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The Dazai no Sochi--the head of the Yamato government in Kyushu--was a powerful position, with a lot of autonomy with lucrative opportunities.  The people in this position were often powerful members of the court capable of representing the sovereign.  They would often go on to become quite powerful in their own right.  So who were the movers and shakers that held this prestigious position during Uno no Sarara's reign?  This episode, we take a look at those who held the position and those who supported them. For more, check out our blogpost:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-151 PS:  Hang around to the end (or check the end of the transcript) for information on some possible updates coming to the show. Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 151: The Dazai no Sochi of the late 7th century   Tsukushi no Masaru was busy.  A new boss was coming in, and he wanted to make sure everything was prepared.  The Dazai may have been about as far as one could get from the capital and still be in Yamato, but it was also the first—and sometimes only—encounter some would have with the archipelago, so there was no excuse to be slacking off.  Of course, this was hardly his first new boss, though for as long as he'd been on the job, each one could well be his last.  He was getting a bit long in the tooth, after all.  Twenty-nine years was a long time to be working in the same position.  As Masaru paused, he thought back on some of the people he'd served.  There was Soga no Akae—he was ambitious.  Apparently he'd been in some rather compromising positions before coming out, but he'd done well enough when he went back.  Shame that he backed the wrong horse. That did bring a chuckle to old Masaru's throat, though.  He remembered when Prince Kurikuma had come out there, to the the Dazai, , and there were still people around who told stories of him.  When those Afumi court stooges had showed up to try and conscript the barrier guards, Prince Kurikuma and his sons just stared them down.  Everyone had been afraid that it would end in bloodshed, or at least that there would be consequences for defying the court, but Kurikuma was adamant, and the messenger had left with his tail firmly between his legs. Then there was Shima. By the time he came, Masaru already knew how everything was supposed to work. He may not have been in charge, but that wasn't his ambition.  It was enough for him to be good at what he did.  He didn't need to go all the way to the Palace and deal with the politics there—there were enough politics out here already.  Shima, though, he was clearly suited for that Palace life.  He was a capable administrator, but Masaru could tell he was ambitious.  When he left, everyone knew that he would be going on to bigger and better things. And now there was another Prince coming out. So they would get the government offices prepared and greet him with proper fanfare.  They'd bring him in and hold the ceremonies, and then they would get down to work.  A stream of officers would present him with what they were working on and what had to happen.  Masaru would be there to help make sure that everything was running smoothly and nothing got too out of hand.  And that was the way things worked out on the edge of the realm.   Welcome back to Sengoku Daimyo.  We are still covering the reign of Uno no Sarara, and, similar to last episode, we are going to continue to talk about the people who made up Yamato at this time.  This episode, more specifically, we are going to be turning away from the capital, in Asuka, and looking all the way over to Tsukushi—modern Kyushu—and at the people who served as Dazai no Sochi, or head of the local government out there, as well as the bureaucrats and staff that worked for them—at least as far we know.  Many of them went on to have considerable careers that took them well beyond Kyushu.  At the same time, we'll take a look at some of the things that happened under their rule as what Aston translates as the "Viceroy of Tsukushi". After that, I have a special announcement about the podcast at the end of the episode, so if you are interested in learning more about what we plan on doing, please listen all the way to the end to hear about some plans for the future. And with that out of the way, let's begin. So we are talking about the position of Dazai no Sochi or the Viceroy of Tsukushi.  Often these people are referred to only as being of the "Tsukushi no Dazai" or the "Tsukushi no Ohomochi".  The term "Sochi" appears later, and we first see this term applied to Prince Kawachi, in 689.  It seems to show up with two different characters, which might be a term from the later Taihou code that was retroactively applied or may refer to an evolution of the position over time.  I'm honestly not sure.  There is still plenty of confusion over what was meant in some of the references. We've discussed this position before on the podcast: This was the sovereign's representative to the world outside of the archipelago.  Not only did the Dazai no Sochi  oversee all of Tsukushi—all of Kyushu— and extensive defensive forces stationed there and in the outlying islands, but they oversaw all diplomatic and trade missions to and from the archipelago.  Envoy missions would come to Tsushima, where they would get a local pilot and send word ahead.  They would then be received at the government center, the Dazai, near modern Fukuoka and Hakata bay.  For most envoys, this was as close as they would ever get to Yamato proper.  They would offload their goods there and be put up at the government supplied quarters in Wogohori.  They would be wined and dined there, entertained as appropriate to their status, while word was sent on to the capital.  In rare cases, envoys would be sent on another journey through the inland sea to Naniwa, and then on to Asuka, but otherwise their journey would end at the Dazaifu.  Any return gifts would come back with the correspondence from the capital, and thus be handed out to the envoys and their escorts before the mission was sent back home to Silla, Tamna, or wherever they had come from. Being the middle man in this operation offered a lot of power and authority, but it also would have been quite lucrative.  While diplomatic missions brought gifts for the court, they also brought  trade goods, of which the Dazai no Sochi could have first  pick.  This is on top of the fact that this position often came with a stipend equaling the labor of hundreds of individuals.  Many of the Dazai no Sochi would serve limited terms, eventually returning to Asuka, where we see them take on powerful positions. Take, for example, our first Dazai no Sochi, Tajihi no Mabito no Shima. Tajihi no Shima was born, we are told, in or around 624 to Tajihi no Maro and a daughter of Ohotomo no Hirafu.  Tajihi no Maro, Shima's father was a powerful noble in the court of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, and he had enough standing that he was one of the named individuals who provided eulogies for Ohoama on the occasion of his passing.   The Tajihi family were quite well placed: they were descendants of Hinokuma no Takata no Miko, aka Senka Tennou, Shima's great-grandfather.  This earned them the kabane of "Mabito", or "True Person" because of their royal lineage.   Tajihi no Shima was placed in charge of the Dazai from at least 682.  His predecessor that we know about is Prince Yagaki, who was dismissed around 676, and we don't know who filled the gap between him and Shima. Shima had quite the run.  We don't know exactly when he returned to the court in Asuka, but it cannot have been later than 689, when we see Awada no Mahito in the position.  A year later, in 690, Shima was made Udaijin, or minister of the right.  That's a huge deal and we will talk about that in a bit, but what did Shima actually oversee during his tenure as Dazai no Sochi? We have quite a few events attributed to him, this reign.  In 686, we see the Tsukushi no Dazai sending tribute in the form of human beings:  Common men and women of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, along with 62 priests and nuns.  We aren't told where these men and women came from, but I suspect that they were refugees or captives from all the fighting on the peninsula.  That they were given as tribute suggests to me that they were enslaved—or at the very least they were not free.  If they were uneducated, they were likely put to work as labor, perhaps building out the new capital or opening new farmlands.  Later we see the various missions from Silla around the death of Ohoama, and the back and forth that went on, there, and in 688 the Tsukushi no Dazai entertained Kara, a Minister of Tamna, aka modern Jeju island, who had been sent by the king of that small country.  You may recall that Tamna, while late to the game, may have been one of the last holdouts of an early Japonic speaking people outside of the archipelago. Being the Tsukushi no Dazai, Shima would not have only been concerned with foreign envoys, but also with two other groups of Hayato—specifically the Ohosumi no Hayato and the Ata no Hayato.  Little is known about them, other than that Yamato considered them to be distinct ethnic and cultural groups living in the far south of Kyushu.  We've talked before about how southern Kyushu maintained a significantly different material culture through Kofun period until more recent times.  We also have indication that they had a distinctive shield and even art style—the famous "Hayato shields" appear to have been appropriated by the court, along with a contingent of Hayato men that were expected to act as an exotic guard for the sovereign and the court.  The earliest reliable evidence we have for them is a record from 682.  There are some questions as to whether or not they were related to the groups previously called Kumaso or even the Tsuchigumo, but there is no clear historical or archaeological  evidence linking them other than the common cultural finds in Kyushu more generally. The Ata and Ohosumi Hayato may have been distinct clans or lineage groups living in Ohosumi and the area of modern Satsuma.  We have a record in 687 of the Ata no Hayato attending Ohoama's funeral and presenting a eulogy.  The chiefs who came brought 337 others—a sizeable contingent—and they were all given presents by the court.  Later, we would see presents given out to 174 Hayato by Shima's successor in the Dazai, Awada no Mahito, and then in 692 we know that the court sent priests to preach Buddhism to Ata and Ohosumi.    In 695, Hayato of Ohosumi were entertained in the capital, and they even held a wrestling match for the Queen and her attendants in the area west of Asukadera, by the site of the famous Tsuki tree. So the Hayato would have been another group that Shima no doubt dealt with on a somewhat regular basis in his capacity as Dazi no Sochi—and then later on when he returned to Asuka and took up his new role as Udaijin.   And as I mentioned, that appointment was a Big Deal.  The position of Udaijin had been vacant since Nakatomi no Kane, one of the infamous leaders of the Afumi court, was non-consensually removed from the position—and this plane of existence—when he was executed in 672, at the closure of the Jinshin no Ran.  After that, Ohoama appears to have been gun-shy about sharing power with anyone outside the royal family.  The position had been left vacant for about 18 years.  So what made Uno no Sarara take up Shima as Minister of the Right?  And what about the Minister of the Left, or the Sadaijin? Well, we don't have a Sadaijin, but we do have a Dajodaijin in the form of Prince Takechi, Ohoama's first-born son.  The Dajodaijin was the Prime Minister in charge of the entire Dajokan, the Council of State, made up of the ministers of the left and right and the 8 bureaus of the government.  The Sadaijin and Udaijin served under the Dajodaijin, in that hierarchical order, with the Sadaijin generally being considered higher in precedence.  So it looks like, in this case, they had the Dajodaijin, Prince Takechi to run the Council and Shima, as Udaijin would have been responsible for ensuring the administration of the eight bureaus was properly carried out. That Shima was appointed just under Prince Takechi again shows the power and influence he likely had and the trust he must have had from Uno no Sarara.  Remember, the Crown Prince, Kusakabe, had died before he could take the throne.  Uno was enthroned as Queen, while the Crown Prince, Karu, was still a minor.  Whereas Ohoama had his wife and many sons to help him run things, Uno no Sarara was running thin.  As had been seen with Prince Ohotsu, there was always the threat that one of Ohoama's other sons could be propped up on the throne.  Uno had to look after Karu's birthright, but there was no guarantee that he would make it to adulthood in times before modern medicine.  It appears that Prince Takechi was actually considered the next in line, just in case something happened to Karu before he could ascend the throne, which makes sense that Prince Takechi was also trusted as Dajo Daijin.  Shima's place as Udaijin must have been indicative of similar trust that he would look after the royal family's interests.  This was no doubt helped by the role he played as Dazai no Sochi. As Udajin, Tajihi no Shima went on to have a rather incredible career.  He was given 4 cho of land for his residence.  This appears to be around 10 acres or so—a not inconsiderable amount of land, and it probably refers to the amount of land he was granted in the new Fujiwara capital city.  Later, in the Nara capital of Heijo-kyo, Prince Nagaya's residence was about that size and Fujiwara no Nakamaro's residence is thought to have been about twice that.  This would have given Shima space for multiple buildings, sprawling gardens, servants quarters, quarters for his wives and children, and much more. Tajihi no Shima would continue in his role as Udaijin, and would eventually, be promoted to the position of Sadaijin, a post he held only briefly, as he passed away almost a year later. He was not forgotten, however.  It is thought that he was the model for one of the suitors of Kaguya Hime in the famous story of Taketori Monogatari—the tale of the Bamboo Cutter.  Taketori Monogatari, also known as Kaguya Hime Monogatari, is considered the oldest known story in the Monogatari form.  It was probably written in the late 9th or early 10th century, with references to it appearing in works as early as 909 CE.  This suggests that Tajihi no Shima and others were still remembered, at least in part, over a century later. Shima is also thought to have been the patron of the famous poet, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, one of the famous 36 immortal poets.  We'll have to include Hitomaro in a later episode, though we might come back to him after this reign, as he isn't mentioned in the Chronicles, but we do have some fragmentary biographical information thanks to his inclusion in the Man'yoshu.  In fact, he's probably one of the most famous poets in the Man'yoshu who is not otherwise mentioned.  We are told that he was the court poet during the reign of Uno no Sarara, so it makes sense that Shima may have very well been his patron and helped him get his start. Now while Shima was back in Asuka, making it big in the court, the position of Tsukushi no Dazai had to be filled, and we are told that the mantle was taken up by Awada no Mahito no Ason.  This name is a bit tricky, as it seems to have two kabane:  Mahito and Ason.  Since his father is said to have been Kasuga no Awada no Omi no Kudara, the assumption seems to be that "Mahito" was his name, rather than his kabane.  Although it was likely pronounced "Mabito" at the time, I'm going to go with the modern pronunciation of "Mahito" in part to distinguish it from the kabane.  A quick side note:  When reading names from this period, we usually see the kabane coming right after the family name, as the kabane is basically a rank for the family and not the individual.  But we do occasionally see the kabane tacked on at the end of a name, as in Awada no Mahito's case.  I would also like to quickly draw your attention to his father's name:  Kudara.  That can also be read as Baekje.  Was this an indication that his father or an ancestor came from the continent, perhaps from Baekje?  Or just that he had close ties to that kingdom?  I couldn't find anything specific, but it seems interesting that he was put in place at the Dazai, where dealing with the continent would have been an important part of his duties. Awada no Mahito was not just a noble of the court, and even if his father was of Baekje descent, that may not have been the main thing that gained him the position.  It may have also had to do with an earlier incident.  We are told that in 653 Mahito was one of those who traveled with the 2nd envoy to the Tang court as a scholar monk.  He would later return to secular life, but that experience must have been a big feather in his cap, helping him land a good position at court.  In fact, in 685, we are told that he was Jikikwoushi rank—a fairly respectable position for anyone at the time—and he apparently tried to get his father raised to the same rank as he was.  Aston translates the record as saying he was willing to give his rank to his father, but it is unclear to me if this means he was offering to give up his rank altogether.  At the very least it seems that he felt awkward outranking his father—a good, filial attitude, it would seem.  However, Ohoama didn't care.  In the past, rank may have been given to entire families, but now the court was giving rank to individuals, and the rank Mahito had earned was his, not his father's.  And so his request was denied. Four years later, Ohoama was gone and Awada no Mahito was sent to the Tsukushi no Dazai.  We are told that he was in that position as of 689.  If that was the position of Dazai no Sochi, however, he didn't hold it for long, as Prince Kawachi was raised up to that position that same year, and here we have a bit of a conundrum.  Mahito is only mentioned as "Tsukushi no Dazai" while Prince Kawachi is specifically mentioned, at least twice, as Tsukushi no Dazai no Sochi.  There are some who suggest that Mahito may have been the Dazai Daini, an assistant to the Dazai no Sochi—effectively the second-in-command it would appear.  This makes some sense, when you consider it, and he may even have been acting Dazai no Sochi until Prince Kawachi was appointed. Of course, because our records are quite lackluster, and we are never actually told when Tajihi no Shima left the position, it is possible that Awada no Mahito was actually the Dazai Sochi for many years leading up to 689, and that Shima had returned to Asuka some time ago.  This is the problem with the way things are written—sometimes they mention a name and sometimes just a position, and rarely do they mention when someone stepped down. Still, Mahito oversaw a few things that we can be somewhat sure about as they happened after he is first mentioned in the position, though it was all in the same year.  For one thing, he is the one who presented gifts to the 174 Hayato in the first month of 689.  This included cloth, ox hides, and deerskins.  He was also there when the Queen sent relief to the Barrier Wardens whose terms were up.  These were the Sakimori, a position set up to defend the archipelago and repel any potential invasions.  I would assume they were regularly rotated out, especially if they were expected to man the fortifications out on some of the islands.  It is interesting that we don't often see them referenced, so it isn't clear to me why the reference was made here—it may have just been a note in one of the sources the Chroniclers were using. Later that same year, we also see garments being given out—likely meaning official court clothing—to the Tsukushi Dazai and others.  This was probably to bring them all in line with the latest formal wear being used in the court in Asuka.  We also know that in the 6th month of that year they entertained the Silla envoys, who were given various presents. And then, two months later, Mahito is out and Prince Kawachi comes in.  At the same time that Prince Kawachi is being made the Dazai no Sochi, our previous Dazai no Sochi, Tajihi no Shima, had his rank and fief increased.   I doubt this was a coincidence, and it is one of the things that, for me, lends credence to the idea that Shima had just then returned to Asuka and Prince Kawachi was his replacement, suggesting that Mahito had really just been in an acting capacity while the change over was taking place. Unfortunately, if we were looking for more information about Prince Kawachi's background, we would be disappointed.  Although he is a prince, probably descended from Nunakura, aka Bidatsu Tennou, we don't have a lot about him.  He—or someone with the same name, since we do see these Princely titles get reused, it seems—is found in the reign of Ohoama traveling with Ohotomo no Yasumaro and Fujiwara no Ohoshima to go entertain Gim Jisyang of Silla.  Later we see a Prince Kawachi delivering eulogies during Ohoama's funeral.  That suggests he held an important position, and that he was somewhat familiar with the continent, but we don't get a whole lot more.  Our next evidence is when he was appointed to the post of Dazai no Sochi in 689, a position he would hold until his death in 694—which may also explain why we just don't see too much of him in the record.  A promising career may have been cut short, as happened all too often back in that day and age. Still, as Dazai no Sochi, he had plenty to keep him busy.  Not a month after he arrived, Isonokami no Maro and Ishikawa no Mishina arrived at the head of a delegation.  They were there to deliver patents of rank to members of the Tsukushi government and to inspect the fortifications at the edge of the archipelago.  These were the same fortifications being manned by the newly arrived Sakimori. Speaking of the members of the Tsukushi government, it took a lot of people to make the Dazaifu work, not just the Sochi giving people orders about what they should do.  There were numerous assistants helping to keep everything running.  Some of them would have just been dealing with the Sochi's own residence, while others were clerks, guards, and more.  It really was a miniature version of the court in Asuka, and would have required a lot of people to tend to it.  And we know of at least one of them:  Tsukushi no Fubito no Masaru, whose imagined thoughts we heard at the top of the episode.  In 691, Masaru was recognized for 29 years of service as a secretary to the Tsuksuhi no Dazai.  Twenty-nine years in place suggests to me that he would have likely been one of the longest serving members of the Tsukushi government center.  He would have known where all the bodies were buried—perhaps quite literally.  While the Dazai no Sochi was often a temporary appointment, sometimes just for a few years, they would have likely leaned on Masaru for his expertise.  This is just like how modern government appointees like ambassadors may come and go, including for political reasons, but they rely on permanent staff, including a lot of locals, to provide the institutional knowledge they need to do their jobs.  One can assume that if Masaru had been successful for 29 years he knew how things were supposed to work.  And so I hope that his superiors made sure to remember that when Secretary's day rolled around. Prince Kawachi didn't make it 29 years, but he made it five.  He might have gone even longer, but he died in office in 694 and was posthumously raised in rank for his service.  History is full of stories, but in real life, the stories don't always follow the expected narratives.  As much as we'd like to think otherwise, good, moral people do not always triumph and sometimes those who do awful things are never punished.  And some times stories come to abrupt ends.  Of course, looking back, it just is what it is.  Prince Kawachi's life becomes little more than a footnote.  And yet, what if he had gone on?  Would he have followed Tajihi no Shima to help become one of the grand ministers of the court?  Unfortunately, we will never know.  He could have been a rising star, but we just know about his passing. Five months after Prince Kawachi's untimely death, he was followed in the post by Prince Mino.  Prince Mino would continue in the position, it seems, through the end of the reign in 697—or at least nobody else was appointed until 700, when Isonokami no Maro—apparently the same one who had previously come out to inspect the fortifications during Prince Kawachi's tenure—was appointed.  Although he came into the position in the next reign, we'll still touch on him, as he was another notable figure at this time. Looking back at Prince Mino, however, we seem to run into a problem—there are too many Princes Mino in the record.  If you just use the English translations, you'll find several references to Prince Mino, but if you look at the original text, you'll see that there are at least three different spellings.  For one it means "Beautiful Field" and another is just "Three Fields".  A third "Mino" is spelled with characters that don't necessarily create obvious meaning, and may just be a phonetic spelling. It is possible that all of these Princes Mino are the same.  Spelling wasn't standard, and different characters could be used for the same name.  On the other hand, we have one set of characters being used to describe a Prince Mino who supported Ohoama during the Jinshin no Ran, while another, the "Three Fields" Prince Mino, describes one of the sons of Prince Kurikuma, who was with his father in Tsukushi when the Afumi court came calling.  Since travel wasn't necessarily an overnight endeavor—unless you were Ohoama, rushing through the mountains to the east—it would seem that the Prince Mino in Tsukushi is unlikely to be the same one as the Prince Mino who joined Ohoama's forces back in the Home Provinces. So let's make the assumption that Prince Mino—Prince "Three Fields" Mino—is one person and the others are separate.  What do we know about him? Well, he appears to have had experience with Tsukushi and the government out  there, since he would be the son of Prince Kurikuma, a former Tsukushi Dazai no Sochi.  We talked about Prince Kurikuma before, back in numerous episodes, but particularly in episodes 128 and Episode 144, as well as references in betweend. Prince Kurikuma was not only a significant factor in the outcome of the Jinshin no Ran, denying the Afumi court the resources of all of the defenders at the Tsukushi fortifications, he shows up in local legends in Tsukushi still today.  So he definitely seems to have had an impact on the region.  It also suggests that Prince Mino had connections in the area through his father. After his father's posting as Dazai no Sochi ended, Prince Mino appears to have returned with him to Asuka.  He is described as a key member in Ohoama's court.  He was one of the Princes mentioned in the audience at the Daigokuden in 681, when Ohoama instituted the commission to bring together the various court sources that we presume would eventually lead to the creation of the Chronicles—the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki.  Later, he become a daibu, a high official, of the Household Bureau, responsible for the household of the sovereign, the sumera no mikoto.  This meant the upkeep of the palace, the kitchens, and the various servants waiting on the sovereign and his family.  This also means that he was likely close to the movers and shakers of the court. One of the projects under his purview appears to have been the laying out of a new palace and a new capital city.  In 682 he headed up the investigations at the place called Nihiki, determining that it would be a good location for what would eventually become Fujiwara-kyo—a project still underway in Queen Uno's reign.  He was also sent out to Shinano two years later to look for a site for a second capital.  It ended up not happening, but he spent a couple months and eventually came back with a map of the region.  It may be that the Fujiwara-kyo project took up a lot of Mino's time and effort, because we then don't hear from him for another decade, during which Ohama passed away and so much more happened.  Assuming he was still involved with the Fujiwara capital project, however, we see that in 691 there was a ceremony held for the tranquility of the new capital—a Chin-sai or, what we would today call a "Ji-chin-sai".  This is a "land pacification ceremony" done when breaking ground on a new building or other project.  So it looks like planning and land clearing had taken some 10 years, but it was finally ready to get started.  Later that same year we hear of them laying out the residences of high ranking nobles, like the Udaijin, Tajihi no Shima, and we also see the Queen inspecting the roads.  Then, a year later in 692, they were holding the land pacification ceremony for the new palace.  The queen would move into the new palace in the very last months of 694. But by that time, Prince Mino was on to his next assignment.  He had been appointed Tsukushi Dazai no Sochi earlier that year following the death of Prince Kawachi.  Not much more is said of Tsukushi for the next three years of the reign, but we do see the Hayato visiting Asuka, presumably with Prince Mino's assistance. We don't have a clear idea of when Prince Mino retired—it's certainly not in the Nihon Shoki—but we know that he did because he was succeeded in the role by none other than Isonokami no Maro, who would take up the position in 700.  Prince Mino, on the other hand, returned to the court, where he would eventually pass away in the year 708. And that was the last Dazai no Sochi who held the position during this reign, but I do want to talk about the one who came after Prince Mino just a bit—though more because this was an up-and-coming court noble whom we should be watching. Isonokami no Maro was born, by all accounts, in the year 640.  Despite his name he was actually born to a family that we know somewhat well from much earlier on: The Mononobe.  In fact, his father is apparently Mononobe no Muraji no Umaro, and he appears to be descended from the main line of the Mononobe family, which had declined ever since Mononobe no Moriya had been defeated and killed by Soga no Umako and others. And it seems that the Mononobe curse of being on the losing side in a contest for power hit Maro during the Jinshin no Ran, because we see him, at that time referenced as Mononobe no Muraji no Maro, along with two servants, or Toneri, serving Prince Ohotomo—aka Koubun Tennou—up to the very end.  In fact, when Ohotomo fled and the Afumi court deserted him, only Mononobe no Maro and the servants stayed with him when he eventually strangled himself. And one would think that would be it.   You were with the rival for the throne in the most contentious fight in recent memory.  You couldn't protect him and you were on the wrong side.  Sure, Ohoama was going to pardon you because he couldn't just rid himself of half of the court and hope things would still run smoothly—that would be a surefire recipe for disaster, and nobody wanted the government crippled like that.  However, you can't imagine that those on the losing side would be given any position of trust or authority. And yet, in 676, we see that Mononobe no Maro was sent to Silla.  And he wasn't just helping out: he was sent as the chief envoy of Ohoama's court.  That is quite the turnaround in four years, and we don't really know why, but it has been speculated that Ohoama was actually impressed.  While other members of the Afumi court fled and abandoned Ohotomo to his enemies, Maro and the two toneri with him did not, staying with Ohotomo until the bitter end, and likely conveying what had happened to the other side once it was all over.   That kind of loyalty was impressive, especially back then. It is also thought that Maro may have benefited from the fact that Enoi no Okimi, who was also descended from the Mononobe family, fought on the side of Ohoama.  This is a common scenario we see throughout Japanese history, where different members of the same family fight on different sides of a conflict, often meaning that no matter who wins the family can still claim to have been on the winning side.  When Okimi passed away in 676 he was posthumously recognized as the ujigami, or clan head, of the Mononobe, leading some to suspect that a bit of his shine may have rubbed off on Maro as well. In 684, when the various kabane were being rectified by Ohoama's court, the Mononobe no Muraji were included as Ason, or Asaomi.  There is some thought that around this time is when Maro changed his name to Isonokami, which is a name that was previously used by members of the Mononobe, including one of the brothers to Mononobe no Moriya.  We see him mentioned as Isonokami no Maro in 686, as one of those giving a eulogy for Ohoama: specifically he gives the eulogy on behalf of the Houkan, or Nori no Tsukasa, the Judicial officers.  He is mentioned right after Fuse no Miushi, whom we talked about last episode, who would go on to become a Dainagon and, later, Udaijin, or Minister of the Right. The first connection between Isonokami no Maro and Tsukushi was in 689, and we noted it earlier—he came out to inspect the fortifications as well as to hand out patents of rank to the court officials working out there on the edge of the realm.    He would return to Asuka in time to be a part of Uno no Sarara's official enthronement ceremonies.  There he is named Mononobe no Maro, and is in charge of the shields.  Given what we know of the role of the Mononobe as the early soldiers of the court, it makes sense that he would play this role, and that they would use the name Mononobe rather than Isonokami.  In the same way, the ritual was conducted by Fujiwara no Ohoshima, but he is recorded as Nakatomi no Ohoshima, probably because these were roles specifically for the Mononobe and Nakatomi, rather than for the Isonokami and the Fujiwara. This is another thing that can be quite frustrating when researching Japanese history—names can change at the drop of a hat, and people often had various ancestral names and titles that could be pulled out for various political or ceremonial reasons.  If you don't have the history or understand the nuance it can be easy to just think that it is a different person altogether.  And when you don't have much information, sometimes you have to ask yourself which is it? Maro would stay close to Queen Uno, even accompanying her to Ise shrine, and then, in the following reign, he would succeed Prince Mino as Dazai no Sochi in the year 700.  It isn't clear, however, if he left for the Dazaifu immediately, since in 701 he is noted as having been promoted from the office of Chunagon to Dainagon, and in that same year he went with Royal Prince Osakabe to pay respects at the house of the late Udaijin, Tajihi no Shima, who had just passed away.  He then left for Tsukushi in 702—or possibly headed back.  But in 703, he was once again back in Asuka, paying condolences on the death of the next Udaijin, Abe no Miushi—aka Fuse no Miushi, the same one whom Maro had pronounced a Eulogy with during the funeral ceremonies for Ohoama.  Isonokami no Maro would go on to take the mantle of Udaijin, and then eventually Sadaijin as well.  He would be raised up to the second rank, along with the famous Fujiwara no Fubito, who took the vacated position of Udaijin.  This meant that technically Maro was the senior of the two, though many people think that Fujiwara no Fubito held most of the actual power.  Regardless of that, Isonokami no Maro nonetheless would go on to become the highest ranking court noble before his eventual death in 717.  At that point he was 78 years old, by the reckoning of the day, and he had seen multiple sovereigns, several bloody conflicts, and the creation of two permanent capitals—Fujiwara kyo and Heijo kyo, in modern Nara.  He went from being a supporter in the Afumi court, on the wrong side of the Jinshin no Ran to become the highest ranking court noble in the land.  He would be granted the head of the Mononobe family and would continue to prosper as Isonokami.  It was truly a remarkable career over an incredible span of time. And there you have it.  A look at some of those that were sent out to the Dazaifu in Tsukushi.  In later years, the post of Dazai no Sochi would be seen more as a burden than a blessing, but at this point it was still a lucrative and powerful position.  Several of those involved in the Dazaifu or who held the position as Dazai no Sochi would go on to even more powerful positions back in Asuka.  Whilst this posting did move you further away from the politics—perhaps not always a bad thing—it also put you atop a structure where one had considerable power, authority, and autonomy, at least at this point. Next episode we'll get back to the court in Asuka and take a look at a little more of what is going on.  Before I end this, however, a quick administrative note about the podcast.  This creation is a labor of love.  It was started largely as a way to get myself to regularly dive into the Chronicles and really see what was going on.  In particular, I was excited about the Asuka period, because I don't think we really have enough of a sense of what life was like and what was going on back then.  It was clearly a very dynamic time, and yet we tend to see it through the lens of later Nara and Heian court culture, which was still very much evolving.  The stories that I *didn't* know about were what drew me to this project, and I hope that we've all learned a bit more as the project has continued. And we are reaching the end of the area that is covered by the main Chronicles, the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki, and the Sendai Kuji Hongi, which have been our main guides through this period.  But that doesn't mean we are bringing things to a close. Next we have the Shoku Nihongi and many other grecords, and I am going to keep up with the project and the schedule as best I can.  In fact, it looks like I may be able to devote even more time to it in the near future as some drastic life changes are coming for me, such that I will no longer be working a 9-to-5 job while also trying to get this podcast out like clockwork twice a month—not to mention my other passion, teaching traditional Japanese martial arts here in the DC region at a local not-for-profit dojo.  This is happening as we are also in the process of building a house, traveling, and more.  But it does mean that we are going to be looking into alternative sources of funding beyond just donations.  We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated, but I may end up doing something that I've been putting off for a while: allowing advertisements.  I want to do this so that we can continue to offer this for podcast for free, but hosting, staying up to date on sources, etc. does cost money.  I'm not looking to make a huge profit, but if we can at least get the podcast paying for itself, that would be a good start. Before I do that I'll look to find a way that we can get subscribers on Patreon and elsewhere ad-free copy.  I just need to figure that out, but once I do, I'll let you all know. So there you have it.  We aren't going to stop the podcast, but we may be adding a bit more to it in the future.  I hope, though, that we can do more beyond the historical chronicles.  For instance, did you know that we have an English translation of a 17th century cookbook up on our website, SengokuDaimyo.com?  I would love to redact those recipes and maybe provide some cooking videos for anyone who would want to try them.  A shoutout to Max Miller of Tasting History, who reached out to us about using a couple of our translations for his episodes on historical Japanese cooking – Max is a great guy and his series and cookbook are well worth following.  But there's a lot more to explore: one of my favorites so far that we've tried is "keiran", or "eggs": doughy balls filled with brown sugar and cooked in a miso based soup.  I don't know if there is anything like that still being served in Japan, but it's a strange and pleasant recipe and I would love to do that again and record it for everyone to try. All of this is in the works, and nothing will change immediately, but I wanted to keep you all in the loop.  Thank you so much for listening, I can't tell you how much it means. And of course, as always, 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 spiritually uplifting episode of Sant Attar Singh Ji Jeevan Katha (Audio Book), we witness the divine calling and transformation of Bhai Kalyan Singh Ji, a true seeker in search of inner guidance.Previously known as Kalyan Das, he lived in Kallar and ran a cloth shop. Deep within, he carried a longing to find a saint who could guide and control the wandering tendencies of the mind. Upon hearing about the intense tapasya and spiritual greatness of Sant Attar Singh Ji Maharaj, he set out one day to seek his darshan at Kanohe.As Bhai Kalyan Das approached from a distance and removed his shoes in reverence, Sant Ji lovingly called out, “Come, Bhai Kalyan Singh Ji! We have been waiting for you for a long time.”

