authors of the Nihon Shoki pronounced it like this or not, later glosses given for the characters in Japanese is “Sumera no Mikoto”, the kun'yomi, or Japanese reading.  The problem is that the Nihon Shoki projects this term back to the very beginning of the narrative, with “Jimmu Tennou” being the first.  However, we have some evidence that the earlier term was, as as I said before, “Ohokimi”.  For many years, there was an idea that the term “Sumera no Mikoto” first appeared in the era of Toyomike Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou, probably because that is when Buddhism and continental studies really seem to kick off.  However, there really is no evidence of its use then, and it seems that more scholars today place its use in the late 7th or early 8th century. So there is the possibility that this title was first used by Ohoama, as some claim, when he declared that the “Sumera no Mikoto” or “Tennou” was heading to the Eastern countries.  Of course, that could also just be dramatic license by the Chroniclers, who were less concerned with what, exactly, he said and more concerned with the meaning of it all.  We've also known them to swap out older terms for those in use in the 8th century, updating the narrative. Regardless, I think that about this time we can start to refer to the sovereigns of Yamato—and eventually Japan, or Nihon, another somewhat controversial term—as “Tennou”, or “Sumera no Mikoto”, from about this period.  I'll probably still use the term “sovereign” in general, and I'll try to avoid the term “imperial” for anything prior to the 19th century, when it became a standard English translation.  After all, Empires were the rage—Chinese, Ottoman, British, Austrian, French, Spanish, you name it.  Everyone had an empire, and so Japan, following that model, must also have been an “empire”.  Even today, it is officially the “Imperial Household” and that is the official translation. However, I want to be cautious about using that translation too early, however.  The institution of “Tennou”, while modeled on the Tang dynasty, took on its own character.  As such, I think that it is best to avoid the term for now, because it really was its own thing, and I don't want to conflate too many foreign concepts of “emperor” with the idea of the Japanese ruler. As for the term “Sumera no Mikoto”—it does not appear to me that the etymology of this term is clearly known.  One explanation is that “Sumera” is related to the word “Suberu”, to rule.  “Sumera” is also defined as meaning something precious, though I'm not sure if that meaning existed before its use to refer to the sovereign.  “Mikoto” is simply an honorific referring to the sovereign, meaning “royal” or “imperial”.  I suspect that the term “Tennou” came over first, and later it became glossed as “Sumera no Mikoto”, which may have been an earlier term, but we don't have any clear evidence.  Variations do appear in the Man'yoshu, the collection of ancient poems, so the concept was clearly around by the 8th century. Anyway, I think that's enough.  We'll probably talk about it more when we get to the rise of the worship of Amaterasu.  Until then, let's continue with our series on the Jinshin War. Next episode we will kick off with some of the actual fighting and campaigns in Afumi, Iga, and in Yamato.  Until then, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

If you've felt like your body's trying to tell you something—but no one's really listening—this episode is for you. Over the years, I've heard from countless women struggling with weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, and that deep, unshakable feeling that something just isn't right.  More often than not, those symptoms lead us to one powerful place: the thyroid.  That's why today, I'm thrilled to sit down with the incredible Dr. Amie Hornaman—aka The Thyroid-Fixer—a true expert in functional medicine and hormone optimization.  Together, we're diving into the real stories behind misdiagnosis, thyroid issues in midlife, hormone resistance, and why "your labs are fine" should not be the end of your story. Tune in here and get ready to feel seen, supported, and inspired to take back your health!  Dr. Amie Hornaman Dr. Amie Hornaman is an author, international speaker, and host of the top-rated medical podcast The Thyroid Fixer. She founded the Better Thyroid and Hormone Institute, delivering personalized thyroid and hormone health care across the U.S. and Canada. She's the creator of the Fixxr supplement line, which helps target issues like weight loss, fatigue, low libido, and hormone imbalances. Inspired by her own journey with thyroid and hormone challenges, her mission is to help others navigate these issues with empathy and expert care.  IN THIS EPISODE What can happen to your thyroid in pregnancy and postpartum  Navigating thyroid issues in perimenopause and menopause  The importance of lab testing for your thyroid function  Breaking down the labs you should be asking your doctor for  How your thyroid is related to your metabolism  Listening to how your body feels, not just lab marker results  Thyroid hormone replacement therapy options   Supplement recommendations in perimenopause and beyond  QUOTES “The biggest cause of miscarriage and infertility is low thyroid function. So right there, if you've been experiencing miscarriage, if you've been struggling getting pregnant, take the time. Take a pause and get your thyroid optimized first.”  “I wanna get the full picture because I know that I'm having these symptoms and in this time of my life, the odds of me having thyroid issues is greater than it ever has been.” “You want to be working with somebody who really understands how your thyroid works, understands how to titrate you based not only on your numbers, but also on how you feel, and also gets to the root freaking cause of your Hashi's.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Dr. Amie's Thyroid Lab Quiz & Guide Dr. Amie's Podcast  Dr. Amie's Website  Dr. Amie's Fix Your Thyroid Group on Facebook Dr. Amie on Instagram  The Perimenopause Revolution + $500 bonus → drmariza.com/book RELATED EPISODES  #611: How to Heal Your Thyroid and Address Weight Resistance in Midlife with McCall McPherson #543: What I Am Doing to Overcome Post Concussion Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue and Low Thyroid Function and a Big Update About the Podcast #499: All Of Your Thyroid Questions Answered with McCall McPherson #442: 5 Big Benefits of The Powerhouse Hormone: T3 and T4 (Thyroid Hormones)

In 2021, Witcher fan Ja'Nya Hashi found themself flying overseas to spend four days at The Witcher School, the long-running, now sadly defunct Witcher Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) experience set at a remote castle in Poland. Was dressing up and pretending to be a Witcher-in-training something that was thrilling, confusing...or just a whole lot of cringe? In our newest side quest, we welcome Nya to our studio to find out! Over a couple of Old Fashioneds, Nya discusses their Witcher School experience, from sneaking around the castle's secret passages late at night, to the surprisingly terrifying Nekker hunt, to surviving the oddly relaxing Trial of the Grasses. It's a fascinating, fun glimpse at a Witcher experience unlike any other—where survival (at least for your character) isn't always guaranteed.

Send us a textWe're back for Part 2 of our Automation deep-dive—and the hits just keep coming! Host Al Martin reunites with IBM automation aces Sarah McAndrew (WW Automation Technical Sales) and Vikram Murali (App Mod & IT Automation Development) to push past the hype and map out the road ahead.

Send us a textWe're back for Part 2 of our Automation deep-dive—and the hits just keep coming! Host Al Martin reunites with IBM automation aces Sarah McAndrew (WW Automation Technical Sales) and Vikram Murali (App Mod & IT Automation Development) to push past the hype and map out the road ahead.

