Podcasts about Kashima

This episode we continue with the reign of Uno no Sarara, aka Jito Tenno, and look at records of the various foreigners and immigrants who came to the archipelago. This includes immigrants from the Korean peninsula as well as those foreigners with whom Yamato shared the Central Land of the Reed Plains--like the Hayato and the Emishi. We also take a look at the Yamato court's widening relationship with and use of Buddhism. Along the way we take a look at a few different incidents and reports, including omens, hunting and fishing restrictions, and a story of sweet wine that reportedly cured the worst of diseases. For more check out the podcast website: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-155 (blogpost goes live 1 Sep 2026) Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 155: Immigrants, Priests, and Sweet Wine The three priests and their companions could see the distinctive pagoda from a distance away.   It stood several stories tall, and the bells at the eave ends glinted in the morning light. To their right, a tall, conical peak stood out from the other mountains, much like a miniature Mt. Fuji.  From there, the mountains swept down to the flat plain, which then ended at the edge of the giant body of water known as Lake Biwa.  The pagoda rose up between the two, its uppermost spire jutting upwards towards the sky.  Around it, much of the flat area had been carved into rectangular rice paddies, with paths and thatched roof buildings around—most of them low to the ground, distinctive of the muro style still prominent amongst most of the common people.  As such, though it didn't come anywhere near the grandeur of the temples in the capital, even a provincial temple stood out with its tiled roof and the brightly colored, red, white, and green walls and windows.  As they approached, the group saw a crowd of people by the gates.  Many of them seemed ill and infirm.  They had come to be healed by the waters of the temple—the same healing waters that had brought these priests all the way from the capital to investigate. We are covering a bunch of different things from the reign of Uno no Sarara, from 686 to 697.  This episode we take a journey through a few different topics.  Mostly we are talking about foreigners—both those from overseas and the ones that Yamato shared the archipelago with—and with Buddhism and how the court used this continental religion that had already become a key organ of the Yamato State. To start with, let's talk about immigrants.  Immigration to the archipelago by this point isn't anything new—and I'm not just talking about the groups that came over and kickstarted the Yayoi culture and the eventual mounded tomb period that we know as the Kofun era.  There were numerous ethno-linguistic groups that fell under Yamato's hegemony, and evidence of active migration. Of the various groups on the archipelago, there appear to be several categories.  For instance, we have groups that are clearly external immigrants, from outside of the archipelago  and then we have those groups that appear to be considered indigenous, at least by Yamato's thinking.. Some of this can be seen in how they are treated, discussed, and even assimilated.  Those external, while often presented as being in a tribute status, are still treated differently from those on the archipelago, where the land borders of Yamato would abut against the territories of local ethnic groups.  This probably also had something to do with the claim that the Heavenly Grandchild and their descendants, the current Tennou, were presumably given sovereignty over the entire Land of the Central Reed Plains, aka the Japanese archipelago. External immigrants included people from Silla, and, even though the kingdoms themselves had fallen and been absorbed by Silla, Gogureyo and Baekje.  This last one might be a bit surprising if we think about it in modern terms where we tend to think in terms of citizenship and nationality first and foremost.  So we think of someone as being American, French, or Japanese based on the country they came from.  But that American might be Dine—aka Navaho—or they could identify as Cajun or their parents might have been immigrants from somewhere else and they are the first generation born in the US.  That doesn't mean they aren't American, but "American" is only part of their identity.  Likewise that Japanese person could be Ainu, Ryukyuan, or even one of the Bonin islanders.  That is to say they may be from an ethno-linguistic group other than the majority ethnic group in that nation. In the same vein, while it's true that Baekje had been conquered by Silla, that doesn't mean that the Baekje people were suddenly erased and that the people suddenly changed their lifestyles or language overnight.  And so, while they may have been subjects of the Silla kingdom, there were still Baekje people both in Silla and in the archipelago.  And as late as 690, decades after it was conquered, we see that Baekje immigrants were arriving in Japan. Similarly, we see Goguryeo immigrants who came over in 687, three years earlier, even though that kingdom no longer existed.  They were settled in Hitachi, where they were given lands, received an allowance of grain to help tide them over, and then allowed to grow their community and work, as long as they did so peacefully, under the care of the local Yamato officials. And it isn't difficult to see why people of Baekje and Goguryeo might come to the archipelago.  Their other options were to head to the Great Tang, which had been the other conquering force, or possibly to go find refuge with various Tungusic ethnic groups around the Amur river area, outside of Tang control. What actually strikes me as a bit more surprising, to be honest, is the immigration of people from Silla.  After all, Silla was ascendant, was it not?  They had just unified the peninsula and this seems like it would have been a great time to be team Silla, and yet we see people leaving to come to Yamato. For instance, in 687 we see 14 immigrants from Silla settled in Shimotsuke.  22 more were presented by the Dazai-Sochi and settled in the land of Musashi.  In 689 and then in 690 we see more Silla immigrants settled in both places.  We also had 50 people come over with Buddhist priests, though we don't know where they ended up settling.  So both Musashi and Shimotsuke were being settled with immigrants from Silla.  Musashi, if you didn't already know, is the name for the area that would largely become the Tokyo metropolis in modern times.  Shimotsuke was the land adjoining it to the northeast.  In all likelihood, all of these people were probably being located to areas near each other, even though they are mentioned as being in different provinces.  That may have been more of an administrative distinction.  That also seems to indicate that they were likely being relocated to border areas where there weren't already large populations, probably because that is where there was open land that wasn't already claimed.  We see something similar with the court sending the people from Goguryeo all the way to Hitachi. It does make me wonder what must have happened for someone to choose to come to the Japanese archipelago from Silla to be sent all the way to the far end of Yamato to work the land.  In previous centuries I would have assumed that these were captives brought back from raids against the mainland, but by all accounts—and the fact that we continue to have relatively cordial diplomatic relations between Yamato and Silla—it appears that Yamato wasn't sending raids and that these individuals were likely coming willingly.  Perhaps they were getting crowded out somewhere in Silla, and had heard of new opportunities.  Or perhaps they had done something to make them persona-non-grata, as they say, back in their home country.   Whatever the reason, there were a number of people coming over, who would have also brought their cultural and technological knowledge along with them.  And many of them were being settled in the far eastern end of Honshu—though that may be something for another time. The indigenous category includes not only the Wa people of Yamato, but also the Hayato and the Emishi.  Of these we don't have a lot of information about who they were or what languages they spoke. For the Hayato we only have a few possible words of their language, and various other things that we know from Yamato's court records.  We know that the Yamato officials needed interpreters to speak with the Hayato.  There are those that theorize that the Hayato language had evolved from one of the languages spoken during the Jomon era—which doesn't give us much to go on other than the idea that it may not have been a Japonic language.  Attempts have been made to connect the Hayato with the unique burial features and other material artifacts of southern Kyushu, and then to the previous ethnic group, known as the Kumaso—or possibly the Kuma and So—but so far there are theories but no hard and fast connections. For example, we know that the Hayato were said to be from Ata and Ohosumi, according to the records of the court, but they also only show up in the late 7th century.  Prior to that we have stories of the Kumaso, and even people called Tsuchigumo.  Were those previous names for the ancestors of the Hayato?  Or were the Hayato encountered later, as Yamato's borders expanded, having perhaps encompassed the lands of the Kumaso and now running into the Hayato?  The fact that they show up so late in the narrative is particularly interesting, as they really only get mentioned in the reign of Ohoama and then Uno no Sarara—though they would be particularly active in the years to come, when the Nihon Shoki was being compiled.  For example, we know that the Hayato were brought into the court system, and also that they resisted, with numerous rebellions in the 8th century, though at this early point, things seemed to be going well. So Hayato were coming to the court, likely seeing some benefit in their association with Yamato.  They are shown coming in fairly significant numbers as well. Meanwhile, we have the ongoing assimilation of the Emishi.  Unlike the Hayato, the Emishi have shown up in the narrative since the legendary period.  We've talked about them quite a bit in various episodes.  Even within the Emishi, the Emishi of Koshi are differentiated from the Emishi further north in Tohoku.  Linguistically, a lot of place names in Tohoku and eastern Honshu have been compared to the Ainu language, with suspicions that a related language was in use in eastern and northeastern Japan for some time.  Tohoku is also the area that most resisted Yayoi culture, based on archaeological finds.  We know that wet rice paddy agriculture also made early in-roads into Tohoku, but then retreated much farther south, perhaps because it wasn't as suitable for the colder climate at that time.  Northern material culture continued to exhibit signs of evolution from the previous Jomon era, with Hokkaido continuing a tradition that we know as the Epi-Jomon, which we first talked about back in episode 50, and several times since then as well..  There were some mounded tombs—even some keyhole shaped tombs around Sendai and Osaki, in modern Miyagi prefecture—but nothing comparable to the large numbers of tombs found in areas further to the south. The Yamato people had had regular encounters with people called "Emishi" since at least the time of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno.  During the time that Takara Hime was on the throne a second time, there were massive military operations, first against the Emishi, and then supporting them against the Mishihase people in what appears to have been Hokkaido.  The Emishi were further brought under the Yamato court and into the court rank system, and we see rank handed out to various members of the group.  Then, in the reign of Uno no Sarara, we start to see further cultural assimilation in the form of the spread of Buddhism. In 689, we are told of Shiriko, an "Emishi of Kikafu, in Ukitamu district, in Michinoku".   