Podcasts about Pagoda

Pokemon Day 2026 is here! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pokemon with the Krewe by reliving the 25th anniversary of Pokemon! lol Digging deep in the vault to pull out a special Pokemon Day throwback to Season 1, Episode 3 of the podcast... where we have the WHOLE OG Krewe freshly hatched out of our podcast Pokemon egg!  ++++++ In this episode, the Krewe gathers to discuss the iconic Japanese media franchise, Pokémon! Celebrating its 25th anniversary this February, Pokémon is the highest grossing media franchise in the world! From its anime and games, to trading cards and mobile apps, Pokémon truly unites people from across the world. Tune in to this episode to hear the krewe discuss the history, major moments, and each krewe member's favorite Pokémon! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Past KOJ Pokemon/Nintendo Episodes ------ The History of Nintendo ft. Matt Alt (S4E18) The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 2] (S4E3) The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 1] (S4E2) We Love Pokemon: Celebrating 25 Years (S1E3) Why Japan? ft. Matt Alt (S1E1) ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

In the spirit of Carnival season, here's a special bonus rebroadcast of our Mardi Gras Super-Sized Special released in January 2025 about a unique connection between New Orleans, Japan & Mardi Gras that took place in 2024! ++++++2024 was a special year for Carnival and the Japan-New Orleans connection! Lafcadio Hearn's life & works inspired the theme for Rex Parade 2024: "The Two Worlds of Lafcadio Hearn - New Orleans & Japan". But why Hearn? What went into the float design? What other ways has Hearn left a lasting impact on both New Orleans & Japan? Find out today with a super-sized special Mardi Gras bonus episode, featuring insights from Rex historian/archivist Will French & historian/archivist emeritus Dr. Stephen Hales, Royal Artists float designer/artistic director Caroline Thomas, Lafcadio Hearn's great grandson Bon Koizumi,  legendary chef John Folse, Captain of the Krewe of Lafcadio John Kelly, JSNO's resident Lafcadio Hearn expert Matthew Smith, and even the Mayor of Matsue Akihito Uesada! Get ready for Mardi Gras 2025 by reflecting on this unique connection between New Orleans & Japan!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Music Credits ------Background music provided by: Royalty Free Music by Giorgio Di Campo for Free Sound Music http://freesoundmusic.eu FreeSoundMusic on Youtube  Link to Original Sound Clip------ Audio Clip Credits ------Thanks to Dominic Massa & everyone at WYES for allowing us to use some of the audio from the below Rex Clips:Segment about Royal Artist & Float DesignFull 2024 Rex Ball Coverage (Krewe of Lafcadio/Nicholls State segment)Thanks to Matsue City Hall & Mayor Akihito Uesada for their video message below:Message from Matsue Mayor Akihito Uesada------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Past KOJ Hearn/Matsue/History Episodes ------30 Years, 2 Cities: The 2024 New Orleans-Matsue Exchange ft. Katherine Heller & Wade Trosclair (S6E11)From Tokyo to Treme: A Jazz Trombone Tale ft. Haruka Kikuchi (S6E10)Foreign-Born Samurai: William Adams ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E17)Foreign-Born Samurai: Yasuke ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E16)Explore Matsue ft. Nicholas McCullough (S4E19)Jokichi Takamine: The Earliest Bridge Between New Orleans & Japan ft. Stephen Lyman (S4E13)The Life & Legacy of Lafcadio Hearn ft. Bon & Shoko Koizumi (S1E9)Matsue & New Orleans: Sister Cities ft. Dr. Samantha Perez (S1E2)------ Links about Rex ------2024 Rex Parade/Float PDF with Full DesignsCaroline Thomas's Website------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