This episode we are looking at the early years of the official reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tenno, including the building of a brand new capital on the shores of Lake Biwa. For more information, see: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-126 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 126:  New Beginnings The local farmers couldn't help but talk.  There was so much construction, but it wasn't entirely clear what was being built.  The land between the mountains and the lake had been neatly groomed fields, but now that the government workmen had moved in, all of those fields were being cleared.  This new construction was much larger than anything that people had seen before.  Rocks were coming in from far flung quarries, and local kilns were being set up to create tiles, while woodcutters were sent into the forests to bring logs to the site. There were various stories about what was going on—a new provincial government office, or perhaps a new temple, but perhaps the most outlandish was that this was going to be some kind of royal palace.  The sovereign himself was taking in interest in this little slice of Afumi, and he was going to abandon the Home Territories of Yamato and bring his entire court to the shores of Lake Biwa. What a far-fetched story!  …Wasn't it? Last episode we recapped a lot of the history of Prince Naka no Oe and how he had come to this point: the Isshi Incident, the Taika reforms, as well as the reigns of his uncle, Prince Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou, and his mother, Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou.  With Takara Hime's death, Naka no Oe was now – finally, as he might have thought -- running things officially.  He had prosecuted the war in Baekje, and with that loss, he had turned his focus back to the archipelago.  He now had refugees to settle, and defenses to set up.  And then there were the embassies that would be coming, in an apparent attempt to normalize relations post-conflict.  That could only go so far, however, given that Tang and Silla had simply turned their war efforts against Goguryeo.  So one imagines that any diplomatic discussions were held with the understanding that the international order was still in flux. And so we arrive in the 8th month of 665, as some of the first defensive castles were being erected.  That same month, Tamna—the kingdom on the modern island of Jeju—sent ambassadors to the Yamato court.  The diplomatic ties between Yamato and Tamna were a relatively recent occurrence, but with Baekje gone, one wonders if Yamato wasn't feeling out a new alliance on the continent.  That said, Tamna does not appear to have been a major player on the international stage.    They had been a tributary of Baekje, and may have even been one of the last holdouts of the proto-Japonic language for a long time.  Indeed, a 15th century Joseon history records a foundation myth of Tamna that emphasizes close early ties with the Japanese archipelago. The following month saw another visit by Tang ambassadors, only a year after Guo Wucong had come to the court.  Guo Wucong had been wined and dined, and things seem to have gone well, as this time he returned, but he wasn't the one leading the embassy this time.  That honor went to Liu Degao, sub-prefect of Yizhou, among his many titles.  Yizhou is the same location where the previous missions from Yamato to the Tang court had made landfall.  Presumably, Liu Degao would have had experience with the embassies that passed through Yizhou, so he seems a logical choice to be sent over to the archipelago. This seems like an escalation, with a more titled ambassador leading the party. It is possible that the Tang were trying to not only reset their relationship with Yamato, but also attempt to woo them to their side.  The Tang likely knew that if they defeated Goguryeo, then they would have another problem to work out:  The alliance with Silla.  At the moment both Tang and Silla were in a partnership of convenience, but the Tang empire didn't get where it was by just giving up territory. And Silla was, itself, ambitious.  It would be in the Tang dynasty's best interest to have Yamato on its side in case Silla became a problem.  At the very least, the Tang court could have just been trying to make sure that Yamato would stay out of any continental entanglements, such as by supporting Goguryeo. Within the Yamato court, it is unclear which way, exactly, they were leaning at this point.  The court was clearly building defensive positions—fortresses and more.  At the same time, there were likely those who welcomed any return to stable relations with the Tang.  After all, there were still Wa in Chang'an and elsewhere, and there was still a hunger in the archipelago for the books and other goods that the Silk Road could provide.  On the other hand, they may have felt more at home with Goguryeo, or even Silla.  The bonds with the Korean peninsula were older and likely stronger.  And, as long as the Tang Empire was busy with other states, then perhaps they would be too preoccupied to attack Yamato. Liu Degao and his entourage had arrived at Tsushima on the 28th day of the 7th month.  They would have been put up there for a time, and entertained.  If this embassy followed later conventions, they would have likely pulled into a harbor, like the one near Kofunakoshi.  This is a narrow spot between the two parts of Tsushima, where we know that in the 9th century, ships from the Tang empire would stop, register goods and people, and likely have them transferred to Japanese ships.  All of the checking and cataloging would happen  at nearby Bairinji temple. Even if they didn't have to transport everything to another ship, it is likely that they would held at Tsushima for a while for security purposes.  Tsushima was ideal, both for its distance, halfway between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, but also for its shape, with numerous places that ships could sit at anchor in secluded bays away from any weather or rough seas that could otherwise cause problems. We don't know exactly what the Tang embassy's stay was like, but we know that they were at Tsushima for roughly two months, which was probably the time it took to get a message to the Yamato court and back.  We know how long it was because we learn that it is on the 20th day of the 9th month that they finally made landfall at Tsukushi, or Kyushu, and two days later they forwarded a letter-case to the Yamato court. Two months later, we know they were at the court, as there was a banquet held for Liu Degao on the 13th day of the 11th month, and then a month after that, Liu Degao and the rest of the mission were presented gifts, after which they left and returned to the Tang court.  We are also told that Mori no Kimi no Ohoishi, along with Sakahibe no Muraji no Iwashiki and Kimi no Kishi no Harima all went to the Tang court that same month, no doubt traveling with Degao and Wucong. On the first month of the following year, Neungnu of Goguryeo was sent to the Yamato court to offer tribute.  On the same day, the 11th day of the first month, Tamna also sent someone identified as Prince Siyeo to offer presents.  Immediately, I'm wondering about the way that this is presented.  Both of these states – Goguryeo and Tamna - were allies of the former Baekje kingdom.  I have to wonder how the Goguryeo ships made their way—did they come down the western side of the peninsula, through the Bohai sea, and thus past possible Tang patrols between their peninsular and continental territories, or did they head through the East Sea, aka the Japan Sea, where they would have to pass by the coast of Silla, whom they were also not on great terms with?  The fact that both missions are mentioned at the same time suggests that maybe the Goguryeo embassy sailed down to Tamna, on Jeju Island, and then the two groups made their way over to Yamato together from there. Other things about this entry to note is that the Chroniclers use different terms for these visits to the Yamato court.  Goguryeo uses a term that Aston translates as “offering tribute” while Tamna uses a different term indicating that they were “offering presents”.  This may be as simple as the difference in the various relationships between the polities, as viewed by the Chroniclers.  After all, there was a long relationship between Yamato and Goguryeo, which was considered one of the three Han, or Samhan.  Whether true or not, I could certainly see the Chroniclers feeling that Goguryeo was in a subordinate relationship with Yamato.  Tamna, on the other hand, was a more recent addition to the Yamato diplomatic sphere.  As such, it would be understandable, to me if the Chroniclers still saw it as a more independent entity. It also may hint at different messages being communicated.  As far as we can tell, Tamna wasn't under direct threat by the Tang empire—though they may have been feeling a little bit of heat, given the fall of Baekje and the Tang empire's new outpost on the peninsula.  Goguryeo, however, was under more direct threat, and had been in conflict with the Tang for years.  On top of that, based on what we can tell, it seems that Yeong Gaesomun, the despot who had been ruling Goguryeo and helping it defend against the Tang, had just passed away.  It may have been that the Goguryeo court was seeking support against Tang and Silla, as they were in a moment of instability, themselves.  As such, “Tribute” might indicate that they were more formally petitioning Yamato for support. Goguryeo envoy Neungnu left about 5 months later, on the 4th day of the 6th month but then another envoy, this time Minister Eulsyang Oemchu, arrived a little more than four months later.  Much like with the Tang, this feels like Goguryeo was upping the ante, sending higher ranking officials to negotiate with Yamato.  That lends some credence to the theory that there was something of a bidding war going on for Yamato's involvement in international affairs.  For Yamato, however, it would seem that getting involved in continental affairs was hardly something they were itching to do.  Instead, they continued their moves to fortify. In local events, we know that on the 11th day of the 10th month of 665, while the Liu Degao delegation was still in Yamato, there was a great “review”, by which they seem to mean a sutra reading, at Uji.  It is unclear just where this was held, as I haven't found reference to any particular temple.  However, it does indicate that there was activity in the area. Uji is probably most popular, today, for its role as a setting in the Tale of Genji.  There indeed numerous reminders there of the Heian period, including the hall of Ujigami Shrine, and the famous Hou-ou-do, or Phoenix Hall, of the Byoudouin. In 1053, Fujiwara Yorimichi inherited the villa from his father, Fujiwara Michinaga, and he converted it into a Pure Land temple.  Michinaga is thought to have been one of the people on whom Murasaki Shikibu based the character of the Shining Prince, Hikaru Genji.  That's all too late for this moment in the Chronicles, of course., but we do have earlier references to Uji as a place, as well as in various names.  It seems to have been part of the territory of the Hata, who controlled much of the area of modern Kyoto and environs.  There is a temple, Houjouin, also known as Hashidera, which claims to date back to the 7th century, and may have been the site of the above-mentioned sutra reading in 665.  According to the Temple's own legend, it was built around 604, when Hata no Kawakatsu built the famous Uji bridge, or Hashi, on the orders of Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi.  Other sources give the date as 646.  The temple was rebuilt in the 13th century, and as far as I can tell, nothing remains of the original temple, but it is possible that it was the site of this review. The next non-Diplomatic record of the Chronicles is from the 3rd month in 666.  The Crown Prince went to the house of Saheki no Komaro no Muraji, paying a sympathy call as Saheki appears to have passed away after having been gravely ill.  Saheki no Komaro no Muraji was one of those who had helped Naka no Oe in the Isshi Incident.  He had been introduced to the plot by Nakatomi no Kamatari, and then critical in the literal execution at the court.  He later led forces against Furubito no Oe, assuming that “Sahekibe no Komaro” is the same as “Saheki no Muraji no Komaro”.  There is also a relative, possibly his son, Takunaha, who was one of the Yamato court's overseas envoys.  Thus, one can understand that he had some importance to the Royal family, and we can probably assume that he had been involved in much more.  The Crown Prince, we are told, lamented him on account of his loyal service from the very beginning. One of the confusing things in this part of the Chronicle is the term “Crown Prince”.  It doesn't help that the Chroniclers were pulling from different records, and sometimes using anachronistic titles for individuals.  Naka no Oe had been known as the Crown Prince since the time of Takara Hime, whether he actually was or not.  Now he was in charge of the government, but it isn't clear that he had been formally invested as tennou.  More than that, there is mention of an investiture in either 667 or 668, several years after his quote-unquote “reign” had begun.  This makes some sense.  After all, when Takara Hime passed away, there was a foreign war to prosecute, and that probably took a fair bit of resources.  Plus, Naka no Oe had been running things for a while before that, or so we are told.  It would make sense if things just kept on going as they had been, and they held the actual investiture when they got around to it. We also know that he was busy with building projects: not just for the defense of the archipelago, but even a new capital and a new palace.  We'll talk about it a bit more, later, but suffice it to say that he may have been taking his time and gathering everything together. All of this makes the Chronicles themselves somewhat confusing.  They throw around the terms “Crown Prince” and “Sovereign”—well, “Sumera no Mikoto”—almost interchangeably.  Meanwhile, they've also stated that the Crown Prince was Prince Ohoama, Naka no Oe's younger brother. Based on my read of things, I believe we can distinguish between the two by whether or not it specifically calls them out as just “Crown Prince”, or “Crown Prince, younger brother to the sovereign”.  The latter is clearly Prince Ohoama, and the first is most likely Naka no Oe.  After all, in this instance, why would Prince Ohoama be the one so struck by the death of Saheki no Muraji?  Based on the story the Chronicles have told us, wouldn't it make more sense that it was Naka no Oe lamenting the death of one who had helped put him on the throne, rather than sending his brother? So keep that in mind as we go through the narrative.  I'll try to point out whom I believe they are speaking about, at least until we reach the point where Naka no Oe actually is invested. Getting back to the Chronicles, in the 7th month of the year 666, some four months after the illness and death of Saheki no Komaro no Muraji, another disaster struck—this time a natural disaster.  Great floods were reported—how widespread we aren't told.  This is often a problem in a land with many mountains that often gets large rains.  It is especially problematic when much of your agriculture is based on being just at or below the level of the rivers and streams so that it can be flooded on purpose.  We are told that the government remitted the land-taxes and commuted taxes that year, likely as a form of disaster relief to those affected by the flooding. In 666, we are also told a story that actually links this reign to the previous.  We are told that a monk, named Chiyu, gave the sovereign something called a south-pointing chariot.  I'll talk about what this was in another episode.  What's important here is to note that there was a previous entry in the era attributed to Saimei Tennou, aka Takara Hime, where a monk named Chiyu, or something similar, using different characters, also created a south-pointing chariot.  Likewise, we are later told in this reign how Naka no Oe installed a clepsydra, a water clock.  This is also mentioned in the previous reign.  It is possible that these reference completely different accounts.  Or they could be connected in some way. The south-pointing chariot is probably not something that we'll have evidence of, as it would have been mobile and probably deteriorated over time.  However, the water clock would have been a fixed installation with some clear architectural remnants, and indeed we think we know where at least one was built in Asuka.  Both of the water clock entries say that it was the “first” time, so make of that what you will. Also in 666, we see that some 2000 people of Baekje were settled in the East, possibly meaning the Kanto region, though this could be anywhere between modern Nagoya out to the far eastern edge of Honshu.  They were maintained at the government expense for three years, after which they were expected to have built new lives for themselves. In later periods, there is much to be said about “Men of the East”.  There are those that point to this region as being the origin point of many of the warrior traditions that would arise and become the military samurai.  Some of the weapons and fighting styles, especially some of the horse-riding archery seems to point to continental influences that made their way to the Kanto region and beyond.  One has to consider just how much did they bring with them and how did it grow, often beyond the view of the court and the court chronicles.  For now, though, it seems to have largely been a form of a refugee program, since the Baekje no longer had a kingdom to return to. Finally, we have an omen.  In the winter of 666, the rats of the capital, in Asuka, headed north to Afumi.  As with previous entries about rats departing a capital for a direction, this is again meant as an omen.  It probably didn't happen.  But it does foreshadow an account in the following year, when, on the 19th day of the 3rd month, the capital, surprise-surprise, moved to Afumi. And perhaps I shouldn't be flippant.  It was a surprise to have the capital move to Afumi.  There are accounts of legendary sovereigns that had their palace outside of the Nara Basin or Kawachi area, but at this point Yamato had been really building up those areas.  So why would they suddenly relocate to Afumi, of all places? Well, probably because of the same thing that had been driving the rest of their large-scale building projects during this period—from the Water Castle protecting the Dazai to the various Baekje style fortresses from Tsushima down to the Nara Basin.  Afumi was a naturally defensive position.  And in such an uncertain time, having a well-defended capital must have seen like a very good idea.  In fact, though they didn't formally change the capital until the 3rd month of 667, they probably had started work on it as soon as they got back from the loss at Hakusukinoe. As far as locations go, it wasn't necessarily a bad choice.  There were still routes to the port at Naniwa, which could still house various delegations when they arrived.  There were also routes to the east, leading to Owari and the rest of central and eastern Honshu, as well as mountain passes to get to the Japan Sea.  The area where the new palace was located was in the district of Ohotsu.  Ohotsu means something like “Big Port” and I don't know if it was already a major port along the banks of Lake Biwa or if that was a name that came from having the capital there.  Ohotsu was a long-inhabited area, even well before the 660's, and an important site for trade.  In the southern end of modern Ohotsu city is Ishiyama-dera, the stone mountain temple, it which was built in the 8th century, but in front of the temple are the remains of the largest freshwater shellmound in Asia.  As you may recall from some of our earliest episodes talking about the prehistoric period in the Japanese archipelago, shell mounds are typically evidence of ancient settlements, remnants of dump sites where they could throw their detritus.  This probably included a lot more than just shells, but shells, bones, and sometimes things like pottery sherds, would remain.  And while much of the wood and waste of the period would have disintegrated over time, shells do not.    These shell mounds accordingly provide important insight into the lives of people back in that day, and the size can also help us understand things about how large a settlement might have been or how long it was there.  The sheer size of the shellmound at Ishiyama-dera likely indicates that the region had been settled for many centuries prior to the 600's. In addition to the shellmound, and more closely related to the current times we are discussing, is evidence of a rock quarry found at the temple site and showing evidence of techniques familiar to people of the 6th to 8th centuries. You see, Ishiyama is a source of a particular white stone called wollastonite.  The quarry sits below the main hall of the temple, and so it probably would not have been quarried after the hall was built, which was in the 700s, so the site is believed to have been active before that.  From the composition of the stone and the markings on the remnants, we can see similarities to stones in the base of one of the buildings at Kawaradera, in Asuka, which we've talked about before and which was one of the pre-eminent temples of its day.  So this demonstrates a link between the region and the court even before the construction of the new Ohotsu palace. Speaking of the palace, we've known of its exact position since 1974,  when archeologists found evidence of the foundation of a large complex in a residential district in Nishikori.  While some initially suggested it was an old temple, further evidence makes it pretty clear that it was the dairi, or inner sanctum, of a palace.  This is very much in the same mould as the Toyosaki Palace in Naniwa and the various palaces in Asuka from around the same period.  In front of the dairi would have been the actual government buildings, but that area has not been excavated. That brings up another question: was this a full-on capital city, Ohotsu-kyo, or just a palace, the Ohotsu-no-miya?  So far we have only found the palace, But since the area is fairly built up, it may take time to find more, assuming it hasn't been destroyed by previous urban development in the area.  There are some hints that there was more: while there were already at a couple of temples that had been built by the mid-7th century, we see several temples built in ways that not only borrow features from important Asuka temples, like the layout of Kawaradera, but they also match the alignment of the Otsu palace ruins, hinting that they were built at the same time.  For example, there is are the ruins of an abandoned temple in Shiga-Minami – actually once thought to have been the Otsu palace. There was also Soufukuji, a temple in the mountains nearby meant to protect the Northwest from malign influences, likely based on continental geomantic concepts, part of what we might today think of as Feng Shui. This same kind of protective temple building is what we see in later capital cities. Of course, we know that this would not be a permanent capital for the nation of Yamato or of Japan—we aren't that far off from the Nara period, and then, a century later, the capital at Heian-kyo.  But that couldn't have been known at the time.  There was no way to know how long tensions with the continent would last, and it was just as possible that people at the time expected this to be a permanent move.  Its preeminence lasted, too: we do have evidence that even centuries later, the region was still known as an ancient “capital”. No matter what Naka no Oe's intentions were in moving the capital to Afumi, however, it didn't exactly go over well.  It was apparently quite unpopular—so unpopular that the move was mocked in song of the time.  That said, Naka no Oe's mind was made up, and the move took place regardless.     Before moving the capital, however, there was still business to attend to.  Takara Hime and Princess Hashibito were reinterred together in the Misasagi on Wochi Hill.  We are told that men of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla all mourned along the processional route.  The Crown Prince—I'm assuming Naka no Oe, this time given his connection to both of these women—apparently had started the work on a stone sarcophagus.  By this was probably meant the actual stone vault of the tomb, rather than just the coffin, which was also likely made of stone.  This was in Kuramaki, in Takatori, in the Takaichi District of the Nara Basin. Three months after the move to the new capital, the district of Kadono, in the west of modern Kyoto, presented to the sovereign a white swallow—an omen of some sort. The following month, on the 11th day of the 7th month, Tamna sent another embassy, led by a Minister known as Cheonma, with presents for Yamato.  This may have been the first envoy to actually visit the new Ohotsu capital, but certainly not the last. Cheonma stuck around for a few months.  In the intercalary 11th month, which is to say the extra 11th month of 667, inserted to keep the lunar and solar calendars at least partially aligned, Cheonma and his companions were presented with brocade and other cloth, as well as axes, sickles, and swords, presumably to take home to Tamna. While Cheonma was at the court, there was apparently another bit of diplomatic ping-pong going on.  Liu Jenyuan, the Tang general in charge of Baekje, sent Szema Facong and others to escort Sakahibe no Iwashiki and those with him to the Dazai in Tsukushi.  They didn't stay long, though—we are told they arrived on the 9th day of the 11th month and left only 4 days later, on the 13th day of the same.  When they left, however, they, themselves, were given escorts of Yuki no Muraji no Hakatoko—the same one whose memoirs we relied on for that previous trip to the Tang court—as well as Kaso no Omi no Moroshi.  So I guess they were escorting the escorts?  At what point does it end?  Hakatoko and others made it back about three months later, on the 23rd day of the first month of 668, and reported on their own escort mission.  That suggests that they didn't escort them that far.  They may have just seen them back to the Korean peninsula and that was it. Hakatoko's escort mission did mean that he missed a rather important event—the Crown Prince assuming the dignity.  That is to say, Naka no Oe finally took the title of sovereign.  A note in the text suggests that there were other sources that said it was the third month of the previous year—the same time that the Otsu capital was built.  Four days later they held a banquet in the palace for all of the court ministers. A little over a month later, his wife, Yamato bime, was appointed queen.  We are then told of his other wives and consorts. To be clear, Naka no Oe had been collecting consorts for ages.  So let's talk about a few of them. To start with there was Yamatobime, the Yamato Princess, daughter of none other than Naka no Oe's half-brother, Prince Furubito no Oe, his former rival to the throne. Then there was Wochi no Iratsume, aka Princess Miyatsuko, the daughter of Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa Maro.  She had a son, Prince Takeru, who died in 651 at the age of 8.  That suggests that she and Naka no Oe had been together since at least 643, two years before the Isshi Incident.  Another one of her daughters, Princess Uno, would go on to marry Naka no Oe's younger brother, Prince Ohoama, the new Crown Prince. Wochi no Iratsume seems to have died of grief in 649, after her father and much of her family were destroyed on the orders of her husband, Naka no Oe.  We are told that Naka no Oe also married Wochi no Iratsume's younger sister as well, Mehi no Iratsume.  She had two daughters, Princess Minabe and Princess Abe.  At this point Abe was only about 7 or 8 years old, herself, but she would eventually be married to Prince Kusakabe, the son of Prince Ohoama and Princess Uno, whom we just mentioned. Naka no Oe also had two other consorts.  Tachibana no Iratsume was the daughter of Abe no Kurahashi no Maro no Oho-omi—he was the first Sadaijin, or Minister of the Left, at the start of the Taika reforms, immediately following the Isshi Incident.  And then there was Hitachi no Iratsume, the daughter of Soga no Akaye. Soga no Akaye is an interesting figure.  You may recall the name from Episode 118.  Soga no Akaye was the acting minister in charge in Yamato when Prince Arima tried to start up a revolt against Takara Hime.  It was in his house where Prince Arima laid out his plan, but a broken armrest convinced Soga no Akaye to turn against the conspirators and turn them in.  And so it is interesting to hear that his daughter was married to Naka no Oe. We are also told of four “palace women” that Naka no Oe is said to have had children with.  The implication seems to be that these were women at the palace but they were not formally recognized with the same status as that of the formal consorts and, of course, the queen, his primary wife.  This fits in with at least one theory I've seen that Naka no Oe was something of a ladies' man.  It seems he got around even more than Murasaki Shikibu's fictional “Shining Prince”, Hikaru Genji.  We are told that there were at least 14 children among the nine official wives—and one has to consider that they were unlikely to record many of the women whom he may have slept with that he didn't also have children with.  And there is a theory that one of those not mentioned, may have been his own sister, full blooded sister.  Specifically, his sister Princess Hashibito, who was married to none other than Naka no Oe's uncle, Prince Karu, aka Jomei Tennou. To be clear:  we have no clear evidence that they were anything other than close siblings, but as you may recall how we mentioned back in Episode 114 that there was something that caused a falling out between Prince Karu and Naka no Oe, such that Naka no Oe disobeyed the sovereign's direct order in moving himself and the royal family back to Asuka.  That meant Naka no Oe, his wives, his mother, AND his sister, Princess—now Queen—Hashibito.  So, yeah, he absconded with Prince Karu's wife who was Naka no Oe's full-blooded sister.  And, as we've noted before, ancient Yamato's concept of incest was pretty narrow.  It was only if you had the same mother that you were considered full siblings—even if the father were someone else.  I suspect that this is related to the matrilineal nature of succession as well, which is why it was so important to insist that the ancient sovereigns had a direct lineal connection to the royal line through their mother as much as through their father. So if Naka no Oe and his sister were having any kind of relationship that was considered wrong or scandalous, then that could also help explain why he didn't take the throne sooner, and why it passed over to his mother.  But now, both Takara Hime and Hashibito were quite literally dead and buried, and Naka no Oe had ascended to the throne. Of the so-called “Palace Women” that  are listed as being likewise married to—or at least in a relationship with—Naka no Oe, I'd like to focus on one:  Iga no Uneme no Yakako.  For one, she is specifically mentioned as an uneme—one of the women sent to the court specifically to serve in the palace.  But her parentage isn't further illuminated other than the name “Iga” which is probably a locative, possibly referring to the area of Iga. This is also interesting because we are also told that she gave birth to a son named Prince Iga, also known as Prince Ohotomo.  Despite his mother's apparently unremarkable status, Prince Ohotomo seems to have been quite the apple of his father's eye.  He was born in 648, so in 668 he was about 20 years old, meaning that around this time he was probably just coming into his own at court.  He was married to his cousin, Princess Touchi, daughter of his uncle, Crown Prince Ohoama.  He was also married to Mimotoji, who appears to have been a daughter of Nakatomi no Kamatari, meaning that he was pretty well connected. But we'll get into that in a future episode.  For now, I think we'll leave it here: with the move of the capital to Ohotsu and the formal ascension of Naka no Oe to the throne. We'll talk about what that might mean in the future.  Until then, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Welcome to episode 295 of The Cloud Pod – where the forecast is always cloudy!  Welp, it's sayonara to Skype – and time to finally make the move to Teams. Hashi has officially moved to IBM, GPT 4.5 is out and people have…thoughts. Plus, Google has the career coach you need to make all your dreams come true.* *Assuming those dreams are reasonable in a volatile economy.  Titles we almost went with this week: Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the cloud dreamers, and Me  Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer You may say I’m a cloud dreamer, but I’m not the only one May the skype shut down Q can tell me that my python skills are bad How many free code assistance does Ryan need to be a good developer: ALL OF THEM Oops honey I spent 1M dollars on oracle Latest Cloud Pod Reviews: “It’s a Lemon” A big thanks to this week's sponsor: We're sponsorless! Want to get your brand, company, or service in front of a very enthusiastic group of cloud news seekers? You've come to the right place! Send us an email or hit us up on our slack channel for more info.  General News  01:04 On May 5, Microsoft's Skype will shut down for good  In what we swear is the 9th death for Skype, Microsoft has announced that after 21 years (with 13 of those years under MS Control,) Skype will be no more.  For real this time. Really.  May 5th is the official last day of Skype, and they've indicated you can continue your calls and chats in Teams.  Starting now, you should be able to use your Skype login to get into Teams.  For those of you who do this, you'll see all your existing contacts and chats in Teams.  Alternatively, you can export your Skype data, specifically contacts, call history and chats.  Current subscribers to Skype Premium services will remain active until the end, but you will not be able to sign up for Skype at this time.  Skype dial pad credits will remain active in the web interface and inside Teams after May 5th so you can finish using those credits.  03:37 Matthew  – “I think there’s a lot of people and, you know, at least people I know in other countries to still use Skype, like pretty heavily for like cross country communications, things along those lines. So I think a lot of that is that there probably is still a good amount of people using it. And this is just, Hey, they’re trying to make it nicely. So how, you know, nice and clean cut over for people versus, you know, the Apple method of it just doesn’t work anymore. Good luck.” 04:41 HashiCorp officially joins the IBM family  IBM has finished the acquisition of HashiCorp, which they had announced last year. Armon Dadgar wrote a blog post reflecting on the journey that Hashicorp has been on; he talks about the future and that his goal is to have Hashicorp in every datacenter. 

Our guest and member, Maria, shares how she not only lost 22 pounds in just 6 weeks, but eliminated brain fog and returned to the Dr with major improvements in her thyroid panel. Listen to here her story and the tips she personally provides! Ready to start healing too? Learn more here

I commonly get asked, "what does it look like to maintain once I've reversed my condition" or "do I have to be this restrictive forever???" We answer all the maintenance questions today!  Need support along with customization and weekly meal plans? Get it here.