Another episode, another new reign--same old problems.  This episode we talk about what happened after Ohoama, aka Temmu Tenno, passed away.  We'll touch on the fact that it wasn't entirely a smooth transition, and there are certainly hints that not everyone was in agreement as to what should happen.  And then there were other problems, such that the heir apparent never actually took the throne.  So what happened? For more information on the main characters in this episode, check out the blogpost at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-147  (Also apologies ahead of time--my voice was not in great shape, and that may come through on the audio) Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is episode 147: Here We Go Again   Iki no Hakatoko looked around the spacious room and recognized many of the faces he saw there.  There were various nobles from around the court present.  All of them were familiar, even if they were not the closest of acquaintances—they ran in similar circles and were connected to each other over various political positions.  Some were connected by marriage, some were just allies, and others were almost rivals—but they were all there for a common cause. The open chamber had been buzzing as all of those elites of Yamato talked about why they might have gathered.  Of course, the big news was the death of the sovereign.  Ohoama had passed away, and the court was formally in mourning. And yet the government seemed stable.    The Queen was at the helm, guiding t he government, and her son was beside her as the Crown Prince.  So what was everyone doing here, gathering for what they could only assume were… other options? Finally, the buzzing started to die down as the doors to the chamber were closed and guards posted.  And then, the host for the discussion arrived, as Royal Prince Ohotsu stepped out and greeted all of his soon-to-be co-conspirators….     This episode, at long last, we are about to dive into a new reign.  And if you haven't picked up by now, this, the end of the 7th century, was a turbulent time.  Although the court had been instituting reforms to be more like the courts on the continent—and it wasn't like Ohoama died without any heir whatsoever—things were still unstable.  I know, shocker, right? So what happened? Let's go over the history some, and the main players, and then we can see what happened and the aftermath. Before that, however, let's talk about what we might expect to have happened, if everything had worked like clockwork. While Ohoama passed away in 686, it wasn't as if he hadn't made any plans.  His wife and Queen, Uno no Sarara, was deeply entrenched in governmental affairs, and their son, Prince Kusakabe, had been named Crown Prince in 681.  This meant that both were in positions of significant power within the current government.  All things being equal, and assuming a Confucian model, one would expect that upon Ohoama's passing, Kusakabe would step up and take the reins of the government, ascending to the throne as the new ruler.  Uno would oversee the transition and take her place as the Queen Mother, remaining in the palace and helping to shepherd the new rule, while one of Kusakabe's wives—probably Abe-hime, who, like her half-sister Uno, was also a daughter of Naka no Oe—would become his queen. And yet that is not what happened.  Prince Kusakabe does not show up in our list of sovereigns, and we are told he never ascended the throne.  Instead, his mother, Uno no Sarara, came to power.  So what exactly happened?  Why would she not have handed over power to her only son and set him up on the throne?  To understand all of that, I think there are several things we need to discuss, first of them being just how tenuous and fragile transitions like this were. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you might be nodding in agreement with this statement: for more than a century, at this point, whatever high-minded ideals the rulers of Yamato may have espoused, their path to the throne had been covered in blood.  Let's roll back to the events of 587.  We talked about this in Episode 91, when the Soga and Mononobe families had each lined up behind different aspirants to the royal throne.  The Mononobe were a powerful family, known to be warriors for the throne, and the head of the Mononobe, the Ohomuraji, Moriya, was one of the most influential people at court.  However, in recent years, the Soga family had been on the rise.  Soga no Iname had married his daughters to members of the royal family, and he and his son, Umako, were known as the Ohoomi.  The Mononobe were not having it with these uppity newcomers, but the Soga seem to have built their power, anyway, likely using their connections to the continent to do so.  In a series of succession disputes, the Soga came out on top, defeating the Mononobe and eventually killing Moriya.  It was a bloody fight, but eventually the Soga's royal relatives won out. This brought Hasebe Wakasasagi, aka Sushun Tennou, to the throne.  For a time, Wakasasagi and Soga no Umako ruled the land, but eventually Wakasasagi grew suspicious of Umako—perhaps jealous of his power.  He considered taking him out, but Umako caught wind and had the sovereign assassinated, instead.  Umako then put his own niece, Kashikiya Hime, on the throne, where most know her as Suiko Tennou. Kashikiya was no stranger to the court, having served as the wife of her own half-brother, Nunakura, aka Bidatsu Tennou.  Kashikya is thought to have been a compromise candidate, chosen specifically to avert any further power struggles.  Certainly, Umako did not want a repeat performance of what had just happened with Wakasasagi.  And though she reigned, power was apparently shared between Soga no Umako, Kashikiya Hime, and Kashikiya Hime's nephew—Umako's grandnephew—Crown Prince Umayado, aka the legendary Shotoku Taishi.   By all rights, it seemed like things should have gone smoothly.  Umako, the eldest, would pass away to be succeeded by his niece, and it would make sense that after Kashikiya Hime's passing, Umayado would assume the throne.  Instead, Umayado would be the first to pass, creating uncertainty as to the future of the throne.  Then Umako would follow several years later.  Finally, Suiko would pass away soon thereafter. So, in about six years the three most powerful people in court all passed away.  Soga no Umako's son, Soga no Emishi, was still coming out from under his father's shadow.  Furthermore, it was not clear who should sit the throne—should it be Prince Yamashiro no Oe, the son of the Crown Prince, Umayado?  After all, his father would have likely inherited the throne and then it would have no doubt been passed to him.  And yet, there was another contender: Prince Tamura.  Ultimately Soga no Emishi backed Prince Tamura, a man with ties to Nunakura through both his father and mother, and yet who was not truly a royal prince in that his own parents had never held the throne.  Then again, neither had Umayado.  Eventually, Prince Yamashiro no Oe would back down from his claim to avoid bloodshed—and yet blood would be shed anyway.  When Prince Tamura died,  in an apparent bid to keep Soga power and quash any resistance before it started up, Soga no Emishi had Tamura's wife, Takara hime, aka Kougyoku Tennou, installed—but Prince Yamashiro no Ohoe was still alive, and his heirs were still out there.  Soga no Emishi appeared to be content, but his son and heir, Soga no Iruka, was not. And when his father was ill and Iruka had a free hand, he ordered the destruction of Prince Yamashiro no Oe, presumably to avoid a future challenge to the throne and thus to the Soga family's hold on power. This move shocked many, and rather than preventing conflict, it seems to have stirred up ill feelings against the Soga for their heavy hand in the politics of the period.  This would lead Prince Naka no Ohoe and several co-conspirators to rise up, killing Soga no Iruka in court, and then attacking his father, Soga no Emishi, in their home.  See episode 106 for more on that, known as the Isshi Incident.  Naka no Ohoe and his supporters would take their place in the court, but Naka no Ohoe would not ascend to the throne, himself – at least not yet.  Instead, he took the position of Crown Prince, and his uncle, Prince Karu,aka Kotoku Tennou,  took the throne.  However, that still left a loose end.  Prince Furubito no Oe, who had appeared to be the favorite for the throne under the Soga, was still alive.  Furubito no Oe was the son of Tamura and a Soga consort—Hotei no Iratsume, the daughter of Soga no Umako.  Although the Chronicles do not mention it, he seems to have been well placed to be Crown Prince in place of Naka no Oe, especially in a Soga dominated court.  Without that backing, however, his claim may not have been quite so strong.  He had gone into exile in Yoshino, but opponents of Naka no Oe's faction and their bloody coup began to use him as a rallying point.  It is unclear if Prince Furubito himself had any ambitions, but the fact remained that he was a threat, nonetheless, and Prince Naka no Oe had him taken out. By controlling things from behind the throne, Prince Naka no Oe seems to have been able to keep things fairly stable.  When his uncle Karu  passed away, the throne went back to his mother, who is known as Saimei Tennou in her second reign, but Naka no Oe was still in a place of considerable power, and the continuity likely helped keep things on track.  Then Takara Hime passed away in the midst of a national crisis—the mobilization to support Baekje against the Silla-Tang alliance.  That military effort turned out to be less than successful, but by that point, there does not seem to have been much question over who was in charge – it was finally Naka no Oe's turn to take the throne, and he did, as Tenji Tennou. And so it wasn't until Naka no Oe's own death that we again see major violence.  Naka no Oe's brother, Ohoama, is said to have been the Crown Prince, but then Naka no Oe's son, Ohotomo, came of age.  He was made the Dajo Daijin and supported by the most powerful nobles in court.   It is clear that there were divergent factions within the court itself, though, with some supporting Ohotomo and others supporting Ohoama.  In the midst of this, Ohoama chose to bow out, at least while his brother Naka no Oe was still on the throne.  However, Ohotomo and his supporters could not leave Ohoama out there as a loose end.  They knew that he still had a claim and supporters, and they started to make plans to move against him after Naka no Oe's death.  They were too slow, however—Ohoama caught word and moved against the court, instead.  In a bloody struggle that upended the politics of the court one more time, Ohoama came to the throne.  That struggle, the Jinshin no Ran, was covered in detail in episodes 129 to 132. So if we look back we can see that for all of the thoughts of inheritance and legitimacy, most of those who had ascended the throne had done so by eliminating their rivals—either before or just after they assumed the royal mantle.  As such, this is something that Ohoama was, himself, quite concerned about, and he took several steps to try to avoid a repeat of this scenario. First, and perhaps somewhat confusingly, he ensured that those in positions of authority in the government were largely tied by blood to the royal family.  The royal and non-royal princes were all nominally related in one way, shape, or form.  If nothing else this meant that the nobility— those elites without direct blood ties to the throne—were not, themselves, gaining the kind of power and authority that had previously been given out to families like the Ohotomo, the Mononobe, and the Soga.  We don't even hear that much about the relatives of Nakatomi no Kamatari, who had achieved such heights under Naka no Oe that he had become the Naidaijin, the great minister of the interior. One might think that this system still had issues, however.  After all, each princely line had their own tie to a previous sovereign, and we've certainly seen times where a sovereign came in out of left field, with a nominal, but hardly convincing, connection to the throne.  This is particularly true in a time when succession was still not necessarily a strictly patrilineal custom; where it was not unusual for a senior family member to take up the mantle of leadership, rather than just the first-born son of the current ruler. And that seems to be why Ohoama also held the Yoshino conference with his immediate family members in 679.  This included his Queen Consort, Uno; the Royal Prince Kusakabe, the Royal Prince Ohotsu, the Royal Prince Takechi, the Royal Prince Kawashima, the Royal Prince Osakabe, and the Royal Prince Shiki.  These were sons of both Ohoama and Naka no Oe, but they were all considered to be loyal insiders of the royal family.  Ohoama had them swear to work together and to protect one another.  And yet, as we shall see, that promise does not seem to have survived Ohoama himself. So let's talk about some of these characters, now that we are here at another question of succession.  We'll start with the Queen herself, Uno no Sarara. Uno was born in 645, the daughter of Naka no Oe and a consort, Wochi no Iratsume, daughter of Soga no Yamada no Ishikawa no Maro.  Ishikawa no Maro had been a powerful ally of Naka no Oe, assisting with the overthrow of his own uncle and cousin, Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka.  In turn, he seems to have become the head of the Soga family.  Despite the rhetoric that the Soga family was destroyed, it was more that the power of Emishi and Iruka was broken.  Ishikawa no Maro had parlayed his assistance into another means to access power at the court, and married his own daughter to Naka no Oe.  That worked until it didn't—enemies in court slandered Ishikawa no Maro and Naka no Oe had him killed in 649. Wochi no Iratsume would have three children with Naka no Oe.  The eldest was Princess Ota, followed by Princess Uno, and finally Prince Takeru.  There is a theory that she died in 651, giving birth to Prince Takeru.  Prince Takeru himself would only survive a short while passing away in 658.  He was only seven years old. Both Princess Ohota and Princess Uno were married off to their uncle, Prince Ohoama.  Princess Ohota was the elder of the two, and bore Princess Ohoku and Prince Ohotsu, whom we'll discuss in a bit.  However, Princess Ohota passed away in 667, during the reign of Naka no Oe, and so did not play as big a role in the politics of the day as her younger sister. Uno, on the other hand, appears to have been Ohoama's ride-or-die.  They were married when she was only thirteen years old, and she followed him when he and Naka no Oe went to Kyushu to oversee the war on the peninsula.  It was there that she gave birth to her first and only son in 662.  She left the court behind to follow Ohoama to Yoshino, along with their son, Prince Kusakabe.  She then followed Ohoama on his lightning blitz through the mountains over to the east.  It is said that while he went on to the front, she maintained a place in the relative safety of the land of Mie.  From there she likely organized the rearguard and would have been involved with the back-end logistics.  She is also said to have made particular entreaties to the deities of Ise shrine, and may have had a hand in raising the Shrine to greater prominence during the reign of Ohoama and later. A key note is the fact that, when Ohoama became ill, and could not effectively manage the affairs of state, Uno stepped in and made sure that things continued to operate.  And so, when Ohoama finally passed away, his projects were not simply left hanging—his queen and consort, Uno no Sarara, was there to see that everything remained on track. As queen, Uno's son, Prince Kusakabe, was the favorite to succeed his father.  In fact, in 681, he was named Crown Prince at the age of 19.  Kusakabe had even married his own aunt, Princess Abe—his mother's half-sister.  Princess Abe was another daughter of Naka no Oe and a Soga related consort; in this case it was Wochi no Iratsume's younger sister, Mehi no Iratsume—sometimes called Sakurai no Iratsume.  I should note that Princess Abe was only about 20 years old in 681, only a year older than the Crown Prince, so it isn't like there was a huge age gap between them, even if he was technically marrying his own aunt.  Still, they had already had a child between them the year before, in 680—this was Princess Hidaka or Niimi.  Two years later, in 683, they had another child, Prince Karu, and later we know that they had a third child, Princess Kibi.  This is all a pretty good start for a future sovereign, and Kusakabe seems to have been on track to succeed his father. By all rights, it seems that Kusakabe should have stepped up in 686 to take the throne, but that was not to be.  Instead, his mother, Queen Uno no Sarara, would retain her place at the head of the government.  It is possible that this was meant to be merely temporary —there were still many things to be taken care of.  With Ohoama's death there were numerous rituals having to do with his interment, and the Crown Prince, Kusakabe, appears to have been integral to those events.  Whereas we may have previously seen powerful nobles step up, with the increased influence of Confucianism, it makes sense that a son would be responsible for ensuring that things were taken care of.   There was also the issue of a new palace that would need to be built, and the court would need to prepare for the various enthronement ceremonies.  After all, Naka no Oe himself wasn't formally enthroned for three years into his supposed reign. And just like his grandfather, as Crown Prince, Kusakabe maintained a powerful portfolio at the court that would still allow him to have a heavy hand on the rudder of the ship of state.  In fact, had things gone differently, then the Chroniclers may have simply counted these early years as part of Kusakabe's reign, as they had done with Naka no Oe. And all that would have been great—except that, despite all those nice family agreements at Yoshino, there were others who seem to have had designs on the throne. The first claim that likely could have been made was by Prince Takechi.  Prince Takechi—written as Takaichi, like the district of the same name—was technically the eldest son of Ohoama.  He had been called to Ohoama's side during the Jinshin no Ran, and given nominal control over the troops waiting to cross the pass from Ohowari into Afumi.  This was likely more of a sinecure, however; Prince Takechi was still quite young, and while the position would no doubt teach him much about organization and leadership, I certainly hope that there were more experienced individuals assisting him. However, for all of that, Prince Takechi had a major strike against him In the form of his parentage.  Although he was Ohoama's eldest son, his mother was not a royal princess.  Instead she was Amago no Iratsume, the daughter of the powerful head of the Munakata family, Munakata no Tokusen. Munakata was a powerful area on the northwest coast of Tsukushi—modern Kyushu.  It is famous for the three Munakata shrines.  The outer, or Hetsu, shrine is on the land, but the middle shrine is on the island of Ohoshima, 11 kilometers from the Hetsu shrine.  Then the Oki, or deep sea, shrine is on the aptly named Okinoshima, another 49 kilometers past that, out in the middle of the Genkai Sea, the body of water between Kyushu, Tsushima, and the Korean peninsula.  Even today, Okinoshima is considered a sacred place, and has never been developed: even today, only those closely associated with the shrine are allowed to set foot there.  Because of that we can see something remarkable, as Okinoshima was held as sacred for hundreds of years, during which time, offerings were regularly made to the kami there, presumably for safe passage across the waters.  These offerings have accumulated over the centuries and serve as a fascinating glimpse back into the history of the shrine and of the relations between the archipelago and the peninsula. The land of Munakata—and by extension the rulers, or Kimi—appear to have had not inconsiderable influence over the trade back and forth across the ocean to the continent.  This is further corroborated by the wealth left at Okinoshima and elsewhere, as well as by large kofun nearby, thought to be those of the ruling family of the area.  This would have no doubt been a powerful and prestigious family to be allied with, especially in Ohoama's role as a Prince.  However, despite all of that, they were not, ultimately, a royal family.   That would seem to have made Prince Takechi ineligible to take the throne—at least without some serious backing and perhaps a little re-working of his parentage. And this brings us to the third eldest son of Ohoama:  Prince Ohotsu.  Unlike Prince Takechi, Prince Ohotsu was the son of a royal princess—Princess Ohota.  In fact, not only was she a royal princess, but she was the sister to Queen Uno.  And Prince Ohotsu was born only a year later than Prince Kusakabe.  Furthermore, during the Jinshin no Ran, Prince Ohotsu was called to Ohoama's side, along with his half-brother, Prince Takechi, and he is specifically mentioned in that role, despite the fact that he was still too young to have played much of a role.  Like Prince Kusakabe, Prince Ohotsu was in his early twenties. So if we put Kusakabe and Ohotsu side-by-side, we can see that they have a lot of similar qualifications. Both were the sons of Ohoama by daughters of Naka no Oe, giving them double-royal lineages.  Their mothers were even full sisters, so they were both great-grandsons of Soga no Ishikawa no Maro, for whatever that means.  Kusakabe was older by a day, but Ohotsu's mother was the eldest of the two sisters.  But for the fact that his mother had passed away, she could possibly have been declared Queen, and Ohotsu might have ended up as Crown Prince, instead of Kusakabe.  Even if something had simply befallen Kusakabe, Ohotsu likely would have been able to step in, especially since Kusakabe had no full-blooded siblings, himself. The reign of Ohoama is replete with examples of Kusakabe, Ohotsu, and Takechi often acting together or being given honors together.  While it is always clear to rank them in that order, it is also clear that all three seemed to hold a place of high esteem.   What we don't seem to see is any ill will between them—but then again, the Chronicles rarely give much attention to anyone who is not the sovereign except to mention them in passing.  As such, we get only a simple sentence in the record, dated barely two weeks after Ohoama's passing, that Prince Ohotsu conspired against the Crown Prince, which is to say, Prince Kusakabe. As is so frustratingly often the case we aren't told how he was conspiring.  Clearly, it refers to succession and we can see that it wouldn't take much for Ohotsu to gather support and place himself on the throne—had that occurred, we likely would see some differences in the Chronicles as well.  However, as it stood, the conspiracy came to naught.  We are told that about one more week later, after the temporary interment of Ohoama's body and the many, many days spent eulogizing him and those around him—seriously, the Chronicles go into way too much detail, which is great for giving us a lot of details on people in the court and their court ranks, but otherwise is mostly paragraphs of names of individuals who were likely important enough for the Chroniclers to ensure that they got at least a mention. It was after that was finished that we are told that Prince Ohotsu's conspiracy was discovered.  He had the support of some thirty nobles, including a priest from Silla and the famous Iki no Muraji no Hakatoko—the one who had written the detailed account of the embassy that had been held under arrest by the Tang court, which we talked about back in Episode 123.  The point is these were people with some amount of clout and who moved in important circles, and for thirty of them to be in Ohotsu's camp might not seem like much, but that doesn't begin to illuminate all of the people that they would have brought with them to the party.  Furthermore, once they went public, who knows how many others might have joined them.  Fortunately for Kusakabe—and unfortunately for Ohotsu—the would-be conspiracy was quashed and quashed hard.  We are told that it was discovered on the second day of the tenth month of 686—less than 30 days after Ohoama's death—and the Queen herself, Uno no Sarara, stepped in and had Ohotsu executed at his own mansion in Wosada.  She then issued a royal decree, stating to everyone that Ohotsu had committed treason, and that the punishment for treason was death.  She also stated that those who had assisted him were also guilty, and should likewise receive the same sentence, except that she was going to be merciful.  And so she ended up pardoning Prince Ohotsu's co-conspirators.  The only exceptions were Toki no Michidzukuri, who was banished to Idzu, and the Silla priest, who was exiled to a temple in Hida.  While we aren't told what roles they played, those two apparently were considered more complicit than the others. A few days later, Prince Ohotsu's sister, Princess Oku, was recalled from her position as the shrine princess of Ise.  It is unclear if this is related, but it seems relevant given the proximity of the two events. There is one other thing I should likely mention, and that seems to come from the Kaifuso.  The Kaifuso is a collection of continental style poetry from the 8th century, similar to the Man'yoshu, but with a different focus.  In both works they often given some description of the authors of the poems, which provide us more information on the people of the time.  For instance, the Kaifuso speaks favorably of Prince Ohotomo, Ohoama's rival in the Jinshin no Ran, and seems more than a little sympathetic towards him and his cause, compared to the way he is treated in the Nihon Shoki's main narrative.  In regards to our current point in the narrative and the treason of Prince Ohotsu the Kaifuso tells us that Prince Ohotsu was ratted out to the Queen by none other than his best friend, Prince Kawashima.  Prince Kawashima was another one of the princes who had been called to Yoshino and who had pledged to work together.  He was not Ohotsu's brother or even half-brother, however, as Kawashima was the son of Naka no Oe.  He was actually a good deal older than Ohoama's actual sons, but apparently trusted by Ohoama at the same time.  The Kaifuso also seems to tell us that Kawashima was rewarded for his efforts by the court. The only problem is that the Nihon Shoki, our primary source, tells us none of this.  Not only is Prince Kawashima not mentioned in regards to the plot, neither is he mentioned as having received any kind of reward or gift by the court.  That doesn't mean the Kaifuso is wrong, but it does raise the question. Similarly, it is just as easy to suggest that the Nihon Shoki itself may be covering up what actually happened.  After all, we only have one side of the story.  What if there wasn't a conspiracy?  Or what if the conspiracy were of the Queen's making, instead.  Prince Ohotsu was clearly popular, and had a reasonable claim to the throne.  That was a threat to her own son's eventual ascension.  It is possible that the Queen, Uno no Sarara, saw a threat and decided to do away with it, herself, keeping her own son's hands relatively clean in the process. Whatever the truth, we likely will never know, and so this is all we have to go on.  Whether it was an actual conspiracy or just the paranoid  concerns of a queen and mother, it is clear that it was not yet enough to have an heir named—there was always the possibility for these things to go sideways and for someone else to jump in with a claim of their own. For all of that, while it seems that Prince Kusakabe was intended to ascend to the throne, for one reason or another, that was delayed.  For some three years, as we've mentioned, Kusakabe and his mother ruled as Queen and Crown Prince, perhaps just because they were handling Ohoama's burial and the creation of a new palace from which Kusakabe himself could then reign.  Unfortunately, it seems that time accomplished what Prince Ohotsu and his conspirators could not, and in 689, Prince Kusakabe passed away.  Shortly thereafter, the Queen, Uno no Sarara, ascended to the throne herself.  This appears to have been because Kusakabe's own son and heir, Royal Prince Karu, was only about 6 years old, having been born in 683, and his daughter was only 9.  So rather than giving up the throne to some other woman's child, Uno no Sarara took the throne for herself.  She is remembered, today, as Jitou Tennou. Jitou Tennou continued to work the initiatives that had been pushed forward during the reign of her husband.  These were projects that she herself was quite familiar with, and in fact, many of the projects are sometimes thought to have been hers, with attribution given to her husband just to give it a greater air of legitimacy.  Ultimately, however, she would oversee some quite formidable changes, even if many of them started in the previous reign or not. And so begins the last reign of the Nihon Shoki, covering the years 686 to 697.  The Nihon Shoki itself wouldn't be complete and presented to the court for another 23 years or so, and yet this is where they chose to leave off.  Perhaps that is because of when it was started, or they just didn't have all the records ready for anything beyond.  They clearly had to end somewhere, after all.  And given that both Ohoama and Uno had such a hand in many of the changes, perhaps it just made sense to end here.  Much of what would come would set the tone for centuries to come. There is one more thing that I want to address in all of this.  We've talked about the lineages of the various individuals, who trace their lineages back to either powerful noble families, like the Soga, or to specific sovereigns.  There is a tendancy by some to talk about Ohoama having started what some would call the Temmu Dynasty.  The idea being that Ohoama's offspring would continue to reign for a time, displacing the offspring of his brother, Naka no Oe.  Then, at a later date, Naka no Oe's line would reassert itself. This seems to be pretty clear cut from a strictly patrilineal viewpoint of royal succession, but I think it ignores a lot about the cultural aspects of the time.  For one thing, descent was about both the father AND the mother, and too often people discount the mother's influence, when, in fact, the mother most likely had more influence in the raising of children than did a royal father.  After all, we don't exactly get a lot of anecdotes about sovereigns spending quality time with their children—and I don't think calling them to help you on campaign counts.  To be fair we get hardly any anecdotes about children.  But we also see that sovereigns were having multiple children with multiple consorts.  Naka no Oe is said to have had about 14 children—possibly more.  I count 17 children for Ohoama.  And we see the ages spread out across the sovereigns' lifetimes, with some children being born at a point that they had not even attained the age of majority by the time their father passed away.  Put another way, look at how Prince Kusakabe was able to marry his own aunt, who was only a year older than he was.  Clearly there was a bit of an age difference between siblings.  I don't imagine that they were being raised by their father, necessarily, but probably by their mothers and the servants at the palace, generally. I would also point out that Ohoama included both his own children as well as children of his brother in the Yoshino conference, further indicating that he did not have any specific intention to entirely shut out the his brother's line. And then there is Uno no Sarara.  She was Ohoama's spouse, but also the daughter of Naka no Oe.  Are we to think that she stopped being her father's daughter because she married someone? That doesn't mean that labels might not be helpful in some ways, but I just don't want to over emphasize the familial or dynastic connections.  Brothers regularly turned on each other, and blood ties were no guarantee of cordial relations.  In fact, only maternal siblings—those with the same mother—were actually considered true siblings in most cases.  That's how they justified so much of what we would consider incest in the royal family in the first place. So while I do think that Ohoama and Uno tweaked the system set up by Naka no Oe and made their own impression on Yamato and, by extension, Japanese culture, I just don't want to read too much into the lineages.  The stories of politics and royal succession are often much more involved and complex. And hopefully, we'll get to see how complex as we continue on down this path.  For now, I think I'm going to leave it here, and so, until next time, 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.

今回のエピソードでは、Go To Market（GTM）エンジニアとして活動するmoriyaと、VP of Productのnumashiが、この新しい職種のリアルを語ります。PMとして入社したはずが、気づけば売上予測モデルの構築や商談差配の最適化、Salesforceの自動入力など、ビジネスプロセスをエンジニアリングで解く仕事に。日本ではまだほとんど知られていない「GTMエンジニア」という役割が、LayerXの中でどのように生まれ、何をしているのかを半年間の実体験をもとに振り返ります。「プロダクトを届けることにエンジニアリングで向き合いたい」方、ビジネスと開発の境界で働くキャリアに興味がある方にぜひ聴いてほしい回です。＜参考note＞LayerX バクラク事業にてGo To Marketエンジニアの採用を行います & 海外事例のご紹介＜カジュアル面談はこちらから＞・moriyaとのカジュアル面談GTMエンジニアに興味ある方、カジュアルにお話ししましょう！・numashiとのカジュアル面談バクラクのPdM組織・プロダクトマネジメントについてなんでも話します▼LayerX Now!とは・・・こんにちは、LayerX NOW!です。LayerXの日常を伝えるPodcast『LayerX NOW!』は事業やチームの話を中心に、"いま知っておくべき"LayerXのホットなトピックスをお届けしていきます。時々社外ゲストの招待があるかも！お楽しみに！▼ メディア情報[⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LayerX採用情報⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠][⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LayerX エンジニアブログ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠][⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠公式note⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠][⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CEO福島のnote]

Send us a message!In this episode, we sit down with Moriya Rockman, founder of Smiling House Luxury, to explore how a single personal vacation home in the Swiss Alps became the starting point for a global luxury vacation rental portfolio.Moriya shares her journey from accidental host to global founder, including why she and her husband chose to stay hands-on operators while scaling internationally. She explains how staying close to hospitality standards shaped every stage of growth, from property management to technology.The conversation also explores Villa Tracker, a B2B-to-C platform she founded that connects luxury homes with travel designers, concierges, and advisors booking on behalf of clients. Moriya breaks down why this channel matters, how it opens untapped demand beyond OTAs, and what it means for hosts and property managers looking to reach a different tier of traveler.We also dive into global luxury travel trends, emerging destinations, and why private homes continue to outperform hotels for group travel, longer stays, and experience-driven trips.This episode offers a grounded look at scaling thoughtfully, building through relationships, and creating long-term opportunity in luxury vacation rentals without losing sight of hospitality.Episode Chapters:00:00 – Welcome to Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals01:18 – Turning a Swiss Chalet Into a Vacation Rental Business03:25 – How to Scale a Luxury Vacation Rental Portfolio06:57 – Building a Global Luxury Brand While Staying an Operator09:49 – B2B Travel Bookings for Vacation Rentals Explained12:30 – Beyond Airbnb and OTAs for Luxury Rentals14:33 – How Luxury Travel Advisors Book Private Homes18:57 – Working With Individual Hosts and Property Managers22:59 – Technology Partnerships for Luxury Vacation Rentals25:57 – Is Luxury Travel Recession-Proof?28:10 – Why Groups and Multi-Generational Travel Choose Private Homes30:33 – Emerging Luxury Travel Destinations to Watch33:59 – Experiencing Luxury Properties in the Off-Season38:19 – Women in Vacation Rental LeadershipConnect with Moriya:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moriya-rockman-a3467a13a/ Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smiling-house/ ✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:Streamline your short-term rental operations with Hostfully.Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

In this episode Randel and Owen talk with Kung Fu Coach and Teacher Abi Moriya about training in Taiwan in the 80's, Tang Sho Tao, Acupuncture and Hong Yi Xiang.Form his Web Site: "Martial artist, movement and Chinese medicine. One of the pioneers of Chinese and Filipino martial arts teachers in Israel. In his youth, in 1987, he embarked on a study trip following the documentary series "The Way of the Warrior," which ended with the late teacher Hong Yi-Shiang in Taiwan. My father balances the way of the warrior with the way of the healer: he is an expert in the martial art of Xingyi Chuan, various Chinese weapons, as well as the Filipino martial art of Serada Eskrima. In the field of health care, my father teaches Qigong and Tai Chi and trains instructors. He practices Chinese medicine with an emphasis on acupuncture, moxibustion and tui-na, as well as shiatsu. Head of the Martial Arts Department at the Nat Holman School for Instructors and Trainers, Wingate Institute. Author of the book "Bright Tiger, Dark Dragon: Chinese Martial Arts in the Mirror of Culture", Madaf 2017.Co-author with Guy Moore of the book "Krav Maga - Teaching with Doubt", self-published, 2016"⁠YouTube⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Website⁠#kungfu #taiwan #coaching #podcast #gongfu #hongyixiang #tangshotao #MartialArts #wushu #kungfuconversations #china #abimoriya

In this episode Randel and Owen talk with Kung Fu Coach and Teacher Abi Moriya about training in Taiwan in the 80's, Tang Sho Tao, Acupuncture and Hong Yi Xiang.Form his Web Site: "Martial artist, movement and Chinese medicine. One of the pioneers of Chinese and Filipino martial arts teachers in Israel. In his youth, in 1987, he embarked on a study trip following the documentary series "The Way of the Warrior," which ended with the late teacher Hong Yi-Shiang in Taiwan. My father balances the way of the warrior with the way of the healer: he is an expert in the martial art of Xingyi Chuan, various Chinese weapons, as well as the Filipino martial art of Serada Eskrima.In the field of health care, my father teaches Qigong and Tai Chi and trains instructors. He practices Chinese medicine with an emphasis on acupuncture, moxibustion and tui-na, as well as shiatsu.Head of the Martial Arts Department at the Nat Holman School for Instructors and Trainers, Wingate Institute.Author of the book "Bright Tiger, Dark Dragon: Chinese Martial Arts in the Mirror of Culture", Madaf 2017.Co-author with Guy Moore of the book "Krav Maga - Teaching with Doubt", self-published, 2016"YouTubeInstagramWebsite#kungfu #taiwan #coaching #podcast #gongfu #hongyixiang #tangshotao #MartialArts #wushu #kungfuconversations #china #abimoriya

This is a sample of our interview with Abi Moriya, a student of Hong Yi Xiang's Abi talks about his time training with Hong and much more. Full Interview Abi's Website

