After the Boshin War, the Shogunate as a form of government would cease to exist. In this episode we examine the three different warrior governments that ruled over Japan over nearly seven centuries and see what they did well, where they struggled, and why such a form of government ultimately failed. 

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In this bonus episode, we trace the origins of the samurai and their subsequent evolution to the heights of political power.

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As the Qing Dynasty continued to decline in the wake of mass rebellions and longstanding insurgencies, a conflict with the British East India Trade Company would evolve into the disastrous Opium Wars.

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After several threatening letters, the Yuan Dynasty would finally send two punitive expeditions to Japan, first in 1274 and then in 1281.

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After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongols would continue to administer his Empire and expand its borders. Eventually factions would form around his descendants and the Mongol Empire would split into four independent nations.

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Temujin was only 9 years old when his father was murdered and his family expelled from their tribe. After overcoming a crushing set of obstacles, he would eventually become the great Khan of all Mongols and build a massive land empire that stretched across nearly the entire Asian continent.

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The Kamakura Period saw the founding of many new Buddhist schools throughout Japan, including exclusively Pure Land sects as well as Zen. The traditional schools, however, often collaborated with the court or the Bakufu to suppress these teachings and their leaders.

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After Hojo Yasutoki's death, his sons Tsunetoki and Toriyoki would build upon his legacy and even outdo their father if they hoped to preserve the Hojo Regency.

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After Hojo Yoshitoki's unexpected death in 1224, his son Hojo Yasutoki took over as the Shogun's regent. He would guide Japan through some of its most difficult times as the nation was hit with famine, disease, crop failure, and other catastrophes.

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A month after Emperor Chukyo was enthroned, Retired Emperor Go-Toba decided that the time was right for a reckoning against Kamakura. The Shogunate would have to fight for its survival in the Jōkyū War.

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The Bakufu enjoyed a relatively stable period in the early 1200s thanks largely to the  joint leadership of Hojo Masako and her brother Yoshitoki. Masako earned such a reputation for power brokering that she was given the nickname "Ama Shogun," which means "The Nun Shogun."

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In the wake of Minamoto Yoritomo's death, the Bakufu appointed his son Yoriie as the new Shogun under the watchful eye of the regent Hojo Tokimasa. However, the oldest son of Yoritomo had ideas of his own about how the nation ought to be governed and whom should do the governing.

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We have learned much about Yoritomo's actions as a leader, but in this episode we will start by examining his family life and later years.

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The reigns of Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong represented a time of increasing expansion, stabilizing, and solidifying for China in the 1700s. However, some of the tendencies of the Qing Dynasty would ultimately sow the seeds for its own destruction.

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With the Northern Fujiwara gone, Yoritomo continued to consolidate power and was named to the post of Seii-Tai-Shogun.

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After the Gempei War, Minamoto Yoritomo moved toward creating a permanent parallel government in Kamakura. Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, however, continued to interfere until eventually brother was pitted against brother.

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A progress report on Season 7, which will begin soon. I promise.

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It's one thing to learn about The Tale of Genji, but in this episode I am reading it to you! Join Genji Hikaru as he seeks out new lovers, deals with being sick, and then sadly is made to endure a staggering loss.

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In this special bonus episode, we explore the life of a famous samurai woman who fought in the Gempei War alongside Kiso Yoshinaka. Tomoe Gozen was known for slaying not only with her fabulous beauty but also with her bow and sword.

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With the Minamoto army now unified under the banners of Yoshitsune and Noriyori, both brothers would seek to bring the war to a close and put an end to the Taira Clan once and for all. At the battle of Dan-no-Ura, the factions would face off for the last time in a dramatic naval battle in the straits of Shimonoseki.

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Kiso Yoshinaka, cousin to Yoritomo, was a rising star of the Minamoto clan who was feared on the battlefield and respected by his peers. So where did it all go wrong for this talented samurai general?

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Minamoto Yoritomo was in a tight spot - the interior of a hollow tree. One month after the battle of Ishibashiyama, however, he would lead a massive army of Kanto samurai against a punitive Taira force and regain his lost honor.

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Frustrated by the Taira clan's monopoly on imperial succession, Prince Mochihito makes an alliance with Minamoto Yorimasa. The two hatch a plot to overthrow Taira Kiyomori and place Mochihito on the throne, but their plans quickly change when Kiyomori learns of their conspiracy.

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By the late Heian Period, the four most influential temples in Japan all fielded their own private armies and frequently clashed with one another and with the government as well. One of the most famous Sohei (Warrior Monk) would become the close companion of a legendary Minamoto warrior.

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The Sakoku isolation policies were meant to keep the Japanese government insulated from dangerous foreign influence. However, its tendency toward restriction and xenophobia could not be easily balanced with the Bakufu's desire to continue governing the nation.

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In the aftermath of the Heiji Rebellion, the Ise Taira clan were now the de facto rulers of Japan. Their chieftain, Taira Kiyomori, would prove himself not only a brilliant military commander, but an able politician who would receive ranks and offices within the Daijo-daikan which had never before been achieved by a samurai.

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When Taira Kiyomori and his entourage left the capital for a pilgrimage, Minamoto Yoshitomo and Fujiwara Yorinaga launched a coup, kidnapping the sitting Emperor Nijo and the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and murdering their opponents. What followed was a series of political purges, negligent missteps, and a bloody conclusion that would establish samurai domination over the government.

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When retired Emperor Toba died, jilted Emperor Sutoku would try to rally the samurai to his cause and force Emperor Go-Shirakawa from the throne by force. However, the sitting Emperor would also call upon his own loyal samurai to defend his throne. The ensuing struggle led to the rise of the first samurai-led government in Japanese history.

