A Short History of Japan show

A Short History of Japan

Summary: A quick tour through the cool bits of Japanese history. Visit the site at http://frug.podbean.com, or follow me on Google+ (link= gplus.to/cfostersensei)) or on twitter (@frugcam)

Join Now to Subscribe to this Podcast
  • Visit Website
  • RSS
  • Artist: Cameron Foster
  • Copyright: Copyright © 2010 Cameron Foster. All rights reserved.

Podcasts:

 Episode 34: OMG Part 1 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:31:35

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 32: Masterful Inactivity | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:35:10

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 31: End of the Sengoku Jidai | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:31:35

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 a map of the events discussed in the podcast.

 Episode 30: For Whom The Bell Tolls | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:30:06

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.

 Competition Draw | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:01:38

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 29: My Trip to Japan | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:41:35

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 map of the places we went and a link to a sliderocket presentation with some pics too!

 Episode 28: Sekigahara | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:30:00

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 google map with a few locations of the places mentioned in this cast

 Episode 27: You Can’t Take It With You | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:26:03

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 26: Hideyoshi Dreams Big | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:23:03

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 25: From War to Peace (Almost) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:27:55

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 24: Hideyoshi’s Japan | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:20:53

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 23: The Three Day Shogun | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:21:05

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 22: The Empire is Mine | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:36:59

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 21: Nobunaga v Buddha | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:23:12

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 20: The Realm Subjected To Military Power | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:21:42

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 the script.

Comments

Login or signup comment.