This episode we go back to the continent for a bit to see how things are going.  Hint:  not well.  While Yamato was building its new bureaucratic state, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla were battling it out while the Tang empire and their ambitions loomed over them all.  Yamato is about to get pulled into the conflicts, but before that, let's look at what was happening from the point of view of the various penninsular polities. This episode goes back over some of the information in Episodes 107 and 109, but mainly to place it in context of what was happening in Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla as opposed to simply viewing it from the rise of the Tang Empire or the occasional mentions in the Nihon Shoki.  Much of it relies on what we have in the Samguk Sagi, the Korean annals of the Three Kingdoms. For more, check out our blogpost: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-115 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 115: Red Banquets, Fashion Disasters, and Other Continental Adventures It was the year 642, and the hall was decked out in the finest, with banners hung and tables set.  The scene was awash in gold and silk and silver.  The guests were no less opulently adorned: The crème de la crème of Burana, aka Pyongyang, capital of the state of Goguryeo.  The tables were piled high with food, and there was a low murmur as the assembled guests talked quietly as they waited for their host. These guests were among the highest nobles in the land.  180 members of the most powerful families.  As they mingled, they talked.  Much of it was gossip, the currency of court politicians everywhere. They discussed who was up and down in the constant fight for favor.  Who had made a misstep, or was seen talking to the wrong person?  Or how about that time that someone wore the wrong clothes, or misspoke in court? Other conversations focused outward, on the threats from beyond the border.  But the majority of conversation had to do with their host, a striking individual. The murmurs continued as they waited for him to arrive..  Yeon Gaesomun was a hard-liner, pushing his agenda for stronger defenses against Tang encroachment.  That might be understandable for someone stationed out east, as he had been, but the King himself and his supporters felt that relations needed a more diplomatic touch.  Now that Gaesomun was back in the capital of Pyongyang, would he change his approach? The conversation continued apace as people ate and drank.  The whole time they remained blissfully unaware of what was happening just outside.  Drowned out by the sound of the banquet, troops were quietly assembling just outside, girding themselves for what would soon be an irrevocable step forward.  As orders came down the line, they drew their weapons, and then they burst through the doors… Last episode we talked through much of the Hakuchi era, from 650 to 654.  This episode I want to finish out the era, in order to do so we're once again going to touch on what was happening over on the continent. Some of these events we've talked about already: Last time we did a deep dive into this subject, back in Episode 104, we focused primarily on the Tang dynasty and its rise.  We also talked somewhat about Yamato's conflicts with Tang, Goguryeo, and others in Episode 107.  But at this point it's useful to go back and put that Continental narrative together a little bit more clearly, to set the stage for what will be happening in Yamato in the next reign after Karu. This episode we are going to go back over some of that info, but I want to center the narrative a bit more on the peninsula, rather than on the Tang dynasty. As you may recall, the Tang dynasty started in approximately 618, taking over from the Sui.  By 628, the Tang had defeated the Gökturks, and they continued to expand.  They conquered Turpan and Gaochang, in the Western Regions, and their control over the Silk Road was substantial, opening up tremendous trade routes that brought in wealth and more.  The capital of Chang'an became a true center of learning, and the government instituted a national university that was attended by elites from both in and outside the empire. This episode, though, we are going to focus more on the area of the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas, where the countries of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla contended with each other.  Goguryeo was the largest and perhaps even the most powerful of the three, but it was also on the border with the Tang empire, who were nothing to sneeze at given their own string of military victories.  So Goguryeo was beset from all sides, and needed a sizeable force on their western border.  Everything was in a tenuous balance, of sorts. When it came to the Tang empire, Goguryeo walked a delicate line.  On the one hand, they wanted access to the trade goods and the knowledge that was accumulating in the Tang empire and making it the envy of most other nations in the region.  On the other hand, they had to be constantly on the lookout for a possible invasion, and so needed to show their strength.  This wasn't without some confidence.  After all, Goguryeo had defeated attempts by the Sui dynasty to invade, and so they had proved up to the challenge—at least so far. In 619, on the eve of the Tang dynasty's founding, King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo, whose personal name was Geonmu, sent a tribute mission to the Tang, to encourage good relations.  By 622, Goguryeo was responding to the Tang dynasty's request to return soldiers captured during the attempted invasions by the Sui.  They kept sending missions on an annual basis, playing the part of a friendly tributary. Further on the peninsula, Baekje and Silla were likewise reaching out to the Tang dynasty, similarly hungry for the trade goods available in the markets of Chang'an.  Baekje, sitting on the coast of the Bohai sea, had direct routes to the mainland; to both the Yellow river and Yangzi river deltas.  They may not have had an overland border, but the sea was open to them. Silla, on the other hand, was not so quite so fortunate.  They were mainly situated on the east side of the peninsula, and though they had some access through the Han river, near modern Seoul, their access was constantly threatened by both Baekje and Goguryeo.  In 626, a Silla mission to the Tang complained about this very thing, claiming that Goguryeo was attacking them.  In response, the Tang requested peace, and Goguryeo apologized and backed down.  That said, it is unclear if the Tang would have taken much action.  They were, at that point, more focused on the Gökturks and others.  That military action ended with the defeat of the Gökturks in 628, however, a victory for which Goguryeo sent congratulations.  One has to imagine, however, that the congratulations were a bit mixed.  After all, without the Gökturks to hold their attention, what was to keep the Tang dynasty from looking at further conquest? The question of how to react to the Tang Empire seems to be one that split the Goguryeo court.  Some members of the court wanted to appease the giant on their doorstep, with offers of tribute and nominal submission, with the goal of making it clear that they were not a threat and that military conquest was unnecessary.  They could all live in harmony, one with the other.  To that end, they would not want to be too blatant about building up their forces or defenses in an act that could be seen as a prelude to military action.  On the other side were the hard-liners: members of the court that felt that they had to maintain a strong military defense against the likely possibility of a Tang offensive.  To these hawks, military strength was the deterrent, as power only truly respected power.  To be seen as weak and submissive would be to seem vulnerable, and an easy target. Still, there seems to have been relative, if uneasy, peace for a time.  Goguryeo continued to build their relation as a tributary state, and most of the action seems to have actually been taking place in the peninsula.  For Silla, 632 was a banner year, as Queen Seondeok came to the throne.  She was the eldest daughter of her father, who had no sons to inherit, and so she came to the throne.  She is said to have been quite intelligent, and the Samguk Sagi gives various accounts of her Holmsian powers of deduction.  For example, upon seeing a picture of flowers, she immediately concluded that, though they were beautiful, they had no fragrance.  She noted the lack of bees and butterflies around the flowers, and based on that observation she deduced that the flowers must have no scent to attract them. Queen Seondeok would oversee Silla in a time when they were growing closer to the Tang and also seeing increased pressure from Baekje and Goguryeo.  We mentioned how, in 626, Goguryeo had blocked Silla's mission to the Tang court.  Then, in 636, a Baekje general led 500 troops to Mt. Doksan, to attack the Silla position there.  Two years later, Silla defeated Goguryeo troops outside Jiljung Fortress. This wasn't constant warfare, but it did mean that the armies had to be on a constant wartime footing.  You never knew when your neighbor might sense a moment of weakness and try to take advantage of it.  Of course, as the old adage goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.  Baekje and Goguryeo were more directly on the Tang Empire's borders.  And so we see Silla cultivating a special relationship with the Tang. This is nothing new, by the way.  Various dynasties in the Yellow River basin had used similar tactics for generations.  Immediate border countries were often treated more severely, with threats of punitive expeditions if they did not fall in line or give themselves over completely to become a direct vassal of the empire.  Countries just beyond the border were often treated with a lighter touch, luring them into complacency and even friendship with access to elite trade goods, and more.  As borders shifted, so too did the relationship between the empire and those on its borders. Goguryeo and Baekje fell into the former category, while Silla seems to have been in the latter—at least for now.  And yet all three were still trying to get what they could.   In 640, Seondeok sent her sons to enroll in the Guoxue, or National University, that Tang Taizong had set up in Chang'an.  This university had gathered Confucian scholars from all corners of the world.  The school is described as having some 1200 bays, with 3,260 students.  Besides Silla, Goguryeo and Baekje also sent their princes, who mingled with elites from Gaochang, Turpan, and elsewhere.  It was opportunities like this that made Chang'an so attractive: a place where the elites of Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje, could mingle with the members of the Tang Court and the western regions, beyond, sharing ideas and learning about the wider world. The following year, in 641, there are two items of note.  One is the inspection by Chen Dade of the Tang-Goguryeo border.  We talked about this back in episode XXX.  Under the pretense of a diplomatic mission, Dade arrived at the border with numerous gifts of silk, presenting them to the various fortress commanders and then asking to be shown around.  The Commanders were more than happy to show Dade their impressive fortifications, and they were exceedingly polite, but little did they know that Dade's true purpose was to scout for weaknesses in Goguryeo's defensive line.  His report back to Tang Taizong would be critical in what was to come. Also in this year, King Uija of Baekje came to the throne.  We talked about how Uija had sent his son, Prince Pung, to Yamato, and we've touched on him a few times here and there.  Uija was clearly a proponent of the alliance with Yamato, and, as we'll see, he was no friend to Silla.  The following year, in 642, Ujia's forces attacked Silla, capturing 40 strongholds, and pushing Silla's expanding borders back to the Nakdong river, retaking much of the area that had been under the control of the various Kara, or Gaya, confederacy.  This likely included places like Nimna and Ara, though we can't know for certain.  We do know that Baekje forces took Taeya fortress in the south of the peninsula, which gives us an idea of the extent of Baekje's victories. In response to Baekje's brazen attacks, Silla went  to a seemingly unlikely ally.  They reached out to Goguryeo.  In fact, they sent none other than Kim Ch'unch'u. Kim Ch'unch'u was the grandson of the 25th king of Silla, King Jinji.  Though his father, Kim Yonsu, had lost any claim to the throne when King Jinji was overthrown, he was still of “seonggol”, or “Sacred” bone rank, a concept somewhat similar to the kabane of Yamato, though in this case the “Sacred bone rank” indicated nobles specifically descended from the royal family.  These would have likely been the various Royal Princes and their families in the Yamato hierarchy.  Kim Ch'unch'u, in particular, seems to have been well regarded by the Silla court of his day, and since his own daughter had been killed by Baekje, he had a personal stake in the matter.  And so he led the embassy to Goguryeo's capital at Pyongyang to request that they send troops to aid Silla. There was only one problem.  Goguryeo was still fuming about territory that they had lost to Silla many years ago.  They agreed to send troops, but only if Silla would agree to a little quid pro quo.  Silla would need to return the Chungnyung pass and cede everything northwest of it back to Goguryeo.  This would return much of Goguryeo's territory north of the Han river and modern Seoul. Kim Ch'unch'u  rebuked their offer, calling it a threat against Silla.  This angered King Yeongnyu, and Kim Ch'unch'u was jailed for his disrespect.  Ch'unch'u was able to get word out of his imprisonment, however, and Queen Seondeok sent what the Samguk Sagi calls a “Death Squad” of 10,000 soldiers with the aim of breaking him out of prison.  As soon as Goguryeo heard that these troops were on the move, they decided that holding onto Ch'unch'u wouldn't be worth it, and they released him rather than fight.  Kim Ch'unch'u was returned safely, but without the support that he wanted. That said, there may have been other things going on in Goguryeo. The pro-appeasement camp and the hard-liners were fuming, and things in the court were coming to a head.  The two sides pulled against each other in the way that they shaped policy.  For the most part, King Yeongnyu was pro-appeasement, but there were powerful figures in the hard-liner camp, such as Yeon Gaesomun.  At 46 years old, he was a descendant of at least two previous “Magniji” court officials—a title roughly equivalent to that of a Prime Minister, and one of the most powerful roles a non-royal court noble could aspire to.  Gaesomun himself was the Western Governor, directly responsible for the fortresses that defended the border with the territory of the Tang Empire.  As such, it is little wonder that he may have been a bit more focused on the threat that they posed, and he likely held the loyalty of not a few troops. And perhaps this is why King Yeongnyu started to suspect him of being a problem, and why he plotted to have him killed.  Word of the King's plot reached Gaesomun, however, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. Returning to Pyongyang in 642, Gaesomun let it be known that he was throwing a lavish banquet to celebrate his rise to the position of Eastern governor.  He invited over one hundred of the opposing court nobles under this pretence.  But that is all it was. When the nobles had gathered at the banquet site, Gaesomun struck.  He had loyal forces rush in and kill all of his opponents, and then, before an alarm could sound, he rushed his troops over to the palace and murdered King Yeongnyu.  It was the Goguryeo's own Red Wedding, and it would hold a particular place of infamy in Korean history, which said  that the troops dismembered the corpse and discarded it without ceremony. In place of King Yeongnyu, Gaesomun propped up Yeongnyu's nephew, King Bojang.  Gaesomun then appointed himself the Dae Magniji, the Great Prime Minister, or perhaps more fittingly “Generalissimo”.  Though King Bojang sat upon the throne there was no question that it was Gaesomun who now ruled Goguryeo. Gaesomun's legacy is complicated.  Under the Confucian values of the time, many early historians vilified him for murdering the king, and blamed him and his harsh policies for the eventual downfall of the kingdom.  He is portrayed as a man lusting after power. We are given examples of his harsh demeanor, and the Annals state that when he got off of his horse he had high ranking nobles and military officials lie on the ground so that he could step on them, rather than touching the ground.  Of course, some of this we should likely take with a grain of salt, given the Chroniclers' generally dim view of him in general.   On the other hand, some modern histories believe that he wanted Goguryeo to take a tougher stance against the Tang.  Early Korean nationalists rehabilitated him, exalting him for taking such a hard stance against the Tang, or, in their eyes, China.  I suspect that he was a little of both.  A tyrant and a despot—as many rulers of the time were—but also dedicated to the defense of his nation. We mentioned this briefly back in Episode 107, but I wanted to touch on it here in more detail as it really leads to where we want to discuss.  A very brief mention of this lies in the Nihon Shoki, where it says that “Irikasumi” the “Prime Minister” of Goguryeo slew the king and over 180 others.  For the most part it tracks, though it does say that it happened in 641, which may easily just be a simple scribal error. The general narrative from here is that the Tang dynasty used Gaesomun's usurpation as a pretext for war against Goguryeo, but the narrative seems a bit more complex, and when we are reading we should keep in mind that none of the players in this drama knew the outcome beforehand.  And so, as is often the case, things are quite as straightforward as they may seem when we zoom out and take a look at the macro level of historical events, where we've already decide what events we believe to be important and which were less so, often based on knowing the outcomes.  Of course, the Chroniclers would have had similar narratives, but they were still trying to catalogue the events of each year as best they could. And that brings us to the year 643.  In this year, Silla went to the Tang dynasty to ask them for assistance against both Baekje and Goguryeo, who were planning to cut off Silla's access to the Tang court.  Tang Taizong agreed to help, but only if Silla would accept a Tang official who would come and oversee Silla.  Taizong's reasoning is given, which follows a typically misogynistic logic:  “Because your country has a woman as a ruler, neighboring states belittle it.  As you have lost the authority of the ruler, thus inviting the enemy to attack, no year will enjoy peace.”  He basically said that Silla needed a big strong man to help out, and he was willing to send someone—along with troops—to do just that.  Of course, I think we can all see how that was likely to end up, and any thoughts Silla had of being an equal partner in such an arrangement were nothing more than fantasies.  Tang Taizong was agreeing to assist, if Silla became a protectorate of the Tang court. The Silla envoy, for his part, took a very political stance.  No doubt knowing just how bad this was for Silla, but not wanting to disrespect the Tang emperor, whose assistance they still needed, he acknowledged the emperor's words without accepting the terms, returning without the promised help, but also without completely subordinating his country to the Tang empire. Although the troops were not forthcoming, the envoy's mission still had a positive impact.  Having heard that the envoy was traveling to the Tang court, King Uija of Baekje proactively withdrew the troops he had that were planning to attack with Goguryeo and cut off Silla's access to Chang'an.  Thus, Silla's corridor was maintained. Goguryeo, for their part, continued to attack Silla's border, but even though Gaesomun was one of the hard-liners when it came to Goguryeo-Tang relations, his initial envoys to the Tang court took a conciliatory stance towards the Tang empire.  Gaesomun promoted Daoism over Buddhism, and had his emissaries request and bring back 8 Daoist sages from the Tang court. Many historians feel that this was actually something of a show.  Sure, they would get knowledge and learning from the sages, but more importantly was to put the Tang at ease and hopefully allow Goguryeo a chance to annex Silla before the Tang war machine got up and running.  For their part, the Tang were already considering their next moves against Goguryeo, with some suggesting that they use proxies, like the Khitan and the Malgal, to make an attack.  Emperor Taizong's advisors suggested that the best course of action would be to lull Goguryeo into a false sense of security prior to a massive assault.  And so there were no major attacks that year. In 644, however, the Tang sent a message to Baekje and Goguryeo that they would need to stop invading Silla, and that if they didn't do so, the Tang would attack.  Gaesomun was actually leading troops in an attack on Silla when news of the messenger arrived at Goguryeo's court in Pyongyang.  Gaesomun's response was that he was simply trying to reclaim the territory that Silla had previously stolen from them many years earlier.  Along with their excuses, they sent along gold and 50 hostages from the Goguryeo court, but they were refused by the Tang.  It was probably pretty clear at this point that things were coming to a head—and diplomatic relations finally broke down in 645. That year the Tang dynasty—in conjunction with Silla, the Samguk Sagi tells us—launched a massive invasion of Goguryeo.  The pretext of which was, as I mentioned, Gaesomun's usurpation of the throne, but let's not kid ourselves:  The Tang dynasty were not shy about pushing out their borders. The Tang troops, who had been preparing for the past year, invaded in a two prong attack.  An overland attack struck at Gaemo—modern Shenyang—while naval forces landed on the Liaodong peninsula.  These forces initially swept through the border fortresses along the Liaodong penninsula with seeming ease.  Remember Chen Dade and his little factfinding mission?  No doubt all of his work came in quite handy.   Things were going well, and Tang Taizong himself joined the campaign. Still, each fortress took time, so that even though the invasion started in April, they reached Ansi by June. We are told that Goguryeo had amassed over 150,000 forces at Mt. Jipul, near Ansi, a walled fortress town with an estimated population of around 100,000.  Those numbers may be exaggerations, but the context is clear:  This was not just a small fortress and Goguryeo sent a lot of troops to reinforce the area. On the other side, Goguryeo was facing odds that were probably more like 3 to 1, with a massive Tang invasion force, which, since they had split, were attacking from two different directions.  Sure enough, the Tang were able to catch the defenders out of position, with the troops that had crossed the sea assaulting from the front while the overland forces attacked Goguryeo's rear.  It is estimated that over 50,000 Goguryeo troops were killed or captured in the battle. And that left only the fortress of Ansi, with a garrison of maybe 5,000 troops, to face the Tang, who had otherwise swept through previous defenses in relatively short order.  It would have been understandable had they capitulated.  There were still other fortresses between the Tang armies and the capital of Goguryeo at Pyongyang, not to mention the extremely mountainous terrain between the Liaodong and Korean peninsulas.  And yet, the Ansi garrison refused to give in.  The Tang forces, for their part, knew they could not leave an enemy to their rear, and so rather than continuing on, they set a siege to the fortress town. Although we are told that the Tang forces brought siege engines with them, the garrison at Ansi held out.  In fact, they held out for three months, and fall was beginning to turn to winter.  Winter in northeast Asia would bring snow and mud.  Furthermore, the Tang supply lines themselves were fairly long at this point.  Eventually, the defenders won out, and the Tang forces turned back.  On the march back towards Chang'an, Tang Taizong and his troops were caught in an early winter blizzard, which killed more of the soldiers.  Emperor Taizong founded Minzhong Temple—known today as Fayuan Temple, in modern Beijing—to commemorate his fallen soldiers. Although the Tang forces retreated, it is hard to say that Goguryeo was truly victorious in the outcome of the war.  Many Gogouryeo troops perished in the fighting, while Tang could now regroup.  Goguryeo was unlikely to be a major and immediate threat to Silla, as they would need to continue to maintain troops and rebuild the fortresses taken by the Tang, but that didn't mean that Silla was off the hook, either. Through this all, Baekje had taken the opportunity to harass Silla's western border.  They sent wave after wave against Silla, whose forces in that area were under the command of general Kim Yusin.  The Samguk Sagi mentions that his forces would turn back one attack, and he'd be almost back home, when another attack would come and he would have to go back out.  In one particularly poignant moment, he even got so close as to see his house, but he could not stop, and so he marched straight past the gates as he prepared to repel yet another invasion from Baekje. Winter brought a pause to the fighting, and in 646, things seem to have been relatively calm, if still quite tense, as all sides recovered from the events of the previous year.  Nonetheless, this is seen as the start of what is known as the Goguyreo-Tang war, a series of conflicts that would continue for approximately the next 20 years.  Goguryeo, for their part, attempted to normalize relations with the Tang, even sending two women—specifically the Annals state that they were two beautiful women—as a peace offering.  Tang Taizong politely refused them, however, claiming he wouldn't dare to separate them from their families.  In reality, he was rebuilding his forces, preparing for another assault, but that would take time.  In the meantime, diplomatic channels remained open, which really demonstrates the political situation in general, at the time.  Even if two sides were attacking one another, diplomatic envoys were still being exchanged.  Furthermore, though the trade routes may have been slightly less stable, trade continued, regardless.  The following year, 647, Emperor Taizong launched fresh assaults against Goguryeo.  This time, rather than a larger army, he instead had them focus on small-scale attacks that would weaken the kingdom of Goguryeo, forcing them to constantly be on guard and to pour resources into supporting their borders.  At the same time, Silla suffered tragedy as Queen Seondeok died, and Queen Chindeok took the throne.  Later in that year, Baekje troops attacked three Silla fortresses.  They were pushed back, but the Silla troops took heavy casualties.  As we can see, the fighting continued throughout the peninsula. Meanwhile, over on the Japanese archipelago, they were busy incorporating the new reforms.  Envoys from Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo would continue to travel to the Yamato court, which one imagines made for some rather tense State dinners. The year after that, in 648, while Tang forces continued to harass Goguryeo, Baekje attacked and took ten Silla fortresses.  Upon hearing this, Silla general Kim Yusin rallied the troops, counterattacked, and destroyed the invading forces.  Silla's Prince Ch'unch'u himself, the one who had previously gone to Goguryeo to ask for support against Baekje, traveled to the Tang court in Chang'an.  There he requested assistance against Baekje's continual harassment of Silla's borders. It is unclear how firmly Baekje and Goguryeo were allied together and coordinating attacks, but  it does seem clear that they were aligned in their goals.  Baekje may not have been in direct conflict with the Tang, but their attacks on Silla likely kept Silla from further harassing Goguryeo, who was actively involved in defending against Tang attacks.  So whether there were formal treaties or not, lines were drawn, but these were still independent states with their own goals and aspirations. And so, when Ch'unch'u's ship was returning from Chang'an and ran into a Goguryeo patrol, one can understand their apprehension.  Ch'unch'u was known to Goguryeo, and if we was captured it is unlikely that he would live long enough to be rescued by an elite Silla death squad once again.  And so, his men devised a plan, and a man named On Kunhae put on the clothes of a high official—possibly Ch'unch'u's own.  When the Goguryeo patrol captured the ship, they killed him, believing he was a Silla noble or at least an important envoy.  Unbeknownst to them, Ch'unch'u himself had been transferred to a smaller, less assuming ship, which quietly made its way past the patrol and back to Silla controlled territory. And so, once again, we see us how dangerous things were getting at this point.  Travel was risky at the best of times, but now, with the possibility of being intercepted by a hostile country's forces, who knew what might happen. Hostilities continued until 649.  That year, Tang Taizong passed away, and shortly before he did, he pulled back the troops.  His death only brought a brief pause, however, as his son and heir, Tang Gaozong, took the throne and would launch his own series of wars against both Goguryeo and Baekje.  In 650, Gaozong received Prince Kim Ch'unch'u once again as an ambassador from Silla, this time with a poem penned by Queen Chindeok herself.  In the form of poetic verse, she asked for help against Baekje, who had continued their attacks.  Throughout the previous year attacks had continued back and forth.  Silla general Kim Yusin again managed to push back and defeat the Baekje forces, but one can only imagine the toll this was taking on Silla's ability to defend itself over time.  This was the content of the note.  Prior to this, Silla really had gone all in on strengthening their ties with the Tang dynasty, going so far as to institute Tang court dress—both in their robes and caps.  This point had been specifically negotiated by Prince Ch'unch'u with the previous emperor, Tang Taizong.  It sounds as if Silla was trying to have the Tang court recognize their own court nobles and put themselves in a place to receive Tang court rank, though how, exactly, they received said rank is unclear—did it come from the Tang or was it granted by the Queen of Silla. Either way, it was clearly seen by other nations—or at least Yamato—as an unwelcome statement.  In 651, Silla envoys arrived at Tsukushi—modern day Kyushu—wearing their new Tang style clothing and they were turned away.  Specifically the Dazaifu sent them back claiming that they weren't dressed as envoys from Silla should be.  On top of this, we are told that Kose no Omi then suggested that *rather than go to war* over this, they should just make a show of force when the envoys came back.  And let me reiterate that: according to the Nihon Shoki this was such an affront that Yamato was considering whether they should launch a punitive military strike against Silla for sporting the wrong fit.  Talk about a fashion disaster! In the end, they took Kose no Omi's advice, which was that the next time Silla arrived they would have ships lined up all along the Seto Inland Sea as the envoys made their way to Yamato so that there was no doubt in the envoys' minds about just what Yamato could do. This is a great demonstration of how something we might consider innocuous was clearly a Big Deal for the people at the time.  I suspect that there were at least two possible reasons for why this was, besides just considering themselves the arbiters of fashion.  For one, remember that Yamato considered Silla to be subordinate to them, at least in their worldview.  Just like they had been concerned about at least maintaining the fiction that Nimna was still an active and independent entity, this broke the illusion that Silla was a tributary of Yamato. At the same time, it may have just been that they were putting on airs and it was seen as impersonating and even speaking for the Tang court.  After all, if a Tang envoy showed up, I doubt that Yamato would turn them away. In either instance, we can see the lines being drawn, with Silla taking a clear stance in connecting themselves with the Tang court while Goguryeo, Baekje, and even Yamato were still in contact with them, but from a more independent capacity.  In 652, for instance, we know that Goguryeo again sent tribute to the Tang court, no doubt in an attempt to normalize relations.  Still, the alliances were firming up. In 653 we have two items of interest:  one from the Samguk Sagi and one from the Nihon Shoki.  In the Samguk Sagi it explicitly mentions that Baekje and Wa formed an alliance.  This is significant in that the Samguk Sagi really doesn't mention Wa nearly as often as we would expect it to, while the Nihon Shoki is constantly discussing Baekje and Yamato relations.  I imagine that there must have been a significant escalation of Wa involvement around this time for the Samguk Sagi to mention it. On the other hand, the Nihon Shoki doesn't really mention it.  Sure, there are annual tributes mentioned from Baekje and Silla—and occasionally Goguryeo—but they were more focused on another event: an embassy that the Yamato court sent to the Tang dynasty.  This was the first embassy to be sent in some time—at least according to the Nihon Shoki—but it was quite the affair.  Two ships were prepared.  The first ship was led by Kishi no Nagani and his assistant, Kishi no Koma, along with the envoy, Nunobara no Mita.  They were accompanied by numerous students and student priesets, all sons of court nobility, including Jou'e, the son of none other than Nakatomi no Kamatari the “Naidaijin” or central prime minister.  In total, there were 121 people on board the ship. The other ship was led by Takada no Nemaro and his assistant, Kamori no Womaro, as well as their accompanying envoy, Hashi no Yatsute.  Along with various students, they had 120 on board the ship.  Two ships, each with an individual in charge of the particular embassy, meant that even if they met with an accident along the way, they would have someone to carry on the mission.  And that foresight proved unfortunately necessary when the ship carrying Takada no Nemaro sank in the straits of Takashima off the coast of Satsuma.  The ship went down and only five men survived, largely by lashing themselves to a plank and drifting ashore at Takashima island.  There, one of the survivors, Kadobe no Kogane, gathered bamboo and made a raft, by which they made it to Shitojishima.  They surived six days and nights without any food, but they made it.  When he heard about it, the sovereign congratulated Kogane and rewarded him with rank and various presents for his work to bring people back home. Another mission, launched the following year, shows that being lost at sea wasn't the only danger for international travelers back in the day.  In the 2nd month of 654, Takamuku no Kuromaro led another embassy to the Tang court.  He was the Controlling Envoy, though the Chief Ambassador was Kahabe no Maro, assisted by Yenichi no Kusushi, a name that Aston suggests translates to something like “Doctor Yenishi”.  A list of other names are given as well of those who were also on the mission.  More sobering is the outcome of the mission, where we are told what happened to everyone.  Though they reached the Tang court, not everyone would make it back.  According to the author Yuki no Hakatoko—an interesting tidbit in that they seem to be giving us the author of one of the accounts that they used in the compilation of the Nihon Shoki, and we'll come back to him in a later episode—according to Hakatoko, the student priest Enmyou died in Tang, while the student priests Chisou and Chikoku both died at sea.  Another person named Chisou, but using different characters, returned in a Silla ship in 690.  Gakusho died in Tang and Gitsu died at sea.  Joye returned in 665 in the ship of Liu Tekao.  And then others—about 12 total—along with two individuals who were considered Japanese born abroad, came back in 654 with returning envoys.  We are even told that Takamuku no Kuromaro, one of the figures who helped set up the government and played a major role in diplomatic relations with the continent, passed away on this mission as well. So going on one of these missions may have given you some awesome opportunities to see the world like nobody else, but they were anything but guaranteed.  For many people, it was a one way ticket, and we should keep that in mind when we hear about the people going on them. There were other intricacies to deal with as well—including navigating the pathways to the Tang court.  You may remember that Yamato was allied with Baekje in some way.  And yet the 654 mission we are told went by way of Silla and then anchored in Laichou, on the Shandong peninsula.  Later that same year, the previous mission, with Kishi no Nagani and others, returned to Yamato escoted by envoys from both Silla and Baekje.  While the narrative largely focuses on what they obtained, one imagines there were probably some tensions in all of that.  After all, just a year before we are told that Baekje and allied with Wa—which is to say Yamato—against Silla.  So had Silla not yet heard about the alliance?  Or was that just considered par for the course at the time? The year 654 would have more direct considerations for all concerned, however.  In that year, Queen Chindeok of Silla died, as did Karu of Yamato.  In Silla, the new King was none other than Prince Kim Ch'unch'u, known to history as King Muyeol.  As we touched on, earlier, Ch'unch'u was intimately familiar with the Tang court and had spoken directly with the Tang emperor, so this likely only further cemented ties between the Tang and Silla.  Meanwhile, in Yamato, Queen Takara Hime, aka Kyougyoku Tennou -slash- Saimei Tennou, was re-ascending the throne, rather than making way for Prince Naka no Oe, a truly interesting state of affairs. Moving forward, the alliances would continue to solidify, though diplomatic missions would continue to travel between the various countries.  After all, they didn't exactly have many other means of communicating with each other—no email or telephones back then. Tang Gaozong would continue to attack and harass Goguryeo, though Yeon Gaesomun would continue to fend off attacks, while Baekje and Silla would continue their struggles as well.  Both Goguryeo and Baekje would ally against Silla, who in turn would call upon the might of the Tang empire.  All in all, it was a time of great conflict, generally known as the Tang-Goguryeo War, and it was a long-term conflict punctuated with times of peace in betwetween the various offensives.   Yamato was less directly involved, but still affected.  After all, they were closely aligned with Baekje, and they had to wonder what would happen if Silla came out victorious.  Would they be cut off from the continent entirely?  Or would they be forced into a new state of having to send tribute to Silla as an inferior country if they wanted access to continental goods and knowledge?  While we know how it played out, today, at the time the outcomes were far from certain. All of that will continue to provide a backdrop for the second reign of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou.  A part of me wonders if this wasn't also part of the reason to move the capital back into Asuka, in the Nara Basin.  I imagine that a capital sitting on the edge of the water, relatively speaking, while good for trade and foreign relations, also felt rather exposed if anyone were to sail a fleet down the Seto Inland Sea.  Or it may have just been a return to the more familiar lands of Asuka. As conflict on the continent continued to escalate, Yamato would not be able to stay unaffected.  The question is whether or not they would be ready when and if anything came their way.  It was a tense period, certainly. And we'll get more into that as we move forward in the next episode with the second reign of Takara-hime, aka Saimei Tennou. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.   Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Do you struggle with a slow metabolism? Perhaps your Dr said it's due to "getting older." Perhaps the diet initially worked and then it stopped?! You're not alone! Today we chat about how to boost your metabolism with 4 strategies I use personally with clients who have hit goal weight and gotten off of thyroid meds. Join the membership here for the proven framework!

