Episode 125 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 9

History of Japan

Isaac Meyer

Japan, History, Japanese

4.8 • 744 Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2015

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we'll move into the messy early/mid 1860s and look at the doomed attempt to bridge the gap between the Tokugawa and the Imperial Court. We'll also look at the situation in Kyoto, which was growing more violent by the day.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode is brought to you by Audible.
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0:13.2	For listeners of the show, Audible is offering a free 30-day trial membership, complete with
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0:22.6	You can cancel any time and keep the free book, or keep going with one of Audible's subscription offers. Go toaudibletrial.com
0:28.5	slash Japan to claim your offer. This week, I'm going to recommend Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
0:35.4	Stone by J.K. Rowling because, come on, it's Harry
0:38.1	Freakin' Potter. Honestly, you don't need me to sell you this book, but if you're one of the six
0:44.2	people on Earth who haven't read it already, you probably should, if for no other reason, then,
0:48.7	so that you get the references. Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy. Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast.
1:14.7	Episode 125, The Fall of the Samurai, Part 9.
1:20.4	As our rather complex overview of Shishi politics last week might have made clear to you,
1:26.4	we're about to jump into one of the most
1:28.3	complicated parts of our story. The early 1860s have a lot of moving parts. Today we're
1:35.9	going to dive on in head first and try to bring some order to the madness. First, let's head
1:41.9	back to Edo for a bit. We last left the capital city of the Tokugawa reeling from the death of E. Nauske, who was struck down by assassins
1:50.8	no more than a few yards from the walls of the Shogun's palace itself.
1:55.8	In the immediate aftermath of E's death, the Tokugawa Bakufu lacked any real leadership. Its other high officials
2:03.3	were generally lazy or inept, or had been chosen for their lack of initiative. As a result,
2:09.2	Tokugawa policy generally drifted for the next two years. By 1862, however, there was a firm hand
2:17.0	back on the rudder, and it came from a surprising corner.
	...

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