A History of Japan

It's one thing to learn about The Tale of Genji, but in this episode I am reading it to you! Join Genji Hikaru as he seeks out new lovers, deals with being sick, and then sadly is made to endure a sta...

20 Dec 202130min

In this special bonus episode, we explore the life of a famous samurai woman who fought in the Gempei War alongside Kiso Yoshinaka. Tomoe Gozen was known for slaying not only with her fabulous beauty ...

13 Dec 202115min

With the Minamoto army now unified under the banners of Yoshitsune and Noriyori, both brothers would seek to bring the war to a close and put an end to the Taira Clan once and for all. At the battle o...

9 Dec 202130min

Kiso Yoshinaka, cousin to Yoritomo, was a rising star of the Minamoto clan who was feared on the battlefield and respected by his peers. So where did it all go wrong for this talented samurai general?...

6 Dec 202126min

Minamoto Yoritomo was in a tight spot - the interior of a hollow tree. One month after the battle of Ishibashiyama, however, he would lead a massive army of Kanto samurai against a punitive Taira forc...

2 Dec 202123min

Frustrated by the Taira clan's monopoly on imperial succession, Prince Mochihito makes an alliance with Minamoto Yorimasa. The two hatch a plot to overthrow Taira Kiyomori and place Mochihito on the t...

29 Nov 202128min

By the late Heian Period, the four most influential temples in Japan all fielded their own private armies and frequently clashed with one another and with the government as well. One of the most famou...

25 Nov 202117min

In the aftermath of the Heiji Rebellion, the Ise Taira clan were now the de facto rulers of Japan. Their chieftain, Taira Kiyomori, would prove himself not only a brilliant military commander, but an ...

22 Nov 202121min