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This episode we look at many of the natural events and talk about those observing and writing things down, and why they may have wanted to do so. For more, check out our podcast blogpage: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-139 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 139: Observing the "Natural" World. Members of the Onmyou-ryou, dressed in the official robes of their office, sat around in their observation tower, measuring the location of the stars. They kept their light to a minimum, just enough so that they could write down their observations, but not so much that it would destroy their vision. As they looked up, suddenly they saw a strange movement: a streak through the sky. They waited, and observed, and then there was another, and another after that. It was as if the stars themselves were falling from the heavens. They watched as it seemed that the constellations themselves were melting and falling apart. Quickly they scribbled down notes. Tomorrow, with the light of day, they would consult various sources to see just what it could mean. For now, their role was simply to observe and record. Welcome back, everyone. It is the height of holiday season in the US as I record this, and in our narrative we are in the middle of the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, who came to power in 672 and who has been shoring up the Ritsuryo state instigated by his late brother, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou. We have talked in recent episodes about how Ohoama put a lot of the state under the control of members of the royal family, or at least those with claims to royal blood, and how he had also begun work on the Chronicles—the very works that we have been using to try and understand the history of this and earlier periods. It seems clear that Ohoama and his cohorts were doing their best to solidify their control and, in the process, create what they felt was a modern state, leveraging the continental model, but not without their own local flavor. After all, they were also investing in the kami based rituals of state and specifically in Ise shrine, which they claimed as an ancestral shrine for their lineage. This episode, let's dig into another thing that was getting reported around this time. And that is… science! Or at least observations of the world and indications of how people were interacting with it. Before going into the subject, I want to acknowledge that "science", or "Kagaku" in modern Japanese, may not look like what we think of as "science" today. The word "Kagaku" itself appears to come about in the late Edo period, and became associated with the western idea of "Science" in the Meiji period. Today we think of it as observations, yes, but also testing via the scientific method. I think it might be more appropriate to categorize a lot of earlier science under a term like "learning" or "study", and it seems to have encompassed a wide range of topics of study, some of which we would include as "science" and some which we might refer to more as "arts". There is also a very fine line with religion and philosophy as well. From a modern perspective, I think one could fairly argue that "science"—particularly the so-called "hard" sciences—refers to something that can be empirically tested via the scientific method. So you can see something, form a hypothesis, create a test, and then that test should produce the same results no matter who conducts it, assuming you account for the variables. And please don't @ me about this… I know I am simplifying things. This isn't a podcast about science unless we are talking about the social sciences of history and archaeology. In contrast to our modern concept of science, much of what we see in the Asuka era is built around using our reasoning to arrive at the truth of something. In cases where we are dealing with clearly physical phenomena that have observable causes and effects, this can lead to remarkably reliable results. One example of this is calendrical science—it isn't that hard to observe the passing of days and seasons. Even the rotation of the earth and the movements of stars and even something with as large a period as comets could be observed and tracked, especially if you had centuries of data to comb through. In fact, they often would predict things that it turns out they couldn't, themselves, see. They could predict that an eclipse would occur, for example, even when that eclipse was only visible somewhere else. And they didn't have to calculate gravitational pull, mass, or distances between different heavenly bodies for that to occur. Similarly, in the agricultural sphere: you had so many people who observed the seasons and would figure out new ways of doing things. It doesn't take an understanding of chlorophyl to know that plants generally do better when exposed to sunlight. I believe the leap happens when you get to things that go beyond purely observable means. Sickness, for example—how do you explain viruses or germs without equipment like microscopes to see what our eyes alone cannot? And if such "invisible" things could cause so much damage, then why could there not be other "invisible" elements, such as kami and boddhisatvas? And as humans we are driven to make connections. It is one of the things that has driven our technological innovation and rise, but it is also something that can easily go awry. Like when you are sitting in a dark house, alone, and you hear a noise. Rationally, you might know that houses settle and creak, but that doesn't necessarily stop your brain from connecting it with thoughts that someone must be in the house making that noise. Or even how we make judgments based on nothing more than how someone talks or what they look like, because our brains have made connections with those things, for good or ill. A large part of the rationalization that was accomplished in Asian thought had to do with concepts of Yin and Yang, the negative and the positive, the dark and the light. This was thought of as a kind of energy—qi or ki—that was embedded in things. We discussed this somewhat back in episode 127, because yin yang theory, along with the five element theory, known as Wuxing or Gogyou in Japanese, became embedded in the idea of the calendar. Why was summer hot, except that it was connected with an excess of fire energy? And the cold, dark days of winter would be associated with an excess of water, naturally. I should note that while this is one of the more comprehensive philosophical systems in use, it was not the only means by which various phenomena and effects were rationalized. After all, it had to be imposed on a framework of how the world otherwise worked, and descriptions of the world came from a variety of places. There was, for example, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or Sanhaijing, which detailed the world as envisioned in the period before the Qin dynasty, although there were occasional updates. The Sanhaijing described regular plants and animals in the same breath as gods and monsters. There were also various buddhist sutras, which brought their own cosmological view of the universe that had to be squared with other visions, including those passed down locally describing the archipelago as the "Reed Plain" and giving particular importance to eight of the islands—though which eight depends on which variant of the creation myth you are referencing. To categorize the study of the natural—and what we would consider the supernatural—world around them, the Ritsuryou set up specific bureaus. One of these was the Onmyou-ryou, the Bureau of Yin-yang, also known as the Onyo no Tsukasa. This Bureau oversaw divination, astronomy, time, and calendars. At its head was the Onmyou-no-kami. Below them were the various scholars studying the core subjects, as well as technical practitioners to carry out the rites and divination. On the continent, priority was generally given to astronomical and calendrical studies, and many of the more magical practices or rituals would fade away, likely because there were local Taoist institutions who could take up much of that work. In Japan, however, it seems that the calendrical studies tended to ossify, instead, while onmyoji came to fill a role not just for the state but also among the population for divination and other such practices. Even into the Edo period one could find private onmyoji, and the Bureau itself lasted until the very beginning of the Meiji period. Another important institution of the Ritsuryo government for learning was the Daigakuryou, the Bureau of Great Learning. Students of Japanese may recognize the term "Daigaku" referring, today, to universities. The original concept for the Daigaku-ryou, or Daigaku no Tsukasa, was focused on the study of those things that were considered perhaps a bit more practical and necessary to anyone who might want a political career. Since this was founded on concepts of Confucian government, it is little wonder that it was originally designed to focus on Confucian studies, among other things. This fits into the idea of a supposed meritocracy, where one's education was part of the examination. You may recall from Episode 115 we talked about the National University in Chang'an, which is likely something that the Daigaku Ryou could only ever dream of becoming. Early arts taught at the Daigaku Ryou included the Confucian classics, mathematics, writing, and Chinese pronunciation. These were all things that you would need to know to become a part of the bureaucracy The idea of a school may have been born along with the early institution of the government, with mention as early as 671, in the last year of Naka no Oe's reign, but we don't have it clearly established in the code until later. Full operations may have been somewhat delayed due to the tumultuous events of Ohoama's accession to power in 672, but we do see it explicitly mentioned in the year 675. On the first day of the year we are told that Students from the Daigaku Ryou, along with students from the Onmyou-Ryou and from the Gaiyaku Ryou, the Bureau of External Medicine; along with the Woman of S'ravasti, the Woman of Tara, Prince Syeonkwang of Baekje, and Silla labourers offered presents of drugs and various rarities. We talked about the first two, the Daigaku-ryou and the Onmyou-ryou, but the Gaiyaku Ryou doesn't seem to have a lot of information out there beyond this mention. Later there would a "Ten'yaku Ryou", or Bureau of Medicine, established in the code. Since we don't have any extant codes from this period beyond what was written down in the Nihon Shoki, we don't know for certain what the Gaiyaku-ryou was , and it is possible that the Gaiyaku-Ryou was a precursor to the Ten'yaku Ryou. "GAI" means "outside" or "external", leading me to wonder if this referred to external medicine in contrast to internal medicine, or if it meant medicine or drugs from outside teh archipeloago. I would point out that these students are found with the Woman of S'ravasti, or Shae; the Woman of Tara; a Baekje prince and Silla labourers. In other words, they were all people from outside of the archipelago. This is not entirely surprising as it was from outside that much of the learning was coming into the country. "Yaku" or "Kusuri", which can be translated as either "Drugs" or "medicine", could refer to a number of things. How effective they were is somewhat questionable. Almost certainly some of them had confirmed medicinal efficacy, but others may have been thought to have been effective due to things like their connection to the five elements, or wuxing, theory. For example, something red might be assumed to have a warming effect because of the presumed presence of the fire element. And the power of the placebo effect no doubt made them seem at least partially effective. Consider, for example, how many people will swear by certain remedies for the common cold when all it really does is distract you, or perhaps make you a bit more comfortable, until the symptoms pass on their own. A more certain science was probably that of Astronomy, which we've mentioned a few times. The passage of the stars through the sky was something that could be easily observed. There is a theory that some of the first lines in the Yijing, or book of changes, may actually be a description of the changing of seasons as different aspects of a given constellation rise over the horizon, and the placement of certain stars would help in the adjustment of the lunar calendar, since the moon's orbit does not match up exactly with the solar year, and year the solar year was quite important to things like agriculture and even sailing to the mainland. This all makes 675 a seemingly banner year for science, as four days after the presentation of medicine to the throne, the government erected a platform by which to observe the stars. This wouldn't need to be much—it could have been an earthen mound, or just a tower, from which one could get above the ground, presumably see over any buildings, to the horizon. Granted, Asuka might not be the best place for such observations, with the nearby mountains meaning that the true horizon is often obstructed. Nonetheless, it may have been enough to make calculations. Astronomy platforms, or Tenmondai, would continue to be used up until at least the Meiji period. Without a telescope, observations were somewhat limited—though they also didn't have the same level of light pollution that we have today. Remember, many woke just before dawn and went to sleep not too long after the sun went down, which only makes sense when you are living in a place where creating light, while doable, also ran the risk of burning your entire house to the ground. It is worth noting that the sky for the ancient Japanese was likely quite different than what most of us see when we look up, unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place with very little light pollution. For many of those living today in the cities and suburban landscape, go outside at night and you might see the moon and some of the brightest stars, but for most of the ancient Japanese, they would look up and see the heavenly river, the Amakawa, or Milky Way. They would have looked up at a sky glittering with myriad dots of light, as well as planets and more. It was both familiar and strange—something one saw regularly and yet something that was also extremely inaccessible. Astronomical observations would have been important for several reasons, as I've mentioned. They would have been used to keep the calendar in check, but they would also have likely been used to help calibrate the water clock, which helped to tell time. Of course, going back to the five elements and yin yang theory, it is also believed that the energy, the qi or ki, changed with the seasons and the movements of the stars and planets—planets were not known as such, of course, but their seemingly erratic movements compared to bright lights in the sky meant they were noticed and assigned values within the elemental system. One of the things that came with the changing seasons, the heavenly movements, and the flow of ki was a concept of "kata-imi", literally directional taboos. There were times when certain directions might be considered favorable or unfavorable for various actions. This could be something as simple as traveling in a given direction. In the centuries to come this would spawn an entire practice of kata-tagae, or changing direction. Is the north blocked, but you need to travel there, anyway? Well just go northwest to say hello to a friend or visit your local sake brewery, and then travel due east. Ta-da! You avoided going directly north! There were also mantra-like incantations that one might say if they had to travel in an inauspicious direction to counteract the concept of bad influences. This also influenced various other things, and even today you will often see dates where a year and month might be followed by simply the character for "auspicious day" rather than an actual day of the month. So observing the heavens was important, and it was also important that they tostudy the works of those on the continent, whose records could help predict various astronomical phenomena. Except that there was one tiny problem: I don't know if you've noticed, but Japan and China are in two different locations. Not all astronomical phenomena can be observed from all points of the globe. The Northern Lights, for example, are rarely seen in more southerly latitudes, and while eclipses are not too rare, a total eclipse only impacts certain areas of the earth, along relatively narrow paths. I mention this because it isn't always clear if the records we get in the Nihon Shoki are about phenomena they directly observed or if they are taking reports from elsewhere and incorporating them into the narrative. One such event is the comet of 676. The entry in the Nihon Shoki tells us that in the 7th lunar month of the 5th year of Temmu Tennou, aka 676 CE, a star appeared in the east that was 7 or 8 shaku in length. It disappeared two months later. We've mentioned some of this before, but the sky was divided up into "shaku", or "feet", though how exactly it was measured I'm not entirely sure. It appears to be that one foot was roughly 1.5 degrees of the sky, give or take about a quarter of a degree, with 180 degrees from horizon to horizon. So it would have been about 10 to 12 degrees in the sky. Another way to picture it is if you hold out your arm towards the object, and spread your index and little finger, it would probably fit between those two points. This comet hung around for some time, and a great part about a comet like this is that it was viewable from multiple locations. After all, as the earth turned, different areas were exposed to the comet as it passed through our part of the solar system. Thus we have records of it from not just the Nihon Shoki: We also find it in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, where it was thought to have foretold the end of Bishop Wilfred's control of Northumbria. We also see it in Tang, Silla, and Syrian sources. These sources aren't always in complete agreement. For one thing, they noted when they first saw it, which might have been impacted by local conditions. And then conversion between lunar and solar calendars can also sometimes get in the way. Roughtly speaking, we have the Nihon Shoki providing dates of somewhere from about August or September of 676, on the Western calendar, to October or November. Tang sources put it from 4 September to 1 November. Silla Chronicles claim that it first appeared in the 7th lunar month, so between August and September. A Syrian Chronicle notes a comet from about 28 August to 26 October in the following year, 677, but this is thought to have been a mistake. European sources generally seem to claim it was seen in August and lasted for three months. All of these sightings put it at roughly the same time. Working with that and with known comets, we think we actually know which comet this is: The Comet de Cheseaux also known as the Comet Klinkenberg-Cheseaux. And I should mention this is all thanks to a research paper by M. Meyer and G. W. Kronk. In that paper they propose that this is the comet with the designation of C/1743 X1, or the common names I just mentioned. If so, based on its trajectory, this comet would have been visible in 336, 676, 1032, 1402, 1744, and is next predicted to show up in 2097. And no, those aren't all exactly the same amount of time. It is roughly every 350 years or so, but with the movements of the solar system, the planets, and various gravitational forces that likely slow or speed up its movement, it doesn't show up on exactly regular intervals. Still, it is pretty incredible to think that we have a record of a comet that was seen the world over at this time, by people looking up from some very different places. Comets were something interesting for early astronomers. They may have originally been seen as particularly ominous—after all, in the early eras, they were hardly predictable, and it would take years to get enough data to see that they were actually a somewhat regular occurrence. In fact, it is likely that early astronomers were able to figure out eclipse schedules before comets. Still, they seem to have come to the realization that comets were in fact another type of natural and reoccurring phenomenon. That isn't to say that they didn't have any oracular meaning, but it did mean they were less of an obvious disturbance of the heavenly order. We have another comet mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 681, but that one seems to have had less attention focused on it, and we don't have the same details. Then in the 8th lunar month of 682 we have an entry about a Great Star passing from East to West—which was probably a shooting star, rather than a comet. Comets, for all that they appear to be streaking across the sky thanks to their long tails, are often relatively stable from an earthbound perspective, taking months to appear and then disappear again. Then, on the 23rd day of the 7th month of 684 we get another comet in the northwest. This one was more than 10 shaku in length—about 15 degrees, total, give or take. Given the date, we can be fairly confident about this one, as well: it was the famous Halley's comet. Halley's comet is fascinating for several reasons. For one, it has a relatively short period of about 72 to 80 years, though mostly closer to 75 to 77 years in between sightings. The last time it visited the earth was in 1986, and it is expected back in 2061. Halley's comet has been recorded since the 3rd century BCE, and, likely because of its short period, it was the first periodic comet to be recognized as such. There are other periodic comets with short periods, but many of them are not visible with the naked eye. Halley's comet is perhaps the most studied comet, given its regular and relatively short periodicity. It is also connected to the famous writer, humorist, and essayist, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain. He was born only a few days after the comet reached perihelion in 1835 and died a day after it reached the same point again in 1910, and while he may not have visited Japan in his lifetime, it was a period of great change both in his home country of America and in Japan. America, of course, would undergo a Civil War over the issue of slavery in the early 