This episode we look at the Hakuchi era.  Specifically, the implementation of something called the "Equal Fields" system, which seems to be what the court was trying to implement in some of their early Ritsuryo edicts.  And then we'll see why this era is the "Asuka" period and not the "Naniwa" period, despite the grand temple to government erected in that area of ancient Osaka. For more, check out https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-114 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 114: Public Lands and Remote Work   In the early evening, Karu paced through the halls of the inner palace.  The grand scale of the construction was impressive, and it was built and furnished with the finest materials available.  In all aspects it was the shining jewel.  The center of the Yamato world.  The entire thing still felt new. And yet, for all of that, it now felt strangely empty.  So many of those who had previously graced its halls were only memories.  Karu looked over the halls and wondered:  Was it worth it?    He had worked with his nephew and others to build a Kingdom worthy of the name.  They had instituted reforms to model themselves after the major powers of the day.  They had a built a palace to last the test of time.  This wasn't just another place to be abandoned—this was meant to be the bedrock on which the new State would stand.  It was the center of ritual and of the government. But was it?  The government was more than just buildings.  It was the people who made up the offices and the ministries.  It was the entire royal family.  It was the scholars and the officials, debating just how things should work. What would happen when Karu was gone?  Would this system last the test of time?  Or would it disappear, to be replaced by something new?  For centuries, every sovereign had made a new home for themselves every time the previous sovereign passed away.  Is that what would happen to Karu as well? As the sun set, and darkness set in, Karu could only wonder what the future might hold. So here we are in the Hakuchi era, during the reign of Karu, aka Ame Yorodzu Toyohi, which is to say between the years 650 and 654.  The era of Great Change was now the era of the White Pheasant – listen to our last couple of episodes to understand why -- and all of the changes weve been discussing were starting to really come together.  Front and center of those changes was the Nagara Toyosaki Palace, a physical manifestation of the new bureaucratic system of government that the sovereign, Karu; the Crown Prince, Naka no Oe; and others had put into place.  The work of this government was happening on a stage much grander than anything that had previously been seen in the islands. This was the start of what we know as the Ritsuryo Era, and it was finally coalescing.  In this episode we'll talk about how, in the Hakuchi era, we see the implementation of the continental system known as the “Equal Field System”, and how the bureaucratic government was extended down to the individual household.  This was all part of what we've come to know as the Ritsuryo state, which we talked about back in Episode 108 as we started all of these changes.  We are now seeing the foundations of that new state, and we are several years into its implementation, seeing those early edicts finally starting to bear fruit.All of this, of course, was focused on the seat of government in Naniwa. And yet, spoiler alert, this is not called the “Naniwa Era”.  We are still in what many refer to as the Asuka Era.  So what happened?  Towards the end of the episode we'll talk about what happened as the era came to a close, or at least as much as we know. To kick us off, let's talk about where we stand in the Hakuchi era, and look at the culmination of these early Ritsuryo changes we've been talking about. Whatever else had happened, various good omens, crises, and so on – the work of the government was continuing.  Once again, we see records of various envoys from the continent —and we'll get into the international situation, later—but for now, let's focus on what was going on in the archipelago itself.  Specifically, I want to talk about something called the Equal Field System, another innovation that Karu and his administration introduced to Yamato. The Equal Field System goes back to at least the Northern Wei dynasty, over on the continent, in the late 5th century.  It attempted to solve several issues regarding how the government could make sure that land was being worked—and that the government was also getting its cut.  To that end, let's back up a bit and talk about concepts of public versus private land, and how they apply to Yamato at the time. The concept of “private” land may seem simplistic, as we have an idea of what it means today.  Your “private” land is land you own, of course.  “Public” land belongs to the government.  But in Japan—and in much of East Asia—those concepts weren't necessarily the same.  In many early theories of land ownership, all land belonged to the State—individuals were simply using it.  To a certain degree, even today, land is often held only so long as you have a deed or other proof of ownership that is recognized by the State, but concepts like eminent domain can supercede that ownership. So for our purposes, here, Private land was land where all the produce went to a private individual or private interest,  such as a family—or even a temple or shrine.  If it was truly privately-owned land, then all of the produce of that land went to the owner.  Even if the government technically owned the land, the land could still be considered private, meaning that it wasn't  considered taxable by the government – whoever controlled the land got all the produce. In contrast to that, public land was land where the government was owed some or all of the produce.  It might have been worked by individuals, but was still taxable in part or full.  An early system that goes back to at least the Zhou dynasty was known as the Well Field System.  In this system, land was ideally divided into nine squares.  The eight squares of land on the outside of the square would all be held and worked by private farmers, who were able to keep whatever they produced on the land.  In return, they were to provide labor on the public land in the center, the produce of which went to the State, which could then be stashed away in case of famine or used to help increase the State's coffers and thus pay for other amenities. Of course often it just went into the pockets of various aristocrats.  I also wonder just how much effort was actually put in to working the public land in the Well Field System. That name, by the way, comes from how the whole schematic looked when drawn out.  The hanzi, or kanji, for a “well”—as in a place where you draw water—is much like a modern hashtag mark.  Think two horizontal and two vertical lines, like a tic-tac-toe board.  This comes from the fact that wells were often square or rectangular holes, the sides of which could be reinforced with wood.  At the top, the well frame was often formed with overlapping wooden beams, forming a shape similar to a hashtag.  And so in the Well Field System, the center of the tic-tac-toe board was the public land, and everything else was private.  This system fell apart with the fall of the Zhou during the Summer and Autumn periods, though there were attempts to revive it.  After all, it had been mentioned in the Book of Rites, the Liji, and it was praised by Mengzi—the famous scholar and philosopher we known to the West by his latinized name of  “Mencius”.  As such, it was officially documented as a “good idea” and so there were often attempts to revive it. The Northern Wei, however, took a slightly different approach.  In the late 5th century, they were looking for a way to curb the power of aristocratic families.  Since the Qin dynasty and onwards, they had seen the growth of families accumulating land and thus wealth and power.  These powerful families were both necessary and a threat, as they held the power to prop up or tear down a government.  Farmers would need to rent land from the powerful landowners, paying them a portion of their harvest as rent. To counter this, the Northern Wei instituted the Equal Field system.  Under this system, they claimed government ownership of vast swaths of land and then provided equal parts of that government land to every adult person.  Upon a person's death, their land would revert back to the government, who could then redistribute it to others.  The peasants would then be expected to provide a portion of the harvest as tax—they would provide food-rent for the land, as well as payment in cloth and a set number of days of corvee labor.  The key was that all of this payment was due to the government, and not to private aristocratic families. After the Northern Wei fell, the Equal Field system was reinvigorated by the Sui and Tang dynasties, who extended the system across their territories—or at least within the Yellow River and Yangzi River basins.  The system did have some allowances for inheritance—especially in instances like mulberry groves, which would be maintained by successive generations.  In general, however, most of the land was to be reclaimed by the government upon a person's death or at the point that they reached 60 years of age, and then it would be redistributed. This is still a relatively simplistic overview, and there were plenty of different adjustments and changes to the system over the years.  Key for us, though, is looking at the adoption of the Equal Field concept in the archipelago. Up to this point, land ownership in Yamato, such as it was, fell under various family groups.  They would own the land and whatever was produced on it, so it was truly private land.  “Yake” were set up by the families as central storehouses and administrative centers.  In this case, the royal family was, in many ways, just another landowner, and their “yake” are indicated in the Chronicles with the royal “mi” honorific—hence the “miyake”. As the reformers went about making changes in the period between 645-650, they adopted the concept of the Equal Field System.  Prominent figures such as Naka no Oe himself gave up their private fields, and the royal lands were turned into government lands.  They instituted the concept that all land in the archipelago nominally belonged to the State, and that others worked it at the Sovereign's pleasure. As we talked about in the past several episodes, this made the Sovereign and the State more prominent in people's lives, and it built bonds with the peasants in that they were granted land on which to work and make a livelihood.  They didn't necessarily have to work out a separate arrangement with some noble family, and the fields and taxes were “equal” for every person. Of course, surveying the land, taking a census, and distributing the land to the people didn't happen overnight, and it isn't even clear how well it occurred outside of the lands originally owned by the royal family, at least initially.  We are told that even though the project had kicked off years earlier, back in 646, it wasn't until the second month of 652 that we are told that the distribution of rice-land had been completed.  30 paces of land—Aston notes that it was 30 paces long by 12 paces wide—made up a single TAN of rice-land, and 10 TAN made up a CHOU.  Each TAN or land a person was granted was expected to provide back to the government a sheaf and a half of rice, with each CHOU providing 15 sheaves. This effort simplified taxation, in a way—everyone owed the same thing, based on their household and how much land they had been granted.  However, it also would have required an enormous bureaucratic engine.  Scribes would have been in high demand—anyone who could read and write.  Without modern computers, they would need to hand count everything in a given district, then send those numbers up to the governor, and then send them again to the capital.  Hence the giant government complex set up in Naniwa to oversee all of this and to ensure that the government worked as intended. In the fourth month of 652, the work continued.  We are told that the registers of population were prepared—presumably based on the information that had been previously acquired from around the provinces and sent to the court.  The earlier edicts from 646 that outlined this system—which we mentioned back in Episode 109—was finally put in force.  As we noted back in that episode, 50 houses made up a township, or RI—the character used is also pronounced “SATO”, today, and often refers to a village.  Each RI had an appointed elder, or head, using the term “CHOU”.  This term is still found today in modern parlance:  The head of a company, or “KAISHA” is the “SHACHOU”, while the head of a division, or BU, within said company would be the BUCHOU.  KAICHOU is the head of an association, or “KAI” and the “GAKUCHOU” is the head of a “DAIGAKU”, a university—basically the University President.  In this case the “CHOU” of the “RI” would be the “RICHOU”, using the Sino-Japanese On'yomi pronunciation, though in the vernacular they probably would have been called the “Sato-osa”.  All of this just means village head or village chief. So 50 houses made up a RI, with one RICHOU at the head.  In addition, each house would have a senior member appointed as the official head of household, or KACHOU.  From there, houses were associated together in groups of five for mutual protection, with one head, or CHOU, per group of five.  And okay, so they were creating groups of people for administrative purposes?  Who cares?  Well, the thing about this is that it was encoded into the new legal system, and it had several implications.  Chief among them was the implication of primogeniture: Since the most senior person was made the KACHOU or head of household (and by “person” I think we can assume that “man” was a given, unless there were no men in the house for some reason), this meant that the eldest person in the household was automatically the one who inherited that position, along with the status and control that came with it.  As we've seen, up to this point, it was not necessarily the case that the most senior person would inherit in ancient Yamato tradition.  Inheritance could pass from a younger brother to an older brother, or to a younger son of a younger son.  While there was some apparent concern over lineage and making sure that the individual was of the proper bloodline, at least for royal inheritance, there was not an automatic assumption of precedence for who would inherit. Of course, as we've seen, this set off all sorts of disputes and problems, especially among the elite where wealth and power was involved.  However, I think it is fair to assume that these problems weren't relegated purely to the upper levels of society.  Inheritance is always tricky, even in cases where it seems like it should be straightforward. I imagine that the institution of primogeniture as a legal concept would have had consequences beyond just inheritance.  It set up ideas of who was “important” in the family, and the family is often a microcosm of society at large.  Primogeniture meant that age and masculinity were both valued over youth and femininity.  That isn't to say that pre-Taika Ritsuryo was a bastion of equality, but we do see more instances where men and women seem to be on closer to equal footing. In the concept of primogeniture, I believe we can also see the institution of Confucian values—not surprising as this whole thing is cribbed from the continent, with a lot of it being taken from the Tang court.  We've discussed Confucian concepts of filial piety and how that fed into patriarchal—and frankly monarchical—ideas.  The Father and Son, the Ruler and Subject, the Husband and Wife, Elder Brother and Younger Brother, etc.  These were the relationships that were important and they defined much of the way people were expected to interact. As the new system being instituted copied the form of continental government, it would have also been preaching many of its values, as well.  Scholars will continue to debate how widespread the changes actually were.  Did the equal-fields system exist all the way out to the edge of Emishi territory?  Did it cover the mountainous regions of Honshu?  How about to the West of Yamato?  We don't know, but nonetheless, we do see both the expansion and centralization of Yamato power, so there seems to be something to it. By all accounts, the work that had taken place in this era appears to have been a smashing success.  The Taika reforms had taken hold, and the Ritsuryo state seemed to be off to a roaring start.  At the center of it was the newly built Nagara Toyosaki Palace, a giant stage for carrying out the business and ritual of the State.  One would think that the founders of this new State would have been overjoyed.  Naka no Oe, Nakatomi no Kamatari, and the sovereign, Karu, among them.  And yet, the story doesn't seem quite that simple. The first Ministers of the Right and Left had already passed away.  Abe no Oho-omi had passed of what appears to be natural causes, but Soga no Oho-omi, aka Ishikawa no Maro, was undone by slander, accused of treason, and took his own life rather than being killed by the government forces sent after him.  And in the 6th month of 653, the sovereign was told that the Priest Min had passed away. Min—Aston sometimes transcribes it as “Bin”—was one of the sources for much of the information about the continental systems of government.  We've mentioned him on and off for the last 5 or 6 episodes, though you may not have always caught the reference.  Also, since even Aston switches between pronunciations at times, I apologize if I haven't been consistent.  If I said Priest “Min” or “Bin”, we're talking about the same person.  He was a Buddhist priest who had traveled to the Sui dynasty in 608, spending 24 years there, witnessing the change from the Sui to the Tang, returning to Yamato in 632.  He was consulted on various omens, and he and Takamuko Kuromaro, who had also been made a State Scholar, or Hakase, at the same time, both worked to set up the eight ministries of the state, the core of the Ritsuryo bureaucracy. The death of Min was felt across the organs of state.  Both the Queen Dowager and Naka no Oe, the Crown Prince, sent messengers to offer condolences.  The sovereign commanded the painters, Koma no Tachibe no Komaro, Funado no Atahe, and others to make a large number of figures of the Buddha and Boddhisatvas.  They were to be placed in the temple of Kawaradera, though other sources say Yamadadera.  Both of these are in Asuka—although the capital had moved to Naniwa, and there was the temple of Shitennoji there, just south of the palace, I can't help but notice that many of the established temples remained in and around the old capital at Asuka. 653 saw something else, which also seems a bit odd, given the apparent success of the government.  We see that in this year the Crown Prince, Naka no Oe, petitioned his uncle, the Sovereign, to move the royal residence back to the Yamato capital, which is to say Asuka—in the heartland of Yamato as opposed to outside the Nara Basin, like Naniwa.  This is quite the request.  They had just finished establishing a large palace complex in Naniwa.  Why would they pull up stakes and move everything back to Asuka? So the sovereign, Karu, denied Naka no Oe's petition.  Regardless, Naka no Oe took his mother, the Queen Dowager, as well as Karu's own Queen, Hashibito and the younger royal princes, and he moved all of them back to Asuka, moving into the temporary palace of Kawabe.  The ministers and the various Daibu all followed him.  He basically moved the royal family and the court back to Asuka, without Karu's permission, and everyone followed him. We aren't told why this happened.  Was there a falling out between Naka no Oe and the Sovereign?  Was there some other issue that caused Naka no Oe to want to abandon the capital they had worked so hard to build? Karu was understandably upset by this apparent betrayal.  He expressed himself in a poem which he sent to his wife: KANAKITSUKE / AGAKAFU KOMA WA / HIKIDESEZU AGAKAFU KOMA WO / HITO MITSURAMUKA The pony which I keep/ I put shackles on / And led it not out Can anyone have seen / The pony which I keep? And if it wasn't enough that the people had left. We see once more, on the New Year's Day of 654, that the rats likewise left Naniwa and migrated towards Asuka.  This last one I certainly question as to whether or not it happened, but the meaning and symbolism is clear.  The Chroniclers are telling us that the effective capital was moving back to Asuka.  The time in Naniwa was limited. This doesn't appear to have negatively affected the fortunes of Naka no Oe and his supporters.  On the contrary: Nakatomi no Kamatari no Muraji, on this same New Year's Day, was granted the Shikwan, the purple cap, and his fief was increased.  The Toushi Kaden, the History of the Fujiwara House, says that it was increased by 8,000 households. It seems that the business of the government continued apace through 654, though it is a bit unclear just how things worked, given the split between Asuka and Naniwa.  Was Karu left alone in the giant complex he had built?  Or was it still where all of the government work happened?  If so, just how much were the high ministers missed, or were they working remotely, via messenger and post-horse? Whatever the situation, it would resolve by the end of the year.  On the 1st day of the 10th month, Naka no Oe learned that his uncle, the Sovereign, had taken ill.  Naka no Oe and the entire court returned to Naniwa to see him.  Nine days later, on the 10th day of the 10th month, Karu passed away in the state bedchamber he was around 57 or 58 years old.  He was temporarily interred in the southern courtyard, and Mozu no Hashi no Muraji no Doutoko oversaw the palace of temporary interment.  He would be buried in the Ohosaka Shinaga Tomb, which was built near the site of tombs associated with Kashikiyahime and others, south of the Yamato river, on the west side of the mountains that separate the Kawachi plain from the Nara basin. Two months later, Naka no Oe and his mother made it official, and formally moved to the temporary palace of Kawabe in Asuka.  Naka no Oe's mother, Takara Hime, would come to the throne on the third day of the first month of the new year, 655.  It would be her second time on the throne.   Since she reigned twice, the Chroniclers actually gave her two posthumous regnal names.  For the first reign they named her “Kougyoku Tennou”.  In the second reign they named her “Saimei Tennou”, to distinguish from her first reign on the throne.  As far as I know this has only happened twice—the second time being with Kouken, aka Shoutoku, Tennou in the late 8th century. Why she took the throne again is not addressed.  She had been the sovereign, stepping down during the Isshi Incident, when Soga no Iruka was killed in front of her.  At that time, Naka no Oe had been urged to take the throne, but he decided against it.  After all, Furubito no Oe was still around at that time, and seems to have had his own claim.  Naka no Oe couldn't take the throne while Furubito was still alive and, at the same time, claim to be the filial person that Confucian theory said he should be.  And so his uncle, Karu, took the throne, since nobody could really say anything against it.  Now, though, Furubito no Oe and Karu were both deceased.  Why didn't Naka no Oe, the Crown Prince, ascend the throne?  Again, we aren't given an answer.  There is one other thing that is possibly worth noting, however: Karu had a son.  This may be whom they are referring to as the “younger princes” who were brought to Asuka when everyone moved there.  This was Prince Arima.  He is believed to have been born in 640, so he would have been about 15 years old at the time of his father's death.  Naka no Oe was the Crown Prince, but did Arima also have a claim?  He was, after all, the male son of the most recent sovereign, Karu, and his queen, Hashibito hime.  This is something that we will definitely look at in a future episode. It should be noted that Naka no Oe was born in 626.  He would have been 18 or 19 years old during the time of the Isshi incident, and was only ten years old, 29 years old, when his mother took the throne for the second time, in 655.  She, on the other hand, was about 62 years old when she took the throne the second time.  The consensus is that even though she reigned as sovereign, the true power continued to rest with the young Naka no Oe and his clique, and they would continue to direct the government for the next several decades. And with that we largely bring to a close the Hakuchi era.  The era ended with Karu's death, and no new era was declared for Takara Hime's reign.  The period from the Hakuchi era to the start of the Nara period is often referred to as the Hakuho period.  An unofficial name taken from the names of the nengo on either side of it.  It often is used specifically to reference the art of the period, as more and more continental influence continued to pour in. Next episode, we'll take a look at the various interactions with the continent and go a little more into the politics of the time.  Takara Hime's second reign—for which she was posthumously given the name “Saimei Tennou”—dealt a lot with the continent, among other things.  Things on the Korean peninsula were heating up, and the Tang was continuing to push against those on their borders, both along the Silk Road to the West, but also against states like Goguryeo, in the northeast.  And yet it wasn't a time of constant warfare, either.  We'll do our best to look at what was happening. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

