"How did it come to this?" - This must have been the question the Christian missionaries asked themselves as Hideyoshi followed by successive Tokugawa Shoguns made life unbearable for Christians in Japan. If only we had handed over the ship...

Episode 34: OMG Part 1

Oct 9th, 2014 31m 36s

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 cha

Episode 32: Masterful Inactivity

Apr 22nd, 2014 35m 11s

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

Episode 31: End of the Sengoku Jidai

Jan 29th, 2013 31m 36s

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 qu

Episode 30: For Whom The Bell Tolls

Nov 11th, 2012 30m 7s

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

Competition Draw

Nov 11th, 2012 1m 39s

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……………………

Competition

Nov 5th, 2012

OK - I’m going to draw out the winner of the competition THIS SATURDAY (Australian Eastern Standard Time) so if you haven’t entered - get your act together and make it happen! Good luck!

Episode 29: My Trip to Japan

Oct 16th, 2012 41m 36s

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

Episode 28: Sekigahara

Sep 10th, 2012 31m 24s

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

Episode 27: You Can’t Take It With You

Jul 17th, 2012 26m 4s

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 ov

Episode 26: Hideyoshi Dreams Big

Jul 11th, 2012 23m 4s

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 w

Episode 25: From War to Peace (Almost)

Apr 26th, 2012 27m 56s

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 prof

Episode 24: Hideyoshi’s Japan

Apr 19th, 2012 20m 54s

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

Episode 23: The Three Day Shogun

Apr 16th, 2012 21m 6s

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 besieg

Standard apologies

Mar 27th, 2012

Hello. Just a quick note to say thank you for being patient. It is becoming a worrying habit - this apologising for keeping you waiting! The ‘real-life’ thing is taking up way to much ’spare’ time. I have school holidays in a couple of week

Episode 22: The Empire is Mine

Jan 27th, 2012 37m

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

Jan 24th, 2012 23m 13s

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

Jan 11th, 2012 21m 14s

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 A

Episode 19: Oda Nobunaga’s License to Kill

Jan 7th, 2012 17m 45s

Oda Nobunaga had the luck, the allies, the staff, the location, the armies and the validation to make a move on Kyoto while the other major Daimyo kept busy fighting amongst themselves. He also had an ego to match his ambition. Here is a map

Episode 18: Sengoku Jidai, The Rise of Oda Nobunaga

Dec 22nd, 2011 17m 52s

In this episode we introduce one of Japan’s three Great Unifiers. His rise to power was certainly not easy and could easily have relegated him to the status of also-ran.

Episode 17: Sengoku Jidai Part 3 Bang

Dec 22nd, 2011 36m 53s

The Portuguese bumped into Japan in 1543 and brought with them guns and god. In this podcast we will hear about how Japan received these products of the west.

Episode 16: Sengoku Jidai Part 2

Feb 9th, 2011 30m 51s

War in medieval Japan was a colourful bonanza - bravery, cowardice and accounting!

Episode 15: Sengoku Jidai Part 1

Feb 8th, 2011 26m 41s

The word sengoku means 'chaotic states' or 'warring states/countries' and 'jidai' means 'age - like 'iron age'. Betrayal, destruction, suffering and despair. It's every man for himself - and a few men rose to the top.