Hello, the episode you're about to listen to is part of a multi-part series introducing an overview

of Japanese history.

This is a repeat of one of the original projects the History of Japan podcast was built on,

and is intended to serve as an update and supplement to these original works.

After 10 years, my hope is to return to this approach and to do it a little bit better,

given the skills that I have improved in the intervening years.

If you haven't been doing so already, you should listen to these episodes sequentially,

starting with episode 501.

Without any further ado, enjoy the episode.

Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 518.

The Low Conquers the High, Part 1.

When we talk about the Sengoku-Jidai, the era of warring states, which came after Ashkaga rule fell apart in the 1460s and 1470s,

it is, from what I can tell, basically mandatory to take a moment and introduce the phrase,

Gekokujo.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever read anything on this period that didn't have at least some paragraph

describing what this means. And admittedly, there's a good reason for that. The three characters

in that phrase literally mean the low conquers the high, and from a certain perspective, it's a

pretty apt description of what happened in Japan during

this period.

The next two weeks are going to be all Gekokujo all the time.

You see, the Sengoku period is obviously an age of great turbulence.

There is no way I could cover all the ins and outs of the fights and alliances and betrayals

...