This episode we are talking about the Four Great Temples--Asukadera, Daikandaiji (aka Kudara Odera), Kawaradera, and Yakushiji.  Much of the information, outside of the Nihon Shoki itself, comes from Donald F. McCallum's book:  "The Four Great Temples: Buddhist Archaeology, Architecture, and Icons of Seventh-Century Japan". For sources, photos, and more information, check out our blogpost at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-142 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 142: The Four Great Temples   Rising up into the sky, the bronze spire atop the pagoda seemed to touch the heavens.  The beams, doors, and railings were all painted bright red, with white walls, and green painted bars on the windows.  At each level, the eaves swept out, covered in dark ceramic tiles, with shining bronze plaques covering the ends of the roof beams.  At each corner, a bronze bell hung, chiming in the breeze.  This pattern continued upwards, tier after tier. Around the base of the pagoda, throngs of government officials dressed in their formal robes of office moved past, flowing through the temple's central gates.  As they passed, they looked up at the impressive tower, the largest of its kind in all of Yamato.  From somewhere, a deep bell chimed, and the crowds made their way towards the lecture hall.  There, the monks were prepared, with sutras and voices at the ready.  Facing a sacred image, they would read through their sutras in unison.  Their voices would carry through the great empty space and reverberate through the crowds—those that could get close enough to hear, anyway.  The chanting created a musical cacophony.     In that sea of human voices, one could almost sense something more—something spiritual.  A power, that one could almost believe could hold at bay just about any disaster that could befall a person—or even the state itself.   Alright, so this episode we are still in the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou.  I know we've already seen how that ends, but there is still a lot to cover. But before I go too far, I'd like to first give  a shout out to Lisa for helping to support the show on Ko-Fi.  I can't tell you how much we appreciate it.  If you would like to support us as well, we'll have more information at the end of this, and every episode. We've talked about how the reign of Ohoama was a time where the court reinforced, but also subtly adjusted, the laws of the Ritsuryo state.  They seem to have equally courted the Kami, Buddhism, and even continental ideas of yin and yang.  Today we are going to dive into Buddhism and the State.  More specifically, I want to talk about something called the Yondaiji, the Four Great Temples, and look at how these government temples, also known as "kanji" or "Tsukasa no dera" came to be, what we know about them from archaeological research, and the role they played in the State.  This is going to probably recap things from earlier episodes.  I am also drawing a lot from a book by Donald F. McCallum called, appropriately, "The Four Great Temples", which goes into a lot more detail than I'll be able to get into, here, but I recommend it for those who are really interested in this subject. Up to this point, we've talked a little about the relationship that the court had with Buddhism.  By the late 7th century, Buddhism had spread throughout the archipelago, and there were many temples likely created by local elites.  Sensoji, in Asakusa, Tokyo, claims a founding of 628, though it may have actually been founded sometime just after 645.  There are other temples around Japan, far from the Home Provinces, which likewise had similar claims to being founded in the early to late 7th century, and I question how much a role the government had in each of them. .  In 673, there were two temple-related mentions of note in the Chronicles.  In one of Ohoama's earliest edicts he orders the copying of the Issaiko, the Buddhist canon, at Kawaradera.   That same year, 673, Prince Mino and Ki no Omi no Katamaro—whom we discussed last episode—were sent to build Takechi temple, later known as Daikandaiji.  I mention Daikandaiji specifically because while it was originally built as the Temple of Takechi, at some point took on that other  name—"Daikandaiji", aka Ohotsukasa no Ohodera—which Aston translates as the "Great Temple of the Great Palace", as it appears to have specifically been designated as the great temple of the government. In other words, it is one of a few National Temples.  And this became particularly important in the year 680, which is the year we are told the government stopped administering—and, more importantly, stopped funding—all but a handful of so-called "national temples".  At this point, as I've mentioned, Buddhism was widespread enough that there were enough adherents that could maintain their own local temples. Of course, local elites likely found some cachet in funding temples, and communities of believers in various areas would likewise have been asked to provide funds as well. So the court accordingly declared that going forward, the government would only administer 2 or 3 national temples.  For all other temples, if tthey had been granted the proceeds of sustenance-fiefs, those would be limited, from the first year to the last, of 30 years in total.  As I read it, that indicates that if they had received the fiefs 15 years ago, they would be allowed to hold onto them for another 15 years, after which point they would need to find alternative sources of funding.  The early national temples appear to be Daikandaiji and Kawaradera.  Finally, there is Yakushiji, which Ohoama began construction on in 680 for his queen, Uno no Sarara, when she was ill—and just hold on to that for now.  Interestingly, Asukadera, or Houkouji, in many ways the original national temple, was not designated as such in the new reorganization, but it would continue to be administered by the government as a temple in a special arrangement. That's why the original count in the Nihon Shoki mentions "2 or 3" national temples instead of four.  These four temples are mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi, the Chronicles following the Nihon Shoki, as the Four Great Temples, or Yondaiji.  Although that work wasn't compiled and published until the end of the 8th century, the term Yondaiji appears in an entry for 702, about five years after the last entry in the Nihon Shoki, and over a decade before its publication So at this point we're going to look at each of these "great" temples individually, plus a couple of other important ones, and what they tell us about the history of Buddhism, Buddhist temples, and the Yamato state at this point in Ohoama's reign. The first of these four temples, chronologically, is Asukadera.  This is the temple originally built by the Soga, and the first major Buddhist temple built.  Its layout shows three separate golden image halls, or kondou.  And here we should probably recap something about the general layout of a Buddhist temple, so we can understand what we are talking about. The most important buildings in a Buddhist temple at this time were the kondou, the golden image halls; the pagoda, or stupa; and the koudou, or lecture hall.  The golden image halls held golden Buddhist images—Buddhas, Boddhisatvas, Arthats, and more.  These rooms are often somewhat dark, and would have been lit mainly by candles, as well as the sun coming through—though even then the sun often is obscured by overhanging rooves and latticework.  Sometimes the doors would have small openings so that the sun's rays strike in a particular way at different times.  All of this presents an image of bright gleaming gold in the darkness—a metaphor for the teachings of the Buddha, but also an intentionally awe inspiring display for those who came to view them and pray. The kondo were usually the first structures to be built for a temple, so if your temple had nothing else, it probably had an image hall. The next structure that one would probably build would be the stupa, or pagoda.  A pagoda was a tower, in which were sometimes kept images, but more importantly, it would often hold some kind of relic.  The idea of the stupa originated as a place to house relics—often bone fragments and teeth attributed to the Buddha, even if those were actually precious stones.  Stupas were originally (and still, in many places) large mounds, but as Buddhism made its way over the Silk Road, these were replaced with multi-tiered towers. Pagodas are often 3 or 5 storeys, though the number of stories can go up to 7 or 9 or as low as 1.    Once again, in a world where most buildings, other than perhaps a specially made lookout tower, were only one or maybe two stories in height, a three to five story pagoda must have been something to behold, especially covered with tiled eaves, adorned with bronze bells, and brightly painted in the continental fashion. In Europe I would point to similar uses of gold and ostentatious ornamentation on the cathedrals of the day, and even in churches more generally, if on a smaller scale.  This is meant to impress and thus lend authority to the institution.  And of course, because that institution was so closely aligned to the State, it gave the State authority as well.  We mentioned, previously, how the monumental structures of the kofun had given way to the Buddhist temples as a form of ritual display. The last of the three buildings I would mention is the lecture hall, or Koudou.  This would also likely have Buddhist images, but it was more of a functional hall for conducting rituals, including recitation of sutras and presenting Buddhist teachings.  The koudou was often at the back or north end of the temple complex.  In early Buddhist temple layouts, it was common to have everything in a straight line, more or less, and to remain symmetrical.  So there would be a main gate through which one would enter.  In front of you there you probably saw the pagoda.  Beyond the pagoda was a path, and then the kondou, or image hall, typically with a lantern in front, and behind that was the koudou, or lecture hall.  This was all typically oriented on a north-south axis, such that one would enter through the southern gate and walk north towards the lecture hall.  The north-south orientation is likely another feature from the continent, where the most important buildings were often south-facing, and thus in the north of the compound.  This was the same with the palace layout, and likely for similar reasons—not just cultural, but also practical.  After all, the sun, in the northern hemisphere, remains slightly to the south, and so this would have provided the most light through the day.   This layout was not strictly adhered to, however. For instance, if we look at Asukadera, you would enter through the southernmost gate and you were then met with another gate for an inner compound.  This middle gate would lead you to a large courtyard, about 320 meters on a side, with a covered walkway, or gallery, along the entire circumference of the compound.  Entering through the middle gate one would have first noticed the large pagoda and not one but three golden image halls.  A path led to the pagoda, and then beyond from the pagoda to the central kondou.  There is even a stone where a large bronze lantern was likely situated between the pagoda and the kondou.  Based on archaeological evidence, it appears that there was originally just one image hall, directly north of the pagoda, but at a later date, they added two more kondou to the east and west of the pagoda.  This has been compared to a temple layout found in Goguryeo, but given that these were likely later additions, and we know that Baekje artisans were involved, I suspect that is just later coincidence. Connecting the layout of the temples to continental examples has been a keen area of study for many scholars.  The general theory is that temple layouts can help point to whether there was more of a Baekje, Silla, or Goguryeo influence during the construction of the temple, and what that might have meant for Yamato's international relations as well as various political factions in the court who may have leaned more towards one group or another. The last building at Asukadera, the koudou, or lecture hall, was directly north of the kondou, but you couldn't get there directly.  The entire pagoda and image hall compound was separate from the lecture hall, which stood north and apart, though still on the temple grounds, which would have been surrounded by an outer wall.   At this point, since we're talking about the layout of Asukadera and where it came from, I'm going to digress from the next of the four great temples and talk about two other early temples that are important for understanding Buddhist temple building at this time. So bear with me for this slight detour. The first of these is Shitennoji, the Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings, in modern Osaka.  This temple is said to have been built in 593, and is attributed to Shotoku Taishi.  Presumably he made a vow to do so during the war between the Soga and the Mononobe, which we discussed back in episode 91.  As you may recall from that and earlier episodes, the Mononobe were considered to be against the idea of Buddhism, while the Soga were promoting it.  Shitennouji was important, but doesn't show up in the Chronicles as much as other temples, and was all the way over in Naniwa.  As such, I suspect that it was not considered a good candidate for "national" temple status at the time.  Still, if we look at the original layout, Shitennoji is quite similar to what we see in Asukadera.  Everything is on a north-south axis.  You go through a middle gate to the inner compound.  There you find a pagoda, and past that, a lantern and then the kondou.  Unlike Asukadera, the koudou, or lecture hall, is incorporated into the back wall, such that the gallery continues from the middle gate around to either side, and then meets at the sides of the lecture hall.  There are also east and west gates, as well as other buildings, but the main layout is pretty comparable. The second is another temple, which also lays claim to being founded by Prince Shotoku Taishi, and which was not included in the four great temples.  This may have had to do with the fact that it wasn't in the Asuka valley, but also may have had to do with just the timing.  That temple is the famous one known as Horyuji.  Horyuji was founded on the site of the Ikaruga palace, said to have been the home of none other than Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi.  As such, one imagines it was quite the prominent temple in its day.  However, it was at a distance from the capital, and it also had the misfortune to have burned down in about 670, just before Ohoama ascended the throne, and it wasn't fully rebuilt until about 711, leaving a forty year gap where the temple was not necessarily at the forefront of Buddhism. Still, like Shitennoji, it is interesting to look at the original layout for Horyuji and compare it to Asukadera.  First off, you have the same north-south orientation, and you have the same separate, internal compound for the image hall and the pagoda.  Unlike in Asukadera, however, the kondou and the pagoda, which both faced south, were on an east-west axis, flanking the central pathway.  Entering through the middle gate one would have seen a five storey pagoda on the left and the kondo on the right.  The Koudou was outside the inner compound in the rear, along that central north-south axis.  There is also evidence of two other buildings.  