1860s, and shortly after that Japan would have its own civil war in the form of the Meiji Revolution. And while he never visited—and translation could only do so much to capture the art of his prose—Mark Twain's works were apparently quite influential in Japan in the early 20th century. Of course, comets were just one of the celestial phenomena to be observed. The astronomers were interested in just about anything happening in the sky. We have accounts of both solar and lunar eclipses, and not necessarily full eclipses either. We even have notice of the movement of some planets, such as in 681, when they noted that the planet mars "entered" the moon. Obviously the astronomers weren't recording every raincloud that came through—at least not in the main chronicles—but they did capture a fair number of events. They did record particularly memorable storms. For instances, in the 8th lunar month of 675 there was a storm that is said to have caused sand to fly and which then damaged houses. This sounds like a wind storm without rain—after all, if there was rain, you would expect that the sand would have been wet and tamped down. It is possible to have hurricane level winds without the rain. While typhoons typically bring rain, especially as they usually build up their strength at sea, it is possible to have the winds alone, as I've experienced, myself, in Tokyo. This most likely happens in an isolated area—there is water and rain somewhere, but the typhoon can be large, so parts of it may only get the wind and little or no rain. I wonder if something like that happened in this instance. It is also possible that this record refers to actual sand being brought across from the continent. In some instances, sand can be lifted up from as far away as Mongolia and carried all the way to Japan, though it is pretty rare. And it wasn't just wind and sand. We get accounts of hail coming down as large as peaches, torrential rainstorms, and even ash, likely from a volcanic eruption that was otherwise unrecorded. There are also accounts of snow, though typically recorded in times where you wouldn't expect to see it, such as the third lunar month, which would mean snow in late April or early May. Mostly these storms are mentioned in terms of how they affected the immediate fortunes of the living, but sometimes storms did even more damage. In 682, for example, a hoar-frost was reported in both Shinano and Kibi in the 7th lunar month. On its own, this probably wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but the chroniclers add that because of storms the "five grains had not formed". So storms had diminished the crops and the hoar-frost was apparently the killing blow. The harvest that year would be lean, and it would not be a happy time for many that winter. And then, just as important as what was happening was what was not. There are several mentions of droughts, particularly towards the end of Spring, early Summer. This is traditionally a drier period, and if it is too dry it could harm the harvest. And so the government was expected to find a way to bring the rain—a tall order, the general resolution to which seems to be prayers and rituals designed to bring rain. In a place like Japan, I suspect that it was usually just a matter of time before the prayers were "successful", thus reinforcing their presumed efficacy. Some of the things that they recorded were a bit more mysterious. For example, in the second lunar month of 680 we are told that a sound like drums was heard from the East. There are many things this could theoretically be, from rumbles of thunder to some other phenomenon, though the following year we have a note about thunder in the West, so theoretically they knew the difference between thunder and drums. Later that same year, 680, we are told that there was a "brightness" in the East from the hour of the dog to the hour of the rat—about 8pm to midnight. Was this some kind of aurora? But wouldn't that have been in the north, rather than the east? Could it have been some kind of lightning? But that is a long time for a lightning storm to hang around. And there are other strange things, some of which seem impossible and we have to doubt. For example, in 684 they said that, at dusk, the seven stars of the Big Dipper drifted together to the northeast and sank. Unless they are just recording the natural setting of the stars of the big dipper. Certainly, over time the constellation appears to rotate around the north star, and it dips down to or below the horizon in the autumn months. So were they just talking about the natural, yearly setting of the stars, or something else? There may be some clues in that the 11th lunar month, when that was recorded, we see several other heavenly phenomena recorded. Two days after the Big Dipper set, at sunset, a star fell in the eastern quarter of the sky that we are told was as large as a jar. Later, the constellations were wholly disordered and stars fell like rain. That same month, a star shot up in the zenith and proceeded along with the Pleiades until the end of the month. While this sounds like shooting stars and a possible meteor shower, a later commenter suggested that this was all a heavenly omen for the state of the court, showing the "disordered" state of the nobility at this time. Of course, this was also a year and change before the sovereign's eventual passing, so there is also the possibility that the Chroniclers were looking at events later and ascribing meaning and importance after the fact. In another account of something seemingly wonderous: in 682 we are told that something shaped like a Buddhist flag, colored like flame, was seen by all of the provinces and then sank into the Japan sea north of Koshi. A white mist is also said to have risen up from the Eastern mountains. There are various things that could be going on here. It strikes me that the white mist could be a cloud, but could also be something volcanic. And the flame colored prayer flag makes me think about how a high cloud can catch the light of the rising or setting sun. That could look like a flag, and can seem extremely odd depending on the other conditions in the sky. Or maybe it was aliens. Okay, it is unlikely that it was aliens, but I think that these do give an idea of the kinds of records that were being made about the observed phenomena. Obviously the Nihon Shoki is recording those things that were considered particularly significant for whatever reason. This could just be because it was something odd and unexplained, or perhaps it was more well known but rare. It may have even had religious connotations based on some aspect, like evoking the image of Buddhist flags. And it is possible that it was thought to have had significant impact on events—perhaps even an impact that isn't clear to us today, many centuries removed from the events. Some things were clear, however. Lightning strikes are often mentioned specifically when they strike something of note. In 678, we are told that a pillar of the Western Hall of the New Palace was struck by lightning, though apparently the building itself survived. Then, in 686, Lighting appeared in the southern sky with a large roar of thunder. A fire broke out and caught the tax cloth storehouse of the Ministry of Popular affairs, which immediately exploded in flames. After all, a thatched roofed, wooden building filled with kindling in the form of cloth—and likely a fair amount of paper and writing supplies to keep track of it all—sounds like a bonfire waiting to happen. There were reports that the fire had actually started in Prince Osakabe's palace and then spread to the Ministry of Popular Affairs from there. It is also worth noting that recording of such events was still somewhat new to the archipelago as a whole. They were learning from the continent, but also defining their own traditions. Observations of natural phenomena weren't just relegated to celestial occurrences or weather. After all, there was something else that one could observe in the sky: birds. Now this wasn't your average bird-watching—though I'm not saying that there weren't casual birders in ancient Japan, and if we ever find someone's birding diary from that era I think that would be so cool. But there were some things that were significant enough to be mentioned. For example, in 678 we get a report of "atori", or bramblings. Bramblings are small songbirds which are found across Eurasia. Notably they are migratory, and are known to migrate in huge flocks especially in the winter time, and sure enough on the 27th day of the 12th month we are told that the bramblings flew from the southwest to the northeast, covering the entire sky. This makes me think about some of the other mass migrations that used to occur that have largely been reduced significantly due to habitat loss, disruption to traditional migratory routes, and other population pressures on various bird species. Still, having so many birds that it blocked out the sky certainly seems a significant event to report on. We later see a similar account in 680, with the flock moving from southeast to northwest. Given the location of Asuka it sounds like they were flocking in the mountains and heading out over the Nara Basin, perhaps seeking food in another mountainous area. In 682, the birders were at it again. This time, around midday on the 11th day of the 9th lunar month, several hundreds of cranes appeared around the Palace and soared up into the sky. They were there for about two hours before they dispersed. Once again, cranes are migratory and known to flock. Cranes are also known as a symbol of long life and joy—and I can understand it. Have you ever seen a flock of cranes? They are not small birds, and they can be really an incredible sight. Flocks of cranes themselves were probably not that rare, and it was no doubt more about so many gathering around the palace which made it particularly special. It wasn't just birds in the sky that were considered important symbols, though. Birds often are noted as auspicious omens. Usually strange birds, plants, or other such things are found in various provinces and presented to the throne. So in 675, Yamato presented auspicious "barn-door fowl", likely meaning a fancy chicken. Meanwhile, the Eastern provinces presented a white falcon and the province of Afumi presented a white kite. Chickens are associated with the sun and thus with the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and albino versions of animals were always considered auspicious, often being mentioned in Buddhist sources. Later, in 680, we see a small songbird, a "Shitodo", also described as white, and probably albino, sent to the court from nearby Settsu. Then, in 681 there is mention of a red sparrow. Red coloration is not quite the same as albinism, though it is something that does occur at times, when the brownish coloration comes out more red than brown, and I suspect this is what we are talking about. This is most likely just a recessed gene or genetic mutation, similar to causes for albinism, but just in a different place in the DNA. As for why it was important: I'd first and foremost note that anything out of the ordinary (and even some ordinary things) could be considered a sign. Red was also seen as an auspicious color, so that may have had something to do with it as well. And then there is the concept of Suzaku, the red bird of the south. Suzaku is usually depicted as an exotic bird species of some kind, like how we might depict a phoenix. But it was also just a "red bird", so there is that, and perhaps that was enough. Not that this red sparrow was "Suzaku", but evoked the idea of the southern guardian animal. A year prior, in 680, a red bird—we aren't told what kind—had perched on a southern gate, which even more clearly screams of the Suzaku aesthetic. It is probably worth noting here that in 686, towards the end of the reign, not that anyone knew it at the time, Ohoama decided to institute a new nengo, or regnal period. It was called Shuuchou—red or vermillion bird—and it likely referred to Suzaku. This nengo was cut short, however, with Ohoama's death that same year. Nengo were often chosen with auspicious names as a kind of hope for the nation, so clearly "red bird" was considered a good thing. A month after the red sparrow, Ise sent a white owl, and then a month after that, the province of Suwou sent a red turtle, which they let loose in the pond at the Shima palace. Again, these were probably just examples of animals seen as auspicious, though they would have likely been recorded by the Onmyou-ryou, who would have likely combed through various sources and precedents to determine what kind of meaning might be attached to them. Color wasn't the only thing that was important. In 682, the Viceroy of Tsukushi reported that they had found a sparrow with three legs. There are numerous reasons why this could be, but there is particular significance in Japan and Asia more generally. A three legged bird is often associated with the sun Andusually depicted as a black outline of a three legged bird inside of a red sun. In Japan this was often conflated with the Yata-garasu, the Great Crow, which is said to have led the first mythical sovereign, Iware Biko, to victory in his conquest of Yamato. Thus we often see a three legged crow depicted in the sun, which was an object of particular veneration for the Wa people from centuries before. And I suspect that the little three-legged sparrow from Tsukushi I suspect that this had particular significance because of that image. Animals were not the only auspicious things presented to the throne. In 678, Oshinomi no Miyatsuko no Yoshimaro presented the sovereign with five auspicious stalks of rice. Each stalk, itself, had other branches. Rice, of course, was extremely important in Japan, both from a ritual and economic sense, so presenting rice seems appropriate. Five stalks recalls things like the five elemental theory—and in general five was consider a good number. Three and five are both good, prime numbers, while four, pronounced "Shi", sounds like death and is considered inauspicious. Three, or "San" is sometimes associated with life, and five is associated with the five elements, but also just the fact that it is half of ten, and we have five fingers on one hand and in so many other ways, five is regarded as a good number in much of Asia. That the stalks had multiple branches likely referred to them bearing more than the usual amount of rice on them, which seems particularly hopeful. Certainly the court thought so. In light of the auspicious gift, all sentences of penal servitude and lower were remitted. In 680, Officials of the Department of Law gave tribute of auspicious stalks of grain, themselves. I'm not sure, in this case, that it was all that they hoped, however, as that began three days straight of rain and flooding. A year earlier, in 679, we are told that the district of Ito, in Kii, immediately south of Yamato, sent as tribute the "herb of long life". We are told that it "resembled" a mushroom—probably meaning it was a mushroom, or maybe something formed into a mushroom shape. But the stem was about a foot long and the crown was two spans, about 6 feet in diameter. This is pretty incredible, and I have to wonder if there is a bit of exaggeration going on here. Another tribute was a horn found on Mt. Katsuraki. It branched into two at the base, was united at the end, and had some flesh and hair still attached, about an inch in length. They claimed it must be horn or a Lin, or Kirin, sometimes referred to as an Asian unicorn—a mythical creature considered to be quite auspicious and benevolent. This was on the 26th day in the 2nd lunar month of the year 680, probably around March or April. I highly suspect that what they found was an oddly shaped bit of antler from a buck whose antlers had begun to come in and which might have been taken out by wolves or bears or something else altogether. The fact that the ends were said to be fused together could just be referring to some kind of malformation of the antlers. The fur and flesh could mean that the antlers were still growing—antlers would probably just be coming in around early spring time. Still, there is no telling how long it was there, so it could have been from the previous year as well. Attributing it to a kirin seems a bit of a stretch, but it was clearly something unusual. Animals and plants were recorded in tribute, but also when something odd happened. Fruiting out of season was one such occurrence, which we've seen elsewhere in the chronicles as well. There was even a record when the famous Tsuki tree outside of Asukadera had a branch fall down. Presumably it was a large and noticeable branch, and by now this appears to have been a tree with a bit of age to it that had seen a lot, so it makes sense it got a mention. Finally, we go from the heavens to the earth. Perhaps the most numerous observations in the Chronicles were the earthquakes. We've noted in the past that Japan is extremely active, volcanically speaking, so it makes sense that there are multiple accounts of earthquakes each year, especially if they were compiling reports from around the country. Most of these are little more than just a note that there was an earthquake, but a few stand out. The first is the 12th lunar month of 678. We are told that there was a large earthquake in Tsukushi—modern Kyushu. The ground split open to the width of about 20 feet for more than 30,000 feet. Many of the commoners' houses in the area were torn down. In one place there was a house atop a hill, and though the hill crumbled down the house somehow remained intact. The inhabitants had apparently been home and must have been oblivious, as they didn't realize anything had happened until they woke up the next morning. Again, probably a bit of hyperbole in here, but if we think back to things like the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, where large areas of land shifted noticeably along the fault lines, it is likely that this was a similar or even more catastrophic event. And here I'll give a quick plug for Kumamoto, which is still working to rebuild from the earthquake, and if you ever get a chance, I recommend a visit to the Kumamoto Earthquake Memorial Museum or Kioku, where you can see for yourself just how powerful mother nature can be. Another powerful earthquake was mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 684. If the earthquake in Tsukushi had hit mostly agricultural areas, based on the description, this seems to have hit more populated regions. We are told that it started in the dark of night, the hour of the boar, so about 10pm, give or take an hour. The shaking was so bad that throughout the country men and women cried out and were disoriented—they could not tell east from west, a condition no doubt further hindered by the dark night sky. There were mountain slides and rivers changed course, breaking their banks and flooding nearby areas. Official buildings of the provinces and districts, the barns and houses of the common people, and the temples, pagodas, and shrines were all destroyed in huge numbers. Many people and domestic animals were killed or injured. The hot springs of Iyo were dried up and ceased to flow. In the province of Tosa, more than 500,000 shiro of cultivated land sank below sea level. Old men said that they had never seen such an earthquake. On that night there was a rumbling noise like that of drums heard in the east—possibly similar to what we had mentioned earlier. Some say that the island of Idzu, aka Vries Island, the volcanic island at the entrance of Edo Bay, increased on the north side by more than 3,000 feet and that a new island had been formed. The noise of the drums was attributed to the gods creating that island. So here we have a catastrophic quake that impacted from Iyo, on the western end of Shikoku, all the way to the head of Edo Bay, modern Tokyo. This appears to be what seismologists have labelled a "Nankai Trough Megathrust Earthquake". Similar quakes have occurred and are predicted to occur in the future., along a region of Japan from the east coast of Kyushu, through the Seto Inland Sea, including Shikoku, through the Kii peninsula and all the way to Mt. Fuji. The Nankai Trough, or Southern Sea Trough, is the area where the continental shelf drops down, and where the Philippine tectonic plate slips underneath the Eurasian—or more specifically the Amuric—plate. As these plates move it can cause multiple events all along the trough at the same time. Since being regularly recorded, these quakes have been noted every 100 to 150 years, with the last one being the Showa Nankai quakes of 1944 and 1946. For all of the destruction that it brought, however, apparently it didn't stop the court. Two days after this devastating quake we are told that Presents were made to the Princes and Ministers. Either they weren't so affected in the capital, or perhaps the date given for one of the two records is not quite reliable. Personally, I find it hard to believe that there would be presents given out two days later unless they were some form of financial aid. But what do I know? It is possible that the court itself was not as affected as other areas, and they may not have fully even grasped the epic scale of the destruction that would later be described in the Chronicles, given the length of time it took to communicate messages across the country. Which brings us back to the "science" of the time, or at least the observation, hoping to learn from precedence or piece out what messages the world might have for the sovereign and those who could read the signs. While many of the court's and Chronicler's conclusions may give us pause, today, we should nonetheless be thankful that they at least decided to keep notes and jot down their observations. That record keeping means that we don't have to only rely on modern records to see patterns that could take centuries to reveal themselves. Sure, at this time, those records were still a bit spotty, but it was the start of something that would be remarkably important, and even though these Chronicles may have been focused on propaganda, the fact that they include so many other references are an incalculable boon to us, today, if we can just see to make the connections. And with that, I think I've rambled enough for this episode. We still have a couple more to fully cover this period. 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.
