POPULARITY
[Watch episode here] Welcome to the Curious Conversations Business Mini Series – where we sit down for real, raw, and honest chats with inspiring business owners who've built their dreams from the ground up. No fluff, no filters — just the truth behind what it really takes to succeed.In this powerful episode, we dive into the world of hospitality with Melinda and Wani, from Melbourne institution Ms Frankie, and the co-founders of a thriving hospitality group. Melinda opens up about the true behind-the-scenes journey — from launching their very first venue, the initial investment, and hustling to survive, to nearly shutting down and ultimately turning it all around into a profitable business. If you've ever dreamed of starting a business, especially in the hospitality industry, or you're in the thick of it and need some motivation, this episode is packed with real-life lessons, practical tips, and inspiring resilience.Topics we cover:How Melinda and Wani got started in hospitalityThe first major investmentWhat no one tells you about running a venueNavigating debt and tough decisionsHow they turned it all aroundTips on building a sustainable and profitable business Subscribe for more Curious Conversations as we explore the stories beyond the highlight reel — the grit, growth, and glory of building something meaningful.
On this episode, Deji, Sharon and Dami review new music from the past week, including Tim Lyre ft. Show Dem Camp's "Economy," BIGBIRD ft. Seun Kuti, Vector's "The Matter," Rexxie ft. Rybeena's "EGBAMI," Joyce Olong's "Fool Me Once" and more. They also give an unfiltered review of Davido's recent album "5IVE," sharing their favourite songs, best features, and least favourite aspects of the album. They close the episode with a rundown of the buzzworthy moments in the music industry, touching on Rema's "Disastrous" Coachella performance, Burna Boy and Shallipopi's performance of "Laho Remix" on the Stade De France stage, Ckay's exit from Warner Music South Africa, and Ayra Starr's track with Wizkid.TimestampsSingles review: 1:57Davido's "5IVE" review: 25:20Industry rundown: 1:21:13Previous episodes referencedVector the Viper's Life of Passion - listen here, watch here.Stay Demure with Wani - listen here.----- We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts using the hashtag #WithAnSpod or tag us on Twitter and Instagram (@WithAnSpod).For collaborations or inquiries, email us at withans@culturecustodian.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Shirin Ilimi hasken Rayuwa tare da Shamsiyya Haruna a wannan makon shirin ya sauya salo zuwa mai dogon zango ta yadda zai tattauna da masu ruwa da tsaki a kan bunƙasar harshen Hausa da matsalolin da ya ke fuskanta da dalilan da suka haifar da matsalolin, da dai sauran muhimman batutuwa da suka shafi harshen na Hausa. Harshen Hausa, harshe ne da yake da tsohon tarihi wanda ya shafe ɗaruruwan shekaru ana magana da shi, wanda alƙaluma suka tabbatar da cewar zuwa yanzu miliyoyin mutane ne ke magana da harshen a sassan duniya.Wani rahoto da aka wallafa a shekarun baya bayan nan ya nuna cewar a halin yanzu Harshen Hausa ne Harshe na 11 da aka fi amfani da shi a duniya, zalika an yi ƙiyasin cewar mutane miliyan 150 ne ke magana da shi a sassan Duniya.Masana na kallon waɗaccan alƙaluma a matsayin dallilan da suka sanya harshen na Hausa yin shaharar ta kai ya yi gogayya da dukkanin manyan harsunan duniya, lura da yadda harshen ke da yalwar kalmomi da za a iya sarrafa su gami da bayyana kowanne irin tunani da su, walau a litattafai, kafofin yaɗa labarai da sauran hanyoyi.Ku latsa alamar sauti don sauraron cikakken shirin.
Oh my goodness! On this jam-packed episode of The Basketball Fix, we bring in a special guest from the Hawks Hangout—Sammy James—to dive deep into the Illawarra Hawks' historic championship run and what lies ahead in NBL Free Agency. We break down who's re-signed, who's still unsigned, and the growing rumors around key names like Gary Clark, Thon Maker, and Harry Froling.From extended contracts for stars like Wani, Tyler Harvey, and Davo Hickey, to the uncertain futures of Blanchfield, Kell, and Darius Days, we leave no stone unturned. We also hit on Coach Justin Tatum's potential NBA aspirations, naturalisation plans for Harvey, the buzz around Lachie Olbrich's draft stock, and whether the Hawks' brotherly reunion is incoming.Get the inside word on how the reigning champs might shape their roster heading into NBL26. If you're a Hawks fan—or just love hoops—this one's unmissable.
Ƙasashe da hukumomi na ci gaba da yin tsokaci daban daban a kan halaka Falasɗinawa sama da 400 da Isra'ila ta yi jiya Talata a Gaza, lamarin da ya rusa yarjejeniyar tsagaita wutar da ta shafe watanni biyu tana aiki a yankin. Wani batu da ya ɗauki hankali bayan harin kuma shi ne, alwashin da Fira Ministan Isra'ila Benjamin Netanyahu ya sha na amfani da ƙarfi fiye da na baya wajen ƙwato ragowar mutane kusan 60 da ƙungiyar Hamas ke riƙe da su a Zirin na Gaza. Ku latsa alamar sauti don sauraron tattaunawar Nura Ado Suleiman da Dakta AbdulHakim Garba Funtua kan wannan lamari......
I am excited to share insights from the Interventional Endoscopist podcast featuring Dr. Sachin Wani! The discussion centered on Barrett's esophagus, and strategies to improve detection and risk stratification Key takeaways: • The rising incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma makes early detection crucial. Yet, survival rates remain low, highlighting the need for improved strategies • PEEC and PEEN underscore the issue of missed lesions during endoscopy, emphasizing the need for high-quality exam. • PEEC (postendoscopy esophageal adenocarcinoma) refers to cancer detected before the next recommended surveillance endoscopy in patients with non-dysplastic Barrett's esophagus. • PEEN (postendoscopy esophageal neoplasia) is a composite endpoint of high-grade dysplasia or cancer detected before the next recommended surveillance exam • A high-quality endoscopic exam is paramount, including meticulous inspection, standardized classification, and advanced imaging techniques like chromoendoscopy. • A 10-step approach to a high-quality exam includes identifying landmarks, spending adequate time inspecting the Barrett's segment, cleaning the distal esophagus, and using high-definition white light endoscopy and virtual chromoendoscopy • While the Seattle biopsy protocol is standard, it has limitations due to sampling errors • WATS (Wide Area Transepithelial Sampling) can enhance neoplasia detection as an adjunct to the Seattle protocol by sampling the entire Barrett's segment. • AI (artificial intelligence) holds promise for lesion detection, improved diagnostic accuracy, and quality assessment of endoscopic exams. AI platforms may help identify visible lesions and predict histology, as well as assess the quality of the endoscopic examination. • The Tissue Cypher test can aid in risk stratification by analyzing biomarkers to predict the risk of progression to high-grade dysplasia. It can also predict prevalent high-grade dysplasia or cancer. • Dr. Wani also shared his journey into medicine, influenced by his family, and the challenges faced by foreign medical graduates. A key message was the importance of continuous improvement in endoscopic techniques and the integration of new technologies to combat esophageal adenocarcinoma This episode was sponsored by Castle Biosciences the makers of the TIssue Cypher Test.
Shirin a wannan makon zai yi duba ne kan matsalar nan ta nuna wariyar launin fata da wasu ƴan wasa ke fuskanta. Nuna wariyar launin fata a wasannin motsa jiki musamman ma kwallon ƙafa na ɗaya daga cikin ƙalubalen da ƴan wasa baƙaƙe ke fuskanta, matsala da ta shafe shekaru aru-aru ana fama da ita.Wani lokaci ƴan wasa baƙar fata dai na fuskantar cin zarafin daga magoya baya ko masu horaswa, ta hanyar zagi kai tsaye ko wata alama ta nuna kaskanci ko kuma cin fuska, duk da cewa hukumomi na ɗaukar kwararar matakai don magance matsalar.
On this episode, Bola is joined by Mayowa to dissect the new music from the past week including Seyi Vibez's “Children of Africa” EP, Burna Boy's “Update,” Odumodublvck & Niphkeys' “Conse,” Shallipopi's “Laho,” Ajebo Hustlers “Onorato” EP and much more. They are also joined by Afro-RnB artist WANI who shares his take on the latest drops and speaks in detail about his latest EP LCV3:Sweet Surrender. Follow us on X and Instagram, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wani bincike ya zargi kwamitin ilimi na majalisun Najeriya ta bukatar naira miliyan takwas takwas daga kowanne shugaban jami'ar tarayya kafin amincewa da kasafin kudinsu na wannan shekarar. Tuni wannan zargi ya haifar da cece kuce a cikin kasar. Bashir Ibrahim Idris ya tattauna da Farfesa Peter Lassa, tsohon shugaban hukumar gudanarwar manyan kwalejojin ilimin Najeriya. Ku latsa alamar sauti don jin yadda zantawarsu ta gudana...........
Mungkin kita juga akan nyuri atau korupsi jika nilainya jauh lebih besar dari yang pernah kita pegang. Atau tetap tidak ya?