One likely held a large bell—and possibly a drum—and the other was likely a sutra repository, where they could keep holy texts and various ritual implements. I will also note that, even though Horyuji burned down in 670 and was accordingly not that prominent during Ohoama's reign, it is absolutely worth visiting because substantial portions of those rebuilt buildings are still standing today. Indeed, both the Horyuji pagoda and kondou are among the oldest wooden buildings in the world. The central pillar of the pagoda was felled in 594 according to dendrochronological dating. The kondou was damaged by fire during a restoration in 1949, but about 15-20% of the original building from 670 still remains.  Going back to the Great Temples, the next of these to be built was Kudara Ohodera.  Kudara here means "Baekje", but this appears to refer more to the temple's location near the Kudara river, rather than to the kingdom of Baekje.  Kudara Ohodera is remarkable in a couple of different ways.  First off, there is the fact that it is the first temple with a firm royal lineage—that is to say a temple that claims to have been founded by the sovereign.  Asukadera was founded by Soga no Umako, the Prime Minister, and though Prince Umayado is said to have been the Crown Prince, nonetheless, he never reigned as sovereign, though he was considered the founder of both Shitenouji and Houryuuji.  Kudara Ohodera, however, is said to have been founded at the behest of Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou, who reigned from 629-641.  The temple appears to get its start in a record dated to 639, and by 645 it appears to be fully operational. There is another tale of its founding—in the Daianji Engi, the history of Daianji, a successor temple to Kudara Ohodera, there is mention of a Kumagori Dojo, and many modern histories claim that this was the actual first temple, but there isn't much evidence.  Donald McCallum, in his treatment of Kudara Ohodera's history in his book, "The Four Great Temples", suggests that the Kumagori Dojo story is likely a later legendary founding that got recorded, as there is scant evidence for it, and no mention of it in other records.  On the actual founding of Kudara Ohodera, however, there does appear to be general agreement with the Nihon Shoki, despite some minor differences in the dates. The call to build Kudara Ohodera comes alongside Tamura's also building Kudara Palace.  Kudara Ohodera was also built on a grand scale, and it is said to have had a nine-storey pagoda—almost double the size of a five-storey pagoda, which already towered over other buildings of the time. Despite all of this, for a long time it was unclear where Kudara Ohodera was actually situated.  There were several sites proposed, but most recently archaeological research on Kibi Pond seems to have placed the temple there.  At excavations on the southern side of the pond were found remnants of the foundations of two buildings, arranged in an east-west format.  The western foundation would appear to be for a pagoda—but one much larger than any of the five storey pagodas we've seen elsewhere.  And to the east was the foundation for what appears to be the kondo.  This golden image hall, however, is likewise much larger than any other hall of this time.  This arrangement would fit very well with a Houryuuji-like temple layout.  There were also various other traces that were consistent with the early mid-7th century, which would coincide with the 639-645 dates for Kudara Ohodera's construction.  Subsequent excavations appear to have found quarters for the priests, as well as at least part of a gallery wall and one gate, situated due south of the kondo.  There may have been another gate south of the pagoda.  The koudou, the lecture hall, may have been in the area that was later excavated to create the pond, and therefore we may never have any hard evidence of its location, despite numerous attempts to dig trenches to find more of the temple buildings.  This probably also means that, similar to Shitennouji, the lecture hall  was incorporated into the enclosing gallery wall rather than being outside, because if it was outside, then it likely would have been farther north and we would probably have seen some trace.  As it is, the lack of any trace suggests that it was inside or part of the enclosure with the pagoda and kondou. The large size of this archeological site concurs with what we know about Kudara Ohodera, both in its description and in the fact that it is referred to as "Ohodera", or "Great Temple"—no other temple has really been given that name directly, though there are a few references to "Ohodera"  that are ambiguous and might refer either to this temple or Asukadera..  Still, if this temple, sometimes also called Kibi Pond Temple due to its location, is *not* Kudara Ohodera then that just brings up more questions.  How could there have been such a monumental Buddhist temple this close to Asuka and within the bounds of the later Fujiwara-kyo and yet nobody thinks to mention it?  It doesn't appear to have been started and abandoned, as there were quite a few structures built.  So if this isn't Kudara Temple then someone has some 'splaining to do. Indeed, McCallum notes that while there are some objections, the preponderance of evidence seems to lean greatly in favor of the Kibi Pond site for Kudara Ohodera.  We still have yet to find the Kudara palace, however, so who knows.  There are also questions about the construction as various architectural features are missing in ways that are not consistent with other sites. Some oddities, such as a seeming lack of rooftiles given the apparent size of the building, actually may be a point in favor of this being Kudara Ohodera, since we know that the temple was moved in 673 when Ohoama requested that they build the Takechi Ohodera, which appears to have been Kudara's successor temple.  If they had reused the material from Kudara Ohodera to build, at least in part, Takechi Ohodera, that could explain why rooftiles and other such things are not present in the numbers expected at the Kibi Pond site. Takechi Ohodera is another bit of a mystery.  I can't help but note that Takechi is the name given Ohoama's son who was with him on the front lines of the Jinshin no Ran.  We also see a "Takechi no Agata-nushi", who is noted as the governor of the district of Takechi.  In all cases here it is spelled "Taka-ichi", or "high market", and it is not an uncommon name—we even find a Miwa no Kimi no Takechimaro.  In the record of the Jinshin no Ran it is noted that the governor of Takechi was possessed by the kami of Takechi and of Musa.  These were named as Kotoshironushi and Ikuikazuchi.  They claimed that they had been the kami that escorted Ohoama to Fuwa and saw him safely there.  As such, donations were made to their shrines.  Musa is an area in modern Takaichi district, which includes the area of Asuka, and is part of Kashihara city.  The Takaichi Agata Jinja—or the Takechi District Shrine—sits in the Shijo area of Kashihara city, north of Mt. Unebi. There are several proposed locations for Takechi Ohodera, but despite excavations, no clear temple features have been found.  As such, there isn't anything to clearly point to one or the other. What we do know is that Takechi Ohodera underwent another transformation.  According to the Daianji Engi, the Takechi Ohodera was renamed to Daikandaiji in 677.  There is no specific mention of this in the Nihon Shoki, other than a note that Takechi Ohodera was also known as Daikandaiji and a reference, in 679, of "fixing the names".  Personally, I can't help but wonder if this is a case of a nickname becoming the name-in-fact.  As I mentioned earlier in the episode, Daikandaijij, which can also be read as "Oho-tsukasa no Oho-tera" can be translated into something like Great Government Official Great Temple or Great Temple of the Royal Court.  We do know the location of this temple in later years, but this is probably not exactly where Takechi Ohodera was originally built. For one thing, it is suspicious that the temple lines up exactly with the later grid for Fujiwara-kyo, the later capital city that was built north of Asuka.  We also are told by the Daianji Engi that a nine storey pagoda and kondou were built between 697 and 707 CE.  There are also notes about activities at the temple mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi for the same period.  And yet there were also activities being held during that time which would not seem feasible if they were renovating in place.  So likely the new construction was at a new site—possibly near the old site.  And at this later site, the rooftiles were from a later period, closer to the period of the later construction and not really matching with earlier construction dates. So what did this temple of many names – Kudara Ohodera, then Takechi Ohodera, then Daikandaiji – actually look like?  We probably have a layout for the original temple and the later temple.  If Kibi Pond Temple is the original Kudara Ohodera, the original temple had the kondou and the pagoda on the same east-west axis, and likely had the koudou north of that – very Horyuji-like.  But based on the layout at the later temple site, we have something quite different.  From the central gate, there is a path straight towards the Kondou, with the Koudou directly north of that, and the nine-storey pagoda in an odd, off-set position, southeast of the kondou.  This disrupts the symmetry even more than the Kudara Ohodera layout.  There is some speculation that this asymmetry was temporary and that they planned to fill the other space but just never got around to it, but there is no indication that they had prepared for anything, either.  Also odd is the fact that the koudou, the lecture hall, was the same size as the image hall, the kondou, and that was roughly the same size as the enormous hall at Toudaiji, which is really saying something.  This really was a tremendous building, fitting for the main temple of the royal government. The third of the four great temples is Kawaradera, and this one is challenging to plot out chronologically as there isn't a lot of documentation.  There is no exact date for the building of Kawaradera.  There is a mention of it in 653, but the same entry in the Nihon Shoki also states that there are sources that claim it should be Yamadadera, instead.  Based on other evidence, this actually seems more likely.  Yamadadera is thought to have been the work of Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro, and it is where he eventually fled when accused of treason.  It was founded in 641, according to the Joguki, the record of Prince Shotoku, but construction didn't actually start until2 years later, and monks only began to occupy it in 648.  The following year, however, construction halted as that is when Ishikawa no Maro fled there and committed suicide.  Construction was resumed in 663, but still took time.  Still, even in the middle of this very long DIY project, it makes sense that there might be some activities in 653, even if construction was paused.   Later the temple would be completed, and seems to have had powerful backing.  Uno no Sarara, Ohoama's queen, was a granddaughter of Ishikawa no Maro, and so likely had a connection to the temple, but it never attained the status of a national temple the way the others had.  As far as its layout—it was similar to Shitennouji, with the pagoda, kondo, and koudou all in a line on the north-south axis. Kawaradera was another matter.  Though we aren't sure when it was built, exactly.  If we discount the 653 date as applying to Yamadadera instead, then the first date we really see anything at Kawara is Kawara Palace, built for Takara Hime—aka Saimei Tennou—who took up residence there when the Itabuki Palace burned.  Later it would be used for her mogari—her temporary interment.  The next mention of a temple at Kawara isn't until this reign, in 673, when Ohoama had the Buddhist canon, the Issaiko, copied, as I noted at the top of the episode.  So it must have been established and built some time before 673. Although we don't know when it was founded, we very clearly know where it was, as the foundations stones are still present, and quite clear—and unlike other Asuka era temples, it would stay in Asuka, rather than being removed up to the new capital at Heijo-kyo. Given everything else and its apparent importance, the lack of information on when Kawaradera was established is quite odd.  McCallum suggests that this could have been deliberate as a way to help delegitimize the temple in the 8th century, but also admits that it may have just been due to the general problems with early record keeping back in the day and there may not have been a good record of why and when the temple was founded.  The rooftiles are similar to those used during the time that the court was at Ohotsu.  I would also note that there is a connection between the foundation stones and a quarry up near Ohotsu at what is, today, Ishiyamadera.  That still doesn't tell us when Kawaradera was founded, as that could have been any time, and doesn't necessarily mean that it was during the time the court was in Ohotsu. Regardless of what textual evidence does or does not exist, the archaeological evidence is pretty staggering.  Even today you can go and see some of the exposed foundation stones.  This was a massive temple.  There was a south gate and then a middle gate just north of that.  The main enclosure was divided into two courtyards.  In the first, just beyond the middle gate, at the north end was the middle kondo, while in the courtyard itself, facing each other on an east-west axis, was a western kondou and the temple pagoda.  Past the middle kondou was a larger courtyard, with the koudou, or lecture hall, in the north, with a bell tower or sutra hall in the south west and southeast corners.  The walls of the enclosure were made up of a covered gallery, and around the outside of the northern courtyard, containing the koudou, were smaller chambers believed to be the monks quarters, something we don't necessarily see at all of the other sites. Despite being an important temple, and one of the Four Great Temples during the Asuka periods, when the capital eventually moved to Heijo-kyo, in modern Nara, Kawaradera had the distinction of being the only one of the four that was not moved as well. All three of the other Great Temples had new compounds built in Heijo-kyo, and the temples were thus "transferred" to the new capital.  Presumably that means that most of the monks and administration moved there, and those new temples took up the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the old temples.  The temple complexes in Asuka were not necessarily destroyed or deconstructed, but instead were apparently left to their own devices, becoming reduced in status.  Many of them fell into disrepair, and when disasters, such as fire, struck they were not rebuilt to the same extent as before, if at all.   Kawaradera, however, appears to have not been transferred.  It would eventually be replaced as one of the Four Great Temples by the temple of Koufukuji, which was specifically a temple for the Fujiwara family, who were having a bit of a moment in the Nara period.  Some have speculated that Kawaradera was specifically left behind in Asuka for that reason—so that the Fujiwara family temple could sneak into the ranks of national temples.  Or it may have been that Kawaradera had a particular connection to Takara Hime and the site of her interment.  If it was a memorial temple to her, then perhaps it didn't seem appropriate to remove it from its physical location.  