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Lots to discuss tonight in Club Deck Corner plus we make a MASSIVE announcement for our 5th Anniversary! Subscribe to the channel and get involved in the Live Chat Tickets for Live at the Viceroy: https://buy.stripe.com/4gMdR8fKx0cgb5n7inb7y00
Pharaoh has 2 bafflng dreams. The butler recalls Yoseph. Yoseph is summoned to the palace, he dazzles Pharaoh with his dream interpretation, and is appointed to the highest office in the land.Today we focus on two points.1. Joseph's growing God awareness and his perception that his life is guided by God2. His integration into Egyptian culture. This leaves us with the question - which I think Joseph might have asked himself - will he ever return to his family?
This month on the show I'm taking you on a late summer rewind! A full selection of the tracks that lit up my sets these past months, from beachside grooves to peak hour heaters. Expect disco energy, classic house vibes and a few personal favorites including my latest track 'Your Life' and my edit of Daft Punk's 'One More Time'. The summer may be over but the energy stays on !! Turn it up and enjoy
27 Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?Tunc respondens Petrus, dixit ei : Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te : quid ergo erit nobis? 28 And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel.Jesus autem dixit illis : Amen dico vobis, quod vos, qui secuti estis me, in regeneratione cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis suae, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes duodecim tribus Israel. 29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.Et omnis qui reliquerit domum, vel fratres, aut sorores, aut patrem, aut matrem, aut uxorem, aut filios, aut agros propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet, et vitam aeternam possidebit.After the death of his wife, St Francis, Duke of Gandia and Viceroy of Catalonia, renounced his high position in order to enter the Society of Jesus. He was the third General of his Order and died at Rome A.D. 1572.
Thought viceroys and colonial administrators were a thing of the past? Tony Blair is being lined up to run the “Board of Peace” for a reconstruction authority for post-conflict Gaza and observers are agog. Historian and Bunker regular Alex von Tunzelmann takes us on a tour of the inglorious history of viceregal rule. Where did the role come from? Was it ever a particularly efficient way to run a country you probably shouldn't have been in anyway? And what cautionary tales should Blair learn from cases as diverse as the Raj, post-Saddam Iraq and Paddy Ashdown's control of Bosnia? • Buy Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire by Alex von Tunzelmann through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • Head to nakedwines.co.uk/thebunker to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Produced by Liam Tait. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Art by Jim Parrett. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
3. Rituals of Command and the Cicero Revelation Londinium Chronicles Gaius & Germanicus Debate The emperor asserted command authority over the legions in a ritual event at Quantico, Virginia, with his viceroy addressing the leadership of the legions. This ceremony was designed to overturn the previous instances of "command disobedience" experienced by Trump during his first term (such as General Milley's reported actions). The message delivered was a direct command: "New mission. Fortress America. If you are uncomfortable with that, leave."Domestically, this ongoing power transition draws parallels with the murder of Caesar, which marked the end of the Roman Republic and the path toward the principate. A newly shared detail from the documents of Marcus Tullius Cicero reveals that Brutus allegedly raised his dagger while striking Caesar and shouted "Cicero." This detail suggests Cicero, the master storyteller and champion of the senatorial class, provided the intellectual legitimacy and imprimatur for the assassination, affirming that the murder was committed in the name of the Senate's vision of republicanism. 1802
It is the first year of a new reign, so come and let's take a look at how it all begins. For more, check out our blog page at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-135 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 135: Year One The officials of the Ministry of Kami Affairs bustled to and fro as they prepared the ritual grounds and the temporary buildings. They were carefully erecting the structures, which would only be used for a single festival, and then torn down, but this would be an important festival. It was the harvest festival, the Niiname-sai, the festival of the first-fruits. Rice, from the regions of Tamba and Harima, specifically chosen through divination, would be offered to his majesty along with the kami who had blessed the land. But this time, there was more. After all, this was the first harvest festival of a new reign, and they had orders to make it special. The ascension ceremony had been held earlier in the year, but in some ways that was just a prelude. There had been various rituals and ceremonies throughout the year emphasizing that this year was special—even foreign lands were sending envoys to congratulate him on the event. But this wasn't for them. This was the sovereign taking part, for the first time, in one of the most important ceremonies of the year. After all, the feast of first-fruits was the culmination of all that the kami had done, and it emphasized the sovereign's role as both a descendant of heaven and as the preeminent intercessor with the divine spirits of the land. And so they knew, that everything had to be bigger, with even more pomp and circumstance than normal. This wouldn't just be about the new rice. This would be a grand ceremony, one that only happened once in a generation, and yet which would echo through the centuries. As the annual harvest festival, it was an ancient tradition. But as something new—as the Daijosai—it was something else all together. And it would have to be perfect! Last episode we talked about the Kiyomihara palace and a little bit about what it was like in the court of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou. After defeating the Afumi court supporting his nephew, Ohotomo, in 672, Ohoama had taken control of the government. He moved back to Asuka, and into the refurbished Okamoto palace, building a southern exclave known to us today as the Ebinoko enclosure, which held one large building, which may have been a residence or a ceremonial structure—possibly the first “Daigokuden” or ceremonial hall. Ohoama's court built on the ideas that his brother, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, had put forth since the Taika era. This was a continuation of the form of government known as the Ritsuryo system, or Ritsuryo-sei, literally a government of laws and punishments, and Ohoama had taken the reins. He seems to have taken a much more direct approach to governance compared to some of his predecessors. For instance, the role of the ministerial families was reduced, with Ohoama or various princes—actual or invented relatives of the throne—taking a much more prominent role. He also expanded access to the central government to those outside of the the Home Provinces. After all, it was the traditional ministerial families—the Soga, the Nakatomi, and even the Kose—who had been part of the Afumi government that he had just defeated. Meanwhile, much of his military support had come from the Eastern provinces, though with prominent indications of support from Kibi and Tsukushi as well. This episode we are going to get back to the events documented in the Chronicles, looking just at the first year of Ohoama's reign. Well, technically it was the second year, with 672 being the first, but this is the first year in which he formally sat on the throne. There's plenty going on in this year to fill a whole episode: it was the year of Ohoama's formal ascension, and there were numerous festivals, ceremonies, and other activities that seem to be directly related to a fresh, new start. We will also look at the custom of handing out posthumous ranks, particularly to those who supported Ohoama during the Jinshin no Ran, and how that relates to the various ranks and titles used in Ohoama's court. We have envoys from three different countries—Tamna, Silla, and Goguryeo—and their interactions with the Dazaifu in Tsukushi. Finally, we have the first Daijosai, one of the most important ceremonies in any reign. And so, let's get into it. The year 673 started with a banquet for various princes and ministers, and on the 27th day of the 2nd month, Ohoama formally assumed the throne at what would come to be known as Kiyomihara Palace. Uno, his consort, who had traveled with him through the mountains from Yoshino to Ise, was made his queen, and their son, Royal Prince Kusakabe, was named Crown Prince. Two days later they held a ceremony to convey cap-ranks on those deemed worthy. We are then told that on the 17th day of the following month, word came from the governor of Bingo, the far western side of ancient Kibi, today the eastern part of modern Hiroshima. They had caught a white pheasant in Kameshi and sent it as tribute. White or albino animals were seen as particularly auspicious signs, and no doubt it was taken as an omen of good fortune for the reign. In response, the forced labor from Bingo, which households were required to supply to the State, was remitted. There was also a general amnesty granted throughout the land. That same month we are also told that scribes were brought in to Kawaradera to copy the Issaiko—aka the Tripitaka, or the entirety of the Buddhist canon. That would include hundreds of scrolls. This clearly seems to be an act of Buddhist merit-making: by copying out the scrolls you make merit, which translates to good karma. That would be another auspicious start to the reign, and we see frequently that rulers would fund sutra copying—or sutra recitations—as well as temples, statues, bells and all other such things to earn Buddhist merit. As the ruler, this merit didn't just accrue to you, but to the entire state, presumably bringing good fortune and helping to avert disaster. However, it wasn't just the Law of the Buddha that Ohoama was appealing to. In the following entry, on the14th day of the 4th month, we are told that Princess Ohoki was preparing herself at the saigu, or abstinence palace, in Hatsuse—known as Hase, today, east of modern Sakurai, along the Yonabari river, on the road to Uda. Ohoki was the sister of Prince Ohotsu. Her mother was Ohota, the Queen's elder sister, making her a grandchild of Naka no Ohoye as well as the daughter of Ohoama. Princess Ohoki's time at the abstinence palace was so that she could purify herself. This was all to get her ready to head to Ise, to approach none other than the sun goddess, Amaterasu Ohokami. With all of these events, we see the full panoply of ritual and ceremony on display. The formal, legal ceremonies of ascension and granting of rank. The declaration of auspicious omens for the reign. There is the making of Buddhist merit, but also the worship of the kami of the archipelago. This is not an either-or situation. We are seeing in the first half of this first year the fusion of all of these different elements into something that may not even be all that sensational to those of us, today. After all, anyone who goes to Japan is likely well-accustomed to the way that both Buddhist and Shinto institutions can both play a large part in people's lives. While some people may be more drawn to one than the other, for most they are complimentary. That isn't how it had to be. For a time, it was possible that Buddhism would displace local kami worship altogether. This was the core of the backlash that we saw from groups like the Nakatomi, whose role in kami-focused ceremonies was threatened by the new religion. Indeed, for a while now it seems like mention of the kami has taken a backseat to Buddhist temples and ceremonies in the Chronicles. Likewise, as a foreign religion, Buddhism could have also fallen out of favor. It was not fore-ordained that it would come to have a permanent place on the archipelago. This tension between local kami worship—later called Shinto, the Way of the Kami—and Buddhist teachings would vary throughout Japanese history, with one sometimes seen as more prestigious or more natural than the other, but neither one would fully eclipse the other. One could say that was in part due to the role that Amaterasu and kami worship played in the court ceremonies. However, even there indigenous practices were not necessarily safe. The court could have just as easily imported Confucian rituals, and replaced the spiritual connection between the sovereign and the kami with the continental style Mandate of Heaven. And thus, the choices that were being made at this time would have huge implications for the Japanese state for centuries to come. I should note that it is unlikely that this spontaneously arose amongst the upper class and the leadership. I doubt this was just Ohoama's strategy to give himself multiple levers of power—though I'm not saying he wasn't thinking about that either. But the only way that these levers existed was through their continued life in the culture and the people of the time. If the people didn't believe in Buddhist merit, or that the kami influenced their lives, then neither would have given them much sway. It was the fact that these were a part of the cultural imaginary of the state, and how people imagined themselves and their surroundings, that they were effective tools for Ohoama and his government. And so it seems that Ohoama's first year is off to a smashing success. By the fifth month he is already issuing edicts—specifically on the structure of the state, which we discussed some last episode. But the high could not be maintained indefinitely. And on the 29th day of the 5th month we have what we might consider our first negative entry, when Sakamoto no Takara no Omi passed away. You may remember Sakamoto, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. He was the commander in the Nara Basin, under general Wofukei, who took 300 troops to Tatsuta. From there he advanced to the Hiraishi plain and up to the top of Mt. Takayasu, to confront the Afumi forces that had taken the castle. They fled, and Takara and his men overnighted at the castle. The next day they tried to intercept Afumi troops advancing from the Kawachi plain, but they were forced to fall back to a defensive position. We covered that in Episode 131 with the rest of the campaign in the Nara Basin. Takara's death is the first of many entries—I count roughly 21 through this and the following reign—which, for the most part, are all similarly worded. Sakamoto no Takara no Omi, of Upper Daikin rank, died. He was posthumously granted the rank of Shoushi for service in the Year of Mizu-no-e Saru, aka Jinshin. We are told the individual, their rank at the time of their death, and then a note about a posthumous grant of rank. Upper Daikin was already about the 7th rank from the top in the system of 664, and Shoushi would be the 6th rank, and one of the “ministerial” ranks. This is out of 26, total. “Kin” itself was the fourth of about 7 categories, and the last category that was split into six sub-ranks, with greater and lesser (Daikin and Shokin), each of which was further divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower ranks. There's a lot to go into, in fact a little too much for this episode, so for more on the ranks in use at the start of the reign, check out our blogpost for this episode. The giving of posthumous rank is mostly just an honorific. After all, the individual is now deceased, so it isn't as if they would be drawing more of a stipend, though their new ranks may have influenced their funerary rites and similar things. As I said, on a quick scan of the text, I counted 21 of these entries, though there may be a few more with slightly different phrasing or circumstances. Some of them were quite notable in the record, while others may have only had a mention here or there. That they are mentioned, though, likely speaks to the importance of that connection to such a momentous year. The Nihon Shoki is thought to have been started around the time of Ohoama or his successor, along with the Kojiki, and so it would have been important to people of the time to remind everyone that their ancestors had been the ones who helped with that momentous event. It really isn't that much different from those who proudly trace their lineage back to heroes of, say, the American Revolution, though it likely held even more sway being closer to the actual events. After the death of Sakamoto no Takara, we get another death announcement. This is of someone that Aston translates as “Satek Syomyeong” of Baekje, of Lower Daikin rank. We aren't given much else about him, but we are told that Ohoama was shocked. He granted Syomyeong the posthumous rank of “Outer Shoushi”, per Aston's translation. He also posthumously named him as Prime Minister, or Desapyong, of Baekje. There are a few clues about who this might be, but very little to go on. He is mentioned in 671, during the reign of Naka no Oe, when he received the rank of Upper Daikin along with Minister—or Sapyong—Yo Jasin. It is also said in the interlinear text that he was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Judgment—the Houkan no Taifu. The Ministry of Judgment—the Houkan or perhaps the Nori no Tsukasa—is thought to have been the progenitor of the later Shikibu, the Ministry of Ceremony. One of the major roles