I provide 8 Tips on How to know if you have a great Dr or one you need to say goodbye to. It can feel intimidating to stand up for your self and advicate for your health. It is key to confidently do so and while in good company. Want to confidently walk into the doctor's office knowing what to expect? We dive deeper on this in KGN University, so that you feel well equiped and on an equal playing field.

https://sharleenlawrence.com/

¡Hola! Soy Jaime Sotomayor, conductor del podcast Innovación Sin Barreras.En este episodio, descubriremos una startup que utiliza la gamificación para que sus clientes puedan educar a sus usuarios en las soluciones que brindan. Para ello, nos acompaña Gonzalo Waisman, CEO y cofundador de Hashi, una plataforma que gamifica la experiencia bancaria y financiera con contenido. Hashi aumenta la frecuencia de transacciones y el tiempo del usuario dentro de la app, generando un diferenciador frente a otras plataformas.Gonzalo nos comparte:¿Qué es lo que hacen en Hashi?

Welcome to episode 273 of The Cloud Pod, where the forecast is always cloudy! Hold onto your butts – this week your hosts Justin, Ryan, Matthew and (eventually) Jonathan are bringing you two weeks worth of cloud and AI news. We've got Karpenter, Kubernetes, and Secrets, plus news from OpenAI, MFA changes that are going to be super fun for Matthew, and Azure Phi. Get comfy – it's going to be a doozy! Titles we almost went with this week: The Cloud Pod Teaches Azure-normalized Camel Casing The Cloud Pod Travels to Malaysia Azure Detaches Itself From its Own Scale Sets The Cloud Pod Conditionally Writes Show Notes  You got MFA! The Cloud Pod Delays Deleting Itself The Cloud Pod is Now the Cloud Pod Podcast! A big thanks to this week's sponsor: We're sponsorless! Want to get your brand, company, or service in front of a very enthusiastic group of cloud news seekers? You've come to the right place! Send us an email or hit us up on our slack channel for more info.  General News 01:37 Terraform AzureRM provider 4.0 adds provider-defined functions  Terraform is announcing the GA of Terraform AzureRM provider 4.0.  The new version improves the extensibility and flexibility in the provider.  Since the Providers’ Last major release in March 2022, Hashi has added support for some 340 resources and 120 data sources, bringing the total Azure resources to 1,101 resources and almost 360 data sources.  The provider has topped 660M downloads, MS and Hashi continue to develop new, innovative integrations that further ease the cloud adoption journey to enterprise organizations.  With Terraform 1.8, providers can implement custom functions that you can call from the Terraform configuration. The new provider adds two Azure-specific provider functions to let users correct the casing of their resource IDs or access the individual components of it.  Previously, the Azure RM provider took an all-or-nothing approach to Azure resource provider registration, where the Terraform provider would either attempt to register a fixed set of 68 providers upon initialization or registration or be skipped.  This didn't match Microsoft’s recommendations, which are to register resource providers only as needed, and to enable the services you're actively using.  With adding two new feature flags, resource_provider_registrations and resource_providers_to_register, users now have more control over which providers to register automatically or whether to continue managing a subscription resources provider.  AzureRM has removed a number of deprecated items, and it is recommended that you look at the removed resources/data sources and the

Join us today as guest expert in Mindset & Stress, Lyndsay Gilson, shares some powerful insight on minset along with helpful tips! Mindset is a core foundation of Keto Girl Nutritionist. Knowing the right strategy is the first half, the rest is mindset!  You can find Lyndsay at: Instagram  & Website.  She is also a guest expert in the KGN University Membership going LIVE and providing valuable training with Q/A.

The summer slump is real! Coming out of summer, and then realizing "ugh, I didn't meat my goals and I feel blah." I will be providing 3 helpful hacks including mindset and meal prep to help ease you back in gently! Routine is amazing, but taking gentle actionable steps to see effective results are key! Click here to grab my NEW 14 Day Thyroid Reset Course!

Today we chat about "to be or not to be" in ketosis with a hormone and thyroid condition, and what exactly that looks like. Click here to purchase the blood ketone and glucose kit. Get 10% off using promo code: KETOGIRL Join the KGN University Membership TODAY!

Today we are chatting about why you may have stopped losing weight following the Keto Girl Method, how to troubleshoot it, and discussed what the difference was in a weight plateau vs a set-point weight. Feeling like you need support and accountability with monthly trainings, meal plans, & community? Join KGN University today!

Today we are chatting about how 90% of women with Hypothyroidism do in fact have this according to the research. In fact, by testing your TPO Antibody lab, you could discover it up to 10 years before even receiving any thyroid diagnosis. Ready to receive the support with all the training and meal plans to help you heal your thyroid condition? Click here.

(Lander, WY) – The KOVE 1330 AM / 107.7 FM Today in the 10 interview series Coffee Time continued today with host Vince Tropea, who recently spoke with documentarian and author Alan O'Hashi. O'Hashi will be in Lander for two presentations as a part of the the Lander Pioneer Museum and Wyoming Community Bank's 2024 Discovery Speaker Series. The first will be the Wyoming debut of “The Arapaho Covered Wagon Redux,” which retells the 1923 silent film “The Covered Wagon,” with a new soundtrack, recorded by the Northern Arapaho Eagle Society (led by Michael Ridgebear and the Boulder Symphony & Music Academy led by Music Director Devin Patrick Hughes). The screening, which will take place in the livery stable on June 3 at 7 p.m., is two hours, and will be followed by a Q and A session with O'Hashi and Northern Arapaho Tribal representatives. Then on Tuesday, June 4, O'Hashi will be giving a talk about his new novel “Libby Flats,” which takes place in Wyoming, in the Main Museum at 7 p.m. You can hear more about the film and the book from O'Hashi himself in the full Coffee Time interview below! Be sure to tune in to Today in the 10 and Coffee Time interviews every morning from 7:00 to 9:00 AM on KOVE 1330 AM / 107.7 FM, or stream it live right here.

Welcome to another episode of the Scaling Japan Podcast. In this episode, we are joined by Steve Heller, the Chief Operating Officer of Hashi Media, a rapidly rising social media and influencer marketing agency based in Tokyo. The company specializes in tech, gaming, and lifestyle brands, serving a wide range of clients from small businesses to industry giants like Alibaba, MSI, and Dell. Join us as Steve shares his expertise on influencer marketing in Japan, covering topics such as brand awareness, choosing the right platform, and more. --- This Episode is brought to you by Hashi Media, your agency for doing influencer marketing in Japan. They have helped major brands like Asus, Subway, and Alibaba, but they have also helped smaller companies with their social media and influencer marketing in Japan for both the foreign population and the Japanese market. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠hashimedia.com⁠⁠⁠ --- Links from Guest Appearance: Linkedin⁠⁠ | Hashi Media ⁠⁠⁠--- Show Notes: 00:00 Introducion 1:59 Influencer Marketing 5:01 What is an Influencer? 07:37 Unique Influencers in Japan 8:57 What is a Talento? 11:09 Tiers of Influencers 13:19 Media Platforms Influencers Use in Japan 15:12 Twitter as an Influencer Marketing Channel 17:29 Reaching Out to Influencers and Content Creators 20:43 Differences Between the Tiers 23:31 Advantages of Working With Hashi Media 25:43 Conflict Between Influencers and Agencies 28:57 Tips For a Company Doing Effective Influencer Marketing in Japan 32:27 Measuring the Success of a Campaign  36:39 Foreign Influencer Market in Japan 43:33 Trends in Influencer Marketing in Japan 44:42 Tips for Corporations Who Would Like to Work With Influencer Marketing Agencies 47:18 More Information about Hashi Media --- Exciting News for Getting More Sales in Japan !! We are thrilled to launch our live cohort course: "Mastering Sales Decks for the Japanese Market" hosted by Tyson Batino. This online program is for CEOs and sales professionals eager to enhance their sales pitches and improve their chances of securing meetings with Japanese corporate decision-makers. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://scalingyourcompany.com/salespamphlet/⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message

Today I chat about the difference and similarities between Mindful and Intuitive eating, and how it really does play a role in how you utilize it in healing your hormone and thyroid condition.  Join KGN University Membership here.