McCallum also suggests that it was so powerful in its position in Asuka that it preferred to stay and keep its stipend-fiefs, perhaps believing that even the move to Heijo-kyo would be just another short fad, as had been Ohotsu and Fujiwara-kyo.  Of course, if so, they were sorely mistaken. And so Kawaradera would eventually fade from the picture, but during the time of Ohoama's reign, and into that of his immediate successors, it seems that it certainly held some sway. The fourth of the Four Great Temples was the temple of Yakushiji—the temple of the Medicine Buddha.  This is the latest temple of the bunch.  Its construction was ordered in the year 680 in response to Ohoama's queen, Uno no Sarara, falling ill.  And so he vowed to build a temple for her—specifically a temple to Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, whom we discussed last episode.  That said, there is considerable time between the order to construct a temple and getting enough of it built to actually be functional.  I haven't really touched on this, except when I briefly discussed Yamadadera and how long that took to build, but all of these temples were massive works, much more complicated than the traditional palace buildings.  For the most part, palace architecture could be built relatively quickly with the tools and labor available.  This was a good thing, seeing as how, for many years, the sovereign had moved again and again, either because of the previous sovereign's death in the palace or just because they chose a new location for a palace.  As such, one couldn't spend years building a new palace.  So palace buildings were simply made with wooden posts, sunk into the ground, with thatched roofs.  In a few examples we see attempts to use wooden boards or tiles, but they weren't complicated. A temple, on the other hand, was something different.  Temples were largely wood, but they were massive in size and their roofs were covered in heavy ceramic tiles.  All of that weight had to be properly distributed on a strong base—simple posts were not likely to work.  Instead they were built on raised stone foundations.  That's great for us looking at them, today, but at the time it would have been an inordinate amount of labor.  Hence why a temple like Yamadadera took so long to build. So Yakushiji may have been founded in 680, but was likely not finished until much later, which is why we don't really see it in the records for Ohoama's reign and why the order for national temples probably only states that there were just two or three.  However, it would become one of the four great temples, and is also notable because, in its transfer to Heijokyo, it largely retained its shape and layout, meaning that you can go to it, today, and still get some sense of what it may have been like back in the Asuka period.  Granted, there are certainly differences, but there are enough similarities that it is likely worth a visit.  Many of the other temples were significantly modified when they were rebuilt in the new capital in Nara.  The layout for Yakushiji is a basic rectangular layout.  North of the central gate there is not one, but two pagodas, on an east-west axis from each other, flanking the path to the kondo, roughly in the center.  Finally the koudou at the north end, built into the roofed gallery.  The modern Yakushiji, a UNESCO world heritage site, maintains one of the pagodas from 730.  Other buildings have been lost and rebuilt over the years.  Today, the covered gallery only goes around half of the compound.  This temple would be important, but mostly in the period following the current reign. This period of the four Great Temples perhaps gives us some insight into the relationship between Buddhism and the State.  Early on, Buddhism was the province largely of the Soga family, and Soga no Umako was apparently the most powerful figure of his day.  He founded Asukadera, and early temples weree founded by Soga or their associates, including Prince Umayado.  McCallum points out that the National Temples, however, were, with one exception, founded by sovereigns.  Kudara Ohodera was the first, Kawaradera was likely founded for Takara Hime, and Yakushiji was founded for Queen Uno.  The only one of the four that wasn't expressly founded on a sovereign's order was that of Asukadera, the temple by Soga no Umako.  This may explain why it was both included and excluded as a national temple in the Chronicles.  After all, there is no doubting its importance, but the narrative of a single, strong, royal house is somewhat impeded by the idea that one of those temples was founded by what was, for all of his power and authority, a private individual.  Ultimately they didn't include it in the edict and yet still acknowledged it as one of the Great Temples. McCallum also points out that these four may not have been fixed quite so early on.  For example, on the matter of Houryuuji—there is a bronze plaque that mentions an "Ikaruga no Ohodera", suggesting that the Ikaruga Temple—that is to say Houryuuji, founded on the estates of Prince Umayado—was at one time granted that title.  Of course, there are questions as to the exact date of the inscription, and whether or not they meant "Ohodera" in the later sense of a national temple or simply in the sense that it was large; and the term may have meant something else, earlier on. The roster of official temples, the Tsukasa no Tera or Kanji, would grow over time, but that is something for a later period.  It is worth noting, though, that the Chronicles at this point seem to distinguish between three types or levels of temples at this time, based on other edicts that we see.  There is also the matter of temple names. The first edict is from the 5th day of the 4th lunar month of 679, six years into Ohoama's reign.  The declaration states that the court would consider the history of any temple with sustenance fiefs and add or remove them as appropriate.  This suggests that there were temples with sustenance fiefs—that is, that had stipends based on lands whose official output went to their upkeep—and temples without such fiefs.  The latter were likely more local temples, likely funded by local elites, possibly out of actual devotion, or an attempt to gain the power that Buddhism presumably brought, or possibly just in emulation of the central court, much as the peripheral elites had also constructed the keyhole shaped kofun.  Along with the adjustments of stipends, we are also told that the administration quote-unquote "fixed" the names of the temples. This again goes to the government's control of the temples and Buddhism.  McCallum suggests that what is meant here is that they moved away from locative names to Buddhist names for the temple; up to this point, temple names appear to be about the location of the temple.  So we have Asuka dera, or Asuka Temple, built in Asuka.  Kudara Ohodera is Kudara Great Temple because it was by the Kudara river and the Kudara palace.  When it was moved to Takechi, they changed the name to Takechi temple.  Kawaradera was at Kawara, while the temple we know as Houryuuji was known at the time as Ikaruga Temple—or possibly Ikaruga Great Temple.  But later these temples would be known by their Buddhist names, so Asukadera is Houkouji.  Kudara Ohodera becomes Daikandaiji—and in fact, it is after this point that we see Daikandaiji in the narrative.  Ikaruga dera—though not one of the yondaiji, or four Great Temples—becomes Horyuuji.  I'm not quite so sure about Kawaradera, but Yakushiji, which is founded after this decree, comes to us with a Buddhist name rather than just the name of a location. This change in name likely simplified, somewhat, the concept of moving, or transferring the temples.  Rather than establishing a brand new temple with new administration and everything, they could build a new temple, but grant it the name and rights of the old temple.  The old temple grounds could still be used and occupied—it was still *a* temple, but it was no longer *the* temple, at least for official purposes.  It would be strange, however, to move the Asuka Temple up to the area of modern Nara city and still call it the Asuka Temple. The year after reassessing the stipends and fixing the names of the temples we get the edict about the 2 or 3 national temples.  And we've mostly discussed that, but here I would just point out that it does add a third distinction to the types of temples.  So we have temples with no stipends, temples with stipends—but they would only last for 30 years total after which they were expected to find new sources of funding—and the national temples, which would presumably receive funding through the government in perpetuity—or until the court changed its mind. So why do we care about any of this?  Obviously Buddhism has had a huge impact on Japanese culture.  However, this isn't just about the religion as an idea, but about the institutions.  These temples—especially these great temples—contained a fair amount of wealth.   It wasn't just the golden images, or the elaborate amount of work and materials that went into the creation of the buildings.  There was also the sustenance-fiefs that were paying for the upkeep.  These temples were also being managed by formal government administrators.  They also performed rituals that the court relied on.  Association with these temples was no doubt important.  Later we see princes and other members of high status families taking high ranking positions, and the temples ended up cultivating their own power.  Over time, the power of various Buddhist institutions would grow,  often challenging or even rivaling the power of the court itself. There are a few other items from this reign that we see related to these temples and Buddhism, more generally.  In 677 we see a Buddhist festival at Asukadera, where the entire canon was apparently reda out.  The sovereign himself showed up and did obeisance to the Three Precious Things—an interesting bit of religious piety and humility.   At the same time, he had all of the Princes and Ministers find one person each to renounce the world and become a monk or nun—both men and women were chosen, without apparent distinction.  We are also assured that they all did so of their own volition, and weren't forced.  In 679, we see a regulation on the clothing of priests and nuns, as well as the men and horses who  accompanied them when they traveled.  If priests are going around with a full on noble retinue, well, that probably says something about the status of priests—at least the abbots and heads of these institutions. 680 – A fire breaks out at the nunnery at Tachibana temple.  Tachibanadera is situated south of Kawaradera, and similar to that temple, it seems to have previously been the site of a royal palace and also isn't recorded as being founded in the Nihon Shoki—it appears fully formed in this record.  Tachibanadera's own records seem to suggest that it was founded in 606, and claims a founding by Shotoku Taishi.  It is also said to be the site of the palace where Shotoku Taishi was born to his mother, Princess Anahobe no Hashibito, consort of Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Yomei Tennou.  Shotoku Taishi is also the subject of the primary image of Tachibana temple, today.  Although Tachibanadera wasn't one of the Four Great Temples, it was likely connected to one—Kawaradera.  Not only was it built on the same north-south axis as Kawaradera, but some of the tiles are similar to Kawaradera's founding tiles.  The layout was similar to Yamada-dera or Shitennouji, with the pagoda, kondou, and kooudou, all in a single north-south orientation.  It is possible that Kawaradera was a monastery for male monks while Tachibanadera may have been the complementary nunnery for female initiates.  680 had a lot going on.  In the 10th lunar month, the sovereign handed out alms to monks and nuns—silk and cloth.  A month later, Ohoama vowed Yakushiji in hopes that it would help his wife, Queen Uno, who was unwell.  He also granted a general amnesty, likely to just add further merit.  Apparently it was successful, as she would go on to live for quite some time after that, even helping to take the reins of government when Ohoama himself fell ill. In 682, Princess Hidaka fell ill.  190 people, both men and women, were pardoned for capital or lesser crimes, in an attempt to make merit, and the following day we are told that over 140 people renounced the world at Daikandaiji—likely on the Princess's behalf. The year after that, 683, we see the sovereign making appointments to the official buddhist offices of Soujou, Soudzu, and Risshi—Doctors of the Law.  This was probably a somewhat regular occurrence, though this is the first time we see the Risshi, it seems.  The mention here is apparently due to the admonition given that "Those who control the monks and nuns should act according to the law."  Definitely seems to be something there—perhaps a reason as to why the Soujou and Soudzu were being appointed.  But the Nihon Shoki doesn't give us a lot more to go on other than speculation. Later that same year, in the 7th lunar month, we see priests and nuns gathered at the palace for the first ever ango, or retreat.  An ango is where priests and nuns of different temples are brought together.  The term refers to a practice said to come from the time of Shakyamuni, before there were temples.  Shakyamuni's acolytes, who spent much of the year wandering, would return to one place during the rainy season. At that time they would listen and discuss Shakyamuni's teachings.  In some sects, this practice of coming together would be particularly important, and it was a mark of honor for how many retreats a monk might have attended over the years. In 685, the court promoted Buddhism with an edict requiring every household to maintain a Buddhist altar, with a statue of the Buddha and a copy of a sutra inside.  It is unclear to me if this was just for merit-making or what, but it must have been somewhat lucrative for the various temples, who would have likely been the source for said sutras, and, at least peripherally, the statues as well.  Later that year, in the 4th lunar month, there was another ango at the palace.  The month after that, Ohoama went to Asukadera and presented precious objects and worshipped.  In the 8th lunar month Ohoama went to Joudouji – Aston claims this is Asukadera, also known as Houkouji—and the next day he visited Kawaradera and provided rice to the monks there.  One month after that, Ohoama was feeling ill, so the court ordered Daikandaiji, Kawaradera, and Asukadera—the three Great Temples that were fully operational at that point—to chant sutras for his sake.  In return they were granted various quantities of rice. Ohoama recovered for a time, but it was perhaps a precursor of what was to come.  A month later a monk from Baekje and a lay monk were sent out to seek a medicinal herb known as white okera.  Today, a similar compound is known in Chinese traditional medicine as Bái Zhú.  A few months later Ohoama went to the medicinal herb garden of Shiranishiki, and a few weeks later he was presented with Bai Zhu, the boiled white okera.   That same day, ritualists performed the Chikonsai, the "Calling of the Spirit".  All of this seems to indicate the early onset of symptoms that may have been temporarily abated, but likely were part of the disease or illness that would eventually take his life. But we covered most of that last episode, and we are already dragging on longer than I expected, so I think I'm going to end it here.  Coming up in the narrative, since I started to mention it, I'll probably take a look next at the founding of the new capital of Fujiwara kyo, and what that would mean, along with other initiatives that would outlive Ohoama. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

