The Jinshin no Ran, Part I: Prologue to War
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
The sovereign, Naka no Oe is dead, and with his death comes an all too familiar tradition: different factions warring for the throne. And this time it isn't just something we are guessing at, we get a front row seat to the show, with enough details to fill several episodes. In Part I we will look at what kicked off the war--or at least what we know--and discuss a few of the theories. We will also go over some of the events that happened while Prince Otomo was the head of state. For more, check out our podcast webpage at Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s...
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Immigrants, Princes, and High Officials
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we are covering the end of the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou. We cover the events in the Chronicles, including the death of Nakatomi no Kamatari, the creation of the Fujiwara family, the destruction of Goguryeo, and the continued development of the Baekje refugees. For more, check out the podcast blog at: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 128: Immigrants, Princes, and High Officials. There was a pall over the house, despite the visiting royal retinue creating something of a stir,. ...
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Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we look at time and direction and the influence of geomancy--theories of Yin and Yang and a little bit of how people viewed the world through that lens. For more, check out the blog page: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 127: Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato Officers of the court stood in the pavilion. The soft trill of water could be heard trickling from one reservoir to the next. They watched closely, as the figure of a court official, one hand out, pointing at a...
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New Beginnings
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we are looking at the early years of the official reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tenno, including the building of a brand new capital on the shores of Lake Biwa. For more information, see: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 126: New Beginnings The local farmers couldn’t help but talk. There was so much construction, but it wasn’t entirely clear what was being built. The land between the mountains and the lake had been neatly groomed fields, but now that the government workmen had...
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The Sovereign of Heavenly Wisdom
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
Following the death of Takara Hime, and the war on the Korean peninsula, Naka no Ōe was taking hold--or perhaps keeping hold--of the reins of government. He wasn't finished with his changes to the government. He also had a new threat--the Tang Empire. They had destroyed Yamato's ally, Baekje, and defeated the Yamato forces on the peninsula. While the Tang then turned their attention to Goguryeo, Yamato could easily be next. The Tang had a foothold on the Korean peninsula, so they had a place to gather and launch a fleet, should they wish to bring Yamato into...
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The Battle of Hakusukinoe
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode is a bit long--we are talking about the last elements of the reign of Takara Hime, the fall of Baekje, and the attempt to restore the kingdom, which culminated in the Battle of Hakusukinoe, aka the Battle of Baekgang. For more, check out our blog at Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is Episode 124: The Battle of Haku-suki-no-e. Echi no Takutsu looked out from where he stood on the deck of his ship. The horizon seemed to bob up and down, but he knew that was just an illusion caused by the...
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Embassy Interrupted
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we will discuss various embassies to and from Yamato during the reign of Takara Hime, with a particular focus on the embassy of 659, which occured at a particularly eventful time and happened to be extremely well-recorded fro the period by Iki no Hakatoko, who was apparently on the mission to the Tang court itself. For more, check out our blog post at: Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 123: Embassy Interrupted. Iki no Hakatoko sat in his room, gazing out at the city. It was truly an...
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Journey to the West, Part 3
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we will finish up the travels of Xuanzang, who circumnavigated the Indian subcontinent while he was there, spending over a decade and a half travelings, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and studying at the feet of learned monks of India, and in particular at Nalanda monastery--a true center of learning from this period. For more, check out our blogpost page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-122 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 122: Journey to the West, Part 3 The...
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Journey to the West, Part 2
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we continue to follow the monk Xuanzang on his path along the silk road. From Gaochang, he traveled through the Tarim Basin, up over the Tianshan Mountains, to the heart of the Western Gokturk Qaghanate. From there, he traveled south, through the region of Transoxania to Bactria and the land of Tukhara. He pushed on into the Hindu Kush, witnessing the stone Buddha statues of Bamiyan, and eventually made his way to the land of Kapisa, near modern Kabul, Afghanistan. From there he would prepare to enter the Indian subcontinent: the home of the historical...
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Journey to theWest, Part 1
Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan
This episode we kick off a series of episodes following the famous monk Xuanzang, aka the Tripitaka Master of the Law, Sanzang Fashi. Known in Japanese as Genjo, and founder of the Faxiang school of Yogacara Buddhism, also known as the Hosso school, it was brought back to the archipelago by students who studied with the master at his temple north of the Tang capital of Chang'an. He was particularly famous for his travels across the Silk Road to India and back--a trip that would last 16 years and result in him bringing back numerous copies of sutras from the land of the Buddha,...
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