Happy New Year!  This is our 2025 recap episode.  In this case, we actually are recapping a fair bit more than just the year, going over the previous evolution of the Yamato state up to the period of the Great Change, or Taika, which we covered this past year.  There's a lot more that we expect to get into this next year, and this will hopefully tee us up for what is to come. For more, including a full list of our previous references, check out: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-newyear2025   Rough Transcript Shinnen Akemashite!  Happy New Year and Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is the New Year's Recap episode for 2025! It's that time again:  we are going to look back at what happened in the episodes this year.  That was only episodes 101 to 117—we'll skip the travelogue episodes for the time being.  This covered the years of the early to mid-7th century, from roughly 613 to 659.  That is easily within the lifetime of a single individual, and yet a lot was going on. At the start of this year, we were at the height of Soga power. In 2023, we covered how back in 587, Soga no Umako had wrested power away from the powerful Mononobe clan, defeating Mononobe no Moriya.  As you may recall, the sovereign known to posterity as Jimmu Tennou was the descendant of the Heavenly Grandchild known as Ninigi no Mikoto, at least according to the Nihon Shoki.  The Mononobe clan claimed descent from none other than Nigi Hayahi, the Other Heavenly Grandchild, whose offspring were said to have been defeated by Jimmu. You may recall that scholars generally consider the story of Jimmu, and the nine sovereigns that immediately followed him, as almost certainly a later addition to the story of the royal lineage. So when did the story of Nigi no Hayahi's defeat enter the picture? And was its inclusion perhaps related to the defeat of the Mononobe by the Soga family?  A family that successfully intermarried with the Royal House, themselves, such that all later sovereigns would trace their ancestry back to the Soga house? Of course, under Soga dominance we saw the rise of figures like the Soga descended Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno.  During her reign, major reforms were carried out, Buddhism became fully established by the State, and ties with the continent were strengthened.  Politics would continue to be dominated by Soga, even after the death of Soga no Umako and Kashikiya Hime, with Soga no Emishi taking up the mantle of Prime Minister, working closely with his son, Soga no Iruka.  The Soga family was so entwined with the politics of rulership that the main rivals of the Soga were… the Soga.  That is to say different Soga-descended lineages, like that of the Prince Umayado, aka Prince Shotoku. Rather than supporting Umayado's son, Prince Yamashiro no Oe, Soga no Emishi backed another candidate to the throne, Prince Tamura.  , of the royal Okinaga lineage. Tamura came to power as Jomei Tenno, but there is little doubt that Soga no Emishi was the one in control. Later, when Tamura passed away in 641, Yamashiro no Oe continued to be passed over.  In fact, Soga no Emishi supported the ascension of Tamura's wife, Takara hime, over Yamashiro no Oe, and there is evidence that he supported a prince known as Furubito no Oe as the Crown Prince and eventual successor.  All of the evidence—which, to be honest, is rather biased—suggests that the Soga family were setting up a series of puppet rulers who would do their bidding, or at least be pliable to their suggestions. There must have been some pushback, though, especially when one considers how strong the cult of Prince Shotoku, aka Umayado, would eventually become.  One imagines that Prince Yamashiro was another pole around which those who opposed the Soga family could rally.  After all, he was the son of Crown Prince Umayado, and likely had just as much of a claim as Tamura and his children.  And so, to counter this threat, Soga no Emishi's son and successor, Soga no Iruka, took matters into his own hands. In a brazen display of the violence of court politics, Soga no Iruka had Yamashiro no Oe accused of plotting against the throne and took an army to arrest him—no doubt in the hope that the prince would resist.  Eventually they cornered Yamashiro and his family, who committed suicide rather than submit. This attack was likely targeted to take out the rival to the Soga family's preferred Crown Prince, Prince Furubito no Oe, but rather than quell any dissent, the move seems to have enflamed the passions of those who wanted to see an end to the Soga house.  Those passions took particular root in none other than Furubito no Oe's younger brother, Prince Naka no Oe.  Together with the support of his uncle, Prince Karu; the head of the Nakatomi house, Nakatomi no Kamatari; as well as another scion of the Soga house, Soga no Kuroyamada, Prince Naka no Oe staged a coup d'etat.  Using the death of Prince Yamashiro no Oe as an excuse, they engineered a plot to assassinate Soga no Iruka in court, in front of Naka no Oe's own mother, Takara Hime no Oho-kimi.  After Iruka's death, Naka no Oe and his supporters then took the fight to Soga no Emishi, who committed suicide and set his own house on fire in what came to be known as the Isshi Incident. This shocking assassination caused Takara hime to step down.  The Soga-backed Prince Furubito no Oe, rather than stepping up and taking the throne, retreated to a Buddhist temple and took holy orders, effectively retiring and theoretically taking himself out of court politics.  That left Prince Naka no Oe and his uncle, Prince Karu, as possible candidates. We are told that Prince Naka no Oe declined to take the throne himself, instead supporting his uncle, Prince Karu.  Prince Karu took the throne, and is known to us as Kotoku Tenno, today.  Prince Naka no Oe stepped up as the Crown Prince, and with the help of his co-conspirators, such as Nakatomi no Kamatari, Soga no Kurayamada, and others, they began a project to remake the Yamato government, using continental models—specifically the Sui and Tang courts, which were also influencing the governments of the Korean peninsula, such as those of Baekje and Silla. This is known as the Taika, or Great Change, era.    There had been previous movements to adopt some of the continental trends, but nothing to this extent, which culminated in a tremendous palace complex built in Naniwa—modern Ohosaka.  Governors were sent out to the east of the country. The old, decentralized system was being replaced by a centralized bureaucracy. And yet this wasn't entirely a smooth transition.  Early on there was a threat by supporters of the previous Crown Prince, Furubito no Oe.  He was killed to put down any possible revolt.  Later, Naka no Oe was hoodwinked into going after his own co-conspirator, Soga no Kurayamada, resulting in Kurayamada's death and the punishment of his entire family.  A few years later, Naka no Oe moved back to Asuka, taking most of the royal family and the court with him, abandoning the grand government complex that they had built in Naniwa for reasons that remain unclear. Shortly thereafter, Karu, aka Kotoku Tenno, passed away.  But rather than Naka no Oe taking the throne—or even Karu's son, Prince Arima—the throne went back to Naka no Oe's mother, Takara Hime.  This is the only case we have of a single sovereign reigning twice, and the Chroniclers gave her two separate regnal names—Kogyoku Tenno to refer to her first reign and Saimei Tenno to refer to her second. And this is the reign that we are going to start the new year with. Beyond what was going on on the archipelago, there was also plenty that we covered on the continent.  We started the year with the Sui dynasty having consolidated control and working to continue to expand their territory north, south, and west, while also connecting the economic areas of the Yangzi and Yellow rivers. Unfortunately, through their wars and public works projects they overextended themselves, and the dynasty fell, replaced, in 619, with the Tang dynasty.  The Tang continued to expand, taking control of important points on the Silk Road and becoming a hub of trade and commerce.  At the same time, they were contesting their borders with the Goguryeo, who, themselves, had come under the control of Yeon Gaesomun, an infamous noble and anti-Tang hard-liner, who had staged a coup, murdered the Goguryeo king and any who stood against him, and who had installed a puppet king on the throne.  It is little wonder that the Tang dynasty was courting Goguryeo's enemy, Silla, to pressure them from the other side.  This eventually kicked off the Tang-Goguryeo war, with the loosely allied Tang and Silla fighting on and off with Goguryeo and their ally, Baekje, who was also invested in stifling Silla's ambitions on the peninsula. So that's where we are:  The Korean peninsula is currently embroiled in conflict between the three kingdoms on the peninsula and the nearby superpower, the Tang Dynasty.  Meanwhile, Yamato, on the archipelago, is going through a whole… thing.  What that is, we'll try to get into over the next year. Given all of this, let's go over some of the themes from the past year.  To start with, let's talk about expanding Yamato influence. From what we can tell, Yamato's influence in the archipelago had peaked around the 5th century, between the creation of giant Daisen Ryo kofun and the reign of Wakatake no Ohokimi, aka Yuryaku Tenno.  Wakatake no Ohokimi had courtiers from as far away as Kyushu and the Kanto plain.  However, from what I can tell, Yamato's influence appears to have temporarily waned, possibly coinciding with the end of Wakatake's own dynasty, with a new dynasty coming to power in the 6th century. It is possible that Wakatake was simply never quite as powerful as the Chronicles make out, but there are a few other things that make me think that the end of the 5th and early half of the 6th century were a low point in Yamato's power.  For one thing, we see a drop off in interactions with the continent after 479—or at least anything beyond the tip of the Korean peninsula.  In addition, we see smaller rooms built in the region of the Nara Basin and the Kawachi plain, while more “royal” tombs continue to appear elsewhere in the archipelago.  It isn't that they stopped, but the size decreased, suggesting that Yamato didn't have the same labor pool it used to. On top of that, we have the dynastic change.  We are told that the line related to Wakatake died out and they had to bring in someone from Afumi and Koshi, who traced their lineage back to the legendary Homuda-wake, aka Ōjin tennō, some five generations back.  Many scholars suggest that this connection was a later merging of the lineages, suggesting that, in reality, an entirely new branch of sovereigns had come to power. Finally, we can see the Chronicles focusing more and more on the areas near to Yamato, the area known as the Home Provinces, possibly because Yamato only held direct control over these areas, while control beyond that was only nominal.  Local elites in those regions had a lot of autonomy, and if Yamato did not have anything in particular to offer them, they would not have a reason to necessarily go along with Yamato's requests. This may have even been part of the impetus for the so-called “rebellion” by Iwai, in Kyushu.  As you may recall, in the early 6th century Iwai attempted to ally with Silla against Yamato and Baekje, with the idea of cutting off Yamato's access to the continent.  This ultimately failed, and Yamato ended up creating what would become the Dazaifu near modern Fukuoka, but the fact that Iwai could contemplate it and gather such support would suggest that Yamato was at least perceived as vulnerable. Now up to this point, we see several different policies that were used for increasing the court's control.  Early on, this was done by doling out various elite goods.  We also see Yamato soft power in the form of spiritual authority and the expansion of local Yamato cultic practices out into the other lands of the archipelago.  There was also the tradition of monumental tombs, and especially the royal keyhole style tombs, which spread out from Yamato and was likely as much an indication that those regions saw Yamato practices as worthy of emulation, at the least, and perhaps saw Yamato as a cultural nexus on the archipelago. To all of this, they eventually added the “Be” system.  This appears to have been copied from systems being used on the Korean peninsula, and it focused on creating familial units to organize various industries, with family heads responsible for reporting and funneling necessary goods up to the court.  This eventually included the noble “uji” clans, with their power bases in various geographic regions. Yamato extended its influence through a variety of methods, including various public works projects.  These included things like the building of ponds, or reservoirs, which would have been critical to the wet-rice paddy agriculture that was the economic backbone of the Yamato government.  Another means of extending government control was the “miyake”, or Royal Granaries.  Originally we see these set up in the Nara basin, but during the current dynasty they had been extended all the way out to Kyushu. Ostensibly, they were there to collect rice for taxes, but they appear to have acted as government offices, providing a presence for Yamato even out in the hinterlands.  Eventually they would turn the area in Kyushu, the Dazai, into its own, semi-autonomous extension of the Yamato government, as well. In the past year of the podcast, we've seen many of those older forms of government control replaced with a new bureaucratic system.  This included an upgrade to the rank system, which was a way for the government to both organize the bureaucracy while also creating a means to award individuals.  Early rank systems had initially been granted at the family level, but following a continental model meant that the new system was based solely on the individual.  Thus they could hand out rank to various kings and chieftains across the archipelago and entice them into the Yamato orbit, a trick they had been doing previously as well with various types of recognition.  Those that took the titles and rank that Yamato handed out gained a certain amount of legitimacy, locally, but since that legitimacy was tied to the Yamato court, it also helped solidify Yamato's own influence on those areas. That doesn't mean that all expansion was peaceful.  Yamato contested on their eastern and northern border with the people referred to as the Emishi, which eventually included contests as far north as the island of Hokkaido with the Mishihase people. There was another form of soft power used by the court in the way that it supported Buddhism, which was still a new religion at this point, having arrived in the early part of the 6th century.  Patronage of Buddhism would lead to the building of temples and otherwise claiming some authority in the spiritual realm, beyond simply the court's control of the Mt. Miwa site.  Furthermore, the state itself took particular interest in Buddhist institutions, and cracked down heavily on the clergy, ensuring that they reported up to the court, formally solidifying the connection between temples and the State. But then they went a bit further and instituted actual governors.  They were appointed by the Yamato government, and they were particularly installed in the Eastern lands—referred to as provinces.  These governors reported to the court, and appear to have initially been separate from locally recognized elites, who were known as the Kuni no Miyatsuko.  The governors were to take stock of the areas under their authority and report up information such as a summary of the lands and local census information.  This meant that Yamato did not need to rely on local elites to administer an area, they would have greater insight into what was actually going on. This was all combined with the institution of new laws on taxes, corvee labor, and more, while eliminating traditional practices such as the Miyake and even royal tomb-building.  The latter was likely affected by the various public works projects, but also the fact that more work was going into the building of things like Buddhist temples. As we noted back in the previous year, Buddhist temple building appears to have had a hand in the end of the prolific kofun building, at least in Yamato proper.  Kofun were memorials—meant to carry on the memory of an individuals well after their death.  They were ritual sites, and families were set up to care for them. Temples, likewise, were erected with certain memorial qualities.  Donating to build a temple was thought to increase one's karma, and thus do wonders for your next life.  Temple patrons would be remembered, and services were carried out, but temples also had a certain public aspect to them, as well.  On top of that, they were new, and no doubt exotic, with their tiled rooves, intricate carvings, and colorful buildings.  Much of the labor that would have built tombs appears to have been co-opted, instead, to build temples. Some of the temples founded in this period include Asuka dera, aka Hokoji, built on or near the Soga family compound, as well as other Asuka temples, such as Yamadadera, Kawaradera, Toyouradera, and Kudaradera.  There was also Houryuji, erected by Prince Umayado near his house, and the ancient temple of Shitennouji, erected in Naniwa.  Of these, both Horyuji and Shitennoji continue, today, at or near their original with some of the oldest extant buildings in Japan.  Asukadera was moved to its modern site of Gangoji, in Nara city proper, but there is still a smaller Asukadera on the original site, with what may be one of the original images, though the buildings have been rebuilt after numerous fires and disasters over the years. Of course, a big part of all of these foreign ideas, such as Buddhism but also Confucian thought as well, was the growing influence of the continent, whether in the form of Baekje, Silla, Goguryeo, or beyond.  While there had been influence ever since the Yayoi period—and arguably even during the Jomon, in some instances—there seems to have been an acceleration once Yamato began to import Buddhism, which was likely connected with all of the learning and texts that were also being imported around that time.  Then, during the Sui and Tang dynasties—both of which the Chronicles simply label as the “Great Tang”—the court sent several embassies to the Sui and Tang emperors, bringing back individuals with actual experience in the way things were happening outside of the archipelago. And we should not discount the various embassies to and from the Korean peninsula.  Yamato was increasing its involvement in peninsular affairs.  They continued to be concerned with the state of Nimna, also known as Imna or Mimana, which had been assimilated by Silla, along with the rest of Gaya, or Kara, by the early to mid-6th century, with many accounts dealing with attempts to reinstate Nimna as a separate and sovereign entity. Along with this, Yamato continued their relationship with Baekje, who sent Prince Pung to reside at the Yamato court.  This continued a long-standing tradition that is portrayed as a type of diplomatic hostage, though there have been several times that princes at the Yamato court came back to Baekje to rule after the king died or was killed.  All of this to say that not only did ambassadors from Yamato go to these countries, but ambassadors also traveled to Yamato, while various immigrants from these areas of Baekje, Silla, and even Goguryeo occasionally settled in Yamato.  This further increased the number of individuals with knowledge and experience of continental concepts and technology, and we can see their influence in numerous different ways. This was all part of what led to the Yamato government's adoption of Tang style law codes, though it should be noted that the law codes were not taken wholecloth.  Rather, they were adapted specifically to the issues of the archipelago.  This was the beginning of what came to be known as the Ritsuryo system, literally the system of laws and punishments. Under this system, the government went from a single Oho-omi, or great minister, to two Great ministers, one of the left and one of the right.  These would come to be known as the Sadaijin and the Udaijin.  Nakatomi no Kamatari was afforded a special place as the third minister, the minister of the center, or Naidaijin, possibly referring to his responsibilities with the interior of the royal household, while the ministers of the left and right would have had particular ministries beneath them - eight ministries in total, with various departments underneath them.  They would be assigned to report either to the Minister of the Left or the Minister of the Right, each one overseeing, effectively, half of the government portfolio. This system, combined with the governors and the Tomo no Miyatsuko in the provinces, meant that Yamato had much more granular control over the workers and the means of production.  They organized households into villages, and villages into districts.  There were lower level officials who reported up the chain all the way to the great ministers, the Daijin, or Oho-omi.  This meant that they effectively abolished the Be and Uji system, at least as it had been set up.  These familial groups continued to operate as families, or perhaps more appropriately as “clans”, given how the groups had come to be. These officials were granted rank and, more importantly, stipends from the government.  A portion of taxes, which were paid in rice, went to various officials.  This meant that officials not only relied on the government for their status, but for their incomes as well. This went along with an attempt to implement something known as the “equal field system”, imported, again, from the continent.  This determined who would work what fields, and was another way that the government was involved down to the actual labor producing the rice that was the economic engine of the State. And that covers most of what we've been up to this past year.  There have been individual accomplishments that we didn't get into, but there is plenty there if you want to listen to it. So that covers the past year in the podcast—a little over half of the 7th century.  It really was a time of dramatic change—whether or not “Taika” was the name given to part of it, it certainly feels appropriate.  Even though the court eventually moved to Naniwa, this is the height of the Asuka period, and the start of the Ritsuryo state.  It would form the foundations for what was to come, and themes from this period will continue to show up again and again. In this next year, we are going to continue to look at Takara Hime's reign and beyond.  We'll see the resolution of the Tang-Goguryeo war, and the impact of all the continental fighting on the archipelago.  We'll also see continued developments within the archipelago itself, hopefully getting through to the end of the 7th century. We are actually reaching the end of the material in the Nihon Shoki.  This does not mean that we are running out of material, though.  The Chronicles end in 697—less than 40 years out from our current place in the Chronicles.  From there, we have the Shoku Nihongi, which covers 95 years, until 797 CE.  Translation of much of the Shoku Nihongi is available through the work of Dr. Ross Bender, and you can find his work online if you want to get a leg up on the reading, though that is a ways out.  For now, we can still comfortably continue with the Nihon Shoki, at least through the reign of Temmu Tennou. Until then, Happy New Year!  As usual, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  Thanks also to my lovely wife, Ellen, for her continued work at helping to edit these episodes! Remember, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

Send us a textMoriya Rockman, Co-Founder of Smiling House Group, is the special guest on today's show.During the episode, Moriya discusses the launch of Villa Tracker – a new platform which is linking legacy travel businesses, such as travel agents and VIP clubs, with the short-term rentals industry.Moriya also discusses how luxury properties can stand out, the amenities you need to appeal to a large number of guests, and which upselling opportunities to offer.The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Key Data, and Minut.3:47 How the luxury short-term rentals sector is performing in 20246:01 Villa Tracker – a platform for legacy travel players9:58 Targeting seven industries within legacy travel companies14:41 It's mostly for luxury properties 16:29 Travel professionals: head to www.villatracker.com for further details 18:38 Guesty users can push their properties to Villa Tracker now19:49 Luxury property owners can list on Smiling House and be pushed to Villa Tracker21:50 How luxury properties can stand out24:35 The amenities luxury properties need to stand out27: 05 The upselling opportunities for luxury rentals33:16 Short-term rental trends36:11 RegulationLinks:James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhostNew e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-bookProperty Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclassMoriya Rockman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moriya-rockman-a3467a13a/Villa Tracker: https://villatracker.com/Smiling House: https://smilinghouse.ch/Triangle Luxury: https://triangle-luxury.com/Sponsor links:HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: advice@hchfs.comYour AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbookMinut: https://www.minut.com/?utm_campaign=holidaycottagehandbook&utm_source=partnersEnjoy the show?Please subscribe, rate, and review! Email the show: james@holidaycottagehandbook.com

We're excited to announce the launch of Villa Tracker OTA, a pioneering platform connecting the vacation rental industry with traditional travel agencies.Our good friend Moriya Rockman, founder of Smiling House and Villa Tracker, joins us to discuss the platform's vision, its impact on the industry, and its partnership with Guesty.Moriaya shares her journey, the challenges faced in creating an OTA, and the potential for new bookings, sustainability, and innovation within the short-term rental sector. The episode highlights the collaborative spirit of the industry, the importance of trust and high standards, and the exciting future of integrated travel planning.Episode Highlights:Villa Tracker Overview: Villa Tracker is a new OTA that connects the vacation rental industry with traditional travel agencies, bridging a gap that has existed since the inception of platforms like Airbnb.History and Need: The vacation rental industry has traditionally excluded third-party professionals like travel agents. Villa Tracker seeks to integrate these professionals into the booking process, offering a B2B2C model.Target Audience Expansion: Villa Tracker aims to serve not just high-budget clients but also travelers who are looking for unique accommodations, including city apartments and luxury villas, with the help of their trusted travel agents.COVID-19 as a Catalyst: The demand for private accommodations during COVID-19 highlighted the need for vacation rentals in the travel industry, inspiring the creation of Villa Tracker.Challenges and Vision: Creating Villa Tracker required overcoming significant technical and trust-building difficulties, but the platform is poised to open new opportunities for property managers and travel agents alike.Partnership with Guesty: Villa Tracker's partnership with Guesty, a leading PMS, was critical in meeting high industry standards and launching the platform.Moriya's Journey: Moriya shares her story from managing a small property in Switzerland to creating a groundbreaking platform, emphasizing the importance of innovation and collaboration in the industry.Industry Collaboration: The podcast highlights the collaborative nature of the vacation rental industry, where professionals push each other to innovate and grow, benefiting the industry as a whole.

O que eu poderia fazer pra aproximar a REDENÇÃO? O Rebe nos ensinou que os estudos sobre Mashiach e e Redenção, aproxima a Era Messiânica. Esperamos que esse ciclo de aulas traga Mashiach imediatamente! #chassidut #mistica #judaismo #judeu #Israel #tora #rebe #gueula #redenção #moshiach #Messias #mashiach #beithamikdash #templosagrado #jerusalem #yerushalayim #gueula #ressureição #techiathametim Curtiu a aula? Faça um pix RABINOELIPIX@GMAIL.COM e nos ajude a darmos sequência neste projeto!

O que eu poderia fazer pra aproximar a REDENÇÃO? O Rebe nos ensinou que os estudos sobre Mashiach e e Redenção, aproxima a Era Messiânica. Esperamos que esse ciclo de aulas traga Mashiach imediatamente! #chassidut #mistica #judaismo #judeu #Israel #tora #rebe #gueula #redenção #moshiach #Messias #mashiach #beithamikdash #templosagrado #jerusalem #yerushalayim #gueula #ressureição #techiathametim Curtiu a aula? Faça um pix RABINOELIPIX@GMAIL.COM e nos ajude a darmos sequência neste projeto!

2 explanations of "har hamoriya") and order of precedence for person to inspire the ppl

Happy New Year! This episode we take a look back at where we've come and talk about some of the broad themes and changes that we've experienced over the episodes in the past year. For a little more, including references for the year, check out:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-newyear2024 Rough Transcript Shinnen Akemashite!  Happy New Year and Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is the New Year's Recap episode for 2024 Every year I try to take a moment and look back at the material we covered.  In part, this is to remind us of the journey we've been on, but it is also to help look at some of the larger themes that we might otherwise miss when we are looking at more discreet topics.  This year we have not necessarily progressed through as much of the archipelago's history as in previous years—we started in the early 530s and have probably covered about 80 or 90 years, in contrast to 2022 and before where we covered multiple centuries in a year.  But there's a good reason for that: it has been an eventful period, or at least more of the events are getting written down.  However, there is a lot of important stuff going on.  We are seeing, more than anywhere else, the rise of powerful families, not just individuals, a process that began as a way to expand the power of the state, but which then took on a life of its own under what is known as the uji-kabane system—the system of families and family rank.  This is happening alongside of a reimagining of the state and of the royal family in particular.  Many of the 8th century cultural norms are starting to be set in this period.  In many ways, the people of Yamato are revising their cultural imaginary of themselves, often in reference to new ideas, concepts, and philosophies being imported from the continent.  This includes the arrival of Buddhism and its shake up of the way that the people of the archipelago viewed the world and their place in it. And so we're going to start with a recap of the various sovereigns, then go into some of the more particular aspects of what was going on, and try to cover some of those more overarching themes.  Hopefully this gives us a good base to move on into 2024. Now over the past year we've gone through seven sovereigns.  First was the short reign of Magari no Ohine, aka Ankan Tennou, around 531 to 536, back in episode 79, when we talked about the glass bowl attributed to his tomb.  He was followed by his brother Takewo Hirokunioshi Tate, or Senka Tennou, who reigned until his death in 539.  That was Episode 80, where we also kind of kicked off the Asuka period, which many see as starting around 538.  Next, in Episodes 81 through 86, was their half-brother, Amekunioshi Hiraki Hironiwa, or Kinmei Tennou, who ruled until about 571.  Amekunioshi was followed by his son, Nunakura Futodamashiki, known as Bidatsu Tennou, who ruled until 585—Episodes 88 and 89.  Bidatsu was followed, in episode 90, by our fifth sovereign in this year's line up, Tachibana no Toyohi, or Youmei Tennou, father of Prince Umayado, aka the famous Shotoku Taishi, who we talked quite a bit about for his legendary and historical importance.  Youmei Tennou passed away in 587, and after some conflict, Hasebe no Wakasasaki came to the throne, remembered as Sushun Tennou.  He was assasinated in 592, as we covered in Episode 92, and succeeded by Toyomike Kashikiya Hime, daughter of Amekunioshi, wife to Nunakura Futodamashiki, and known to most as Suiko Tennou.  That's where we are at present. We also have seen a succession of high officials.  We started off with Ohotomo no Kanamura and Mononobe no Arakahi as the two Ohomuraji, but we quickly saw the addition of Soga no Iname as Oho-omi.  This foreshadowed the fading of the Ohotomo family appear to have lost their status with their failures in peninsular dealings,   while the Mononobe and Soga continued to help lead the country.  Mononobe no Arakahi was succeeded in the position of Ohomuraji by Mononobe no Okoshi, and then Mononobe no Yugehi no Moriya.  Soga no Iname was succeeded to the position of Oho-omi by his son, Soga no Umako. Taken together with Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, these are perhaps some of the main names in the Chronicles.  Let's recap what was most important about each of them. We started this year talking about the reign of Magari no Ohine, aka Ankan Tennou.  The official account says that he was the son of Wohodo, aka Keitai Tenno, and one of two of Wohodo's sons that were basically just keeping the seat warm for their half-brother, Amekunioshi, aka Kinmei Tennou.  In other words, they were kind of regents.  This story quickly falls apart, however, when you look at several factors.  First, based on some of the dates given for his birth, Amekunioshi would have been around 22 years old when their father, Wohodo, passed away—young, but old enough to take the throne without requiring any kind of regent.  In addition, neither of his two brothers gave up the throne to him when he finally came of age—whatever age that might have been.  Instead, each one died in the position.  That doesn't exactly scream that they were giving up power. Why this discrepancy?  The best explanation is that the Chroniclers were trying to keep things nice and tidy, and we are told that the tradition was for sovereigns to only come from lineages where both the male and female lines were considered royal—one sovereign and one royal princess, typically, who would be raised up as the Queen, and whose offspring would be eligible for the throne.  However, that was slightly disrupted by Amekunioshi, aka Kinmei Tennou, who seems to have taken the throne despite the fact that his two half-brothers and their offspring may have had the stronger claim.  Still, he was able to point to his mother's royal status.  In fact, she was even of the previous dynasty, sister to the last sovereign from that line, Wohatsuse Wakasazaki, aka Buretsu Tennou.  Or so we are told by the Chroniclers. .  And so only Amekunioshi's mother is considered to be the truly legitimate queen, while Magari no Ohine and the other so-called “regent” brother - Takewo Hiro Kunioshi Tate, aka Senka Tennou - must have been from a consort other than the Wohodo's main wife.  Their mother, Menoko, was instead linked to a prominent family, that of the Owari no Muraji, but it is unclear if they had the royal connections on her side—though I have little doubt that they could have been invented if they didn't already exist. I would point out that even given this explanation, both of the brothers were given the posthumous honors of “Tenno”, rather than being referred to as a regent, whereas the sovereign Okinaga no Tarashi Hime, aka Jingu Kougou, also ostensibly a regent, was never granted that honor, at least by the Chroniclers.  We discussed this a bit in Episodes 41 and 42, and how that may have been due to the Chroniclers' misogynistic tendencies as much as anything.  There is a suggestion that in reality, these two brothers may have been rival claimants, and there may have even been competing courts, as different family members rallied support to their side.And all of that perfectly helps illustrate just how we think things might have looked around this time.  Succession to the royal throne hardly appears to have been cut and dry.  Even before this period, we saw times where there were multiple claimants , regents, etc.  There is no clear pattern by which we can deduce who would succeed any given sovereign: it might be a brother, or any of their sons, or even a daughter.  And without a clear system of succession, every time the sovereign passed away, there was a competition for the throne.    You might recall that the mutual father of these three sovereigns, Wohodo, was himself said to have been the first in a new dynasty-- the previous dynasty died out with Wohodo's predecessor, Wohatsuse no Wakasazaki, aka Buretsu Tennou.  There are a lot of questions around this transition, but even the Chroniclers couldn't immediately connect Wohodo to the previous lineage without having to go all the way back to Homuda Wake, aka Oujin Tennou, on his father's side, and to Ikume Iribiko, aka Suinin Tennou, on his mother's side, but there are still plenty of questions about those ties and how real they were.        When it comes to the complications of succession, one thing to factor in is that this was still in the time when every sovereign moved into a new palace.  There are various thoughts on why this was —one of them being that the move prevented spiritual pollution associated with a dead body.  I also wonder if it wasn't practical as the new sovereign may have already had their own base of power, or perhaps by building new it was a way to ensure that the buildings were always fresh and free of any problems, as I believe these early buildings were largely built of fresh, untreated wood.  Whatever the reason, moving to a new palace each time also means that there wasn't an actual, physical throne to fight over.  Rival sovereigns could set themselves up in different areas in and around the Nara basin, Kawachi, et cetera, and gather supporters to their court.  Those supporters, no doubt individuals with some power and clout in their region who saw benefit in allying themselves with an even bigger name, would eventually become the heads of various corporate families, further extending their power and influence.  There is plenty of reason to believe that the family systems we see on the archipelago were not necessarily indigenous creations.  Early on people were associated with a place, perhaps, and of course you would know your line of descent, possibly even going back into myth and legend.  The concept of “family” as simply a matter of descent and relationship no doubt existed—after all, everyone has a mother and a father.  However, the idea of families with wide ranging control over a particular industry, administrative function, or even court ritual were likely imported from the continent as a way to group people together.  In fact, these are often referred to more as “clans”—groups of individuals who claimed shared descent, whether real or imagined, often from some legendary figure.  The new concept of these families not only grouped people based on things like their occupation or common ethnicity, if they came from the peninsula, but it also added a layer of administration that was then tied into the concept of the Yamato court, making it an extension of the government.  In turn, the government classified these families through a system of rank and titles—the kabane.   This system had people being known as much or even more by their family name as they were by the common name they went by as individuals.  Originally we see individuals working in similar professions organized into groups that used the term “-Be” in the name, but later we get the “uji”, or familial clans, that were more like administrators and extensions of the court.  Of note, there would continue to be many people who were not formally part of a particular -Be or Uji or even Ie, or “house”.  These were mostly individuals of the common agricultural class or similar, and long lineages might have no actual family name until the Meiji period, when everyone was expected to take on a family name as part of the efforts to modernize the country.  Until then, having a family name meant that you actually were already a part of the upper crust of society, even if you were only on the bottommost rung of that particular social ladder. In addition, a family name allowed someone to take on the family kabane, or title.  While there were some titles that appear to be given to the individual, these kabane titles, such as Suguri, Kishi, Atahe, Kimi, Muraji, and Omi, designated entire families.  These terms themselves appear to come from earlier job positions, indicating different types of leadership, from a local headmaster up to rulers of countries, and high ministers of the court.  For example, the title of “Omi” was originally a job description, indicating one of the many functionaries that made the court run, but as a kabane, any member of a given family would be able to use the term, whether they were actually in a ministerial position or not.   At this point, these important families were essentially an extension of the state—a way to decentralize control so that the Yamato state could function at an expanded level.  Some families appear to have been set up around local administration, including making local chieftains and the like part of their own family unit that was then granted control of the area by the court.  During the period we've covered this past year, we see that approach of absorbing regional families mature and grow, and those families taking on greater roles: initially with stories of the Ohotomo and Mononobe families, culminating in the powerful Soga family.  For the Ohotomo and the Mononobe, the family name likely tells us part of what and who they were.  The Ohotomo were the Great Tomo, or the Great Tomo no Miyatsuko.  These Tomo no Miyatsuko are some of the earliest court nobles, and it would make sense that the Ohotomo were at their head—which would also explain their position as the Oho-omi in the 5th and early 6th centuries.  Next to this family were the Mononobe, the Be (occupational group) of the Warriors, or Mononofu.  Together these families represented the early concepts of administration and military might.  However, as the families continued to evolve, they became independent from the roles they were originally created to hold.  The Ohotomo would eventually fall from power, and in their place would rise up the Mononobe.  However, the Mononobe would also find themselves on the outs, especially in the tumultuous period following Amekunioshi's death.  It was at this time that a new family would rise up to take their place:  the Soga, which we've heard a lot about this year.  The head of the Soga, Soga no Iname, had positioned his family in part through carefully marrying his daughters into the royal line.  While this had been done in the past, it wasn't to the extent or success that the Soga were able to achieve: In only a single generation, Iname saw Soga descended sovereigns on the throne.  This took place, of course, with not a small amount of maneuvering and the eradication of rival lineages.  It was their own Game of Thrones playing out, with the families created to serve the state and the royal family grabbing for themselves more power.  This would seem to be an unexpected consequence of a concept that had initially helped expand the royal authority, and we'll only continue to see more of it in the coming decades and centuries. At the same time that all of this was playing out on the archipelago, things on the continent were also changing.  First and foremost, in that it was closest to home for Yamato, was the rising power of Silla on the Korean peninsula. Up to this point, most of the Korean peninsula appears to have been a collection of small, regional polities, with occasional alliances between them.  There were two or three kingdoms of note.  In the north was Goryeo, a shortened version of the original name, Goguryeo, which is how we generally refer to it today to distinguish it from the 10th century state of the same name.  It was the oldest of the various kingdoms, and claimed descent from the northern Buyeo kingdom, centered in modern Manchuria. In the southwest of the peninsula was the kingdom of Baekje.  They, too, claimed descent from the nobility of Buyeo, and they were made up of many of the various polities collectively referred to as Mahan.  While Goguryeo was ruling up in the north, Baekje was one of the first kingdoms to set up shop in the southern end of the peninsula. Then there was Silla.  Originally a confederation of six polities in the area known as the Jinhan, they eventually became a kingdom and started pushing against the other polities in the region.  This includes the fledgling kingdom of Kara, mostly known as a confederation of smaller polities from the old Byeonhan region.  There are royal style tombs in the area, but before they could really get going Kara and the other polities fell under the control of the kingdom of Silla.  This included groups like Ara and the controversial polity of Nimna.  This set Baekje and Silla in direct confrontation, as Silla's land grab eliminated much of the buffer territory between the two of them. Nimna appears to have been of particular concern to Yamato, and appears to have been one of Yamato's allies, along with Baekje.  While Baekje appears to have been the stronger of the two, Nimna may have had a special place for Yamato, especially as it may have been an important port for Yamato ships traveling to trade with the rest of the continent.  Nimna being under Silla rule would have made this trade much more risky, as the Silla-Yamato relationship was often a rocky one.  Yamato attempted to move Nimna out from under Silla control, both through an alliance with Baekje, in concert with some of the other polities, as well as through attempts to take the country by force—most of which excursions were called off for one reason or another. At the same time, Baekje had been in decline, generally speaking.  They moved their capital farther south after being defeated by Goguryeo.  They were rebuilding, and still a powerful force, but not quite at the height of their power. Farther on the mainland, between the Yellow and Yangzi rivers, the period of the Northern and Southern Courts was coming to a close, and the Sui dynasty would eventually rule much of the Middle Kingdom, what is today modern China.  They would bring a stability to the region and embark on public works projects that would forever change the face of East Asia. As all of this was happening, influences were coming from the west.  We mentioned the Sassanian glass bowl and similar wares that made their way from the Middle East all the way to Japan—though whether as part of a sovereign's burial or not might still be up for debate.  Nonetheless, we know that the overland trade routes were booming, even if the occasional instability might disrupt them now and again.  The whole of Asia was more connected than we often give it credit for. Along this road came not only material goods, but new ideas.  Greek culture had reached at least as far as Gandhara, modern Pakistan and Afghanistan, and from east of the Indus came a new religion:  Buddhism.  It spread along the silk road, eventually finding a home in China, where it flourished, and continued to spread to the Korean peninsula and then, in the 6th century, to the archipelago of Japan. Buddhism came hand in hand with other mainland texts, exploring a variety of science and philosophy.  We discussed how the mainstream story of the introduction of Buddhism is likely not entirely correct.  That story sets up a conflict between the foreign religion of Buddhism and the worship of local kami—the practices that would become Shinto.  So, resistance to Buddhism is initially depicted as a resistance to foreign influence and the need to continue to support indigenous belief.  The reality, however, is much more complex. First is the role of kami worship in the expansion and exercise of State power.  The archaeological record demonstrates some expansion of Yamato ritual in the spread of various kofun styles —especially the royal keyhole shaped kofun, which were clearly adopted by others, demonstrating Yamato's influence.  More subtly, we see the spread of Yamato ritualists to various parts of the archipelago, and eventually the spread of various beliefs—though it may be somewhat difficult to say just when belief in any particular kami started at this period.  Remember, though, the way that powerful physical icons of the kami, such as mirrors and swords, had been taken by the Yamato sovereign and held by the court.  We touched on this back in Episode 20, where we discussed on Yamato took on “guardianship” for various relics, almost like they were taking sacred hostages.  Worship of the kami was intertwined with statecraft, and spiritual power and political power were both a part of the mix along with actual military power.  If you could perform a ritual that people felt was effectual, that was seen as on par with actual governance.  We also see this in the way that various families identified with different kami, such as the Mononobe and their link to the deity of Isonokami shrine, and the Royal family with the deity of Mt. Miwa.  Worship, however, was already starting to take on a continental tinge, as we see in stories about various deities, and the practice of worship.  This was no doubt influenced by immigrants from the Korean peninsula, who brought their own stories and beliefs.  Furthermore, whenever nothing else seemed to be working, bringing in new and exotic ritual practices from across the sea was likely seen as New and Shiny.  It was, after all, the latest in spiritual technology, and that foreign-ness and lack of local understanding would have led not only to its also having a somewhat mysterious quality, but also in the power that comes with being the only ones to quote-unquote “understand” the power of it and how to translate it.  If you were a 5th or 6th century ritualist family, if you could get hold of things that seemed to be ancient practices from the continent that nobody else really knew or understood, you were automatically the local subject matter expert. Furthermore, there wasn't necessarily a single, unified concept of how the kami worked, either.  Kami worship was often localized, and then later would spread as others heard about particularly powerful kami and rituals.  But there was no single concept of “Shinto”—there's no evidence that Izumo, Yamato, and Kibi all had the same origin stories, and, in fact, the many different stories that make up the Age of the Gods in the Chronicles speaks to the idea that there were many different stories, depending on who you asked.  In many ways, this is even true today.  While there are general themes that most Shinto shrines and practitioners follow, ritual practices from place to place may vary wildly.  This is less so in places that were part of more unified systems, such as the shrines connected to the royal family or those regulated by State Shinto in the Meiji period through World War II, but even today you can find a variety of differing beliefs and rituals in Shinto, even as most things appear to be the same on the outside.  A shrine's teachings may have local meaning or local rituals that are not practiced elsewhere, though many will fall into a recognizable cultural milieu that tends to make them more standardized.  As a small, but visible example, different shrines may have different omamori—protection amulets—that they offer.  While most offer amulets against sickness, disaster, or for attaining goals, some may have specific amulets for the martial arts, while others may have more specific amulets about love and marriage.  These will often be based on those things which the shrine and its kami are most associated with. In many ways, the Soga clan's acceptance of and use of Buddhism early on emphasizes this kind of spiritual borrowing, but to an extent that went well beyond what anyone else had done.  Most groups or families seem to have borrowed bits and pieces from the continent and then applied them to their local customs, but the Soga appear to have taken on Buddhism wholesale.  The benefit was that Buddhism wasn't just a few new practices—it was an entire corpus of material, with a rich written tradition.  Of course the writing was primarily in Sinic script, which was not exactly accessible to most people.  And early attempts at building temples and holding worship demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of Buddhist rites and rituals – indeed they are described much more like what one might expect to see in kami worship, with an emphasis on Buddhist “feasts”.  This may have been an attempt to make these new practices more accessible, but I believe that it is more likely that these early attempts at Buddhism were trying to treat the Buddha as another kami, through which the Soga family could control access to rites and rituals and thus gain political power through their perceived spiritual power.  It didn't hurt that, when they finally did build some temples, they were in the continental style, even further illustrating the Soga family's connection with all of these new fangled ideas coming over from across the sea. This was likely facilitated by the Soga family's connections to the immigrant community, particularly to various people from Baekje whom they sponsored and who, in turn, would be able to assist them in various ways.  These included people like Shiba Tattou and his family, who were regularly assisting Soga no Iname and Soga no Umako in their endeavors.  This may in part explain why early Buddhist images were coming over from Baekje, Yamato's ally at the time, though that may have been coincidental or even a catalyst—it isn't entirely clear. It is also intriguing to me that I have not seen a clear reference to a Soga family shrine.  Perhaps the Soga themselves were from the continent, originally—that may explain some of the earlier Soga names that appear to reference the peninsula and even Goguryeo.  Then again, it is hard to say—it may be that the Soga family shrine was never of as much import as their eventual attachment to Buddhist institutions. For those in power who could see how the Soga family was using this new religion, it is little wonder that they pushed back against it.  They had no particular reason to see Buddhism as anything particularly special, but they no doubt knew that the Soga would use it as a platform to further enhance their position.  And the powers-that-be succeeded several times, it would seem, in resisting Soga attempts to found a new ritual center. The Soga, however, had already gained considerable power outside of Buddhism.  Much of their rise is not entirely catalogued, but by the time of Soga no Iname, things were looking good.  The Ohotomo family was on the decline, which likely created something of a power vacuum that Soga no Iname was able to exploit.  By the way, there is a thought that early on the position of “Muraji” was actually superior to that of “Omi”, and it may be that the “Oho-omi” position was not quite as prestigious as that of Ohomuraji.  This is obscured by the fact that by the time of the Chronicles, the Oho-omi position clearly eclipsed the position of Ohomuraji, and that is projected back into the distant past by the Chroniclers.  This would speak to the idea that the Soga family was actually ranked behind the Ohotomo and the Mononobe, originally, but their Omi family was on the rise, and eventually their position as Oho-omi, the Great Omi, became the most influential position at court. This may go along with the fact that Soga no Iname is also given the personal kabane of Sukune in the Chronicles, which is described as the highest personal title that could be bestowed on an individual.That also speaks to his personal power and influence at court.  Of course, he is described by these terms from early on, even though he likely received them later in his career, and so it can be difficult to track just when he came to the peak of his effectiveness.  There is also the possibility that some of it is projected back on him because of his offspring, though even then he was still likely someone of consequence to be able to have those familial connections with the royal family in the first place. I suspect that much of Iname's position was likely derived from his access to Baekje and other immigrants and their access to reading, writing, and the new technologies that the court was hungering for.  Iname then parlayed that position into strategic marriages with the royal house.  Several consorts were from the Soga lineage, daughters of Soga no Iname.  Their sons and daughters, while royal princes and princesses, would also be connected to their Soga relatives.  This was a not uncommon ploy, as we've seen it in many other cases as well.  However, then something happened that would disrupt the apple cart.  Remember hwo we talked about how a sovereign was supposed to be be descended from the royal family through both their paternal and maternal lines? Amekunioshi was succeeded by his son Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou.  His mother had been Ishi Hime, son of Amekunioshi's half-brother, Takewo Hiro Kunioshi Tate, aka Senka Tennou.  But when he died, his son, Hikobito, was not made sovereign.  Instead, the throne passed to his half-brother, Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Youmei Tennou, a son of Amekunioshi and a daughter of Soga no Iname—so royal blood on only half of the family's side.  Following him, we see a bloody fight for the throne, largely personified by the military forces of the Mononobe v. those of the Soga.  Remember, the Mononobe had started as the Be of the warriors.  They were expected to be the armies of the court, at least in Yamato and the archipelago.  In previous reigns they had been the ones to mete out punishment and to be given charge of places like the Yamato government's outpost in Kyushu, from which point armies would be launched against the continent.    They did not, however, have a monopoly on military power.  Many families participated in raids against the peninsula, so we can assume that there were many who had their own, private forces.  While the Mononobe may have been the court's warriors, they had also branched out into other areas of administration, as well as maintaining the ritual site of Isonokami. The Soga versus Mononobe fight also saw various royal princes pitted against each other, and many would-be sovereigns were killed.  Prince Hikohito, whom one might think as the eldest son of Nunakura was the heir presumptive, was killed, and the Mononobe ended up supporting Prince Anahobe against the Soga's candidate, Prince Hasebe.  However, both of these candidates were descended from daughters of Soga no Iname—nobody was putting up a candidate that truly had royal blood on both sides. In the end, the Soga were victorious, and they destroyed the Mononobe—though not entirely.  The Mononobe were certainly out of power, but they would continue to exist in a more minor role.  The Soga candidate, Hasebe, was then placed on the throne as Sushun Tenno, while Soga no Umako enjoyed unparalleled power as Oho-omi.  However, despite his Soga lineage, and the fact that Soga no Umako had helped put him on the throne, Hasebe was not necessarily going to let himself be controlled.  And so Soga no Umako resorted, we are told, to assassination, to clear the throne for someone else.  And that someone else was none other than Toyomike Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou.  She is something of an enigma.  She is the first woman to be granted the title of “Tennou” by the Chroniclers, and several accounts make her seem like she was a shrewd operator.  She had been the second wife of her half-brother, Nunakura Futodamashiki, and she'd been in or near the halls of power since his reign.  And yet some believe her to be little more than a puppet for Soga no Umako, while others believe she was a consensus candidate who was largely inoffensive to the majority of the court.  This is further complicated by the fact that she didn't even name her own offspring as Crown Prince, designated to succeed her.  Rather, that position went to none other than her nephew, the Prince of the Upper Palace, Kamitsumiya, aka the Prince of the Stable Door, Umayado, more popularly known today as Prince Shotoku Taishi. Shotoku Taishi is a mytho-historical figure by all accounts.  While many believe that an actual prince existed, he is given credit for almost anything good that happened.  Although the Soga family was clearly responsible for bringing in Buddhism, it is Shotoku Taishi who is credited with spreading the holy religion.  He is also said to have written the first constitution for the state, and set up a court rank system similar to the continent, though still unique to Yamato.  He is said to have ruled jointly with his aunt, and is treated in later stories as a dharma king, even though he never took on the actual mantle of sovereign.  Of course, Soga no Umako also exerted a huge influence, and in the end it is hard to say exactly who held the real power amongst the three:  Kashikiya Hime, Prince Umayado, or Soga no Umako. Umayado was the first to pass away, however—which may have also contributed to his holy status as any problems could be passed off as belonging to his aunt or, even better, to his grand-uncle, Soga no Umako, who would follow Umayado in death a few years later, and then, finally, Kashikiya Hime herself would succumb to time.  They all passed away within a decade of each other, but Kashikiya Hime would manage to outlast them all. Through this reign, for all of the fighting and politics, many of the foundations were laid for a reimagining of the Yamato state, the sovereign, and the vehicles of power.  The court had spread their control through ritual, through the familial system, and through the establishment of Miyake—government outposts designed to control rice land and send tribute back in the form of tax.  However, now they were formalizing that structure and in so doing they were putting a legal framework around it.  Built around a continental model, the throne became the source of rank for the individual, not just the family, and that rank could be given out across the archipelago.  This set up some of what was needed to start to move towards a more bureaucratic state in the continental model. Certainly, we see that Yamato power had expanded.  Further out from Yamato, we see the round, keyhole shaped tombs becoming popular, while closer to the Nara basin, they actually began to die out.  In part this can be seen as a possible sign of Yamato control, since the local elites were no longer being represented as rulers, but in a lesser capacity.  However, it then takes a real turn as even the sovereigns—or at least the Soga descended sovereigns—are no longer buried in keyhole shaped tombs, either, and these tombs become smaller.  This may be, at least in part, because resources to build tombs were being redirected into the new temple building craze.  For whatever reason, Buddhism had caught on, at least amongst the elites.  If the Soga family had hoped to control Buddhism, they appear to have failed.  Numerous temples started up, tied to different families, most of them connected, in some way, with various immigrant groups in the archipelago.  Where this would go, we'll have to see. And that largely catches us up.  I skipped over a few things, but it is worth recalling the Haruna eruptions that we covered back in episode 87, which reminds us that the Chronicles really only give us a narrow view of everything that was going on.  Much of the history of the archipelago remains unrecorded, and is only understood through the archaeological record.  While a lot was happening in Yamato, there was plenty going on elsewhere, but we only see it when it touches on Yamato and their politics. And so we learn a little more about the creation of the Dazaifu, and we hear about natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, but only if they affect the Nara basin.  There are some hints in the fudoki, the local gazetteers that were compiled in the 8th century to catalog the local stories and histories, but we only have so much, and even then the stories aren't always easy to place in a truly chronological context.  Still, we can see some general themes running throughout this period. As we start into 2024, we'll finish up with the reign of Kashikiya Hime.   Before her reign ends, we'll also see the rise of the Tang dynasty on the continent—a new inspiration for Yamato, but also a new threat, especially as they ally with Silla.  Also, with Prince Umayado gone, who will next take the reins of power?  And what will happen with the Soga family?  Will Umako's children prove as formidable as he was?  There is plenty more to look forward to. Until then, Happy New Year!  As usual, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  Thanks also to my lovely wife, Ellen, for her continued work at helping to edit these episodes! Remember, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

