The Dragon of Echigo and The Tiger of Kai
Rival daimyo holding long-term grudges and engaging in massive feuds was a common feature of Sengoku Jidai, but there were two daimyo in particular whose rivalry would become the stuff of legend.
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A Shogunate, If You Can Keep It
The continuing adventures of the ambitious Miyoshi Clan leaders led to a series of destructive conflicts throughout Kansai that eventually left the remnant of the Bakufu wholly dependent upon powerful daimyo to prop up their withering government.
The Perseverance of Joseon
In spite of suffering through the occasional violent coup, cruel tyrant, and political purge, the Joseon Dynasty showed real staying power throughout the 14- and 1500s and would even manage some impressive national accomplishments.
The Decline of the Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty approached its peak, before rapidly declining due to corruption, graft, and a gradual decline in the quality of its burueacucrats.
Nanban Jidai
In the mid-1500s, a Portuguese ship sought safe harbor from Tsukushima Island and thus began a robust, vibrant trade relationship between two distant powers. In addition to guns, silks, and exotic foreign goods, however, these “Southern Barbarians” also brought missionaries preaching a religion heretofore unknown to the Japanese: Roman Catholic Christianity.
Sengoku “States” Part III
In this third installment of the Sengoku States series, we follow the activities of the Shimazu Clan on Kyushu, the Chosokabe Clan on Shikoku, and the Miyoshi Clan on Shikoku and in Kansai during the early-to-mid 1500s.
Sengoku “States” Part II
This episode broadly covers the developments in the Date, Oda, and Mori Clans during the first half of the 1500s.
Sengoku “States” Part I
This episode broadly covers the developments in the Imagawa, Takeda, and Uesugi Clans during the first half of the 1500s.
War Has Changed
In this episode, we examine some of the many ways in which war during the Sengoku Period had a much different character from previous eras because of technology, economics, and necessity.
The Puppetmasters
After Hosokawa Masamoto’s assassination, power was once again up for grabs and Ashikaga Yoshitane was determined to once more sit upon the shogunal throne. He was the first in a series of puppet shoguns elevated by ambitious daimyo who wielded power in their names.