it played was in the selection of candidates for rank, position, and promotion. We are also told that in the year 660, in the reign of Takara Hime, one of the nobles captured in the Tang invasion of Baekje was “Desapyong Satek”, so perhaps this Syomyeong was a descendant or relative of the previous prime minister, who fled to Yamato with other refugees. We also have another record from 671 of a Satek Sondeung and his companions accompanying the Tang envoy Guo Yacun. So it would seem that the Sathek family was certainly notable The name “Satek” shows up once more, though Aston then translates it as “Sataku”, like a monk or scholar's name. “Sataku” would be the Japanese on'yomi pronunciation of the same characters, so perhaps another relative. What we can take away from all of this is that the Baekje refugee community is still a thing in Yamato. This Satek Seomyeong has court rank—Upper Daikin rank, just like Sakamoto, in the previous entry. And we know that he had an official position at court—not just in the Baekje court in exile. We'll see more on this as the community is further integrated into the rest of Society, such that there would no longer be a Baekje community, but families would continue to trace their lineages back to Baekje families, often with pride. The other odd thing here is the character “outer” or “outside” before “Shoushi”. Aston translates it as part of the rank, and we see it show up a total of four times in some variation of “Outer Lesser X rank”. Mostly it is as here, Outer Lesser Purple. Later we would see a distinction of “outer” and “inner” ranks, which this may be a version of. Depending on one's family lineage would denote whether one received an “outer” or “inner” rank, and so it may be that since Satek Syomyeong was from the Baekje community, it was more appropriate for him to have an “outside” rank. “Outer” rank would also be given to Murakuni no Muraji no Woyori, the general who had led the campaign to Afumi, taking the Seta bridge. He was also posthumously given the rank of “Outer Shoushi” upon his death in 676. Murakuni no Woyori is the only person of that surname mentioned around this time, so perhaps he wasn't from one of the “core” families of the Yamato court, despite the service he had rendered. We also have at least one other noble of Baekje who is likewise granted an ”outer” rank. On the other side there are those like Ohomiwa no Makamuta no Kobito no Kimi, who was posthumously granted the rank of “Inner” Shoushi. Here I would note that Ohomiwa certainly seems to suggest an origin in the Nara Basin, in the heartland of Yamato. The terms “Inner” and “Outer” are only used on occasion, however, and not consistently in all cases. This could just be because of the records that the scribes were working off of at the time. It is hard to say, exactly. All of these entries about posthumous ranks being granted tend to refer to cap ranks, those applying to members of various Uji, the clans that had been created to help organize the pre-Ritsuryo state. The Uji and their members played important roles in the court and the nation, both as ministers and lower functionaries. But I also want to mention another important component of Ohoama's court, the members of the princely class, many of whom also actively contributed to the functioning of the state. Among this class are those that Aston refers to as “Princes of the Blood”, or “Shinnou”. These include the royal princes, sons of Ohoama who were in line for the throne, but also any of his brothers and sisters. Then there were the “miko”, like Prince Kurikuma, who had been the Viceroy in Tsukushi, denying troops to the Afumi court. Those princes claimed some lineal descent from a sovereign, but they were not directly related to the reigning sovereign. In fact, it isn't clear, today, if they were even indirectly related to the reigning sovereign, other than through the fact that the elites of the archipelago had likely been forming marriage alliances with one another for centuries, so who knows. And maybe they made their claims back to a heavenly descendant, like Nigi Hayahi. Either way, they were the ones with claims—legitimate or otherwise—to royal blood. Notably, the Princes did not belong to any of the Uji, , and they didn't have kabane, either—no “Omi”, “Muraji”, “Atahe”, et cetera. They did, at least from this reign forward, have rank. But it was separate and different from the rank of the Uji members. Members of the various Uji were referred to with cap rank, but the Princely ranks were just numbered—in the Nihon Shoki we see mention of princes of the 2nd through 5th ranks—though presumably there was also a “first” rank. It is not entirely clear when this princely rank system was put into place, but it was probably as they were moving all of the land, and thus the taxes, to the state. Therefore the court would have needed to know what kind of stipend each prince was to receive—a stipend based on their rank. These ranks, as with later numbered ranks, appear to have been given in ascending order, like medals in a tournament: first rank, second rank, third rank, etc. with fifth rank being the lowest of the Princely ranks. Many of these Princes also held formal positions in the government. We saw this in Naka no Oe's reign with Prince Kurikuma taking the Viceroy-ship of Tsukushi, but during Ohoama's reign we see it even more. Beneath the Princes were the various Ministers and Public Functionaries—the Officers of the court, from the lowest page to the highest minister. They were members of the elite noble families, for the most part, or else they claimed descent from the elite families of the continent. Either way they were part of what we would no doubt call the Nobility. Their cap-rank system, mentioned earlier, was separate from that used by the Princes. And, then at the bottom, supporting this structure, were the common people. Like the princes, they did not necessarily have a surname, and they didn't really figure into the formal rank system. They certainly weren't considered members of the titled class, and often don't even show up in the record. And yet we should not forget that they were no doubt the most numerous and diverse group for the majority of Japanese history. Our sources, however, have a much more narrow focus. There is one more class of people to mention here, and that is the evolving priestly class. Those who took Buddhist orders and became Buddhist monks were technically placed outside of the social system, though that did not entirely negate their connections to the outside world. We see, for example, how Ohoama, even in taking orders, still had servants and others to wait on him. However, they were at least theoretically outside of the social hierarchy, and could achieve standing within the Buddhist community through their studies of Buddhist scripture. They had their own hierarchy, which was tied in to the State through particular Buddhist officers appointed by the government, but otherwise the various temples seem to have been largely in charge of their own affairs. But anyway, let's get back to the Chronicles. Following closely on the heels of Satek Syomyeong's passing, two days later, we have another entry, this one much more neutral. We are told that Tamna, aka the kingdom on Jeju island off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, sent Princes Kumaye, Tora, Uma, and others with tribute. So now we are getting back into the diplomatic swing of things. There had been one previous embassy—that of Gim Apsil of Silla, who had arrived just towards the end of the Jinshin War, but they were merely entertained in Tsukushi and sent back, probably because Ohoama's court were still cleaning house. Tamna, Silla, and Goguryeo—usually accompanied by Silla escorts—would be the main visitors to Yamato for a time. At this point, Silla was busy trying to get the Tang forces to leave the peninsula. This was partly assisted by the various uprisings in the captured territories of Goguryeo and Baekje—primarily up in Goguryeo. There were various attempts to restore the kingdom. It isn't clear, but I suspect that the Goguryeo envoys we do eventually see were operating largely as a vassal state under Silla. Tamna, on the other hand, seems to have been outside of the conflict, from what we see in the records, and it likely was out of the way of the majority of any fighting. They also seem to have had a different relationship with Yamato, based on some of the interactions. It is very curious to me that the names of the people from Tamna seem like they could come from Yamato. Perhaps that is related in some way to theories that Tamna was one of the last hold-outs of continental proto-Japonic language prior to the ancestor of modern Korean gaining ascendancy. Or it could just be an accident of how things got copied down in Sinitic characters and then translated back out. The Tamna mission arrived on the 8th day of the 6th intercalary month of 673. A Silla embassy arrived 7 days later, but rather than tribute, their mission was twofold—two ambassadors to offer congratulations to Ohoama and two to offer condolences on the late sovereign—though whether that means Naka no Oe or Ohotomo is not exactly clear. All of these arrived and would have been hosted, initially, in Tsukushi, probably at modern Fukuoka. The Silla envoys were accompanied by Escorts, who were briefly entertained and offered presents by the Dazaifu, the Yamato government extension on Kyushu, and then sent home. From then on, the envoys would be at the mercy of Yamato and their ships. About a month and a half later, on the 20th day of the 8th month, Goguryeo envoys also showed up with tribute, accompanied by Silla escorts. Five days later, word arrived back from the court in Asuka. The Silla envoys who had come to offer congratulations to the sovereign on his ascension were to be sent onwards. Those who had just come with tribute, however, could leave it with the viceroy in Tsukushi. They specifically made this point to the Tamna envoys, whom they then suggested should head back soon, as the weather was about to turn, and they wouldn't want to be stuck there when the monsoon season came. The Tamna cohort weren't just kicked out, however. The court did grant them and their king cap-rank. The envoys were given Upper Dai-otsu, which Yamato equated to the rank of a minister in Tamna. The Silla envoys—about 27 in total—made their way to Naniwa. It took them a month, and they arrived in Naniwa on the 28th day of the 9th month. Their arrival was met with entertainments—musical performances and presents that were given to the envoys. This was all part of the standard diplomatic song and dance—quite literally, in this case. We aren't given details on everything. Presumably the envoys offered their congratulations, which likely included some presents from Silla, as well as a congratulatory message. We aren't given exact details, but a little more than a month later, on the first day of the 11th month, envoy Gim Seungwon took his leave. Meanwhile, the Goguryeo envoys, who, like Tamna, had arrived merely with tribute, were still in Tsukushi. On the 21st day of the 11th month, just over two months after they arrived, we are told that they were entertained at the Ohogohori in Tsukushi and were given presents based on their rank. The Ohogohori, or “Big District”, appears to mirror a similar area in Naniwa that was likewise known for hosting diplomatic envoys. With the diplomatic niceties over, there was one more thing to do in this first year of the new reign: the thanksgiving ritual always held at the beginning of a new reign, the Daijosai, or oho-namematsuri. This is a harvest ritual where the newly enthroned sovereign offers new rice to the kami and then eats some himself. At least in the modern version, he gives thanks and prays to Amaterasu Ohomikami, as well as to the amatsu-kami and kunitsu-kami, the kami of heaven and earth. The Daijosai shares a lot in common with another important annual festival, the Niinamesai, or the Feast of First Fruits. This is the traditional harvest festival, usually held in November. The Daijosai follows much the same form as the Niinamesai, and as such, in years where there is a new sovereign, and thus the Daijosai is held, the Niinamesai is not, since it would be duplicative. Many of the rituals of the Daijosai are private affairs and not open to the public. There are various theories about what happens, but only those who are part of the ritual know for sure, and they are sworn to secrecy. The first instance of the Daijosai in the Chronicles is during the reign of Shiraga Takehiko Kunioshi Waka Yamato Neko, aka Seinei Tennou, in the 5th century, but we should take that with a huge grain of salt. Remember, one of the purposes behind the chronicles was to explain how everything came to be, and saying “we just made it up” wasn't really going to fly. I've seen some sources suggest that the Daijosai can be attributed to the first reign of Ohoama's mother, Takara Hime, aka Kougyoku Tennou. The term used in her reign, though is Niiname, which seems to refer to the annual Niinamesai, though she is the first in the Chronicles that seems to celebrate it in the first year of her reign, sharing with the Crown Prince and Ministers. It is likely that the ritual is much older in origin. After all, giving the first fruits of the harvest to the kami to thank them for their assistance seems like the core of harvest festivals around the world. We see it mentioned as the Niinamesai in much of the rest of the Nihon Shoki, even back to the Age of the Gods, when it played an important part in the stories of Amaterasu and Susanowo. It is in Ohoama's reign, though, that it seems to first take on its character as a true ritual of the state. We see that the Nakatomi and the Imbe were involved. Together these two families oversaw much of the court ritual having to do with kami worship. We also know that the officials of the Jingikan, the Ministry of Kami Affairs, were also present, as they were all given presents for attending on the sovereign during the festival. We also see that the district governors of Harima and Tamba, which were both in the area of modern Hyougo Prefecture, as well as various laborers under them, were all recognized with presents as well. We can assume that this was because they provided the rice and other offerings used in the festival. In addition to the presents they received, the two governors were each given an extra grade of cap-rank. Another Daijosai would be carried out in the first year of Ohoama's successor, and from there on it seems to have become one of if not *the* major festival of a reign. It marks, in many ways, the end of the first year of ceremonies for the first year of a reign. And even in other years, the Niinamesai is often one of the pre-eminent festivals. The Daijosai may have been the climax of the year in many ways, but the year was not quite done yet. We have two more entries, and both are related to Buddhism. First, on the 17th day of the 12th month, just twelve days after the Daijosai, Prince Mino and Ki no Omi no Katamaro were appointed Commissioners for the erection of the Great Temple of Takechi—aka the Ohomiya no Ohodera, also known as the Daikandaiji. The Daikandaiji was a massive temple complex. It is thought that it was originally a relocation of Kudara Ohodera, and we have remains at the foot of Kaguyama—Mt. Kagu, in the Asuka region of modern Kashihara city. Many of the ruins, however, seem to date to a slightly later period, suggesting that the main temple buildings were rebuilt after Ohoama's reign. Still, it is quite likely that he had people start the initial work. In setting up the temple, of course it needed a head priest. And so Ohoama called upon a priest named Fukurin and made him an offer he couldn't refuse… literally. Fukurin tried to object to being posted as the head priest. He said that he was too old to be in charge of the temple. Ohoama wasn't having any of it. He had made up his mind, and Fukurin was in no position to refuse him. A quick note on the two commissioners here. First off, I would note that Prince Mino here isn't mentioned as having Princely rank. Instead, he is mentioned with the ministerial rank of Shoushi. Ki no Katamaro, on the other hand, is Lower Shoukin, several grades below. Once again, a bit of confusion in the ranks, as it were. The final entry for the year 673 occurred 10 days after the erection of the great temple, and it was a fairly straightforward entry: The Buddhist Priest, Gijou, was made Shou-soudzu, or Junior Soudzu. Junior Soudzu was one of the government appointed positions of priests charged with overseeing the activities of the priests and temples and holding them to account as necessary. Originally there was the Soujou and the Soudzu, but they were later broken up into several different positions, likely due to the proliferation of Buddhism throughout the archipelago. There doesn't seem to be much on Gijou before this point, but we know that he would go on to live a pretty full life, passing away over thirty years later, in 706 CE. He would outlive Ohoama and his successor. And with that, we come to the end of the first year. I am not planning to go year by year through this entire reign—in fact, we have already touched on a lot of the various recurring entries. But I do think that it is worth it to see how the Chronicles treat this first year for a reign that would have been considered pretty momentous to the people of the time. Next episode we'll continue going through the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou. There is a lot going on, which, as I've said, will influence the nation for centuries—even up until the modern day. 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.