This week, we discuss IBM's intent to acquire HashiCorp, the state of Open Source Businesses, and the (slow) adoption of Continuous Integration. Plus, some thoughts on the end of non-compete agreements. Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXl62_VMX0) 465 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXl62_VMX0) Runner-up Titles Extra Innings Later Innings Customer is always right, except for pricing Leave the party crying Put a price on it Rundown Hashi Introducing The Infrastructure Cloud (https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/introducing-the-infrastructure-cloud) HashiCorp unveils The Infrastructure Cloud, a unified platform for cloud Infrastructure and Security Lifecycle Management (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/04/22/2866901/0/en/HashiCorp-unveils-The-Infrastructure-Cloud-a-unified-platform-for-cloud-Infrastructure-and-Security-Lifecycle-Management.html) IBM to Acquire HashiCorp, Inc. Creating a Comprehensive End-to-End Hybrid Cloud Platform (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-to-acquire-hashicorp-inc-creating-a-comprehensive-end-to-end-hybrid-cloud-platform-302126646.html) IBM to acquire Hashi for $6.4 billion, seeks software boost (https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/25/ibm_q1_2024/) IBM falls as enterprise-spending constraints choke consulting demand (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ibm-falls-enterprise-spending-constraints-115210911.html) IBM Is Buying HashiCorp. What Comes Next? (https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinwarren/2024/04/26/ibm-is-buying-hashicorp-what-comes-next/) The threat to open source comes from within (https://newsletter.goodtechthings.com/p/the-threat-to-open-source-comes-from) You should automate your builds and tests - 71% of people do not “use continuous integration to automatically build and test my code changes.” (https://newsletter.cote.io/p/you-should-automate-your-builds-and) FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes) Relevant to your Interests AlmaLinux 9.4 beta: RHEL compatible, but a little different (https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/17/almalinux_94_ciq_lts_kernels/) Building for our AI future (https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/building-ai-future-april-2024/) Lacework, last valued at $8.3B, is in talks to sell for just $150M to $300M, say sources (https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/18/wiz-is-in-talks-to-buy-lacework-for-150-200m-security-firm-was-last-valued-at-8-3b/) Amazon recently bought a $650 million nuclear-powered data center (https://x.com/finmoorhouse/status/1781022862482059444) Lacework, last valued at $8.3B, is in talks to sell for just $150M to $300M, say sources (https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/18/wiz-is-in-talks-to-buy-lacework-for-150-200m-security-firm-was-last-valued-at-8-3b/) Netflix Dealt With the Freeloaders. Its Next Act Will Be Tougher. (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/netflix-earnings-analysis-23b12db8) Tesla recalls the Cybertruck for faulty accelerator pedals that can get stuck (https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/19/tesla-cybertruck-throttle-accelerator-pedal-stuck/) Do software companies actually have good margins? (https://benn.substack.com/p/do-software-companies-actually-have) Women Who Code: Influential tech network shuts down unexpectedly (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw0769446nyo) The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat (https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships) Tesla's Q&A with investors rips open Musk anguish: ‘Will you please at least appear to make Tesla your top priority?' (https://fortune.com/2024/04/19/teslas-investors-musk-anguish-conduct-x-erratic/) The SignalFire State of Talent Report: 2023 tech employee trends (https://www.signalfire.com/blog/state-of-talent-tech-trends) Appeals court rules that cops can physically make you unlock your phone (https://reason.com/2024/04/19/appeals-court-rules-that-cops-can-physically-make-you-unlock-your-phone/) Improve cost visibility of Amazon EKS with AWS Split Cost Allocation Data | Amazon Web Services (https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws-cloud-financial-management/improve-cost-visibility-of-amazon-eks-with-aws-split-cost-allocation-data/) Introducing Our Open Mixed Reality Ecosystem | Meta (https://about.fb.com/news/2024/04/introducing-our-open-mixed-reality-ecosystem/) US is reviewing risks of China's use of RISC-V chip technology (https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-is-reviewing-risks-chinas-use-risc-v-chip-technology-2024-04-23/) Google's First Tensor Processing Unit : Origins (https://open.substack.com/pub/thechipletter/p/googles-first-tensor-processing-unit?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) UnitedHealth says Change hackers stole health data on 'substantial proportion of people in America' | TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/22/unitedhealth-change-healthcare-hackers-substantial-proportion-americans/) Broadcom Tells Partner Negotiating For Charity ‘VMware Is Not For Everybody' (https://www.crn.com/news/virtualization/2024/broadcom-tells-partner-negotiating-for-charity-vmware-is-not-for-everybody) Oracle is moving its world headquarters to Nashville to be closer to health-care industry (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/23/oracle-is-moving-its-world-hq-to-nashville.html) Congress Passed a Bill That Could Ban TikTok. Now Comes the Hard Part. (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/technology/tiktok-ban-bill-congress.html) The Coca-Cola Company and Microsoft announce five-year strategic partnership to accelerate cloud and generative AI initiatives - Stories (https://news.microsoft.com/2024/04/23/the-coca-cola-company-and-microsoft-announce-five-year-strategic-partnership-to-accelerate-cloud-and-generative-ai-initiatives/) Atlassian Co-CEO Scott Farquhar Resigns, Leaving Mike Cannon-Brookes as Sole Chief (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-25/atlassian-team-co-ceo-farquhar-resigns-leaving-cannon-brookes-as-sole-chief) Thoma Bravo to buy UK-listed Darktrace for £4.3bn (https://www.ft.com/content/44b9884b-0b7b-4cb7-b372-0b390ed96947) All we have to fear is FUD itself — Oxide and Friends (https://overcast.fm/+4jBHj8QDI) The walls of Apple's garden are tumbling down (https://www.theverge.com/24141929/apple-iphone-imessage-antitrust-dma-lock-in) We're moving continuous integration back to developer machines (https://world.hey.com/dhh/we-re-moving-continuous-integration-back-to-developer-machines-3ac6c611) Enterprise Browser Island Receives Capital at $3 Billion Value (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-30/enterprise-browser-island-receives-capital-at-3-billion-value) Kubernetes Market Sizing Windmills (https://newsletter.cote.io/p/kubernetes-market-sizing-windmills?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=50&post_id=144035534&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2l9&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email) FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes) Amazon cloud unit kills Snowmobile data transfer truck eight years after driving 18-wheeler onstage (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/17/aws-stops-selling-snowmobile-truck-for-cloud-migrations.html) The Port State of Platform Engineering in two surveys (https://newsletter.cote.io/p/the-port-state-of-platform-engineering?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=50&post_id=143633003&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2l9&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email) Cloud native platforms: To build or to buy? (https://www.cio.com/article/2091709/cloud-native-platforms-to-build-or-to-buy.html) State of DevSecOps | Datadog (https://www.datadoghq.com/state-of-devsecops/) Letter from Edward Norton, Founder of Zeck (https://www.zeck.app/letter-from-edward-norton-founder-of-zeck), Why Zeck (https://www.zeck.app/why-zeck) The Man Who Killed Google Search (https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/) Alphabet earnings are out — here are the numbers (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/25/alphabet-set-to-report-first-quarter-results-after-market-close.html) Alphabet stock surges on earnings beat, dividend announcement (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-stock-surges-on-earnings-beat-dividend-announcement-142011040.html) Amazon earnings are out — here are the numbers (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/30/amazon-amzn-q1-earnings-report-2024.html) Microsoft earnings are out – here are the numbers (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/25/microsoft-msft-q3-earnings-2024.html) Nonsense Adam Neumann moves to buy back WeWork as it seeks funds to exit bankruptcy (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adam-neumann-moves-buy-back-045708441.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosprorata&stream=top) A Mansion, Two Dogs and a Wall: Inside The Conflict Between a Utah Billionaire And His Neighbors (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-17/cloudflare-billionaire-matthew-prince-fights-utah-locals-over-house-dogs-wall) Red Lobster Is Reportedly Heading For Bankruptcy After Losing Millions On Endless Shrimp (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/red-lobster-is-reportedly-heading-for-bankruptcy-after-losing-millions-on-endless-shrimp/ar-AA1nnPt7) Conferences Executive Dinner in Atlanta, May 22nd (https://sincusa.com/events/tanzu-atlanta-ga-dinner/) NDC Oslo (https://substack.com/redirect/8de3819c-db2b-47c8-bd7a-f0a40103de9e?j=eyJ1IjoiMmQ0byJ9.QKaKsDzwnXK5ipYhX0mLOvRP3vpk_3o2b5dd3FXmAkw), Coté speaking (https://substack.com/redirect/41e821af-36ba-4dbb-993c-20755d5f040a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmQ0byJ9.QKaKsDzwnXK5ipYhX0mLOvRP3vpk_3o2b5dd3FXmAkw), June 12th. DevOpsDays Amsterdam (https://devopsdays.org/events/2024-amsterdam/welcome/), June 19-21, 2024, Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Birmingham, August 19–21, 2024 (https://devopsdays.org/events/2024-birmingham-al/welcome/). SDT news & hype Join us in Slack (http://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/slack). Get a SDT Sticker! Send your postal address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com) and we will send you free laptop stickers! Follow us: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured). Use the code SDT to get $20 off Coté's book, Digital WTF (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt), so $5 total. Become a sponsor of Software Defined Talk (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads)! Recommendations Brandon: MarkdownDown (https://markdowndown.vercel.app/) BBEdit's Extract and new feature blindness (https://leancrew.com/all-this/2016/05/bbedits-extract-and-new-feature-blindness/) Coté: Adam Savage Q&A (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtitKU0CAeg88RBY08TZkB7dcVmJLJLJ) Photo Credits Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-building-with-a-sign-on-the-side-of-it-4EnA55QfxKo) Artwork (https://unsplash.com/photos/two-burger-with-lettuce-and-tomato-ndNw_6QGR_c)

Welcome to episode 256 of the Cloud Pod podcast – where the forecast is always cloudy! This week your hosts, Justin and Matthew are here this week to catch you up on all the news you may have missed while Google Next was going on. We've got all the latest news on the custom silicon hot war that's developing, some secret sync, drama between HashiCorp and OpenTofu, and one more Google Next recap – plus much more in today's episode. Welcome to the Cloud!  Titles we almost went with this week: I have a Google Next sized hangover Claude's Magnificent Opus now on AWS US-EAST-1 Gets called Reliable; how insulting The cloud pod flies on a g6  A big thanks to this week's sponsor:   Check out Sonrai Securities’ new Cloud Permission Firewall. Just for our listeners, enjoy a 14 day trial at www.sonrai.co/cloudpod General News  Today, we get caught up on the other Clouds from last week, and other news (besides Google, that is.) Buckle up.  04:11 OpenTofu Project Denies HashiCorp's Allegations of Code Theft  After our news cutoff before Google Next, Hashicorp issued a strongly worded Cease and Desist letter to the OpenTofu project, accusing that the project has “repeatedly taken code Hashi provided under the BSL and used it in a manner that violates those license terms and Hashi's intellectual properties.” It notes that in some instances, OpenTofu has incorrectly re-labeled Hashicorp's code to make it appear as if it was made available by Hashi, originally under a different license.  Hashi gave them until April 10th to remove any allegedly copied code from the OpenTofu repo, threatening litigation if the project failed to do so.  OpenTofu struck back – and they came with receipts!  They deny that any BSL licensed code was incorporated into the OpenTofu repo, and that any code they copied came from the MPL-Licensed version of terraform. “The OpenTofu team vehemently disagrees with any suggestions that it misappropriated, mis-sourced or misused Hashi's BSL code. All such statements have zero basis in facts” — Open Tofu Team OpenTofu showed how the code they accused was lifted from the BSL code, was actually in the MPL version, and then copied into the BSL version from an older version by a Hashi Engineer.  Anticipating third party contributions might submit BSL terraform code unwittingly or otherwise, OpenTofu instituted a “taint team” to compare Terraform and Open Tofu Pull requests. If the PR is found to be in breach of intellectual property rights, the pull request is closed and the contributor is closed from working on that area of the code in the future.  Matt Asay, (from Mongo) writing for Infoworld, dropped a hit piece when the C&D was filed, but then

Toda we talk about the thyroid and supplements. How do you know what supplements to take and when? Here is my blog to read about the supplements.  Ready to get to the root of your thyroid condition? Join the KGN University Membership today by clicking here.

The topic of gut health comes up often on this show. It's important to revisit it because for everyone with an autoimmune thyroid condition, there will be be leaky gut and other gut issues to be dealt with.In this episode, I talk with Donna Monthei, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Licensed Dietitian about a range of gut health topics including:- Donna's personal Hashimoto's story and then gut issue after taking 2 different antibiotics.- The gut-thyroid and gut-autoimmunity connection.- How to test for leaky gut and other gut issues.- The impact of antibiotics on the gut.- Parasites - what they are, how to know if you have one and should everyone do a parasite cleanse?- Ways to take your thyroid meds that bypass the digestive system, where appropriate.What is ONE THING you can take away from this episode?Donna Monthei is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Licensed Dietitian. She is the founder of EverVital Nutrition and creator of The Complete Gut Fix Program.  As a gut health expert, Donna has 20+ years of experience working with hundreds of people with chronic gut symptoms to help them poop like champions!

Today we talk about how it's medically possible to get off thyroid meds. As long as you have a thyroid, you can absolutely get off and stay off; even if you've been on meds for 30+ years! The key? We talk all about that and stay till the end to find out just how short it takes. To join the KGN University Membership, click here. Get 40% off your first month with code: KGN40

The Hashi episode is here! I am so excited about this one friends, before my diagnosis, my symptoms led me to find Sarah's amazing workouts on her Youtube channel and since then, I knew I wanted to have her on the podcast! You are going to LOVE this episode, it is packed with information and helpful tools, whether you're curious about hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's or maybe you have it and need your partner or family member to understand? Share this episode with them. Sign up for the next VITALIZE cohort waitlist here. Stay connected with Magali here: InstagramSign up to the newsletter Podcast IGPodcast YoutubeSarah Sanders is a certified personal trainer + nutritionist helping women struggling with Hashimoto's to reverse their symptoms through mindset, movement, and nourishment. She's lived Hashimoto's for 10 years and is incredibly passionate about helping other Hashi warriors reclaim their lives. When Sarah's not coaching you can find her raising her spirited toddler, working out, or enjoying her small town, country life in Pound Ridge, NY. Stay Connected with Sarah on IG here.

We chat about the 4 tips on how to lose your first 10 lbs successfully, in a manner that makes it sustainable and consistent. Weight loss looks different for someone with a hormone and thyroid condition. Need more support? Join my NEW Membership: KGN University! Click here to learn more.

Members: Danny, TySpecial Guest: Jonny Metts00:00:00 Intro00:05:34 Jonny's Japan Experience00:20:13 84 (Hashi) Game Bar in Tokyo Game Bar in Tokyo00:31:02 Jonny - Gimmick: Special Edition & Sea of Stars00:45:54 Ty - Palworld01:04:08 Danny - Backbone & Cloud Gaming01:14:19 Now Playing at TheFamicast.com01:16:25 JAPANews - New GBA Games on Switch01:23:15 JAPANews - Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo Returns...Kinda...01:30:42 JAPANews - eBaseball Power Pros Overload & More01:35:33 Ty's Anime Trash: The Unboxing (TM) & Jonny's GET02:01:03 OutroThank you so much for subscribing, listening and for your support! Email: thefamicast (at) gmail (dot) comPatreon: patreon.com/thefamicastX: @thefamicastYouTube: youtube.com/thefamicast

What are the symptoms of mold illness and how do you clear your body and home from mold? My guest, Dr. Emily Kiberd, shares her story of recovering from mold illness symptoms and navigating more than a dozen moldy homes. A chiropractor, Dr. Emily Kiberd never expected to add “mold specialist” to her list of qualifications. But then, she also never expected to find herself in at least seven moldy homes over the past 14 years, from New York City to Colorado. Across the years, she's repeatedly seen mold-related symptoms arise in herself and her family. Each time, she's had to take a multi-pronged approach to detox her body and either leave her home or remediate. Emily shared her journey and what she's learned along the way about recovery, inspection, remediation, and more. In our conversation, you'll hear about… Her journey of escaping mold across multiple homes in two states The mold-triggered symptoms she experiences and the symptoms she sees in her kids How Emily has addressed her own and her family's mold symptoms Other symptoms that may be linked to mold How she's addressed mold in various homes How you might approach finding mold in your own home Types of mold testing for your body and home Ways to save money by starting with your own visual inspection and some tools to do this on your own When to hire mold inspectors and remediators What happens if you can't find the source? How to decide whether to stay or go if your home is moldy How certain molds like certain types of materials and how to correlate that with your lab tests About Dr. Emily Kiberd Dr Emily Kiberd is a chiropractor of 16 years, mama to Elvis and Brooklyn, and founder of Thyroid Strong, the only doctor-designed strength program for the Hashi ladies to work out without burnout. Thyroid Strong marries the functional movement workouts with functional medicine to heal Hashimoto's symptoms.   She put her own Hashimoto's into remission with dietary changes, refinement in her exercise routine, and lifestyle changes, including addressing underlying environmental toxins.    She's recovered from mold exposure numerous times and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to mold detox, mold inspection, and remediation. She now helps her clients living with Hashimoto's do the same to get rid of their brain fog and finally thrive.   Mentioned resources and links: Find Emily: https://www.dremilykiberd.com/ and @DrEmilyKiberd Emily's mold masterclass: www.dremilykiberd.com/mold Ritchie Shoemaker, Surviving Mold: Life in the Era of Dangerous Buildings, https://amzn.to/4aRaQkI Dr. Jill Crista, Break the Mold: 5 Tools to Conquer Mold and Take Back Your Health, https://amzn.to/3RQ51ev Dr. Andrew Campbell, https://mymycolab.com/about_us   Mold testing: ERMI testing from EnviroBiomics: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/mycotoxins/?v=7516fd43adaa   Inspection tools: Boroscope: https://amzn.to/3tNY0CV Moisture meter: https://amzn.to/3tBhKK8 Humidity meter: https://amzn.to/3tNXSmV   Episode home page: https://rebuildingmyhealth.com/how-emily-broke-free-from-mold-illness-and-7-moldy-homes/   Listen to Rebuilding My Health Radio wherever you find your favorite podcasts…   Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Alexa, Spotify, and much more! Get a copy of our free guide, Break Free from Chronic Illness: 4 Insights from Hundreds Who Have Done It. Follow Rebuilding My Health: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Audio Production, Mix & Podcast Editing by Sonorous Laboratory LLC - https://sonorouslab.com   The information in this show is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of qualified professionals. Keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for another. Always consult your healthcare practitioners before beginning new approaches or treatments. Some links on Rebuilding My Health may be affiliate links. This means that we may receive a commission - with no additional cost to you - if you make any purchases using those affiliate links. 