Join host James Varley for an in-depth chat with short-term rentals industry expert, Moriya Rockman, the Co-Founder of Smiling House, Triangle Luxury, and Villa Tracker.Moriya discusses her journey in the short-term rentals space, shares key knowledge from her career, and outlines what everyone can learn from the luxury sector.If you have any interest in vacation rentals, this episode is not to be missed. Moriya is a highly regarded thought leader and the knowledge she shares here is second-to-none.3:18 Moriya's journey in the short-term rentals industry5:32 Luxury vacation rentals are thriving5:48 Key learnings from the industry 7:15 Be an ambassador for your destination9:55 What everyone can learn from the luxury sector12:56 Invite your guests to be part of the community  14:37 Work with other hosts 15:50 Trends that Moriya is embracing 17:45 What Moriya is most excited about in the short-term rentals industry19:03 Travel professionals are starting to offer vacation rentals rather than hotels21:34 Airbnb changed the industry – and property managers who are wavering need to hold on24:46 We need to keep the personal touch and use tech in the right way 27:36 Favourite brand in the STR space: Guesty / shout-out to Jodie Stirling29:33 Best advice to a new company: work on your brand, find your identity, and get a property management system from day one Links mentioned: Holiday Cottage Handbook website Sign up for our free weekly newsletter Download our free e-book for investors, hosts, and property managersSmiling HouseTriangle LuxuryVilla TrackerGuestyEnjoy the show? Please subscribe, rate, and review!  Email the show: james@holidaycottagehandbook.com    

This episode we start our dive into the reign of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno.  This is going to be a brief overview of her reign so that we can dive more deeply into the individual subjects that come up. For more, check out our podcast blogpost at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-93 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 93: Time to Shake Things Up. Before we get started, a couple of shout-outs.  First to Anticia, for donating on Ko-Fi.com.  Thanks for your kind words and supporting our operations, including our website and this podcast.  And then to Lowbrow78 and to Parp for supporting us on Patreon.  If you want to join them, we have information on our website as well as at the end of every episode. Here we are, at the cusp of the 7th century.  With the death of Hasebe no Ohokimi, aka Sushun Tennou, we are about to jump into one of the most significant reigns to date: that of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou.  I put this right up there with the reign of Waketakiru, aka Yuryaku Tennou, and like that period, we'll need several episodes to get through everything going on here.  In fact, I've been thinking about just how to do this, and I think before we get into it we need to cover the broad strokes and talk about a few things, and then I want to delve into some specifics over the coming episodes. This means we'll cover a lot this episode at a high level.  To start with, we'll talk about the power players of this period, and just who was really running the show—we have three people to pick from based on various interpretations of this era.  And that will have us talking about Shotoku Taishi, and of course Shotoku Taishi's impact vis-à-vis Buddhism, as well as the growth of Buddhism in general.  There is also the general Sinification of the court, which means that we also get to talk about clothing styles and the appearance of a new “17 Article Constitution” as well as the new 12 rank system for court officers.  And then there is everything happening on the mainland.  In 589 the Sui dynasty came to power, followed in 618 by the Tang.  And of course we still have Baekje and Silla going at it, and Yamato just cannot leave well enough alone when it comes to Nimna.  All of that will get covered in even more detail, later.  But don't worry, it isn't all going to be generalities and vague preparations.  We also have a little tidbit for you at the end about earthquakes and the deities that cause them, because *that* is something we can easily cover here. And one more thing:  This is the last reign that we have any documentation for in the Kojiki and the Sendai Kuji Hongi, even though the Kojiki is largely just genealogical information.  That means we are getting close to the end of the “Chronicles”.  We still have a lot of material to get through, though, including assassinations, coups, military expeditions, and even a full blown civil war.  All that to come later, after we get through this period. So let's set the stage, shall we?  This reign is coming at a very tumultuous time.  We've been through several sovereigns or would-be sovereigns in a very short span, starting with Tachibana no Toyohi and then Hasebe, aka Yomei Tennou and Sushun Tennou, not to mention the failed attempt to take the throne early by Hasetsukabe Anahobe and Mononobe no Moriya.  Even Hasebe was killed by his own Oho-omi, Soga no Umako—or at least at Umako's order, if not directly by his own hand.  It's become clear you didn't want to be crossing Umako, and he was the most powerful minister at court at this point.  There wasn't a cabal of Oho-omi and Oho-muraji, there was simply Umako at the top.  However, his rule was not absolute.  He still needed the buy-in of the other ministers, the heads of their own families, as well as the nominal approval of the sovereign and the royal family.  I'm honestly surprised nobody tried to put a dagger in his back, but then again anyone who might try had so far ended up with their successors caught up in probate, and it didn't matter how powerful a position they supposedly occupied. Still, Umako couldn't take the throne himself.  Not even he could get away with that looking like anything more than a power grab.  He had already positioned Soga-descended members of the royal family so that they were in the line of succession, something that really looks like it went against tradition—though how old that tradition was is more than a little sus, as we've mentioned before.  And so, with the death of Hasebe, someone was needed on the throne, but who was available?  The political violence had even extended to some of the heirs, like Prince Hikobito, and it is unclear how many princes were even left at this point. The Chronicles tell us that the ministers therefore turned to Kashikiya Hime, and begged her to take the throne. As a reminder, Kashikiya Hime was the form queen—wife to Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou.  Beyond that, she was a granddaughter of Soga no Iname, making Soga no Umako her maternal uncle.  Her father was Ame Kunioshi Hiraki Hiro Niha, aka Kimmei Tennou.  During the period following Ame Kunioshi's death, she had attempted to put her finger on the scales of the power struggles that occurred, and she seemed to be a person that people listened to and took seriously in her role, though male heirs were at least initially considered before her. And so, when she was first asked to take the throne after Hasebe, she refused, but eventually the court ministers able to convince her.  Upon coming to power she  almost immediately made Prince Umayado the Heir Apparent, or Taishi—the Crown Prince.  Then we are told that, along with Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, she and Soga no Umako, the Oho-omi, ruled the government.  And I hope I don't need to point out how exceedingly strange this wording is.  Technically it isn't unprecedented—in previous reigns we've certainly seen the Crown Prince taking an active role in the government, and the Oho-omi and the Oho-muraji, together, were frequently in positions to advise, counsel, and downright run the government, often skipping over the sovereign altogether.  So nothing here is so far outside the scope, but it is still odd that it was so blatantly stated, and there is good reason to believe that we don't have the whole story. Theories on Kashikiya Hime and her reign vary widely.  Michael Como claims that she was likely a consensus candidate—she was put forward because she was not overly objectionable to any of the other parties involved.  I suspect she had links to both sides of the dispute, so this make some sense, but I also wonder if it doesn't remove her own agency. Speaking of which, there is the possibility that she had very little agency in any of this.  There is the possibility that she was no more than a puppet—a relatively docile sovereign that Soga no Umako, or even Prince Umayado, could control, allowing them to work in the background.  Indeed, one of the things we'll see during this period is the increasing ritualization of the role of the sovereign, to the point that the Oho-omi was a powerful intermediary, receiving missives to the throne and relaying them onward, with ample opportunity to affect just how they were heard.  Often the Chroniclers found ways to deny the true agency of women on the throne, noting them less as sovereigns, and more as regents—often merely keeping the seat warm until an appropriate male heir presented himself and came of age.  That may have been the case at times, but I have a hard time seeing that in Kashikiya Hime.  Maybe when she first married Nunakura that may have been her outlook, but since then she'd seen some things.  She knew how the game worked, and we've seen her actively mentioned supporting one candidate or another, and not always agreeing with Soga no Umako's decisions.  It is possible that this was added later to support her independence in the Chronicles, but I think that the easier answer is that Kashikiya Hime was her own person, and as ruler she was the authority that held sway. Still, there are so many questions, and a lot of those revolve around her choice of successor, Prince Umayado, the Prince of the Horse Stable Door, aka Shotoku Taishi. Shotoku Taishi is one of those legendary figures, somewhere between Yamato Takeru and Abe no Seimei.  So many stories have grown up around this sage prince that it is truly hard to pry fact from fiction, and many wonder if he ever existed at all.  Others suggest that he's an amalgamation of several different historical and legendary figures.  Even by the time the Chronicles were being written his legends had reached cult like status, with numerous Buddhist temples claiming some connection to this founding sage of Japanese Buddhism, however tenuous.  It doesn't stop there, however.   Shotoku Taishi is said to have written one of the earliest national histories, and there are claims that this early history is none other than the Kūjiki, the text that we have in the Sendai Kūji Hongi. Some have speculated that this why that work and the Kojiki both stop here, with the reign of Kashikiya Hime. Of course, in the case of the Kojiki, the real narrative stopped some time ago, with the later reigns containing little more than genealogical lists.  The Sendai Kūji Hongi is a little more interesting. It Is clear that the authors of the Nihon Shoki and the Sendai Kūji Hongi were working from some of the same texts, with possibly one referencing the other, but at the same time there are small differences that suggest different authors with different purposes.  The Nihon Shoki certainly has more details on the official histories, while the Sendai Kūji Hongi contains sections on the genealogical information of the Mononobe and Owari families as well as information on various provincial governors. Personally, I find it highly questionable that the Sendai Kūji Hongi might be written by Shotoku Taishi, but I concede that it, along with the Nihon Shoki, might have both borrowed from an earlier work. Nonetheless, it does stop, and only the Nihon Shoki covers the next couple centuries, though in even greater detail.  We start to see more granular details about many items, though there are still questions. Given all of the swirl around Shotoku Taishi, however, I've had to think about just what tack to take with him, and for now we'll take a look at what the official narrative has to say, and then perhaps add a bit more context.  I'll frequently be referring to him here as Prince Umayado, and we'll focus on him primarily as a prince and a political figure. Given that, there is the question of whether or not Prince Umayado was actually running things. I'm not aware of any tradition that claims he was more than the Crown Prince, and as such a powerful advisor to the throne.  Umako seems more likely as a power behind the throne, but there are certainly clues that Umayado was up there—and of course, in later years, Shotoku Taishi's own shine meant that people were more likely than not to attribute just about anything good from this period to him and his auspices, even if it was just because he suggested it. But that brings us to the question:  Just what happened during this reign that was worth anyone taking credit for?  What happened that we are spending our time talking about it? To start with, the reign was just long.  Kashikiya Hime was taking the throne around 593 and she would reign up until her death in 628.  That was over thirty years, which is a good run for any sovereign, for reasons we've covered before, such as the fact that they are usually coming to the throne when they are older, etc.  Remember, she was probably born in the 530s, possibly 538, and so she took the throne in her late 50s or early 60s and held it until she was about 90 years old. During this period, there was a lot of change going on outside the archipelago as well as inside.  In 589, the Sui dynasty had come to power, uniting the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins.  Their reign officially ended about 618, though that wasn't necessarily a given at the time, and they were certainly a powerhouse as they united the northern and southern dynasties.  The Sui status fell in 618 only because it was replaced by a new dynasty: The Tang dynasty.  This was a dynasty founded by Li Yuan, a cousin of the Sui emperors, with a multi-ethnic background including Han and non-Han parentage, who came from a traditionally Xianbei—or by that time Tuoba—region.  Tang dynasty culture would come to influence all of the cultures on the peninsula and the archipelago, truly becoming the “Middle Country” that various states looked to as a cultural touchstone.  Tang culture spread throughout East Asia. The states on the Korean Peninsula had been absorbing the culture of the riverine courts for some time—honestly ever since the time of the Han commanderies.  As Buddhism percolated through the elite societies of Baekje, Silla, and now Yamato, it was more than just religious transmission.  Sutras had been translated into Sinic characters, and Buddhist learning often went hand-in-hand with texts on a variety of other issues, as there was no formal line drawn between science, philosophy, and religion. And so, as Yamato embraced Buddhism, there were other avenues of studies that also came over the straits, often attributed to the descendants of the Han dynasty, but largely filtered through a Baekje or even Silla lens.  We see this manifest in myriad ways, from the various physical objects left behind in tombs, etc., as well as the clothing, of which we have several indications that the islands were adopting continental practice.  However, we also have passages about the adoption of certain knowledge or technology, as well: everything from philosophy and calendar making to geomancy and even magic and the art of invisibility. And then we see another important development this reign: The first constitution in Japan.  Known as the 17-Article Constitution, it is attributed to none other than Shotoku Taishi himself, making him, in a way, the father of the country.  Granted, the constitution was light on actual details, and more like a collection of moral maxims.  This included things like anti-corruption tenets, suggesting that maybe you shouldn't do things in government just because someone paid or flattered you.  Still, these were not necessarily formative statements.  After all, the Yamato state had customs and traditions, and so these were seen as more guiding principles than the kind of generative formulae that you might find in something like the US Constitution, where they were attempting to deliberately define the legal framework for a brand new nation. Nonetheless, it is seen as the start of a new era for Yamato.  This law may have been loosely worded, but it was, eventually, written down.  It also was quickly followed by a new ranking system.  The kabane system of ranking didn't go away—not even the traditional individual honorifics, like Sukune, although that would have a bit of gap in the record.  The Kabane system remained in use to rank the various families, but then a twelve cap system was instituted to rank individual courtiers.  This was a first.  While certain courtiers certainly had privileges—for example, the heads of certain families—the ranking system, which came to be used, in one form or another, throughout east Asia, was a distinctly continental tradition.  On the face of it, this was about setting up a meritocracy.  Those who were most deserving would stand at the top, overseeing those below them.  Of course in Yamato, “most deserving” usually meant those who came from the right families, so we'll see how that evolves over time. We also see some changes in the way that Yamato was coming to view itself as the center versus the periphery.  Lands that were once sovereign units unto themselves, had gone from simply acknowledging the nominal hegemony of Yamato to finding their subservient position being written into the law.  We see an idea that individual governors—the lords of those regions now part of the larger Yamato state—should not levy their own taxes, but that there should be a single tax on the people.  This is a critical concept, and it would be interesting to see just how well it was obeyed; certainly in later periods it was often the prerogative of local governors to adjust the taxes to take into account their, ahem, overhead.  Nominally this was to cover the costs of local administration, but in many periods it was assessed by those in charge, locally, to help cover their personal costs, and was often set based on what the local administrators thought that they could get away with, as all of the excess went to line their own pockets.  This would make provincial governorships rather lucrative, though being that far from the capital and the seat of power would have its drawbacks.  This is a not uncommon model for tax collecting in different societies, where tax collectors paid themselves out of the taxes they collected. At this point in time, however, the central government was clearly trying to get a handle on this practice, and it makes sense as they were trying to assert more direct sovereignty over the land and the people.  So it would not do to have the people paying taxes to two lords, since there could be only one ultimate sovereign, and they were seated on the throne in Yamato.  This goes along with a continual thread of centralization of state control, another concept that they were likely pulling from the way that continental states were organized. And all of this came along with a healthy dose of Buddhism.  This reign we see the completion of Asukadera, one of the key temples to be set up in this time.  We also get indications of the start of Shitennouji, in modern Ohosaka, the ancient temple of Houryuji, which even today still boasts the oldest wooden building in the world, and the temple of Koryuji, in the Uzumasa district of modern Kyoto.  In addition to this we are told that the elites went on something of a temple-building craze. This temple building craze—and particularly the building of state sponsored temples—would be a new sign of elite status, but it would also pull resources away from previous traditional efforts.  Most notably, the labor going to build, staff, and maintain Buddhist temples would pull people away from the building and maintaining of monumental tombs.  This doesn't mean that they would go away, but the tombs certainly changed, and we would see them become smaller, less prominent, and, ultimately, they would be just about phased out altogether, except for a few particularly prominent examples. In addition to the growing influence of the Buddhist religion, relations with the mainland were also notable.  There are several mentions of different types of “tribute” from Baekje, Silla, Goguryeo, and even various parts of the archipelago. Of course, once more we kick off the regular attempts to “free” Nimna from Silla rule.  However, it should be noted that there isn't a lot of corroborating evidence for any of Yamato's peninsular activities.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that they were successful, and that hardly appealed to those compiling works like the Samguk Sagi, who were, after all, writing to help prop up the Silla kingdom  and their royal family just as the Japanese Chroniclers were doing for theirs.  There is also the possibility that this was something that didn't happen.  Or at least not as it is described.  It is quite possible that the impact of any attempts to chastise Silla were overblown, or even anachronistic.  Long story short, we don't see any lasting gains by Yamato this period, with many of the attempted military excursions being halted or called off for a number of reasons. We also see Yamato racing farther afield.  Although they call them the Great Tang, based on the timing it seems that Yamato made direct contact with the Sui dynasty some time after the latter had one again unified the area of eastern China.  This contact was significant in a time when the Court, in general, was turning to more Sinified continental practices.  It is also significant that Yamato approached these contacts with a certain pride, assuming an equal status in their communications.  This is borne out in the Chinese histories as well. All in all, there is a lot going on here, so we are going to deep dive into many of these topics. That said, there is one thing that I'll cover in this episode as I'm not sure it really fits well into anything else, but it is a fun diversion.  It happened in the summer of 599, about six years into Kashikiya Hime's reign.  Specifically it was the 27th day of the 4th lunar month when the peace of the realm was disturbed by a tremendous earthquake that we are told “destroyed all the houses”. Now Japan is no stranger to earthquakes.  They sit on the Pacific Rim's “Ring of Fire”, and volcanic and geologic activity is largely responsible for the islands' shape and mountainous terrain.  Not only that, but many of the volcanos across the island are still active, even today.  One stat I read suggested that 10% of the world's active volcanoes are in Japan.  We talked about two eruptions that we know about from the early 6th century back in Episode XXX, but still, those are rare enough.  There has been roughly only one significant eruption every hundred years or so, that we know of.  Meanwhile, Japan experiences about 1500 earthquakes each year.  Most of them are probably not even noticed by anyone not looking at a seismograph, of course.  Over the past decade there has been more than one earthquake each year at magnitude 7 or higher, but these are often in particular places.  Quick digression here—but if you hear about an earthquake in Japan, the numbers that they use to calculate the size are often different from what you might find in the US or other countries.  In the US we usually talk about the Richter scale, developed in 1935 by Charles Richter.  It measures the magnitude in a logarithmic scale, meaning that a category 7.0 earthquake is actually 10 times as powerful as a category 6.0.  Likewise a category 8.0 is ten times that of a 7.0, and one hundred times more powerful than a 6.0.  However, this only really provides the local magnitude, and it doesn't tell you other things, such as the type of force—a sharp crack versus rolling waves, for example—or even the duration.  In Japan, there are a few different ways that the Japanese Meterological Agency classifies earthquakes, and one of those is the Seismic Intensity scale, also known as the Shindo scale. The Shindo scale is more concerned with the effects of the earthquake than simply the magnitude, and while there are 10 different classifications, it only goes up to 7, as levels 5 and 6 are broken up into “Weak” and “Strong” intensities.  This can lead to some misunderstanding when looking at a report regarding Japanese earthquakes, as 7 is the highest they go, but they aren't measuring things the same way. However you measure it, there have been significant earthquakes, with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher, or with loss of life and property, over once a year, on average.  The damage and effects are often somewhat localized, but with modern media it is easy to learn about these earthquakes, which can certainly make it seem like they are happening all the time.  On the other hand, back in ancient times, news would take time to travel.  Still, it is remarkable to me that we really haven't seen anything in the Chronicles on major earthquakes up to this point, similar to how it is strange that we haven't really heard about any major volcanos.  There was an earthquake back in the reign of Woasatsuma no Wakugo, aka Ingyou Tennou, and we mentioned it in Episode 56.  It damaged the temporary burial of the previous sovereign, which is why it was considered of note, but otherwise it was largely just a passing mention to a natural phenomenon.  It is possible that we didn't hear about them because the Nara Basin just didn't experience anything that sizeable, or if there was, it just didn't make it into the records.  Meanwhile, the smaller quakes may have been no less common than heavy rains, and equally predictible. Compare that to later in the Nihon Shoki, where the 7th century would see at least 19 of 22 mentions of the word “earthquake”.  While it is possible that was just a particularly active century, I tend to suspect that it meant that from this point on we probably are getting better records, and thus we will get details that might not have otherwise survived if we were just relying on the historical highlights. In this case, it sounds as if the earthquake was particularly destructive, perhaps a level 6 or higher on the Shindo intensity scale.  And, of course, it impacted the Yamato elites.  We aren't told of any deaths, but it was still a traumatic event and the court took immediate action.  No, they didn't issue emergency relief funds, and they didn't provide labor to rebuild all the houses—or at least not that is mentioned.  No, the Court had something more important it needed to do:  and so orders were given to sacrifice to the “god of earthquakes.” This does make some sense.  After all, a large part of the sovereign's portfolio was in regards to the spiritual realm.  Sure, there was the administration of the state, but just about anyone could provide funding or even people to help with physical tasks.  The role of the sovereign, however, was often as the intermediary between Heaven and Earth; between the kami and human beings.   And so it was completely within Kashikiya Hime's responsibilities to try and placate the spirits that had caused this disaster and to prevent future earthquakes. Now the name of the god of earthquakes is not exactly given.  It is sometimes read as “Nawi” or “Nai” no kami, but even then it is just referencing the shaking land, or “Na”.  There are traditions that connect this kami to one that we've heard about before, Takemikazuchi. Takemikazuchi's name lets us know that he is a thunder deity, and it is not difficult to make a connection between the rolling thunder in the sky and the rolling waves of an earthquake.  Takemikazuchi's previous appearance in the Nihon Shoki was back in the Age of the Gods, when Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi came down to help pacify the land, and particularly the land of Izumo.  Today, Takemikazuchi is worshipped at Kashima Jingu, in the old land of Hitachi, and he is, in fact connected with earthquakes. There is an old belief that earthquakes were actually caused by giant catfish, or Namazu—and once again there is that “Na” component possibly making an appearance.  These old stories said that when the Namazu thrashed about, underground, the land would shake.  When this happened, Takemikazuchi found the kaname ishi, a stone at the top of the catfish's head that poked out above ground.  He struck this stone so hard that there is a divot in the rock even up to this day.  That stone sits on the grounds of Kashima shrine.  It may not look like much, but according to the shrine they tried to dig it out and found that it wasn't just a rock, but it was part of a much larger stone that continued deep into the earth.  Today this stone is a focus for worship to help prevent earthquakes. Now the kaname ishi is not only found in Kashima—there is another one a short distance away at the famous Katori shrine as well, where they worship the spirit of Futsunushi.  There are also Kaname Ishi found in Ohomura Shrine, in Iga, as well as another Kashima shrine in modern Miyagi prefecture.  These are all central to eastern Honshu, possibly indicating a common thread amongst all of them. I would note that I don't know when the tradition of the kaname ishi stone, or that story about Takemikazuchi, first came about, or if that is even the original telling of the story.  We do have an entry in the Shoku Nihongi, the successor history to the Nihon Shoki, where there were shrines to the—or an—“earthquake god” in all seven of the home provinces.  I suspect that local deities were often consulted, and different local traditions may have held some shrines, kami, and rituals as more effective than others. Regardless, I hope it has been an interesting diversion.  I know it was something I enjoyed, having recently visited Kashima and Katori shrines and seen their Kaname Ishi in person—I'll have photos up on the website.  Do you know of other earthquake related rituals or shrines?  Please hit me up online, either on Twitter—or whatever the platform is calling itself today---Facebook, or via email, at the.sengokudaimyo@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear if you know of more shrines that specialize in subduing earthquakes. Next time we'll want to start some of our deep dives.  By then I hope to have done a bit more research on some of the various topics so that we can really tie this all together. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. 

