A Short History of Japan Podcast

A walk through the best bits of Japanese history with a focus on the key people, best stories and the funny little mistakes that created Japan

Episode 35 OMG Part 2 04/24/2016

Episode 35 OMG Part 2 "How did it come to this?" - This must have been the question the Christian missionaries asked themselves as Hideyoshi followed by successive Tokugawa Shoguns made life unbearable for Christians in Japan. If only we had handed over the ship...if only we'd handed over the treasure.....if only we had that Englishman beheaded..... /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4316502

Episode 34: OMG Part 1 10/09/2014

Episode 34: OMG Part 1 To Christian missionaries, Japan was a most attractive prospect. Literate, cultured and rich - the Jesuits arrived in Japan in the 1500s and set about a process of conversion: from the lowest peasant to the highest warlord. In Part One, we chart the rise and rise of Christianity under Nobunaga and Hideyoshi - before things turned sour. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297518

Episode 32: Masterful Inactivity 04/22/2014

Episode 32: Masterful Inactivity With the destruction of the Toyotomi at Osaka in 1615, the Tokugawa clan were unrivalled in their domination of Japan. They would establish a Shogunate that would last over 200 years. But how did they change Japan from a nation perpetually at war to one of enforced peace? /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297519

Episode 31: End of the Sengoku Jidai 01/29/2013

Episode 31: End of the Sengoku Jidai The Siege of Osaka Castle in the winter of 1614-15 and the final Battle for Osaka Castle in the summer of 1615 marks the final chapter in the Sengoku Jidai. After years of rivalry between the forces of the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa the final question of who would dominate Japan for the next few hundred years was decided - but not before conspiracy, cowardice, spanked bottoms and cross dressing was tried as a winning strategy! Here is of the events discussed in the podcast. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297520

Episode 30: For Whom The Bell Tolls 11/11/2012

Episode 30: For Whom The Bell Tolls Tokugawa Ieyasu had won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and set up organising Japan under his clan’s domination. However, safely ensconced in Osaka Castle was Hideyori, son of Hideyoshi; the last of the Toyotomi. Tokugawa Ieyasu knew that he would never be safe until the last of the Toyotomi claims to control of Japan were snuffed out. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297521

Competition Draw 11/11/2012

Competition Draw And the winner is of the Size-L Oda Nobunaga t-shirt - complete with his slogan “Tenka Fubu” (The Realm Subjected to Military Power) is…………………… /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297522

Competition 11/05/2012

Competition OK - I’m going to draw out the winner of the competition THIS SATURDAY (Australian Eastern Standard Time) so if you haven’t entered - get your act together and make it happen! Good luck! /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297523

Episode 29: My Trip to Japan 10/16/2012

Episode 29: My Trip to Japan I went to Japan with 25 students and 2 other teachers. In this podcast I’ll tell you where we went with a particular emphasis on the historical dimension (obviously!) and *drum roll* I bought you a present!! Well, there is a competition and a prize! Here is the and a link to a with some pics too! /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297524

Episode 28: Sekigahara 09/10/2012

Episode 28: Sekigahara With Hideyoshi’s body barely cold, the plotting and scheming began in earnest. This was the complete opposite of what Hideyoshi had hoped and begged for - for the sake of his infant son. But promises to a dead man counted for little when the domination of Japan was in the offing. Here is a with a few locations of the places mentioned in this cast /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297525

Episode 27: You Can’t Take It With You 07/17/2012

Episode 27: You Can’t Take It With You My mother says that the cemetery is full of people who thought they were indispensable - but in Hideyoshi’s case, he would have been right. His fervent desire was to ensure that his son, Hideyori, would be able to maintain the Toyotomi rule over Japan. In the end, he had to rely on promises of men he clearly didn’t trust. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297526

Episode 26: Hideyoshi Dreams Big 07/11/2012

Episode 26: Hideyoshi Dreams Big In 1592 and 1598 Hideyoshi pointed the enormous Japanese capacity for warfare at the task of conquering one of the greatest civilizations in the world, China. In this episode we discuss why he decided that that was a good idea and how it all went. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297527

Episode 25: From War to Peace (Almost) 04/26/2012

Episode 25: From War to Peace (Almost) Hideyoshi, in spite of being a warlord, transitioned Japan from a state of war to a state of peace. Though Japan wasn’t finished with the sengoku jidai by the time he died in 1598, he did put in place a series of laws that made peace more profitable than war. When it came to creating a sustainable peace for the Japanese nation, he made the bird ‘want to sing’ /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297528

Episode 24: Hideyoshi’s Japan 04/19/2012

Episode 24: Hideyoshi’s Japan The rise of Hideyoshi from sandal bearer to dictator of Japan was phenomenal. After hundreds of year of civil war, he, without any sense of irony, brought the country to unified peace with remarkably little bloodshed. Well, at least a lot less than what one might expect if Nobunaga had lived long enough to make it happen. Not only did he unify the Daimyo, he set about reorganising the process of taxation and commerce for the whole realm. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297529

