Episode 124 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 8

History of Japan

Isaac Meyer

Japan, History, Japanese

4.8 • 744 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2015

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, the turbulent politics following the death of Ii Naosuke will result in the rise of one of the most famous symbols of the late Tokugawa era: the shishi, or men of spirit. These shishi groups, radicalized by the political trials of recent years, will introduce a degree of violence to Japanese politics not seen in generations, and pave the way for a fundamental change in Japanese politics.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode is brought to you by Audible.
0:03.4	Audible has over 180,000 titles to choose from,
0:07.9	all compatible with iPhone, Android, Kindle, or your MP3 player of choice.
0:14.7	For listeners of the show, Audible is offering a free 30-day trial membership,
0:19.8	complete with credit for a free audiobook of your choice.
0:23.3	You can cancel any time and keep the free book, or keep going with one of Audible subscription offers.
0:30.2	Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your offer.
0:34.7	This week I'm going to recommend the Red Flag, A History of Communism by David
0:39.7	Priestland. Even though I'm not halfway done with this current series, I'm already thinking about
0:45.6	future multi-part episodes, and I want to do at least one run on the rise and fall of the Japanese left.
0:53.4	Priestlin's book is great for understanding the broader context of the communist movement,
0:58.4	which is going to be very helpful for me, and could be very helpful for you,
1:03.1	when we look at how that movement plays out in Japan.
1:06.9	Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy.
1:35.8	Thank you. Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy. Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 124, The Fall of the Samurai, Part 8.
1:45.7	We left off last week with the assassination of E. Nauske, Tyro, and leader of the Tokugawa Bakufu in March 1860.
1:51.1	E's death sent shockwaves through Japan for a couple of reasons.
1:57.9	First, it was the first case of overt political assassination since the start of this whole crisis.
2:02.0	Others had been killed earlier, to be sure, but they had been executed by the government in a manner that, well heavy-handed, was also legal.
2:08.3	E, on the other hand, had been killed by men who were explicitly rebelling against his
2:13.1	governmental authority. They had submitted after his death, yes, but still, if you accept the definition
2:19.8	that government is fundamentally defined by a monopoly of legitimate use of force, a definition
	...

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