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With the Insei government in charge, the Daijo-daikan continued to wilt. Some kuge, however, saw opportunity in an impending conflict between two retired Emperors over matters of succession.

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Frustrated by obstruction from the Daijo-daikan, Emperor Shirakawa called it quits... or did he? In this episode, we explore his creation of a new kind of government which gave him the power he needed to effectively overrule the Fujiwara clan.

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The Goryeo Dynasty would lead the Korean Peninsula into a golden age of art, culture, and prosperity, but first it would have to deal with the aggression of the Liao Dynasty.

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In this episode, we will take a closer look at the lives of the people who lived in Manchuria, north of China, and their considerably powerful dynasties.

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After nearly a hundred years of fighting between petty states and half-baked dynasties, the Song Dynasty finally emerged as a unifying force in China. Under their leadership, China would make some impressive technological and cultural gains, forging a renaissance throughout East Asia in the 1000s.

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In this episode, we will follow the further adventures of Minamoto Yoshiie, son of Yoriyoshi, as he is made the governor of Mutsu province and tries to take advantage of a local dispute.

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Fujiwara Michinaga brought his clan to the absolute apex of its power. Unfortunately for his son and heir Yorimichi, the only way to go was down.

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After the expulsion of Matsudaira Sadanobu, the shogun was free to pursue the lavish lifestyle he had always dreamed of. Thanks to a buoyant economy, the rest of the nation joined him in conspicuous consumption. These good times, however, would eventually come to an end.

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Tendai Buddhism was on the rise during the later Heian Period, and its internal conflicts were growing more intense. Could anyone heal the rifts that grew between Enryakuji and Miidera, or were the two temples doomed to eternal conflict?

For drawings and paintings of Ryogen and Genshin, check out the supplemental post!

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We set court politics aside in this episode to explore the life and work of Murasaki Shikibu, the eleventh-century lady-in-waiting who penned a work which is considered by many scholars to be the world's first novel: The Tale of Genji.

For artistic renditions of Murasaki Shikibut and Sei Shonagon, check out the supplemental post!

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Under the leadership of Fujiwara Michinaga, the Fujiwara clan reached the absolute peak of its political power. In a time of chaos and uncertainty, he ruthlessly brought every potential rival under his authority and established a supremacy which would last long after he was gone.

To see some drawings and paintings of the emperors and kuge featured in this episode, check out the supplemental post!

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The Fujiwara Regents of the late 900s accumulated a vast amount of political power and clout. In this episode, we return to the narrative and follow the misadventures of the Fujiwara leaders as they tightened their grip on power.

For images of the Emperors who reigned and the Regents who governed in this episode, check out the supplemental post!

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We continue our survey episodes this week by taking a closer look at the state of the clergy and the samurai in the later Heian Period. Big changes are coming for both Buddhism and the warrior caste which will eventually change the nation forever.

For pictures of Hakata Bay as well as the monument marking the place where Dazaifu Fortress once stood, check out the supplemental post!

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Life in the later Heian may have been a near-constant party for the aristocratic nobility, but what was it like for those on the bottom rungs of Heian society? In this episode we will explore the lives of the common folk who made the lavish lifestyle of the nobles possible through their backbreaking labor.

For pictures of pig iron, the special bellows used to refine iron sand, and two swords that date to the Heian Period, check out the supplemental post!

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The first of three survey-style episodes describing life in the later Heian Period. In this episode, we will explore the flowering of Japanese culture that occurred among the nobility of the later Heian Period, as well as their relationships with aesthetics, romance, marriage, and architecture.

For pictures of Shinzen-Zukuri architecture and Heian-style kimonos, check out the supplemental post!

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In the final episode of this season, we take a closer look at some of the creative side of the early Heian Period, including poems, visual arts, and the creation of two Japanese alphabets which are still in use today.

You can read selections from the Kokin Wakashu courtesy of the University of Virginia here.

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After the death of Taira Masakado, the court still had to deal with a rebel in the west named Fujiwara Sumitomo. Originally a provincial bureaucrat, Sumitomo abandoned the life of a noble and embraced the life of a pirate king.

For a portrait of Sumitomo as well as maps detailing the inland sea, check out the supplemental post!

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After his warriors looted the Hitachi provincial capital, Taira Masakado marched his army to every other capital in Kantō, placing the east under his control by force. While he attempted to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Heian-kyō, however, his local rivals organized yet another warband to put his rebellion to an end.

For detailed maps and a painting of Masakado's daughter Takiyasha-hime, check out the supplemental post!

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Newly anointed chief of the roju Matsudaira Sadanobu wanted to set Japan back on course after the devastating Great Tenmei Famine. However, some of his more restrictive policies would prove unpopular.

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Taira Masakado's ongoing family feud expands as he seeks to avenge himself against his cousin and uncles. When the warriors under his command take things too far, however, he will have to make a difficult decision which eventually sealed his fate.

For a wickedly awesome picture of Masakado trampling some poor enemy warrior underfoot, as well as a map of the various battles in this episode, check out the supplemental post!

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In this episode, we follow the early career of a warrior named Taira Masakado, whose various family squabbles help illustrate the day-to-day violence of life in Kantō and whose exploits will earn him the attention of the imperial court in far off Heian-Kyō.

For detailed maps of the Kantō Region as well as a portrait of Masakado, check out the supplemental post!

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As disasters repeatedly harried the reign of Emperor Daigo, many came to believe that Sugawara Michizane's ghost was the cause of many grave misfortunes. But how could they appease the vengeful spirit of the scholar whom the court had wrongfully sent to die in obscurity?

For photos of the Dazaifu-Tenmangu Shrine and Daigo-ji temple, as well as a portrait of Emperor Daigo, check out the supplemental post!

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