Mama K in studio as Cullinane is back in the Producer booth. Mut doesn't have access to the blog yet (0:01:30). Calling Mut (0:06:30). GB calls in to remember Robert Redford (0:09:45). Portnoy fired a Viceroy over tweeting about Charlie Kirk, Turtleboy took issue with it and we call him to discuss (0:17:00). The right is still cancelling people (0:27:00). Calling Bob Murchison (0:37:00). Dateline is covering Sandra Birchmore Friday night and we don't know if Kirk and Dave are featured (0:40:00). Tom Brady is taking Saudi money to play in a new league (0:58:00). Ken Rosenthal is an asshole (1:02:00). Remembering Robert Redford (1:25:15).You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/kminshow
Join us for Helen Lewis' nominee for the Trapped History Hall of Fame: Constance Bulwer-Lytton, daughter of a Viceroy, sister to an Earl – but one of the bravest suffragettes of them all.She was imprisoned four times for campaigning for the vote, carved "V" for votes on her breast, went on hunger strike and was force-fed by prison guards.Hers was a bright short life – and it is one captured beautifully by Helen here.
This week, we discuss two films dealing with colonialism in Africa. The first is Cobra Verde, directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski, in their fifth and final collaboration. Based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel The Viceroy of Ouidah, the film depicts the life of a fictional slave trader who travels to the West African kingdom of Dahomey. The second is White Material, directed by Claire Denis and co-written with Marie NDiaye. The film stars Isabelle Huppert as Maria Vial, a struggling French coffee producer in an unnamed French-speaking African country who decides to stay at her coffee plantation in spite of an erupting civil war. Timestamps What we've been watching (00:00:30) – Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life, Alan Partridge's Scissored Isle, Barry season four, Robot Dreams Cobra Verde (00:14:20) White Material (00:42:50) Coin toss (01:08:25) Links Instagram - @callitfriendopodcast @munnywales @andyjayritchie Letterboxd – @andycifpod @fat-tits mcmahon Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links - https://www.justwatch.com
This week's journey through melodic and tropical house kicks off with a golden sunrise moment, building into deep grooves and sun-soaked rhythms from some of the most exciting names in the scene. Treasure Track: Alex Cruz's Ein Glücklicher Tag (ft. Melle Kuil) — a blissful record that translates to “A Happy Day,” perfectly setting the tone for this week's adventure. New Wave Artist: We spotlight Viceroy, making his long-awaited return alongside MIRAMAR and Spooki on La Playa. A laid-back but luxurious collaboration that fuses percussion-driven heat with beachside ease. Viceroy now joins MIRAMAR on a U.S. tour with Goldroom this summer. Tropical Transition: A Peggy Gou moment — because no journey from sunrise to sunset is complete without her hypnotic grooves. Melodic Map: We travel to Ibiza — the beating heart of melodic house. From Solid Grooves at DC10 to Verano En NY lighting up Signature at Pacha, Ibiza's nights and daytime pool parties remain the genre's ultimate playground. Sunset Strip: Closing out with shimmering cuts from Jonas Blue, Sébastien Léger, Daniel Rateuke, Peggy Gou, and more — plus Jayli's own brand-new release Sunset Lover, out now. Tracklist included in full. Dive in, turn it up, and let Episode 13 carry you from day to night. — Links: Instagram: [@jaylimusic] TikTok: [@jaylimusic] Tracklist: Tracklist:00:00:00 JAYLI - Sunset lover (V2) 00:05:04 Ideo, Cuish & Blackbird - Wake Up 00:07:19 Alex Cruz - Ein Glücklicher Tag (Ft. Melle Kuil) - TREASURE TRACK 00:10:10 Thomas Jack - Take You There 00:12:55 Lost Miracle, Sébastien Léger, Roy Rosenfeld - Lost Miracle, Sébastien Léger, Roy Rosenfeld - Guarana (Extended Mix) 00:19:24 Toman - Verano En NY (Original Mix) Solid Grooves Records 00:23:12 MIRAMAR, Spooki, Viceroy - La Playa (MIRAMAR Club Mix) Seven Seas Records (NEW WAVE ARTIST VICEROY) 00:27:34 Jonas Blue & Malive - Edge Of Desire (Extended Mix) (Clean) 00:30:42 Lilya Mandre & Dennis Louvra - Paradis (Extended Mix) IN / ROTATION 00:35:26 Daniel Rateuke - Sinayu 00:37:26 Hugo Cantarra & Clér Letiv - Ray Of Sun (Extended Mix) Unreleased Records 00:42:36 Tom De Neef - Agenda (Bontan Remix) 00:46:43 Dave Mayer - Hustle Tribes 00:49:29 Peggy Gou - Starry Night (Gaba, Vandelor & HOO Edit) myfreemp3.vip 00:57:16 Peggy Gou - D.A.N.C.E (Clean)
Sable Island is an isolated small Atlantic sandbar situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia that is notable for its role in early Canadian history when France initiated the first attempts to settle on the island. The Viceroy of New France, Marquis de La Roche, sent soldiers and settlers (mainly criminals) to Sable Island to establish a fishery and fur trading post. When the convicts mutinied, they were left on the tree-less and stone-less Sable Island. Most of the settlers died, but a few managed to survive in mud dwellings for 5 years before being returned to France. Poorly planned, the settlement failed and was abandoned in 1603. Host Mark Vinet's special guest Eric Yanis of The Other States of America podcast tells this intriguing story. E150. Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/mvyMoeyIWiU which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams. Sable Island books available at https://amzn.to/3os1vfA Quebec-Canada history books available at https://amzn.to/3MTurXr ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we get an update on Military Studies programs, including a STEM student research assistant program, new admission process for VICEROY, and plans for Fleet Week. Host: Parrish Murphy Guest: Robert Glover, Lt. Col USMC (Ret.) Interim Executive Director Military Education Programs hccs.edu/military-education #militarycareers #stemcareers #fleetweek
What happens after you've learned a life-changing practice? After you've been inspired, read the books, attended the retreats? There's a turning point for many of us, a quiet and natural shift, where the teachings stop being something we ‘do' and start becoming who we are. This is the path of stewardship. In this episode, Laura Poole and Amy Landry converse around moving from student to steward on the Vedic path: not just holding the knowledge for ourselves, but carrying it forward with integrity, maturity, inspiration, and a deep sense of responsibility. This isn't an episode about yoga as posture or meditation as another checkbox on your wellbeing to-do list. It's about what happens when the wisdom becomes your inner compass, your way of moving through the world, your quiet and unshakable ground.What we talk about.The meaning of sampradāya, a living, breathing lineage, and how it shapes us.Navigating cultural appreciation vs appropriation.Why oral tradition and initiation still matter in a modern, digital age.How history gives us context, grounding, and discernment.The balance between sharing your work and performing your spirituality.The transformative magic of India's temple culture, away from tourist trails.What it takes to mature on the path without losing the essence.Connect with Amy Landry.WebsiteInstagramShruti School of Yoga by Amy LandryPre-order Amy's book The Ocean of Yoga – coming out March 2026Resources.Listen to the Empire Podcast (over 200 episodes!) with William Dalrymple and Anita AnandRead The Golden Road by William DalrympleWilliam Dalrymple Tour in Australia – November 2025Watch the powerful film on India's partition – The Viceroy's HouseListen to Laura Poole share on the Amy Landry PodcastGet on the list to receive the first announcement of our India retreats for 2026Learn to meditate with us at Mahasoma --- follow us @mahasoma --- hello@mahasoma.com
In today's episode, David and Steve talk with Mark Keiser, President of Development at Viceroy Hotels & Resorts, about his journey from a suburban upbringing and a year abroad in France to leading the brand's global growth. Mark shares early career lessons—including taking on a GM role with zero hotel experience—the evolution of luxury lifestyle hospitality, and Viceroy's approach to creating authentic local experiences, from tequila tastings in Mexico to beekeeping in Portugal. They also explore emerging markets, branded residences, and how Viceroy balances profitability with memorable guest connections.With over 25 years in hospitality, Mark has led the growth of iconic hotel brands and now drives Viceroy's global expansion. He shares his journey, lessons learned, and the brand's vision for redefining luxury travel.Topics include:How a high school trip to Puerto Rico and a year abroad in France inspired a career in hospitalityLessons from stepping into his first GM role with no prior operations experienceWhat makes a property “Viceroy-worthy” and how the brand blends luxury with authentic local cultureThe role of unique guest experiences—like beekeeping in Portugal—in building emotional connectionsCareer advice for aspiring hospitality leaders, including the value of mentorship and taking early risksWatch the FULL EPISODE on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dRWZdK5tcOg Join the conversation on today's episode on The Modern Hotelier LinkedIn pageThe Modern Hotelier is produced, edited, and published by Make More MediaLinks:Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-keiser-a4a5152/Viceroy Hotels and Resorts: https://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/For full show notes head to: https://themodernhotelier.com/episode/199Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-...Connect with Steve and David:Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E...David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mil.
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Estados Unidos no va a solicitar la pena de muerte para “El Mayo” Zambada, Rafael Caro “Quintero” y “El Viceroy”, aumenta la posibilidad de que hayan logrado acuerdos de culpabilidad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Desde Estado Unidos se apunta, lo mismo en el NYT y WSJ, sobre los vínculos de Adán Augusto y la construcción de un acuerdo no solo comercial sino de seguridad son el gobierno de Trump. ¿Por qué libran la pena de muerte Ismael "El Mayo Zambada", el Viceroy y Caro Quintero en EE. UU.? Pemex recibe otro rescate millonario. Polémica entorno a Adán Augusto y vacaiones de lujo de La 4T. Lo mejor de los deportes con Guillermo Shutz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
El Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos (EE. UU.) informó este martes que no pedirá la pena de muerte para los narcotraficantes mexicanos Rafael Caro Quintero, Ismael “Mayo” Zambada y Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias el “Viceroy”, a pesar de las acusaciones de profundos vínculos con las actividades violentas de los cárteles.
On Episode 628 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Vijai Mantri, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Strategist at JRL Money as well as Vibhuti Garg, Director – South Asia at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).SHOW NOTES(00:00) Stories of the Day(01:00) Markets look for cues even as Trump announces fresh tariff threats(05:30) Mining and metals giant Vedanta faces an Hindenberg moment with short seller Viceroy(06:51) Why and how India's market regulators have to disincentivse derivatives trading(16:25) Monsoon data is looking good, as is the cropping and agriculture patterns(17:26) Demand for education loans drop as visas get tighter(19:42) India's energy demand has dropped for first time since 2020 and renewable energy including nuclear see big production spikeshttps://www.investing-referral.com/aff303Subscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube
STORY OF AMERICA - An isolated small Atlantic sandbar situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia is notable for its role in the early history of America when France initiated the first attempts to settle on Sable Island. The Viceroy of New France, Marquis de La Roche, sent soldiers and settlers (mainly criminals) to the Island to establish a fishery and fur trading post. When the convicts mutinied, they were left on the tree-less and stone-less Sable Island. Most of the settlers died, but a few managed to survive in mud dwellings for 5 years before being returned to France. Poorly planned, the settlement failed and was abandoned in 1603. Host Mark Vinet's special guest Eric Yanis of The Other States of America podcast tells this intriguing story. Check out the YouTube versions of this episode at: https://youtu.be/mvyMoeyIWiU https://youtu.be/c72EPqzxWUc Sable Island books available at https://amzn.to/3os1vfA America History books available at https://amzn.to/3OnczVT Great Museum books available at https://amzn.to/43sVuOR ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
EU capacitará a policías mexicanos para identificar armas y explosivos Juez da 3 meses a “el Viceroy” para negociar su condena Ayuda a encontrar a José Josue Mancilla Pérez, desaparecido en Ocotlán
Rebbe Nachman's classic tale inspired me to compose this melody. Not only is this my favorite story, but the "Simple One" is my favorite character. It's the story of the underdog. Wherever he goes, people are smarter, stronger and more talented than he is. He's the brunt of endless ridicule and disparagement. He has one major virtue - simple emuna. Rebbe Nachman shows us where that takes him. See the lyrics below in English and in Hebrew. Credits: Guitar, arrangement: Guy Tzvi Mintz Violin: Daniel Ahaviel Melody, Lyric, native Israeli flutes: Rabbi Lazer Brody English I'll tell you a story from old, about a simple person with a plain mind. Despite that fact that people ridiculed him, by virtue of his innocence and integrity, he became the Viceroy of the kingdom. People call me simpleton But that just suits me fine I don't look at other folks I'm happy with what's mine So what if they have a high IQ And I'm not very smart They complain all the time But I'm happy with my part. Everyone makes fun of me But I really do not care It's better to be a simple guy Than some high-brow debonair. עברית אספר לכם סיפור מימים ימימה, על איש תם עם שיכל פשוט. למרות שכולם לעגו לו, בסופו של דבר, בזכות תמימותו וישרותו, נהיה משנה למלך. זה מעשה שלו וזה מעשה שלי למה לנו לסתכל ולדבר על אחרים אז מה אם כולם חכמים ואני תמים לרוב הם תמיד מתלוננים ולי תמיד טוב... כל העולם צוחק עלי בלב כה רם אך טוב יותר להיות תמים ולא להיות חכם! החכם אוכל אומצת בקר ואני אוכל פרוסה הוא רודף תענוגים ולי אין שום תאוה הוא אף פעם לא מרוצה ולי יש הסתפקות החכם תמיד מדוכא אך אני תמיד מבסוט! כל העולם צוחק עלי בלב כה רם אך טוב יותר להיות תמים ולא להיות חכם!
Cory Schisler isn't just building beautiful hotels and restaurants — he's rethinking what hospitality actually feels like. He's worked with brands like Proper and Viceroy, co-founded The Madrona in Healdsburg, and has a sharp eye for the subtle — and not-so-subtle — ways hospitality has evolved (and where it still needs to catch up). In this episode, we unpack: – The early experiences that shaped Cory's hospitality worldview – How to balance timeless service with modern guest expectations – The tech that actually enhances hospitality (and the kind that kills it) – Why QR code menus might signal the beginning of the end – What's next: the rise of micro-resorts and the white space between STRs and hotels Cory also shares how he approaches concept development, the difference between good and great creative partners, and what it really takes to build a team culture where guests feel seen — and staff feel proud. This one's packed with insight for anyone thinking about the next generation of hospitality brands. Learn more about Cory here. Explore The Madronna Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world's top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we'd love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.
