History of Japan

Latest Episodes:

Episode 526 - The Outside World and Tokugawa Japan Apr 05, 2024

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This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: "closed country" isn't quite the full story. How did Japan maintain its connections to the outside world during the Edo Period? And how do some of those connections, particularly in the Ryukyus and Hokkaido, lay the groundwork for future imperial expansion?

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Episode 525 - A Day in the Life of Tokugawa Japan Mar 29, 2024

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This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: what was life in the Edo period like? We cover everything from food to school to entertainment as we talk through daily life in Tokugawa-ruled Japan.

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Episode 524 - The Tokugawa System Mar 22, 2024

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This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: how did the Tokugawa bakufu operate? What did the political structure of the shoguns look like? And what makes the Tokugawa era unique in the history of warrior rule in Japan?

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Episode 523 - Reunification, Part 3 Mar 15, 2024

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This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: Hideyoshi may have brought peace, but Tokugawa Ieyasu would be the one to make it lasting. How did Ieyasu seize power from Hideyoshi, and what did he do to secure it?

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Episode 522 - Reunification, Part 2 Mar 08, 2024

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With Nobunaga dead, we turn our attention to one of his generals: Hashiba Hideyoshi, who would take up leadership of the former Oda lands and within the course of a decade complete Japan's reunification. What do we know about the man and motives behind Japan's greatest rags to riches story?

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Episode 521 - Reunification, Part 1 Mar 01, 2024

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This week on the Revised Intro to Japanese History: the beginning of the end of the age of war and the rise of Oda Nobunaga. How did Nobunaga go from the ruler of less than a single province to the most powerful man in Japan in just a few decades? And what do we really know about the man himself, his plans, and his vision for Japan's future?

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Episode 520 - The Age of Chaos Feb 16, 2024

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This week on the Revised Intro to Japanese History: the social, religious, and economic changes of the Sengoku period. Though this is an age of civil war, it's also an age of tremendous growth and change, and one that will lay the groundwork of much to come in future centuries.

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Episode 519 - The Low Conquers the High, Part 2 Feb 09, 2024

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This week, we look at the flip side of the chaos of the Sengoku era in the form of two clans that rose to prominence from obscurity during the age of civil war. The first half is focused on the Mori family of western Honshu, while the second is focused on the Date, from the island's remote north.

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Episode 518 - The Low Conquers the High, Part 1 Feb 02, 2024

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This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: our first foray into the age of civil war! We're looking to understand the conflicts of the Sengoku by examining the rapid falls from power during this time of the Yamana and Hosokawa clans.

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Episode 517 - The Center Cannot Hold Jan 26, 2024

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This week: the Muromachi bakufu comes crashing down, thanks to a combination of structural weaknesses and a shogun who is more interested in painting than politics. As a result, Japan enters a new age of civil war, which will radically reshape the country.

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