Japanese protesters are continuing to urge the government to halt the release of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, which began on Thursday.日本抗议者继续敦促政府停止从周四（2023年8月24日）开始的福岛第一核电站将核污水排海。Citizens' groups held a protest rally near the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo again on Friday, strongly opposing the government's go-ahead for the Tokyo Electric Power Company to begin releasing contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.周五（8月25日），日本多个市民团体再次在东京的首相官邸附近发起抗议集会，强烈反对日本政府和东京电力公司强行启动福岛核污染水排海。Protesters said the government had chosen the least expensive and easiest method of disposing of Fukushima's radioactive water, ignoring strong opposition from Fukushima residents and the Japanese public. This also disregards international legal obligations, they said.集会民众表示，日本政府选择最省钱最省事的排海方式处置福岛核污染水，不仅是对福岛当地居民和日本民众的强烈反对意见的漠视，也置相关国际法义务于不顾。Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councilors, the upper house of the National Diet, said at the rally that the Japanese government's decision allows the discharge of radioactive substances into natural environments and such a move is an "atrocity".日本社民党党首、参议院议员福岛瑞穗在集会上指出，日本政府向海洋等自然环境排放放射性物质，是一种“暴行”。A lot of political manipulation is behind the move, she said.她说，此举背后充满政治操弄。Similar protests were staged by civic groups in other Japanese cities. Among their appeals was one saying, "Don't spread any more poison in the sea."日本其他城市的市民团体也举行了类似的抗议活动。在他们的呼吁中有一句话说：“不要再在海里传播毒药了。”Hirofumi Kokubun, secretary-general of the Iwate Prefectural Association for a Peaceful, Democratic and Progressive Japan, emphasized that the release of contaminated water is a unilateral breach of promises made to fishers and the public, and constitutes a reckless act that undermines democracy.岩手县和平、民主和进步日本协会秘书长光久博（Kokubun）强调，排放核污染水是单方面违反对渔民和公众作出的承诺，是破坏民主的鲁莽行为。Kyoko Yoshida, vice-chairman of the Japanese Communist Party's Iwate Prefectural Committee, said policymakers should not be allowed to ignore the lessons of the nuclear accident and to give priority to the profits of the Tokyo Electric Power Company over the safety of citizens.日本共产党岩手县委员会副主席吉田恭子说，不应该允许政策制定者忽视核事故的教训，将东京电力公司的利润置于公民安全之上。Citing concerns over food safety and pollution of the ocean, China suspended the imports of all aquatic products originating from Japan from Thursday.基于对食品安全和海洋污染的担忧，中国从周四（8月24日）起暂停进口所有来自日本的水产品。Mami Moriya, a teacher of children with intellectual disabilities, said: "When it comes to potential dangers like this, there's no such thing as being too cautious. So if people from other countries say they don't want to import Japanese seafood products, that's understandable. It's only natural for other countries to give priority to the health and safety of their own people."马米·莫里亚是一名智力残疾儿童教师，她说：“当谈到这样的潜在危险时，再谨慎都不为过。所以，如果来自其他国家的人说他们不想进口日本的海鲜产品，这是可以理解的。其他国家优先考虑自己人民的健康和安全是很正常的事。”Tokyo Electric Power Company has been unable to accurately determine the amount of radioactive substances to be discharged. Beginning the ocean discharge is thus certain to damage the natural environment, disrupt the livelihoods of fishers and threaten food safety for the public, Moriya said.东京电力公司一直无法准确地确定要排放的放射性物质的数量。莫里亚说，因此，开始进行海洋排放肯定会破坏自然环境，破坏渔民的生计，并威胁到公众的食品安全。She urged the government and the power company to pass on accurate data related to nuclear-contaminated water to other countries because, she said, the ocean discharge affects the future of all life on Earth.她敦促政府和电力公司将与受核污染的水有关的准确数据传递给其他国家，她说，海洋排放会影响到地球上所有生命的未来。Masashi Tani, secretary-general of the Japan Congress Against A-and H-Bombs (Gensuikin), said: "After the government and the company accurately disclose the information, judging whether the ocean discharge is safe or not is up to us. It's not for the business promotion side to say whether it's safe or not."日本反原子弹弹和氢弹大会（Gensuikin）秘书长谷正志（Masashi Tani）说：“政府和公司准确披露信息后，判断海洋排放是否安全由我们决定。这不是由商业营销来决定它是否安全。”Voicing worries担忧的声音Kinzaburo Shiga, a third-generation fisherman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, said he has been in the fishing industry for more than 50 years and is worried about whether the younger generation will be able to continue fishing. Shiga said he is preparing for the lifting of a ban from Sept 1 on bottom trawling, a method of fishing that involves dragging heavy nets across the seafloor, and feels anxious about this season's fishing, which will continue until the end of June, the newspaper Fukushima Minpo reported.福岛县岩木的第三代渔民志贺金三郎（Kinzaburo Shiga）说，他从事渔业已经有50多年了，他担心年轻一代能否继续捕鱼。据《福岛民报》报道，志贺表示，他正为9月1日起解除海底拖网捕鱼禁令做准备，这种捕鱼方式包括拖着沉重的网穿过海底，同时他对本季的捕鱼感到焦虑，其将持续到6月底。The decision to proceed with the ocean discharge will have a substantial negative impact on Japanese products, primarily in fisheries, agriculture and forestry, thus dealing an economic blow to Japan. Simultaneously, the release of nuclear-contaminated water may also affect inbound tourism to the country, said Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University in Tianjin.继续进行海洋排放的决定将对日本产品产生重大的负面影响，主要是在渔业、农业和林业方面，从而对日本造成经济打击。同时，位于天津的南开大学日本研究院副院长张玉来说，核污染水的排放也可能影响到中国的入境旅游。"Japan should be prepared to face various challenges and may even bear a heavy cost. Undoubtedly, the dumping of contaminated water will also severely affect its international image," Zhang said.“日本应该做好面对各种挑战的准备，甚至可能承担沉重的代价。毫无疑问，倾倒受污染的水也会严重影响其国际形象。”张玉来说道。Li Ruoyu, a visiting research fellow with the Institute of Japanese and Korean Studies at Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, said: "As a researcher of Japanese issues, what concerns me the most is the risk of the Japanese government's categorization of all questioning of the ocean discharge as politically unfriendly toward Japan. While such an approach may cater to domestic nationalist sentiments in Japan, it hinders the resolution of the issue and fails to effectively mitigate potential contamination risks."李若愚，一名四川师范大学日韩研究院的访问研究员，说：“作为一名研究日本问题的研究员，我最担心的是日本政府将所有关于海洋排放的质疑归类为对日本的政治不友好。虽然这种做法可能会迎合日本国内的民族主义情绪，但它阻碍了这个问题的解决，也不能有效地减轻潜在的污染风险。”Reporter: Jiang XueqingIntern: Zang TianyiNuclear英/'njuːklɪə/美/'nuklɪɚ/n.（原子）核的﹔核能的

Fresh off the killing of Anahobe and the destruction of the Mononobe, Soga no Umako is riding high as a new sovereign, Prince Hasebe, takes the throne.  Surely things will have finally settled down, won't they have done? For more, check out our podcast page at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-92 Rough Transcription: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is Episode 92: Death or Taxes, aka Don't Piss Off Umako. Before we get going, a quick recap: we are still in the late 6th century, and since the death of Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, things have been a bit crazy.  The number of apparently legitimate heirs was rather impressive.  There were the various siblings of Nunakura, both full and half-siblings, and there were his children and his siblings' children.  On top of that, there were some truly tense politics amongst some of the most powerful families in the realm, particularly the ancient Mononobe and the more recent Soga family, who had tied themselves so closely with the royal family through marriage that at this point just about every possible heir to the throne was in some way a Soga descendant.  The stories of this era have been filled with stories of death, war, and struggles for the throne.  Finally, there is the tension between Buddhism, which was first introduced in the early 6th century, and the established worship of the various kami, which also speaks to the tensions between various sources of spiritual political authority. As we discussed int the last two episodes, when Nunakura passed away, Prince Anahobe tried to take the throne, and he was initially thwarted by Miwa no Kimi no Sakahe, aka Sakahe no Kimi.  Anahobe, possibly with the assistance of his brother, Prince Hasebe, as well as Mononobe no Ohomuraji no Moriya, killed Sakahe no Kimi, pissing off Nunakura's former Queen, Kashikiya Hime.  Next, Nakatomi no Muraji no Katsumi, in support of Mononobe no Moriya, attempted to curse several of the candidates with stronger claims on the throne, and when that didn't work, he just out and out killed Crown Prince Hikobito, getting offed himself in the process.  Throughout all of this, another prince, Tachibana no Toyohi, apparently ascended, briefly, but seems to have died of natural causes.  In the process, however, he provided legitimacy for his own children as Royal Princes and Princesses to also contest for the throne. Moriya's support of Anahobe led to the death of Prince Anahobe, Prince Yakabe, and Moriya and his family—and many of his supporters, as well.  And yet, despite the loss of the Mononobe and Prince Anahobe, the next heir to the throne, with the approval of Queen Kashikiya Hime, was none other than Prince Hatsusebe, aka Hasebe, a full brother to the rebel Prince Anahobe and the focus of this episode.  If this all seems a bit confusing regarding the individuals and different factions, then congratulations, you've been paying attention.  The narrative certainly seems to be missing some key information, likely lost in the attempt to either whitewash some of the more contentious historical records, or simply due to the Chroniclers' attempts to create a more straightforward narrative out of a complex era which probably saw various courts competing to be recognized as the court that was actually making the decisions—something that doesn't exactly fit in with the attempt to tell the story of a relatively unbroken royal line. And yet, despite the chaos, we do see a solidification of power and control in general, as evidenced by the shift in late 6th century tomb structures.  As I may have mentioned in previous episodes, the Yamato area continued to build monumental round keyhole shaped tombs, but that shape of tomb simultaneously declined in nearby regions, which saw more round or square shaped—or even square keyhole shaped—tombs instead.  On the other hand, at the periphery, at the farthest reaches of the archipelago, we continue to see round keyhole shaped tombs in the Yamato style. This is all likely due to a consolidation of Yamato's power and authority.  Previously we had seen that start with the proliferation of the Yamato style tomb, but even from early times those round keyhole tombs were interspersed with other, typically smaller tombs.  The general assumption, based on the size, grave goods, and other archaeological features, is that the round keyhole tomb, at least in a Yamato context, was reserved for the Yamato royal family and only those of the most elite status.  In the Yamato and Kawachi regions, this seems to have held true, but further afield, local magnates adopted the round keyhole tombs for themselves, perhaps even appropriating some of the prestige of that tomb shape for themselves.  Similarly, it is very likely that Yamato did not have the power to stop local rulers from building whatever the heck they wanted, despite the impression given by the Chroniclers that all was hunky-dory as soon as Mimaki Iribiko and Ikume Iribiko sent out people to subdue the four corners of the archipelago. Whether because of an increased military might, or because of a cultural change in accepting Yamato's leadership, more and more lands seem to have been more directly under Yamato's sway, following their customs and accepting their position in the Yamato hierarchy.  To put it another way: in many parts of the archipelago, particularly those closer to Yamato, we do not see continued claims of “kingship” by the local elite.  They have accepted a lower status in the evolving hierarchy, presumably gaining some security and access to resources of the entire Yamato polity in the process, though that isn't entirely clear to me based purely on the archaeological evidence.  But according to our tomb theory, those on the periphery, where Yamato's control remained the weakest, continued to build their own round keyhole tombs, indicating they still considered themselves somewhat independent, even as they remained influenced by Yamato's overall cultural affectations. Into this world, Prince Hasebe ascended the throne.  Prince Hasebe was another half-brother to Nunakura Futodamashiki.  Like his full brother, Prince Anahobe Hasetsukabe, he was a Soga descendant through the maternal line.  We are told that his ascension was endorsed by Kashikiya Hime, his half-sister, and another Soga-descended royal.  He assumed the throne almost immediately following the turmoil that resulted in Anahobe's death and the destruction of Mononobe no Moriya.  This was in 587, and for the next five years, the reign appeared to be similar to any other, but I suspect that things hadn't quite settled, yet.  How could they?  It seems clear that it was way too easy for political violence to break out, and despite the Chronicles' insistence that everything was fine, many of the systemic issues that led to the violence in the first place were still there. To start with, you still had all of those potential heirs to the throne, and no clear succession tradition or precedence.  On top of that, each household, while created to serve the Court, had grown into its own political entity, vying for their own level of power and control.  No doubt some of this was exacerbated as Yamato's influence grew, bringing more people directly under Yamato's authority. I also can't help but notice that there appears to be a lack of any kind of clear justice system.  In fact, laws in general at this time appear to be based on precedent and tradition, likely oral tradition: although we have writing, we don't have a written system of laws just yet.  We have artifacts with writing on them.  We also have records of books coming over from the continent, which presumably people were able to read.  However, what was writing being used for?  It appears to have been used for communication—for example, diplomatic missions, or to send instructions and receive information back from the various lands under Yamato's rule.  David Lurie notes that this was a kind of practical writing, and it wasn't the same as the kind of extensive journaling that we would see later. It makes sense that much of the laws and traditions at this time were probably based on memorized precedent.  Groups like the Kataribe were organized around an oral tradition, and even the Kojiki was based on a tradition of oral recitation that was still in place by the late 7th century.  I suspect that different families maintained their own memories of precedence and tradition, collectively advising on what should be done in any given situation. This isn't exactly the kind of legal system with firm and fast rules, with everyone equal under the law, and some sort of immutable code.  That wasn't solely because it wasn't written down, mind you—there are plenty of cultures with oral traditions that maintain very clear sets of laws.  However, in this case it was not written down and given what we see and what we know about later court, legal precedent was kept in the memories of various individuals in different families, all of whom were competing for their place in the hierarchical structure that had been created.  Therefore, as long as you could get enough people on your side, then you determined what was just and what was not.  And of course it was the winners who wrote—or at least remembered—the history.   Strong leadership may have been able to keep things stable, but during any change things could get messy, as we've seen time and again.  And had Anahobe and the Mononobe been triumphant we'd likely be reading a very different telling of events. Hasebe's ascension didn't really change any of that, other than the person at the head of the system.  Still, things seemed to hold together alright, and with the recent purges, hopefully things would settle out after a while. The reign started with the standard ceremonies.  Soga no Umako was confirmed as Oho-omi, and though other “Ministers and Daibu”, or high officials, were confirmed, nobody else is named.  Hasebe's palace was set up at Kurahashi, presumably in the hills south of modern Sakurai.  His wife was Koteko, daughter of Ohotomo no Nukade. In his first year, Baekje sent envoys that included Buddhist priests and relics, along with various Buddhist artisans.  We'll probably touch on them more at a later date, but for now I'll note that with their coming, Soga no Umako consulted with them on several matters regarding Buddhism, and then he went ahead and pulled down the house of a man named Konoha and started work on another temple.  This one was known as Hokoji, though it is more popularly known to us by its common name:  Asukadera. Asukadera is perhaps the oldest purpose-built Buddhist temple commissioned by the state, and I think we can do an entire episode just on that temple alone.  The Chronicles make out that it was built to commemorate the supernatural support granted to Umako in his battle against Mononobe no Moriya, though it is impossible to know for certain how much of that is true.  What we can say is that this time there were no dissenting voices from the Mononobe nor the Nakatomi, and Asukadera would become one of the major temples of the Asuka period.  Later, when the capital was built up at Heijo-kyo, in modern Nara, the temple was moved to the new capital, and the complex in Asuka dwindled in importance.  Today you can still visit a temple at the site of Asukadera, but it is a shell of its former self, having been rebuilt on a much smaller footprint than before.   You can, however, go and see the original Buddha statue—or at least the reconstructed form of it, as the original icon was severely damaged in a fire at one point. But building up a proper temple and pagoda in the continental fashion would all take time—for now it appears that they were just breaking ground on a new construction, rather than just repurposing a part of an existing house into the temple, as they had seemingly done in the past.  This was going to take some time.  At the same time, it wasn't just buildings that were needed, and we are told that several Buddhists returned to Baekje along with the envoys.  We are told that they were going to Baekje to gain further instruction in Buddhist teachings. This was the nun Zenshin, daughter of Shiba Tattou, and her companions, who had been ordained at the order of Soga no Umako to help staff his first attempt at building a worship site at his house. The following year, in 589, we are told that there were three “inspections” that were sent out along the various circuits, or roadways, of eastern Honshu.  These circuits were regions of Japan, and come from a continental tradition that would be formalized in the law codes of the early 7th century.  Generally speaking there are usually 7 circuits—8 once Hokkaidou comes into the picture—and then the capital region, often known as the home territories around Yamato and the Nara basin.  Kyushu and Shikoku were each covered by their own circuits:  The Saikaidou, or Western Sea Circuit, covered all of Kyushu, and eventually the Ryukyu islands as well, while the Nankaidou, or Southern Sea circuit covered from the south of the Kii peninsula and the island of Shikoku.  Western Honshu was covered by another two circuits—there was the San'indou, the Mountain Yin Circuit, and the San'yodou, the Mountain Yang Circuit.  Yin being related to the dark and the north, the San'indou covered the areas to the north of the Western mountain range along the Japan Sea coast, from the land of Tanba west to Iwami, including the lands of Inaba and Izumo.  In contrast, Yang was related to the south, and so the San'yodou covered the regions from Harima, next to the land of Settsu, part of modern Ohosaka, and stretched along the southern side of the mountains to the Seto Inland sea to the western land of Nagato, part of modern Yamaguchi Prefecture, and included the ancient land of Kibi. Finally, there were the three circuits of Eastern Honshu, which were the subject of the Chronicles entry in 589.  First off was the Tousando, or the Eastern Mountain Circuit.  Whereas western Honshu can be largely divided by the mountains into a northern and southern region, eastern Honshu was a little different, as the Japanese alps created difficulties that meant that the Tousandou covered the inland regions, starting at Afumi, around lake Biwa, out to Kenu—modern Gunma and Tochigi prefectures, north of Tokyo.  It would eventually include the distant regions of Dewa and Mutsu, which covered much of the Tohoku region up to Hokkaido, although those were still largely outside of the area of Yamato influence, and home to those that the Yamato court called Emishi.  The man sent to inspect this region was named Afumi no Omi no Kamafu—fitting given that Afumi was at the western end of the circuit. Next they sent Shishibito no Omi no Kari to inspect the Toukaidou, or Eastern Sea circuit.  This circuit proceeded from Iga, Ise, and Owari, eastward along the Pacific coast to Hitachi, in modern Ibaraki prefecture.  It includes much of modern Tokyo, and is likely one of the more well known, if only for things like the JR Tokaido line.  This route became well traveled in the Edo period both for the daimyo processions of the sankin-kotai as well as the pilgrimages from Edo to Ise, and onward to points even further west. Finally, we have a member of the Abe no Omi heading out to inspect the Hokurikudou, the Northern Land Circuit.  This was largely the area known in the Chronicles as Koshi, along the Japan Sea Coast.  The Abe family may have had some influence in that region, though it is said that they originally came from the land of Iga, just east of Yamato.  However, we aren't given a specific individual's name—Abe no Omi is just the family name and their kabane rank, and could indicate any member of the Abe family.  This may have to do with the actions of Abe no Hirafu in the late 7th century, but at this point in the story it is unclear.  We are provided the given names of the other inspectors, however—Kamafu and Kari—so it stands out that we have nothing for the inspector of the Hokurikudou other than their family name. Other than the mention of the circuits, and the inspections that the court was conducting, this seems to be a fairly mundane entry—though it does link to some later events.  Still, it provides a little more evidence for the expansion of Yamato's direct control.  The idea that there were court inspectors checking up on these territorial circuits suggests that they were a somewhat active part of the bureaucracy of the court.  Previously the court had set up the Miyake, or royal granaries, which were extensions of royal authority in various areas.  Now we see an additional layer of government that would have been going through the areas and making sure that things were being administered as Yamato believed.  It also suggests that there were those in these circuits who were beholden to Yamato in that they were required to produce some kind of evidence for what they were up to. The year after, in 590, the big news was apparently the return to Japan of Zenshin and others, and we are told that they took up residence at a temple in Sakurai – very possibly a reference to Hokoji or Asukadera, the newly-founded temple we just discussed.  Asuka is outside of the modern bounds of Sakurai city, but at this time the name Sakurai may have referred to a slightly larger and more nebulous area.  On the other hand, they could have settled at another temple in the area that just wasn't part of the state funded program.  In that same vein, later in 590 we are told that people went up into the hills to get timber for building Buddhist temples, and many more people, most of them with connections to the mainland, and especially the Korean peninsula, were ordained.  Buddhism was starting to grow more popular and it was being better patronized by the elites, and soon we will start to see more and more temples popping up. In 591, we see the final burial of Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou.  This was now many years since his death, but that isn't entirely surprising given the fighting and general turmoil that followed his death.  Building a tomb mound was not exactly a simple feat, and if one wasn't already prepared by the time he passed away, then it would have taken a while to prepare it—and even more time if much of your labor force was being split and repurposed in the fights for the throne.  As you may recall, Nunakura died of a disease, so it is unlikely that there had been a lot of preparation for his death, so we can assume that his body, after resting in the palace of temporary interment for a while, was eventually given a temporary burial and then they likely were reburying the bones several years later.  This isn't exactly unheard of, but it does seem that this was an exceptionally long period between death and final burial. The location of his tomb is said to be on the western side of the mountains, outside of the Nara Basin, in the area  of modern Taishi, in the south of Ohosaka.  This seems to have been a new region for royal burials, from what I can tell, but there would be several important Asuka era burials located in this region. Later in that same year, Hasebe and the court indulged themselves in something that was becoming almost a tradition:  Wondering aloud if they should go marching over to the peninsula and re-establish Nimna.  There's apparently no thought the fact that Nimna had not been a going concern for quite some time now, and this may have just been the popular casus belli of the Yamato court.  Of course, all of the ministers were for it, agreeing that it would be just the best if they could go over there and get Nimna started again. And so they set in motion the necessary work of gathering an army.  This wasn't a simple task and would take quite some time to get the word out, gather men together, and then have them all meet down in Tsukushi at the court's outpost down there.  Not only that, but there would need to be boats made, and armor and weapons would have to be ready.  This was quite the undertaking.  We are told that they eventually gathered over 20,000 men, though that could easily be an exaggeration.  They named five generals, or Taishogun.  This is different from the “Shogun” of later years—the Sei-I Taishogun, or General for Subduing Barbarians.  This is just the title of general, Taishogun, and there were apparently five people who were running things—possibly referring to five different forces that were going to go over, or it may have been a political thing to ensure that people of rank were given opportunities.  It is interesting to see the names, as we have heard some of the family names, at least, before. The five generals were:  Ki no Womaro no Sukune, Kose no Omi no Hirafu, Kashiwade no Omi no Katafu, Ohotomo no Kuhi no Muraji, and Katsuraki no Wonara no Omi.  Then various other Omi and Muraji level individuals were placed in charge below them.  They were all stationed in Tsukushi and two men, Kishi no Kana and Kishi no Itahiko were sent to Silla and Nimna respectively, presumably to try to work something out before things got ugly. That was all listed in the 11th month of 591, and preparations were still ongoing by the time of the next entry, in the 10th month of 592. So remember how I mentioned at the top of the episode about how many of the systemic issues that had led to so much war and bloodshed were still a thing?  Yeah—despite the seemingly rosy and downright mundane picture of the last five years, things were apparently not quite as stable as they may have appeared.  And I say that because of what happened in the 10th month of 592. We are told that this was the winter, possibly around late November or December according to our modern calendar—trying to map ancient lunar calendar dates to modern solar dates are a whole thing, trust me.  Anyway, it was during this season that someone brought in a wild boar and presented it to the sovereign.  And there was nothing too sus going on there—it wasn't a white boar or some kind of unusually large animal.  No, what was remarkable wasn't the presentation at all, but what it kicked off, because apparently Hasebe looked at the boar and made an off-hand comment, which Aston translates as: “When shall those to whom We have an aversion be cut off as this wild boar's throat has been cut.” Just in case you didn't get the allusion, he was basically wondering when those people whom he didn't like would be killed—though possibly he meant cut off in another sense, I think it is pretty clear that he wanted some people taken care of, if you know what I mean.  I would liken it to a phrase attributed to King Henry II of England, who is said to have wondered aloud, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest”, which led to several men heading out and eventually killing Thomas Becket, the then Archbishop of Canterbury.  While Henry may not have actually ordered the killing of Thomas Becket, with whom he'd been in something of a power struggle, his words certainly ended up being the catalyst that led to the archbishop's eventual demise. Similarly here, that certainly seems to have been the intent, or at least that is how it was taken.  Word of the sovereign's outburst made it back to none other than Soga no Umako, the Oho-omi himself, who grew more than a little bit worried.  It didn't help that word was also coming that the royal household was apparently stockpiling weapons—more than usual. Soga no Umako came to believe that Hasebe was talking about him, and though there wasn't a particular reason given, it suggests that there were some things going on below the surface detailed by the Chronicles, and we can speculate on a few of them. First off, Hasebe had not been the first choice for sovereign, and he didn't really enter the picture until after the death of his brother, Prince Anahobe. Anahobe had, of course, believed that he should take the throne himself, but then he was killed.  It is possible that Hasebe was appointed sovereign to appease some of Anahobe's supporters against the wishes of those such as Soga no Umako. Second, it is clear that Umako was immensely influential and powerful, and he probably had more influence than the sovereign himself.  Always remember that if someone raises an army and helps put you on the throne, rather than themselves, they usually have the ability to do the same thing in reverse.  Or, as so many parents are fond of saying: I brought you into this world, I can take you out!  So it may be that Hasebe felt threatened by Umako's own power and felt he needed to be dealt with before Soga no Umako decided that he'd rather have someone more pliable on the throne.  Of course, in another time it might have been enough to just demote him, but it is unclear if Hasebe actually had the power to do that—and if he did, would it stick. There is also another option as well—Hasebe may not have said anything at all, and it is possible that this was a story concocted to explain Umako's own reaction.  This is hinted at, somewhat, in another account that basically comes in once again with the tired “blame the woman” trope.  It suggests that Ohotomo no Koteko, Hasebe's consort and the mother to his two children, started the whole thing as a rumor.  According to this account, she was “declining in favor”—although it is unclear just whom else she was competing against.  If that record is correct, she was the one who told Umako about what Hasebe was purportedly saying, knowing that it would cause problems for her husband because she was unhappy with him.  Even if that were true, we don't know whether or not Hasebe actually said what is attributed to him. Again, regardless of what Hasebe actually said, all of this suggests that things were not as solid and stable as they might otherwise appear to be, and suggests just how literally cut-throat the politics of the Yamato court could get. And so, Soga no Umako took this threat quite seriously, and he engaged the services of one Yamato no Aya no Atahe no Koma. We don't know much about Koma.  The Yamato no Aya were one of several Aya families, and their name suggests that they were descended, at least in part, from ethnic Han Chinese weavers—or at least traced their lineage back to the continent with claims to the Han dynasty, just as the Hata family claimed ties back to the Qin dynasty.  They had been in Japan for generations, but are still often associated with various technologies that came over from the continent. There is also a record, we are told, that says Koma's father was Yamato no Aya no Iwai—whose name is suspiciously similar to that of the Iwai in Tsukushi, or Kyushu, who had allied with Silla and tried to block trade and military support between Yamato and Baekje.  It is possible, and even probable, that this was just a coincidence—after all, why would the son of a rebel who had so aggravated Yamato be in the court at all?  But it was considered significant enough for the Chroniclers to mention it at the same time, and that may be because of the relationship back to that other rebel. Now, for Koma to take action, he and Umako would need to act quickly.  Soga no Umako sent a message to the court ministers and claimed that he was sending someone to present the taxes of the Eastern provinces.  As you may recall from earlier in this episode, a few years earlier inspectors had been sent out along the three eastern circuits.  It would have taken them time to survey, compile their information, and collect any taxes owed, and bring that back to the court.  Umako lied to the other ministers and said that the taxes were ready, and he was sending someone to the sovereign to present the taxes. Of course, he was really sending Yamato no Aya no Koma, and in lieu of taxes he brought death—somewhat fitting if you think about it.  Koma killed the sovereign and then, somehow, made his escape.  Unlike some of the other killings we aren't given too many details of the deed itself. What we are given is the aftermath.  For later in that same month, Soga no Umako had Koma himself killed.  And this is where I find it really weird, or perhaps the Chroniclers were just in denial.  They claimed that Soga no Umako had learned that Koma had been having a clandestine relationship with Kawakami no Iratsume, herself a consort of the sovereign and Soga no Umako's own daughter.  Koma had apparently taken her back to his place to live and made her his wife in secret—basically saying that they had carnal relations together as man and wife, though it is not clear whether or not they were consensual.  Umako thought that his daughter was dead, but when he learned that Yamato no Aya no Koma had taken her, he had Koma killed. And that just all seems so very convenient.  So Soga no Umako has enough influence over Koma to get him to assassinate the sovereign, but somehow misses that his co-conspirator in this has eloped with his daughter, and then kills him out of apparently justified rage?  Uh-huh.  Nothing fishy about that at all. I suspect that what happened at the time versus what was later recorded differed slightly.  Assuming that most of it was accurate, I wouldn't be surprised if Umako got Koma to do the dirty deed, and then offed him, possibly so that he would not be immediately implicated.  Even so, what were the laws around such events?  With Hasebe gone, and nobody else in power to challenge him, Soga no Umako was one of the most powerful people around.  He just didn't have the parental qualifications to take the throne himself. And that is probably what saved him from being labeled a rebel, himself.  After all, you don't get much more rebellious than killing the king.  But is it rebellion when it is self-defense?  Here is where the lack of a strict law code likely came down on the side of Soga no Umako, because despite his involvement, nobody seems to have gone after him or taken him to task.  In fact, he would remain a powerful figure in the Yamato court for years to come. There are also several figures who seem to have remained absent from all of this, but it would be interesting to know where they came down.  The first was Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi.  Did he sanction or even take part in this plot?  Umayado was still somewhat young, so he may not have had much to say at this point.  Then there was Kashikiya Hime, Nunakura's queen.  Presumably, she had been the one to recommend Hasebe to the throne, but we also see her hand in the decision to punish Anahobe and the Mononobe, which we discussed over the last couple of episodes.  She is often kept at arms length in the narrative, however, which may be because of what the Chroniclers already knew.  With the court once more in need of an heir they searched high and low, and the assembled ministers finally settled on the candidate they thought would be the best of all of them:  Kashikiya Hime herself.  It makes sense: Kashikiya Hime, who is known today as Suiko Tennou, clearly knew how the court operated.  She had sanctioned, if not outright directed, the deaths of Anahobe and Mononobe no Moriya. On the other hand, the patriarchal society of the day—and even that of modern day scholars—questioned her fitness for the job.  Many have pointed to the strongman tactics of Soga no Umako, as well as the focus on Prince Umayado, whom she made her Crown Prince and whom, we are told, assisted in all areas of government.  In fact, it often seems as though Umayado and Umako are the ones actually running things, with Kashikiya Hime as a puppet.  On the other hand, perhaps there was something even more complex—a conspiracy between Umako, Umayado, and Kashikiya Hime.  She may have also been something of a compromise candidate, someone that all of the different factions could get behind. We'll explore all of that and more as we get into her reign in the coming episodes, along with the role played by Prince Umayado.  We'll also look more in depth at the spread of Buddhism, and the temple building that would pick up shortly after Kashikiya Hime came to power.  Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. 

