Samurai Archives Japanese History Podcast

Welcome to part two of our discussion on some of the bad decisions made by the Sengoku Daimyo.  Some Daimyo were skilled strategists, others lucky, staying ahead of the game with wits and cunning.  However, the battlefields of the Sengoku period are littered with the bones of men who were not so lucky.  Many Sengoku Daimyo were done in by dumb decisions, others made decisions that seemed reasonable at the time but would lead to disastrous results.  From Imagawa Yoshimoto's decision to invade Owari province, to Asai Nagamasa deciding to turn on Oda Nobunaga, we look at some decisions that not only shaped the history of the Sengoku period, but may leave you wondering just what the heck they were thinking.  Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this po

Welcome to our next bonus episode.  Some Daimyo were skilled strategists, others lucky, staying ahead of the game with wits and cunning.  However, the battlefields of the Sengoku period are littered with the bones of men who were not so lucky.  Many Sengoku Daimyo were done in by dumb decisions, others made decisions that seemed reasonable at the time but would lead to disastrous results.  From Imagawa Yoshimoto's decision to invade Owari province, to Asai Nagamasa deciding to turn on Oda Nobunaga, we look at some decisions that not only shaped the history of the Sengoku period, but may leave you wondering just what the heck they were thinking.  This episode is part one of two. Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Mentioned in this Podcast: Morris, Ivan. T

In part 2, your hosts continue their talk about the 2014 Fields of Conflict archaeology conference held in Columbia, South Carolina in March 2014.  They discuss some of the conference panels, battlefield archaeology, and where archaeology and history intersect. Mentioned in this podcast: Strategical Buffoonery - Levels of Warfare - The Shogun-ki blog: http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2010/06/strategical-buffoonery.html Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twit

This episode, your hosts talk about the 2014 Fields of Conflict archaeology conference held in Columbia, South Carolina in March 2014.  They discuss some of the conference panels, battlefield archaeology, and where archaeology and history intersect. Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com

Probably more appropriately titled "What do Chris and Forest philosophize about what can really be known about history", here is our 4th bonus episode of what was originally meant to be a stand-alone podcast on the Samurai Archives podcast network.  In this heavily opinionated episode, things get touchy as Chris and Forest get in a philosophical discussion about what can really be known about history. As always with our bonus episodes, the opinions expressed are solely those of Chris and Forest, and do not in any way reflect the opinions of any other hosts or guest to this point or going forward. Japanese history can be particularly questionable in the situations where the only sources available are select pieces of contemporary correspondences and writings compiled 100 years or more after the events they describe, and often the only sources available are war tales, fictionalizations, and hagiography. Your hosts look at various events in Japanese history, including the 4th battle of Kawanakajima, the death of

In part two of our book recommendations podcast, your hosts continue to go over a few recommended Japanese history books, from introductory books to advanced.  Want to pick up the books on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com  

In this episode, your hosts run down a list of a few recommended Japanese history books, from introductory books to advanced.  This episode is part 1 of 2.  Want to pick up the books on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com  

Welcome to the third bonus episode with your hosts Chris and Forest.  In this bonus episode, your hosts look at Oda Nobunaga's retainer band.  One thing that sets the Sengoku daimyo Oda Nobunaga apart from his contemporaries was his willingness to employ primarily young men of ability who lacked rank or lineage.  The unorthodox composition of Nobunaga's retainer band is perhaps both a reflection of his own unorthodox nature, and a result of a lack of old, traditional retainer families attached to the Oda clan, and a factor in his success. Don't forget, opinions expressed in the bonus episodes do not reflect the views or opinions of anyone not present.  With that, enjoy! Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the

In this episode Nate and Travis are back with Chris to discuss the arduous task of learning Japanese kanji - the Japanese writing system.  The episode was inspired by a Samurai Archives blog post on the subject, but your hosts also expand the conversation to examine the Japanese language's simplistic grammar contrasted with the complex ties that the language has to Japanese culture and society. Mentioned in this episode: Read the Kanji: https://www.readthekanji.com/ The Well-Trod and Annoying Path of Learning Japanese Kanji: http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/11/the-well-trod-and-annoying-path-of.html Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/samurai-archives-japanese/id430277324 Samurai Archives Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=41397&refid=stpr Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Sam

Welcome to the second bonus episode from the history podcast that never was, Chris and Forest talk Japanese history (often while drinking beer).  Because the original concept was to create a seperate podcast, it should be stated that opinions expressed are their own, and do not reflect the views of anyone not present for this podcast. And with that - Regardless of whether you think of Oda Nobunaga as a hero or villain, it can't be disputed that he was a brutal tyrant responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of men, women, and children on his quest to unify Japan under his control.  Was Nobunaga simply a product of his era, or was there something more to the man who built a path towards national unification with the gilded skulls of his enemies?  We look at the life of Oda Nobunaga, and try to shed some light on his outlook and ambitions. Shopping on Amazon.com?  Use our link: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=samurai-20 Samurai Archives Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast

Hello listeners!  For the next few episodes we'll be airing what was originally meant to be a seperate podcast on the Samurai Archives podcast network.  In these bonus episodes, your hosts will tackle things from their own perspective from outside academia in what is intended to be a comedic and free flow format where they will debate, attack, pontificate, and throw things under the bus in the name of entertainment, intellectual discussion, and philosophizing. Often in these episodes, in the name of debate and spurring discussion, strong, adamant or outright offensive opinions may be expressed, therefore it should be clearly stated up front that everything said in these bonus episodes reflect strictly and only the views of Chris and Forest, and should not be percieved to reflect the views of any other hosts or guests of the podcast.  With that being said, please enjoy our bonus episodes. In this first bonus episode we examine the myths and mystique surrounding Takeda Shingen and the battles of Kawanakajima. 