Episode 23: The Three Day Shogun 04/16/2012

Episode 23: The Three Day Shogun If murdering Nobunaga was Phase One of a long thought-out and well-considered plan for the take-over of Japan it certainly wasn’t obvious in 1582. In fact, it hardly seems obvious today! One thing we do know, Hideyoshi, though flat-out besieging the Mori clan, was not going to let this opportunity pass. If things went right, he could achieve victory over the Mori, avenge his lord and overcome rivals for control of post-Nobunaga Japan. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297530

Standard apologies 03/27/2012

Standard apologies Hello. Just a quick note to say thank you for being patient. It is becoming a worrying habit - this apologising for keeping you waiting! The ‘real-life’ thing is taking up way to much ’spare’ time. I have school holidays in a couple of weeks and I have one episode written already for recording. As soon as the holidays start, the dog is quiet and the children out-sourced I should be able to get four episodes out in quick procession. I know that the frequency of these podcasts is an issue for some people (it certainly is for me!) so my goal is to average about 1.5 per month - but to squeeze them out in short bursts when ‘real-life’ allows. If I were a samurai, my shame would cleansed by seppuku…..but I’m just a teacher and a white-board marker will not pierce my belly. Be well and I’ll ‘talk’ to you soon. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297531

Episode 22: The Empire is Mine 01/27/2012

Episode 22: The Empire is Mine Between 1575 and 1582 Oda Nobunaga was sorely tested by the most powerful opponents to his domination; The Ikko Ikki Buddhists, the Takeda Clan and the Uesugi Clan. In the end, however, it might have been an unpaid dinner tab that killed him. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297532

Episode 21: Nobunaga v Buddha 01/24/2012

Episode 21: Nobunaga v Buddha In 1570 Oda Nobunaga faced a dangerous combination of rival daimyo and religious fanaticism. He decided to treat Buddhist rivals to his power the same way he did anyone else. With fire. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297533

Episode 20: The Realm Subjected To Military Power 01/11/2012

Episode 20: The Realm Subjected To Military Power Oda Nobunaga took Kyoto in the name of the Shogun and the Emperor in 1568. By 1570 the Shogun knew that he served at Nobunaga’s pleasure and little else. Nobunaga almost lost it all to traitors and two bullets from a ninja’s arqubus andThe Asakura and Asai daimyo took to field against Nobunaga in the famous Battle of Anegawa. Enjoy! (frug.podbean.com). Here is . /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297534

Episode 19: Oda Nobunaga’s License to Kill 01/07/2012

Episode 19: Oda Nobunaga’s License to Kill Oda Nobunaga had the luck, the allies, the staff, the location, the armies and the validation to make a move on Kyoto while the other major Daimyo kept busy fighting amongst themselves. He also had an ego to match his ambition. Here is a map of the provinces of and the the . /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297535

Episode 18: Sengoku Jidai, The Rise of Oda Nobunaga 12/22/2011

Episode 18: Sengoku Jidai, The Rise of Oda Nobunaga In this episode we introduce one of Japan’s three Great Unifiers. His rise to power was certainly not easy and could easily have relegated him to the status of also-ran. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297536

Episode 17: Sengoku Jidai Part 3 Bang 12/22/2011

Episode 17: Sengoku Jidai Part 3 Bang The Portuguese bumped into Japan in 1543 and brought with them guns and god. In this podcast we will hear about how Japan received these products of the west. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4297537

Episode 16: Sengoku Jidai Part 2 02/09/2011

Episode 16: Sengoku Jidai Part 2 War in medieval Japan was a colourful bonanza - bravery, cowardice and accounting! /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5644346

Episode 15: Sengoku Jidai Part 1 02/08/2011

Episode 15: Sengoku Jidai Part 1 The word sengoku means 'chaotic states' or 'warring states/countries' and 'jidai' means 'age - like 'iron age'. Betrayal, destruction, suffering and despair. It's every man for himself - and a few men rose to the top. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5558242

Episode 14: Revolting Peasants 02/06/2011

Episode 14: Revolting Peasants The peasants of Japan finally get their turn at dealing out violence! /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5116232

Episode 13: The Gold Pavilion 02/05/2011

Episode 13: The Gold Pavilion Every tourist who goes to Kyoto goes here - but its story, and that of the Silver Pavilion, are not well known /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5116095

Episode 12: A Clayton's Restoration 02/04/2011

Episode 12: A Clayton's Restoration /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5115985

Episode 10: Blowhards, the Kamikaze Story 02/03/2011

Episode 10: Blowhards, the Kamikaze Story Did the Mongols get beaten by typhoons sent by the gods? /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5115959

Episode 9: The Kamakura Dominance 02/02/2011

Episode 9: The Kamakura Dominance /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/5048165

Episode 8: Power Moves East 02/01/2011

Episode 8: Power Moves East The names of Yoshitsune and Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan are legendary in Japanese history. But how did they seize power from the Taira? And how and why did they move the de facto capital to Kamakura and usher in a new age in Japanese governance. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4882257

Episode 7: Rule by the Sword 01/01/2011

Episode 7: Rule by the Sword Taira Kiyomori spared the lives of Yoritomo and Yoshitsune - two young children at the time - in order, allegedly, to sleep with their mother. Ewwwww. But this is a cracking tale of revenge, bravery and betrayal. /episode/index/show/ashorthistoryofjapan/id/4838980

A Short History of Japan Podcast

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