This episode we set the stage for one of the most momentous conflicts of the 6th century.  A lot of change is coming to the islands, and the outcome of the power struggles would determine just what shape that change would take. For more see our podcast webpage:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-90   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is episode 90: Setting the Stage So when last we left off, the sovereign Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, had passed away, and there had been some early flirting with Buddhism, which largely ended up pitting members of the relatively new Soga family against the powerful forces of the ancient Mononobe, as well as their allies, the Nakatomi.  It even got so bad that the heads of the two houses, Soga no Umako and Mononobe no Moriya, were openly mocking each other at the sovereign's funeral.  And unfortunately, things weren't getting better any time soon. In fact, I should probably warn you that around this point in the narrative we are really going to get all Game of Thrones on the archipelago.  Family against family, sibling against sibling, with deadly political intrigue.  And as we get into it, we should talk about a few things up front to help put everything in context. So let's come back up to speed on the situation, shall we?  In the late 6th century, the royal court was in its third dynasty.  The sovereign, Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou,  died from a plague that settled on the land.  Across the straits, the once small kingdom of Silla was on the rise, having gobbled up the small polities around it, including Yamato's apparent ally, Nimna.  Now the southern peninsula was largely divided between two kingdoms, Silla and Baekje.  Both were in contact with the Yamato court.  And then there is the far distant northern power of Goguryeo, pressing southward themselves. Yamato's involvement on the peninsula meant there was quite a bit of cross-strait intercourse—in more ways than one.  There were Wa on the peninsula, but there were also groups of Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo men and women who settled in the archipelago.  They brought with them various innovations and ways of thinking.  One of these things was the concept of corporate “Be” families.  Now, don't get me wrong, there clearly were families in the archipelago and had been for some time, but at some point we see the literal creation of the official families, the Uji: Groups of people who shared a similar job, gathered together under a family head, who in turn was given a place in the Yamato court.  The family then regulated the business of its members to the benefit of the court.  These created families, usually marked with the suffix of “Be”, became an outgrowth of the court's power, and they were in turn ranked with a collectivist title, or “kabane”.  The highest ranking uji were given the titles of “Muraji” and “Omi”, and the heads of those households were known as the “Ohomuraji” and the “Ohoomi”. One of the oldest of these families, on one side of this growing interal conflict, was known as the Mononobe.  They claimed a likely fictional descent from Nigi Hayahi, a “Heavenly grandchild”, similar to the ancestor of the royal family, Ninigi no Mikoto - an illustrious backstory that no doubt helped justify their position.  As for the rest, well, “Mononobe” literally translates to “the be of things” … and in this case, those things were weapons, reflecting a historical role of this important family as the enforcers and the heavyweights of the Yamato court.   Of course, they weren't the only ones with access to troops and weapons, as we've seen various families raising troops to go fight on the continent, and one can only assume that most powerful individuals at least had those they could call upon in case things got physical.  For all that administrative power was rooted in spiritual authority, physical power was also important, and we see this in the way that armor and swords were important elite grave goods, and not just for a single family. But few groups were so clearly tied to the exercise of martial power as were the Mononobe.  And they wielded that power on the behalf of the sovereign and the State.  Whether it was punishing rebels, or just executing the cruel whims of a violent and entitled ruler, the Mononobe were the ones, more often than not, knocking down your door in the middle of the night and dragging off those deemed enemies of the state. This position was such that you can see evidence of it in the earliest parts of the Chronicles.  For example, the Mononobe are connected to their ancestral shrine of Isonokami, one of the oldest shrines mentioned.  It was said to be the home of the sword that Susanoo no Mikoto, the wild brother of Amaterasu, used to slay the giant, 8-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi, generally seen as a metaphor for Yamato conquering parts of Izumo.  Then there were the piles of swords made and stored at the shrine, which make it sound less like a place of spiritual worship and more like an armory—though let's face it, for some people those are basically one and the same. Add to that all of the times that the Mononobe were called upon to unalive some opponent to the throne, and we get a pretty clear picture of how they had for so long held a place at the very top of the court structure. On the other side is the Soga family, currently personified with Soga no Umako at their head.  While the Soga certainly traced their lineage back a respectable distance, including to Takechi no Sukune and others, at this point they are clearly relatively new, with their earliest mention coming in the reign of Wakatakiru, aka Yuryaku Tenno, in the late 5th century, about 100 years before,  and they had no clear spiritual center of note, at least in the Chronicles.  One source of their power and authority came through their connections with the continent, primarily with Baekje, and related families.  The other part was through their marriages, especially the daughters of Soga no Iname.  Up to this point, the descendants of Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennō, had been ensuring that their queens were members of the previous dynasty.  This gave them and their offspring connections back to those other lineages helping bolster their claims to an unbroken lineage and their right to rule over Yamato.  While the sovereigns might marry daughters of other houses, those wouldn't typically be named as queens, although they might be expected to raise royal princes and maybe future queens.  Often these were political marriages that enhanced the court's connections to various regions.  A few particularly influential family names also appear, such as Katsuraki, Okinaga, and the Wani no Omi.  Still, the success of those families pales next to what Soga no Iname enjoyed in a single reign.  Soga no Iname had achieved what few others had.  He was the head of his family, one of the few of the Omi, or ministerial, kabane; and he had the personal title of Sukune, one of the highest honorifics attainable by an individual.  Both of those spoke to his power at court.  And when he passed away, he was succeeded in his post by his son, Soga no Umako, who was also made Ohoomi and who also held the honorific of Sukune.  Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, Soga no Iname married two of his daughters (Umako's sisters), Kitashi Hime and Wonane Gimi, to Ame Kunioshi, that is, Kimmei Tennou.  Both of them had a number of sons who were also royal princes.  And one of Kitashi Hime's daughters, Kashikiya Hime, then went on to marry Ame Kunioshi's son and successor (and her own half-brother), Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou – and when Nunakura's own wife passed on, he elevated Kashikiya Hime to the rank of queen. Long story short, the immediate children and grandchildren of Soga no Iname were in a great position.  Soga no Umako was a powerful person at court, and brother and uncle not just to a number of the royal princes of Ame Kuniyoshi's line, but to Nunakura's queen as well, which gave him some powerful sway.  We are also told that he had taken as his wife the younger sister of Mononobe no Moriya, likely as an attempt to bring the two families closer together.  Spoiler alert:  it didn't. All of those royal princes of Soga descent would not have been eligible for the throne under normal circumstances.  But here's where things get a little dicey.  Nunakura had been the son of Ame Kunioshi and Ishi Hime, who was, herself, the daugther of former sovereign Takewo Hiro Kunioshi.  Of course Takewo's mother had come from the Owari no Muraji, a sister clan to the Mononobe, but the Nihon Shoki glosses over that by claiming Takewo was just holding the throne until his more legitimate brother was ready.  Still, long story short, Nunakura was the direct descendant of at least two previous sovereigns, so one would imagine that he would be succeeded by his son, Hikobito no Ohine, son of Nunakura and his previous Queen, Hiro Hime.  And yet, Hikobito was probably relatively young, and besides Nunakura there were numerous other sons of Ame Kunioshi – conveniently, for the Soga, through his Soga descended wives.  One was Kashikiya Hime's brother, Tachibana no Toyohi, and there were also her half-brothers from her aunt, Wonane Gimi, including Princes Hasetsukabe Anahobe no Miko and Hatsusebe—or just Hasebe—no Miko.  Remember that there is no such thing at this point as primogeniture—it doesn't matter if you are the oldest son of the previous sovereign, and the throne commonly passed to brothers before it went to sons and nephews. Finally, there is Kashikiya Hime herself, niece of Soga no Umako and newly elevated queen of Nunakura.  While some women may have been content to simply raise the future generation of sovereigns, there is plenty to indicate that Kashikiya Hime was a highly political animal in her own right.  On top of that, although her grandfather had passed away, her uncle, Soga no Umako, had taken his place at one of the top spots in court.  She was around 34 years old when she became queen, and 42 when Nunakura passed away.  She knew the ins and outs of the court, and she seems to have favored her uncle and her Soga family. And so, when Nunakura, aka Bidatsu Tennou, died of plague, the stage was set for a political challenge – to determine just who will be the next sovereign, and more than that, which family – and even which branch of which family – will take the reins in directing matters on the archipelago going forward. Now, before we get much further, I have to warn you, the sources we have are clearly biased when it comes to the events they were recording.  I mention this because many of the stories in this highly dynamic period and I don't want to keep caveating everything all the time. So let me get a lot of it out of the way now, before we get into the really juicy bits.  This also goes for some of the stuff in the last few episodes as well.  While the Chronicles were built from records that survived into the 8th century it is clear that not every family is equally represented, and it is also clear that the Chroniclers, who knew the outcome, were massaging the narrative in certain ways.  And so we get a narrative of how the Mononobe were enemies of Buddhism, attempting to stop it from spreading and trying to protect the indigenous worship of the kami.  They were assisted in this by the Nakatomi, a family of court ritualists, who no doubt were also out to stop Buddhism's progress.  As for the sovereigns, Ame Kunioshi, and Nunakura, while they weren't necessarily Buddhist, they are portrayed as essentially neutral, going back and forth between the advice of their ministers as they fought, internally. Most of this comes from the Nihon Shoki.  The Sendai Kuji Hongi gives a much more abbreviated version of the actual history, and the Kojiki is pretty much focused just on the lineages at this point.  By that point, a lot had happened, and neither the Soga nor the Mononobe were necessarily running things anymore. Michael Como, in his book, “Shotoku”, suggests that, in all probability, Ame Kunioshi and Nunakura were likewise hostile to this new religion, and I think I can see that.  After all, they had to realize it was a threat to their own authority as the dedicated interpreters of the will of their ancestral kami.  It may be that the positions put forth by the Mononobe and the Nakatomi were, indeed, their actual thoughts on the matter, but it isn't as if the Mononobe just went ahead and destroyed the Soga temples—twice!—on their own.  They first made sure to get an order from the sovereign, an order that may not have taken much arm twisting to issue. Como and others also point out that there is a problem with another often overlooked aspect of the struggles as they are portrayed.  The typical narrative pits the “foreign” religion of Buddhism against the “indigenous” religion of the way of the kami—what would eventually be known as Shinto, but at this point really didn't have any particular name.  The usual way of telling this story is that native religionists were simply pushing back against a foreign incursion, and even though Buddhism would thrive in the Japanese archipelago, and even come to be another tool of the state, there was a certain conflict that always remained, due in large part to the ceremonial role that the sovereign was supposed to inhabit. The problem is that there is nothing that clearly indicates that the so-called indigenous religions were appreciably less foreign to the islands.  Even the earliest stories that were recorded in the Nihon Shoki, which depicts Japan as a special place, formed by the kami themselves, there are clear connections to the continent.  In some cases, like with Ame no Hiboko and Himegoso, we have deities coming over directly from the continent as princes and princesses of foreign lands.  In others, like with some of the stories of Susano'o, we see the kami coming down from Heaven and first setting foot in the world on the Korean peninsula.  Combined with a plethora of other clues, at the very least we can assume that the ways of the kami, including stories and rituals, were heavily influenced by continental thoughts and ideas, some of which may have arrived more than a century earlier.  On the other hand, the use of horizontal tomb chambers is a pretty clear archaeological change that we can see happening.  We first saw this tomb design back in the 5th century in Kyūshū, and in the 6th century it had spread across the archipelago, becoming the dominant form.  But how does that connect to continental influence on indigenous spiritual and religious practice? I think we can generally agree that tombs, beyond the practical idea of not allowing corpses to just sit around above ground, rotting and breeding disease, were largely concerned with what we consider religious concepts about the afterlife.  Sure, there is the political capital achieved by reminding everyone just who's in charge, but it is designed around the needs of the rituals surrounding the treatment of the deceased.  Hence the grave goods, as well as the clay, stone, or even wood pillars and statues erected around them.  So when the burials go from relatively simple pits, dug in the top of these massive burial mounds to more complex chambers of giant stone blocks, which show evidence of people using multiple times, then we can gather that something changed in the rituals surrounding death and the afterlife.  Those changes are reflected in the stories about the kami, including stories about Izanagi and Izanami, about Susano'o, and even about Amaterasu in the Heavenly Rock Cave, which all have imagery associated with this new kind of burial practice.  That suggests that these stories either originated in a time when the horizontal burial chambers were prevalent, or at least they were changed and updated as ritual life also changed. And most of these changes can be traced back to the continent.  We can see evidence, there, of horizontal stone chambers, and then trace that influence as it makes its way to Kyūshū and then the rest of the archipelago. This isn't to say that there weren't elements that were conceived of on the archipelago itself.  Certainly local traditions evolved to meet the needs of the people, but not without outside influence.  Even today, modern Shintō includes concepts from Daoism, geomancy, and general Yin-Yang theory, among other things, while retaining its own character. The point is that the argument that the resistance to Buddhism was purely because of is foreign nature seems laughably false, and yet that has been the view reinforced within the cultural imaginary of the Japanese for centuries, and it would go on to define the separate roles of Shintō and Buddhism in relation to the State for most of that time. As we look at what takes place, however, just keep in mind that this was much more about sheer, naked, political power, regardless of how later generations tried to make it look.  Also, it is unlikely that were any clear villains or heroes, either.  Real people are complex, and motivations are rarely straight forward. And with that, let's get back to the funeral of Nunakura.  The throne was empty, except for the presence of the Queen, Kashikiya Hime, who continued to reside in the palace presumably receiving guests and whatever the Yamato version of funeral potatoes was—probably some kind of dried fish. The succession at this point wasn't exactly clear.  Nunakura had a son, Hikobito, who was no doubt the heir presumptive, but there is nothing explicitly stating as much.  Ame Kunioshi had been quite prolific, and many of Nunakura's brothers or half brothers were still running around.  In addition, though unstated in the Chronicles, Hikobito was not the son of Kashikiya Hime, and so it remains unclear just how motivated she was to help him ascend the throne. The first to act to resolve this uncertainty was a Prince that was neither a direct sibling of Nunakura nor of Kashikiya Hime.  It was Hatsusekabe Anahobe no Miko.  Like Kashikiya Hime, he was a grandchild of the illustrious Soga no Iname, except that he descended through Iname's younger daughter, Wonane Gimi. Anahobe seemed to have clear designs on the throne.  He marched straight up to the Palace of interment, and demanded entry to see his half sister.  This was the location, it would seem, where Nunakura's body was lying in state, prior to burial.  However, given some of the accompanying statements, I suspect they may have been using Nunakura's own Palace for this purpose, and his queen, Kashikiya Hime, was likewise residing there, possibly out of loyalty and expectations, but also because where else was she to go on short notice? The steward in charge of the Palace at that time was a man by the name of Miwa no Kimi no Sakahe, also just known as Sakahe no Kimi.  He was suspicious of Anahobe, and his intentions.  After all, it wouldn't take much for Anahobe to force his way in, force himself on Nunakura's queen, claim they were married and therefore he deserved to rule.  It wouldn't be the first time that a sovereign had married the queen, out at least a consort or daughter, of the former ruler to strengthen their own claim.  Kashikiya was double prized as she was born the daughter of Ame Kunioshi and the Queen of Nunakura. Sakahe no Kimi want about to let that happen, however.  We are told that he had faithfully served the royal family up to that point, and it didn't look like he was about to just lay down now, not even for a prince of the blood. This pissed off Anahobe to no end.  He left, incensed, and started talking smack about Sakahe no Kimi to anyone who would listen.  In particular, he complained to the two Great Ministers, which I can only assume to mean Soga no Umako and Mononobe no Moriya, the Ohomi and Ohomuraji of the court.  He mentioned how, at the eulogy, Sakahe had said that the court of Nunakura would not be left desolate, and that he, Sakahe, would keep it pure as the surface of a mirror.  Who was he to make such a bold claim to be the defender of Nunakura's virtue, especially when there were so many total princes and the court Ministers themselves?  And on top of that, he had the temerity to deny Anahobe access to the Palace of interment seven times.  For such insolence, he demanded the authority to put Sakahe no Kimi to death.  They both agreed, and next thing you know, prince Anahobe grabbed a bunch of troops, along with Mononobe no Moriya, the King's Hand of the ancient Yamato Court, and put together a posse to go bring justice, in the form of a quick sword to the back of the neck, to Sakahe no Kimi. This was not exactly a quiet affair, however, and when the assembled forces of the aggrieved princes rolled up on the home of Sakahe no Kimi, in Ikenobe, in Iware, he had already split, hightailing it up Mt. Miwa.  He then climbed down in the night and made straightaway for Kashikiya Hime's country house in Tsubaki-ichi.  There he went to hide out and lay low, as Kashikiya Hime still had his back. However, it wasn't only the royal family that had some people with divided loyalties, and two of Sakahe's own relatives, Shiratsutsumi and Yokoyama, decided to turn him in, apparently trying to cozy up with Anahobe, whose star appeared to be on the rise. Knowing where Sakahe was hiding out, Anahobe and his brother, Hasebe, ordered Mononobe no Moriya to head out and treat Sakahe as though he were being played by none other than Sean Bean himself.  Not only that, they were to kill his sons as well, ending his direct line.  Moriya accepted this duty without hesitation, once again gathering a large force and setting out. I would point out at this point that Sakahe was clearly a close confidant of the previous sovereign, Nunakura, and he was seeking refuge at Queen Kashikiya Hime's summer cottage—we aren't told if she was there, or still at the palace of interment, but either way, Moriya's forces were moving against her property. As Soga no Umako heard about this, he quickly came to the conclusion that going after Sakahe, and invading the Queen's residence to do so, was one of those Really Bad Ideas.  Sure, he may have initially agreed to Sakahe being punished, because there was an order to things, and no doubt Sakahe's actions threatened that order—though it is also possible that the two “Chief Ministers” mentioned in the text were others, as nobody is specifically named, so it is possible he was just learning about this for the first time, but doubtful.  Still, he was now against it.  Perhaps it was the clear involvement of Kashikiya Hime, or maybe it was the thought of killing the innocent kids.  Or possibly Umako had come to realize the truth—that this was simply an excuse for Anahobe to take the throne for himself. Whatever the reason, Umako went to his nephew Anahobe and pleaded with him not to go out with Moriya.  He suggested that, at the very least, it would be unseemly for him to go himself.  Anahobe was determined, however, and so he headed out to meet Mononobe no Moriya and to see to Sakahe's end, personally. Here the Chronicles diverge, giving us two slightly different accounts.  In one story, Umako tagged along, and eventually he was able to persuade Anahobe not to go himself, and Anahobe finally relented.  However, shortly thereafter, Moriya returned with news that he had executed Sakahe no Kimi and the others. In the other account, it is Anahobe himself who ended Sakahe no Kimi and his line, demonstrating that he was not afraid to get his hands dirty. Either way, Soga no Umako realized that this was not the end of it, and that there would likely be more violence.  He was clearly upset that Anahobe hadn't listened to him to call the whole thing off, and Kashikiya Hime, well, I think we can see why she may not have been happy.  The Chronicles say they both conceived enmity against Prince Anahobe, even though he was their nephew and cousin, respectively. Now this was all happening shortly after Nunakura's death—Nunakura died in 585, and this is all taking place between then and late 586 – and clearly it's related to a question of succession.  However, the Chronicles try to claim that there was, in fact, a sitting sovereign at that time.  That honor went to none other than Kashikiya Hime's own full brother, Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Youmei Tennou.  So given what we've discussed about Anahobe's antics in trying to marry Kashikiya, what's up with that, and where did Toyohi come from? Why Toyohi was selected, or even how he was selected, is a bit strange.  We are told that he was the fourth child of Ame Kunioshi, and as I mentioned, he was the full brother of Kashikiya Hime, making him a son of Kitashi Hime and a grandson of Soga no Iname.  We are also told that he believed in the Law of the Buddha and also Revered the Way of the Kami.  Finally, we are told that his capital was set in Iware—specifically at the Ikenobe no Namitsuki no Miya.  If that sounds familiar, it is because Ikenobe, in Iware, was also the location of our Sean Bean stand-in, Miwa no Kimi no Sakahe's, house as well—a strange coincidence in a tumultuous time. Toyohi wasn't long on the throne.  During the feast of first fruits, the Niinamesai, which was performed on a riverbank in Iware, Toyohi took ill.  The Niinamesai is typically observed on or about the 23rd day of the 11th month of the old lunisolar calendar, which could have been as late as December or even early January, meaning that it was likely cold, and possibly even cold and wet, especially along a riverbank.  It brings to mind the story of US President William Henry Harrison, who gave his inaugural address on a cold and wet day, and ended up catching pneumonia weeks later, passing away shortly thereafter.  In a similar vein, Toyohi's illness grew worse and worse, and so he requested that he be able to give worship to the Three Precious Things, which is to say Buddhism, likely hoping that worshipping the Buddha would cure him.  Obviously, Soga no Umako was in favor of this, having tried to get his own temple started in the previous reign, but both Mononobe no Moriya and Nakatomi no Katsumi both opposed it, claiming he would be turning his back on the kami of the Japanese archipelago.  It was déjà vu all over again. The tie breaker in this case came from what might seem an unusual source.  It was Prince Anahobe himself who found a priest and brought him to his elder half-brother's side.  The records simply state that it was Toyohi's “younger brother”, but a note in the Nihon Shoki explains that Prince Anahobe is assumed to be the one they mean.  This is bolstered, somewhat, by the fact that Toyohi is said to have been married to *Princess* Hasetsukabe Anahobe no Himemiko.  That's right, Toyohi had married Anahobe's sister, which may have also made them closer than even normal bonds of kinship would account for.  Thus, whatever designs Anahobe had on the throne seem to have been overcome by his desire to help his half-brother, an apparently touching moment. Unfortunately, it didn't help.  Toyohi grew worse and worse and eventually it was clear that he wasn't going to make it.  Kuratsukuri Be no Tasuna, a son of Shiba Tattou, offered to become a monk on Toyohi's behalf and help make merit for him.  Shiba Tattou had been the one to help Soga no Umako with his first attempt at setting up a temple, including having his daughter ordained as a nun, so this seems rather on brand for him.  It is interesting that Tasuna is mentioned as a member of the Kuratsukuri Be, however—the guild of saddle makers.  Once again, related to horses and thus back to Baekje and the continent. Tasuna offered to make a Buddha image that was about 16 feet high, and to build a temple.  The Chronicles say that this temple, along with its attendant Boddhisatvas, was still around several centuries later at the temple of Sakata in Minabuchi, which would appear to place it in the region of Asuka, the Soga family stronghold. Toyohi's reign was extremely short—assuming, of course, that he reigned at all.  As we've already discussed with Anahobe's Game of Thrones antics, it seems like things were generally still up in the air, though it is quite possible that since Toyohi was Kashikiya Hime's full brother, she deferred to him and helped him take the throne as everything else was going on.  It is just as likely, though, that the Chroniclers needed someone to fill the space, and he fit the bill.  There are a couple of things that suggest this interpretation.  First off are his offspring, specifically two.  One was Nukade Hime, who he made the Ise Princess, which is to say the Royal Princess, or Himemiko, who was assigned to the shrine of Amaterasu in Ise.  There is some question about the actual importance of Ise at this point, but there wouldn't be by the 8th century, and so to the Chroniclers this would have been an important point to make, even though there is some scholarly thought that Ise really wasn't that big of a deal until around the time of the Temmu dynasty. The other child of Tachibana no Toyohi is very important – someone we've touched on briefly, and I'll probably go into a whole episode on in not too much longer:  Prince Umayado.  Aka the Prince of the Kamitsu Palace, or Kamitsumiya.  He's better known as Shotoku Taishi, and he holds a special place in Japan's cultural identity about itself and Buddhism. For anyone who hasn't heard of Shotoku Taishi, I'll try to break it down quickly.  As I said, we need to do at least one episode on him at some point.  “Shotoku Taishi” is the single individual most credited with spreading Buddhism in Japan – the most mentioned, though he wasn't the first.  The problem is that this means there are a lot of stories around him and his accomplishments, such that it is hard to pull out fact from fiction.  Much like Yamato Takeru, Shotoku Taishi's legend had already grown by the time the Nihon Shoki was being written, to the point that different temples were almost fighting over who got to write the narratives about him and whose stories were taken as factual.  Think about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and you get the picture of the kinds of cultural imaginaries that get attached to Prince Shotoku. And so it is little wonder that this very important figure's father, Tachibana no Toyohi, gets credited with at least a few years on the throne, whether or not he ever actually sat as the ruler.  It provides even that much more legitimacy to Prince Umayado's later accomplishments—or at least the accomplishments that were attributed to him.  It also might explain why Toyohi's own story centers so much on his belief in Buddhism as well.  There is a point made of talking about the fact that Toyohi believed in Buddhism, and he is the first sovereign we have to actively seek out the worship of Buddhism.  Once again, it is hard to know if he was truly sovereign—I tend to feel like this whole period was one of the periods where the court couldn't initially get united behind a single person, and what we are seeing is more after-the-fact ascensions to boost the lineage.  But the dispute over Buddhism is clearly the centerpiece here for something much greater. But we haven't gone full family-on-family war yet, which brings us back to Mononobe no Moriya.  He was clearly not happy about the whole situation with the sovereign ignoring his advice and performing more Buddhist worship, and it didn't help that the powerful prince Anahobe had stepped in on the side of the pro-Buddhist faction.  They had just been out murdering people together, and now Anahobe turned his back on him.  Moriya likely felt tossed aside. I've seen some suggestion that the Mononobe house and the Soga house at this time were equals.  Sure, the Nihon Shoki uses the “Omi” and “Muraji” kabane, with “Omi” having a distinctly more prominent feel, but it is possible that the two families were actually of equal rank. There's the fact that the text at one time references “The Two Oho-omi”, which is generally taken to just mean the two “Chief Ministers”, Umako and Moriya, but which could also be seen as acknowledging that Moriya stood on equal footing with Umako.  There is also a note in the Sendai Kuji Hongi that suggests that Moriya was made both Ohomuraji—that is, head of the house—and also a high Minister, or Omi.  It is unclear what this means, but probably similarly placed him on equal footing with Umako. Certainly in the discussions up to this point, the Mononobe often had the favor of the court over the wishes of the Soga, especially when it came to burning down their Buddhist establishments. Now, however, the Soga were clearly ascendant.  The grandsons of Soga no Iname were Royal Princes, and that shifted the power dynamics.  Even Anahobe was a Soga descendant.  It is easy to see how Moriya was likely feeling isolated and even belittled by the court.  Enter Iago… I mean Oshisakabe no Kekuso, who bent Moriya's ear and convinced him that all of the other ministers were now plotting against him.  More than that, they were about to ambush him and take him out of the picture altogether. And was that so strange?  Hadn't something similar just happened with Sakahe no Kimi when the powerful people of the court found him too troublesome?  Moriya himself had helped carry that out and bring it about.  This was not exactly a time where one was innocent until proven guilty, and if you wanted someone out of the picture, well, it was hard for them to tell their story from inside a massive burial mound.  This was a dangerous time to be on the political outs. And so we are told that Mononobe no Moriya retired.  He left the court and went to Ato, where he had his own country-house.  This would have been in a Mononobe stronghold.  It is often thought to have meant somewhere on the Kawachi plain, around Yao, on southeastern edge of the modern metropolis of Ohosaka, and outside of the Nara Basin.  There he gathered a force of troops around him, presumably for his own protection.  Allies, such as Nakatomi no Katsumi, came to his aid. As Umako had predicted, this whole thing was not going to end well.  The two most powerful ministers at court had been feuding since the death of the previous sovereign.  They had broken on policy, on religion, and even on threats to the throne. And now one of them had holed up in their own stronghold and was building an army.  Meanwhile you still had a bunch of princes running around, all of them possibly eligible to ascend and take the throne of Yamato for themselves.   The storm clouds of war had gathered, and people were taking sides.  Whatever happened, its clear that it would have momentous consequences for everyone involved—at least, if they lived to see it through. Until next time, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Get ready to uncover the transformative power of authentic relationships with today's episode of the Million Dollar Relationship podcast. We are joined by the great Michael Zipursky, the CEO of Consulting Success and a renowned authority on growing consulting businesses. With a remarkable track record advising organizations like Financial Times, Dow Jones, RBC, and Panasonic, Michael has helped over 300 consultants in diverse industries achieve significant revenue growth. He is a trusted coach for former executives from leading companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Capgemini Consulting, and Johnson & Johnson. Featured in MarketingProfs, Fox Business, and the Institute of Management Consultants, Michael is also the author of 5 books, including the bestselling "The Elite Consulting Mind." In this episode, Michael shares how three key relationships transformed his business trajectory. From showing integrity and delivering value to clients, to embracing continuous learning and thinking bigger, Michael offers insights on building lasting and profitable relationships. He emphasizes the significance of sharing expertise, cultivating trust, and expanding our vision and goals. Authentic relationships open doors, offer invaluable knowledge, and propel businesses to new heights. Kevin also shares lessons learned, including providing value to clients, immersing in different cultures, and creating meaningful connections.   Join us as we unlock the power of relationships in business, driving success, fulfillment, and purpose in our professional journeys.   [00:00 - 10:05] Embracing Stories, and Building Successful Businesses Michael appreciates the ease of connecting through mutual friends and values the meaningful conversations they bring. Personal stories, like Perry's adoption experience, have influenced Michael's own choices, leading him to embrace the journey of adoption. Consulting Success, Michael's company, empowers both established consultants and aspiring ones to build profitable and scalable businesses.   [10:06 – 25:38] Michael's Journey: Trust, Collaboration, and Success in Japan Michael's professionalism and dedication helped him gain the trust and support of influential individuals. The people in Japan recognized the value of collaboration and saw an opportunity to enhance their services by partnering with Michael. The willingness of Sugisaki, Moriya, and Nakatani to mentor and guide Michael had a profound impact on his success.   [25:39 – 38:18] Key Lessons in Building Powerful Relationships Michael valued learning from experienced individuals and embraced the opportunity to soak up knowledge and cultural insights. He recognized the importance of building relationships based on shared values and aligning with like-minded people. Michael learned the power of providing valuable insights and information to clients, demonstrating care and becoming a trusted advisor. Michael emphasized the need for patience and genuine effort in building long-term, meaningful relationships, rather than trying to shortcut the process.    [38:19 – 39:31] Closing Statements ·       Follow Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook. Also, be sure to check his webpage at https://www.consultingsuccess.com   Thanks for tuning in!    If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe!    Find me on the following streaming platforms: Apple Spotify Google Podcasts IHeart Radio Stitcher     Tweetable Quote   “If you want to go deeper in and be successful in a different culture, you need to immerse yourself into the culture.” – Michael Zipursky

