Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, Episode 43. The Great Trader.

Before we get started this week, since a few of you have asked me about advertising, I just want to give you a quick update.

I am planning to put ads in the show. I'm currently in discussion with my hosting service to figure out what that's going to look like,

so it'll be a little while

before they start appearing, but it is something that's moving forward. Again, I just want to

restate that I plan to keep advertising as minimally intrusive as possible. I want to make

sure the focus of the show always stays on delivering interesting original content. Now that we're done with that, let's get going.

This week, I want to continue our discussion of the founders of the three shogunates,

which dominated around 800 years of Japanese history all told.

A few episodes back, we talked about the life of the founder of the first Bakufu,

or shogonal government,

Minamoto Noori Tomo, who ruthlessly led his family to power, but whose legacy was destroyed by his in-laws, the Hojo, when they wiped out his line.

Now we're going to advance the story by around 100 years or so, and talk about the man who would destroy the

Hojo in turn and rise to power and preeminence himself, Ashkaga Takauji.

Ashkaga Takauuchi was born in 1305 to a family distantly related to the Minamoto by way of a distant

cousin of Yoritomo named Yorioshi.

His father, Sadhauchi, had descended from a family which rallied to the cause of Minamoto

No Yoritomo in 1180, as soon as it seemed likely that Yoritomo would make a bid for power.

Their steadfast loyalty was well rewarded.

After being tapped to lead the campaign to reassert Minamoto

power in the north, Minamoto Noorioshi settled in the area, and his descendants became the Ashikaga.

By 1305, they were one of the wealthiest families in eastern Japan. Takuiji's mother, by the way,

...