In this episode, your hosts Chris, Nate, and Travis continue the discussion on their recent respective trips to Japan including their cultural and historical experiences. Mentioned in this Podcast: The 9th Annual Samurai Fiction Contest:  http://www.samurai-archives.com/writcon.html Photos of Kumamoto, Japan http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuuzo/sets/72157631741259360/ The Sengoku Field Manual http://www.sengokufieldmanual.com/ Shambhala Publications: http://www.shambhala.com/ Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com

In this episode, your hosts Chris, Nate, and Travis dedicate a two part podcast to their recent respective trips to Japan including their cultural and historical experiences, and Nate's volunteer efforts in Ishinomaki in Northern Japan, an area hit by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Mentioned in this Podcast: The 9th Annual Samurai Fiction Contest:  http://www.samurai-archives.com/writcon.html Photos of Kumamoto, Japan http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuuzo/sets/72157631741259360/ Photos of Okinawa, Japan http://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/sets/72157634941743843/ The Sengoku Field Manual http://sengokufieldmanual.blogspot.com/ Shambhala Publications: http://www.shambhala.com/ Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/

Part two of Nate's talk about his recent trip to the Nagashino battlefield, and what he gleaned from his extensive hiking of the site of the Samurai Archives Podcast's most notorious battle. Mentioned in this Podcast: The 9th Annual Samurai Fiction Contest:  http://www.samurai-archives.com/writcon.html The Sengoku Field Manual - Return to Shitaragahara! http://sengokufieldmanual.blogspot.com/2013/09/nagashino-iii-return-to-shitaragahara.html Conlan, Thomas. Weapons & Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior 1200-1877 AD By Thomas, D Conlan, Amber Books Ltd, 2008 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1906626073 Shambhala Publications: http://www.shambhala.com/ Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samu

In this episode, Nate talks about his recent trip to the Nagashino battlefield, and what he gleaned from his extensive hiking of the site of the Samurai Archives Podcast's most notorious battle. Part one of two. Mentioned in this Podcast: The 9th Annual Samurai Fiction Contest:  http://www.samurai-archives.com/writcon.html The Sengoku Field Manual - Return to Shitaragahara! http://sengokufieldmanual.blogspot.com/2013/09/nagashino-iii-return-to-shitaragahara.html Conlan, Thomas. Weapons & Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior 1200-1877 AD By Thomas, D Conlan, Amber Books Ltd, 2008 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1906626073 Shambhala Publications: http://www.shambhala.com/ Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.fac

Part two of an introduction to Kabuki, Japan's traditional theater. An example of Kabuki from the play Sanmon Gosan no Kiri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLMy69smJz8 Mentioned in this podcast: Shively, Donald. Bakufu Versus Kabuki Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol. 18, No. 3/4 (Dec., 1955)  http://www.jstor.org/stable/2718437 Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com

In this episode, your hosts give you an introduction to Kabuki, Japan's traditional theater.  This is part one of two. An example of Kabuki from the play Sanmon Gosan no Kiri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLMy69smJz8 Mentioned in this podcast: Shively, Donald. Bakufu Versus Kabuki Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol. 18, No. 3/4 (Dec., 1955)  http://www.jstor.org/stable/2718437 Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com Samurai Archives Forum: http://www.japanhistoryforum.com

In part two of our podcast on the Russian incursions into the Kuril island chain and Japanese territories during the Edo period, we continue to look at the sailors, misfits, and adventurers of the Okhotsk sea region, as well as the history of land grabbing and politics that led to the current occupation of the Kuril island chain by Russia. Mentioned in this podcast: Golovnin, Vassilii Mikhailovich. Memoirs of a Captivity in Japan http://archive.org/details/memoirsofcaptivi01golouoft Lensen, George. Early Russo-Japanese Relations The Far Eastern Quarterly Vol. 10, No. 1 (Nov., 1950), pp. 2-37  www.jstor.org/stable/2049650 Tooke, William. View of the Russian Empire during the reign of Catharine the Second, and to the close of the present century (1799) http://archive.org/details/viewofrussianemp01tookuoft Wildes, Harry. Russia's Attempts to Open Japan Russian Review Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn, 1945) http://www.jstor.org/stable/125540 Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Sa

Over the next two episodes of the S-A Podcast, we look at the Russian incursions into the Kuril island chain and Japanese territories during the Edo period.  Led by a variety of characters, from cartographers and political envoys to criminals and rogue adventurers, these incursions struck fear into the citizens of Japan's capital of Edo, and slowly developed and shaped the harsh treatment of shipwrecked foreign sailors by the Shogunate. Mentioned in this podcast: Tooke, William. View of the Russian Empire during the reign of Catharine the Second, and to the close of the present century (1799) http://archive.org/details/viewofrussianemp01tookuoft Wildes, Harry. Russia's Attempts to Open Japan Russian Review Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn, 1945) http://www.jstor.org/stable/125540 Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter

In part two of our interview with Japan This! blogger Marky Star, we continue where we left off with the etymology of place names in Japan.  We also talk about the various Japanese dialects, Japan's iconic Edobashi, and the ukiyo-e origins of tetacle porn. Mentioned in this podcast: Grossberg, Kenneth. Japan's Renaissance - The Politics of the Muromachi Bakufu Cornell University, New York, 2001 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1885445083 Japan This! http://markystar.wordpress.com/ Marky Star on twitter: https://twitter.com/JapanThis Support this podcast: Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com Samurai Archives Forum: http://www.japanhist