Wani rahoton Bankin Duniya ya nuna cewa Najeriya ce ƙasa ta uku a yawan basususun kasashen ketare, bayan da ta ƙarbi sama da dalar Amurka biliyan 16.5 kwankwacin naira Triliyan 27 da biliyan 700. Da wannan matsayi Najeriya ta na biye ne da ƙasashen Bangladesh mai matsayi na ɗaya da Pakistan ta biyu a yawan basussuka a duniya.Sabon ranceHakan na zuwa ne kwanaki kadan bayan da majalisar dattawan najeriyar ta sahalewa shugaba Tinubu karbo sabon rancen naira Tiriliyan 1 da biliyan 700, duk da ikirarin ƙasar na samun ƙudin haraji mai yawa daga hukumar kwastom da sauransu.Yawan basussukaBayaga bankin duniya duniya, jummular basussukan da Najeriya ta ƙarbo ya kai naira triliyan 138, wanda hasashe ma ke cewa zai kai dala biliyan 45 kafin karshen wannan shekara ta 2024.
In this episode of Cyrus Says Live AMA, Cyrus tackles a bunch of fun and thought-provoking questions! From how global politics might shake up India's markets, to the hilarious (and a bit weird) trend of holding funerals for cars, we've got it all covered. We'll also dive into some spicy political drama, a look at quirky cultural moments, and chat about everything from T20 cricket to football streaks. It's a mix of humor, hot takes, and surprising insights you won't want to miss. Grab a seat, it's gonna be a wild ride!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Shri Gurunanakdev Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Daga cikin labarun da shirin ya waiwaya akwai, korafin da kungiyar direbobin motocin haya a Najeriya ta gabatar da korafi kan tashin hankalin da mabobinta ke fuskanta, inda ta gabatar da kididdigar da ke nuna cewar, akalla direbobi 50 ‘yan ta'adda suka halaka suka kuma suka yi awon gaba da wasu mutanen da dama daga kan hanyar Gusau zuwa Funtua.Al'ummar Jamhuriyar Nijar na alhinin rashin da suka yi na tsohon Fira Ministan kasar Hama Amadou, wanda ya rasu a ranar Larabar da ta gabata.
”Wiwit tumibane manungsa jroning dosa, turune sing sakbanjure nduweni kecondhongan sing terus-terusan mudun” ”Gusti Allah nuntut umate supaya njaga integritas” –
Wani sabon rahoton binciken kwakwaf da aka gudanar ya bankado yadda ‘yan ta'adda daga jihohin Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina da kuma Kaduna ke tsallakawa jihar Kano domin samun mafaka. Jihar Kano ce dai ke da dama-dama ta fannin ingancin tsaro a jihohin arewa maso yammacin Najeriya.Shin yaya masana ke kallon wannan sabon salo da kuma hatsarin da yake da shi, Rukayya Abba Kabara ta tattauna da Dr Yahuza Ahmad Getso masanin tsrao a Najeriya, ga kuma yadda tattaunawar tasu ta kasance.Ku latsa alamar sauti don sauraren cikakkiyar hirar......
On this episode of Reverberations, host Majel Connery and Peni Candra Rini discuss her double album, 'Wulansih' and 'Wani.' Candra Rini, who is from Indonesia, talks about her stylistic flexibility, vocal abilities, and the diverse regional influences in her music. She also addresses the recurring theme of climate change in her work and her ambition to become one of the few prominent female composers from her country.Support the show
A wannan makon shirin ya mayar da hankali ne kan abubuwan da ke haddasa cutar koda, la'akari da yadda cutar ke tsananta a wannan lokaci musamman a kasashe irin Najeriya, sabanin a lokutan baya da ba kasafai ake ganinta ba, baya ga karancin wuraren wankin kodar da ake fama dasu wato dialysis centers a turance. Wani bincike na baya-bayan nan na nuni da cewa cutar koda ita ce ta 10 cikin cututtukan da ke kan gaba wajen haddasa mace-mace a fadin duniya, inda binciken ya nuna cewa kuma tana shafar kusan kashi 10 na al'ummar duniya, wanda a halin yanzu sama da mutane miliyan 850 ke fama da ita.
Wani masani ɗan jihar Bornon Najeriya Dr Aliyu Dala ya danganta ambaliyar da ta mamaye akasarin birnin Maiduguri da sakacin jami'an gwamnati. Dr Dala wanda ke cikin ƙungiyar ƙwararrun ƴan Arewacin Najeriya mazauna Turai ya ce sun yi nazari akan matsalar ambaliyar kuma sun gabatar da rahoto a kan matakan da ya dace a dauka, cikin su harda na Maiduguri amma babu abinda aka yi a kai. Ku latsa alamar sauti don jin yadda tattaunawarsu ta gudana da Bashir Ibrahim Idris.....
Aleks shares his experience with a game that's unironically changed his life. Is this the end of CHUD Aleks? Will I get in trouble if I say trigger? Do I have the pass or only him? Let's find out.Recorded 9/9/2024Imgur Album: https://imgur.com/a/QzPBbNdTalking Points: Straight characters wiki,inco g. nito,phoenix wright,professor layton,utawarerumono,other people exist,Shuffle,i wanna shuffle that gator,tomodachi life spaghetti,the worst version of yourself,the artist struggle,Its not like I did anything, I just followed a Youtube tutorial,I dont want to be this kind of animal anymore,delayed gratification,DSL camera:eyes::sweat_drops:,yes dear,baryonyx,gassed up,glazed even,relationship advice from two 30 year old podcasters,skinnies,triggers,ArkKnights,Homestuck,MSPA Notifier,/hsg/ I miss you,Intervention,you beat fortnite,I've read enough and the NEW Aleks Check out the website for links to our shows on iTunes, GooglePlay and Spotify► http://www.lmtya.com► https://spoti.fi/2Q55yfLPeep us on Twitter► @LetMeTellYouPDOfficial Discord► https://discord.gg/SqyXJ9R/////// SHILL CORNER ///////► https://www.patreon.com/LMTYALMTYA shirts!► https://lmtya.myspreadshop.com/all/////// SHILL CORNER ///////
Wani bincike da Jaridar Human Angle ta gudanar ya bayyana yadda 'yan ta'adda ke amfani da kafofin sada zumunta domin yada manufofinsu da kuma yaudarar matasa suna shiga cikin su. Ko a baya bayan nan an ga wani daga cikinsu yana rike da tarin kudi da kuma bindiga, inda ya bukaci jama'a su tura lambar ajiyar bankinsu domin aike musu da kudin. Bashir Ibrahim Idris ya tattauna da Mataimakin Editan Jaridar Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu dangane da binciken na su, kuma ga yadda zantawarsu ta gudana.
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Sindhi Darvesh Wani : Pujya Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu Satsang
Madoka Shimada is Partner at Nishimura and Asahi, one of the “Big Four” law firms in Japan. You might have heard some things about what it's like to work there but Madoka shares some of the innovations and how she has carved out a unique career for herself with her interesting combination of qualifications. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we'd love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we'd love it if you would leave us a message here! In this episode you'll hear: What inspired Madoka to look into the law as a career How she took on an unusual study path in the US What it's like to be a partner in Nishimura and Asahi today Her favourite book and other fun facts About Madoka Madoka is a Partner in the Tokyo office of Nishimura & Asahi. She focuses on the antitrust and competition law area, providing a broad range of advice in the field of competition law, with a wealth of experience in, among other things, cross-border transactions. Madoka also has strength in trade secret cases. Madoka advises clients on various matters of competition law, including domestic and international cartels, bid-rigging, M&A transactions, investigations by the JFTC, leniency applications and general antitrust law compliance. She is especially active in cross-border transactions. Prior to N&A, from 1999 – 2004 Madoka was with Mitsui, Yasuda, Wani & Maeda. Madoka graduated in 2005 from Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (M.P.A.) 2003, Harvard Law School (LL.M.), in 1997, and The University of Tokyo (LL.B.) Madoka serves as a member of one of the committees in the firm which has the role of planning various measures of training associates, coordinating their working environment, etc. D&I perspective, such as the introduction of paid childcare leave, is included in this function. She also serves as the head of the Editorial Board of N&A “Thought Leadership,” which is a new style of newsletters of the firm. Outside of the firm she serves on the Children's' Rights Committee at Daini Bar Association, as a consultee for kids at SNS consultation (once a month, using LINE). Madoka is a mom of two teenage boys, joining a PTA activity for younger son, as an editor of the newsletter of the school. In her spare time, she goes to the theatre regularly and is a fan of musicals following from her passion at junior and senior high school where she was a member of the music club. Connect with Madoka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madoka-shimada-8151382/ Website: https://www.nishimura.com/en/people/madoka-shimada Links Toraya: https://www.toraya-group.co.jp/shops/shop-5 Seven Women Lawyers 7人の女弁護士:Amazon Prime Invisible Women: https://amzn.asia/d/eaOxoyl Connect with Catherine Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair YouTube: https://youtube.com/@lawyeronair
In this episode of the Voice of Fintech podcast, Wani Baumgartner sits down with Stevan Bajic, the innovative Founder-CEO behind Manigo, to delve into the intricacies of FinTech orchestration. Discover how Manigo streamlines financial services by seamlessly connecting users to their preferred fintech infrastructure providers via a single API.Join the conversation as Stevan shares invaluable insights into Manigo's journey navigating the dynamic FinTech landscape. Explore key milestones in their growth, the pivotal role of customer feedback in shaping platform features, and get a glimpse into their ambitious long-term vision.Through Stevan's entrepreneurial narrative, listeners gain firsthand knowledge of the challenges he's conquered and the relentless drive propelling him towards future success. Tune in for an episode packed with inspiration, innovation, and the future of FinTech.