This possibly refers to Okitama no Kori, a district in modern Yamagata Prefecture.  Shiriko had two sons, Maro and Kanawori, who requested permission to shave their hair and become Buddhist priests.  Perhaps related to this, about twenty days before, about 231 Emishi men and women had attended a banquet under the tsuki tree by Asukadera, where they were given gifts and rank.  Did that inspire them to want to learn more about this "Buddhism" thing? Either way, Uno no Sarara agreed.  In the edict she commented that Maro and his brother were both refined and modest, despite their youth, and that they were eating vegetarian dishes and keeping the Buddhist precepts.  So presumably this wasn't a last minute decision on their part, though we should probably take the wording in the edict with at least a grain of salt, given their purpose. Only six days later we see that the court is presenting a load of gifts to an Emishi monk named Doushin.  Doushin is said to have been a Koshi Emishi, rather than the Kitafu Emishi of Michinoku.  The court granted him a Buddhist statue, a purification flag, a wine cup, a begging bowl, five-colored silk cloth, thirteen pounds of flossed silk, 10 bolts of regular cloth, ten hoes, and a saddle. Six months later there is another priest:  Jitoku, an Emishi of Michinoku, who is granted a gold-copper image of Yakushi Buddha and a gold-copper image of Kanzeon—or Kannon—Boddhisatva, as well as a bell, a begging bowl, a precious curtain, an incense burner, and a banner. What this looks like, to me, is the court promoting Buddhism among the Emishi.  This feels similar to the way that priests also spread the worship of Mt. Miwa or other kami.  While Buddhism was technically universal, the Court had ensured that they had a hand on the center of Buddhist teaching, at least early on.  Indeed, at the same time that Uno no Sarara was building up the Jingikan and bolstering the worship of Amaterasu at Ise Grand Shrine, she and the court were also leveraging Buddhism and Buddhist concepts in a variety of ways.  She put it in an edict to the ministers in 691.  She noted that they had erected Buddhist Halls and Sutra repositories, and they practiced the six monthly fasts.  The sovereigns would occasionally send Ohotoneri to inquire after the welfare of priests.  As such, they should continue to uphold the Buddhsit Faith with zealous hearts. Upholding the faith wasn't just about words.  There were actual financial contributions.  Besides the national temples, there were gifts made, such as those to the Emishi priests, mentioned earlier.  In 692, Kwansei was presented silk and cloth and commended for making white lead, which was a popular ingredient for cosmetics.  Later that year, Yamada no Mikata was granted rank, and the fact that he had gone to Silla to study as a priest is mentioned in conjunction with that, though apparently he either didn't take orders or had gone back to being a lay person.   And in 693 they gave the priest, Hokyo, 3 chou worth or rice-land.  And in 696 there were 30 houses granted as a sustenance-fief to Bendou, a priest of Daikandaiji. And that tells us the kinds of resources the State was putting towards it, but what were they using Buddhism for?  What purpose did it serve the State, or was it purely altruistic?  A big part of it, as we have discussed in the past, was through the concept of karma and merit.  The court seems to have been making a variety of decisions that look to be efforts to increase the State's merit.  This is a continuation of things we saw in Ohoama's reign, along with some new moves.  For instance, we have previously mentioned in passing how the court was giving alms to the elderly and infirm, at least in the capital, and we see a lot more amnesties—though often qualified amnesties, with various crimes excluded. Then there were things like the edict of 689, in which Hunting and Fishing were prohibited in the Sea of Muko in the province of Settsu for a distance of 1000 paces, and for 20,000 shiro on the plain of Nagino in the district of Ate in the province of Kii, and for 20,000 shiro on the plains of Mino in the district and province of Iga.  The edict also attached keepers to these places in the same way as the Sea of Takashi in the district of Ohotori in the province of Kawachi.  Right off the bat we know a few things.  First off, this is the first time we've seen an edict like this, and yet the Chronicles say that this is similar to the way that "Keepers" were attached to the Sea of Takashi in Ohotori district.  The term used for "Keepers" appears to be "shugo", which would later be used for military governors in the Kamakura period, which would eventually become the shugo daimyo and then the Sengoku daimyo—our namesake.  But in this case it appears that "shugo" is just a literal translation of a "protector".  In front of that is the word "oku", meaning to keep or preserve.  Hence Aston's translation of these people as "keepers".  What is not clear to me is whether this is a reference to something that happened earlier, and just didn't get recorded, or if the Chroniclers are talking about a later practice which the audience for the Nihon Shoki would have been familiar with.  The Takashi sea would refer to the Seto Inland Sea just off the coast of Takashi, which was in Kawachi, south of modern Osaka.    The other places we see named are the Sea of Muko, in Settsu, which would have been north and west from modern Osaka, as well as Nagino in Kii and Mino in Iga. Nagino's location is not quite certain.  Ate is likely Arida, and Nagino may be what was eventually Nago, now thought to be near or including the Hirogawa region of Wakayama.  Later there were be prohibitions on fishining in the areas of Yuasa, Hiro, and Hirogawa, so perhaps there was also a prohibition on hunting on the plains.  This is all on the west side of the Kii peninsula, south of modern Osaka, so still facing the Seto Inland Sea. Iga, however, was on the other side of the peninsula.  Given that it was in Iga district of the land of Iga, this prohibition would definitely be about hunting, and not fishing.  It is also interesting to take a look at the measurements involved.  The one clear prohibition on fishing, in the Sea of Muko, is measured in paces while the other two are mentioned as being on the "plains"—though technically it should probably be "Nagi Plain" and "Mi Plain"—and they are measured differently, in something called "shiro".  By the way, I tried to find how big a "shiro" was and I couldn't quite do it. I wonder if the difference there, though, is area versus length:  For the sea of Muko it probably meant the waters directly out from the shore of Muko, and so I imagine that the paces were measure out from a certain point, walking along the shoreline, and then you couldn't go out into the sea in those areas to fish.  For the plains you could have more definitive markers indicating a particular area that was under the prohibition. For another clue to protected areas and distances, we see later that "long-life places" were established throughout the various provinces, each one being 1000 paces.  Aston notes that "long life places" indicated areas where animals couldn't be harmed, and given that they talk about it in terms of "paces" I would assume that means these were probably more prohibitions on fishing. That language also suggests to me that there was some kind of Buddhist reasoning behind it—mercy for the creatures of the land.  It isn't clear how long these prohibitions remained in effect, either.  This may also explain an order just a few days later that a white swallow that was caught in Mike, in the land of Sanuki, should be set free.  Unusually white or albino animals were often caught and presented to the throne as auspicious omens, not always in a live state.  However, Buddhism often teaches that there is merit in releasing animals, and so this feels like it was a way of demonstrating mercy and building merit, while also acknowledging the auspicious omen that accompanied its appearance. Also in this edict is who it is directed to:  Tanaka no Ason no Norimaro, who is named as the "soryo" of Iyo.  We've mentioned this before, in passing; this was a position similar to the Dazai no Sochi.  Effectively, the government official in charge of Iyo was in charge of the entire island of Shikoku.  Unlike the Dazai no Sochi, this position does not seem to have remained for long; instead, Shikoku was divided up into separate provinces and then each province had its own governor. By the way, we've talked about Norimaro before, as well.  He was previously in charge of the mission to Silla, when they went to announce Ohoama's demise, but then ran into a bunch of diplomatic etiquette issues such that they weren't able to deliver the news—or perhaps more appropriately they decided they couldn't deliver the news.  So from representing the court on missions, Norimaro went on to become the government official in Iyo overseeing all of Shikoku.  A couple of years later he would show up again, this time sending gold and silver that had apparently been found at Mt. Mima in Uwa district—modern Uwajima.  Unfortunately, after that he disappears from the narrative, and the position seems to end with him. Speaking of animals—the presentation of auspicious plants animals continued, and was often wrapped up with amnesties and similar such things.  The year 692 seems to have been of particular significance.  There we see the Governor of Sagami presenting a pair of fledgling red crows that had been caught in Miura.  Later we see that the governor, the vice governor, and the individual who had caught the crows—Kashima no Omi no Kusu—were gifted with rank and presents, while Miura district had its taxes and forced labor remitted for a period of three years. Later that same year, the Governor of Ise presented auspicious stalks of rice while the Governor of Echizen, that is to say the western part of Koshi closest to the capital, presented a white moth.  The stalks of rice don't seem to have warranted much, but the white moth, which presumably was not just a moth that is naturally white, was apparently considered something noteworthy.  We are told that it was caught on the shore at Uragami, in the district of Tsuruga.  As such, the Fief of the Kebi no Kami—the kami of Kebi, or at least his shrine—was increased by 20 houses.  Unfortunately, we have a lacuna or gap in the text so we don't get everything else.  This is a good reminder that sometimes we don't have anything because it wasn't written down, and sometimes because accidents happen.  Either something doesn't get transcribed properly or something gets damaged early on and there aren't enough copies for it to propagate from another source. Our next omens come in 694—the same year that the Fujiwara Palace was occupied.  We are told that a white copper-pheasant was presented by Sarara in Kawachi.  So the Governor and Vice-Governor of the district received promotions, as did the many who had caught it, Osakabe no Miyatsuko no Karakuni.  Four months later, a white bat was found by a man in Araki, in Hida province.  His name was Ohokunibe no Otohi, and he didn't receive a promotion in court rank, but he did get material presents in terms of silk cloth and floss, and, perhaps more importantly, he was exempted from all forced labor for the rest of his life.  Not a bad deal, if you ask me. Now omens were good and all, but omens were hardly active expressions by the government.  When things were happening—like damaging rains—or perhaps not happening—like droughts—people wanted the government to do something.  I know it may be hard for people to believe in this day and age, but many people believed that the government was responsible for all sorts of things that it had little control over.  In this case, that was the weather, and the state could at least prepare by collecting taxes in rice and then providing relief via those same resources.  But that still only did so much.  So when months went by with no rain falling, the state would turn towards ritual.  