At the crux of tensions between business owners and the foundation that runs the Pagoda is the question of what the property is, and should be, to the city of Norfolk.

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. So our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Penang, Malaysia, a small island with one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating and underrated food and cultural scenes. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Kathryn Romeyn, a Bali-based journalist who explored Penang for the first time last year. Kathryn shares what it's like to wander the UNESCO-listed streets of Georgetown. She digs into the food—from char kway teow to laksa to the elaborate Malaysian breakfast culture that UNESCO recently recognized—and shares what's new on the island, including boutique hotels and a weekend art market that's become a creative hub for locals and travelers alike. Plan Your Penang Getaway Stay —Book a room the Millen Penang, Autograph Collection, a hotel on Millionaire's Row —Watch for Soori Penang, a new 15-room boutique hotel opening in January 2025 Eat and Drink —Try char kway teow, the iconic Penang dish of flat rice noodles stir-fried over charcoal flames with prawns, cockles, sausage, and bean sprouts —Eat laksa, the spicy, aromatic noodle soup that's a Penang obsession —Visit Mum's, a beloved Peranakan restaurant serving home-style cooking —Experience Malaysian breakfast culture (a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage) See and Do —Visit Hin Bus Depot on weekends for the art market —Visit Kek Lok Si Temple, home to the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas —Ride the Penang Hill funicular, the oldest in Southeast Asia (opened 1923), for panoramic views —Join the local hiking community via the Facebook group "Hiking Trails in Penang" (nearly 50,000 members)—they've created trails in the shapes of animals like elephants, unicorns, and even Pokémon characters Resources • Follow Kathryn's work on Instagram • Visit Kathryn's website • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E9: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better E10: The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chef Yen Nguyen serves only vegetarian food at her Temple Restaurant at Buddhist Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. She shares some of her most popular dishes with Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant. Her peanut stir-fry, seaweed fried rice, fried mushrooms, lemongrass tofu, and spring rolls are the biggest hits on her menu. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we're starting in full aspirational mode (with one of my least climate-friendly obsessions) — with iconic classic cars rebuilt as state-of-the-art EVs. Think: vintage Porsches, Land Rovers, Pagodas, even a GT40… all stripped to bare metal, fully restored, and reborn as clean-air electric machines. Yeah, I'm dying over here.My guest is Justin Lunny, founder and CEO of Everrati, a company that electrifies beloved classic cars while also building a cutting-edge EV powertrain platform used by new low-volume automakers around the world.It's a story about craft and circularity — giving existing cars a new, zero-emission life — and about how aspiration drives climate adoption. Wealthy early adopters (and their garages) help prove what's possible, push down cost curves, and build social permission for the EV future.We get into:How Everrati “redefines” classic cars using full CAD modeling, advanced engineering, and hand-built restorationWhy their EV powertrains use motors and components normally found in hypercars and Formula EThe economics: donor cars, bespoke builds, and why the least-loved 964s are perfect candidatesWhy keeping old cars alive — electrically — is a circularity winThe B2B side: powering new sports cars and specialty vehicles for low-volume OEMsWhy electrifying halo cars helps drive broader consumer aspirationBattery modularity, future upgrades, and designing for long-term sustainabilityJustin's personal journey from tech entrepreneur to climate-driven car nutLinks:Everrati: https://everrati.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show:https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/8 The Vanishing Museum of the Cultural Revolution — Tanya Branigan — Branigan's book Red Memory opens with the Pagoda Museum in Shantou, the sole institutional site documenting Cultural Revolution history and memory. Built by official Peng Qi'an to preserve this era, the museum unflinchingly documents the period's widespread violence, social chaos, and estimated two million deaths. Official Chinese historiography minimizes the CR as merely "setbacks" and historical aberrations. The museum site, subject to constant surveillance by state security operatives, was eventually closed to public access and systematically obscured from historical memory. 1966

