Episode 30: For Whom The Bell Tolls

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.

17 Juli 201226min

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.

11 Juli 201223min

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’

26 Apr 201227min

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.

19 Apr 201220min

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.

16 Apr 201221min

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.

27 Jan 201237min

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.

24 Jan 201223min

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.

11 Jan 201221min