In some cases that ritual was directed at the kami and the new Jingikan, but in other cases, it fell on Buddhist priests. So, for example, in 688 we are told that there was a drought and the court initiated prayers for rain.  Those prayers were carried out by the priest Douzou.  Douzou was of Baekje extraction, but that didn't concern the court—they just wanted to know that he was effective.  Sure enough, after praying for rain, the clouds opened up and before morning the rain had fallen.  We are told it fell "across the realm", which I'm pretty sure is hyperbole.  It probably fell all across the Nara plains and surrounding areas, which was enough for the court. In 691, they were struck with the opposite problem, which we know because the court issued an edict dated to the 19th day of the 6th month of that year.  Apparently rain had fallen for two straight months.  And while the fifth month rains—the Satsuki-ame—are well-known, this apparently had started back in the 4th month of that year, and now there was a worry that it would start to injure the crops, reducing the annual yield.  The conclusion appears to have been that the country did not have enough merit.  Therefore the ministers and officials were prohibited from the use of strong drink or meat—Aston translates it directly as "animal food".  They were also ordered to compose their hearts and repent of any sins they may have committed.  At the same time, the priests in the temples of the capital and Home provinces were told to recite sutras for five straight days.  We also know that a day later they announced an amnesty for various criminals, as well.  Another act of mercy and hopefully for making merit. And it seems to have worked.  Or one could just say that the natural monsoon rains finally stopped after a particularly heavy season.  Who's to say? In the 5th intercalary month of 692, the rains were again pretty bad.  This time it isn't that they were long, but that it was heavy rain—what Japanese meteorology reports would likely call "Oyu", or Great Rain—which brought with it floods. Unfortunately, while they could pray for rain to start or stop, floods are another matter.  By the time you know the flood has happened it is too late.  And so this is where the government's preparedness came into focus.  Commissioners were sent to visit the districts and provinces.  There they found people affected by the flooding and they were empowered to make loans to provide relief.  Furthermore, they allowed people to access resources that might otherwise have been restricted, allowing them to fish and cut wood in the hills, forests, ponds, and marshes, even if that was normally a prohibited activity, so that they could sustain themselves until they were able to get back on their feet.  At the same time, the Sutra of Golden Light, the Konkwoumyou Sutra, one of the sutras for protecting the state, was to be read aloud in the capital and the Home Provinces.  The Sutra of Golden Light is the one which not only talks about the Shitennou, the four heavenly kings, but also emphasizes that if rulers support and honor the recitation of the sutra, then their kingdoms would be prosperous and peaceful, so what better time to read it than during or just after a disaster? There were other recitations and congregations that were not quite so obviously connected.  In 690, there were discourses in the inner precinct of the palace during the "Vassa", known in Japanese as "Ango" or "Dwelling in Peace".  This comes from the tradition in Buddhism where it is said that the Buddha and his disciples, though normally traveling around the countryside, would come together during the rainy season.  During this time they would talk and share.  It is still practiced in many Theravada schools, where monks will gather in temples during the rainy season.  Of course, as we've discussed, the 5th month was right in the middle of Japan's rainy season, so it seems like they may have been attempting to emulate that tradition. Three years later, we are told that they held a great-congregation of monks on that same date—the 15th day of the 5th month.  This is not referred to as an Ango, however, possibly noting a change in the way they were organizing or conducting it—or possibly just because it was referred to differently in the record the Chroniclers used.  That said, a great-congregation was simply a Buddhist gathering, where various priests would provide sermons or sutra readings, and not necessarily tied to a particular time.  Another one was called in the 9th month of 693 on behalf of the late sovereign, Ohoama and all prisoners were released, which was no doubt merit seen as accruing to the late sovereign. A month after that, the Benevolent King Sutra, or Ninnou-kyou, was expounded in the provinces for four days.  This is another one of the sutras considered important for the well-being of the state. In 694 we have 100 copies of the Konkwoumyou sutra—the Sutra of Golden Light—being sent out to the provinces, with the intent that they should be read together, at a certain time, when the moon of the first month was in the first quarter.  Any fees or resources needed by the temples to carry this out were to be defrayed from the public revenues of the provinces.  As Aston points out, "revenues" in this case would not necessarily be cash money.  Not that they didn't have coins—they had the Fuhonsen coins from Ohoama's time; see Episode 146 for more information.  We are even told that in 694 the court appointed three officials—Ohoyake no Maro, Utena no Yashima, and Kibumi no Honjitsu—to be governors for the mint, although Aston notes a Shoku Nihongi account from 708 that claimed that was the "first time" the title was given out.  Either way, even though they were minting coins, these wouldn't have been in common circulation.  The government may have used them to pay for things, but taxes coming in, especially in the provinces would have been in-kind taxes, meaning that the revenue to the temples were likely paid in rice, cloth, or similar. We similarly see another edict to read the Golden Light sutra on the first day of the twelfth month of 696.  This time it wasn't just a one time reading, though: they were setting a precedent.  The edict was to expound the Sutra of Golden Light and then, every year hence, they would schedule ten people of pure life who should be inducted as monks on the eve of the New Year.  I have to wonder about how they had people take orders—and whether it was a lifelong commitment or, as in some cultures, today, a temporary position.  After all, Ohoama took orders but didn't exactly remain "retired" for all that long. The same thing had happened back in 694, when one hundred and four people were made to enter religion for the sake of Royal Princess Asuka.  So how long did they remain Buddhist priests? There is a reference, in 693, of a priest being stripped of his monkhood.  It was done by royal order for a Goguryeo priest Fukuka, and it isn't made clear why.  Was it something that the priest wanted?  Maybe they wanted to stop being a monk for some reason?  Or was it done as a punishment?  There was apparently a great-congregation only about two weeks prior.  Maybe there was some drama?  We'll probably never know. In 697, there was an uptick in merit-making.  In the third month, a great-congregation was being held in the Eastern Palace.  The Eastern Palace was the home of the Crown Prince, so this may have something to do with the planned succession, but then in the 6th month we see a bunch of things happening.  There was a royal order for sutras to be read in temples in the Home Provinces, and then, nine days later, an order that people of 5th rank and lower were to go spend time cleaning out the temples in the capital.  On the 26th, 11 days after that, we get a record the seems to bring this into focus, as the Ministers and public functionaries started making votive images of the Buddha for the sake of Uno no Sarara's illness.  It seems that she was feeling unwell, which probably kicked off a lot of this activity, and may even be why she finally decided to abdicate.  There was one more seemingly related note.  On the 29th day of the 7th month the Ministers and public functionaries prepared a festival for the installation of Buddhist images in the temple of Yakushiji.  This was the temple Ohoama had originally commissioned for Uno no Sarara during his reign when she was sick back then.  She had recovered, then, and she would recover again—but her faith in the healing power of the Buddha may have been limited.  She would abdicate a few days later, leaving the throne to Prince Karu—the future Monmu Tennou. One last thing, somewhat tangential, it seems.  In the 11th month of 693, three priests, Houin, Zen'ou, and Shingi, set out, along with others, to the Yasu district in Afumi to taste the sweet wine of the local springs.  This is likely the area around the Yasu river, where it flows northwest from the mountains into Lake Biwa.  Today it is Yasu city on one side of the river and Moriyama city on the other. They apparently came back in the third month of the following year, as that is when we get a royal edict concerning said springs.  Based on that, we are told that the spring of quote-unquote "sweet wine" or "sweet sake" bubbled up at Mt. Tsuga in the Yasu district of Afumi.  Mt. Tsuga, or Tsugayama, may be related to "Moriyama", and Moriyama city is still known for the spring water that comes out of the nearby mountains. In the edict they mention that people who were afflicted with various disease would stay at Yasudera, where they presumably drank the water from the springs, and many of them found themselves healed.  For this miraculous occurrence, the temple itself was awarded four chou of rice-land, and an amount of cloth.  In addition, the district of Yasu was exempted from taxes and forced labor, as well as from any other kinds of corvees that might be levied, for at least one year.  Local authorities were promoted a grade in rank, and gifts were made out to those who were credited with first discovering the springs and their miraculous properties—Kadono no Hatsuki and the daughter of Kudara no Tsurara. A couple of extra notes, based on what we see here.  First off, it is unfortunately too often the case that we see women described like this—the daughter of so-and-so—without providing an actual name.  It is interesting that she is the daughter of someone with the name "Kudara", meaning "Baekje".  During the reign of Naka no Ohoe, aka Tenji Tennou, a number of Baekje people were settled in the areas around Lake Biwa and the Echi River, the next major river to the northeast. The temple mentioned, Yasudera, would have been the local temple, probably run by the local elites.  That likely means the Yasu no Atai family.  The temple itself is no more, and we aren't sure exactly where it was, but there is a strong case to be made that archaeological remains at Yoshimi-chou, in modern Moriyama city, might be that temple.  Still, there is no conclusive evidence. As for springs having healing properties—this is nothing new.  Minerals could have given the water a sweet taste, or perhaps there was something that clouded it, like nigori-zake—unfiltered rice wine.  Whether or not there were any natural healing properties I leave up to your own imagining.  Did people actually benefit from the waters?  Or maybe just because they believed?  Was the fact that a Buddhist temple was involved part of it, or is this just the same thing we see with people going to various springs and imparting to them some healing properties? Either way, it seems that at some point the spring no longer produced the "sweet wine" that had made it famous in its day, and people moved on to a different location. For now, I think we can stop here.  We have probably one more episode talking about specific items from this reign, but we are starting to get more and more sources, including the poetry of the Man'yoshu, which I hope to dig into here in a bit.  Plus a few other things in the works. 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.

Jonny and Ben were joined by a pair of our correspondents on this episode, after their sides notched first wins of the new season on Saturday night, after both had endured a rough start to the campaign. First up is Ralf Seidl on Urawa, who downed Yokohama F.Marinos 3-2 at home (to 22:15), then Jamie Meikle hops on to discuss Kyoto's win over Fukuoka, and their mass signings of Brazilians ahead of a first ACL Elite campaign (to 42:25). As mentioned at the end of Part 2, please check out Jamie's terrific You Tube channel, Soccer Bunka. Then in Part 3, Jonny and Ben run through the other results, including Kawasaki also winning for the first time, and Kashiwa and Kashima staying perfect, before we wrap things up with a couple of cupsets from the Emperor's Cup last midweek, and look ahead to the next two rounds of fixtures.

The new J1 season kicked off with a bang over the weekend, and Jonny and Ben were joined by Dan Orlowitz to chat about the record-breaking season opener at the National Stadium on Friday night between Yokohama F.Marinos and Kashima (to 19:30), and Machida's dominant away win over 10 man FC Tokyo on Saturday night (from 19:30 to 31:30). In Part 2 we begin our review of the other eight games with Gamba Osaka's thrilling win over 10 man Urawa, and move through the rest of the results (from 31:30 to 1:13:40), before looking ahead to the quirky Matchday 2 fixture list (to 1:19:20). Then, in a special Part 3, Dan brings us his recollections of working at the 2026 World Cup in his home city of Philadelphia (from 1:19:20 to end).

Mais de 24 horas depois do terremoto de magnitude 7,1, que atingiu o sul do país, as buscas continuam no Japão. O número de mortos subiu para 13 e as principais esforços agora se concentram nos escombros de um shopping center, na cidade de Kashima. Mais de 300 mil pessoas tiveram que deixar suas casas e procurar abrigos. E tem ainda:- Trump recebeu, no mesmo dia, o premiê de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, e o presidente da Ucrânia, Volodymyr Zelesnky.Os assuntos com Netanyahu foram o programa nuclear iraniano e as negociações com Teerã; com Zelensky, o tema principal foi o sistema de defesa com mísseis Patriot- Reforma constitucional proposta pelo presidente da Nicarágua, Daniel Ortega, foi entregue à Assembleia Legislativa e propõe estender o mandato de 6 para 7 anos. O projeto pode ser aprovado já em setembro- No Peru, Keiko Fujimori toma posse como nova presidente do país, adota discurso de conciliação, anuncia ações contra as mudanças climáticas e propõe usar as Forças Armadas para combater a violência no país- Universidade Nacional Autônoma do México suspende as matrículas dos aprovados no vestibular deste ano, isso porque a direção abriu uma investigação sobre suspeitas de uso de inteligência artificial durante os exames on-line Apoia.se do Mundo em 180 Segundos | apoio mensal – clique aquiApoia.se do Mundo em 180 Segundos | apoio de 1 episódio – clique aqui Notícias em tempo real nas redes sociais Instagram @mundo_180_segundos e Linkedin Mundo em 180 SegundosFale conosco através do mundo180segundos@gmail.com

「鹿島OB・元日本代表監督ジーコが心配される！「Kashimaという名前で…」イオンモール熊本ある嘉島町に言及」　　鹿島アントラーズOB、元日本代表監督のジーコ氏が、熊本地震に言及。母国のサッカーファン等に向けて無事であることを報告したほか、爆発が起こったイオンモール熊本のある嘉島町にも触れている。　同氏は29日までにインスタグラムを更新。「こんにちは、皆さん！ 少しでも皆さんに安心してもらえればと思って動画を撮っています。まずは何よりも、ご心配いただき本当にありがとうございます」と報告している。　ジーコ氏は母国で多くの人々から心配された理由について、地震の被災地となった町の名前が、自身のキャリアとゆかりのある別の場所と同じ名称だったためだと説明。嘉島、鹿島ともに英語で「Kashima」と表記されるだけに、こう説明している。　「被害を受けた町も『Kashima』という名前で…。その『Kashima』は日本の南側にあります。日本はたくさんの島で構成されていますよね。九州の熊本県にある町で、地震が起きたのはその地域です」　「私たちは家族とともに北海道にいます。被災地とはかなり離れています。ここ北海道のクラブメッド・キロロで『ジーコ10サッカースクール』を行っていますが、無事です」　その上で、ジーコ氏は「今回起きた出来事を本当に残念に思っています。日本はこうした災害への備えがしっかりしている国なので、きっとすぐに復旧するでしょう。被害に遭われた多くの方々のことを心からお見舞い申し上げます」と哀悼の意を表している。

VOV1 - Do chấn động mạnh và tâm chấn nằm trong khu vực dân cư, trận động đất mạnh 7,1 độ xảy ra chiều nay 28/7 theo giờ địa phương, tại khu vực Kyushyu – miền Nam Nhật Bản, đã gây nhiều thiệt hại nghiêm trọng.Theo báo cáo nhanh của các tỉnh thành nằm trong khu vực chịu ảnh hưởng của động đất, tính đến 18h30 hôm nay theo giờ địa phương, đã ghi nhận ít nhất 10 trường hợp bị thương do động đất tại một viện dưỡng lão ở thị trấn Hikawa thuộc tỉnh Kumamoto. Ngoài ra, theo thống kê sơ bộ, thiệt hại về vật chất do động đất gây ra cũng rất nghiêm trọng.Trong đó, cây cầu Uyanagi của thành phố Yatsushiro đã bị gãy một nhịp, khiến giao thông bị đình trệ. Thiệt hại tiếp theo là nhà máy giấy Yatsushiro đã bị gẫy ống khói, nhưng chưa có thông tin cụ thể hơn về thiệt hại. Động đất cũng làm gẫy hai nhịp của đoạn đường trên cao thuộc cao tốc Kyushyu, khiến toàn bộ sự lưu thông trên tuyến đường này bị tê liệt.Bên cạnh đó, vào lúc 18h00 chiều nay, Sở cứu hỏa địa phương cho biết, sau khi xảy ra động đất, tại trung tâm thương mại Aeon Mall ở thị trấn Kashima, thuộc tỉnh Kumamoto, đã phát ra một tiếng nổ rất lớn và khói trắng bốc lên cao, phía ngoài tòa nhà hầu như bị sập đổ. Hiện nay, cơ quan cảnh sát địa phương đang khẩn trương thu thập thông tin thiệt hại, cũng như điều tra xung quanh vụ việc, nhưng theo nhận định ban đầu, nguyên nhân chính có khả năng là do động đất.Trong khi đó, theo nhận định của các chuyên gia địa chấn học ứng dụng, với chấn độ từ 6 đến 7 độ, thiệt hại do động đất gây ra sẽ vô cùng to lớn./. Tuấn Nhật - VOV JapanTrung tâm thương mại Aeon Mall ở thị trấn Kashima bị hư hại nặng nề sau tiếng nổ lớn. Ảnh: Chính quyền thị trấn Kashima

We kick off our previews of the new J1 season with seven clubs, and Seamus Johnston joined Jonny and Ben to chat about the first cab off the rank, 2025 runners-up Kashiwa (to 30:57). Then, with a ten minute time limit per club experiment in place, we stay in Kanto, and run the rule over defending champions Kashima (to 41:15) and their promoted Ibaraki chums Mito (to 50:55), before we switch our attentions to Machida (to 1:00:45) and the two remaining Kanagawa clubs - Kawasaki (to 1:09:15) and Yokohama F.Marinos (to 1:18:20) - rounding things off with a trip down the Tokaido Line and into Shizuoka to preview Shimizu.

Jonny and Ben review the J1 playoff 2nd legs on this episode, beginning with Kashima's home win that was merely window dressing as Kobe claimed the CEJLC title with a 5-2 aggregate win (to 35:50). Then we select our Best XI from the east across the league phase, and finish the pod with a brief look ahead to Japan's World Cup opener against the Netherlands. #We are aware of a couple of audio issues during the episode, most notably around the 42:20 mark, where Jonny's selection of Alex Scholz for one of the centre back spots in our Best XI mysteriously disappeared from the audio file, the audio picks up with Ben agreeing with Jonny's selection.#

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, Dan Orlowitz re-joins the Krewe to preview Japan's tournament outlook. We break down Samurai Blue's final roster, key players to watch, group-stage matchups, and what a successful World Cup would look like for Japan. Plus, Dan shares his predictions for the tournament's biggest surprises, disappointments, and who he thinks will be lifting the trophy when it's all said and done. Whether you're a diehard soccer fan or a once-every-four-years World Cup viewer, this episode is the perfect primer before kickoff. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Past KOJ Sports-Related Episodes ------ Bridging Communities Through MLB Players Trust ft. Amy Hever & Chris Capuano (S6E18) Japanese Soccer on the World Stage ft. Dan Orlowitz (S6E6) Meet the J.League ft. Dan Orlowitz (S6E4) Kendo: The Way of the Sword ft. Alexander Bennett, 7th Dan in Kendo (S4E16) The Life of a Sumotori ft. 3-Time Grand Champion Konishiki Yasokichi (S4E10) Talking Sumo ft. Andrew Freud (S1E8) ------ About Dan Orlowitz ------ Dan's Socials & Writings J-Talk Podcast ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Alan Gibson joins Jonny and Ben in Part 1 to talk about Japan's farewell friendly win over Iceland (to 18:30), and Kobe's stunning Yuya Osako-inspired triumph over Kashima in the first leg of the J1 playoffs (to 36:37). Then we round up the other nine 1st legs (to 56:30), and piece together the Best XI from the west.

A 100 Year Vision chega ao fim de sua temporada regular. Kashima Antlers e Vissel Kobe garantiram vaga na grande final da competição. Além disso, também conhecemos os finalistas da J2 /J3, que prometem decisões emocionantes.No programa de hoje, também vamos falar sobre a vitória do Gamba Osaka sobre o Al Nassr na final da AFC Two. O triunfo garantiu o título continental para a equipe japonesa e ainda assegurou ao clube a chance de disputar o playoff valendo vaga na AFC Champions League Elite da próxima temporada.Deixe seu recado para o Hinomaru abaixo do vídeo ou participe pelo nosso e-mail hinomarupodcast@gmail.comRedes sociais:https://linktr.ee/hinomaru?s=08Siga o trabalho do Bruno Miotto nas redes sociais:https://linktr.ee/prideofmiotto

Jonny and Ben kick off this episode by reveling in Gamba Osaka's tremendous victory in the ACL2 final (to 15:45), then Jonny runs through the weekend's J1 west results, with top spot set to be decided in the final round (to 28:15). Next, Ben takes the reins for the east slate, after Kashima clinched top spot with a game to spare (to 39:10). Finally, we were joined by Urawa correspondent Ralf Seidl to discuss the end of Maciej Skorza's reign, the improvement under interim boss Tatsuya Tanaka, and the impending appointment of Cho Kwi Jae as the new permanent Reds manager.

On this mini pod, Jonny kicks us off with all the midweek goings-on in the west, after Nagoya went top on goals scored ahead of Kobe (to 12:07), before Ben runs through the results in the east, with the title all but in Kashima's hands now. Check us out next week on J-Talk Takeover Week, as Jonny and Ben moonlight on JTET, and Jon and James take the reins on Big Pod!

With Gamba Golden Week in full swing, Jonny and Ben round up all of the action from the past two top flight matchdays, beginning in the east, where Kashima hold a two point lead over FC Tokyo with four games to play (to 23:40), then shifting west, where Kobe's once vice-like grip on top spot is now hanging by a thread after they were crushed by Gamba Osaka on Saturday. We'll be back later in the week with a review of Matchday 15, so keep your eyes peeled for that pod!

The Traka se ha convertido en el evento capital del gravel a nivel europeo. Por eso se hace obligado comentar algunas de las novedades, prototipos y curiosidades que se han visto en la última edición, celebrada el pasado fin de semana. Hablamos también de la última actualización aplicada a los motores CX y CX-R de Bosch, y que eleva su par hasta los 120 Nm y el 600% de apoyo a la pedalada, además de repasar algunas de las bicicletas que ya incorporan esta actualización como la Canyon Strive:On, la Mondraker Crafty Unlimited Icon o la gama iLynx+ NX de BH. En el mundo del MTB 'convencional', la primera prueba de la Copa del Mundo de XC nos ha traído la victoria de la recién presentada S-Works Epic 9 con Sina Frei, además de la presentación 'oficial' de la nueva Canyon Lux World Cup CFR. Y terminamos comentando novedades como la llegada al mercado de los discos Galfer SharkEVO con acabado Kashima o la nueva 'gravel race' de la marca barcelonesa Guava, bautizada como ACE. Este episodio ha sido posible gracias al apoyo de Mahle y su sistema de asistencia M40. Un sistema compacto y ligero pensado para quienes buscan una asistencia natural pero con tecnología muy avanzada. Entre sus novedades destaca Auto Hold, una función que mantiene la bici estable en pendientes cuando te detienes, algo especialmente útil en rutas técnicas o al arrancar en subida. Y también Dynamic Overrun, que mantiene la asistencia durante un instante después de dejar de pedalear, ayudando a superar obstáculos o zonas técnicas con más fluidez. Descubre más sobre él aquí: https://mahle-smartbike.com/es/ Más referencias: Actualización Bosch a 120 Nm: https://www.mtbpro.es/afondo/probamos-la-nueva-actualizacion-del-bosch-cx-y-cx-r-120-nm-y-600-de-apoyo-la-pedalada Canyon Strive:ON: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nueva-canyon-striveon-con-motores-bosch-cx-y-cx-r-actualizados-120-nm-y-cuadro-mas Mondraker Crafty Unlimited Icon: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nueva-mondraker-crafty-unlimited-icon-con-bosch-cx-actualizable-120-nm Canyon Lux World Cup CFR: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nueva-canyon-lux-world-cup-cfr-mas-ligera-con-mayor-recorrido-y-flip-chip-anti-squat Guava ACE: https://www.maillotmag.com/actualidad/guava-ace-llega-la-primera-gravel-race-de-la-marca-barcelonesa Galfer Shark EVO con acabado Kashima: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/llegan-los-galfer-disc-shark-evo-con-acabado-kashima-y-maxima-gestion-termica

After Jonny and Ben begin the episode with a look back at ACL heroics from Kobe, Machida and Gamba Osaka (Spoiler alert: Kobe lost in the ACL Elite semi finals on Tuesday morning) last week (to 12:05), they welcomed Kawasaki correspondent Neil Debnam back to the pod to chat about Frontale's CEJLC so far, and their dramatic late Kanagawa derby win over Yokohama F.Marinos last Saturday (to 34:17). Then in Part 3 we round up the other three east games, as Kashima kicked further clear at the top (to 44:25), before reviewing the four games from the west and looking ahead to upcoming fixtures.

Nouveaux pilotes, un brin déjantés, à bord de la Libre Antenne sur RMC ! Jean-Christophe Drouet et Julien Cazarre prennent le relais. Après les grands matchs, quand la lumière reste allumée pour les vrais passionnés, place à la Libre Antenne : un espace à part, entre passion, humour et dérision, débats enflammés, franc-parler et second degré. Un rendez-vous nocturne à la Cazarre, où l'on parle foot bien sûr, mais aussi mauvaise foi, vannes, imitations et grands moments de radio imprévisibles !

Our Yokohama F.Marinos correspondent Stuart Woodward guests on this week's podcast, after his side claimed a first victory of the Chaos Energy J.League Cup at home against Tokyo Verdy on Saturday (to 28:00). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the other four east games, highlighted by a first victory for Kashiwa and a stunning comeback by Kashima away at Urawa (to 43:30), then we run through the west slate, with a focus on Kyoto's brilliant late fightback at Hiroshima. Stuart and Dan Orlowitz made a joint guest appearance on The Football Heritage Podcast, and you can access the episode via various means here.

Kashima claimed a record-extending ninth top flight title in Saturday's final round, and in Part 1 of this episode Jonny and Ben run through the key events in both games that mattered, as a Leo Ceara-inspired Antlers held off a gallant Kashiwa side to win the league by a point (to 25:50). Then in Part 2, Reysol correspondent Seamus Johnston - armed with a killer stat - returned to the pod to celebrate his side's remarkable rise up the table and hand out Reysol's Player of the Year award (to 56:43), before your co-hosts rounded up the other games from Matchday 38.

This week's bumper episode features a star turn from Ryo Nakagawara, who joins Jonny and Ben to review the crunch games involving the top two in J1 Matchday 37 (to 28:45), and preview the final day matchups between Kashima & Yokohama F.Marinos, and Kashiwa & Machida (to 48:50), before we stick our necks out and make predictions on the destination of the title (to 55:42). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben scoot through the other eight games from Sunday (to 1:16:30), and hand out five more Player of the Season awards.

We finally had some clarity at both ends of the table in J1 Matchday 36, as the title race is down to just two teams, and at the bottom, Yokohama FC's relegation to J2 was confirmed. In Part 1 of this episode, Kyoto correspondent Jamie Meikle guests to help us celebrate Sanga's remarkable season, even though their title hopes ended on Sunday at home against Yokohama F.Marinos. We ask Jamie about Kyoto's 2025 Player of the Year, the future of Manager Cho Kwi Jae, and where the club can strengthen in the offseason (to 28:27). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the wins for Kashima and Kashiwa that left them as the last two teams standing in title contention, and work their way through the rest of the games, before finishing with a check on the national team squad and a look ahead to the Emperor's Cup semi finals.

As the top flight enters the final stretch, things tightened at the top in Matchday 35, but two dogfighters saw their fates sealed in a dramatic round of games. Jonny and Ben begin the pod with an ACL review, then cover the games involving the title chasers, including Kashima's stunning late equalizer at Kyoto, Kashiwa's win over Yokohama FC, and Kobe's late collapse at already relegated Niigata (to 28:28). Then in Part 2, Yokohama F.Marinos correspondent Stuart Woodward joins us again after his side's 3-0 home win over Hiroshima took them to the brink of securing safety, while we also discussed Shonan's relegation (to 58:58). And finally, Jonny and Ben round up the other five games, and look ahead to the Levain Cup final on Saturday.

J1 returned with a bang after the international break, and in Part 1 of this new episode Jonny and Ben were joined by Kashiwa correspondent Seamus Johnston to chat about a fascinating set of results for the title chasers - Kobe and leaders Kashima drawing on Friday night, before Seamus's Reysol demolished Gamba (sorry Jonny) on Saturday and Kyoto gutted out a dramatic late point with ten men on Sunday (to 37:40). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the relegation dogfight, which, as we long suspected, is now a straight shootout for survival between the two Yokohama clubs, then the other games before a look ahead to midweek and weekend action.

Japan made history with a stunning 3-2 win over Brazil on Tuesday night, and Ryo Nakagawara joined Jonny and Ben for a deep dive on the game, the standout performers, and what the result means for the Samurai Blue going forward (to the hour mark), before we briefly looked back at the draw against Paraguay, and Ryo and Jonny ran through their lists of which players Hajime Moriyasu already has on the plane to the 2026 World Cup (to 1:29:45). Next we returned to domestic matters by rounding up the Levain Cup semi finals, and looked ahead to who has the edge in the final between Hiroshima and Kashiwa, before finishing the episode with a look at the run-in in the top flight: Can any of the three teams on 60 points overhaul Kashima? And which of the Yokohama clubs will survive? Follow Ryo on Bluesky and/or X/Twitter, and check out his work on his Shogun Soccer newsletter.

J1 Matchday 33 was chock full of drama, and after a brief review of the ACL action from last midweek, Jonny and Ben run through the weekend's games involving the title contenders in Part 1, culminating with the huge Kashima vs Gamba Osaka game on Sunday (to 43:10). Then in Part 2 our Tokyo Verdy correspondent Lewis White returns to the pod to chat about Verdy's vital win on Friday night, the season so far, and the future of manager Hiroshi Jofuku (to 1:03:12), before Jonny and Ben round up the other games, look ahead to the Levain Cup semi finals and Japan's games against Paraguay and Brazil.

Jonny and Ben kick off the episode with a review of ACL action from last midweek (to 9:00), before diving in on the eight games played from J1 Matchday 30 on Saturday night, as Kashima moved back to the summit after Kyoto slipped at home. We rule a couple of big fish out of the title race, before moving on to all of the action in the dogfight (to 1:06:00). We then wrap up the pod with a look ahead to the next two rounds, played on Tuesday night and the weekend.

En este capítulo de Vestigios de la Historia, exploramos a Namazu, el pez gato que sacude la Tierra. Hoy nos sumergimos en una de las leyendas más enigmáticas del folclore japonés, una historia donde la naturaleza misma se convierte en fuerza sobrenatural. Namazu, una criatura gigantesca que habita bajo el archipiélago nipón, es temida por su capacidad de provocar terremotos cuando escapa del control de los dioses. En este relato ancestral, no hay samuráis ni espadas, sino un delicado equilibrio entre orden y caos, custodiado por el dios Kashima.A través de imágenes potentes y simbolismo cargado de significado, abordamos temas como la fragilidad humana ante las fuerzas naturales, la culpa, la purificación y el eterno intento del ser humano por dar sentido al desastre. Vestigios de la Historia nos lleva esta vez a las profundidades del mito para recordarnos que incluso los temblores más destructivos pueden encerrar mensajes de sabiduría y renovación.

Kyoto and Kashima lead the way at the top of J1 after the weekend's Matchday 27, and after rounding up their very contrasting results (to 16:30), Jonny and Ben are joined by Kashiwa correspondent Seamus Johnston to chat about Reysol's brilliant come from behind home win over Urawa on Friday night and other talking points around the club (to 39:50). Then Jonny and Ben run through the other results from the weekend, before looking ahead to midweek Emperor's Cup quarter finals and Thursday's national team squad announcement.

After another terrific J1 matchday, Stuart Woodward joined Jonny and Ben in Part 1 to chat about Yokohama F.Marinos' away win in the Yokohama derby on Saturday night, as well as the pre-match kerfuffle that led to the away supporters missing most of the first half at Mitsuzawa, and other goings-on at F.Marinos, including Anderson Lopes' departure, and new coach Hideo Oshima (to 28:15). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben review the other eight games from Saturday night, including Kashima's third straight loss that saw them tumble from the summit, new leaders Kashiwa taking over at the top with a win over FC Tokyo, and Kobe roaring up to second after two wins in four days.

Sam Robson made a triumphant return to the pod, to help Jonny and Ben run through all nine games played over the weekend in J1 Matchday 21. After a quick look back at the Emperor's Cup and Urawa's first two games at the Club World Cup, we kick off our top flight review with Machida's home win over leaders Kashima, and the instant classic between Kashiwa and Kyoto at Hitachidai that finished 3-3. From there we move on to Hiroshima and Kobe, who surged into the top four with away wins, and then work our way through the other five games, chatting about the managerial changes at Niigata and Yokohama F.Marinos along the way.

In Part 2 of our Japanese soccer series, journalist Dan Orlowitz returns to help us explore how Japan's soccer scene is making waves across the globe! We dive into Samurai Blue's international success, Japanese players shining abroad, and the flow of global talent into the J.League. Plus — how can fans outside Japan actually watch the matches? We've got that covered, too.If you've ever cheered for Japan in the World Cup or wanted to follow J.League stars in Europe, this episode is for you!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Past KOJ Sports-Related Episodes ------Meet the J.League ft. Dan Orlowitz (S6E4)Kendo: The Way of the Sword ft. Alexander Bennett, 7th Dan in Kendo (S4E16)The Life of a Sumotori ft. 3-Time Grand Champion Konishiki Yasokichi (S4E10)Talking Sumo ft. Andrew Freud (S1E8)------ About Dan Orlowitz ------Dan's Socials & WritingsJ-Talk Podcast------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

The Krewe is kicking off a 2-part series on Japanese soccer! In Part 1, journalist Dan Orlowitz joins the Krewe to break down Japan's domestic soccer scene — the J.League. From league structure and top teams to standout players making waves right now, this episode is your perfect deep dive into the beautiful game, Japan-style. Whether you're new to Japanese soccer or a longtime fan, you'll come away with fresh insights and maybe even a new favorite club! Don't miss Part 2, where we go global with Japan's national teams and international impact!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Past KOJ Sports-Related Episodes ------Kendo: The Way of the Sword ft. Alexander Bennett, 7th Dan in Kendo (S4E16)The Life of a Sumotori ft. 3-Time Grand Champion Konishiki Yasokichi (S4E10)Talking Sumo ft. Andrew Freud (S1E8)------ About Langston Hill ------Dan's Socials & Writings------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

Stuart Woodward returned to the pod to chat about his appearance on the Ｊリーグと私 You Tube series (link is for the You Tube playlist, Stuart's episode isn't up yet), and Yokohama F.Marinos making it two straight wins in the wet at Machida on Saturday (to 34:10). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the other nine games, as Kashima kicked six points clear at the top of the table as we reached the halfway point of the season.

Dan Orlowitz joined Jonny and Ben in Part 1 of our new episode to chat about his new piece in The Guardian, Hajime Moriyasu's experimental national team squad, and Hiroshima's comfortable win over FC Tokyo at the National Stadium on Sunday. Then in an elongated Part 2 Jonny and Ben run through the other games from J1 Matchday 18, including Yokohama F.Marinos ripping up the form book with a fine home win over leaders Kashima, as the bottom three at the start of the matchday had a weekend to remember.

There were certainly many talking points from the weekend's top flight round, and we begin this episode with some positivity from Jon Steele after Yokohama FC moved out of the drop zone with an away win over Shonan on Saturday, as the sky blues continue to make a decent fist of their return to J1 (to 21:00). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben continue their roundup of Matchday 17, beginning with Kashima extending their advantage at the top of the table after they downed Shimizu, and Kashiwa lost at Machida. Next up is Kyoto, who piled on the misery for bottom club Yokohama F.Marinos with a fine away win, before we move on to events at Saitama Stadium, where Urawa claimed a controversy-laced home win over FC Tokyo (Ben's rant alert). Following that we review all of the other games, before finishing with a look ahead to midweek and weekend action.

Jonny and Ben flip the script and go from bottom to top on this week's episode, running through (almost) all positive results for the bottom six at the start of the matchday in Part 1 (to 45:45), before Neil Debnam joins the pod to chat about Kawasaki's ACL Elite adventure, and their defeat on Sunday at the hands of Kashima (to 1:13:08). Finally, your co-hosts round up the final two games, before previewing J1 Matchday 17.

Jonny and Ben wrap up Golden Week with a look back at the midweek action from J1 Matchday 15. We begin with 1-0 wins for Kashima and Kashiwa on Tuesday, then move on to Wednesday night's action - Kyoto's dramatic late victory at Machida, and Hiroshima squeaking past Shonan - before reviewing the other games from Tuesday, including excellent wins for both Osaka clubs.

Jonny and Ben return with a midweek special, to round up the eight games played from J1 Matchday 13 on Tuesday. After beginning the episode with a quick look back at Kawasaki's ACL Elite quarter final win (Spoiler Alert: They won their semi final, too!), we begin our J1 wrap with the game Jonny was at: Gamba Osaka's win over incumbent leaders Kyoto (to 14:45). Then we move on to Kashima going top, and Kashiwa second, with away wins (to 23:10), Shimizu and Machida both moving up after also winning on the road (to 30:50), Tokyo Verdy's second straight win, and Hiroshima Crisis Watch after their home defeat at the hands of Niigata, plus the only draw between Shonan and Fukuoka.

Jonny and Ben round up two full rounds of J1 fixtures, with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 9, in our new episode. We begin with the new frontrunner for game of the season - Kyoto's remarkable away win over Kashima on Sunday - before discussing the hard fought draw between Machida and Kawasaki, and the rest of an eventful Sunday chock full of tremendous goals.

J1 returned after the international break over the weekend, and Daniel Hawkins joined Jonny and Ben to chat about goings-on at Avispa Fukuoka. After a brief review of Japan 0-0 Saudi Arabia, and our review of Kashima's hard-fought win over Kobe (to 9:07), Daniel hopped on board to discuss Avispa's draw with Machida on Saturday, how the club's new signings have settled in, and more (to 29:42). Then in Part 3 we round up the rest of the games, including Kawasaki having their way (again) against FC Tokyo in the Tamagawa Classico, and Nagoya notching a first league win of the season.

In the depths of the Lab, Shin and Heisuke join forces to take down the invisible assailant, while Sakamoto engages in an intense battle against Kashima.

Jonny and Ben kick off this new episode with a good news/bad news ACL review (to 14:56), then they're joined by Jon Steele to chat about Yokohama FC's victory over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday, and the season so far for the Mitsuzawa outfit (to 41:02). Then we run through all of the other games from J1 Matchday 6, including Yokohama F.Marinos and Kobe notching first league wins of the season, Kashima making top flight history with their late leveler against Urawa, and Machida and Fukuoka continuing their upward trajectory, before we finish the episode with a look at the first round of the Levain Cup, and Japan's games against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as they look to seal qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

We round up two full rounds of top flight fixtures (with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 4) in this week's episode, towards the end of which we're joined by Neil Debnam to chat about the early days of Shigetoshi Hasebe's reign at Kawasaki. We begin with the games involving the top three - new leaders Kashiwa, who climbed to the summit with a win away at Urawa, then Shonan's draw at Yokohama F.Marinos and Hiroshima's narrow win at home over Yokohama FC - before moving on to Kashima's win over FC Tokyo, and the battle between promoted sides Okayama and Shimizu, then away wins for Machida, Gamba Osaka and Fukuoka (their first of the season), before wrapping up Part 1 with the draw between Niigata and Cerezo Osaka (to 1:03:35). Then Neil joins us to discuss Kawasaki's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Kyoto - Sanga's first win of the year - and Frontale's prospects in the ACL Elite Round of 16 against Shanghai Shenhua, before we wrap up the episode with a look at the fixtures in J1 Matchday 5. Please check out Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog.

CJ & Gymnazo's Kaleena Kashmina discuss the best ways to keep yourself in shape as you age. Thanks to all my partners: Dr. Daniel Lapidus & Larry Ackerman, Dr. Brad Kurgis of Kurgis Dermatology, California Fresh Markets, The SLO Wellness Center, Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa, Joy of Shell Beach,  Michael Moore Sports Recovery, Gymnazo, and SLO Big Brothers Big Sisters.

CJ celebrates the growing exposure of women's sports and her first game announcing for Cal Poly Women's Basketball.    Thanks to all my partners: Dr. Daniel Lapidus & Larry Ackerman, Dr. Brad Kurgis of Kurgis Dermatology, California Fresh Markets, The SLO Wellness Center, Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa, Joy of Shell Beach,  Michael Moore Sports Recovery, Gymnazo, and SLO Big Brothers Big Sisters. Read More Read More   Read More   Read More  

Welcome to our previews of the 2025 J1 Season! In Part 1, after some housekeeping at the start of the episode, we chat with Lewis White about Tokyo Verdy (to 32:05), and to Ryo Nakagawara about Machida (to 1:01:00) and FC Tokyo (to 1:40:20), before Jonny and Ben discuss Niigata (to 1:56:23) and Kashima. For each club, we follow the same format: A brief review of 2024; the club's major moves in the transfer market; thoughts on the manager; a player to watch and prospects for the new season. You can read Ryo's terrific work in his Shogun Soccer newsletter, and follow each club's ins and out through Jonny's Google Doc.

In this special bonus episode of Genre Exposure, continuing our tradition of having an extra episode drop on Halloween, Dustin cracks open the J-Horror Journal one last time this month to share with you three of his favorite urban legends from Japan and discuss some of the many films that have spawned from them. From a bathroom haunting ghost to a gorgeous lady with a smile to die for and finally a ritual far more elaborate than Bloody Mary and way too scary to attempt. You can expect a cavalcade of low budget horror flicks to follow in their wake as well. But before all that, we commissioned some new art for the podcast to give the J-Horror Journal its own fitting logo. All that and more! From all of us here at the podcast, Happy Halloween! J-Horror Journal logo created by Nobufreak. Part of the Prescribed Films Podcast Network (www.thepfpn.com) Urban Legends Covered: -Hanako of the Toilet -The Slit-Mouthed Woman -One Man Hide and Seek Show Notes: -Go check out and follow Nobufreak on Twitter, Instagram, and ArtStation -Go check out all the other fine shows on the Prescribed Films Podcast Network -Go join Unsung Horrors' 2024 Horror Gives Back Challenge -Related Film: Death Forest -Related Film: Death Forest 2 -Related Film: Death Forest 3 -Related Film: Death Forest 4 -Related Film: Death Forest 5 -Related Film: Candyman -Related Topic: Bloody Mary -Related Film: Harry Potter -Related Anime: GeGeGe no Kitaro -Related Anime: Ghost Stories -Related Anime: Yokai Watch -Related Anime: Pokemon -Related Idol: 14th Generation Toilet Hanako-san -Related Band: Babymetal -Related Anime: Toilet Bound Hanako-kun -Related Topic: Akaname -Related Topic: Aka Manto -Related Film: Hanako of the Toilet (1998) -Related Film: Ringu -Related Film: Hanako-san (2001) -Related Film: Hanako's Spirit in the Washroom -Related Film: Corpse Party -Related Film: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows -Related Anime: Corpse Party -Related Game: Corpse Party -Related Film: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi!: File 04 The Truth! Hanako-san and the Toilet -Related Film: Hanako of the Toilet: Hanako vs. Yosuke -Related Film: Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman -Related Media: Arrow's J-Horror Rising Set -Related Candy: Beko Ame -Related History: Edo Period -Related Game: Ghostwire: Tokyo -Related Director: Teruo Ishii -Related Film: Psychic Vision: Jaganrei -Related Series: Gridman The Hyper Agent -Related Series: Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad -Related Series: Ultraman Tiga -Related Series: Ultraman Dyna -Related Series: Ultraman Cosmos -Related Film: Carved 2: The Scissors Massacre -Related Film: Tokyo Videos of Horror -Related Film: Faces of Death -Related Film: Hikiko-san vs. Kuchisake-Onna -Related Film: Hikiko-san vs. Kokkuri-san -Related Topic: Kokkuri-san -Related Film: Hikiko-san vs. Sadako -Related Film: The Slit-Mouthed Woman Returns -Related Film: Meatball Machine -Related Film: Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi: File 01 Operation Capture The Slit-Mouthed Woman -Related Film: Noroi: The Curse -Related Film: Kuchisake-Onna vs. Mary-san -Related Film: Kuchisake-Onna vs. Kashima-san -Related Topic: 2ch -Related Topic: Creepypasta -Related Video: One Man Hide and Seek Example -Related Film: Child's Play -Related Short: One Man Hide and Seek -Related Topic: One Man Hide and Seek (Multiplayer Variant) -Related Film: Creepy Hide and Seek (2009) -Related Topic: V&R Planning -Related Film: Hide and Go Kill 2 -Related Film: Creepy Hide and Seek (2010) -Related Film: Hitori Kakurenbo The Movie: Real Urban Legend -Related Film: Halloween III: Season of the Witch -Related Film: Smile -Related Film: Smile 2

J1 returned with a bang after the international break, and on our new episode Jonny and Ben round up all the action from a drama-filled weekend. We begin at the top with the pulsating draw between Kashima and Hiroshima on Saturday night, a result that allowed Machida to return to the summit after they claimed a terrific away win over Fukuoka, with Kobe keeping pace after cruising past Cerezo Osaka on Friday night, though Gamba Osaka's title hopes were dealt a major blow as Maciej Skorza returned to the Urawa dugout and led Reds to a win at the Suita City Stadium (to 40:10). Next we shift our attention to the relegation dogfight, with Kyoto continuing their excellent recent form to maintain their gap above the bottom three, though Tosu and Sapporo both lost, to further dent their faint hopes of survival. Iwata stunned Kashiwa to move within a point of safety behind Shonan, who were never at the races in their loss at Niigata. We finish our Matchday 30 roundup at the National stadium (to 1:20:10), then wrap up the episode with a look at upcoming ACL and domestic fixtures, including an intriguing-looking J1 Matchday 31. You can get tickets for our live show as part of the Yokohama Football Film Festival here, we'd love to see you there on October 12th!

Jonny and Ben had the pleasure of welcoming Ralf Seidl back to the pod for an in-depth chat about Urawa Reds, who drew away at rivals Kashima on Saturday, and have lost several key players in this summer transfer window (to 24:20). In Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the results for rest of the top five (to 42:22), then in Part 3 we review a bonkers matchday for our relegation dogfighters (to 58:33), wrap up the rest of the round, and look ahead to upcoming Emperor's Cup and J1 fixtures. If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to get your tickets for our live show as part of the Yokohama Football Film Festival.

Today on the Podcast, Trevor joins us as we dive into tons of tantalizing tire talk as well as some amazing listener questions ranging from putting Red Bull in your tires to converting your bike to a mullet DH bike and everything in between. Tune in! Our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCxZoC1sIG-vVtLsJDSbeYyw Submit any and all questions to podcast@worldwidecyclery.com Worldwide Cyclery Instagram: www.instagram.com/worldwidecyclery/ MTB Podcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/mtbpodcast/ Submit any and all questions to podcast@worldwidecyclery.com Chasing Epic Trip with WWC! Where: Hurricane Utah When: April 11-14th (riding three days) How: Trip Info: https://chasingepicmtb.com/worldwide-cyclery-hurricane-2024/ https://chasingepicmtb.com/product/hurricane-worldwide-cyclery-deposit/ Cost: $1995