Episode 131 - The Fall of the Samurai, Part 14

History of Japan

Isaac Meyer

Japan, History, Japanese

4.8 • 744 Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2016

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In early 1868, the armies of the loyalists and the Tokugawa bakufu will clash outside Kyoto. We'll discuss the factors that led to the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and why what was supposed to be a walk in the park for the Tokugawa turned into a complete disaster.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode is brought to you by Audible.
0:03.5	Audible has over 180,000 titles to choose from, all compatible with iPhone, Android, Kindle, or your MP3 player of choice.
0:14.0	For listeners of the show, Audible is offering a free 30-day trial membership, complete with credit for a free audiobook of your choice.
0:22.5	You can cancel any time and keep the free book, or keep going with one of Audible subscription
0:27.5	offers.
0:28.7	Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your offer.
0:33.4	This week, I'm going to recommend the U.S., Japan, and Asia in international politics by Andrew Hanami.
0:41.1	We spent a lot of time on the U.S.-Japan relationship and with good reason.
0:46.0	It has been and likely will continue to be one of the most important determinants of Asia's future.
0:52.7	Hanami goes into great depth on all facets of their relationship, economic, social, military,
0:58.9	and especially the issues of Japan's neighbors, the Koreas, and China.
1:03.8	Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy.
1:32.0	Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 131, The Fall of the Samurai, Part 14.
1:45.3	So, on to the war. That's right, we've finally made it to the civil war that will bring down the Tokugawa, usually referred to as the Bochin War or War of the Wooden Dragon.
1:51.5	Now, that might conjure up a totally sweet mental image, but I'm sorry to say that the awesome thing you're picturing right now is not actually part of the war.
1:55.7	The name wooden dragon comes from something we talked about in the very early episodes of the show, the
2:02.2	sexagenery cycle of years used by the Chinese.
2:05.9	For a quick refresher, one of the ways time is marked in China and in East Asia more
2:11.8	generally is via a 60-year repeating cycle.
2:15.9	Part of that cycle comes from the 12 zodiac animals you're probably
2:19.4	familiar with from the Chinese Lunar New Year. Right now, for example, is the year of the
2:25.2	ram or goat, depending on your preferred translation. The other part of the cycle are the five
	...

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