Is Bali as exotic as it sounds? Viceroy GM Patrick Farrell shares the real story
In April, travel to the U.S. rebounded with a notable 12% increase in visits from Western Europe, particularly from Germany and the U.K., though the data excludes Canada, where visits have declined. The U.S. air traffic control system is under scrutiny due to outdated technology and staffing shortages, prompting the government to invest billions in modernization, including new towers and increased hiring. Meanwhile, Highgate is expanding its luxury Viceroy brand with new developments like The Harriman in Idaho, marking a shift toward upscale leisure destinations. U.S. Visits From Europe Rebounded in April After Sharp Drop Highgate Expands Viceroy With Sun Valley Launch, Branded Residences — Exclusive Newark Outages Expose Air Traffic Control Crisis — What to Know About the Fix Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
Mixed by Bixel Boys & Viceroy
This episode of The Option Block hosted by Mark Longo and featuring Henry Schwartz from Cboe Global Markets and Mike Tosaw from St. Charles Wealth Management discusses the latest in the options market. Key segments include an analysis of unusual options activity, the impact of SEC regulations, and Biden's economic directives. The hosts reflect on the contributions of Alex Jacobson to options education. The show also highlights intriguing activity in stocks like Venture Global, Vivid Seats, and First Majestic Silver Corp, and delves into the nuances of market-making and trading strategies. 03:16 Live from the Options Industry Conference 05:38 Market Analysis and Trading Insights 10:09 Retail Trading Trends and Zero-Day Options 23:46 Earnings Reports and Market Movers 30:24 Unusual Options Activity 34:13 Analyzing Vivid Seats Stock Performance 34:59 Exploring a Recent Trade in Vivid Seats 35:40 Arbitrage and Ticket Reselling Insights 37:04 First Majestic Silver Corp Stock Analysis 38:30 Call Palooza in First Majestic Silver Corp 42:28 Mail Block: Answering Listener Questions 44:08 Remembering Alex Jacobson, The Viceroy 50:45 Around the Block: Market Watch and Predictions 57:31 Upcoming Events and Final Thoughts
This episode of The Option Block hosted by Mark Longo and featuring Henry Schwartz from Cboe Global Markets and Mike Tosaw from St. Charles Wealth Management discusses the latest in the options market. Key segments include an analysis of unusual options activity, the impact of SEC regulations, and Biden's economic directives. The hosts reflect on the contributions of Alex Jacobson to options education. The show also highlights intriguing activity in stocks like Venture Global, Vivid Seats, and First Majestic Silver Corp, and delves into the nuances of market-making and trading strategies. 03:16 Live from the Options Industry Conference 05:38 Market Analysis and Trading Insights 10:09 Retail Trading Trends and Zero-Day Options 23:46 Earnings Reports and Market Movers 30:24 Unusual Options Activity 34:13 Analyzing Vivid Seats Stock Performance 34:59 Exploring a Recent Trade in Vivid Seats 35:40 Arbitrage and Ticket Reselling Insights 37:04 First Majestic Silver Corp Stock Analysis 38:30 Call Palooza in First Majestic Silver Corp 42:28 Mail Block: Answering Listener Questions 44:08 Remembering Alex Jacobson, The Viceroy 50:45 Around the Block: Market Watch and Predictions 57:31 Upcoming Events and Final Thoughts
This episode of the Crypto Rundown from the Options Insider Radio Network, hosted by Mark Longo, provides listeners with an in-depth analysis of recent trends and trading activity within the crypto derivatives markets. Key highlights include bitcoin and ETH performance metrics, volatility statistics, and shifts in market sentiment. The program is brought to you by Amberdata, which offers insights and data for digital asset trading and compliance. The episode notes a somber farewell to Alex 'the Viceroy' Jacobson, a respected figure in the options community. Upcoming content from the Options Industry Conference is also previewed. 01:05 Welcome to the Crypto Rundown 03:24 Bitcoin Breakdown 05:08 Exploring the Altcoin Universe 08:45 Conclusion and Upcoming Content
This episode of the Crypto Rundown from the Options Insider Radio Network, hosted by Mark Longo, provides listeners with an in-depth analysis of recent trends and trading activity within the crypto derivatives markets. Key highlights include bitcoin and ETH performance metrics, volatility statistics, and shifts in market sentiment. The program is brought to you by Amberdata, which offers insights and data for digital asset trading and compliance. The episode notes a somber farewell to Alex 'the Viceroy' Jacobson, a respected figure in the options community. Upcoming content from the Options Industry Conference is also previewed. 01:05 Welcome to the Crypto Rundown 03:24 Bitcoin Breakdown 05:08 Exploring the Altcoin Universe 08:45 Conclusion and Upcoming Content
This episode of The Option Block with Mark Longo and Mike Tosaw (St. Charles Wealth Management) covers a wide range of topics including an analysis of the current options market, significant earnings reports, and detailed breakdowns of specific trading activities. The hosts discuss various trades in companies like Cinemark and Gray Media, debating the merits and risks involved. The episode also features an emotional tribute to Alex Jacobson, a key figure in the options community, who recently passed away. The tribute includes personal anecdotes and memories of Alex's contributions to the industry and the Options Insider community. 01:54 Host Introduction and Upcoming Events 03:12 Technical Challenges and Co-Host Banter 04:07 80s Trivia Challenge 07:43 Pro Trading Crate Giveaway 08:50 Market Analysis and Trends 15:15 VIX and SPY Options Breakdown 19:43 Small Caps and Qs Analysis 25:16 Top 10 Most Active Options 27:34 Stock Performance Overview 28:06 Earnings and Options Activity 29:33 Top 10 Stocks Countdown 36:49 Cinema Mark's Recovery 41:03 Gray Media's Volatility 44:21 Tribute to Alex Jacobson 53:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
This episode of The Option Block with Mark Longo and Mike Tosaw (St. Charles Wealth Management) covers a wide range of topics including an analysis of the current options market, significant earnings reports, and detailed breakdowns of specific trading activities. The hosts discuss various trades in companies like Cinemark and Gray Media, debating the merits and risks involved. The episode also features an emotional tribute to Alex Jacobson, a key figure in the options community, who recently passed away. The tribute includes personal anecdotes and memories of Alex's contributions to the industry and the Options Insider community. 01:54 Host Introduction and Upcoming Events 03:12 Technical Challenges and Co-Host Banter 04:07 80s Trivia Challenge 07:43 Pro Trading Crate Giveaway 08:50 Market Analysis and Trends 15:15 VIX and SPY Options Breakdown 19:43 Small Caps and Qs Analysis 25:16 Top 10 Most Active Options 27:34 Stock Performance Overview 28:06 Earnings and Options Activity 29:33 Top 10 Stocks Countdown 36:49 Cinema Mark's Recovery 41:03 Gray Media's Volatility 44:21 Tribute to Alex Jacobson 53:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Tristán de Luna y Arellano is ordered by the Viceroy of New Spain to construct a series of forts and settlements from the Gulf, to the Mound Builders at Coosa, to Santa Elena in modern day South Carolina. With 1500 settlers, only an act of God could derail, De Luna's plans. For more information on the archeological finds related to De Luna see this wonderful podcast: https://thehistoryoftheamericans.com/calamity-at-pensacola/
Ireland may have been England's first colony but, by the 17th century, Irishmen were carving out their own imperial legacies in India. Gerald Aungier, an ambitious East India Company official, saw Bombay as a new frontier for plantation and trade. Drawing from his family's plantation experience in Ireland, he laid the foundations for the establishment of the legal and economic framework that would define colonial rule in India for centuries. A hundred years later, John Nicholson, an Ulster-born soldier, became a symbol of British military might - and brutality. Known for his extreme violence during the 1857 uprising, Nicholson led savage campaigns against Indian rebels, earning both devotion from his men and horror from his enemies. His actions, once celebrated in Britain, are now remembered as some of the worst atrocities of colonial rule. At the height of the Raj, another Irishman, Lord Dufferin, presided over India as Viceroy. Deeply aware of Ireland's own history under British rule, he feared that Indian nationalism would follow the same path as Ireland's Home Rule movement. So, how did these Irishmen shape the empire that once subjugated their own people? Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, author of Making Empire: Ireland, Imperialism and the Early Modern World, to uncover the contradictions of Irish imperial history. _____________ Empire UK Live Tour: The Booze & Brews live show is going on a UK tour! William and Anita will be discussing the extraordinary history of ordinary drinks such as tea, Indian Pale Ale and gin & tonic, highlighting how interconnected our drinks cabinets are with the British Empire. Tickets are on sale NOW head to aegp.uk/EmpireLive2025 to buy yours. Empire Club: Become a member of the Empire Club to receive early access to miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, bonus episodes, book discounts, and a weekly newsletter! Head to empirepoduk.com to sign up. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk goalhanger.com Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Senior Producer: Callum Hill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Este jueves, el gobierno de México entregó a Estados Unidos a un grupo de 29 narcotraficantes, entre los que se encuentran figuras de alto perfil como Rafael Caro Quintero, el Z40 y el Viceroy. Aunque en un principio se habló de que estos criminales habían sido extraditados, la realidad es distinta, ya que la formalidad del juicio de extradición no se ha cumplido en todos los casos. "Nunca habíamos enviado tantos criminales en tan corto tiempo", explicó Óscar Balmen, periodista, en entrevista para MVS Noticias con Luis Cárdenas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The intimate story of a unique marriage spanning the heights of British glamour and power that descends into infidelity, manipulation, and disaster through the heart of the twentieth century.DICKIE MOUNTBATTEN: A major figure behind his nephew Philip's marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and instrumental in the royal family taking the Mountbatten name, he was Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia during World War II and the last Viceroy of India.EDWINA MOUNTBATTEN: Once the richest woman in Britain—and a playgirl who enjoyed numerous affairs—she emerged from World War II as a magnetic and talented humanitarian worker who was loved throughout the world.From British high society to the South of France, from the battlefields of Burma to the Viceroy's House, The Mountbattens is a rich and filmic story of a powerful partnership, revealing the truth behind a carefully curated legend.Was Mountbatten one of the outstanding leaders of his generation, or a man over-promoted because of his royal birth, high-level connections, film-star looks and ruthless self-promotion? What is the true story behind controversies such as the Dieppe Raid and Indian Partition, the love affair between Edwina and Nehru, and Mountbatten's assassination in 1979?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.
Liar’s Club (1665 W. Fullerton) is set to host two fundraisers for victims of the L.A. fires: Friday, January 24, and Sunday, January 26. The Friday event, featuring Local H, Viceroy and Tuff Sudz, is sold out. The Sunday event, featuring Handcuffs, Jon Langford and more TBA, will go on sale soon (keep an eye on Liar’s Club’s social media for updates). I’m joined by Liar’s Club owner Herb Rosen to talk about the events. We met for ice cream, as kids do, so we could chat over gigantic sundaes from Margie’s on Montrose. ## Car Con Carne sponsored by Easy Automation: easy-automation.net Transform your living space with cutting-edge home automation. Experience seamless control over audio/video, lighting, climate, security, and more. Embrace the future of smart living – your home, your rules. Get a quote by visiting easy-automation.net, or give Dan a call at 630.730.3728 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yosef is set as Viceroy of Egypt. He is presented by Pharaoh as the very symbol of Egypt. All is going well for him when suddenly...his brothers show up. He must address historic rifts and unresolved conflicts and consider who he is in light of all that he finds around him. This parasha is always read during Hanuka. In this episode we look at the complementary aspects of the Hanuka story with Joseph's and how it might apply to our lives.
On this week's episode Daniel and Sherman talk about one of the new commanders from jumpstart. Evereth is a rakdos commander that allows us to sacrifice creatures and artifacts to pump our commander and has a big final damage ability on removal! Definitely check this awesome deck out. Is there anything we missed ? Deck list below https://www.archidekt.com/decks/9952172/evereth_viceroy_of_plunderPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/Intothe99Go to house of cards for the best place to grab lists! Use the promo code IT99 for a discount! Supports a great shop, saves you money and supports the show! https://houseofcards.ca/Check out these amazing sleeves ! Ai Armor is the best in the game and if you click the link below you can get some amazing new designs. Support an awesome company and support us in the process!https://www.amazon.com/stores/AiArmor/page/E772952B-3C23-4BE5-AA38-81B49CA42450?maas=maas_adg_2D6C4AC19673AFF658FDF6AD59314A37_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maasIf you want awesome audio equipment buy Rode ! Our affiliate link is below!https://brandstore.rode.com?sca_ref=6254570.6h6a2qaxNBLooking for some cards but they're too expensive? Check out our Friends over at www.AbyssProxyShop.com Where you can order high-quality proxies to help with the deck budget! Tell them we sent you with our Promo Code IT99 for 15% off your order!We have new merch! Make sure you check it out!teespring.com/stores/intothe99 Intro musicMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/dreamlineLicense code: 9JQ8GOXP0XXBBDW3Outro music Music: www.purple-planet.comSupport the show
The Gungans take the field against the battle droids, Padmé leads the Naboo against the Viceroy, and Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi duel Darth Maul. We are joined by Craig Dickinson from Reading Between the Reels, and Tom Gross from Teachers in the Dungeon for this discussion of The Phantom Menace. The segment of The Phantom Menace we are discussing runs from 1:44:38 to 1:54:39. In this fully armed and operational episode of Podcast Stardust, we discuss: Craig and Tom's memories of seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time, their farovrite characters, and scenes, The Gungans battle against the battle droids and their role in the overall fight, Padmé's infiltration into Theed palace, The battle in the hangar and Qui-Gon's instructions to Anakin Skywalker to hide and stay safe, Darth Maul's emergence in the hangar and the reveal of the double bladed lightsaber, The Naboo assault on the Trade Federation battleship with the N-1 starfighters, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's fight against Darth Maul. For more discussion of The Phantom Menace, check our the last episode in this series, which is episode 786. Thanks for joining us for another episode! Subscribe to Podcast Stardust for all your Star Wars news, reviews, and discussion wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. Find Jay and her cosplay adventures on J.Snips Cosplay on Instagram. Join us for real time discussion on the RetroZap Discord Server here: RetroZap Discord. Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube. T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, masks, and posters are available on TeePublic. Find all episodes on RetroZap.com.
The Gungans take the field against the battle droids, Padmé leads the Naboo against the Viceroy, and Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi duel Darth Maul.
