History of Japan

This week: why did the Mongols invade Japan? How did a seemingly invincible military machine falter in its assaults on the island of Kyushu? And why, in the long term, did the Mongol invasions begin the process of bringing down the Kamakura shogunate? Show notes here.

This week: the advent of the medieval era brings with it new strands of Buddhism that will radically remake the image of the religion from an aristocratic faith to a distinctly Japanese one. So, how do the wildly different beliefs of Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren Buddhism all grow out of the same moment in religious history? Show notes here.

This week: the rise of the Minamoto clan, the destruction of the Taira clan, and the birth of a new kind of political arrangement in the form of Japan's first shogunate. Show notes here.

This week, we're covering the beginnings of the rise of the samurai class by looking at the wars of the 1000s, as well as the Hogen and Heiji conflicts which secured the role of the military class in national politics. Show notes here.

This week, we turn our attention to two of the defining institutions of the Heian period, both of which will be very important for us going forward. First are the shoen, or private estates, the growth of which led to the fragmentation and decentralization of the government. The second is the rising power of the warrior class--known to history as the samurai. Show notes here.

This week on the podcast, we're all about literature. We'll be exploring the varieties of poetry and prose that have made the Heian period one of the golden ages of literary flourishing in Japanese history. Show notes here.

This week, we take a step away from politics to talk about two crucial subjects. First, we have the evolution of the Japanese language and its incorporation of Chinese influence. Second, we have the evolution of Buddhism and the arrival of two important sects in the evolution of a distinctly Japanese form of the religion: Tendai and Shingon. Show notes here.

This week in the Revised History of Japan: in a bid to strengthen the power of the imperial family, Emperor Kanmu moves the imperial capital one more time to some newfangled place called "Heian-kyo." Plus, the political battle between the imperial family and the Fujiwara clan takes a few more twists. Show notes here.

Dive into Japan's Nara Period, where the establishment of a new capital sparked political turmoil. Explore the fallout from 6th and 7th-century crises, and the centralization efforts by emperors Tenmu and Jito. Discover how Buddhism was leveraged to fortify imperial power and the emergence of a new bureaucratic system. Analyze the Fujiwara clan's rise amid chaos, while a devastating smallpox epidemic reshaped society. Unravel the complexities of court politics as power struggles erupted, leading to a vibrant yet turbulent era.

Explore the transformative Taika Reforms of 645 CE and their significant impact on Japanese history. Discover how continental influences from China and Korea pressured Japan's leaders to centralize power. Unpack the political drama of the coup against the Soga clan and the aftermath that shaped succession struggles. Delve into the adoption of Chinese administrative models and the cultural shift towards a divine imperial authority. This riveting journey reveals complex motivations behind Japan's path to a centralized state.