This week, the Krewe is joined by Loretta Scott (aka KemushiChan on YouTube Channel) for a personal, insightful, and often funny look at what it's like raising kids in Japan as an American parent. We dig into birth experiences, cultural differences from the U.S., unexpected parenting moments, and tips for families living in or visiting Japan. Curious about family life abroad or considering a trip to Japan with the munchkins? This episode is packed with helpful insight just for you!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Links for Tobias Harris ------Loretta on InstagramKemushiChan YouTube Channel------ Past Language Learning Episodes ------Inside Japanese Language Schools ft. Langston Hill (S6E3)Japanese Self-Study Strategies ft. Walden Perry (S5E4)Learn the Kansai Dialect ft. Tyson of Nihongo Hongo (S4E14)Heisig Method ft. Dr. James Heisig (S4E5)Prepping for the JLPT ft. Loretta of KemushiCan (S3E16)Language Through Video Games ft. Matt of Game Gengo (S3E4)Pitch Accent (Part 2) ft. Dogen (S2E15)Pitch Accent (Part 1) ft. Dogen (S2E14)Language through Literature ft. Daniel Morales (S2E8)Immersion Learning ft. MattvsJapan (S1E10)Japanese Language Journeys ft. Saeko-Sensei (S1E4)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

Japan's political scene is changing—from new parties rising in visibility to historic moments in national leadership—so the Krewe is bringing you a timely crash course. Political analyst Tobias Harris (Founder & Principal of Japan Foresight) joins the pod to break down the foundations of Japan's government system, how it compares to the U.S., and why voters view politics the way they do. We explore the major and emerging parties shaping the landscape, the issues driving debate today, and how international pressures and global events influence domestic policy. Tobias also sheds light on the media's role in shaping public perception and political accountability.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Links for Tobias Harris ------Japan ForesightObserving Japan on SubstackThe Iconoclast on AmazonTobias Harris on BlueSky------ Past History/Society Episodes ------The Castles of Japan ft. William de Lange S5E19)Foreign-Born Samurai: William Adams ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E17)Foreign-Born Samurai: Yasuke ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E16)Change in Urban & Rural Japanese Communities ft. Azby Brown (S5E15)Inside Japanese Homes & Architecture ft. Azby Brown (S5E6)Kendo: The Way of the Sword ft. Alexander Bennett, 7th Dan in Kendo (S4E16)Jokichi Takamine: The Earliest Bridge Between New Orleans & Japan ft. Stephen Lyman (S4E13)The Chrysanthemum Throne ft. Dr. Hiromu Nagahara [Part 2] (S2E18)The Chrysanthemum Throne ft. Dr. Hiromu Nagahara [Part 1] (S2E17)The Age of Lady Samurai ft. Tomoko Kitagawa (S1E12)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

New segment, good vs bad automotive ideas. Good: Lexus ditching spindle grille. Bad: Ford dumping BEV F-150.Adams spots a classic 280SL "Pagoda" Mercedes sports car. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran says put in more roundabouts because they save lives.The three of us each list three vehicles we'd take to our 30th High School reunion. Steve-0 rants about how he's no longer excited about new cars and he misses new car introductions that used to happen every October. #carsoncallpodcast #automobile #traumasurgeonsafety #hsreunioncars #Iwanttogoback #luxurycarbrands #280sl

It is that time of the year again. Another late Halloween short story. Tonight I bring you a tale about a martyred anarcho-communist abbot who rallied farmers from his Zen temple in the mountains until the Meiji authorities caught him. Love, horror and revolutionary violence. I took plenty of freedoms with the story to make the characters come alive. The protagonist's fate is true as told. So too are the words of his political sermon which is read in parts when Uchiyama Gudō and Midori falls in love in the meditation hall. I hope you will enjoy it. In preparation for this ep I went on a road trip paying my respect at Gudō's grave. A rainy night that ended up lasting a week. I got lost in the mountains, slept in my car, a net-cafe and lodged at a cheap pension by the Izu ocean. Thanks to all the patreons that keep me going.

Step into the world of tokusatsu with Ultraman Max director Takeshi Yagi! The Krewe chats with Yagi-san about the artistry, imagination, and behind-the-scenes magic that bring Ultraman and Japan's iconic heroes & monsters to life. Discover how tokusatsu continues to inspire fans around the world.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Links for Takeshi Yagi ------Takeshi Yagi on InstagramTakeshi Yagi on X/TwitterTakeshi Yagi's WebsiteTakeshi Yagi's Blog (JP)Takeshi Yagi's New Book (Releasing Nov 19, 2025)Wikizilla Page on AKARI------ Past Tokusatsu/Pop Culture Episodes ------Enjoying Shojo Anime & Manga ft. Taryn of Manga Lela (S5E18)Akira Toriyama: Legacy of a Legend ft. Matt Alt (S5E3)The History & Evolution of Godzilla ft. Dr. William (Bill) Tsutsui (S5E1)Thoughts on Godzilla Minus One ft. Dr. William (Bill) Tsutsui (S4Bonus)The History of Nintendo ft. Matt Alt (S4E18)Japanese Mascot Mania ft. Chris Carlier of Mondo Mascots (S4E8)Tokusatsu Talk with a Super Sentai ft. Sotaro Yasuda aka GekiChopper (S4E6)The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 2] (S4E3)The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 1] (S4E2)Japanese Independent Film Industry ft. Award Winning Director Eiji Uchida (S3E18)How Marvel Comics Changed Tokusatsu & Japan Forever ft Gene & Ted Pelc (Guest Host, Matt Alt) (S3E13)Talking Shonen Anime Series ft. Kyle Hebert (S3E10)Japanese Arcades (S2E16)How to Watch Anime: Subbed vs. Dubbed ft. Dan Woren (S2E9)Manga: Literature & An Art Form ft. Danica Davidson (S2E3)The Fantastical World of Studio Ghibli ft. Steve Alpert (S2E1)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 3: Modern Day Anime  (2010's-Present) (S1E18)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 2: The Golden Age  (1990's-2010's) (S1E16)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 1: Nostalgia (60's-80's) (S1E5)We Love Pokemon: Celebrating 25 Years (S1E3)Why Japan ft. Matt Alt (S1E1)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

Darkness Radio presents The Pagoda: In The Presence Of Mystery (Sasquatch Investigations In Tennessee) with Cryptozoologists/ Investigators/ Documentarians/and Author, Janice Nolan and David Eller!  David Eller has spent over 30 years as a cryptozoologist and monster hunter. His travels across North America, Canada, the Yucatan, and various European countries have resulted in numerous encounters with the paranormal and the unexplained. Born with a natural curiosity, he has spent a substantial portion of his years seeking answers to the most perplexing of questions. A well-known speaker, David regularly discusses his experiences and theories as a lecturer appearing on a quite a few podcasts, radio broadcasts, television news & talk shows, and at paranormal-themed conferences and events. His honest accounts of his personal encounters with the paranormal and the supernatural have made him a much sought-after speaker. Janice Nolan is a paranormal researcher who has focused on the phenomenon of Bigfoot creatures and dogmen for over 15 years. She worked in the field weekly, rattlesnake boots on the ground, for most of these 15 years and has had numerous encounters. She worked as a camera operator and lead investigator on a series of documentaries about these cryptids. An Auburn graduate she is a partner in PURSUE (Paranormal Unit for the Research & Study of Unexplained Events) as a researcher and documentarian. Janice is working on a number of related projects and documentaries with David Eller. David spent a year of his life in the woods of Tennessee compiling research on Bigfoot which eventually became this book, The Pagoda! On Today's Show, we talk to Janice and David about their joint research onto such Bigfoot topics as Bigfoot structures, Samurai chatter, whether Bigfoot is an animal or dimensional creature? and the conundrum of why other paranormal phenomenon is seen around Bigfoot!   Get your copy of "The Pagoda..."  here: https://pursueparanormal.com/the-pagoda-site/#buy-pagoda-book Find out more about David and Janice's work here:  https://pursueparanormal.com/cryptozoology/ Make sure you update your Darkness Radio Apple Apps! and subscribe to the Darkness Radio You Tube page:  https://www.youtube.com/@DRTimDennis There are new and different (and really cool) items all the time in the Darkness Radio Online store at our website! . check out the Darkness Radio Store!   https://www.darknessradioshow.com/store/ #paranormal  #supernatural  #metaphysical  #paranormalpodcasts  #darknessradio  #timdennis #davideller #janicenolan #thepagodainthepresenceofmystery #achronologicalnarrativeoftheeventssurroundingthediscoveryandsubsequentinvestigationofaseriesofsasquatchstructuresintennessee  #pursueparanormal #tennessee #nashville #Cryptids #Cryptozoology #bigfoot #sasquatch #yeti  #samuraichatter #phasingout #cairns #braiding #wolfspider #mothman #Aliens  #UFO #UAP #Extraterrestrials  #Alienspaceships  #orangeorbs #portals #conspiracytheory 

Darkness Radio presents The Pagoda: In The Presence Of Mystery (Sasquatch Investigations In Tennessee) with Cryptozoologists/ Investigators/ Documentarians/and Author, Janice Nolan and David Eller!  David Eller has spent over 30 years as a cryptozoologist and monster hunter. His travels across North America, Canada, the Yucatan, and various European countries have resulted in numerous encounters with the paranormal and the unexplained. Born with a natural curiosity, he has spent a substantial portion of his years seeking answers to the most perplexing of questions. A well-known speaker, David regularly discusses his experiences and theories as a lecturer appearing on a quite a few podcasts, radio broadcasts, television news & talk shows, and at paranormal-themed conferences and events. His honest accounts of his personal encounters with the paranormal and the supernatural have made him a much sought-after speaker. Janice Nolan is a paranormal researcher who has focused on the phenomenon of Bigfoot creatures and dogmen for over 15 years. She worked in the field weekly, rattlesnake boots on the ground, for most of these 15 years and has had numerous encounters. She worked as a camera operator and lead investigator on a series of documentaries about these cryptids. An Auburn graduate she is a partner in PURSUE (Paranormal Unit for the Research & Study of Unexplained Events) as a researcher and documentarian. Janice is working on a number of related projects and documentaries with David Eller. David spent a year of his life in the woods of Tennessee compiling research on Bigfoot which eventually became this book, The Pagoda! On Today's Show, we talk to Janice and David about their joint research onto such Bigfoot topics as Bigfoot structures, Samurai chatter, whether Bigfoot is an animal or dimensional creature? and the conundrum of why other paranormal phenomenon is seen around Bigfoot!   Get your copy of "The Pagoda..."  here: https://pursueparanormal.com/the-pagoda-site/#buy-pagoda-book Find out more about David and Janice's work here:  https://pursueparanormal.com/cryptozoology/ Make sure you update your Darkness Radio Apple Apps! and subscribe to the Darkness Radio You Tube page:  https://www.youtube.com/@DRTimDennis There are new and different (and really cool) items all the time in the Darkness Radio Online store at our website! . check out the Darkness Radio Store!   https://www.darknessradioshow.com/store/ #paranormal  #supernatural  #metaphysical  #paranormalpodcasts  #darknessradio  #timdennis #davideller #janicenolan #thepagodainthepresenceofmystery #achronologicalnarrativeoftheeventssurroundingthediscoveryandsubsequentinvestigationofaseriesofsasquatchstructuresintennessee  #pursueparanormal #tennessee #nashville #Cryptids #Cryptozoology #bigfoot #sasquatch #yeti  #samuraichatter #phasingout #cairns #braiding #wolfspider #mothman #Aliens  #UFO #UAP #Extraterrestrials  #Alienspaceships  #orangeorbs #portals #conspiracytheory 

In this week's episode, joined by 2024 New Orleans-Matsue Sister City Exchange Program participants Katherine Heller & Wade Trosclair, the Krewe looks back & celebrates 30 years of friendship between Matsue, Japan & New Orleans, Louisiana... a sister city relationship built on cultural exchange, mutual curiosity, &shared spirit. Together, they reflect on their time in Matsue during the exchange program, their experiences with host families, and the deep connections that form when two communities separated by an ocean come together.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:53:00)------ Past Matsue/Sister City Episodes ------Lafcadio Hearn: 2024 King of Carnival (S5Bonus)Explore Matsue ft. Nicholas McCullough (S4E19)Jokichi Takamine: The Earliest Bridge Between New Orleans & Japan ft. Stephen Lyman (S4E13)The Life & Legacy of Lafcadio Hearn ft. Bon & Shoko Koizumi (S1E9)Matsue & New Orleans: Sister Cities ft. Dr. Samantha Perez (S1E2)------ Links about the Exchange ------2024 Exchange Program Info/PicturesShogun Martial Arts Dojo (Katie's family's dojo)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

The Krewe sits down with Haruka Kikuchi, a Japanese jazz trombonist making waves in New Orleans. From discovering jazz in Japan to second-lining through the Crescent City, Haruka shares her story of finding home through music — and how jazz bridges cultures across oceans.  ------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:53:00)------ Past Music Episodes ------S5E13 - The Thunderous Sounds of Taiko ft. Takumi Kato (加藤 拓三), World Champion Taiko DrummerS5E10 - The Japanese Pop Music Scene ft. Patrick St. MichelS4E1 - Shamisen: Musical Sounds of Traditional Japan ft. Norm Nakamura of Tokyo LensS3E14 - City Pop & Yu ft. Yu HayamiS3E1 - Exploring Enka ft. Jerome White Jr aka ジェロ / Jero------ Links about Haruka ------Haruka's Website Haruka on IGHaruka on FacebookHaruka on YouTubeGoFundMe to Help Support Haruka's Family------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

DIY Enthusiast & the man behind "Anton in Japan" YouTube Channel, Anton Wörmann joins the Krewe to talk about akiya, Japan's abandoned home phenomenon, and how he's transforming them into stunning spaces. We dig into what it's like to buy, clear out, & renovate an akiya and how Anton's journey from fashion to DIY restoration is reshaping what “home” means in Japan.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:53:00)------ Past Home & Architecture Episodes ------S5E15 - Change in Urban & Rural Japanese Communities ft. Azby BrownS5E6 - Inside Japanese Homes & Architecture ft. Azby BrownS3E2 - Buying Real Estate in Japan ft. Ziv Nakajima-Magen------ Links about Anton ------Anton in Japan YouTube ChannelAnton on IGAnton in Japan Website & ResourcesAnton on TikTokAnton's Live Master Class on Oct 12 @ 10am JST (Sign Up!)Anton's Akiya Master Class Program------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

LOUNGE LIZARDS PRESENTED BY FABRICA5 - Visit Fabrica005.com and use code LIZARDPOD at checkout for 10% off THE ENTIRE STORE! Free worldwide shipping from Miami on all orders over $125. See website for more information and terms.Recorded at Ten86 Cigars in Hawthorne, New Jersey, the Lizards pair the My Father Blue in Toro with Partido Roble Fino Sherry Cask Finished Tequila Reposado. The guys discuss an NGO report on Cuban Prisoners Rolling Cigars, they share how not to overheat your cigar while smoking, and another instant classic Pagoda story comes to light.PLUS: Agave Meets Scotch Barrels, Fuente's Don Carlos Change, Trinidad's $1000 Fundadores, Lawrence Taylor on the Jumbotron, HSA Bullfighter Release, Listener Email on Rating Systems & MoreJoin the Lounge Lizards for a weekly discussion on all things cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban), whiskey, food, travel, life and work. This is your formal invitation to join us in a relaxing discussion amongst friends and become a card-carrying Lounge Lizard yourself. This is not your typical cigar podcast. We're a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.website/merch/rating archive: loungelizardspod.comemail: hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!instagram: @loungelizardspodGizmo HQ: LizardGizmo.com

LOUNGE LIZARDS PRESENTED BY FABRICA5 - Visit Fabrica005.com and use code LIZARDPOD at checkout for 10% off THE ENTIRE STORE! Free worldwide shipping from Miami on all orders over $125. See website for more information and terms.Recorded at Ten86 Lounge in Hawthorne, New Jersey, the Lizards pair H. Upmann Sir Winston (EOS OCT 18) with Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Vintage 2015 Champagne. The guys celebrate 200 episodes with a Winston Churchill pairing, they discuss the wide reaching impact of Cigarmageddon 2025 and they answer a listener email about their first 200.PLUS: Cuban Cigar Rotation Update, Churchill's Relationship w/ Pol Roger, Senator's Honey Deuce, Pagoda at the U.S. Open and Memories from 200 Episodeswebsite/merch/rating archive: loungelizardspod.comemail: hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!cuban cigar box codes archive: loungelizardspod.com/codesinstagram: @loungelizardspodGizmo HQ: LizardGizmo.com

George III's Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens is the tallest building Historic Royal Palaces looks after. With its Chinese-inspired design and fierce dragons, it is an eye-catching example of the Georgian fascination with architecture from around the world.  Welcome back to the new series of A Space I Love, the mini-series that transports you to history where it happened.  Join curator Lee Prosser on a dizzying climb to the top, and uncover the secrets that informed the restoration of this unique historic building.  Learn more about George III. Visit the Pagoda at Kew Gardens. 

Ever wonder how the signs commemorating victories on the back of the IMS Pagoda are made? Join IMS President Doug Boles on Behind the Bricks as he takes a tour of the IMS print shop for the production of the 2025 Brickyard 400 winner sign!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

LOUNGE LIZARDS PRESENTED BY FABRICA5 - Visit Fabrica005.com and use code LIZARDPOD at checkout for 10% off THE ENTIRE STORE! Free worldwide shipping from Miami on all orders over $125. See website for more information and terms.Recorded at Ten86 Cigars in Hawthorne, New Jersey, the Lizards pair the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée in Robusto with twelve year aged Glenmoranie Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The guys build their non-Cuban 5 pack for new cigar smokers, they debate if cigars and tobacco have made a return into pop culture and Pagoda melts into the studio's loveseat.PLUS: The Great Sobremesa Brûlée Sweetening Debate, RIP Ozzy Osbourne, Tariffs Hit Cigars, Do Men and Women Have Different Palate Preferences?, Acquired Tastes in Cigars, Coffee and Music, How Have Lizards Palates Changed?, The Honduran Cigar Boom, & The New 12 Year Expression from GlenmorangieJoin the Lounge Lizards for a weekly discussion on all things cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban), whiskey, food, travel, life and work. This is your formal invitation to join us in a relaxing discussion amongst friends and become a card-carrying Lounge Lizard yourself. This is not your typical cigar podcast. We're a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.website/merch/rating archive: loungelizardspod.comemail: hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!instagram: @loungelizardspodGizmo HQ: LizardGizmo.com

Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present a highly-experienced Bigfoot-hunting team, David Eller and Janice Nolan. David is an artist an adventurer who has spent over 30 years as a monster hunter and cryptozoologist. Born in Illinois, David had what he calls a “Tom Sawyer boyhood” filled with the woodland investigations and natural history experimentation's that prepared him for a lifetime of cryptozoological experiences. His travels across North America, Canada, the Yucatán and various European countries have resulted in numerous encounters with the paranormal and the unexplained. He is author of "The Pagoda: In the Presence of Mystery," about a woven tree structure, both delicate and intricate, unlike anything he had encountered in his years of cryptozoological research. This structure, which he later dubbed “The Pagoda,” defies natural explanation, showcasing deliberate design and engineering that suggests a greater intelligence at work. It stands as a potential sign of cryptid behavior. With no evidence of human-made materials like ropes or ties, the structure relies solely on the dexterity and strength of its creator(s), leaving researchers baffled. Janice has worked as a camera operator and Cryptid investigator for the past 15 years with Relic Films. Director Greg Ogles and Janice Nolan have three documentaries, including "The Downey Booger," 'Cryptic Expeditions: The Land Between the Lakes" and the forthcoming "The Vanished." Over the years, Janice has had many speaking engagements as well as investigations. Check out their site: https://pursueparanormal.com/the-pagoda-site/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-paracast-the-gold-standard-of-paranormal-radio--6203433/support.

Today, we'll talk about the Pagoda of Fogong Temple, a towering masterpiece of ancient Chinese architecture, where whispers of history, craftsmanship, and spirituality intertwine, standing resilient against centuries of wind, rain, earthquakes, and wars.

Join us on the latest Whisper on the Wings from Stage Whisper, we were joined by the actor Sebastian Treviño to talk about his recent production of Parrots at the Pagoda. This was such a great show to learn all about, and should not be missed when it's produced near you. So be sure you tune in and hear all about this great show!Parrots at the PagodaConcluded it's run on May 25th @ The Puerto Rican Traveling TheaterMore information can be found at pregonesprtt.orgAnd be sure to follow Sebastian to stay up to date on all his upcoming projects and productions:@sebtrevinosebastiantrevino.com

Episode: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan FAQ Should I use public transportation abroad?   Episode: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan    Lesson Learned: Don't schedule everything Day 1   Travel Tip: Trust your gut instincts, if unsure, pivot fast.   FAQ Response:  Should I use public transportation abroad?   Yes, you should try it at the least, but not in rush hour with all of your luggage. One way to test it out is to try it early in the morning, before rush-hour workers arrive, but while it's still light outside.  Most of the time, you only need a card to swipe, and you can add money to the card when you need to. Your first care purchase is often at a self-service kiosk, and usually there is English translations here. Go for it and try.   Episode: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan This scenic region reminded me of Lake Tahoe, California.  If you are coming you will Arrive in Taoyuan airport and take the train to the Taipei Main Station and take the HSR train to Taichung City which comes about every 30 minutes and takes about an hour. Bus to Sun Moon Lake, which comes at least hourly. The total cost to get there is about $25, and it takes about 3 hours. To drive, you would take about 2.5 hours and save a few dollars.