So the year 649 was so bad that they went and changed the whole calendar to forget about it! In 650 a white pheasant is brought to the court, and they sieze on that as a chance to rename the era from Taika to Hakuchi. That should make things better, right? This episode we talk about this event--their reasoning, as well as what is recorded as having happened. We also take a look at the completion of the Ajifu no Miya and how it was renamed to the Naniwa no Toyosaki no Nagara no Miya, or the Toyosaki Nagara Palace of Naniwa. This is thought to be what we know today as the Early Naniwa Palace, and it was a real change, and, in many ways, the physical manifestation of the Taika era reforms. For photos and more, check out https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-113 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 113: The White Pheasant. The officials of the court stood sentinel at the palace gates, a formidable line of authority draped in flowing, vibrant robes that signified their rank. Each step down the line revealed a cascade of colors, a living tapestry of power and prestige. Only the envoys from distant shores stood apart, their unique uniforms adding an exotic flair to the proceedings, as well as a certain legitimacy as outside witnesses. The air crackled with anticipation as the crowd waited, their breath held, until four figures emerged, bearing aloft a magnificent litter adorned with intricate decorations that shimmered as they caught the sun's rays. Upon that litter rested a cage, and within it,a dazzling white pheasant, plucked from the untamed wilds of Anato. Whispers rippled through the throng; some questioned the significance of this fragile creature, while others dared to see it as a divine omen. Was this bird as pure as the tales had promised? The capital had buzzed with rumors ever since its unexpected arrival, and those in the back stretched their necks, desperate for a glimpse of this rare marvel. The past year had cast a shadow over the Yamato court, leaving the air thick with uncertainty. Yet, this ethereal bird, shimmering with the promise of renewal, seemed to herald a shift—an opportunity for rebirth that everyone craved. At the very least it was a much needed distraction from everything that had previously occurred. As the litter glided past, the courtiers bowed deeply in reverence, forming two disciplined lines that followed through the grand gates. Together, they marched into the palace, hearts pounding with hope. They were not just entering a building; they were stepping into a new era, one that, with a whisper of fate, could rise above the struggles of the past. This episode we kick off the start of a new era—the Hakuchi era, or the era of the White Pheasant. It followed the Taika era, and it does have a different feel. It is less about new edicts and more about how things were shaking out and coming together. And one of the things that was coming together was the Nagara no Toyosaki palace, which is believed to be the same one known to archaeologists as the “Early Naniwa Palace” unearthed in Ohosaka and dated to the mid-7th century. We'll actually start with a look at this palace, continuing our discussion from last episode, as our sovereign, Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou, seems to have been a bit crazy about all of his palaces, and figuring out just which is which can be an issue in and of itself. We'll also touch on the start of this new era, and look at why and what it meant to come up with a new era name—a new “nengou”—in the middle of a reign like this. And so we catch ourselves at the start of the year 650, still, technically, in the Taika era. The year started well enough, with the sovereign celebrating the new year at the Ajifu palace and then coming straight back—the Ajifu palace was apparently yet another new palace and it seems construction had only recently begun. Now, There is some confusion between the Ajifu palace and the Toyosaki palace. The Ajifu palace is traditionally thought to have been located on the opposite side o f the Yodo river, in the area of modern Settsu city, on the site of what became the Ajifu Shrine. Others have suggested that it was actually on the Kanimachi plateau, which is where the Toyosaki palace was. Notably the “Toyosaki” palace is not located anywhere near the modern area of “Toyosaki” with which it seems to share a name. From what little information we have, it seems to have been quite the complex. As to why he would need yet another palace, I could not say. And yet, later we see that the Ajifu Palace is eventually named the Nagara Toyosaki Palace. So are they one and the same? Did they move the Toyosaki Palace? Or did they build the Toyosaki Palace and then *rebuild* it as the Ajifu Palace—aka the Nagara Toyosaki Palace? At this point the way that the Chronicles talk about it, the Ajifu palace site seems to have been almost purely conceptual, while previous accounts seem to indicate that the Toyosaki Palace was already in use. That would have made for an interesting New Year's celebration, probably in temporary buildings erected quickly amongst the grass and fields, with some nearby tomb mounds that would need to be leveled or moved to make room, we are later told. It seems they were still surveying the site, but I guess Karu really was looking for a change. And so he celebrated the new year at the Ajifu palace, but quickly returned back to wherever the work of the government was actually occurring. As to where that was, well, we talked last episode about all of Karu's meanderings from one palace to the other. The Nihon Shoki text itself is not exactly clear, as I read it. It doesn't help that the term for palace, or “miya”, appears to refer to both a complex and a single residence, without a clear distinction given between the two. And so, though I mentioned it last episode, let's recap what we know about the palaces this reign. So in 645, we are told that Karu decided upon Naniwa and we are told that this is the “Toyosaki” palace. Then in 646, Karu took up residence in the “detached” palace of Koshiro in Sayabe, Naniwa. This was likely him repurposing the Miyake, the government offices with the royal granaries. He was only there for about two months, though, before he returned. Then, in the third month of 646, he issues an amnesty claiming to have taken up residence in the new palace—but we aren't told which one. In 647, two years into the reign, the government offices at Wogohori are torn down and a palace was built there. Now this is somewhat confusing because there appear to be two government districts: Wogohori and Ohogohori. You'll probably notice how similar these two sound, though it may have been more like “wogopori” and “opogopori”. Back in the day. Wo-gohori, or the “Small District”, is mentioned once, but mainly just as a place name. Ohogohori, or the “Big District” has previously shown up as the place with government offices for the envoys from overseas. Confusing matters, in a later entry, Karu eventually moves out of the palace at Oho-gohori and into the palace that would be known as the Nagara Toyosaki palace. So was he at Wogohori and then later at Ohogohori? Or was there some scribal error such that the two got confused? And then in 648 we are told that Karu moved into the Toyosaki palace in Naniwa. Two years later, in 650, and he is now celebrating New Year's at the Ajifu palace, which may refer to a location on the other side of the Yodo river, but is likely in the spot we now think of as the Nagara Toyosaki Palace. We then know that in 651 they were still building a palace. And it isn't until the last day of 651 that Karu would formally move from Ohogori into the Ajifu palace, which we are told was then renamed the Nagara no Toyosaki no Miya---the Nagara Toyosaki Palace. I have several thoughts on all of this. One, is that there may have been two “Toyosaki” palaces—there was the Toyosaki palace that he first moved into, and then there is the Nagara Toyosaki Palace. “Nagara” appears to mean something like “Long Handle”, but other than that, I don't know that there is a good translation. It may refer to the fact that it was meant to last longer, or that it was even larger than the previous palace. It may even be that the original Toyosaki Palace was just a few of the buildings, and that eventually it grew into the larger Nagara Toyosaki Palace, but if that is the case, what is up with term “Ajifu”? Was that just one building in the larger palace? Or are earlier mentions of “Toyosaki” anachronistic, and perhaps it wasn't until the entire thing was complete that they gave it that name? Many modern accounts appear to conflate the Toyosaki palace with the Nagara no Toyosaki Palace, saying it just took that long to build. That would imply that the Ajifu palace really was there on the Kamimachi plateau, at the known Naniwa palace site. Alternatively, “Nagara” could possibly have been a reference to the fact that the Ajifu palace was an extension of the larger Toyosaki complex, possibly built out of the government offices of either Wogohori or Ohogohori. For all that we don't know exactly what was happening here, we have a pretty good idea in the archaeological record about at least one of the palace sites on the Kamimachi plateau. This site has been identified as the Toyosaki palace of Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou, and it would actually be reused at a later date. Sure enough, there are remains of at least two palace complexes on the site, with the one from our period known as the “Early Naniwa Palace” site. Based on its size and layout, this Early Naniwa palace was the first of its kind. Previous palaces in Asuka had not dissimilar designs in terms of the general arrangement, but this clearly made use of the structure of continental style palace complexes, and was likely intended to be a new, permanent capital. The north of the palace complex consisted of a rectangular, walled section 185 meters east to west and 200 meters north to south, making up the “dairi”. That's almost 10 acres of enclosed space, set aside as the sovereign's personal living quarters. South of that was a smaller area with the front hall, one of the largest for its time. It was 36 meters east to west and 19 meters north to south. This would have been the hall called the “Daigokuden” in later palaces, where official rituals would take place. There was a gate between it and the Dairi, to the north, as well as a gate to the south, flanked by two octagonal buildings, which led to the Chodoin, the main working area of the court complex. This is part of what sets this palace apart from others, and why it likely took a while to build. It may also explain all the different palace names as there was probably a lot of construction for a long time. In previous instances, as far as we can tell, the sovereign's palace was both their home and the building where state business was conducted. Think, perhaps, of the White House, in the US, and then imagine that the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Supreme Court were all part of the same compound, with only the barest of concessions to privacy between them. In this new layout, the dairi was reserved to the sovereign, there was a small area for the official throne room, and then south of that was the Chodoin, the court hall complex. This was a huge change to how things had operated in the past. While the main audience hall was still nominally part of the dairi, so the “private” areas of the palace weren't entirely “private”, it was still leaps and bounds more separated than in the previous palaces we've uncovered. Sure, the idea of lining up buildings from the front gate to the larger buildings towards the back, making people approach successively larger and more impressive buildings, generally seems to have been a thing as far back as the Makimuku Palace near Mt. Miwa, back in the third century, but even then, there is no clearly defined separation between the public and private spaces of the sovereign. There does seem to have been restrictions on who could enter what parts of the compound, with the sovereign's personal quarters being the most restricted, but now there were walls and gates and guards separating one area from another. The Chodoin itself, the main “business” or “public” area of the court, appears to have been about 262.8 meters north to south and 233.6 meters east to west—a little over 15 acres. Most of that was open space between the 14 “choudou” halls lined up symmetrically, 7 on either side. These were the individual buildings where the various government officials were to meet and conduct business, as well as conduct rituals, feasts, etc. There was a southern gate that provided the entrance to the Chodoin and led to another large area with the Choshuden, the buildings where officials could change into and out of their formal court uniforms, and otherwise prepare for or close out the day. South of that was the main gate for the entire compound, the Suzaku gate, named for Suzaku, the red bird of the south, one of the four directional guardian spirits. We know the buildings largely from their post holes. They were made of wood, and it is likely that most of them were thatched. They may have been painted white, vermillion, and green—classic paints that were based on continental styles and which were said to help prevent the wooden pillars from rotting too quickly. It is unsurprising that this would have taken years—but it is also possible that they built some quarters for the sovereign and then built out from there. This also would have been key to a lot of the governmental reforms, providing an actual location for the work that the reforms were directing. Of course, there was a lot of work to be done, and the halls in the palace were limited, so two areas to the east and west of the complex were set aside and appear to have been built up with other government offices, suitable for carrying out the day to day minutiae that was required. There is still a question of whether or not they also instituted the larger grid system city layout around the palace complex. Currently we have no evidence for that, though perhaps they were considering it, eventually. Unfortunately, with all of the construction in Osaka over time, I don't know if we could be able to find or discern such a layout if we did find it. For now, we will stick with what we know: an absolute unit of a court complex that took them several years to build. Getting back to the Chronicles: Our next entry in the Nihon Shoki, after the New Years celebration, tells us that in the second month, Kusakabe no Muraji no Shikofu, the governor of Anato Province, brought a white pheasant to the court. The report claimed that it had been caught by Nihe, a relative of Obito, the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Anato, on the 9th day of the first month, on Mt. Wonoyama. For reference, the land of Anato was at the far western end of Honshu, part of the San'yodo, itself a designation for the lands along the Seto Inland Sea coast from Harima, modern Hyogo prefecture, out to Anato, modern Yamaguchi prefecture. It was on the Honshu side of the Shimonoseki strait, which was the main entrance from the Korean Strait and the Japan Sea to the Seto Inland Sea. The area would later be known as Nagato, which would eventually be called Choshu, an area which any students of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate are sure to recognize. We discussed back in Episode 94 how white or albino animals—assuming they weren't normally white—were considered particularly auspicious. So in 598, the land of Koshi sent a white deer they had found to the court of Kashikiya Hime, which is to say Suiko Tenno. And so the white pheasant from Anato was clearly seen as an omen—but was it truly auspicious. Here we see the court investigating this, and how exactly they go about that is somewhat enlightening as to how the court thought in general. First, they made inquiry of the lords of Baekje—I would suspect this referred to those recognized as Baekje nobility residing in the archipelago, rather than sending a correspondence to the peninsula and back. That they went to someone from Baekje would seem to indicate the importance they placed on Baekje as a conduit for continental learning. Indeed, the answer they got back—whether from a single, unnamed individual or a group of Baekje nobility—was that White Pheasants were recorded in the 11th year of Yongping, which would be 68 CE to us, during the reign of Ming of the later Han dynasty. Han Mingdi, aka Emperor Ming of Han was born Liu Yang and also known as Liu Zhang, reigned from 57 to 75 CE. Ming and his son, Emperor Zhang oversaw a period of particular prosperity for the Eastern Han dynasty. On the other hand, there was an attempt to curse Emperor Ming in 67 CE, which ended with the death of the ambitious Prince Jing of Guanglin. Then, in 70, Prince Ying of Chu was also convicted of using magic to try and secure blessings while he fomented revolution against the emperor, and he was exiled, where he committed suicide. So I don't know if this marks the pheasant as particularly auspicious or not. Asking the Buddhist priests, who frequently studied not just Buddhist canon, but other continental texts, they mostly drew a blank—at least on the specifics of a white pheasant. They did recommend that a general amnesty would not be amiss, as it would bring joy to the people. I guess if you aren't sure about the nature of an omen you can certainly do something to help it out. And while they weren't specifically sure about a white pheasant in Buddhist scripture, a couple of priests did have suggestions. The Priest Doutou recounted a story from Goguryeo, when the court there wished to build a new Buddhist temple, but could not divine a suitable and auspicious site. When someone witnessed a white deer, they chose that spot for the temple, which was then called the Temple of the Park of the White Deer. According to Doutou, this temple established Buddhism in Goguryeo. Furthermore, he recounted, when a white sparrow was seen on the farmstead of another temple, or when a dead crow with three legs had been brought back from the Tang dynasty, the people had proclaimed both of these to be good omens. So given all of that, Priest Doutou concluded, a white pheasant must be especially auspicious. The Priest Bin agreed. Bin, you may recall, had been heavily relied upon for his knowledge in setting up the new governmental structure, which would seem to indicate that he was quite well-versed in continental ideas, and he had even traveled there himself. He provided the court several different reasons that a white pheasant might appear. First, it might appear when a ruler extended his influence to all four quarters. Second, it might appear when the sovereign's sacrifices are appropriate, and when his banquets and clothing are in due measure. Third, it might appear when the sovereign cultivates frugality. Finally, it might appear when the sovereign was humane. He didn't provide any specific examples of how he arrived as his conclusions—at least nothing was recorded—and so he may have been relying on his own expertise. However, he did recount one tale in particular. It was a story from the time of Emperor Cheng Wang of the Zhou dynasty. Cheng Wang is said to have reigned in the 11th century BCE, from 1042 to 1021, and so take that how you will. Important to us is not what happened so much as what the Yamato court believed had happened—what was the historical truth that they were workin with at the time? According to Bin, during Cheng Wang's reign, the Yuehshang family brought a white pheasant to the court. Apparently it had been three years without any exceptional storms or rains, and neither the rivers nor seas had flooded. Apparently the old men found this an extremely long time to go without some kind of disaster, indicating that the pheasant was clearly an auspicious omen in deed. Priest Bin also mentioned other accounts, but the Chroniclers omitted them from the record. Whatever they were, the court had heard enough. The White Pheasant was declared auspicious, and a new era was declared: the Hakuchi, or White Pheasant, era. They let the white pheasant loose in the royal garden, presumably with clipped wings or otherwise kept from flying off, and then preparations were made immediately to officially inaugurate the new era 6 days later, on the 15th day of the 2nd month of 650. Before we get into that, though, I want to pause and take a look