Tag: Trade

The Black Ships

May 23, 2024 justin-david-hebert Later Edo, Season 12 Comments Off on The Black Ships
Season 12, Episode 10: The Black Ships
A photograph of Commodore Matthew C. Perry toward the end of his life, around 1856. Commodore Perry succeeded in forcing Japan to open its nation to foreign trade in 1854. Source: Public Domain
A Japanese illustration of one of Commodore Perry’s Black Ships. Source: Public Domain
A Japanese illustration depicting Perry (center) sitting amid some of his officers. Source: Public Domain
An illustration of the second fleet which Perry brought to Japan when he returned in 1854. Source: Public Domain
This statue of Perry stands in the city of Newport in the state of Rhode Island. Source: Ahodges7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Big Move

December 4, 2023 justin-david-hebert Early Edo, Season 11 2 Comments

Shortly after the foundation of the new shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu gradually makes his fortified city Edo into the new unofficial political capital of Japan. He needed to proceed carefully, however, to avoid offending the powerful daimyo who still supported young Toyotomi Hideyori.

Revenues and Expenditures

November 7, 2022 justin-david-hebert Early Muromachi, Season 8 Comments Off on Revenues and Expenditures

Season 8, Episode 5: Revenues and Expenditures
The Toji Temple complex as it appears today in Kyoto, Japan. The Ashikaga heavily patronized the establishment in their day to enhance their reputation as rulers. Source: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Golden Pavilion, called “Kinkaku-ji” in Japanese. Source: User:Fbjon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A closer view of Kinkaku-ji. Source: Ondraness, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A closer view of the roof ornament, the Hoo bird, which symbolized imperial authority. Source: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

East Asian Trade

August 17, 2020 justin-david-hebert Season 2, Yayoi Comments Off on East Asian Trade
Season 2, Episode 7: East Asian Trade
Knife Money, objectively the coolest form of legal tender ever created. These knives come from the Yan State. Source: PENG Yanan (Neo-Jay) / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
A map of the silk road, which connected the far east and the far west and encouraged trade and idea exchange. Source: Kelvin Case / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
A coin bearing the image of Roman Emperor Constantius II, found in the Xinjiang region of China. Public Domain.