This episode we will finish up with many of the smaller episodes in the reign of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno. Most of these are mentions of various public works projects, omens, expansion of the realm, and a couple of other stories, some more believable than others. As usual, more information can be found at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-101 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 101: Ponds, Peaches, and Thunder-gods. First off, a big thanks to Red and Ryan for helping to support the site and our show. If you would like to join them, we'll have more information at the end of the episode, or check out our website at sengokudaimyo.com. When we last left off, we were going through some of the more random events that happened in the reign of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou. and we're going to continue with that this episode, touching on some of the things that happened in the latter part of her reign, starting in about 613 and going from there—and some of this is more exciting than others. I'll try to hit the high points, but some of this will be familiar if you've been listening along. For example, one of the THRILLING things we'll start with (at least if you are a frog) is the building of ponds. In the winter of 613, we are told that the ponds of Waki no Kami, Unebi, and Wani were constructed. We've seen the construction of ponds since at least the time of Mimaki Iribiko, aka Sujin Tennou, the purported “first” sovereign, from around the probable time of Queen Himiko. The exact nature of these ponds doesn't seem to be known, but one theory is that they are for irrigation of rice paddies in places where the water wasn't consistently sufficient for everyone's needs—a pond would allow for water to be gathered up throughout the year and then released when it was needed for the rice paddies. More ponds may have indicated the opening of more fields, indicating continued growth.Ponds also had other uses, however, including breeding fish, and they were a habitat for birds, so this would also help encourage hunting and fishing. Finally, the ponds were public utilities, and part of the way the Court flexed their power as they raised levies for the ponds' construction. We might also say something about the way they indicated a certain amount of control over the land – but of course, most of these ponds are in the Nara basin and Kawachi regions, and so it doesn't tell us a whole lot more than what we already know about the centralized control there. They were important enough, however, that by the 8th century the creation of these ponds was still being tracked and attributed to specific rulers. If you're wondering what it might have been like to travel around in this period of Japan, you might be more interested in the fact that in the same line about the ponds, we are also told that a Highway was built from Asuka to Naniwa. This is believed to be the path of the ancient Takeuchi Kaidou in Kawachi, which some of the literature claims is the “oldest official road” in Japan. This road connects to the Yoko-ohoji in Nara, which links the modern city of Sakai, near Ohosaka, with the city of Katsuraki, and presumably it then connected with other paths down to Asuka. I suspect that the “official” qualifier is in there is because we have evidence of when it was made, whereas other roads and highways, such as the old highway along the foot of the mountains on the eastern edge of the Nara Basin, are perhaps even more ancient, but are simply mentioned, without evidence of how or when they were created—they may have been more organic footpaths that came to be heavily traveled, or just created with no record of who and when. This new highway was notable for connecting the port at Naniwa to the current capital and to the newly built temples in the Asuka area, as well. These temples were new institutions, but they were also fairly permanent structures, unlike even the palace buildings, which were still expected to be rebuilt each reign. Of course, they could be moved—and were, in later periods—but it was going to take some doing. That said, there were other permanent structures and religious sites—heck, many of the kami were associated with mountains, and you couldn't exactly move those, though they did have the ability to build sacred spaces elsewhere and bring the kami to them, so you weren't exactly tied to the physical geography. And there were the giant kofun, but I'm not sure how often people were going to the kofun to worship the ancient kings and other elites, other than perhaps family members paying their respects. The building of a highway to the capital alone would probably be an interesting flex, since the next sovereign could move somewhere else entirely. But the temples were intended to be relatively permanent institutions, as far as I can tell, so even if the capital did move, the fact that there was a road there was probably going to be a big boon to the area. Of course it probably didn't hurt that this area was also a Soga stronghold, and so at least the Soga family would continue to benefit, which may have gone into *some* of the political calculus, there. It was also going to help with envoys to and from the continent. And that leads us along to the next item of note about Kashikiya-hime's reign: sure enough, in the sixth month of the following year, Inugami no Kimi no Mitasuki and Yatabe no Miyatsuko were sent on a new embassy to the Sui court. By the way, quick note on these two. Inugami no Mitatsuki is given the kabane of “kimi”. If you recall, the sovereign is “Oho-kimi”, or “Great Kimi”, and so “Kimi” is thought to be an important title, possibly referring to a high-ranking family that held sway outside of the immediate lands of Yamato, and Yatabe is given to us as “Miyatsuko”, also generally referring to one of the higher ranks of nobility under the kabane system—though not necessarily the inner court families of the Omi and the Muraji. It is unclear whether those kabane were in use at the time, but it does indicate that the families were important. An ancestor of the Inugami first shows up in the reign of Okinaga Tarashi Hime, aka Jingu Kougou, which is interesting as there are some who claim that the stories of that reign really solidified around the time of Kashikiya Hime, which is to say the current reign. We'll get more into that in a future episode, but for now we can note that the Inugami family doesn't really seem to show up after that until this reign, and from here on out we see them as one of the regular interlocutors with the continent, whether the Sui, Tang, or on the Korean peninsula. The Yatabe are much more enigmatic. Other than this entry, we don't have a lot. There is an ancestor, Takemorosumi, mentioned in the reign of Mimaki Iribiko, aka Sujin Tennou, and there is some reasonable thought that they may have been set up for the maintenance of Princess Yata, the wife of Ohosazaki no Mikoto, aka Nintoku Tennou, but I don't see any clear indication one way or the other. They aren't really mentioned again except as a family during the late 7th century. These two, Inugami no Mitatsuki and the unnamed envoy of the Yatabe family, would return a year later, bringing with them an envoy from Baekje. Later in the year they would throw the envoy an elaborate feast. We aren't given much else, but seems like relations were good. Shortly after the feast for the Baekje envoy, however, the monk Hyeja—or Eiji, in the Japanese reading—returned to his home in Goguryeo. Hyeja had been one of the teachers of none other than Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi himself, and the two are said to have shared a special bond. Shotoku Taishi eventually became Hyeja's equal, and it is said that they both discussed Buddhist teachings and philosophy together, with Hyeja appreciating Shotoku Taishi's unique insights. When Prince Umayado eventually passed at an all too early age, the news reached Hyeja on the peninsula and he held a special feast in his student-turned-peer's honor. They say that he then predicted his own death, one year later, on the anniversary of Shotoku Taishi's own passing. But that was still to come. For now, you could say that everything was peachy—and so they did… sort of, in the next item of note. What they actually said was that in the first month of 616, at the beginning of Spring, the Peach and Plum trees bore fruit, which may seem an odd thing to comment on. However, Peach and Plum tress flowering or fruiting would be something that the Chroniclers commented on for at least the next two reigns, as well as in the reign of Oho-ama, aka Temmu Tennou, in the 7th century. It is possible that they were commenting on how they were fruiting out of season—the peach, or momo, in Japanese, blossoms between late March and mid-April. This is around the same time as the plum, in this case the Sumomo, rather than the “ume” plum, sometimes called a Japanese apricot. Momo and Sumomo would blossom towards the start of spring, and so it might be possible for them to blossom around the first month of the New Year, especially if that was a little later than it might be today, but highly unlikely that they would be fruiting. Assuming they were talking about the blossoms—and some later accounts explicitly call out the flowers instead—it may have indicated a particularly warm winter or early spring season that year. It is also possible that the Chroniclers were off on the dates at times, and so may have made some mistakes. It is also possible that they were recounting an odd event—having the peach trees and plum trees fruit or blossom at the obviously wrong time would likely have generated some concern, and thus be worthy of noting down as an omen. It is also possible that this is part of a stock phrase that was used to indicate something else, like the start of Spring or a good or bad omen. Peaches were thought to keep away evil spirits and it was said that they were the fruit of immortality in the western paradise of the Queen Mother of the West. Peaches are often common decorations on Buddhist temples, as well—going back to the same stories about warding off evil and longevity. Whatever the reason, the blooming and fruiting of peach and plum trees was particularly important to the Chroniclers for this period—for whatever reason. Beyond the talk of peaches, in 616 there was something else, something fairly simple, but apparently important: Men from the island of Yaku arrived as immigrants. This is the first mention of Yaku Island, and if you haven't heard of it I wouldn't blame you. It is an island south of modern Kagoshima, off the southern tip of Kyuushuu, and just west of another famous island, that of Tanegashima. Yakushima, today, is known for its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—so classified for its incredible natural beauty. It is the home to some truly ancient cedars, with some thought to date back as far as 2300 years ago, well into the Yayoi era. It is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki as well as Sui dynasty records, and in numerous other travel accounts since. We have evidence of human activity going back at least 17,000 years ago, so before even the Jomon era, though the earliest evidence of habitation on the island is more like 6,000 years ago—about 500 to a thousand years after the famous Akahoya eruption, which devastated Kyushu and which we discussed back in episode 4. Yakushima would also have been devastated, situated as it is just south of the Kikai caldera, and it was likely devastated by pyroclastic flows along with its neighboring islands. Since then, it was populated by people that were now, in the 7th century, making contact with the people of Yamato—perhaps indicating that Yamato had even further expanded its reach. Over the course of the year 616 the Chronicles note several groups of immigrants from Yaku Shima. First was a group of three men who came as immigrants in the third month. Then seven more arrived two months later. Two months after that, you had a group of twenty show up. They were all settled together in a place called Eno'i. It isn't exactly clear where this is. Some sources suggest that they came to the Dazaifu in Kyushuu, and so were settled somewhere on Kyuushuu, possibly in the south of the island. There is also a connection with the name “Enoi” coming out of Mino, in the form of the Enoi family, which the Sendai Kuji Hongi says was an offshoot of the Mononobe family. Wherever they ended up, they stayed there for the rest of their lives. We aren't done with Yaku Island, though. Four years later, we are told that two men of Yaku were “cast away”—which I suspect means banished—to the island of Izu, Izu-no-shima. Once again, we are left wondering exactly where that is, though it may refer not to an island, at least not entirely, but to Izu no Kuni, the land of Izu, on the Izu Peninsula. Aston suggests that perhaps at this time “shima” didn't mean just an island, but any place that was mostly surrounded by water, including a peninsula like Izu. It could also mean one of the nearby islands, such as Ooshima, the largest of the islands to the east of the Izu peninsula. Nine years later, in the reign of the succeeding sovereign, Yamato sent an envoy, Tanabe no Muraji, to the island of Yaku. I suspect that this was part of making the island an official part of the country. Records of the island fall off for a bit, but it does get mentioned, along with neighboring Tanegashima, in the reign of Temmu Tennou, in the latter part of the 7th century. To be fair, the Nihon Shoki only continues until 696, but we continue to see them in the Shoku Nihongi, the continuation of the court historical records. Sure, Yakushima was probably never going to be a huge story from a political perspective, but it does give us some insight into just how far Yamato's influence reached at this point. Going back to the record, we have another fruit related account. This time it is about an enormous gourd coming out of Izumo—one as big as a, well… we aren't exactly sure. The character they use is read “kan”, and today often refers to aluminum cans and the like, but that is a relatively recent meaning, if you'd believe it. In the 7th and 8th century it was probably something more like “pou” and may have meant an earthenware pot for storing alcohol, like the Greek amphorae, or it may have been in reference to a kind of musical instrument. Either way, we are talking a pretty good sized gourd. Not sure if it would take a ribbon in some of today's largest pumpkin contests, but still, impressive for the time. Moving beyond the State Fair category of entries, we come to one of my favorite events. It takes place, we are told, in 618, when Kawabe no Omi was sent to the land of Aki to build ships. He went with his crews up into the mountains to fell timber when he met with something extraordinary, which was still being depicted in paintings centuries later, although most people probably haven't heard the story. Now the name Kawabe first shows up as the location of one of the Miyake, or royal granaries and administrative centers set up in the land of Ki, south of Yamato on the peninsula, in 535. The first record of a person by the name, however, is less than auspicious: It was the assistant general Kawabe no Nihi, who is panned by the Chroniclers for his actions during the reign of Amekunioshi. As we discussed in Episode 82, Kawabe snatched defeat from the jaws of victory due to his lack of military expertise. This next mention of a Kawabe family member is coming a good many years later, but the family does seem to have recovered somewhat. Kawabe no Omi no Nezu would be appointed a general several years later—and that could be the same Kawabe no Omi from this story, as there was only about seven or so years between events. Furthermore, members of the family would find themselves in the middle of some of the most impactful events of the court, indicating their high status. Multiple family members would be remembered and memorialized in the histories over the rest of the century, whether for better or for ill. Which makes it a little interesting to me that the story of this Kawabe family ship builder does not give us a personal name of any kind. Now, later interpretations of this particular story would say that this Kawabe no Omi was out building ships on the orders of Prince Shotoku Taishi himself, though the Nihon Shoki would seem to indicate that he was out there, instead, at the behest of the sovereign herself, Kashikiya Hime. Of course, given what the Nihon Shoki has to say about Shotoku Taishi's contributions to running the government, it could be either one. Regardless, he had a job to do. He searched through the forest and he found suitable trees for the timber he needed: in all likelihood he was looking for large, straight trees, which would have a good grain and not so many knots to cause problems. I suspect that older trees were likely preferable for the task. Having found what he was looking for he marked it and they began to chop down the marked trees. Suddenly a man appeared—a stranger, or perhaps just a local coming to see what all the fuss was about. He warned Kawabe no Omi and his men that the tree they had marked was a “thunder tree” and it shouldn't be cut. To this Kawabe no Omi asked: “Shall even the thunder-god disobey the royal commands?” However, he didn't just barrel on with the task. Instead, he and his men started by offering mitegura, offerings of cloth. This was likely done to appease any spirits before the crew got started, and I wonder if this was something exceptional, or perhaps something that people regularly did, especially when you were taking large, older trees. It isn't clear, but an 8th century crowd no doubt understood the significance. Once they had finished providing recompense to the kami, they went about their task. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it began to rain. As the water poured down from the sky, thunder and lightning came crashing down. Apparently the offering had *not* been accepted, and the kami was now quite angry. While his men sought shelter, Kawabe no Omi drew out his iron sword and held it aloft, crying out to the angry kami: “O Kami of Thunder, do not harm these men! I am the one that you want!” So saying, sword held aloft in the midst of this unexpected thunderstorm, he stood there, watching the roiling clouds, and waiting. Ten times the lightning flashed and crashed around them, the thunder rolling each time. One can only imagine the sight as Kawabe no Omi stood there, wind whipping his hair and clothes as he challenged the storm. And yet, try as it might, the thunderous lightning did not strike Kawabe no Omi. Finally, the lightning stopped, and Kawabe no Omi was still unharmed. As the men came out of hiding, they noticed a disturbance. Above them, there was movement, and the men saw the strangest thing: Up in the branches of the tree was a small fish. Near as anyone could reckon, the god had turned visible, taking the form of a fish, and so Kawabe no Omi caught the fish and burnt it. After that, they were able to safely harvest the rest of the timber and build the ships. While we may have some doubts as to the veracity of the story, or may even wonder if a particularly violent storm hadn't picked up fish from a nearby water source, an event that has been known to happen, it still holds some clues about how the people of the time thought and how they believed the world worked. Even today, older trees and even rocks are thought to house spirits. In some cases, shrines are built up, and people will worship the spirit of a particular tree or rock, so it isn't so far fetched to think that they were harvesting ancient trees that were believed by locals to contain some kind of spirit, which, if aroused, could bring serious harm to Kawabe no Omi and his men. This is probably why they made their offering in the first place, hoping that would be enough to placate the spirit. At the same time, we see them drawing on the power of the sovereign, who isn't even present. Kawabe no Omi's protection is in that he is following the sovereign's commands, and that alone is his shield. Heck, he even goes so far as to raise up his sword. I know we are still an eon from Ben Franklin and his kite, but I'm pretty sure that people had figured out certain things about lightning, beyond just “don't be out in it”, namely “don't wave around pointy metal things in the middle of a storm”. As for the symbolism of the kami turning into a fish, well, who knows just how kami think about these things? They don't always do things that make sense. For instance, there is one story where a man prayed for a boat, and the kami gave him one, but put it on top of a nearby mountain. Maybe they just weren't that accurate, or maybe they didn't quite get how the visible world works, sometimes. It is also possible that the kami turned itself into a helpless fish on purpose, as a sign that it was giving up, since it clearly had not been able to best Kawabe no Omi, and the burning of the fish may have also had some significance. Whatever the reason, the boats were built and not even the kami could defy the will of the sovereign. Now there were a few other things that happened the following year—more strange and bizarre happenstances. The first was the on the fourth day of the fourth month, when there came a report of a creature shaped like a man in the Kamo river in Afumi. Who knows what it was? Perhaps it was some kind of kappa or other river spirit. Or perhaps it was some stranger skinny-dipping and he just really put everyone off. Or it was just a weird log viewed from the wrong angle. Whatever the reason, the people were put off, and Aston notes that this was probably considered an inauspicious omen. Then, in the 7th month, a fisherman from the land of Settsu caught something in one of the manmade canals, or horie, in the area of modern Osaka. The creature he caught was part fish and part man—perhaps that same creature that had been seen three months earlier further upriver, like some kind of ancient Yamato mermaid. What exactly did it mean, though? Certainly it seems a strange occurrence, but was it considered a good or bad omen? Or was it just weird and strange? The following year, there was a shape in the sky. The Chroniclers say it was red, shaped like a rooster tail, and over a rod—about ten feet or so—in length. Perhaps this was a rogue cloud, being kissed by the red light of the rising or setting sun. Or perhaps it was something else entirely. These were the kinds of things that were likely seen as omens, though whether a good or bad omen, who could say? A fishman in the rivers? A red glowing light in the sky? Often it wouldn't be until later that such things would be pieced together. In this case, the omens were likely pretty dire, as in that same year we are told that none other than Prince Umayado—Shotoku Taishi himself—grew ill, and passed away. The whole of the realm mourned their collective loss. The Crown Prince of the Upper Palace, heir to the throne of Yamato, was dead. So yeah, I would say those were some pretty bad omens. Umayado's death would leave a real void. Where there had once been certainty of succession, the land was back in the chaos of wondering what would happen when Kashikiya Hime finally passed away. Would they be returned to a state of civil war for the throne? Who could say? And there was more. The continent was also in a state of uncertainty, as only recently, the Sui dynasty had been overthrown, and now the new Tang was in its place. In addition, a resurgent Silla on the Korean peninsula was getting ever more bold and sure of its own power. There were many things to be concerned about. But let's not leave it on such a note. We can cover all of that in future episodes—we really don't have time to go over all of it here. But there is one other story I'd like to leave you with this episode. You see, a little earlier that year—the same year that Umayado passed away—the Yamato court had finished covering the tomb of Hinokuma with pebbles. Although the kofun, today, are often overgrown, and seem as much like wooded hills as anything else, back in the day there would have been no mistaking their manmade origins. The ground was cleared and tamped down into place. The sides rose in distinct terraces, and the surface was covered in stones. Around it would be the clay and wood haniwa. Families were employed to keep the kofun, and likely refreshed them from time to time. In the case of Hinokuma, recall that earlier in the reign Kitashi Hime, Kashikiya Hime's mother, had been re-interred with her husband. This was likely further ceremonies for her, perhaps the culmination of years of work on the tomb. We are also told that earth was piled up onto a hill, and each family erected a wooden pillar. One official, Yamato no Aya no Sakanoue no Atahe, decided to go all out. Maybe he didn't get the memo. Or maybe he thought he would make a name for himself. Either way, brought in the largest pillar—larger than any other of the family heads that were present. And, well, he did make a name for himself, though perhaps not the name he wanted. That name was Ohohashira no Atahe, or the Atahe of the Giant Pillar. Probably not exactly what he was going for, but there you have it. By the way, if you recognize that name, Sakanoue, then you may have noticed that yes, this is likely an ancestor of the famous Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, a famous warrior of the late Nara and early Heian period, and the second person ever to carry the title of Sei-i Taishogun—but that is still over a century and a half away. For now, in the coming episodes, we'll finish up the reign of Kashikiya Hime, perhaps touch briefly on what was happening on the continent, and continue on as we make our way through the latter part of the seventh century. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. Thank you, also, to Ellen for her work editing the podcast. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.
In this episode of Submarine and a Roach, Tmt, Koj, and Mayowa, joined by their special guest Tomi (Mayowa's younger brother), unleash a masterclass in podcasting. But not just any podcasting—it's the Dark Arts of podcasting, similar to the likes of "Nedu & The Honest Bunch," "Tolani Baj & Moet Abebe," and all those Glitch Media productions. No shade, just a little 'dark arts' magic, teehee! The twist is that Submarine and a Roach brings the humor to the party, making it an absolute riot. The episode kicks off with Tmt sharing WANI's message requesting the retirement of the "good fish" drop. Mayowa and Koj fire back with their demands, and Tmt thinks they're being utterly unreasonable. Tomi, the guest, chimes in with some choice words for WANI, making the banter even more hilarious. The boys delve into discussing the lengths they would go to promote the podcast, including the possibility of getting sued. They also contemplate how they'd handle real-life encounters with people they've roasted on the podcast, adding a touch of real-world comedy to the mix. Tmt drops a comedic bombshell, suggesting he could probably take on 4 out of 16 of Governor Ademola Adeleke's bodyguards if they ever crossed his path, sparking a hilarious debate. The laughter continues as they explore a range of additional topics, including: The inspiring story of Debbie, who successfully crowd-funded 5 million Naira from a viral moment. Aliko Dangote's 2022 New Year yacht scandal and the leaked photos that took the internet by storm. Sanwo Olu's crackdown on Okada riders and a funny encounter with Mr. Macaroni. Mayowa and Tomi's family function hijacked by Mr. Macaroni, complete with band takeover and endless praise. Mayowa's amusing encounter with Koj's dad. Koj's viral comedy performance at the sold-out show that's taking Instagram by storm. The Nigerian Police's arrest of the runners of @gistlover on Instagram. Mayowa reads a tweet that describes how tight President Bola Tinubu's grip is L.A.X (the Nigerian singer) getting a Twitter user arrested for defamation. Tmt's exciting booking for a comedy show in Lagos in January 2024. Mayowa's inclusion in Chude's 2023 Most Interesting People's List alongside Burna Boy and Wasiu Ayinde. DISCLAIMER: Please note that everyone mentioned in this podcast is purely for comedic purposes. There are no legal claims or assertions, and nothing is intended as news reporting. It's all about comedy, laughter, and fun. Thank you for tuning in! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/submarine-and-a-roach0/message
This week on Just A Filmy Game Show, Antariksh is joined by very funny comedians and writers Urjita Wani and Rajat Sood! urjita and Rajat are fighting for the title of 'The Biggest Bollywood Deewana/Deewani' as they guess movies based on their google plot descriptions, arrange Sonam Kapoor movies in the correct order of release and sing songs of Ranveer Singh. Tune in! Follow our host Antariksh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antariksht/ Follow Rajat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajatsoodpomedy/?hl=en Follow Urjita on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urjitawani/?hl=en Subscribe to IVM POP on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IVMPop Follow IVM POP on Instagram! : https://www.instagram.com/ivmpop/ This Show is Available across audio Platforms: Spotify | Gaana | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts The views, opinions, and statements expressed in the episodes of the shows hosted on the IVM Podcasts network are solely those of the individual participants, hosts, and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IVM Podcasts or its management. IVM Podcasts does not endorse or assume responsibility for any content, claims, or representations made by the participants during the shows. This includes, but is not limited to, the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information provided. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. IVM Podcasts is not liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of or in connection with the use or dissemination of the content featured in the shows. Listener discretion is advised. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A truly Muslim framework for Palestine solidarity - Juveria Asif and Shafa'at Wani by Radio Islam
This week on Chuffed, I am joined by TikTok Queen, model and beauty influencer Unice Wani! We chat about what it was like moving to Australia when she didn't speak the language, we talk about the modeling and beauty industry and her experience as a woman of colour, and we get into what her dating life is like as someone with 8.5 million followers! Follow Unice on TIKTOK and INSTAGRAM For all submissions and sponsorship enquiries, please email: hello@chuffedpodcast.com Follow @itstahnee and @chuffedpod on Instagram & TikTok Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SHIRIN YA TATTAUNA WANI BANGARE NA RAYUWAR MALAM IBARAHIM KAHALIL, A ADDINANCE, SIYASA DA KUMA ZAMANTAKEWA, DA WASU BATUTUWA DA AKE CECEKUCE AKAN SU GAME DA BAKON SHIRIN, BABBABAN BAKON SHIRIN SHINE: MAL. IBRAHIM KHALIL, BABBAN MALAMIN ADDININ MUSULUNCIN, KUMA DAN SIYASA DA YAKE DA GOGEWA A HARAKOKIN YAU DA KULLUM NA RAYUWA, YAYI TAKARAR GWAMNA A 2023 A JIHAR KANO, NAJERIYA.
How do we revive a strong thinking scholarly tradition? Our guest this week is Dr. Shuayb Wani, he is the Director and Co-Founder of the Dār Al ‘Ilm Institute https://daralilm.org. His course on the Islamic worldview is currently running and is available online. He grew up in Indian occupied Kashmir and started his quest to learn Islamic ‘Ulūm during his schooling years. He completed his foundational Islāmic Studies in India, and Al-Azhar University, Egypt. He devoted 10 years studying advanced Islāmic Studies specializing in Usūl al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. You can donate either through a one-time contribution: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donateor join our Patreon to get access to exclusive events: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMu...You can now purchase our Thinking Muslim mug here https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Sign up to our newsletter https://jalalayn.substack.com.........................As always, you can comment your thoughts below.Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, Simi and Feyikemi discuss Sarz and Wani going at it on Twitter, artists and stream farming as well as encouraging fans to stop clowning artists when they try new things . They also put you on to their favourite shows & songs.Make sure you watch the episode on YouTube & listen to the playlist - F&S Rotations on Apple Music and Spotify, updated weekly.Use our Go Money referral code - https://gomoney.onelink.me/GvIj/FnSSend fan mail & enquiries to: contactfands@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter & Instagram
On this week's episode, Simi and Feyikemi discuss Sarz and Wani going at it on Twitter, artists and stream farming as well as encouraging fans to stop clowning artists when they try new things . They also put you on to their favourite shows & songs.Make sure you watch the episode on YouTube & listen to the playlist - F&S Rotations on Apple Music and Spotify, updated weekly.Use our Go Money referral code - https://gomoney.onelink.me/GvIj/FnSSend fan mail & enquiries to: contactfands@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter & Instagram
In this episode of 'Just A Filmy Game Show', our host Antariksh Takkar is joined by Abbas Momin and Urjita Wani, as they try to Figure out the name of a film that has a train sequence, sing Katrina Kaif songs and guess the name of the movies based on the reviews and ratings! Follow Abbas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbasmomin88/?hl=en Follow Urjita on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urjitawani/?hl=en Follow our host Antariksh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antariksht/ Subscribe to IVM POP on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IVMPopSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We often hear from Muslims that our ummah suffers from disunity on a local, national, and international level. Slight differences of opinion can cause major divisions. Our countries remain deeply divided between themselves and there is an impression that has consolidated that we will not be able to recover our position. This situation has led to despondency. Helplessness and in the extreme an acceptance of the status quo. But is this written? Is there anything we can do about this parlous situation? Have we come to the end of Muslim civilisation and are we now merely managing decline? Are we waiting for the Mahdi, a leader who will change our situation? Or is there anything we can do about our predicament? To help us understand the issues of unity and division from an Islamic perspective we have invited Shaykh Dr. Shuayb Wani. Dr. Shuayb Wani is the Director and Co-Founder of the Dār Al ‘Ilm Institute. He grew up in Indian-occupied Kashmir and started his quest to learn Islamic ‘Ulūm during his schooling years. He completed his foundational Islāmic Studies in India, and Al-Azhar University, Egypt. He devoted 10 years studying advanced Islāmic Studies specializing in Usūl al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. He holds a Ph.D in : “The Legal Thought of Imam al-Shafi‘i” which was published in 2021. He has 20 years experience of teaching Islamic ulum. He lives in Istanbul with his family. Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
This episode we set the stage for one of the most momentous conflicts of the 6th century. A lot of change is coming to the islands, and the outcome of the power struggles would determine just what shape that change would take. For more see our podcast webpage: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-90 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 90: Setting the Stage So when last we left off, the sovereign Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, had passed away, and there had been some early flirting with Buddhism, which largely ended up pitting members of the relatively new Soga family against the powerful forces of the ancient Mononobe, as well as their allies, the Nakatomi. It even got so bad that the heads of the two houses, Soga no Umako and Mononobe no Moriya, were openly mocking each other at the sovereign's funeral. And unfortunately, things weren't getting better any time soon. In fact, I should probably warn you that around this point in the narrative we are really going to get all Game of Thrones on the archipelago. Family against family, sibling against sibling, with deadly political intrigue. And as we get into it, we should talk about a few things up front to help put everything in context. So let's come back up to speed on the situation, shall we? In the late 6th century, the royal court was in its third dynasty. The sovereign, Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, died from a plague that settled on the land. Across the straits, the once small kingdom of Silla was on the rise, having gobbled up the small polities around it, including Yamato's apparent ally, Nimna. Now the southern peninsula was largely divided between two kingdoms, Silla and Baekje. Both were in contact with the Yamato court. And then there is the far distant northern power of Goguryeo, pressing southward themselves. Yamato's involvement on the peninsula meant there was quite a bit of cross-strait intercourse—in more ways than one. There were Wa on the peninsula, but there were also groups of Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo men and women who settled in the archipelago. They brought with them various innovations and ways of thinking. One of these things was the concept of corporate “Be” families. Now, don't get me wrong, there clearly were families in the archipelago and had been for some time, but at some point we see the literal creation of the official families, the Uji: Groups of people who shared a similar job, gathered together under a family head, who in turn was given a place in the Yamato court. The family then regulated the business of its members to the benefit of the court. These created families, usually marked with the suffix of “Be”, became an outgrowth of the court's power, and they were in turn ranked with a collectivist title, or “kabane”. The highest ranking uji were given the titles of “Muraji” and “Omi”, and the heads of those households were known as the “Ohomuraji” and the “Ohoomi”. One of the oldest of these families, on one side of this growing interal conflict, was known as the Mononobe. They claimed a likely fictional descent from Nigi Hayahi, a “Heavenly grandchild”, similar to the ancestor of the royal family, Ninigi no Mikoto - an illustrious backstory that no doubt helped justify their position. As for the rest, well, “Mononobe” literally translates to “the be of things” … and in this case, those things were weapons, reflecting a historical role of this important family as the enforcers and the heavyweights of the Yamato court. Of course, they weren't the only ones with access to troops and weapons, as we've seen various families raising troops to go fight on the continent, and one can only assume that most powerful individuals at least had those they could call upon in case things got physical. For all that administrative power was rooted in spiritual authority, physical power was also important, and we see this in the way that armor and swords were important elite grave goods, and not just for a single family. But few groups were so clearly tied to the exercise of martial power as were the Mononobe. And they wielded that power on the behalf of the sovereign and the State. Whether it was punishing rebels, or just executing the cruel whims of a violent and entitled ruler, the Mononobe were the ones, more often than not, knocking down your door in the middle of the night and dragging off those deemed enemies of the state. This position was such that you can see evidence of it in the earliest parts of the Chronicles. For example, the Mononobe are connected to their ancestral shrine of Isonokami, one of the oldest shrines mentioned. It was said to be the home of the sword that Susanoo no Mikoto, the wild brother of Amaterasu, used to slay the giant, 8-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi, generally seen as a metaphor for Yamato conquering parts of Izumo. Then there were the piles of swords made and stored at the shrine, which make it sound less like a place of spiritual worship and more like an armory—though let's face it, for some people those are basically one and the same. Add to that all of the times that the Mononobe were called upon to unalive some opponent to the throne, and we get a pretty clear picture of how they had for so long held a place at the very top of the court structure. On the other side is the Soga family, currently personified with Soga no Umako at their head. While the Soga certainly traced their lineage back a respectable distance, including to Takechi no Sukune and others, at this point they are clearly relatively new, with their earliest mention coming in the reign of Wakatakiru, aka Yuryaku Tenno, in the late 5th century, about 100 years before, and they had no clear spiritual center of note, at least in the Chronicles. One source of their power and authority came through their connections with the continent, primarily with Baekje, and related families. The other part was through their marriages, especially the daughters of Soga no Iname. Up to this point, the descendants of Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennō, had been ensuring that their queens were members of the previous dynasty. This gave them and their offspring connections back to those other lineages helping bolster their claims to an unbroken lineage and their right to rule over Yamato. While the sovereigns might marry daughters of other houses, those wouldn't typically be named as queens, although they might be expected to raise royal princes and maybe future queens. Often these were political marriages that enhanced the court's connections to various regions. A few particularly influential family names also appear, such as Katsuraki, Okinaga, and the Wani no Omi. Still, the success of those families pales next to what Soga no Iname enjoyed in a single reign. Soga no Iname had achieved what few others had. He was the head of his family, one of the few of the Omi, or ministerial, kabane; and he had the personal title of Sukune, one of the highest honorifics attainable by an individual. Both of those spoke to his power at court. And when he passed away, he was succeeded in his post by his son, Soga no Umako, who was also made Ohoomi and who also held the honorific of Sukune. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, Soga no Iname married two of his daughters (Umako's sisters), Kitashi Hime and Wonane Gimi, to Ame Kunioshi, that is, Kimmei Tennou. Both of them had a number of sons who were also royal princes. And one of Kitashi Hime's daughters, Kashikiya Hime, then went on to marry Ame Kunioshi's son and successor (and her own half-brother), Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou – and when Nunakura's own wife passed on, he elevated Kashikiya Hime to the rank of queen. Long story short, the immediate children and grandchildren of Soga no Iname were in a great position. Soga no Umako was a powerful person at court, and brother and uncle not just to a number of the royal princes of Ame Kuniyoshi's line, but to Nunakura's queen as well, which gave him some powerful sway. We are also told that he had taken as his wife the younger sister of Mononobe no Moriya, likely as an attempt to bring the two families closer together. Spoiler alert: it didn't. All of those royal princes of Soga descent would not have been eligible for the throne under normal circumstances. But here's where things get a little dicey. Nunakura had been the son of Ame Kunioshi and Ishi Hime, who was, herself, the daugther of former sovereign Takewo Hiro Kunioshi. Of course Takewo's mother had come from the Owari no Muraji, a sister clan to the Mononobe, but the Nihon Shoki glosses over that by claiming Takewo was just holding the throne until his more legitimate brother was ready. Still, long story short, Nunakura was the direct descendant of at least two previous sovereigns, so one would imagine that he would be succeeded by his son, Hikobito no Ohine, son of Nunakura and his previous Queen, Hiro Hime. And yet, Hikobito was probably relatively young, and besides Nunakura there were numerous other sons of Ame Kunioshi – conveniently, for the Soga, through his Soga descended wives. One was Kashikiya Hime's brother, Tachibana no Toyohi, and there were also her half-brothers from her aunt, Wonane Gimi, including Princes Hasetsukabe Anahobe no Miko and Hatsusebe—or just Hasebe—no Miko. Remember that there is no such thing at this point as primogeniture—it doesn't matter if you are the oldest son of the previous sovereign, and the throne commonly passed to brothers before it went to sons and nephews. Finally, there is Kashikiya Hime herself, niece of Soga no Umako and newly elevated queen of Nunakura. While some women may have been content to simply raise the future generation of sovereigns, there is plenty to indicate that Kashikiya Hime was a highly political animal in her own right. On top of that, although her grandfather had passed away, her uncle, Soga no Umako, had taken his place at one of the top spots in court. She was around 34 years old when she became queen, and 42 when Nunakura passed away. She knew the ins and outs of the court, and she seems to have favored her uncle and her Soga family. And so, when Nunakura, aka Bidatsu Tennou, died of plague, the stage was set for a political challenge – to determine just who will be the next sovereign, and more than that, which family – and even which branch of which family – will take the reins in directing matters on the archipelago going forward. Now, before we get much further, I have to warn you, the sources we have are clearly biased when it comes to the events they were recording. I mention this because many of the stories in this highly dynamic period and I don't want to keep caveating everything all the time. So let me get a lot of it out of the way now, before we get into the really juicy bits. This also goes for some of the stuff in the last few episodes as well. While the Chronicles were built from records that survived into the 8th century it is clear that not every family is equally represented, and it is also clear that the Chroniclers, who knew the outcome, were massaging the narrative in certain ways. And so we get a narrative of how the Mononobe were enemies of Buddhism, attempting to stop it from spreading and trying to protect the indigenous worship of the kami. They were assisted in this by the Nakatomi, a family of court ritualists, who no doubt were also out to stop Buddhism's progress. As for the sovereigns, Ame Kunioshi, and Nunakura, while they weren't necessarily Buddhist, they are portrayed as essentially neutral, going back and forth between the advice of their ministers as they fought, internally. Most of this comes from the Nihon Shoki. The Sendai Kuji Hongi gives a much more abbreviated version of the actual history, and the Kojiki is pretty much focused just on the lineages at this point. By that point, a lot had happened, and neither the Soga nor the Mononobe were necessarily running things anymore. Michael Como, in his book, “Shotoku”, suggests that, in all probability, Ame Kunioshi and Nunakura were likewise hostile to this new religion, and I think I can see that. After all, they had to realize it was a threat to their own authority as the dedicated interpreters of the will of their ancestral kami. It may be that the positions put forth by the Mononobe and the Nakatomi were, indeed, their actual thoughts on the matter, but it isn't as if the Mononobe just went ahead and destroyed the Soga temples—twice!