Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Assassin's Creed: Shadows gives players the chance to visit the imperial capital of medieval Japan. But today, we're heading to a mountain lying just northeast of the capital: Mount Hiei, a sacred site that was protected by a powerful army of warrior monks.

Dr Chris Harding, Senior Lecturer in Asian History from the University of Edinburgh, returns to help Matt Lewis understand what life was like on Mount Hiei during the late Sengoku period; its role in the story of Japanese unification; and what all this can tell us about Japanese religious beliefs at the time.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Tim Arstall

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music by The Flight

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you looking for deeper insights into the biggest news stories shaping the Middle East?
0:05.4	The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip.
0:07.8	Listen to Beyond the Headlines, a weekly current affairs podcast from the national news in Abu Dhabi.
0:12.7	Surrender is not an option.
0:14.9	We break down the news and bring you in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on everything from regional power shifts to ongoing
0:21.9	conflicts, giving you the full picture behind the events shaping the Arab region. Listen to Beyond
0:27.6	the headlines every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:36.9	Hey folks, welcome to Dan Snow's History.
0:39.0	We're going to run an episode today from our sister podcast Echoes of History.
0:43.1	It's our collaboration with Ubisoft.
0:45.0	And it delves in to the real places, people, events behind the Assassin's Creed games.
0:51.1	It's well worth checking out.
0:52.2	It's very good fun.
0:52.8	This episode is about Mount Hii,
0:55.2	the mystical mountain home of an army of warrior monks. Enjoy. Welcome to Echoes of History,
1:05.3	the place to explore the rich stories of the past that bring the world of Assassin's Creed to
1:10.3	life. I'm Matt Lewis. Over the past
1:12.9	few episodes, we've returned to the heart of Sengoku era Japan, the tumultuous setting for the
1:18.7	eagerly awaited Assassin's Creed shadows. With the release of the game just weeks away,
1:23.8	we'll be delving into the period's intricate landscapes of power and ambition,
1:29.1	preparing you as a player to experience it all for yourself in Assassin's Creed shadows.
1:35.7	Later this week, I'll continue my special series of episodes that take a close look at samurai
	...

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