Episode 27: You Can't Take It With You

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 decide...

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 plac...

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 ...

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 w...

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 hav...

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...

11 Jan 201221min