Shortcut to my thyroid program. The Case:  Lucy was experiencing symptoms that went back and forth She would experience heart palpitations, hot flashes, and anxiety and then she'd have periods of fatigue Her doctor suspected hyperthyroidism and tested her for Graves I knew that there was reason to investigate further because her symptoms weren't adding up. When it comes to hyperthyroidism, there's one person I often turn to - Dr. Eric Osansky, a chiropractor and host of the ‘Save My Thyroid' podcast.  His interest in hyperthyroidism comes from his personal Graves diagnosis in 2008. He is also the author of 2 thyroid books, ‘Natural Solutions for Hypothyroidism and Graves' Disease' and ‘Hashimoto's Triggers: Eliminate Your Thyroid Symptoms by Finding and Removing Your Triggers' On this show, we talk a lot about hypothyroidism and how Hashimoto's can be at play. Many don't think that Hashimoto's can also be present when someone has an overactive thyroid (Hyperthyroidism and sometimes Graves' Disease). It all starts by looking at and understanding TSH levels.  Reviewing the Basics of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) The thyroid gland is a critical component of our endocrine system, responsible for regulating our metabolism. When it comes to thyroid assessments, most practitioners start by examining the Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH). Dr. Osansky explained that TSH stands for "Thyroid Stimulation-Communicating Hormone" and is produced by the pituitary gland. This hormone plays a vital role in communicating with the thyroid and serves as a fundamental element of many thyroid evaluations. When it comes to hypothyroidism, including conditions like Hashimoto's, you'll often see elevated TSH levels. This is because the thyroid hormone in the body is on the lower side. It might be just within the lab's reference range, or it could be overtly low. In response, the pituitary gland sends a clear signal to the thyroid: "We need more thyroid hormone!" This signal takes the form of an increased TSH level, prompting the thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone. Conversely, in the case of hyperthyroidism, it's the complete opposite. With hyperthyroidism, there's an excess of thyroid hormone circulating in the bloodstream, mainly bound to proteins. In this scenario, the pituitary gland signals the thyroid to slow down production. As a result, you'll commonly observe not only low TSH but sometimes an undetectable TSH, especially in conditions like Graves' disease. This undetectable TSH indicates that the pituitary is working hard to halt the overproduction of thyroid hormone. So, while TSH levels can provide valuable insights, they're just one piece of the puzzle. We need to dig deeper into the thyroid hormones to get the full picture.  Comprehensive Thyroid Testing is Always Key According to Dr. Eric, to reach a proper diagnosis, we must also examine the thyroid hormones, particularly free T3 and free T4. These free hormones offer a more accurate representation of thyroid function. In hyperthyroidism, where the thyroid hormones are typically elevated, examining free T3 and free T4 alone is often sufficient because total hormones will also be elevated. On the other hand, in hypothyroidism, some practitioners prefer to assess not only free hormones but also total hormones to gauge production since a significant portion of thyroid hormone is bound to proteins. Let's not forget reverse T3, an inactive form of T3. It's a bit of a controversial character in the thyroid world. Some suggest that reverse T3 may act as a blocking agent, especially in hyperthyroidism. Elevated reverse T3 levels are common in this condition, further hinting at its role in dampening excessive thyroid hormone activity.  But the thyroid's complexity doesn't end here. We also need to consider antibodies, which play a crucial role in autoimmune thyroid conditions like Hashimoto's. Plus, keep in mind that it's not just the thyroid at play; the pituitary gland could be throwing a wrench in the works too. Pituitary issues, such as a pituitary adenoma, can also affect TSH levels and the overall thyroid regulation. So, always remember that a comprehensive view is essential when evaluating thyroid health. What is Hashi-Toxicosis?  Hashi-toxicosis is a fascinating term that combines "Hashimoto's" and "toxicosis." It essentially refers to Hashimoto's thyroiditis with intermittent episodes of hyperthyroidism. When someone has Hashimoto's, the autoimmune attack damages the thyroid gland, causing it to release excessive thyroid hormone into the bloodstream. Consequently, when you get a blood test during such an episode, it can appear as hyperthyroidism. However, it's different from Graves' disease, where specific antibodies continuously stimulate the thyroid gland. In Hashi-toxicosis, these episodes of hyperthyroidism are transient, meaning they come and go. The duration varies from person to person, some experiencing these episodes for a few hours, while others may have them for a few days. These fluctuations can be triggered by various factors. For some, hormonal changes, like those related to the menstrual cycle or stressful events, can lead to these episodes. It's important to note that the frequency of these flares varies among individuals. Some may experience them frequently, while others only encounter them occasionally. In my own journey, I've had a couple of Hashi-toxicosis flares, both linked to high-stress events – one after moving and the other postpartum. These personal experiences have taught me that hormonal changes can significantly influence the frequency of these episodes. For those who face occasional flares, it can be a bewildering experience.  When I had my first episode, nearly two decades ago, it looked a lot like Lucy's situation. The doctor ran tests during a flare, and my thyroid hormone levels were off the charts. Not just my TSH, but all my thyroid hormones were elevated, which was rather unusual. The doctor even suggested the possibility of thyroid removal. Thankfully, my knowledge about Hashimoto's helped me question this recommendation, as I knew there was more to the story than met the eye. Get Curious About Unusual Thyroid Results It's absolutely crucial to explore all the possibilities when dealing with thyroid issues and stop the attack on our thyroid gland. Now, consider a scenario where someone, like Lucy, has a low TSH and elevated hormone levels. If it's not clear whether this is a transient episode, it's essential to retest and, most importantly, assess the antibodies. But what if the antibodies turn out to be negative, including TSI? What else could be behind these hyperthyroid symptoms and unusual lab results?  Dr. Osasnsky introduced the possibility of subacute thyroiditis. This condition often arises from viral infections, such as cytomegalovirus or even, more recently, the effects of COVID. It triggers significant inflammation in the thyroid, resulting in excess thyroid hormone production. Strangely, the presentation mirrors Graves' disease, yet the antibodies are absent. However, in most cases, within two to four months, this hyper phase shifts to a hypo state, and often, the hypothyroidism is temporary, eventually returning to a normal thyroid balance. One more thing to consider is medication. For example, if someone is taking a high amount of natural or synthetic thyroid, (whether it's levothyroxine or desiccated thyroid hormone) it can cause too much thyroid hormone. Nodules on the Thyroid and What They Mean In the world of thyroid health, nodules are a hot topic, and I get a lot of questions about them. One common query is, "Can nodules ever cause hypothyroidism?"  Dr. Osansky, explains that nodules typically don't lead to hypothyroidism directly. In fact, most of the time, they don't cause either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.  However, there's a bit of a gray area. In some cases, people with larger nodules, especially those over two centimeters, might experience changes in their TSH levels. Sometimes you'll see a depressed TSH with multinodular goiter, but the thyroid hormone levels will appear normal. So it's not exactly the nodules themselves causing hypothyroidism; it's more like a subtle alteration in the thyroid function. Of course, it's essential to consider that the interpretation can vary among healthcare professionals. Thyroid lab ranges can be quite wide, and what's considered "normal" in conventional medicine may not align with optimal thyroid health. It's always a good idea to work with a practitioner who understands the nuances of thyroid function. Nodules are surprisingly common, especially as we get older. About 50% of people over 50 have nodules, and the percentage increases with age. While you can't always completely prevent nodules, there are some factors to consider. Hormone imbalances, particularly issues with estrogen metabolism, can contribute to nodule development. So addressing this aspect can be essential.  Tests like the Dutch test can help evaluate estrogen metabolites, and you may need to consult a healthcare provider knowledgeable in thyroid health for this. Insulin resistance can also play a role, and keeping an eye on your hemoglobin A1C and fasting insulin levels can be informative. Iodine is another element that can be both a cause and a potential remedy for nodules. It's a bit of a gray area, and the research isn't entirely clear. However, it's wise to be cautious with iodine supplements, as they can worsen nodules in some cases.  There are some self-care practices like castor oil packs that some people swear by, although there's limited scientific evidence. Ultimately, it's a good idea to monitor nodules with follow-up ultrasounds. If you find that they're not growing or, even better, shrinking, then you're on the right track. But always consult with a healthcare provider who understands thyroid health to guide you on the best approach for your specific situation. Treatment Approaches and Medications for Hyperthyroidism Managing hyperthyroidism often involves a multi-pronged approach. Dr. Osansky pointed out that treatment can include medications like anti-thyroid drugs, radioactive iodine therapy, or even surgery in more severe cases. The choice of treatment depends on the individual's unique situation and the underlying cause of their hyperthyroidism. And, a holistic approach is key especially if treating the thyroid (and getting levels back into optimal range) doesn't cure the symptoms, other factors need to be explored.  Mystery Solved - Lucy's Case In order to get more info on Lucy's case, we did a few rounds of blood work so that we could really track what was happening. The tests showed low TSH and high thyroid hormones (generally interpreted as a hyper state). However, tests a few weeks later told a different story ; TSH was high and thyroid hormones were low. This swing left her feeling tired.  We tested for antibodies and found she was positive for Hashimoto's but not for Graves'.  We determined that the high TSH was likely due to a Hashimoto's flare up - and that these flare ups were frequent which explained why she could go from feeling very high energy to fatigue within days.  Next Steps  We needed to calm down her immune upregulation. We initiated an immune calming protocol and started to address her triggers. We discovered that she had a few infections that were adding to her triggers including H Pylori, SIBO, EBV. This was in addition to the other triggers that we all face including issues with her diet, environment, and stress.  We all have different triggers so it's important to determine your unique triggers - this is something I work through in my thyroid program. Happy Ending After 3 months of immune balancing nutrients and trigger support, Lucy noticed so much more balance. Her antibodies dropped and her TSH stabilized and she was no longer getting those up and down swings. Eliminating Health Mysteries For Lucy, we were able to find that missing piece of the health puzzle and help her regain her health. Could this be the missing clue for you or someone in your life?    Links: Resources mentioned Thanks to my guest Dr. Eric Osansky. You can connect with him through his website, Natural Endocrine Solutions, and check out his podcast Save My Thyroid. Suggested Products N-Acetyl Cysteine Reacted Zinc Selenium Quercetin FC Cidal Dysbiocide Pyloricil Mastica Related Podcast Episodes: 78 [Ask Inna] Your Thyroid and Hashimoto's Questions Answered 106 Why You Don't Want to Ignore Symptoms of a Hyperactive Thyroid 85 The Case of the Unnecessary Thyroid Medication Thanks for Listening If you like what you heard, please rate and review this podcast. Every piece of feedback not only helps me create better shows, it helps more people find this important information. Never miss an episode -  Subscribe NOW to Health Mysteries Solved with host, Inna Topiler on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts and remember to rate and review the show! Find out more at http://healthmysteriessolved.com PLEASE NOTE All information, content, and material on this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Some of the links provided are affiliate links. This means we may make a very small amount of money should you choose to buy after clicking on them. This will in no way affect the price of the product but it helps us a tiny bit in covering our expenses.   

Welcome to episode 224 of The CloudPod Podcast - where the forecast is always cloudy! This week, your hosts Justin, Jonathan, and Ryan discuss some major changes at Terraform, including switching from open source to a BSL License. Additionally, we cover updates to Amazon S3, goodies from Storage Day, and Google Gemini vs. Open AI.  Titles we almost went with this week: None! This week's title was ✨chef's kiss✨ A big thanks to this week's sponsor: Foghorn Consulting provides top-notch cloud and DevOps engineers to the world's most innovative companies. Initiatives stalled because you have trouble hiring?  Foghorn can be burning down your DevOps and Cloud backlogs as soon as next week.

Levi McCormick, Cloud Architect at Jamf, joins Corey on Screaming in the Cloud to discuss his work modernizing baseline cloud infrastructure and his experience being on the compliance side of cloud engineering. Levi explains how he works to ensure the different departments he collaborates with are all on the same page so that different definitions don't end up in miscommunications, and why he feels a sandbox environment is an important tool that leads to a successful production environment. Levi and Corey also explore the ethics behind the latest generative AI craze. About LeviLevi is an automation engineer, with a focus on scalable infrastructure and rapid development. He leverages deep understanding of DevOps culture and cloud technologies to build platforms that scale to millions of users. His passion lies in helping others learn to cloud better.Links Referenced: Jamf: https://www.jamf.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/levi_mccormick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levimccormick/ TranscriptAnnouncer: Hello, and welcome to Screaming in the Cloud with your host, Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, Corey Quinn. This weekly show features conversations with people doing interesting work in the world of cloud, thoughtful commentary on the state of the technical world, and ridiculous titles for which Corey refuses to apologize. This is Screaming in the Cloud.Corey: Welcome to Screaming in the Cloud. I'm Corey Quinn. A longtime friend and person has been a while since he's been on the show, Levi McCormick has been promoted or punished for his sins, depending upon how you want to slice that, and he is now the Director of Cloud Engineering at Jamf. Levi, welcome back.Levi: Thanks for having me, Corey.Corey: I have to imagine internally, you put that very pronounced F everywhere, and sometimes where it doesn't belong, like your IAMf policies and whatnot.Levi: It is fun to see how people like to interpret how to pronounce our name.Corey: So, it's been a while. What were you doing before? And how did you wind up stumbling your way into your current role?Levi: [laugh]. When we last spoke, I was a cloud architect here, diving into just our general practices and trying to shore up some of them. In between, I did a short stint as director of FedRAMP. We are pursuing some certifications in that area and I led, kind of, the engineering side of the compliance journey.Corey: That sounds fairly close to hell on earth from my particular point of view, just because I've dealt in the compliance side of cloud engineering before, and it sounds super interesting from a technical level until you realize just how much of it revolves around checking the boxes, and—at least in the era I did it—explaining things to auditors that I kind of didn't feel I should have to explain to an auditor, but there you have it. Has the state of that world improved since roughly 2015?Levi: I wouldn't say it has improved. While doing this, I did feel like I drove a time machine to work, you know, we're certifying VMs, rather than container-based architectures. There was a lot of education that had to happen from us to auditors, but once they understood what we were trying to do, I think they were kind of on board. But yeah, it was a [laugh] it was a journey.Corey: So, one of the things you do—in fact, the first line in your bio talking about it—is you modernize baseline cloud infrastructure provisioning. That means an awful lot of things depending upon who it is that's answering the question. What does that look like for you?Levi: For what we're doing right now, we're trying to take what was a cobbled-together part-time project for one engineer, we're trying to modernize that, turn it into as much self-service as we can. There's a lot of steps that happen along the way, like a new workload needs to be spun up, they decide if they need a new AWS account or not, we pivot around, like, what does the access profile look like, who needs to have access to it, which things does it need to connect to, and then you look at the billing side, compliance side, and you just say, you know, “Who needs to be informed about these things?” We apply tags to the accounts, we start looking at lower-level tagging, depending on if it's a shared workload account or if it's a completely dedicated account, and we're trying to wrap all of that in automation so that it can be as click-button as possible.Corey: Historically, I found that when companies try to do this, the first few attempts at it don't often go super well. We'll be polite and say their first attempts resemble something artisanal and handcrafted, which might not be ideal for this. And then in many cases, the overreaction becomes something that is very top-down, dictatorial almost, is the way I would frame that. And the problem people learn then is that, “Oh, everyone is going to route around us because they don't want to deal with us at all.” That doesn't quite seem like your jam from what I know of you and your approach to things. How do you wind up keeping the guardrails up without driving people to shadow IT their way around you?Levi: I always want to keep it in mind that even if it's not an option, I want to at least pretend like a given team could not use our service, right? I try to bring a service mentality to it, so we're talking Accounts as a Service. And then I just think about all of the things that they would have to solve if they didn't go through us, right? Like, are they managing their finances w—imagine they had to go in and negotiate some kind of pricing deal on their own, right, all of these things that come with being part of our organization, being part of our service offering. And then just making sure, like, those things are always easier than doing it on their own.Corey: How diverse would you say that the workloads are that are in your organization? I found that in many cases, you'll have a SaaS-style company where there's one primary workload that is usually bearing the name of the company, and that's the thing that they provide to everyone. And then you have the enterprise side of the world where they have 1500 or 2000 distinct application teams working on different things, and the only thing they really have in common is, well, that all gets billed to the same company, eventually.Levi: They are fairly diverse in how… they're currently created. We've gone through a few acquisitions, we've pulled a bunch of those into our ecosystem, if you will. So, not everything has been completely modernized or brought over to, you know, standards, if you will, if such a thing even exists in companies. You know [laugh], you may pretend that they do, but you're probably lying to yourself, right? But you know, there are varying platforms, we've got a whole laundry list of languages that are being used, we've got some containerized, some VM-based, some serverless workloads, so it's all over the place. But you nailed it. Like, you know, the majority of our footprint lives in maybe a handful of, you know, SaaS offerings.Corey: Right. It's sort of a fun challenge when you start taking a looser approach to these things because someone gets back from re:Invent, like, “Well, I went to the keynote and now I have my new shopping list of things I'm going to wind up deploying,” and ehh, that never goes well, having been that person in a previous life.Levi: Yeah. And you don't want to apply too strict of governance over these things, right? You want people to be able to play, you want them to be inspired and start looking at, like, what would be—what's something that's going to move the needle in terms of our cloud architecture or product offerings or whatever we have. So, we have sandbox accounts that are pretty much wide open, we've got some light governance over those, [laugh] moreso for billing than anything. And all of our internal tooling is available, you know, like if you're using containers or whatever, like, all of that stuff is in those sandbox accounts.And that's where our kind of service offering comes into play, right? Sandbox is still an account that we tried to vend, if you will, out of our service. So, people should be building in your sandbox environments just like they are in your production as much as possible. You know, it's a place where tools can get the tires kicked and smooth out bugs before you actually get into, you know, roadmap-impacting problems.Corey: One of the fun challenges you have is, as you said, the financial aspect of this. When you've got a couple of workloads that drive most things, you can reason about them fairly intelligently, but trying to predict the future—especially when you're dealing with multi-year contract agreements with large cloud providers—becomes a little bit of a guessing game, like, “Okay. Well, how much are we going to spend on generative AI over the next three years?” The problem with that is that if you listen to an awful lot of talking heads or executive types, like, “Oh, yeah, if we're spending $100 million a year, we're going to add another 50 on top of that, just in terms of generative AI.” And it's like, press X to doubt, just because it's… I appreciate that you're excited about these things and want to play with them, but let's make sure that there's some ‘there' there before signing contracts that are painful to alter.Levi: Yeah, it's a real struggle. And we have all of these new initiatives, things people are excited for. Meanwhile, we're bringing old architecture into a new platform, if you will, or a new footprint, so we have to constantly measure those against each other. We have a very active conversation with finance and with leadership every month, or even weekly, depending on the type of project and where that spend is coming from.Corey: One of the hard parts has always been, I think, trying to get people on the finance side of the world, the engineering side of the world, and the folks who are trying to predict what the business was going to do next, all speaking the same language. It just feels like it's too easy to wind up talking past each other if you're not careful.Levi: Yeah, it's really hard. Recently taken over the FinOps practice. It's been really important for me, for us to align on what our words mean, right? What are these definitions mean? How do we come to common consensus so that eventually the communication gets faster? But we can't talk past each other. We have to know what our words mean, we have to know what each person cares about in this conversation, or what does their end goal look like? What do they want out of the conversation? So, that's been—that's taken a significant amount of time.Corey: One of the problems I have is with the term FinOps as a whole, ignoring the fact entirely that it was an existing term of art within finance for decades; great, we're just going to sidestep past that whole mess—the problem you'll see is that it just seems like that it means something different to almost everyone who hears it. And it's sort of become a marketing term more so that it has an actual description of what people are doing. Just because some companies will have a quote-unquote, “FinOps team,” that is primarily going to be run by financial analysts. And others, “Well, we have one of those lying around, but it's mostly an engineering effort on our part.”And I've seen three or four different expressions as far as team composition goes and I'm not convinced any of them are right. But again, it's easy for me to sit here and say, “Oh, that's wrong,” without having an environment of my own to run. I just tend to look at what my clients do. And, “Well, I've seen a lot of things, and they all work poorly in different ways,” is not uplifting and helpful.Levi: Yeah. I try not to get too hung up on what it's called. This is the name that a lot of people inside the company have rallied around and as long as people are interested in saving money, cool, we'll call it FinOps, you know? I mean, DevOps is the same thing, right? In some companies, you're just a sysadmin with a higher pay, and in some companies, you're building extensive cloud architecture and pipelines.Corey: Honestly, for the whole DevOps side of the world, I maintain we're all systems administrators. The tools have changed, the methodologies have changed, the processes have changed, but the responsibility of ‘keep the site up' generally has not. But if you call yourself a sysadmin, you're just asking him to, “Please pay me less money in my next job.” No, thanks.Levi: Yeah. “Where's the Exchange Server for me to click on?” Right? That's the [laugh]—if you call yourself a sysadmin [crosstalk 00:11:34]—Corey: God. You're sending me back into twitching catatonia from my early days.Levi: Exactly [laugh].Corey: So, you've been paying attention to this whole generative AI hype monster. And I want to be clear, I say this as someone who finds the technology super neat and I'm optimistic about it, but holy God, it feels like people have just lost all sense. If that's you, my apologies in advance, but I'm still going to maintain the point.Levi: I've played with all the various toys out there. I'm very curious, you know? I think it's really fun to play with them, but to, like, make your entire business pivot on a dime and pursue it just seems ridiculous to me. I hate that the cryptocurrency space has pivoted so hard into it, you know? All the people that used to be shilling coins are now out there trying to cobble together a couple API calls and turn it into an AI, right?Corey: It feels like it's just a hype cycle that people are more okay with being a part of. Like, Andy Jassy, in the earnings call a couple of weeks ago saying that every Amazon team is working with generative AI. That's not great. That's terrifying. I've been playing with the toys as well and I've asked it things like, “Oh, spit out an IAM policy for me,” or, “Oh, great, what can I do to optimize my AWS bill?” And it winds up spitting out things that sound highly plausible, but they're also just flat-out wrong. And that, it feels like a lot of these spaces, it's not coming up with a plausible answer—that's the hard part—is coming up with the one that is correct. And that's what our jobs are built around.Levi: I've been trying to explain to a lot of people how, if you only have surface knowledge of the thing that it's telling you, it probably seems really accurate, but when you have deep knowledge on the topic that you're interacting with this thing, you're going to see all of the errors. I've been using GitHub's Copilot since the launch. You know, I was in one of the previews. And I love it. Like, it speeds up my development significantly.But there have been moments where I—you know, IAM policies are a great example. You know, I had it crank out a Lambda functions policy, and it was just frankly, wrong in a lot of places [laugh]. It didn't quite imagine new AWS services, but it was really [laugh] close. The API actions were—didn't exist. It just flat-out didn't exist.Corey: I love that. I've had some magic happen early on where it could intelligently query things against the AWS pricing API, but then I asked it the same thing a month later and it gave me something completely ridiculous. It's not deterministic, which is part of the entire problem with it, too. But it's also… it can help incredibly in some weird ways I didn't see coming. But it can also cause you to spend more time chasing that thing than just doing it yourself the first time.I found a great way to help it—you know, it helped me write blog posts with it. I tell it to write a blog post about a topic and give it some bullet points and say, “Write in my voice,” and everything it says I take issue with, so then I just copy that into a text editor and then mansplain-correct the robot for 20 minutes and, oh, now I've got a serviceable first draft.Levi: And how much time did you save [laugh] right? It is fun, you know?Corey: It does help because that's better for me at least and staring at an empty page of what am I going to write? It gets me past the writer's block problem.Levi: Oh, that's a great point, yeah. Just to get the ball rolling, right, once you—it's easier to correct something that's wrong, and you're almost are spite-driven at that point, right? Like, “Let me show this AI how wrong it was and I'll write the perfect blog post.” [laugh].Corey: It feels like the companies jumping on this, if you really dig into what we're talking about, it seems like they're all very excited about the possibility of we don't have to talk to customers anymore because the robots will all do that. And I don't think that's going to go the way you want to. We just have this minor hallucination problem. Yeah, that means that lies and tries to book customers to hotel destinations that don't exist. Think about this a little more. The failure mode here is just massive.Levi: It's scary, yeah. Like, without some kind of review process, I wouldn't ship that straight to my customers, right? I wouldn't put that in front of my customer and say, like, “This is”—I'm going to take this generative output and put it right in front of them. That scares me. I think as we get deeper into it, you know, maybe we'll see… I don't know, maybe we'll put some filters or review process, or maybe it'll get better. I mean, who was it that said, you know, “This is the worst it's ever going to be?” Right, it will only get better.Corey: Well, the counterargument to that is, it will get far worse when we start putting this in charge [unintelligible 00:16:08] safety-critical systems, which I'm sure it's just a matter of time because some of these boosters are just very, very convincing. It's just thinking, how could this possibly go the worst? Ehhh. It's not good.Levi: Yeah, well, I mean, we're talking impact versus quality, right? The quality will only ever get better. But you know, if we run before we walk, the impact can definitely get wider.Corey: From where I sit, I want to see this really excel within bounded problem spaces. The one I keep waiting for is the AWS bill because it's a vast space, yes, and it's complicated as all hell, but it is bounded. There are a finite—though large—number of things you can see in an AWS bill, and there are recommendations you can make based on top of that. But everything I've seen that plays in this space gets way overconfident far too quickly, misses a bunch of very obvious lines of inquiry. Ah, I'm skeptical.Then you pass that off to unbounded problem spaces like human creativity and that just turns into an absolute disaster. So, much of what I've been doing lately has been hamstrung by people rushing to put in safeguards to make sure it doesn't accidentally say something horrible that it's stripped out a lot of the fun and the whimsy and the sarcasm in the approach, of I—at one point, I could bully a number of these things into ranking US presidents by absorbency. That's getting harder to do now because, “Nope, that's not respectful and I'm not going to do it,” is basically where it draws the line.Levi: The one thing that I always struggle with is, like, how much of the models are trained on intellectual property or, when you distill it down, pure like human suffering, right? Like, this is somebody's art, they've worked hard, they've suffered for it, they put it out there in the world, and now it's just been pulled in and adopted by this tool that—you know, how many of the examples of, “Give me art in the style of,” right, and you just see hundreds and hundreds of pieces that I mean, frankly, are eerily identical to the style.Corey: Even down to the signature, in some cases. Yeah.Levi: Yeah, exactly. You know, and I think that we can't lose sight of that, right? Like, these tools are fun and you know, they're fun to play with, it's really interesting to explore what's possible, but we can't lose sight of the fact that there are ultimately people behind these things.Corey: This episode is sponsored in part by Panoptica.  Panoptica simplifies container deployment, monitoring, and security, protecting the entire application stack from build to runtime. Scalable across clusters and multi-cloud environments, Panoptica secures containers, serverless APIs, and Kubernetes with a unified view, reducing operational complexity and promoting collaboration by integrating with commonly used developer, SRE, and SecOps tools. Panoptica ensures compliance with regulatory mandates and CIS benchmarks for best practice conformity. Privacy teams can monitor API traffic and identify sensitive data, while identifying open-source components vulnerable to attacks that require patching. Proactively addressing security issues with Panoptica allows businesses to focus on mitigating critical risks and protecting their interests. Learn more about Panoptica today at panoptica.app.Corey: I think it matters, on some level, what the medium is. When I'm writing, I will still use turns of phrase from time to time that I first encountered when I was reading things in the 1990s. And that phrase stuck with me and became part of my lexicon. And I don't remember where I originally encountered some of these things; I just know I use those raises an awful lot. And that has become part and parcel of who and what I am.Which is also, I have no problem telling it to write a blog post in the style of Corey Quinn and then ripping a part of that out, but anything that's left in there, cool. I'm plagiarizing the thing that plagiarized from me and I find that to be one of those ethically just moments there. But written word is one thing depending on what exactly it's taking from you, but visual style for art, that's something else entirely.Levi: There's a real ethical issue here. These things can absorb far much more information than you ever could in your entire lifetime, right, so that you can only quote-unquote, you know, “Copy, borrow, steal,” from a handful of other people in your entire life, right? Whereas this thing could do hundreds or thousands of people per minute. I think that's where the calculus needs to be, right? How many people can we impact with this thing?Corey: This is also nothing new, where originally in the olden times, great, copyright wasn't really a thing because writing a book was a massive, massive undertaking. That was something that you'd have to do by hand, and then oh, you want a copy of the book? You'd have to have a scribe go and copy the thing. Well then, suddenly the printing press came along, and okay, that changes things a bit.And then we continue to evolve there to digital distribution where suddenly it's just bits on a disk that I can wind up throwing halfway around the internet. And when the marginal cost of copying something becomes effectively zero, what does that change? And now we're seeing, I think, another iteration in that ongoing question. It's a weird world and I don't know that we have the framework in place even now to think about that properly. Because every time we start to get a handle on it, off we go again. It feels like if they were doing be invented today, libraries would absolutely not be considered legal. And yet, here we are.Levi: Yeah, it's a great point. Humans just do not have the ethical framework in place for a lot of these things. You know, we saw it even with the days of Napster, right? It's just—like you said, it's another iteration on the same core problem. I [laugh] don't know how to solve it. I'm not a philosopher, right?Corey: Oh, yeah. Back in the Napster days, I was on that a fair bit in high school and college because I was broke, and oh, I wanted to listen to this song. Well, it came on an album with no other good songs on it because one-hit wonders were kind of my jam, and that album cost 15, 20 bucks, or I could grab the thing for free. There was no reasonable way to consume. Then they started selling individual tracks for 99 cents and I gorged myself for years on that stuff.And now it feels like streaming has taken over the world to the point where the only people who really lose on this are the artists themselves, and I don't love that outcome. How do we have a better tomorrow for all of this? I know we're a bit off-topic from you know, cloud management, but still, this is the sort of thing I think about when everything's running smoothly in a cloud environment.Levi: It's hard to get people to make good decisions when they're so close to the edge. And I think about when I was, you know, college-age scraping by on minimum wage or barely above minimum wage, you know, it was hard to convince me that, oh yeah, you shouldn't download an MP3 of that song; you should go buy the disc, or whatever. It was really hard to make that argument when my decision was buy an album or figure out where I'm going to, you know, get my lunch. So, I think, now that I'm in a much different place in my life, you know, these decisions are a lot easier to make in an ethical way because that doesn't impact my livelihood nearly as much. And I think that is where solutions will probably come out of. The more people doing better, the easier it is for them to make good decisions.Corey: I sure hope you're right, but something I found is that okay we made it easy for people to make good decisions. Like, “Nope, you've just made it easier for me to scale a bunch of terrible ones. I can make 300,000 more terrible decisions before breakfast time now. Thanks.” And, “No, that's not what I did that for.” Yet here we are. Have you been tracking lately what's been going on with the HashiCorp license change?Levi: Um, a little bit, we use—obviously use Terraform in the company and a couple other Hashi products, and it was kind of a wildfire of, you know, how does this impact us? We dove in and we realized that it doesn't, but it is concerning.Corey: You're not effectively wrapping Terraform and then using that as the basis for how you do MDM across your customer fleets.Levi: Yeah. You know, we're not deploying customers' written Terraform into their environments or something kind of wild like that. Yeah, it doesn't impact us. But it is… it is concerning to watch a company pivot from an open-source, community-based project to, “Oh, you can't do that anymore.” It doesn't impact a lot of people who use it day-to-day, but I'm really worried about just the goodwill that they've lit on fire.Corey: One of the problems, too, is that their entire write-up on this was so vague that it was—there is no way to get an actual… piece of is it aimed at us or is it not without very deep analysis, and hope that when it comes to court, you're going to have the same analysis as—that is sympathetic. It's, what is considered to be a competitor? At least historically, it was pretty obvious. Some of these databases, “Okay great. Am I wrapping their database technology and then selling it as a service? No? I'm pretty good.”But with HashiCorp, what they do is so vast in a few key areas that no one has the level of certainty. I was pretty freaking certain that I'm not shipping MongoDB with my own wrapper around it, but am I shipping something that looks like Terraform if I'm managing someone's environment for them? I don't know. Everything's thrown into question. And you're right. It's the goodwill that currently is being set on fire.Levi: Yeah, I think people had an impression of Hashi that they were one of the good guys. You know, the quote-unquote, “Good guys,” in the space, right? Mitchell Hashimoto is out there as a very prominent coder, he's an engineer at heart, he's in the community, pretty influential on Twitter, and I think people saw them as not one of the big, faceless corporations, so to see moves like this happen, it… I think it shook a lot of people's opinions of them and scared them.Corey: Oh, yeah. They've always been the good guys in this context. Mitch and Armon were fantastic folks. I'm sure they still are. I don't know if this is necessarily even coming from them. It's market forces, what are investors demanding? They see everyone is using Terraform. How does that compare to HashiCorp's market value?This is one of the inherent problems if I'm being direct, of the end-stages of capitalism, where it's, “Okay, we're delivering on a lot of value. How do we capture ever more of it and growing massively?” And I don't know. I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think anyone's thrilled with this outcome. Because, let's be clear, it is not going to meaningfully juice their numbers at all. They're going to be setting up a lot of ill will against them in the industry, but I don't see the upside for them. I really don't.Levi: I haven't really done any of the analysis or looked for it, I should say. Have you seen anything about what this might actually impact any providers or anything? Because you're right, like, what kind of numbers are we actually talking about here?Corey: Right. Well, there are a few folks that have done things around this that people have named for me: Spacelift being one example, Pulumi being another, and both of them are saying, “Nope, this doesn't impact us because of X, Y, and Z.” Yeah, whether it does or doesn't, they're not going to sit there and say, “Well, I guess we don't have a company anymore. Oh, well.” And shut the whole thing down and just give their customers over to HashiCorp.Their own customers would be incensed if that happened and would not go to HashiCorp if that were to be the outcome. I think, on some level, they're setting the stage for the next evolution in what it takes to manage large-scale cloud environments effectively. I think basically, every customer I've ever dealt with on my side has been a Terraform shop. I finally decided to start learning the ins and outs of it myself a few weeks ago, and well, it feels like I should have just waited a couple more weeks and then it would have become irrelevant. Awesome. Which is a bit histrionic, but still, this is going to plant seeds for people to start meaningfully competing. I hope.Levi: Yeah, I hope so too. I have always awaited releases of Terraform Cloud with great anticipation. I generally don't like managing my Terraform back-ends, you know, I don't like managing the state files, so every time Terraform Cloud has some kind of release or something, I'm looking at it because I'm excited, oh finally, maybe this is the time I get to hand it off, right? Maybe I start to get to use their product. And it has never been a really compelling answer to the problems that I have.And I've always said, like, the [laugh] cloud journey would be Google's if they just released a managed Terraform [laugh] service. And this would be one way for them to prevent that from happening. Because Google doesn't even have an Infrastructure as Code competitor. Not really. I mean, I know they have their, what, Plans or their Projects or whatever they… their Infrastructure as Code language was, but—Corey: Isn't that what Stackdriver was supposed to be? What happened with that? It's been so long.Levi: No, that's a logging solution [laugh].Corey: That's the thing. It all runs together. Not it was their operations suite that was—Levi: There we go.Corey: —formerly Stackdriver. Yeah. Now, that does include some aspects—yeah. You're right, it's still hanging out in the observability space. This is the problem is all this stuff conflates and companies are terrible at naming and Google likes to deprecate things constantly. And yeah, but there is no real competitor. CloudFormation? Please. Get serious.Levi: Hey, you're talking to a member of the CloudFormation support group here. So, I'm still a huge fan [laugh].Corey: Emotional support group, more like it, it seems these days.Levi: It is.Corey: Oh, good. It got for loops recently. We've been asking for basically that to make them a lot less wordy only for, what, ten years?Levi: Yeah. I mean, my argument is that I'm operating at the account level, right? I need to deploy to 250, 300, 500 accounts. Show me how to do that with Terraform that isn't, you know, stab your eyes out with a fork.Corey: It can be done, but it requires an awful lot of setting things up first.Levi: Exactly.Corey: That's sort of a problem. Like yeah, once you have the first 500 going, the rest are just like butter. But that's a big step one is massive, and then step two becomes easy. Yeah… no, thank you.Levi: [laugh]. I'm going to stick with my StacksSets, thank you.Corey: [laugh]. I really want to thank you for taking the time to come back on and honestly kibitz about the state of the industry with me. If people want to learn more, where's the best place for them to find you?Levi: Well, I'm still active on the space normally known as—formerly known as Twitter. You can reach out to me there. DMs are open. I'm always willing to help people learn how to cloud better. Hopefully trying to make my presence known a little bit more on LinkedIn. If you happen to be over there, reach out.Corey: And we will, of course, put links to that in the [show notes 00:30:16]. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me again. It's always a pleasure.Levi: Thanks, Corey. I always appreciate it.Corey: Levi McCormick, Director of Cloud Engineering at Jamf. I'm Cloud Economist Corey Quinn, and this is Screaming in the Cloud. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, whereas if you've hated this podcast, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, and along with an insulting comment that tells us that we completely missed the forest for the trees and that your programmfing is going to be far superior based upon generative AI.Corey: If your AWS bill keeps rising and your blood pressure is doing the same, then you need The Duckbill Group. We help companies fix their AWS bill by making it smaller and less horrifying. The Duckbill Group works for you, not AWS. We tailor recommendations to your business and we get to the point. Visit duckbillgroup.com to get started.

This week, Anna Rose (https://twitter.com/annarrose) chats with Stefan George (https://twitter.com/stefandgeorge) from Gnosis (https://twitter.com/GnosisDAO). They start with an update on the projects that have spun out of Gnosis - Safe, Zodiac, CoW Swap - as well as older experiments that the team had incubated. They then cover the evolution of Gnosis Chain from its origin as xDai, discuss the new aggregate bridge architecture Hashi and explore Gnosis Pay - an on-chain p2p payments product that fulfills some of the original motivations of Bitcoin. They discuss a range of relevant topics such as intents, prediction markets, account abstraction, ZK Bridges, decentralization and more. Here's some additional links for this episode: Previous Podcast Eps * Episode 65: Bridges, xDai and Burner Wallets with Igor & Austin (https://zeroknowledge.fm/65-2/) * Episode 183: CowSwap & DAO Tech with Gnosis's Martin Köppelmann (https://zeroknowledge.fm/183-2/) * Episode 255: Verifying Consensus On-Chain with Succinct (https://zeroknowledge.fm/255-2/) * Episode 285: Intents with Chris Goes from Anoma (https://zeroknowledge.fm/285-2/) Papers * Why sharding is great: demystifying the technical properties (https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/04/07/sharding.html) * Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System by Satoshi Nakamoto (https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/training/annual-national-training-seminar/2018/Emerging_Tech_Bitcoin_Crypto.pdf) Websites * Gnosis Pay Website (https://gnosispay.com/) * DXdao Website (https://dxdao.eth.link/) * xDai Website (https://docs.gnosischain.com/about/tokens/xdai) * EigenLayer Website (https://www.eigenlayer.xyz/) zkSummit 10 is happening in London on September 20, 2023! Apply to attend now -> zkSummit 10 Application Form (https://9lcje6jbgv1.typeform.com/zkSummit10). Polygon Labs (https://polygon.technology/) is thrilled to announce Polygon 2.0: The Value Layer for the Internet (https://polygon.technology/roadmap). Polygon 2.0 and all of our ZK tech is open-source and community-driven. Reach out to the Polygon community on Discord (https://discord.gg/0xpolygon) to learn more, contribute, or join in and build the future of Web3 together with Polygon! Bonsai, RISC Zero's (https://r0.link/ZKpodcast) most anticipated product, allows developers to prove huge programs off-chain, roll them into one succinct proof, and verify anywhere with low amounts of gas. Visit https://r0.link/ZKpodcast (https://r0.link/ZKpodcast) to learn more and sign up today for the Bonsai waitlist. If you like what we do: * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree (https://linktr.ee/zeroknowledge) * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter (https://zeroknowledge.substack.com) * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm (https://twitter.com/zeroknowledgefm) * Join us on Telegram (https://zeroknowledge.fm/telegram) * Catch us on YouTube (https://zeroknowledge.fm/)

Attention all my fellow Hashi people! Brace yourselves for this staggering stat: 95-99% of us are likely dealing with the sneaky companion known as insulin resistance, in addition to our Hashimoto's. Shockingly, your conventional doctor probably never even mentioned this to you! Fear not, in this episode, I'm here to break it all down for you. Join me as I uncover the ins and outs of insulin resistance, discover the crucial lab values to assess it, explore why so many of us struggle with it, and most importantly, learn actionable steps to effectively manage it for the long haul. Don't miss out on this essential knowledge that will empower you to take control of your health! Blood Sugar Fixxr®: https://dramiehornaman.com/collections/supplements/products/blood-sugar-fixxr Hormone Fixxr®: https://dramiehornaman.com/collections/supplements/products/hormone-fixxr CGM: (continuous glucose monitor) that I recommend: Nutrisense: http://nutrisense.io/dramie Use my code: DRAMIE Shop ALL of Dr. Amie's Fixxr Supplements: Fixxrsupps.com Subscribe to my Text Club: Text DRAMIE to 8332631365 LET'S GET YOUR LIFE BACK...Connect with Dr. Amie Hornaman Book a free discovery call: https://dramiehornaman.com/pages/book-a-call MY FAVS… Want to know what Dr Amie‘s favorite companies are that she uses on a daily basis plus grab a sweet discount? Go to: https://dramiehornaman.com/pages/sponsors FREE DOWNLOADS… Are My Labs Optimal? What Do I Do? Don't know where to start...don't know which labs are useful? And what to do when you get your results? Heal Your Hashi with Keto a 7 Day Challenge: 7 daily tasks to implement if you are looking for that nutritional change, and a challenge that can help get you on the road to healthier, dietary choices!  Can Supplements Help with Hypothyroidism? Grab this thorough guide to help you select the most advantageous supplements that will best suit your health circumstances. 3 Things You Can Do Right Now To Lose Fat: If you're frustrated and ready to give up on all efforts to lose fat ...these 3 action steps are invaluable! You can do them IMMEDIATELY.  CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Join my exclusive Facebook Group, Dr. Amie…The Thyroid Fixer®...Love Your Mirror, for a Community of HOPE and Support in your thyroid journey. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dramie/ Like me on Facebook: Amie Hornaman Nutrition and Functional Medicine Subscribe on Youtube: Dr. Amie Hornaman Follow me on Instagram: @dramiehornaman