at something here: The authority of precedent. Time, as conceived of in the continental model, was cyclical. There was the cycle of day and night. The cycle of the year and the repeating seasons. Likewise the planets and heavens all had their own cyclical periods. In addition, there was the idea that the Yin and Yang forces in the universe likewise cycled through predictable patterns—the sexagenary cycle, or cycle of 60 years, being an example of a longer term cycle. And then there was the Buddhist cycle or death and rebirth, at least as long as one remained tied to this mortal plane of existence. If time is cyclical, then one can look to the past to predict the present. Stories of the past were seen as holding authority over similar events in the present. Understanding these historical stories and being able to pull from them provided its own kind of power and authority. Rather than attempting to reason from first principles, precedent was often a more convincing argument. Being able to read and write and recall all of these stories gave scholars the ability to influence events. Of course, who had time to do all that other than people like Buddhist priests or the doctors of the court? This is also one of the reasons that people would have had to write down histories and, eventually, to keep diaries and accounts of what happened. Those accounts would, over time, become essential records to invoke for moments like this—and even a record like the Nihon Shoki or the Kojiki would have similar significance. In many ways, it is propaganda, but not just in how it describes the past as the Chroniclers wished it to be, but it set the precedent for succeeding eras to look back on. While we may challenge that view, today, for many from the 8th century onward the events described in the Nihon Shoki were considered the gospel truth in more ways than one. Of course, all that aside, we've had plenty of auspicious events before, but why, now, would they be enough to trigger a new era? Why not just note them and move on? Well, to start with, let's face it, nobody is likely to name 649 as the greatest year ever, any time soon, and certainly not the Yamato court. The Crown Prince, Naka no Oe, had been tricked into thinking that his co-conspirator, Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro, was a traitor. To be fair, Maro had been more than complicit in the murderous takedown of his own relatives to set up the current government, and history has time and again suggested that those who put someone on the throne can just as easily take them off it. That's why they are often either brought deeper into the inner circle, or removed—either physically or more euphemistically. In this case, though, it seems that fears of Naka no Oe and others were unjustified, and they sent the royal troops after an innocent man; or at least a man as innocent as any of the other elites at that time. After all, the wealth of the elites came from the rice fields that they owned—or that were at least designated for their stipends—and they certainly weren't working those fields themselves, so make of that what you will. All of that had led to the death of Maro, his family, and the rest of his household. That, in turn, led to the death of his daughter, Miyatsuko Hime, who was married to Naka no Oe himself. When they finally did realize what had happened, the best justice they could figure out was to send the scandal-mongering Soga no Musa out to Tsukushi in a form of luxurious banishment. Demotion by promotion, as he was made the Viceroy of Tsukushi, the top man of the court at the edge of the archipelago. To say that the year 649 had been a bust is an understatement. Don't get me wrong, it was a far cry from the worst year that the archipelago had ever experienced—or would in the future, for that matter. But that was scant comfort to the folks living in it. And so it was with some relief, I suspect, that the court welcomed news from the far flung land of Anato, because they really needed a distraction. With that in mind, let us move on to the events of the 15th day of the 2nd month of the year 650, describing how they inaugurated the new era. Now, if the Chronicles are to be believed, this is not the first time they inaugurated a new era—we are told that year 645 was considered the first year of Taika, or Great Change. But, assuming that did happen, and that it wasn't just named after the fact, the era would have started at the same time as a new reign. Previously, from everything we can tell, dates were based regnal years. Things are recorded as happening in the X year of Y sovereign. Some of the oldest accounts seem to even note it more as X year of the sovereign who reigned from the Y palace, as the palace was likely more distinct a feature than the names and titles that they used, and the posthumous names, like “Koutoku Tennou” were not actually used until the end of the 7th or early 8th century. It is possible that Hakuchi is actually the first true nengo—or era name—and the first one that appears in the middle of a reign—though even here some say that the instantiation of “Hakuchi” is anachronistic. Personally, I see no harm in taking it at face value, at least for now, while acknowledging that everything in the Nihon Shoki is suspect. Still, we are approaching a time when the events being written down may have still been in the living memory of people alive at that time. 720 is only 70 years away, and the project started even before then, so unless there are obvious discrepancies or supernatural events, we can probably assume that the Chronicles at this point are largely truthful, if possibly embellished. And so it is we are told of what happened. To begin with, the court lined the ministers of the left and right and all of the functionaries in four lines outside the “purple” gate, as they would during a New Year's reception, like the one they had just had at the Ajifu palace. The “Purple” gate was probably a reference to the southern gate The fact that the courtiers lined up at the south gate in the same way that they would have during a New Year's reception would seem to indicate that this was seen as the start of a new year. It was no longer a Taika year—starting on that day it was now the first year of Hakuchi. The month and day would not change, however, so it was still the 15th day of the 2nd month. That means that technically the first year of Hakuchi would only have ten and a half months in the year—maybe eleven and a half, if there was an extranumerary month. Likewise, the last year of Taika would only have one and a half months. And if you are thinking that must make Japanese dates really tricky around the start or end of year, you don't know the half of it. Sometimes events will get placed in the wrong “era” because they happened a few months before or after the change, and people forget that when they are translating to and from western dates. It also means era names can't just give you the years of the era, but really need to give you the month and date it starts and ends. Fortunately, most people are quite understanding about the occasional mistake. But anyway, I digress. The courtiers were lined up as though for new years, and then they watched as Ahata no Omi no Ihimushi and three others bore a litter with the pheasant on it and went ahead through the gates. The others followed in rank order—with the Ministers of the Left and Right leading the various functionaries. The Baekje prince Pungjang and his uncle, Sesyeong Chyungseung, whom we mentioned back in Episodes 105 and 107, as well as Mochi, the physician to the King of Goguryeo, a scholar attached to the court of Silla, along with other important persons all advanced as well into the Central court of the palace. The pheasants litter was taken up by Mikuni no Kimi no Maro, Wina no Kimi no Takami, Miwa no Kimi no Mikaho, and Ki no Omi no Maro, who brought it to the front of the hall. There, the ministers of the left and right then took the front of the litter, while the Prince of Ise, Mikuni no Kimi no Maro, and Kura no Omi no Woguso took hold of the rear. Together, they placed it in front of the throne. The sovereign, Kura, and the Crown Prince, Naka no Oe, examined the pheasant together. The Crown Prince then backed away, and the new Minister of the Left, Kose no Omi, presented a congratulatory address. He gave thanks to the sovereign and claimed that the pheasant was a sign that the sovereign would rule for one thousand autumns and ten thousand years across the Great Eight Islands—the Ohoyashima—of the archipelago and the four quarters of the earth. Effectively, this is a long-winded version of “Banzai”, the congratulatory wish of ten thousand years of life for an emperor. Karu responded to this address by quoting auspicious times that white animals had been omens of good rule. He then gave credit to the ministers and functionaries, and urged them to continue to provide good service. Then he declared a general amnesty, forgiving various offenses, and noted that the era name would change to “Hakuchi”. Karu then directed presents to be handed out to the Ministers, the Daibu, the officials of lower rank, all the way down to the clerks. Each received gifts commensurate with their rank. Finally, Kusakabe no Muraji no Shikofu, the governor of Anato, was commended, and granted the rank of Daisen along with what we are told were a goodly number of presents. In addition, the commuted taxes and corvees of Anato were remitted for three years, meaning that Anato would be allowed to keep all of the rice and product for themselves—something that was likely quite significant, though it is unclear whether this means that it was felt down at the level of basic workers or it just meant that the governor was able to keep what he taxed from the people for himself. And with that, we enter a new era. Forget the unfortunate bloodshed and regrettable decisions of the previous year, this was a new start. And that is often how these eras were seen. Whether it was a new reign or things were just going so poorly that the court felt there needed to be a new start, future nengo would often follow a similar pattern. And there was no set time for how long an era would last. In fact, here's a little trivia for you: The shortest nengo in Japanese history was “Ryakunin”, and it lasted just under two and a half months from late 1238 to the start of 1239. It really shows how important it was to come up with a good name of these eras, as “ryakunin”, which seems to mean something like “humane period”, could also be written with characters meaning “abbreviated person”. So they decided to abbreviate the era, instead, changing the era name again. This first year of the new era of Hakuchi continued relatively normally. In the fourth month there were envoys from Silla—another source, according to the Nihon Shoki, claimed that Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla sent envoys every year from this reign onward. Then, in the tenth month, we see more work being done on the palace—presumably the Ajifu palace. We are told that presents were given out in respect to tombs that had been demolished to make room for the new construction, as well as for the people who had been moved off their land. Then Aratawi no Atahe no Hirafu was sent to place the boundary posts, no doubt marking out the outer extremities of the new palace precincts. In addition, that month work began—no doubt at the court's direction—on a giant tapestry, or mandala, with a sixteen foot tall Buddha image, attendant Boddhisatvas, and figures of all eight classes of beings according to the Buddhist cosmology. That includes Heavenly beings, such as Devas; dragons; demonic Yaksha, Gandharva, and Asura; the bird-like Garuda and Kimnara; and the snake-like Mahoraga. All told, there were some 46 figures. It doesn't seem to say where it was to be installed, though it may have been made for the new palace complex. Also in that year we are told that the court ordered Aya no Yamaguchi no Atahe no Ohoguchi to carve one thousand images of Buddha—but once again, we aren't told where they resided. We do know that the 16 foot tall embroidered Buddha was completed in the 3rd month of 651: it had taken them approximately five months. The day after they were completed, the Dowager Queen, Takara no Himemiko, aka the former sovereign, Kougyoku Tennou, who had stepped down in 645, invited ten Buddhist teachers and prepared a feast and entertainment, likely to bless and show off the completed images. At the end of 651, the palace itself was finally complete. We are told that over 2100 priests were invited to the Ajifu palace to read the Issaikyo on the last day of the year. The Issaikyo is the entirety of the Buddhsit canon, and so this was probably done in the abbreviated tendoku style, with priests just reading the chapter headings and flipping through the sutras, though with 2100 it is possible they just each red a different portion, all at the same time. As it grew dark, the palace courtyard was kept bright with 2700 lights while we are told that the Antaku and Dosoku sutras were read. Aston notes that these “sutras” of Antaku and Dosoku don't appear to reference any actual sutras that we know of, and posits that they may simply be rituals for home safety and the like. Given what we know about the fate of so many of these old wooden palaces, it makes sense. After the sutras were read, the sovereign, Karu, formally moved from his residence in Ohogohori into the new palace, which was called Naniwa no Nagara no Toyosaki no Miya. As I noted at the beginning, it is unclear if this was the Ohogohori or Wogohori, and it is even somewhat murky as to whether or not it was considered a palace. Not to mention that after the New Year's ceremonies were completed, the royal chariot—which would have been carrying the sovereign—went back to Ohogohori. I guess things weren't quite ready yet. He would return on the 9th day of the third month, and even then we don't see a note that the palace was completed until the 9th month of 652.. There is a lot here where we see things that appear to be scheduled so that they can occur on auspicious days, even if everything else isn't quite ready. So, for example, reading the sutras and formally “moving” into the palace on the last day of the year so that one could host the New Year's celebration there the next day. That seems like something that was done purely for ceremonial purposes. You may recall that in 650 they did the same thing. There are a few more references to the palace. On the 15th of the 4th month of 652, the Buddhist ascetic E'on was invited into the Dairi to explain the Muryouju Sutra, also known as the Sukhavati Vyuha sutra. E'on was made a lecturer, and there were said to be 1,000 ascetics in the audience, listening to his teachings. That apparently went on for five days, being discontinued on the 20th day. And the power of the sutras, and E'on's teachings, is shown in the weather, because the Chronicles claim that large rains began to fall in a monsoon that lasted for nine days. This wasn't a gentle “water your crops” kind of rain. This was more like a “demolish your buildings and destroy your fields” kind of rain. There must have been massive flooding as men, horses, and cattle were caught up in the water and drowned. Given the way this is written, I'm not entirely certain of the takeaway. Were the sutras that powerful that they brought rain, and E'on didn't understand his own strength? Or was it a punishment for stopping E'on from continuing his lecture? Or was it the rains that caused the lectures to stop, perhaps making it untennable for people to sit out in the courtyard and listen as the rains came down? My rational brain suspects the latter, but I'm not sure how it was read by the people of the 8th century. On the last day of 652, priests and nuns from around the country were invited to the dairi, to the interior of the palace, and entertained and given a feast. Alms were given and lights kindled to celebrate the new year. But that's the last entry I really see for the palace, as such. There was plenty more happening through the era, and we'll touch on that. We start to see Silla and Tang dynasty getting chummy, and we also see some of the reforms still working their way across the land. We also have Yamato's own expeditions out to the Great Tang dynasty. But we'll save that for the next episode, as we continue to dive into the Hakuchi era. And so, until next time, thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.
Join Jessica and Rachel as we sit down with India Hicks for a conversation about the incredible stories in her illustrative biography about her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks. India Hicks is the granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten and goddaughter of King Charles III. You can find her on Instagram @indiahicksstyle Follow us on Instagram @podcastroyal Email us at hellopodcastroyal@gmail.com
In the wake of his son's death, Fracnsico de Almeida takes the law into his own hands. His need for revenge culminates in the pivotal Battle of Diu in 1509. Flash Point History YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYmTYuan0fSGccYXBxc8cA Contribute on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FPHx Leave some feedback: flashpointhistory@gmail.com Follow along on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FLASHPOINTHX/ Engage on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlashpointHx
By 1943, the price of rice was beyond unaffordable for most in Bengal, and people were dying in the streets. Despite government censorship of letters, news spread about the famine and the tide turned with the introduction of a new Viceroy. Yet when aid eventually did arrive from other regions of India, it was so chaotically handled that some food shipments were halted at the station. Listen as Anita and William are joined again by Kavita Puri to explore the legacy of what is sometimes dubbed “Churchill's Famine”. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Mamluk Armada appears in the Indian Ocean! It is deployed against the son of the Viceroy, Lourenço de Almeida. However, the young Almeida is determined for redemption in his father's eyes for his prior failure at the battle of Dabhol. His need to regain his father's favor leds him to make serious mistakes. Flash Point History YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYmTYuan0fSGccYXBxc8cA Contribute on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FPHx Leave some feedback: flashpointhistory@gmail.com Follow along on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FLASHPOINTHX/ Engage on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlashpointHx
Be sure to check out Airwave Media's list of 100 Best podcasts! ThoC is #69 (Nice!): https://blog.feedspot.com/airwave_media_podcasts/ The Kangxi Emperor squashes his beef with the three rebellious feudatories of the south by squashing their traitorous lords, only to have to pivot northward once again to face down... who? The Russians? And the Mongols?! And Tibetans?! And the Catholic Church?! Time Period Covered: 1670-1722 CE Major Historical Figures: Great Qing: The Kangxi Emperor [r. 1661-1722] Crown-Prince Yunreng [1674-1725] Grand Secretary Songgotu [1636-1703] Fan Chengmo, Governor-General of Fujian [1624-1676] Nian Gengyao, Viceroy of Sichuan and Tibet [1679-1726] Mei Wending, mathematician [1633-1721] Tsarist Russia: Tsar Alexis Romanov, "The Quietest" [r. 1645-1676] Tsar Feodor III [r. 1676-1682] Tsar Ivan V [r. 1682-1696] Tsar/Emperor Peter I, "the Great" [r. 1682-1725] Izmailov Roman Catholic Church: Pope Clement XI [1649-1721] Cardinal Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon [1668-1710] Jesuit Missionaires: Fr. Jean-François Gerbillon [1654-1707] Fr. Tomé Pereira [1645-1708] Fr. Joachim Bouvet [1656-1730] Ö löd/Mongol/Dzungar Khanate: Erdeniin Galdan, Boshugtu Khan [r. 1671-1697] Tsewang Araptan [r. 1697-1727] General Chereng Dondub the Elder [d. 1737] Major Works Cited: Perdue, Peter C. (2009). China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia. Spence, Jonathan D. "The K'ang-Hsi Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, Part 1: To 1800. Wakeman, Frederic Evans. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order In Seventeenth-Century China. Wakeman, Frederic Evans. "Romantics,Stoics, and Martyrs In Seventeenth Century China" in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 43, No. 4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices