Stonework and Treason
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
Though it may not seem like it on first glance, across Asuka there are various remnants of a much grander period. Postholes tell the story of palaces built over and over on the same spots. In addition, there are the various temples and various carved stone statues and other features. This episode we'll talk about some of the stonework and palace complexes built during Takara Hime's reign, as well as the deadly politics that were still the currency of the court. For more, check out our blogpost at: Rough Transcription Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of...
info_outline
New Year's Recap 2025
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
Happy New Year! This is our 2025 recap episode. In this case, we actually are recapping a fair bit more than just the year, going over the previous evolution of the Yamato state up to the period of the Great Change, or Taika, which we covered this past year. There's a lot more that we expect to get into this next year, and this will hopefully tee us up for what is to come. For more, including a full list of our previous references, check out: Rough Transcript Shinnen Akemashite! Happy New Year and Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name...
info_outline
The People of the North, Part 2
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This is the second of two episodes talking about the people in the north of the Japanese archipelago: The Emishi and the Mishihase. Last episode we covered things from an archaeological overview, looking at the traces of the Epi-Jomon, Satsumon, and Okhotsk Sea cultures. This episode focuses more on what was actually written in the Nihon Shoki, including a journey to introduce Emishi to the Tang Emperor himself! For more information, check out our podcast blog at: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is...
info_outline
The People of the North, Part 1
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This is the first in a two part series on the people living to the Northeast of Yamato, in the areas of Tohoku and Hokkaido. They are called in the Chronicles, the Emishi and the Mishihase, and these designations appear to refer to areas that include the Epi-Jomon and later Satsumon cultures as well as members of the Okhotsk Sea Culture, all archaeological designations for various people whom we know primarily through their archaeological remains. We also discuss a bit about how all of this ties in (or doesn't) with the modern Ainu, and why we don't necessarily use that term until...
info_outline
Red Banquets, Fashion Disasters, and Other Continental Adventures
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we go back to the continent for a bit to see how things are going. Hint: not well. While Yamato was building its new bureaucratic state, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla were battling it out while the Tang empire and their ambitions loomed over them all. Yamato is about to get pulled into the conflicts, but before that, let's look at what was happening from the point of view of the various penninsular polities. This episode goes back over some of the information in Episodes 107 and 109, but mainly to place it in context of what was happening in Goguryeo, Baekje...
info_outline
Public Lands and Remote Work
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we look at the Hakuchi era. Specifically, the implementation of something called the "Equal Fields" system, which seems to be what the court was trying to implement in some of their early Ritsuryo edicts. And then we'll see why this era is the "Asuka" period and not the "Naniwa" period, despite the grand temple to government erected in that area of ancient Osaka. For more, check out Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is Episode 114: Public Lands and Remote Work In the early evening, Karu paced...
info_outline
The White Pheasant
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
So the year 649 was so bad that they went and changed the whole calendar to forget about it! In 650 a white pheasant is brought to the court, and they sieze on that as a chance to rename the era from Taika to Hakuchi. That should make things better, right? This episode we talk about this event--their reasoning, as well as what is recorded as having happened. We also take a look at the completion of the Ajifu no Miya and how it was renamed to the Naniwa no Toyosaki no Nagara no Miya, or the Toyosaki Nagara Palace of Naniwa. This is thought to be what we know today as the...
info_outline
End of an Era
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
info_outline
Names, Ranks, and Court Caps
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
Hitting the last of the Taika reforms, including talk about names, ranks, official duties, and new sumptuary laws for officials. For more, check out: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 111: Names, ranks, and court caps. In the early hours of the morning, the locked gates of the palace were dark against the sky. A few torches provided flickering illumination, as a crowd of officials gathered to the left and right of the doors. As they waited outside, a low murmur could be heard as they made...
info_outline
Manual Labor, Mounded Tombs, and Marital Missteps
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we continue looking at the Taika reforms, covering only 3 months, but with edicts about mounded tombs, the labor due to the state vice individuals, and a variety of "offenses", often countering current practices such as forcing people to undergo "harai" in many instances. For more, check out the blog at Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 110: Manual Labor, Mounded Tombs, and Marital Missteps. Maro sat by the small campfire he had made along the river’s edge. The water nearby was going to be the...
info_outline