Tag: Japan

The Road to Kyoto

After conquering Mino Province, Oda Nobunaga needed to not only carve a path to the capital itself, but extend his control over a broad section of the Kansai region.

Tenka Fubu

Season 9, Episode 16: Tenka Fubu
The crest (mon) of the Oda Clan. Source: No machine-readable author provided. Gilyellows assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A portrait of Oda Nobunaga, here depicted in the style of a court noble. Source: Public Domain
Nobunaga’s official seal, which reads, “Tenka Fubu,” meaning “To conquer the world by force of arms.” Source: 百楽兎, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mino Province (in red) was the domain of the Saito Clan. Nobunaga’s conquest and relocation put him much closer to the capital. Source: Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mikawa Province (in red), the eastern neighbor of Owari Province, was the domain of the newly-independent Matsudaira Clan. Source: Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Okazaki Castle was the traditional seat of power for daimyo of the Matsudaira Clan. Source: Bariston, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This portrait of Matsudaira Motoyasu (later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu) depicts him in full battle regalia, ready to fight. Source: Public Domain

The Fool of Owari

Oda Nobuhide, the famous “Tiger of Owari,” passed away unexpectedly in 1551, leaving his branch of the Oda Clan in the hands of his son, a rude young man with little sense of propriety or politics called “The Fool of Owari.” Throughout the 1550s, however, Nobunaga would consolidate his rule over the province and even defend it from a terrifying invasion.

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.

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.

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.