This episode we examine some of the other things during the reign of Nunakura, including the relationship with Baekje--which, despite all of the Buddhist materials they had received, seems to be a bit more fragile than one might have guessed. For more, check out https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-89 Rough Transcript   Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 89:  Baekje and Yamato on the Rocks Last episode we covered the continued rise of Buddhism.  From the enigmatic Prince Ohowake, and his importation of experts and texts to found a temple in the Naniwa region, to the more well-documented case of Soga no Umako, who continued his father's efforts to establish a temple at their home in the Asuka area, going so far as to have three women inducted as nuns—the first clergy we know of to have been ordained in the archipelago, even though it may have been less than perfectly orthodox in the manner of ceremony.  We also talked about how a coalition of other court nobles, led by the Mononobe family, were undermining the Soga and accused their new-fangled religious ideas of bringing plague to the people—plague that, even though the Soga's temple was destroyed to prevent it, nonetheless took the life of the sovereign, Nunakura Fotadamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou. And for many, that's probably the highlight of this reign, which was deeply involved in the spread of Buddhism, as well as providing the roots of the conflict between the old guard of the Mononobe and the newly risen Soga family.  However, it isn't as if that is all that was happening.  There were continued international developments, among other things, and these were intertwined with everything else—nothing was happening in a vacuum.  For example, the country of Baekje was the source of many of the early Buddhist texts and professionals, with Buddhist gifts becoming a part of the “tributary diplomacy” that is depicted in the Chronicles at this time.  Whereas earlier diplomatic gifts may have included bronze mirrors, many embossed with figures such as the Queen Mother of the West, in the 6th century Buddhist icons and imagery seem to hold a similar currency. I'd also note that giving Buddhist images and texts as gifts or tribute held an added layer of meaning, at least from a Buddhist interpretation.  After all, not only were you providing prestige goods, which then helped boost the status of one's diplomatic partners, but it also earned merit for the person gifting such things, as they were then able to make the claim that they were helping to spread the teachings of the Buddha.  This provided an appeal to such gifts on multiple levels, both within and without the growing Buddhist world. At the same time that Baekje and Yamato continued to advance their ties, Silla continued to grow.  Since absorbing the states of Kara, or Gaya, including the Yamato-allied state of Nimna, Silla had grown and was consolidating its power.  Silla itself had started out as a coalition of six city-state-like polities that came together in a union.  They were one of the main targets of early Yamato aggressions on the Korean peninsula, with numerous discussions of raids by “Wa” sailors, though little is typically seen of the reverse.  The Chronicles make the claim that early Silla was a subordinate tributary state of Yamato, which modern historians regard as little more than fiction—likely part of the propaganda campaign of the Yamato court attempting to place themselves in the superior position.  Still, it does seem reasonable that prior to the 6th century Silla had remained a relatively minor state, occasionally allying with—or against—the states of Baekje and Goguryeo, as well as the other independent polities that were once present but have largely been obscured by the uncertain mists of the past.  The fact that they survived as long as they did, and thus had so much written material, speaks to why they loom so much larger in the early histories, but such things are always hard to judge when all of your material basically comes from the quote-unquote “winners”, historically speaking.  Just think how, if Kibi or Tsukushi, or even Izumo had become the dominant polity in Japan, our Chronicles would focus much more on what happened there rather than just covering what was happening in the Nara basin and adjacent Kawachi plain all the time. And then there is the state of Goryeo, known to us today as Goguryeo, or Old Goreyo—in many ways the granddame of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea, with the greatest claim to the territory of ancient Gojoseon and Buyeo culture.  Back in Episode 86 we saw a few of their attempts at diplomatic relations with Yamato landing along the Japan Sea side of Honshu—possibly a side effect of the path they were taking, sailing down along the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, rather than via the Bohai Sea in the west.  This may also have been indicative of the relatively friendly relations between Goguryeo and the expanding state of Silla. Silla also offered up a normalization of relations, though it was met with mixed results—and even those mixed results are, well, mixed in terms of just what was really happening versus what was being projected back by Chroniclers writing a century or two later.  Back in the previous reign, that of Ame Kunioshi, aka Kimmei Tennou, Silla envoys had also been received some time after their conquest of Nimna, and the Chronicles, at least, indicate that Yamato was less than enthusiastic to receive them, indicating that tensions remained high, and Ame Kunioshi took every opportunity to admonish Silla and to request that Nimna be reestablished as an independent entity, or so we are told. Similarly, in the 11th month of 574, Silla sent another embassy, but we have very little information on it—given the timing it may have been intended to express their condolences on the death of Ame Kunioshi and their congratulations to Nunakura for ascending to the throne.  About four months later, in 575, Baekje also sent an embassy, and we are told that this one sent more “tribute” than normal, possibly as a congratulations to Nunakura and an attempt to strengthen the Baekje-Yamato alliance.  There may have also been a request for more specific assistance, since Nunakura apparently took the time to remind the Imperial Princes, as well as the new Oho-omi, Soga no Umako, to remain diligent regarding the matter of Nimna. As Aston translates it, he specifically said “Be not remiss in the matter of Imna”.  Yamato was still apparently displeased with the fact that Nimna, which was once an ally, was now under Silla control. Following that, the Yamato court sent their own envoys to Baekje and then Silla—though specifically they sent the embassy to Silla controlled Nimna, according to the Chronicles.  A couple of months later, Silla sent an embassy back, including more tribute than normal, though the only hint of why, beyond the previous mention of Nimna, is that Silla was including tribute for four more townships, which seems kind of a weird flex, but may have been an indication of their growth, as well as a diplomatic notification that these four areas were part of what Silla now considered their territory. The full reasons Baekje and Silla sent more tribute than normal are unclear; it could have been part of a recognition of Nunakura's coronation and an attempt to butter up the new administration.  It is possible that both Baekje and Silla were vying for Yamato favoritism, as well.  Silla may also have been trying to basically pay off Yamato and get them to forget the whole thing with Nimna—something that, as we shall see, was not going to happen quickly. Yamato sent another mission to Baekje in 577, two years later.  This was the mission of Ohowake no Miko and Woguro no Kishi to Baekje, from which Ohowake brought back various accoutrements and set up a temple in Naniwa—modern Ohosaka.  We discussed this, as well as our ignorance over the actual person of Ohowake no Miko, in our last episode, episode 88.  It is interesting, however, if Ohowake no Miko was the actual individual who went to Baekje—mostly we see lower ranking men; those from Kishi level families, or similar.  Occasionally a “muraji” or “omi” level family sends someone, particularly at the head of a military force, but not so often do we see a prince of the blood making the dangerous journey across the seas.  I have to assume that this was an important mission, and that seems to have been borne out when you consider just what was brought back.  Despite all of that, the details are frustratingly vague—worse than trying to find and put together the oldest episodes of Dr. Who and the First Doctor. We do know that the whole trip took about six months, which gives a sense of what it meant to undertake one of these journeys.  Most of that would have been living at the distant court.  They didn't have phones, let alone email, so they couldn't really send word ahead with exact details—although there may have been informal communication networks via the many fishermen who regularly worked the straits.  More likely, an embassy would simply show up in a boat one day and start asking the locals to “take me to your leader”. Once you got there, they hopefully had room for you—they might even have a special location for you and your entourage to stay while they went through the formalities.  After all, someone had to get you on the schedule, and any diplomatic gifts… ahem, “tribute”… should be catalogued and written down before the meeting.  That way the host country could figure out just what they were going to reciprocate with.  There is also possible training in any local ceremony and customs as you couldn't assume that foreign dignitaries necessarily know what is expected.  And then there would be the translating, likely through a shared language, possibly Sinic characters if everyone is literate. Also, during that time, the mission would probably have been hosting guests or being invited out by some of the local elites.  They were both guests and curiosities.  And there might have been some personal trading and bartering going on off to the side—after all, you have to pay the bills somehow, and as long as nothing eclipsed the diplomatic mission, then I suspect there were some other “trade goods” that these ambassadors brought to help barter with locals and ensure they could bring back various goods and souvenirs. In some cases, and it is unclear if it was by choice or not, ambassadors might be invited to stay longer, even settle down with a local wife and family.  There are several examples of this that we see in the Chronicles, so it wasn't all that rare. So that was the mission from Yamato to Baekje.  The next mission from Silla came in 579, some four years later, and we are told they brought “tribute” that included a Buddhist image.  And then, only a year after that we have another mission, but it was dismissed before it could ever be received. And that is a bit odd.  Why would Yamato not receive the embassy?  We aren't given a reason, and it is pretty short, all things considered.  We do know the names of the envoys.  Indeed, the same two envoys:  Ato Nama and Chilsyo Nama tried again two years later, but they were again dismissed, without accepting the tribute.  This is all quite odd, but it does go to show the fickle nature of foreign relations. One possibility may have to do with the way that “tribute diplomacy” appears to have worked.  We know that in the case of the Han, Wei, and even the Tang and later dynasties, states were encouraged to come as tributaries, bringing goods as part of their diplomatic embassy, and then the receiving state was expected to provide items of even greater value in return.  In the 16th century, various daimyo, or Japanese warlords, would use this to their advantage, representing themselves as legitimate emissaries in order to get the Ming dynasty court to give them even greater gifts in return.  As multiple embassies showed up, all claiming to be the Japanese representatives, the Ming court started a policy of only accepting the first one that came, as they had no way to tell who was the legitimate ruler during the chaos of the Warring States period. I bring that up because I notice that the first mission by Ato Nama and Chilsyo Nama took place only 8 months or so after the one in 579, which brought the Buddhist image.  Given the typical time between embassies, that seems very short, and it seems quite possible that the Yamato court didn't believe that the embassy was real, and that it was too soon after the previous one.  Or it could even have been even more mundane—it is possible the court didn't have the stores to pay out against the tribute, though that isn't the reason that they would have given for turning them away.  After all, it was not exactly a safe journey to cross the ocean and make your way to Japan.  Whether you hopped down the island chain or took a more direct route, using the island of Okinoshima as a guide post in the middle of the strait, it was not particularly easy and many embassies never made it across or back. I suspect, however, that there was something else going on, and that is in part because it seems to be the same two individuals coming back two years later, and they were once again turned away.  It is possible that Nunakura and the Yamato court had a specific beef with these two individuals, but in that case they probably would have sent word to Silla to tell them to send someone else.  This probably is indicative of the growing tensions between Yamato and Silla.  From a narrative sense, it would make sense for Yamato to accept envoys just after a new sovereign came to power.  It would help legitimize the sovereign, and it also offers a chance to reset and reestablish the relationship.  The second envoy, bringing a Buddhist image, would certainly be something that the Chroniclers would find historically interesting and would bolster their own thoughts about the rising importance of Buddhism in the period.  However, as we see in an episode from 583, Nunakura was still concerned about trying to re-establish Nimna.  I suspect that this may have been a condition the Yamato court placed on Silla and the envoys, and it is possible that they weren't willing to discuss anything without at least discussing that. Or perhaps that is at least the impression the Chroniclers wish to give.  They are still referring to it as “Mimana” or “Mimana no Nihonfu”, making claims that it was the Yamato government's outpost on the peninsula, and therefore something of a personal blow to the Yamato court for it to have been overrun.  Trying to re-establish Nimna would become something of a rallying cry; think of it like “Remember the Alamo” or “Remember the Maine”; regardless of the truth behind either incident, they were both used as justifications for war at the time.  The case of Mimana was used to justify Yamato actions on the peninsula, and it would continue to be brought back up until modern times, including helping to justify Japan's invasion of Korea in the early 20th century. Here I'll interject with the possibility that there could also have been some internal issues that the court was dealing with.  Specifically, in between these two missions by Ato Nama and Chilsyo Nama, there was a bit of a disruption on the northeastern frontier, as the people known to the court as the Emishi rose up in rebellion. We aren't given the details, but we are told that several thousand Emishi “showed hostility”.  The Chronicle then claims that the sovereign simply summoned the leaders, including a chief named Ayakasu, who may have been a chief of chiefs, and then reamed them out, suggesting that he would put the leaders—i.e. Ayakasu and the other chieftains—to death.  Of course, the rebellious chieftains immediately had a change of heart and pledged an oath to support Yamato. Much more likely, I suspect, there was rising tension and hostility in the frontier regions, and Yamato likely had to raise a force to go face them.  Assuming that was the case, it would have taken time to travel out there, subdue any uprising, and then drag the leaders back to the court to make of them an example to others.  If that was the case, then it may have been that Yamato simply did not feel they had the time to deal with Ato Nama and his crew. For a bit clearer reference, from the 8th through 11th years of the reign, there are simply relatively short entries.  So in 579 there is the mission of ChilCheulchong Nama, who brought the Buddhist image.  Then, in 580, we have Ato Nama and Chilsyo Nama attempt to offer tribute.  Then, in 581, there is a rebellion of the Emishi, followed, in 582, by another attempt by Ato Nama and Chilsyo Nama to offer tribute.  That's about all that we have to go on. In any case, though, we have a very clear indication in 583, only 9 months after again refusing the tribute from Ato Nama and crew, that Nimna was once again on the Court's mind.  Nunakura apparently went on a rant about how Silla had destroyed Nimna back in the days of his father, Ame Kunioshi.  Nunakura claimed he wanted to continue his father's work, but it was unclear just where to get started.  And so they decided to consult an expert. His name appears to have been something like Nichira—possibly something like Nila, depending on the pronunciation of the Sinic characters, or Illa in modern Korean, which is Aston's preferred reading.  It is said that he is the son of “Arishito” or “Arisateung”, the “Kuni no Miyatsuko”, or local ruler, of Ashikita, in the land of Hi, in Kyushu, and that he lived in Baekje, holding the rank of “Talsol”, the second official rank in the Baekje court.  Ashikita was mentioned as far back as Episode 33, during the reign of Oho Tarashi Hiko, aka Keikou Tennou, as he was trying to subdue the Kumaso, and was likely a later addition to Yamato's sphere of influence. Nichira only makes a brief appearance here in the Nihon Shoki, but he is something of an enigma.  He is presented as a citizen of Yamato, but his name appears to be from the Korean peninsula and even his father's name hearkens back to another Arishito, who may have been the king of Kara or one of the associated polities.  And yet here, this Arishito is the local ruler in Ashikita, in the land of Hi—later divided into Hizen and Higo.  Given that he is referenced as “Hi no Ashikita no Kuni no Miyatsuko” this has been suggested as indicating that he was a member of the “Hi no Kimi”, the family that descended from the Lords of Hi.  And this may connect to something later in the story. There do appear to be some later documents that reference Nichira.  Some claim that he was a Buddhist priest, and he's even connected with the famous Shotoku Taishi in some stories, where he is depicted as a wise priest who recognizes Shotoku Taishi's own Buddha nature.  Of course, at this point, the prince would only have been about 10 years old, assuming the dates around his birth are at all accurate—a subject we'll save for a later podcast, as there is just so much around Shotoku Taishi to cover. As for the current story, however:  Nichira was over in Baekje, at the court of the Baekje king, and so it wasn't just a small matter of asking him to come to court.  Ki no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Oshikatsu and Kibi no Amabe no Atahe no Hashima were sent on the dangerous mission of crossing the straits and bringing him back from Baekje.  Their mission was for naught, however.  Three months later they returned, empty-handed, with the unfortunate news that the king of Baekje had refused to let Nichira leave.  Apparently his presence in Baekje was highly prized, and the Baekje king wasn't willing to part with him so easily. Yamato wasn't deterred, however, and Nunakura sent Hashima back to Baekje.  This time, Hashima went straight to Nichira's house before any audiences at court.  When he arrived, he heard a woman calling out in the local language a phrase which Aston found salty enough to throw into Latin:  “Let your root enter my root!”  Despite the implied sexual innuendo of such a statement, Hashima quickly understood what she meant and he followed her inside.  She led him to Nichira, and there Hashima was asked to take a seat. Nichira acknowledged that the Baekje king was not likely to let him go if he had a choice.  The King was likely afraid that if Nichira went to Yamato then he'd never be allowed to return back to Baekje.  Therefore, Hashima had to summon all of the authority vested in him by the sovereign of Yamato to demand Nichira's release in no uncertain terms. Sure enough, Hashima took the bold approach and demanded Nichira's release, and the King of Baekje finally relented and allowed him to return.  He wouldn't go alone, however.  Nichira was accompanied by other high officials from Baekje, including several men of the 3rd and 4th ranks, and a number of sailors to transport them. They first arrived in the land of Kibi, Hashima's own home base, and then headed on to Naniwa, where Nichira was greated by Ohotomo no Nukadeko no Muraji, likely a descendent of Ohotomo no Kanamura, the former top dog in the Yamato court.  He offered Nichira condolences for the long trip he'd had to endure, and set him up in an official residence there in the port city. Later there were daibu—high officials—who were sent to the residence to attend on Nichira. After he'd had time to freshen up, Nichira headed off to the court.  When he drew near, he donned a suit of armor and mounted a horse, and in such a fashion he rode right up to the Audience Hall of the sovereign.  There he bowed before kneeling down.  He then recounted how his forefathers had been sent to the Korean Peninsula up in the first place back in the reign of Senka Tennou, aka Takewo Hiro Kunioshi Tate, in the early part of the 6th century.  After explaining who he was and where he came from, he took off the armor and offered it as a gift to the sovereign himself. Off to such a great start, the sovereign had a residence constructed for Nichira in the area of Kuwanoichi, in Ato—likely meaning an area of modern Ohosaka, near Naniwa.  Later, with all of the ritual pleasantries out of the way, a war council was sent to ask Nichira just how they could move forward on the question of Nimna.  This war council included Abe no Me no Omi, Mononobe no Niheko no Muraji, and Ohotomo no Nukadeko no Muraji. Nichira provided them a plan to go to war, but it wasn't simple nor was it quick.  First he suggested that they spend the first three years building up the prosperity of Yamato, and getting all of the people behind the government.  Next, he suggested building up a massive number of ships, such at that any visitors would be impressed to see them all in the harbor, and thus word would get out and it would project Yamato's military power. Finally, once that was done, Nichira suggested inviting the King of Baekje—or at least a royal representative in the form of a high prince or similar—be invited to Yamato, where they would see all of the power and good governance.  They could then be taken to task for why Nimna had not yet been reestablished. After the war council, Nichira sent a letter to the sovereign, Nunakura.  In it he let Nunakura know that Baekje was going to send a request to relocate 300 ships worth of people to Tsukushi to settle there.  Here things turned rather dark as Nichira suggested that they would see the ships filled with men, women, and children hoping to establish a Baekje colony in the archipelago.  Nichira suggested setting up an ambush around Iki and Tsushima and that they should slaughter everyone.  Then Yamato should build up fortifications of their own—probably as coastal defenses in case Baekje decided to retaliate. And here I'm going to interject that this seems just really odd and strange.  First, Nichira and Nunakura were talking about trying to reestablish Nimna with their ally, Baekje, and suddenly Nichira is suggesting that Baekje might try to establish a colony in their territory, and therefore it should be wiped out.  That all feels very extreme, and this whole passage has puzzled commenters, especially when you consider the reputation Nichira later has as some kind of holy priest or monk. Apparently this was the kind of advice, though, that may have been why Baekje did not want Nichira to come back in the first place.  In fact, as the Baekje envoys themselves began to head out to return to Baekje, they left a couple of people in Yamato with a sinister plot of their own: as soon as the ships had sailed off and made considerable distance on the way back home, those left behind were to assassinate Nichira.  In return, they were told that they would be given a higher rank and that their families would be looked after, in the very real possibility that they found out and killed themselves.  A not insubstantial promise at the time. With the official residence in Naniwa vacated after the departure of the rest of the Baekje delegation, Nichira decided to move back in, rather than staying in the home made for him in Kuwanoichi.  The would-be assassins tried to approach him, and hatched plot after plot.  However, they were stopped because apparently Nichira had some ancient superpowers.  Indeed, his body apparently glowed brightly, like a flame of fire, and so the assassins could not get anywhere near him.  They had to wait until the end of the 12th month, when Nichira's own radiance faded, and they were then able to slay him. This whole thing about radiance is intriguing, and may have several origins such that even if it isn't factually accurate, it may have something more to say about just who Nichira was or might have been. First off, there is the obvious.  “Nichi”, in “Nichira”, means the “sun”, and so it could have been a direct allusion to Nichira's name.  This strikes me as also intriguing because the 12th month indicates the end of the year, usually  meaning that it is darker.  While the Winter Solstice would not have necessarily been in the old twelfth lunar month, those would have been the days when the suns light was least seen.  Add to this that it was at the end of the month, and based on a lunar calendar, the end and beginning of the month would have been the times of the new moon, when it was not visible in the sky.  And so we come to what most likely was the darkest night of the entire year. There is also the fact that he is from Hi no Kuni—he is even considered a member of the ruling family of the land of Hi.  The character of “Hi” in this instance is fire.  Michaeol Como notes that the Hi no Kimi appear to have been associated with fire cults, as well as with rites of resurrection.  “Hi no Kimi” could also be translated as “fire lord”.  There may be some connection there with the story. Finally, we can't ignore the Buddhist context.  Holy individuals are often said to radiate light from their bodies.  For example, we have the story about Nichira meeting the young child that would be known as Shotoku Taishi, found in the Konjaku Monogatari, or “Tales of Now and Then”, a 12th century collection of various stories, many focused on Buddhist stories.  In that story, Nichira radiates a light and the Shotoku radiates a light of his own in response.  In fact, Buddhist images often depict holy figures with halos, or even wreathes of flames around them, likely a depiction or literal interpretation of what we find in the Buddhist texts, which may have originally been meant more metaphorically. Oh, and notice how I talked about resurrection?  Maybe you thought we'd just let that one slide.  Well, apparently there was a brief zombie moment, as Nichira suddenly came back to life after he had been killed just to implicate the men from Baekje who had stayed back, and then he died again.  Supposedly this is because there was a Silla envoy in port, and he didn't want them to take the blame. That resurrection piece, well, it isn't the first time we've seen that, and it isn't entirely uncommon to hear about something along those lines.  In the Harima Fudoki there is another story of resurrection, and it involves a member of the “Hi no Kimi”, or lords of Hi.  In that story, a member of the Hi no Kimi came to a center of Silla immigrants and married a young woman whom he had brought back from the dead.  Another connection between the country of Hi and some of what we see attributed to Nichira. At the same time, Saints in ancient England would occasionally rise from their deathbeds for one last piece of wisdom or to admonish someone before laying back down into that sleep of death.  At the same time, it is possible that diagnosing death, versus, say, a coma or other unconscious state with very shallow breathing, wasn't always a clear thing. In the west, as recently as at least Victorian times people were so afraid of being buried alive that there were tombstones created with bells that went to a pull down in the coffin, just in case.  There have also been practices of pricking a corpse with a needle or similar to try to get a response.  So I could believe that every once in a while a person who was declared deceased wasn't quite ready to start pushing up daisies, and it is possible that this is more of a deathbed accusation than any kind of resurrection. Still, the story clearly depicts it as a brief, but true resurrection.  From his words, the court arrested the envoys who had remained behind and threw them into some kind of confinement while they figured out what to do with them.  Nichira's wife and children were moved to Kudaramura, or “Baekje Village”, in the area of Ishikawa, while the sailors who had been part of Nichira's household were settled in nearby Ohotomo no mura.  It is unclear if they were given leave to return to Baekje if they wanted, or if that was even on the table. As for the murderers themselves, they weren't punished by the Court.  Rather the court handed them over to Nichira's family, the Ashikita, for them to deliver justice.  I believe this is the first time we've really seen this kind of justice in the Chronicles, with the familial groups taking such a direct role. Now why is this story important, and what does it tell us? Well, nominally, this says something about the continuing struggle by Yamato to reestablish Nimna, but I'm not sure how much of that is accurate.  Though the story starts out about consulting Nichira about Nimna, there is nothing more to say on that topic, and it quickly becomes something that is almost more about the seemingly fragile Baekje-Yamato alliance. There is also an interesting side note that through all of this there were apparently Silla emissaries there in Yamato, even though the Chronicle claims that the last two were sent away, so what's up with that?  It could be that the story is anachronistic—that is, it isn't recorded in the right year.  Or there was a mission that just didn't rise to the level of being noticed by the Chroniclers.  One other thought is that the formal diplomatic ties were only some of the traffic flowing back and forth.  This seems the most likely, to me.  By this point there was no doubt a desire for trade goods on both sides of the strait, and no matter where people came from, the merchant ships were likely plying the waters back and forth.  So it is quite possible that the men of Silla who were in port were part of a trade mission, not necessarily diplomats. Michael Como suggests some other reasons why this whole thing was considered important.  He notes that there are several things here that connect this to the Abe family.  It is unclear where this family comes from, but they have been mentioned here or there throughout the Chronicles, and by this point are at least are fairly high up in the court.  Their name is a bit of an enigma for me, and I'll have to do more research.  I just want to note that they use a different “Be” than the Mononobe or similarly created corporate families.  It is unclear to me why this would be the case, unless this is just where the two seem similar. It should be noted that we should be careful not to assume too much about this early Abe family from one of its most famous Heian era descendants, Abe no Seimei, known as a famous Onmyoji, or master of Yin-Yang divination.  I'm not entirely sure that the Abe were any more or less court ritualists than any other family, especially this early.  Rather, it is their influence over certain geographic regions that is more immediately of interest. We noted that as the son of a “Hi no Ashikita no Kuni no Miyatsuko”, Nichira was likely a member of the Hi no Kimi clan.  They were originally based in southern Kyushu, and Como notes that they may have been under the sway of the Abe clan, at least by the 7th century, along with other notable families of Tsukushi, which is to say, modern Kyushu.  There are a lot of connections between Ashikita, Hi, and Silla that are telling.  In the Harima story, it is a Silla wife that the Hi no Kimi marries.  When Nichira resurrects, it is specifically to ensure that the Silla envoys who were present would not take the blame.  Then there is his father's name—or more likely title—of Arishito.  A term seen used for the King of Nimna at one point, but also for the ancient Tsunoga, who is said to have been an ancient prince from the continent.  Como suggests that Hi no Kuni—and thus their lords, the Hi no Kimi, may have played a part in the rebellion of Iwai, when Iwai attempted to ally Kyushu with Silla to break off contact between Yamato and Baekje.  It is even possible that this was one of the reasons that Nichira was basically being held hostage in Baekje—perhaps he and his family had been exiled after the rebellion, or else left before any harm could come to them. It would make some sense as to why the court sought him out in the first place.  If he and his family were familiar with Silla, perhaps the court thought he would have particular insights.  It might also suggest some of his motives regarding Baekje as well.  Still, the picture is far from clear. Although the Chronicle says that Nichira was taken back to Ashikita and buried, other sources suggest that he was entombed  in Naniwa at Himejima, near Himegoso shrine.  This, in turn, was the home of a sub-lineage of the Abe family, known as the Himegoso Abe.  Como suggests that by the 7th century, the Abe were appropriating various Hi no Kimi cultic centers, to the point that by the time the Chronicles were written, the Abe no Omi and the Hi no Kimi were claiming common ancestry and jointly participating in various rites. Como then links the timing of the death of Nichira to certain court rituals of fire pacification and purification.  And so there may have been much more at play here than simply the story of Nimna and the attempts to reestablish that country. As for the envoys who sailed off and left their lackeys to do their bidding?  Apparently they were struck with a bout of karma on the way back, and their boat foundered and sank.  This was likely seen as proof that their deeds had been committed with evil intent, at least by later readers, interpreting everything through a Buddhist lens that likely saw Nichira as more saintly than it seems he truly was. After all of that, though, there is no evidence that the court really pulled it off.  Instead, in 584, the year after everything had gone down with Nichira, the court sent Naniwa no Kishi no Kitahiko off to Nimna, now controlled by Silla, presumably to negotiate for some kind of reinstatement. That doesn't appear to have happened, however, and the year after that, in 585, there was one more attempt, this time by Sakata no Mimiko no Miko.  Sakata had previously been sent on a mission to request Silla reestablish Nimna in 571, only months before the sovereign, Ame Kunioshi, died.  Now, as he was about to set out, the sovereign and the powerful Mononobe no Moriya came down with a pestilence, and were ridden with sores, such that they called off preparations for the mission.  And sure enough, later that year, Ame Kunioshi's successor, Nunakura Futadamashiki, likewise passed away. I guess the rule here is don't send Sakada no Mimiko to try to demand anything about Silla. Of course, I have to also wonder if there wasn't something else going on.  It's suspicious that the Chroniclers recorded two missions to Silla, both led by the same guy, both about reestablishing Nimna, and both happening just before the Sovereign passed away.  Maybe history really repeated itself like this, or maybe the Chroniclers just knew that such a mission was sent in the last year of one of these reigns, and then put it in bothAnd we don't hear anything more about Mimiko after that, either. We also don't hear anything else about the unfortunate envoy, Sakada no Mimiko, either.  The other interesting thing to note is that, like Ohowake no Miko, Mimiko is a certified royal prince, though I don't see any immediate name to connect him with, at least in the immediate lineage.  It has been suggested that this is one of the sons of Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennou, though even that feels tenuous to me. Either way, both he and Nunakura, as we noted last episode, passed away from the disease sweeping the land. And that concludes the reign of Nunakura.  Next, we'll get into what happened after his death as we start to see the Soga influence become pre-eminent.  There is more to say about the growth of Buddhism and about the clash between the Soga and the Mononobe, one of the formative conflicts from this early period.  And of course, we've already caught glimpses of Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, who had quite the impact on the court—assuming he even existed.  But that's a discussion for another episode. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

We are back looking at Buddhism in the archipelago, this time in the reign of Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu. For references and more, check out our blog page at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-88   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 88: Let's Give This Buddhism Thing Another Try. This episode we are going to return to the story of Buddhism in the archipelago—specifically what was going on into the next reign.  And what a fortuitous episode to do it on as well.  For those who aren't aware, “8” is an auspicious number in Buddhism, so I figure for episode 88, this makes for a decent topic. Now back in Episode 86, we saw the death of Ame Kunioshi, aka Kimmei Tennou, in 576 CE, just as a delegation of envoys arrived from Goguryeo.  As we noted at the time, Nunakura Futodamashiki no Mikoto, aka Bidatsu Tennou, succeeded him to the throne.  You may recall that Nunakura was the second son of Ame Kunioshi and his Queen, Ishihime.  His older brother, Yata no Tamakatsu no Ohoye appears to have been the Crown Prince, but then he passed away, and so Nunakura was raised up in his stead. In many ways, Nunakura represents the Old Guard at this time.  The Chronicles make it clear that he is a classical heir, descended through multiple royal lineages.  His father, Ame Kunioshi, was of course the latest in the lineage descending from Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennou, while his mother, Ishihime, was the daughter of Takewo Hiro Kunioshi Tate, aka Senka Tennou, Ame Kunioshi's brother by another mother—quite literally.   In fact, one wonders if the reason for Magari no Ohine and Takewo, aka Ankan and Senka Tennou, even being mentioned as sovereigns in the Chronicles may have been because of the way that they therefore legitimized Nunakura's own reign, as some scholars have suggested that they really may not have ruled at all, and that really it was all Ame Kunioshi during that entire period that their reigns covered.  After all, most of the sovereigns up to this point have been descended through multiple royal lineages, and even Magari no Ohine and Takewo's reigns were depicted as though they were simply regents, holding the seat for their younger and more legitimate brother. Nunakura held fast to the old traditions in another way, too: We are pointedly told in the Nihon Shoki that, though he was of good character, he was not a Buddhist.  This is perhaps a curious statement to make—after all, none of the previous sovereigns have really been Buddhist, either—but then this is the first sovereign to take the throne since the archipelago had been exposed to Buddhist teachings, at least according to the narrative. From our perspective today, that doesn't seem all that strange.  Buddhism had just come to the archipelago and, honestly, it hadn't made that much of a splash from what we can tell.  Back in Episode 85, Soga no Iname had set up a temple and started worshipping an image that had come from the continent, but that initial attempt was sabotaged by others, including Mononobe no Okoshi.  The old families were, of course, rather invested in the system of rituals around their local kami and the socio-political power they derived from being in charge of those same rituals. Soga no Iname had passed away towards the end of the previous reign, and his son, Umako, took up the mantle as head of the Soga family, and his father's position as Oho-omi.  Meanwhile, Mononobe no Okoshi had also passed away, and it seems that at the head of the Mononobe family as a man by the name of Yuge no Moriya, who was confirmed in his position as Ohomuraji by the new sovereign—or at least that is what the Nihon Shoki tells us, and it may be because of his prominence in the story to come.  The Sendai Kuji Hongi claims that it was Moriya's brother, Ohoichi no  Mikari, who was made Ohomuraji, but there is little else.  Regardless of whether it was Moriya or Mikari, the power dynamics between the Soga and Mononobe families were still in a similar to the previous reign, just in new hands. Now, for all that the Chronicles stress how much Nunakura was not a Buddhist, neither was he particularly nativist.  He enjoyed the Classics that were being imported from the mainland, and presumably was able to read in the continental fashion.  He was also interested in ensuring good relations with the Korean peninsula—with both Yamato's traditional ally of Baekje, but also with the growing kingdom of Silla.  Still, Buddhism was off the table for him. For the most part his reign started similar to any other.  After coming to the throne, in 572, he confirmed his wife as Queen, with his mother being hailed as the Queen Mother.  He also set up his own palace site at Ohowi in Kudara, in the land of Kawachi.  Interestingly this appears to place him outside of the Nara basin—certainly outside of the lands of the Soga.  However, the area that he settled in, Kudara, is interesting because that is the same reading given to the characters for “Baekje”.  In fact the kanji, or Sinitic characters, that they use are the same as “Baekje”, and if you didn't know otherwise you would likely read them as something like “Byakuzai”.  However, just as many characters for the Han and Tang dynasties are read as “Kara”, likely referencing the fact that things came to the archipelago through the Kara states, the name for Baekje was rendered as “Kudara”. And to be honest, I've never seen a good reason why the characters came to be read this way, or even whether or not that was the reading when the Chronicles were compiled.  Certainly it was the authoritative reading later on, and there are plenty of placenames that use that reading as “Kudara”.  Still, I'm not absolutely certain when that reading became common, but that is how these kanji are often pronounced, today, for whatever reason. Now just because Nunakura wasn't a Buddhist didn't mean that Buddhism wasn't still making inroads into the islands.  And while the Soga family would stand at the forefront of Buddhist proselytization, our first actor is actually a little different, and largely forgotten, from what I can tell.  His name was Ohowake no Miko, or the royal prince Ohowake. This name doesn't do a lot to help us identify him.  He's a royal prince, meaning he had a direct claim to the royal lineage, born to one of the sovereigns or their progeny.  “Oho” means “Big”, or “Elder”, and “Wake”, well, that's a bit more complicated.  Based on the way it is used in older names it would appear to be a title or honorific of some kind.  Traditional Japanese etymology claims that it comes from the fact that “Wake” comes from “Wakeru”, to break, cut off, or separate.  So basically they come from a line that has been “cut off” from the royal lineage, but they still have royal blood.  This seems a little suspect to me, personally.  I do wonder if it could be related to the term “Waka”, which also shows up a lot in names, but that is a stretch.  Instead, I think it may be an old title, or kabane, for a person of not insignificant rank.  Still, it isn't clear what is meant, and even then, this is a pretty generic name that doesn't tell us much about who this guy actually was.  One theory is that this is another name for someone mentioned elsewhere in the Chronicles, perhaps even one on the later sovereigns.  People at the time that the Chronicles were written knew who it referred to, but it is much harder to piece together, today.  Another suggestion is that this “Ohowake” was someone who was otherwise written out of the history for some reason—all except for here.  Of course, why they were written out one could only fathom a guess.  Finally, there is the thought that the name could be misspelled.  Back in the time of hand copying, over thousands of copies it would be easy to slip up once or twice in the thousands of characters they had written, already.  Later scribes then faithfully copied the mistake, and suddenly a new name is born.  Even then, though, I'm not sure we could make a good guess as to who this really was. What we do know is that in 577, this royal prince known only as “Ohowake” in the Chronicles went to Baekje, presumably as an ambassador for Yamato, and returned with religious books and six individuals, including monks, a nun, an architect, and a Buddhist image maker.   It is significant, that what this royal prince brought back was more than just books this time.  Now, there were artisans being imported who could actually make Buddhist statues and temples here in the islands.  They would have known how those temples were built, the significance of the layout, how the wooden beams were carved, and even how the distinctive rooftiles were made.  And this wasn't just different craft techniques - there were rules for how a temple was supposed to be constructed, the different buildings, even the relics to be buried underneath a building to help make it sacred.  Likewise the images also followed particular rules.  Whether it was the image of the Buddha, or of one of the many accompanying deities, it wasn't enough to be a stone carver or a woodworker—Buddhist imagery was its own thing.  All of this was very different from other artforms and architecture in the archipelago at the time.  It is also telling that Ohowake brought back monks and a nun.  Specifically they had brought monks who specialized in various practices, including meditation and mantra recitation.  You may recall that earlier the people of the archipelago had received images and texts, and it seems that Soga no Iname was trying to piece together what to do based on the texts—likely interpreting all of it through the eyes of the local religious practices of the time.  An ordained monk and an ordained nun, however, would have known the proper rituals and how they were to be conducted.  But almost more importantly, you needed Buddhist monks and nuns to make other Buddhist monks and nuns —although technically you typically need more than that, you should have a Sangha, a Buddhist community.  While traditions vary, it would seem that you need at least four monks to make a Sangha, and some traditions require at least ten —and I presume the same or more for women.   Whether or not they could authoritatively conduct all of the rites, the monk and the nun could, one assumes, teach how they were supposed to be done.   These newcomers appear to have been ensconced at a place called Ohowake-ji, or Ohowake temple, in Naniwa.  Some suggest that this may be in error and that “Ohowake” was a typo for “Ohogori”, an official residence for envoys traveling to and from Japan.  If this latter is true, then much like Soga no Iname had turned his house into a temple, these Buddhist teachers may have been staying at the Ohogoori-ji, and there was a scribal error of “Wake” for “Goori”.  This theory also notes that the word “Ji”, or “Tera” in the kun'yomi reading, originally meant an official government building, but gradually shifted to referring to Buddhist temples as Buddhism made its way across the desert, through Yellow River and Yangzi river valleys. By the time it made it to the Korean peninsula and across the strait to the Japanese archipelago, Buddhist temples were all using the suffix “-Ji”.  The problem with this theory is that we don't really see the character “ji” or “tera” used in the government building sense in other instances from this time, and so it seems a bit of a stretch to suggest that is what is going on here.  Personally, I envision that they did stand up a temple, though the actual location and design—let alone the artifacts within—have been lost to time.  Ohowake's import of Buddhist expertise wasn't it for Buddhism during Nunakura's reign, however, as things continued to trickle in.  In 579, for example, Silla envoys brought a Buddhist image, indicating that they, too, had taken an interest in this foreign religion, and they were using it as part of their diplomacy.  This may have been a further reason to pressure Yamato to at least look into the religion and join the larger world of Buddhist countries, but it doesn't seem to have swayed the sovereign—at least not in any obvious way. Five years after the gift from Silla, in 584, Soga no Iname's son and heir, Soga no Umako, decided to give this interesting new religion another go.  The atmosphere by this point was a little different: still not entirely hospitable, but there had clearly been more and more interest in Buddhism since its first arrival fifty years before.  In addition to the growing acceptance of this foreign religion, however, there were some key political aspects as well that may point to why Soga no Umako decided to act. You see, Nunakura, at the start of his reign, had been married to a woman named Hirohime, who was the daughter of Okinaga no Mate no Miko.  The Okinaga family doesn't get quite as much press as others, but seems to have been relatively powerful; and let's not forget that there was a sovereign, Okinaga Tarashi Hime, aka Jinguu Tennou.  They had not only supplied Hirohime as a daughter to the current sovereign, but their name is found in the lists of people who had produced wives of the sovereign going back for several generations.  Hirohime was the queen, and no doubt one of her progeny was expected to eventually come to the throne and rule as sovereign.  However, in 576, just five years into Nunakura's reign, Hirohime passed away.  This tragic event nonetheless left a bit of a political void in the form of the Queen, whose offspring would no doubt possess some serious political chops, whether or not they actually ruled.  Fortunately for the Soga, they had an answer: Toyomike Kashikiya Hime, the daughter of Amekunioshi and Kitashi Hime, which made her half-sister to Nunakura, but more than that, it made her the niece of none other than Soga no Umako, since her mother was also a child of Soga no Iname.  And without spoiling too much, put a pin in her name—we will definitely be coming back to her in later episodes.   It is unclear whether Kashikiya Hime was already one of Nunakura's  consorts or if she was instead promoted directly to queen, based on the way the Chronicle talks about it, but Queen she did become.  We are told that she was taken up at the “urging of the court”, and probably by certain prominent figures therein, and so the Soga's plan to marry their daughters into the royal lineage and thus use blood ties to more closely bind themselves to the central authority appears to have been working. This also meant that as Umako tried once again to get Buddhism off the ground, he now had a supposedly friendly figure in the royal bedchamber, who could help whisper in the sovereign's ear.  So he had, presumably, a little more clout than his father had when he had tried to set up a temple. To start things off, Soga no Umako had heard about two Buddha images in the archipelago, and he went about acquiring them.  The first was a stone image of Miroku, aka Maitreya, the future Buddha who was said to come in another four to nine thousand years to remind people of the Dharma once again.  This had been brought from Baekje by an immigrant known to us as Kafuka no Omi.  The other was an image of the Buddha, presumably Gautama, the historical Buddha, in the possession of one Saheki no Muraji. With these images in his possession, Soga no Umako went looking for someone with previous knowledge of Buddhist practices to assist.  To do this he enlisted the help of Kurabe no Sukuri no Shiba Tattou, along with others.  Tattou is traditionally thought to have come from the continent, possibly as early as 522 CE, about 63 years earlier.  The Fuso Ryakki, compiled in the eleventh century, claims he came from the “Great Tang”, even though that dynasty had yet to have been established, and that he had immigrated to the country of Yamato, where he built a grass hut and installed an image of the Buddha.  While this is likely a bit of exaggeration on the part of the ancient chroniclers, to make Tattou seem like the perfect Buddhist resource, it is likely that Tattou did come from the continent or was a descendant in the first or second generation, and that he had some knowledge about the religion.  This made him perfect for Soga no Umako, who needed someone who knew what to look for in others who might be able to assist him in once again setting up a temple of his own. Sure enough, Tattou found someone: a former monk from Goguryeo, named Ebin in Japan, now living in Harima, who had gone back to being a layperson.  This is not as unusual as it may seem, as there are many reasons that someone might leave the monkhood, and even later return back to it.  Whether or not he was currently an ordained and practicing monk, Ebin would have known the rites and how to proceed. Here I would note that it seems a bit odd that Umako would have searched high and low throughout the immigrant community if the temple of Ohowake was still there in Naniwa.  Why didn't they just ask someone from that temple to come and get things kickstarted for them?  Unfortunately, we don't know, though it is possible that the temple of Ohowake had already failed for some reason. And so the former monk, Ebin, was brought on board Umako's little project, and there are some sources that suggest there was a nun as well, known as Houmei, but I didn't notice her name in the Nihon Shoki.  Ebin—and possibly Houmei—were first told to instruct none other than Tattou's own daughter, Shima, or possibly Shimane, to become a Buddhist nun.  This may have been at least in part because Tattou's family clearly already had some familiarity with Buddhism, and there may have also been some linguistic advantages depending on the languages they knew and spoke—especially as much of what had come over was probably written in Sinic characters. Shima was given the Buddhist name of Zenshin, or more appropriately Zenshin-ni.  This was another common practice, at least in East Asia, where new initiates would take a Buddhist—or more appropriately a Dharma—name when they were ordained.  We'll see this a lot, and you have no doubt encountered such names elsewhere.  They are typically made up of two kanji, or Sinitic characters, and pronounced with the On'yomi reading.  The name is often given by a teacher and emphasizes some Buddhist virtue or teaching that is considered particularly apt.  In this case “Zenshin” would appear to mean something like “Auspicious Belief”. Two other women were taken on as students—or possibly as servants, or just junior nuns—along with Zenshin.  They were Toyome, daughter of Ayabito no Hoshi, who became Zenzou, which would seem to indicate “Meditative Storehouse”; and Ishime, daughter of Nishigori no Tsubo, who became Ezen, or something like “Blessed Fortune”. With three nuns, Soga no Umako built a Buddhist Temple onto the east side of his home where he enshrined the stone image of Miroku, or Maitreya, the future Buddha, and he had the three newly minted nuns worship there while Shiba Tattou and Hida no Atahe provided them support and sustenance. Although they were ordained and worshipping a Buddhist image, it is interesting that Umako chose women to become nuns, rather than monks.  There is some thought that, for all of the Buddhist instruction, Umako was still following a popular indigenous model of worship, where the three women were essentially acting in place of female shamans, a tradition that would appear to have been common on the archipelago all the way back to Queen Himiko, and hinted at in various places within the Chronicles, including the very stories of the kami themselves.  One also questions just how much the women knew regarding Buddhist practice, despite having a teacher who was formerly a monk.  There are some suggestions that the women themselves were rather young, with one note claiming that Zenshin was only twelve years old when she was ordained—hardly an age where one expects her to be leading, let alone teaching, about a foreign religion from another country. Furthermore, the terms used surrounding the nuns' “worship” also leads one to wonder.  The word used is “sai” or “matsuri”, which is sometimes translated as “maigre faire”, or abstinence, but here likely refers to some kind of meal or feast.  This was possibly a Buddhist vegetarian feast, though the idea of a feast as worship seems to dovetail nicely once again into the local practices surrounding kami worship as well. From this first meal, Tattou supposedly found a “relic”, by which would seem to be meant a relic of the Buddha.  Now what a relic of the Buddha was doing in the Japanese islands, so far away from the Indian subcontinent, might seem to be a pertinent question, but that is where you would be wrong.  You see, according to some traditions, the body of the Buddha had transformed through miraculous processes into hard crystal or glass stones, which themselves had made their way across the world.  This was fortunate for Buddhists, who therefore didn't need to send away for fresh relics from India every time they needed to found a new temple, they just had to find appropriate relics where they were. To test the relics—we aren't given much more of a description of what they were—Soga no Umako took a giant iron maul and brought that hammer down on the relic Tattou had found.  However, rather than the relic shattering, the iron maul broke, instead, along with the block of iron they had put underneath of it.  After testing its strength, the relic was placed in water, where it would float or sink depending on what was desired.  These supposedly proved that the relic was holy, and so it was used to inaugurate a new pagoda.  The pagoda was built on top of the Hill of Ohono, or large field, and we are told that they had the nuns conduct another ritual feast prior to placing the relic in the top of the pagoda, recalling the purpose of the pagoda as the replacement for the stupa, the repository for relics of the Buddha at a temple complex. In the background of all of this, Yamato was apparently experiencing their own epidemic.  We are told that pestilence was in the land, and Soga no Umako himself became ill.  Trying to ascertain the cause of his own illness, Umako enlisted a diviner, who told him that the pestilence was a curse sent by the Buddha worshipped by Soga no Umako's father, Soga no Iname.  Once again we see the Buddha being treated more like a kami.  After all, why would the one who came to save all sentient beings curse someone?  And yet they did seem to believe that this curse was due to the way that the previous temple that Iname had set up had been torn down and the image tossed, unceremoniously, into the Yodo river. And since the cause of the pestilence had been determined by a diviner, apparently that was enough to get Nunakura on board.  Whether or not he personally worshipped the Buddha, he allowed Umako to worship the image so that he could appease his father's gods and hopefully recover. Shortly thereafter—less than a week later, if the dates are to be believed—we start to really get a sense of déjà vu, as Mononobe no Yugehi no Moriya, son of Mononobe no Okoshi and the current Ohomuraji of the Mononobe family, remonstrated Nunakura over this whole Buddhism thing.  Just as Okoshi had done decades previously, Moriya claimed that the whole reason that there was an epidemic in the first place was because they had once again welcomed Buddhism into the land, and that they needed to put a stop to it.  Nunakura was swayed by his arguments, and he took back what he had said and issued an edict that demanded that the worship of Buddhism cease. Here we see, once again, the destruction of the Buddhist temple, but this time around we are given much greater detail.  For one thing, Moirya seems to have taken rather a lot of pride in this.  He went to the temple with his men, sat down in a chair, and from there he oversaw the destruction of the pagoda, the temple, and even the stone image.  Whatever couldn't be destroyed was taken to the Naniwa canal and thrown into the waters. As he did all of this, the Chroniclers record that there was wind and rain, but no clouds, not quite unlike the idea of a fox's wedding—an interesting phenomenon where you can have the sun, usually in the morning or late afternoon, shining at the same time that rainclouds overhead are opening up the heavens are pouring down. Moriya simply donned a raincoat, and then he upbraided Soga no Umako and all of his followers, trying to shame them.  He then had Sukune call forward the various nuns, who were stripped of their “three garments”, a term for the traditional Buddhist robes, although in East Asia this was eventually replaced with the single kesa over several lower garments, to help fend off the cold.  Here it is unclear if just a kesa is meant, or if they were dressed in an attempt at clothing from the Indian continent.  The nuns were then imprisoned and flogged at the roadside station of Tsubaki no Ichi, otherwise known as the Tsubaki Market. Despite thus cleansing the land of Buddhist influence for the second time, the pestilence didn't stop, and people continued to grow ill and die.  In fact, there was an embassy planned to talk about the Nimna situation once again, but both the sovereign, Nunakura, as well as Mononobe no Moriya himself, became ill and were afflicted with sores.  Once again, the land was plagued and people were dying.  According to the Chroniclers, who were, of course, writing after the fact in a well-established Buddhist state, the people started to privately complain that clearly Buddhism hadn't been the problem.  In fact, perhaps Soga no Umako's diviner had been correct all along and the plague was actually because they *hadn't* accepted Buddhism, rather than a punishment for neglecting the local kami. A few months later, Soga no Umako sent another message to the sovereign.  He was still ill, and hadn't recovered, even with Moriya “purging” the influences of Buddhism.  Umako claimed that the only things that would cure him were the Three Precious Things, which is to say the Sanzou, or the Three Treasures of Buddhism:  The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.  Based on the severity of the disease, Nunakura authorized him to worship privately, and the nuns were allowed to assist him.  He rebuilt the temple and he provided for the nuns, himself.  Eventually, Umako recovered, but unfortunately, the sovereign did not.  Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, died in 585, laid low by the plague that had swept through the land. At the funeral, the politics were on full display.  Soga no Umako had no love lost for Mononobe no Moriya, nor vice versa.  As Umako was delivering a speech, Moriya made a comment that with his extremely long sword at his side, Umako looked like a fat little sparrow that had been pierced through by a hunting shaft.  Meanwhile, Umako noted that Moriya was shaking as he gave his speech—whether from emotion, nerves, or something else we don't know—and so Umako suggested hanging bells on him, so that they would jingle as he shook.  From this rap battle on out, the feud between the Mononobe and the Soga would only grow. There is another account of all of this, buried amongst everything else, that claims that Mononobe no Moriya, Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, and Nakatomi no Iware no Muraji all conspired together to destroy the Buddhist religion.  They wanted to burn the temple and pagoda that Soga no Umako had built, but Umako opposed the project and would not allow it, or so we are told.  Here it is unclear if we are talking about the previous temple or the rebuilt one, but the names here are interesting.  Of course we know that the Soga and the Mononobe were going at it, and the inclusion of Nakatomi no Iware simply picks up the previous alliance between the Mononobe and Nakatomi, both of whom had been active during the assault on Soga Iname's temple.  Lastly, though, there is Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, which is interesting.  This figure would appear to be from the Ohomiwa family and region, likely drawing some amount of respect from their connection with Mt. Miwa itself, and the ancient worship that went on there.  So, in this version there really is a triple threat of “the old guard” banding together to resist this newfangled foreign faith. Incidentally, this same figure, Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, also appears just after the death of Nunakura, when Prince Anahobe figured he could just waltz in and take the throne on the assumption that he was owed it by birth.  He was a half-brother to Nunakura, son of Ame Kunioshi and his mother, Wonanegimi, who was another daughter of Soga no Iname.  Anahobe was therefore nephew to Umako, and perhaps that is one of the reasons he thought he could just waltz in and take his seat at the head of government.  But Prince Anahobe was foiled by none other than Ohomiwa no Sakahe, who posted a guard around the palace and made sure that nobody defiled it until a new sovereign had been identified by the court.  Anahobe voiced his complaint that Ohomiwa was protecting the court of a “dead king”, and that they should instead come to the court of a “living king”—presumably he meant his own. But that will take us past this point, and there are still some other details of Nunakura or Bidatsu's reign I want to touch on, such as his dealings on the continent, but here we can see how Buddhism and the feud between the Soga and the Mononobe was in full swing, and that will definitely play a large part in future episodes.  In addition, we'll see how this time, Umako wouldn't take things lying down.  He was going to get this Buddhism thing to stick one way or the other, and we'll see what happens when he finally founds the first permanent temple in Japan; a temple that, while perhaps not as grand as it once was, continues to operate into the modern day. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, 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 Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Moriya Blumenfeld joins The MoPod to discuss the creation of the newest matchmaking platform - Loop. You don't want to miss this. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/evan-harris8/support