—on their own. They first made sure to get an order from the sovereign, an order that may not have taken much arm twisting to issue. Como and others also point out that there is a problem with another often overlooked aspect of the struggles as they are portrayed. The typical narrative pits the “foreign” religion of Buddhism against the “indigenous” religion of the way of the kami—what would eventually be known as Shinto, but at this point really didn't have any particular name. The usual way of telling this story is that native religionists were simply pushing back against a foreign incursion, and even though Buddhism would thrive in the Japanese archipelago, and even come to be another tool of the state, there was a certain conflict that always remained, due in large part to the ceremonial role that the sovereign was supposed to inhabit. The problem is that there is nothing that clearly indicates that the so-called indigenous religions were appreciably less foreign to the islands. Even the earliest stories that were recorded in the Nihon Shoki, which depicts Japan as a special place, formed by the kami themselves, there are clear connections to the continent. In some cases, like with Ame no Hiboko and Himegoso, we have deities coming over directly from the continent as princes and princesses of foreign lands. In others, like with some of the stories of Susano'o, we see the kami coming down from Heaven and first setting foot in the world on the Korean peninsula. Combined with a plethora of other clues, at the very least we can assume that the ways of the kami, including stories and rituals, were heavily influenced by continental thoughts and ideas, some of which may have arrived more than a century earlier. On the other hand, the use of horizontal tomb chambers is a pretty clear archaeological change that we can see happening. We first saw this tomb design back in the 5th century in Kyūshū, and in the 6th century it had spread across the archipelago, becoming the dominant form. But how does that connect to continental influence on indigenous spiritual and religious practice? I think we can generally agree that tombs, beyond the practical idea of not allowing corpses to just sit around above ground, rotting and breeding disease, were largely concerned with what we consider religious concepts about the afterlife. Sure, there is the political capital achieved by reminding everyone just who's in charge, but it is designed around the needs of the rituals surrounding the treatment of the deceased. Hence the grave goods, as well as the clay, stone, or even wood pillars and statues erected around them. So when the burials go from relatively simple pits, dug in the top of these massive burial mounds to more complex chambers of giant stone blocks, which show evidence of people using multiple times, then we can gather that something changed in the rituals surrounding death and the afterlife. Those changes are reflected in the stories about the kami, including stories about Izanagi and Izanami, about Susano'o, and even about Amaterasu in the Heavenly Rock Cave, which all have imagery associated with this new kind of burial practice. That suggests that these stories either originated in a time when the horizontal burial chambers were prevalent, or at least they were changed and updated as ritual life also changed. And most of these changes can be traced back to the continent. We can see evidence, there, of horizontal stone chambers, and then trace that influence as it makes its way to Kyūshū and then the rest of the archipelago. This isn't to say that there weren't elements that were conceived of on the archipelago itself. Certainly local traditions evolved to meet the needs of the people, but not without outside influence. Even today, modern Shintō includes concepts from Daoism, geomancy, and general Yin-Yang theory, among other things, while retaining its own character. The point is that the argument that the resistance to Buddhism was purely because of is foreign nature seems laughably false, and yet that has been the view reinforced within the cultural imaginary of the Japanese for centuries, and it would go on to define the separate roles of Shintō and Buddhism in relation to the State for most of that time. As we look at what takes place, however, just keep in mind that this was much more about sheer, naked, political power, regardless of how later generations tried to make it look. Also, it is unlikely that were any clear villains or heroes, either. Real people are complex, and motivations are rarely straight forward. And with that, let's get back to the funeral of Nunakura. The throne was empty, except for the presence of the Queen, Kashikiya Hime, who continued to reside in the palace presumably receiving guests and whatever the Yamato version of funeral potatoes was—probably some kind of dried fish. The succession at this point wasn't exactly clear. Nunakura had a son, Hikobito, who was no doubt the heir presumptive, but there is nothing explicitly stating as much. Ame Kunioshi had been quite prolific, and many of Nunakura's brothers or half brothers were still running around. In addition, though unstated in the Chronicles, Hikobito was not the son of Kashikiya Hime, and so it remains unclear just how motivated she was to help him ascend the throne. The first to act to resolve this uncertainty was a Prince that was neither a direct sibling of Nunakura nor of Kashikiya Hime. It was Hatsusekabe Anahobe no Miko. Like Kashikiya Hime, he was a grandchild of the illustrious Soga no Iname, except that he descended through Iname's younger daughter, Wonane Gimi. Anahobe seemed to have clear designs on the throne. He marched straight up to the Palace of interment, and demanded entry to see his half sister. This was the location, it would seem, where Nunakura's body was lying in state, prior to burial. However, given some of the accompanying statements, I suspect they may have been using Nunakura's own Palace for this purpose, and his queen, Kashikiya Hime, was likewise residing there, possibly out of loyalty and expectations, but also because where else was she to go on short notice? The steward in charge of the Palace at that time was a man by the name of Miwa no Kimi no Sakahe, also just known as Sakahe no Kimi. He was suspicious of Anahobe, and his intentions. After all, it wouldn't take much for Anahobe to force his way in, force himself on Nunakura's queen, claim they were married and therefore he deserved to rule. It wouldn't be the first time that a sovereign had married the queen, out at least a consort or daughter, of the former ruler to strengthen their own claim. Kashikiya was double prized as she was born the daughter of Ame Kunioshi and the Queen of Nunakura. Sakahe no Kimi want about to let that happen, however. We are told that he had faithfully served the royal family up to that point, and it didn't look like he was about to just lay down now, not even for a prince of the blood. This pissed off Anahobe to no end. He left, incensed, and started talking smack about Sakahe no Kimi to anyone who would listen. In particular, he complained to the two Great Ministers, which I can only assume to mean Soga no Umako and Mononobe no Moriya, the Ohomi and Ohomuraji of the court. He mentioned how, at the eulogy, Sakahe had said that the court of Nunakura would not be left desolate, and that he, Sakahe, would keep it pure as the surface of a mirror. Who was he to make such a bold claim to be the defender of Nunakura's virtue, especially when there were so many total princes and the court Ministers themselves? And on top of that, he had the temerity to deny Anahobe access to the Palace of interment seven times. For such insolence, he demanded the authority to put Sakahe no Kimi to death. They both agreed, and next thing you know, prince Anahobe grabbed a bunch of troops, along with Mononobe no Moriya, the King's Hand of the ancient Yamato Court, and put together a posse to go bring justice, in the form of a quick sword to the back of the neck, to Sakahe no Kimi. This was not exactly a quiet affair, however, and when the assembled forces of the aggrieved princes rolled up on the home of Sakahe no Kimi, in Ikenobe, in Iware, he had already split, hightailing it up Mt. Miwa. He then climbed down in the night and made straightaway for Kashikiya Hime's country house in Tsubaki-ichi. There he went to hide out and lay low, as Kashikiya Hime still had his back. However, it wasn't only the royal family that had some people with divided loyalties, and two of Sakahe's own relatives, Shiratsutsumi and Yokoyama, decided to turn him in, apparently trying to cozy up with Anahobe, whose star appeared to be on the rise. Knowing where Sakahe was hiding out, Anahobe and his brother, Hasebe, ordered Mononobe no Moriya to head out and treat Sakahe as though he were being played by none other than Sean Bean himself. Not only that, they were to kill his sons as well, ending his direct line. Moriya accepted this duty without hesitation, once again gathering a large force and setting out. I would point out at this point that Sakahe was clearly a close confidant of the previous sovereign, Nunakura, and he was seeking refuge at Queen Kashikiya Hime's summer cottage—we aren't told if she was there, or still at the palace of interment, but either way, Moriya's forces were moving against her property. As Soga no Umako heard about this, he quickly came to the conclusion that going after Sakahe, and invading the Queen's residence to do so, was one of those Really Bad Ideas. Sure, he may have initially agreed to Sakahe being punished, because there was an order to things, and no doubt Sakahe's actions threatened that order—though it is also possible that the two “Chief Ministers” mentioned in the text were others, as nobody is specifically named, so it is possible he was just learning about this for the first time, but doubtful. Still, he was now against it. Perhaps it was the clear involvement of Kashikiya Hime, or maybe it was the thought of killing the innocent kids. Or possibly Umako had come to realize the truth—that this was simply an excuse for Anahobe to take the throne for himself. Whatever the reason, Umako went to his nephew Anahobe and pleaded with him not to go out with Moriya. He suggested that, at the very least, it would be unseemly for him to go himself. Anahobe was determined, however, and so he headed out to meet Mononobe no Moriya and to see to Sakahe's end, personally. Here the Chronicles diverge, giving us two slightly different accounts. In one story, Umako tagged along, and eventually he was able to persuade Anahobe not to go himself, and Anahobe finally relented. However, shortly thereafter, Moriya returned with news that he had executed Sakahe no Kimi and the others. In the other account, it is Anahobe himself who ended Sakahe no Kimi and his line, demonstrating that he was not afraid to get his hands dirty. Either way, Soga no Umako realized that this was not the end of it, and that there would likely be more violence. He was clearly upset that Anahobe hadn't listened to him to call the whole thing off, and Kashikiya Hime, well, I think we can see why she may not have been happy. The Chronicles say they both conceived enmity against Prince Anahobe, even though he was their nephew and cousin, respectively. Now this was all happening shortly after Nunakura's death—Nunakura died in 585, and this is all taking place between then and late 586 – and clearly it's related to a question of succession. However, the Chronicles try to claim that there was, in fact, a sitting sovereign at that time. That honor went to none other than Kashikiya Hime's own full brother, Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Youmei Tennou. So given what we've discussed about Anahobe's antics in trying to marry Kashikiya, what's up with that, and where did Toyohi come from? Why Toyohi was selected, or even how he was selected, is a bit strange. We are told that he was the fourth child of Ame Kunioshi, and as I mentioned, he was the full brother of Kashikiya Hime, making him a son of Kitashi Hime and a grandson of Soga no Iname. We are also told that he believed in the Law of the Buddha and also Revered the Way of the Kami. Finally, we are told that his capital was set in Iware—specifically at the Ikenobe no Namitsuki no Miya. If that sounds familiar, it is because Ikenobe, in Iware, was also the location of our Sean Bean stand-in, Miwa no Kimi no Sakahe's, house as well—a strange coincidence in a tumultuous time. Toyohi wasn't long on the throne. During the feast of first fruits, the Niinamesai, which was performed on a riverbank in Iware, Toyohi took ill. The Niinamesai is typically observed on or about the 23rd day of the 11th month of the old lunisolar calendar, which could have been as late as December or even early January, meaning that it was likely cold, and possibly even cold and wet, especially along a riverbank. It brings to mind the story of US President William Henry Harrison, who gave his inaugural address on a cold and wet day, and ended up catching pneumonia weeks later, passing away shortly thereafter. In a similar vein, Toyohi's illness grew worse and worse, and so he requested that he be able to give worship to the Three Precious Things, which is to say Buddhism, likely hoping that worshipping the Buddha would cure him. Obviously, Soga no Umako was in favor of this, having tried to get his own temple started in the previous reign, but both Mononobe no Moriya and Nakatomi no Katsumi both opposed it, claiming he would be turning his back on the kami of the Japanese archipelago. It was déjà vu all over again. The tie breaker in this case came from what might seem an unusual source. It was Prince Anahobe himself who found a priest and brought him to his elder half-brother's side. The records simply state that it was Toyohi's “younger brother”, but a note in the Nihon Shoki explains that Prince Anahobe is assumed to be the one they mean. This is bolstered, somewhat, by the fact that Toyohi is said to have been married to *Princess* Hasetsukabe Anahobe no Himemiko. That's right, Toyohi had married Anahobe's sister, which may have also made them closer than even normal bonds of kinship would account for. Thus, whatever designs Anahobe had on the throne seem to have been overcome by his desire to help his half-brother, an apparently touching moment. Unfortunately, it didn't help. Toyohi grew worse and worse and eventually it was clear that he wasn't going to make it. Kuratsukuri Be no Tasuna, a son of Shiba Tattou, offered to become a monk on Toyohi's behalf and help make merit for him. Shiba Tattou had been the one to help Soga no Umako with his first attempt at setting up a temple, including having his daughter ordained as a nun, so this seems rather on brand for him. It is interesting that Tasuna is mentioned as a member of the Kuratsukuri Be, however—the guild of saddle makers. Once again, related to horses and thus back to Baekje and the continent. Tasuna offered to make a Buddha image that was about 16 feet high, and to build a temple. The Chronicles say that this temple, along with its attendant Boddhisatvas, was still around several centuries later at the temple of Sakata in Minabuchi, which would appear to place it in the region of Asuka, the Soga family stronghold. Toyohi's reign was extremely short—assuming, of course, that he reigned at all. As we've already discussed with Anahobe's Game of Thrones antics, it seems like things were generally still up in the air, though it is quite possible that since Toyohi was Kashikiya Hime's full brother, she deferred to him and helped him take the throne as everything else was going on. It is just as likely, though, that the Chroniclers needed someone to fill the space, and he fit the bill. There are a couple of things that suggest this interpretation. First off are his offspring, specifically two. One was Nukade Hime, who he made the Ise Princess, which is to say the Royal Princess, or Himemiko, who was assigned to the shrine of Amaterasu in Ise. There is some question about the actual importance of Ise at this point, but there wouldn't be by the 8th century, and so to the Chroniclers this would have been an important point to make, even though there is some scholarly thought that Ise really wasn't that big of a deal until around the time of the Temmu dynasty. The other child of Tachibana no Toyohi is very important – someone we've touched on briefly, and I'll probably go into a whole episode on in not too much longer: Prince Umayado. Aka the Prince of the Kamitsu Palace, or Kamitsumiya. He's better known as Shotoku Taishi, and he holds a special place in Japan's cultural identity about itself and Buddhism. For anyone who hasn't heard of Shotoku Taishi, I'll try to break it down quickly. As I said, we need to do at least one episode on him at some point. “Shotoku Taishi” is the single individual most credited with spreading Buddhism in Japan – the most mentioned, though he wasn't the first. The problem is that this means there are a lot of stories around him and his accomplishments, such that it is hard to pull out fact from fiction. Much like Yamato Takeru, Shotoku Taishi's legend had already grown by the time the Nihon Shoki was being written, to the point that different temples were almost fighting over who got to write the narratives about him and whose stories were taken as factual. Think about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and you get the picture of the kinds of cultural imaginaries that get attached to Prince Shotoku. And so it is little wonder that this very important figure's father, Tachibana no Toyohi, gets credited with at least a few years on the throne, whether or not he ever actually sat as the ruler. It provides even that much more legitimacy to Prince Umayado's later accomplishments—or at least the accomplishments that were attributed to him. It also might explain why Toyohi's own story centers so much on his belief in Buddhism as well. There is a point made of talking about the fact that Toyohi believed in Buddhism, and he is the first sovereign we have to actively seek out the worship of Buddhism. Once again, it is hard to know if he was truly sovereign—I tend to feel like this whole period was one of the periods where the court couldn't initially get united behind a single person, and what we are seeing is more after-the-fact ascensions to boost the lineage. But the dispute over Buddhism is clearly the centerpiece here for something much greater. But we haven't gone full family-on-family war yet, which brings us back to Mononobe no Moriya. He was clearly not happy about the whole situation with the sovereign ignoring his advice and performing more Buddhist worship, and it didn't help that the powerful prince Anahobe had stepped in on the side of the pro-Buddhist faction. They had just been out murdering people together, and now Anahobe turned his back on him. Moriya likely felt tossed aside. I've seen some suggestion that the Mononobe house and the Soga house at this time were equals. Sure, the Nihon Shoki uses the “Omi” and “Muraji” kabane, with “Omi” having a distinctly more prominent feel, but it is possible that the two families were actually of equal rank. There's the fact that the text at one time references “The Two Oho-omi”, which is generally taken to just mean the two “Chief Ministers”, Umako and Moriya, but which could also be seen as acknowledging that Moriya stood on equal footing with Umako. There is also a note in the Sendai Kuji Hongi that suggests that Moriya was made both Ohomuraji—that is, head of the house—and also a high Minister, or Omi. It is unclear what this means, but probably similarly placed him on equal footing with Umako. Certainly in the discussions up to this point, the Mononobe often had the favor of the court over the wishes of the Soga, especially when it came to burning down their Buddhist establishments. Now, however, the Soga were clearly ascendant. The grandsons of Soga no Iname were Royal Princes, and that shifted the power dynamics. Even Anahobe was a Soga descendant. It is easy to see how Moriya was likely feeling isolated and even belittled by the court. Enter Iago… I mean Oshisakabe no Kekuso, who bent Moriya's ear and convinced him that all of the other ministers were now plotting against him. More than that, they were about to ambush him and take him out of the picture altogether. And was that so strange? Hadn't something similar just happened with Sakahe no Kimi when the powerful people of the court found him too troublesome? Moriya himself had helped carry that out and bring it about. This was not exactly a time where one was innocent until proven guilty, and if you wanted someone out of the picture, well, it was hard for them to tell their story from inside a massive burial mound. This was a dangerous time to be on the political outs. And so we are told that Mononobe no Moriya retired. He left the court and went to Ato, where he had his own country-house. This would have been in a Mononobe stronghold. It is often thought to have meant somewhere on the Kawachi plain, around Yao, on southeastern edge of the modern metropolis of Ohosaka, and outside of the Nara Basin. There he gathered a force of troops around him, presumably for his own protection. Allies, such as Nakatomi no Katsumi, came to his aid. As Umako had predicted, this whole thing was not going to end well. The two most powerful ministers at court had been feuding since the death of the previous sovereign. They had broken on policy, on religion, and even on threats to the throne. And now one of them had holed up in their own stronghold and was building an army. Meanwhile you still had a bunch of princes running around, all of them possibly eligible to ascend and take the throne of Yamato for themselves. The storm clouds of war had gathered, and people were taking sides. Whatever happened, its clear that it would have momentous consequences for everyone involved—at least, if they lived to see it through. Until next time, thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.
Dr. Shafia Wani a PHD scholar serving as a faculty member at Jammu and Kashmir Institute Of Management Public Administration and Rural Development (IMPARD). As well a trainer and Development professional with an experience of 16 years with international NGO's and state agencies in social work and rural development ,rights based and emergency programmes in Kashmir. She has traveled across India for the awareness and has always highlighted childrights and being female activist she has always made a highlight of female rights that are being violated through any social or domestic abuse.
In this especially chaotic episode of Submaroach, Mayowa and TMT talk to equally chaotic artist WANI and talk about 1. Leaving Nigeria to unlock your true self. 2. Dating and Love bombing. 3. and finally you get a super exclusive 1 minute clip of Wani's new song (which you get to name!) Enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/submarine-and-a-roach0/message