Eli Bismot and Moriya are trailblazers in the music industry turning heads in Israel and in the US.  The two talented artists will share with us their motivation and unique sound.  Both Eli and Moriya come from diverse backgrounds and experiences which have molded their careers and personal sound. Eli Bimot is a composer, writer, music producer, and singer living in Jerusalem, Israel.  His talent knows no bounds.  When one of his artist was asked to describe Eli they shared" he has a way about him to be with me n my head and soul, all while creating the most amazing beats. He cutivates "everything" that I need for my song and makes me be my best."  Eli has performed with musicians on stage and creating new music in studio.  A favorite song of our program is "Shel Lila" that he has with musician Or Gorgi.  The mash of melodic bars from Eli alongside the rap lyrics of Or Gorgi is just a taste of the innovation of Eli's mind.  Eli has been in many differnt aspects of the music industry. For the last five plus years, he has been working as a producer, composer, and singer. Moriya is an American born singer who has lived in both Israel and the United Sattes.  Moriya spent her early years in the United States.  Moriya spent the last five years in Israel where her music career began.  Moriya is bilinhual allowingher to flawlessly sing in both English and Hebrew.  She truly understand and showcases each  lanuguaein a unique style.  She coninues to blend East with West in her current music today.  She has many songs in the works and will be launching an album in the United States this year.  He range is so vast and beautiful,she can perfrom Pop, R & B, Soul, Hip Hop, and almost any other genre out there.   Talk Israel is honored to share their unique vibes with all of you.

Moriya Mari iniciou sua formação como cantora lírica aos 16 anos de idade e construiu uma carreira internacional de sucesso ao longo dos anos. Hoje, é uma das principais sopranos do Japão. O programa +81: Aeroporto de Hakodate é uma seleção musical apresentado por Rosa Miyake. Semanalmente, uma nova playlist é elaborada com uma variedade de músicas do mainstream japonês, mas também de outras vertentes: jazz, rock, experimental, folclórica, erudito, eletrônico, post-rock e outros gêneros. Nas principais plataformas de podcasts. Procure por plus81.

Hi Dharma-friends, In this episode we continue with 5 more verses of the Shōzōmatsu Wasan known as "Additional Hymns of Lament on the Term Hotoke." Hotoke commonly means "Buddha." According to the commentary found in The Collected Works of Shinran (CWS), "Probing into the origins of the term, Shinran traces it back to an early critic of Buddhism, Mononobe no Moriya (d. 587), who opposed its introduction into Japan. According to Shinran, Moriya applied the term, with the meaning "sick with fever," to a statue of Amida that was discovered in Naniwa Bay (present Osaka) and later enshrined in a temple known as Zenkō-ji. In using the term, Moriya implied that the foreign image was the cause of an epidemic. Although Shinran's etymology is not currently accepted by scholars of Japanese, his concern is that the use of the term leads to widespread disparagement of the teaching, and in his own writings, he avoids it." CWS, II, 101. We're in the home stretch of our traversal of the Shōzōmatsu Wasan. Next time, we'll cover a prose section in this collection, "On Jinen Hōni." After that, our final episode will feature Shinran Shōnin's two powerful concluding verses. Please be well! Check out more good Dharma content on the American Buddhist Study Centers home page, ambuddhist.org Palms together, Gary

Welcome to Boostly Podcast Episode 487. In this podcast episode I'm going to be talking with Moriya Rockman, founder of Smiling house about her new start up which is Triangle Luxury. Want to gain trust from your customers? Check out www.boostly.co.uk/trust 00:00 - Introduction 01:03 - Introducing Moriya 05:21 - What is Triangle Luxury? 12:46 - The benefits of Triangle Luxury 25:54 - What's the best way to get in touch regarding Triangle? 35:51 - Closing comments from Moriya • https://Boostly.co.uk • https://Boostly.co.uk/5steps • https://instagram.com/boostlyuk • https://Boostly.co.uk/guidebook • https://Boostly.co.uk/website • https://Boostly.co.uk/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.09.06.506812v1?rss=1 Authors: Kim, S. H., GoodSmith, D., Temme, S. J., Moriya, F., Ming, G.-l., Christian, K., Song, H., Knierim, J. J. Abstract: Hippocampal place cells exhibit spatially modulated firing, or place fields, which can remap to encode changes in the environment or other variables. Unique among hippocampal subregions, the dentate gyrus (DG) has two excitatory populations of place cells, granule cells and mossy cells, which are among the least and most active spatially modulated cells in the hippocampus, respectively. Previous studies of remapping in the DG have drawn different conclusions about whether granule cells exhibit global remapping and contribute to the encoding of context specificity. By recording granule cells and mossy cells as mice foraged in different environments, we found that by most measures, both granule cells and mossy cells remapped robustly but through different mechanisms that are consistent with firing properties of each cell type. Our results resolve the ambiguity surrounding remapping in the DG and suggest that most spatially modulated granule cells contribute to orthogonal representations of distinct spatial contexts. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by PaperPlayer

Stay humble and work hard - Moriya Rockman, Co-Host of the Hospitable Host and Founder of Triangle Luxury, Smiling House Luxury and Villa Tracker. She fell in love with hospitality by chance when she immigrated to the Swiss Alps with her husband. There they had this very old villa where she hosted a friend; her friend introduced her to Airbnb and told her to put it on the market. And then things just snowballed from there - fast forward to today, Moriya has been able to build an empire from scratch with a hybrid management model, serving thousands of clients and helping thousands of investors. Luxury is all about authenticity not just location, but taking into account the environment, the guests' privacy, and design altogether is what separates Moriya from the pack. How did she achieve it all with comfortability and a focus on making the property as welcoming as possible. The interesting part is, they operate as OTAs not property managers, with over 140 destinations and 33 countries, and those numbers just keep growing. They are not only disrupting the industry, but also dominating the short term luxury space. Nothing less from the Shorty's 2020 Pioneer Awardee herself. Tune in to how Moriya achieved this and how they ‘submerged into tech' that really catapulted them into industry giants. But for Moriya it's simple, her goal is to make the world a better place with hospitality, one smile at a time, and one experiment at a time. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE: 9:56 What comes first, location or property? 25:33 Management Process 46:38 Commission structure KEEPING IT REAL: 0:52 Introduction 5:35 Maria's Story 13:23 Design and comfortability 14:16 Creating unique feelings 17:18 Strategic partnership 20:53 Communication techniques 32:54 Learning the standards of the client 37:09 Management/hybrid model 40:07 Triangleluxury.com 43:06 Property managers can give a forecast in our company 48:15 triangle-luxury.com / triangle.luxury 49:52 Moriya's great deal NOTABLE QUOTES: “I think as a company, as people, we try not to forget that we are still eye to eye. We are still smiling all the time” - Moriya Rockman CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST Website: www.smilinghouse.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moriya-rockman-a3467a13a/?originalSubdomain=ch Email: www.smilinghouse.ch Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me: https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-estate-experiment/id1341895972 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealestateexperiment/?hl=en Apply for an American Express Card with this link: http://refer.amex.us/RUBENKr8et?xl=cp01&mpt=v0 #airbnb #realestate #luxury

Welcome to a brand a new season of KISS MY MIKE: a podcast with a gaysian flavor!Our theme this month is “Debunking Asian Stereotypes” in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month this month of May. In this episode, learn about how Mas founded Strong Asian Lead, an organization that aims to change the narrative of how Asian American storytellers make their way into Hollywood. Furthermore, hear about his thoughts on how we can learn more about Asian cinema history and how we can continue to elevate AAPIs in Entertainment and other industries.Stream this episode now! You wouldn't want to miss Mas' perspectives on these topics (as well as useful resources and tools), especially if you are an aspiring AAPI artist!

Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! You will love the Lawyer Extraordinaire for Episode One: Mariko Mimura. Mariko is a great example that stepping upwards and outwards is entirely possible at any stage of your career. She is also living proof that you can go from working in-house and return to a law firm role as an attractive value add to a firm having excelled on the inside of business at the coal face. She is an inspiration for how we can continue to reinvent ourselves on our own terms. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we'd love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we'd love it if you would leave us a message here! In this episode you'll hear: How a chance meeting at a study group led Mariko to go into law Mariko's secondments to the US and creating her own way by avoiding more legal studies and going straight into practice Mariko's reasoning behind her choices to be an outside director and an outside statutory auditor in a variety of industries How Mariko transitioned back from in-house to Big Law at the age of 60 Her favourite books and other fun facts About Mariko Mariko graduated with an LLB from Waseda University in 1980, graduated with an M.A. from the Chuo University Graduate School of Law and graduated from the Ph.D. course in 1989. Mariko was admitted to the Bar in Japan in 1992 and joined the firm of Braun, Moriya, Hoashi & Kubota from 1992-1993, followed by Takaishi Law Office from 1993-1995. In 1995 Mariko joined Nishimura and Partners, now renamed Nishimura and Asahi During the first phase – from 1995 to 2004, Mariko gained overseas experience in law practice in the United States on secondment to the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (1999-2000) and was secondment in-house to a startup battery company as Vice President and General Counsel of Quallion LLC from 2000-2001. Upon returning to Japan Mariko took up a senior role in-house as ExecutiveOfficer and Legal Executive Manager of GE Healthcare Japan Corporation (2005-2009). Mariko has held outside role Part-time Statutory Auditor of GE Healthcare affiliate company Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd in 2008. From 2018 she became Outside Director, of childrens' toy-maker Takara TOMY Company, Ltd and is also an Outside Director at precious metal company, Tanaka Holdings (Tanaka Kinzoku) She has further in-house experience as Director of Legal and Intellectual Property Executive Manager of Novartis Holding Japan K.K. from 2010-2015, was concurrently Corporate Officer and General Counsel at Novartis (2010-2015), and then became Director of Glaxo Smith Kline KK from 2015-2018. In her 60's Mariko returned to Nishimura & Asahi as Of Counsel where she focuses on the area of life science. Connect with Mariko via Catherine Links Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo Station: http://www.shangri-la.com/tokyo/shangrila/about/

Strong Asian Lead founder Founder and Artistic Director joins me in this episode to talk about Noriyuki Morita, or Pat Morita. Many know Pat as Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies. Mas notes Pat's life, his struggles, his career, and why a movie about Pat's life would be great for any storyteller. 

Welcome to Boostly Podcast Episode 419. This is a recap of my Facebook live where I talked about why Moriya Rockman loves chess. 00:00 Start 01:00 Moriya's passions • https://Boostly.co.uk • https://Boostly.co.uk/5steps • https://instagram.com/boostlyuk • https://Boostly.co.uk/guidebook • https://Boostly.co.uk/website • https://Boostly.co.uk/podcast

In this afikra FWD, Yasmeen Shahzadeh talks about the Moriya Productions documentary series "Bus 47: The Bus That Knew No Borders” which can be found on youtube. Bus 47 follows the reconstruction and research about bus routes in the first half of the 20th century.Note: Yasmeen is not an expert on this subject but is sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in the subject.Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Edited by: Ramzi RammanTheme music by The Brooklyn Nomads https://www.instagram.com/thebrooklynnomads/About the afikra Community Presentations:A community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a ‎topic related to the Arab world's history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the ‎culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research, and develop the ‎presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter's curiosity, research, and share some knowledge. Each ‎presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.  ‎Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Follow Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter Supportwww.afikra.com/supportAbout afikra:‎afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.Read more about us on afikra.com

As the world returns to travel, accommodations have to adapt quickly to a new type of guest. This week, host Kristian Lupinski and Founder and CMO of Smiling House Luxury, Moriya Rockman, discuss the current state of short-term rentals, what a traveller looks for in an accommodation, and how hoteliers can utilise unique selling points found in the short-term rental industry. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/imeethotel)

Vinayaka Chavithe Special కోరికలు కోరుకుంటున్న కొంచెం Comedy గా | Netra | Ganapathi papa moriya |

Learn how parents can get smarter about making big decisions, with author Emily Oster; and electron-capture supernovas.  Additional resources from Emily Oster: Pick up "The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early Years" at your local bookstore: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781984881755?aff=penguinrandom  Website: https://emilyoster.net/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProfEmilyOster  Observation of a new type of supernova sheds light on a famous supernova from 1054 AD by Briana Brownell Scientists spotted an electron-capture supernova for the first time. (2021, July). Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/supernova-electron-capture-space-astronomy-physics  ‌A star in a distant galaxy blew up in a powerful explosion, solving an astronomical mystery. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-07/tu-asi071421.php  ‌Hiramatsu, D., Howell, D. A., Van Dyk, S. D., Goldberg, J. A., Maeda, K., Moriya, T. J., Tominaga, N., Nomoto, K., Hosseinzadeh, G., Arcavi, I., McCully, C., Burke, J., Bostroem, K. A., Valenti, S., Dong, Y., Brown, P. J., Andrews, J. E., Bilinski, C., Williams, G. G., & Smith, P. S. (2021). The electron-capture origin of supernova 2018zd. Nature Astronomy. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01384-2  Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ganesh chaturthi ki pooja.ganpati baapa ka aagaman

Taking a quick break from our scheduled programming. This week David talks about his journey within the entertainment industry, the brainchild that is ‘Strong Asian Lead', and what drives him as a storyteller. Podcast Show Notes Recording Date: 08-05-2021 Episode Title: David Moriya & Strong Asian Lead Topics Discussed: Topic 1 - Introduction Topic 2 - Growing up in California and moving to New York City Topic 3 - Storytelling across various mediums Topic 4 - The environment of the entertainment industry Topic 5 - Los Angeles vs. New York City with Asian Americans in entertainment Topic 6 - Living out of his car and the impact of COVID Topic 7 - Building Strong Asian Lead and its evolution Topic 8 - David's growth as a screenwriter and creator Topic 9 - The evolution of creating a story Topic 10 - Creating ‘Rogue Photo' and photography Topic 11 - The future of Strong Asian Lead and new projects on the horizon Topic 12 - Intersectionality of creativity and learning all aspects of production Topic 13 - Finding that work-life balance Topic 14 - Concluding thoughts Links: Handles: David's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/davidmoriya/ SAL Links: https://strongasianlead.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/strongasianlead_ / Crowdfunding - https://strongasianlead.com/crowdfunding SAL's Feature in Feedspot's Top 20 Asian Film Podcasts - https://blog.feedspot.com/asian_movies_podcasts/ SAL Podcast Team: Podcast Producer - Kenna Tanouye (Connect with her on LinkedIn) Episode Transcript: https://strongasianlead.com/pod-transcripts/david-moriya-strong-asian-lead Calls to Action: Join the movement, stay tuned and follow us on Instagram! Up In My Jam (All Of A Sudden) by - Kubbi https://soundcloud.com/kubbi Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/tDexBj46oNI

What happens at the end of a star's life if it doesn't go out with a bang? White dwarfs are the end stage for 97% of stars, but can they still go 'nova? What happens if two white dwarf stars merge together? Rotating once every 7 minutes with a magnetic field billions times stronger than the Sun, super dense white dwarfs break all the records. There are many types of supernova, but which one happened at the Crab Nebula in 1054? What happens if a star isn't quite heavy enough to have an iron core supernova? Electrons are so tiny compared to a supergiant star, but if they're taken away it can lead to a supernova. Caiazzo, I., Burdge, K.B., Fuller, J. et al. A highly magnetized and rapidly rotating white dwarf as small as the Moon. Nature, 2021 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03615-y Daichi Hiramatsu, D. Andrew Howell, Schuyler D. Van Dyk, Jared A. Goldberg, Keiichi Maeda, Takashi J. Moriya, Nozomu Tominaga, Ken'ichi Nomoto, Griffin Hosseinzadeh, Iair Arcavi, Curtis McCully, Jamison Burke, K. Azalee Bostroem, Stefano Valenti, Yize Dong, Peter J. Brown, Jennifer E. Andrews, Christopher Bilinski, G. Grant Williams, Paul S. Smith, Nathan Smith, David J. Sand, Gagandeep S. Anand, Chengyuan Xu, Alexei V. Filippenko, Melina C. Bersten, Gastón Folatelli, Patrick L. Kelly, Toshihide Noguchi, Koichi Itagaki. The electron-capture origin of supernova 2018zd. Nature Astronomy, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01384-2

In today's podcast we cover four crucial cyber and technology topics, including: 1. Avaddon ransomware impacts Australian Labor Party, leaks data 2. Chinese-linked hacking groups purchasing global anti-virus to improve operations 3. New Moriya malware shows development of hacker tools 4. French firm AXA declares no more coverage for ransomware victims I'd love feedback, feel free to send your comments and feedback to  | cyberandtechwithmike@gmail.com

Moriya has created an unbelievable short term rental business spanning over 28 countries and more than 3,000 properties. Listen as I pick her brains and see how this all happened.Connect with me on my socials: Facebook - Ryan Luke / 7 Figure Property Investor Group / The Airbnb Formula Instagram - Officialryanluke YouTube - Officialryanluke Website - www.officialryanluke.com  Linkedin - Ryan Luke

Moriya has created an unbelievable short term rental business spanning over 28 countries and more than 3,000 properties. Listen as I pick her brains and see how this all happened.Connect with me on my socials: Facebook - Ryan Luke / 7 Figure Property Investor Group / The Airbnb Formula Instagram - Officialryanluke YouTube - Officialryanluke Website - www.officialryanluke.com  Linkedin - Ryan Luke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I am joined by LPGA Tour member, Pajaree Anannarukarn. We talk about her journey to the LPGA Tour, her extremely successful amateur career in Thailand, looking up to Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn when she was young, learning from Rookie mistakes in 2019, what her go-to on course snack is (it may surprise you!) All this, and more, on episode 18! Please like, rate, comment, subscribe, and share! Thanks for listening! Follow me on... Instagram: @benharpringmedia Twitter: @benharpring Intro and outro music credit: Cactus, by Jef

In this Saturday's episode, I interview David Moriya and Emi Lea Kamemoto, the co-founders of the organization Strong Asian Lead, a grassroots media and entertainment company that provides educational and career resources to creatives of the Asian diaspora and is redefining how the entertainment industry tells Asian American stories. David is a fifth-generation Japanese American activist, photographer, screenwriter, and historian, and Emi is a mixed race, first-generation Japanese and American activist, community organizer, and DEI strategist. The two of them share their journeys of better understanding their Japanese and Asian American identities, how they got started in media, the kind of community they're building through Strong Asian Lead, and other issues that have to do with diversity and Asian voices in Hollywood. --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- Strong Asian Lead website: https://strongasianlead.com Strong Asian Lead Instagram and Twitter: https://twitter.com/strongasianlead, https://www.instagram.com/strongasianlead_/ --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/homecomingpod/support

Kevin and Moriya talk mentorship and how Product League can help connect you with a product mentor. Learn more about Product League here: productleague.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/product-coffee Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/productcoffee/

Podcast Episode

David Moriya is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Strong Asian Lead, a developing career accelerator for Asian Americans in the entertainment industry. He is also the host of the  podcast "Redress & Lofi" and the founder of Rogue Photo, a nonprofit photo agency connecting local photographers and nonprofits.

Welcome to Boostly Podcast Season 8 Episode 39. This is a recap of my interview with Moriya Rockman where we talked about how AirBnB and Booking.com treated their hosts during COVID-19. Recording date: Tuesday, 5th May *Please note events and news might have changed since the recording* 01:10 About Moriya 01:40 Moriya's opinion on AirBnb and Booking.com's action 03:40 All about luxury house work 06:00 How Moriya built up partnerships 08:30 Moriya's presentation 13:30 How Moriya is helping luxury property managers 15:20 Quickfire questions • https://Boostly.co.uk • https://Boostly.co.uk/5steps • https://instagram.com/boostlyuk • https://Boostly.co.uk/guidebook • https://Boostly.co.uk/website • https://BookdirectMap.com • https://Boostly.co.uk/podcast  

On our latest podcast episode, we were joined by the founder and general manager of Product League. Product League is a mentoring program in more than 20 countries worldwide. Moriya discusses how to rethink how we look at challenges and how mentoring can thrive on a global scale to allow product managers to learn from others around the world. Our podcast is hosted by Chelsea Corrine. To learn more about Her Product Lab, visit www.herproductlab.com.

What if I told you that there exists a world beyond ordinary sight? Surely... you must already have felt it.-----Episode 1 – Ancient Worlds, Just Beyond Sight-----Supplementary Visual MaterialPicture 1 – Images of Select Foraminifera Species (1) - https://bit.ly/2HPoLz6Picture 2 – Images of Select Foraminifera Species (2) - https://bit.ly/34RdruLPicture 3 – Photomicrographs of Foraminifera species - https://bit.ly/34Srtw4Picture 4 -  Pink Sands Beach, Bahamas - https://bit.ly/3mEgE78 Pictures 1 and 2 are directly from:El Kateb A, Beccari V, Stainbank S, Spezzaferri S, Coletti G. 2020. Living (stained) foraminifera in the Lesser Syrtis (Tunisia): influence of pollution and substratum. PeerJ 8:e8839 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8839And is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.Picture 3 is directly from:Takagi, H., Kimoto, K., Fujiki, T., Saito, H., Schmidt, C., Kucera, M., and Moriya, K.: Characterizing photosymbiosis in modern planktonic foraminifera, Biogeosciences, 16, 3377–3396, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3377-2019, 2019.And is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.Picture 4 was retrieved from https://bit.ly/2I1Zl0W and was taken by Mike's Birds. It is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.  -----Full Show Notes, Including all Video, Picture, Music,  and Sound Attributions, as well as all informational citations: https://1drv.ms/w/s!Amk89GkQH8YSgoYXmMviyLtK-qLt2g?e=MQ708N----This episode of the Bio-DIVE-rsity podcast was written and performed by Dane Whicker.The Bio-DIVE-rsity Logo was created by Dane Whicker, using art by Ernst Haeckel. The art utilized is public domain.Official Bio-Dive-rsity Website: https://flippinfunfishfacts.buzzsprout.comQuestions, Comments, or Feedback? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at: biodiversitypodcast@gmail.com

Moriya Rockman, founder and CMO of Smiling House Luxury Switzerland, managing over 2.500 properties in 65 destinations in 24 countries. As a Media creative and PR expert, Moriya was involved in the Business Development of many companies. 4 years ago, together with her husband Ira, they founded Smiling House and Smiling Flats Holiday Rentals. Both companies are busy with creating a bridge between Legacy Travel Players and holiday rental professionals, especially in the luxury and premium segment. In this episode we talked about how her business has actually seen a rise in booking and revenue during these times of COVID19 and how they've been able to stand out by working with many others in the industry! Mentioned In This Episode: Smiling House Luxury Moriya's LinkedIn Book Direct Show Slick Talk Website & Socials Q&A Happy Hour Virtual Event

愛媛FC所属の森谷賢太郎選手を交えて、 前回エピソード「34: One Of The Buried Defenders In Darkness (大久保嘉人、森谷賢太郎)」収録後の雑談です。

Kuber, the God of wealth wanted to show- off his wealth and puffed up with ego he invited everyone. Shivji sent Ganapati ji to the Party.  Ganeshji - Ganapatiji went to the party and he wanted to eat all the yummy food. When he became unstoppable, and started eating everything, all got scared and started praying and chanting. - Shuklambara dharm Vishnu (Shloka) Still he did not stop so the called out loudly for the greatest devotee of Ganeshji - Bappa Moriya. Mantra - Ganapati bappa moriya, mangal murti morya - Moriya re bappa moriya re But, Bappa moriya did not come to help them and calm Ganapatiji down, as he knew that Ganeshji was teaching Kuber a lesson. Finally, God Kuber rushed to Kailash and got a hand full of puffed rice filled with parvatiji's love. This made Ganeshji full and they all sang for him and he fell a sleep.  - Single Tusk Ganapati Ek Santa (Bhajan/Song) Bappa Moriya came and cuddled little Ganeshji and dropped him home to Shivji, Ma Parvathiji and brother Kartikeya So, the morals are, - When god is kind to us and gives us wealth, we should not use it to show off, but to give and share with everyone - The greatest wealth is love. The heart filled with love is the richest heart in the world. - If we don't learn to be good ourselves, god has many ways of teaching us a lesson. 

Yvonne Halling is the founder of Bed and Breakfast Coach.com and the creator of B&B Money Maker Business Transformation Program where clients typically increase their business by between 23% and 600% in one season, while working less, paying less commissions and having more fun. Moriya Rockman, founder and CMO of Smiling House Luxury Switzerland, managing over 1.200 properties worldwide. Three years ago, together with her husband Ira, they founded Smiling House and Smiling Flats Holiday Rentals. Both companies are busy with creating a bridge between the New Age of travelling and Legacy Travel companies. Another angle is developing the concept of Rent-to-Buy and Buy-to-Rent – vacation rental properties as Real Estate assets.

"LIVE" From The Diamond Resorts LPGA Tournament of Champions with Larry Fitzgerald, NFL Wide Receiver; Frank Viola, 1987 World Series Champion; Moriya Jutanugarn, LPGA Champion; Michael Flaskey, CEO Diamond Resorts; Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek

Today we look into some of the stories surrounding the belief in human sacrifice. And for the poem we have a reading from Moriya Sen'an. ~~ Review us over on: Podchaser. Check out our growing database on Japanese History over at historyofjapan.co.uk Twitter: @japanarchives Instagram: @nexus_travels Facebook: @japanarchives ~~ Intro and Outro music by The Kyoto Connection available on the freemusicarchive. ~~ Written by Thomas and Heather.

Recorded from War Room Studios in Albuquerque, NM : 6/26/18 This episode brought to you by Inside Up Games, Tasty Minstrel Games, Arcane Wonders & Meeple Realty. Josh makes some lofty claims about Brandon's catch phrase and then proceeds to educate everyone on the Mandella Effect. Willy Wonka and his motives are questionable, but Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory would make an EXCELLENT designer board game! We highlight some incredible kickstarters, including Gorus Maximus from Inside Up Games - Our Carthago Review highlights one of our favorite games of Origins 2018, but the convention coverage doesn't stop there! Tune in as we highlight Escape Plan, The Mind, Coimbra, Luxor, Decrypto and more hotness from our recent trip to Columbus, Ohio for Origins 2018! We wrap things up with a brief recap of our Origins EXPERIENCE, so much great talk - from food, to drink, friends and fun... and don't you dare forget highlights from one of the greatest meetups EVER! Tune in and relive Origins 2018 with us! Coupon Code: Save 10% on your purchases with Meeple Realty by using the coupon code: bb18

We talked to Kwanchai about working as an artist in the board game space. We were specifically interested in how he got noticed and progressed once publishers started to take note. You'd be surprised what a windy path it was! You can reach out to Kwanchai on twitter: @kwanchaimoriya   Hosts: Tony - Designer - @beardedrogue Ian - Developer - @ianzangdesign Gil - Publisher - @gilhova "There It Is" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Access Moriya and Amita's Special Offer: www.acoustichealth.com/HCs12moriya.htm Joy & Harmony - Sounds of the New Earth Ancient Healing Sounds, and Timeless Healing Sound. The Healing energies of the Dolphins and Whales. Living a Fun, Abundant, Heart-Centred life on The New Earth :) Experience a Quantum Light Sound Healing Massage! Register for all Quantum Conversations: www.acoustichealth.com

Access Moriya and Amita's Special Offer: www.acoustichealth.com/HCs12moriya.htm Joy & Harmony - Sounds of the New Earth Ancient Healing Sounds, and Timeless Healing Sound. The Healing energies of the Dolphins and Whales. Living a Fun, Abundant, Heart-Centred life on The New Earth :) Experience a Quantum Light Sound Healing Massage! Register for all Quantum Conversations: www.acoustichealth.com

Supporters claim the dependent-coverage mandate is one of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act. This provision requires employer-based insurance plans that offer dependent coverage to cover dependents up to age 26. Scholars are just beginning to measure the benefits and costs of this mandate. In a forthcoming study, Stanford University economist Jay Bhattacharya examines the effect of this mandate on wages, finding it has reduced cash compensation by $1,200 per covered worker. Asako S. Moriya from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has measured the effect of the mandate on inpatient hospitalizations among young adults, emergency department use, and other measures. We hope you’ll join our expert panel to discuss new research on this still-controversial law. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sound Healer from Israel Moriya Light joined KAren in the ATP studio's to talk about his journey busking around the world and healing with his amazing sounds. Moriya graced us with some of his healing sounds > this is a delight.. Sit back RELAX and Enjoy the beautiful sounds of Moriya Light..

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 12:00:00 +0100 https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/18799/ https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/18799/1/Moriya_Kohei.pdf Moriya, Kohei ddc:540, ddc:500, Fakultät für Chemie und Phar

In this episode of the I Should Be Sleeping Podcast I am joined by fellow editor, David Moriya, and we discuss the different aspects of editing, share personal experiences, and even offer advice to our listeners! Definitely one of our more informative episodes to date! Tell us what you think overall, what could be fixed/cut … Continue reading ISBS Episode 10: David Moriya – The Editing Life

Psycomedia is now fortnightly for the foreseeable future. Or is it? Yes. Psycomedia Episode 73 – Transgroinal Shagnetic Stimulation http://archive.org/download/PsycomediaEpisode73-TransgroinalShagneticStimulation/Psycomedia73.mp3 References: Moss, M. C., & Scholey, A. B. (1996). Oxygen administration enhances memory formation in healthy young adults. Psychopharmacology, 124(3), 255-260. Nittono, H., Fukushima, M., Yano, A., & Moriya, H. (2012). The power of kawaii: viewing cute […]

YES WE KANAKO ARM | 藤枝 あかね | 夕野 ヨシミ – お空のニュークリアフュージョン道場 Shibayan – 躍る夜雀～Invitation to evening 綾倉盟 – Epicurean feat.綾倉盟 yukacco – Shine Like a Star Nhato – Listen Up Tuck.よしひさ | Issay – Asteroid Blues 鈴丸 – PETAL OF THE CHERRY BLOSSOM michiyo – Under the Quiet Moon ～The Girl From Fantasy～ Yuy／Vo. ...Continue reading ‘Touhou Tuesday 2012-11-06: MORIYA 2012!’ »

Ganapati Bappa Moriya! Thats the mantra in India for the week. There is no festival which is celebrated with more pomp and vigour than the Ganesh Chaturti. People from all age groups participate in programmes to exhibit their talent on millions of different stages across the country. India is immune to blaring loudspeakers at 12:30 in the night during these 10 days! Bal Thakrey is in the news again. Hang on. Dont have any pre conceived notions. This time, he is in the NEWS for the right reasons. The authorities at Shirdi may not have the last laugh after all! Listen to know more. Well, on a lighter note, we discuss a very interesting article that Fortune carries in its current issue. It says one in five will interrupt sex to take a phone call!!!

Ganapati Bappa Moriya! Thats the mantra in India for the week. There is no festival which is celebrated with more pomp and vigour than the Ganesh Chaturti. People from all age groups participate in programmes to exhibit their talent on millions of different stages across the country. India is immune to blaring loudspeakers at 12:30 in the night during these 10 days! Bal Thakrey is in the news again. Hang on. Dont have any pre conceived notions. This time, he is in the NEWS for the right reasons. The authorities at Shirdi may not have the last laugh after all! Listen to know more. Well, on a lighter note, we discuss a very interesting article that Fortune carries in its current issue. It says one in five will interrupt sex to take a phone call!!!

Ganapati Bappa Moriya! Thats the mantra in India for the week. There is no festival which is celebrated with more pomp and vigour than the Ganesh Chaturti. People from all age groups participate in programmes to exhibit their talent on millions of different stages across the country. India is immune to blaring loudspeakers at 12:30 in the night during these 10 days! Bal Thakrey is in the news again. Hang on. Dont have any pre conceived notions. This time, he is in the NEWS for the right reasons. The authorities at Shirdi may not have the last laugh after all! Listen to know more. Well, on a lighter note, we discuss a very interesting article that Fortune carries in its current issue. It says one in five will interrupt sex to take a phone call!!!