Japan's Samurai Women: Onna-Bugeisha and the Battle of Aizu

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the Dog Shogun of Genroku Japan

In this episode of The Story of Japan, we look at the strange and fascinating reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. Known as the Dog Shogun, Tsunayoshi issued the Laws of Compassion which made killing stray dogs a capital offense, and his Edo castle housed tens of thousands of feral canines at public expense. But beyond the animal obsession, we explore his patronage of Confucian scholarship, his brutal suppression of vendettas like the Akō incident, and his role in sparking the Genroku cultural flowering—a golden age of kabuki, ukiyo-e, and merchant prosperity. We also examine the fiscal chaos left by his extravagance, and how his rigid moralism clashed with the realities of samurai governance. This is a portrait of a ruler often caricatured as mad, but whose policies shaped Japan's early modern state. #TokugawaTsunayoshi #DogShogun #EdoPeriod #Genroku #LawsOfCompassion #AkōIncident #47Ronin #Chushingura #Shogun #Bakufu #EdoCastle #Confucianism #Kabuki #UkiyoE #MatsudairaSadamasa #Japan #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Rice That Built Japan: Tax, Revolt, and the Shogun's Economy

This episode digs into the economic backbone of feudal Japan: rice. Lucas and Luna explore how the kokudaka system — a unit of measurement based on rice yield — came to define samurai wealth, daimyo power, and peasant burden. They trace its roots from Hideyoshi's land surveys through Tokugawa-era tax collection, and into the devastating Tenmei Famine of the 1780s, when mismanagement of the rice economy led to mass starvation and the Great Tenmei Fire. The conversation also covers peasant revolts like the Yonezawa Uprising, where farmers demanded fair distribution, and the curious story of the rice brokers of Osaka's Dojima market, who invented futures trading centuries before Wall Street. Along the way, they unpack the social contract of the Edo period: in exchange for peace and stability, the samurai class extracted rice taxes that left rural Japan perpetually on the brink. It's a story of a single grain that shaped an entire civilization. #Kokudaka #RiceTax #EdoPeriod #TenmeiFamine #DojimaRiceMarket #PeasantRevolts #YonezawaUprising #ToyotomiHideyoshi #TokugawaIeyasu #Daimyo #Samurai #FeudalEconomics #History #FexingoHistory #Japan #Osaka #FuturesTrading #TenmeiFire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Japan's Forgotten Christian Daimyo: The Story of Dom Justo Takayama

When shoguns banned Christianity in the 17th century, most Japanese Christians went underground or died as martyrs. But one daimyo chose a different path—exile. Dom Justo Takayama, a former lord from the Sengoku period, was among the most powerful converts to Christianity, baptized by the Jesuit missionaries who arrived with Francis Xavier. This episode traces his remarkable life: from his father's conversion; his rise as a daimyo serving Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi; the 1587 expulsion edict targeting missionaries; his refusal to renounce his faith despite immense pressure; and his eventual banishment to Manila in 1614 alongside a small community of Japanese Christians. We discuss how Takayama's story illuminates the tension between Japan's unification and the shogunate's growing suspicion of foreign influence, and how his legacy survives in both Japanese and Philippine history. A tale of honor, faith, and the impossible choices faced by those caught between two worlds. #DomJustoTakayama #Kirishitan #Sengoku #ToyotomiHideyoshi #OdaNobunaga #ChristianityInJapan #EdictOfExpulsion #Manila #JapaneseExiles #Samurai #Jesuits #FrancisXavier #NanbanTrade #KakureKirishitan #JapanHistory #EastAsia #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Onin War: Kyoto in Ashes and the Birth of Sengoku

In this episode, Lucas and Luna tackle the Ōnin War (1467–1477), the devastating conflict that tore Kyoto apart and triggered Japan's century-long Sengoku period. They explore the feud between the Hosokawa and Yamana clans, the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa's failure to act, the chaos of the Bunshō and Ōnin eras, the rise of daimyo armies, the fall of the shugo system, and the unintended cultural legacy — the flourishing of Higashiyama culture amid the rubble. Key figures include Hosokawa Katsumoto, Yamana Sōzen, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, and Ikkō-ikki monks. The conversation reveals how a succession dispute over the shogunate spiraled into a war that left Kyoto a battlefield, paved the way for local warlords, and paradoxically gave birth to the tea ceremony, ikebana, and Noh theatre patronage that define Japan's classical arts. #OninWar #SengokuPeriod #AshikagaShogunate #HosokawaKatsumoto #YamanaSozen #AshikagaYoshimasa #Kyoto #HigashiyamaCulture #Ikkōikki #Daimyo #Shugo #Bunshō #Bushido #JapaneseHistory #MedievalJapan #FexingoHistory #History #Samurai Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Great Kanto Earthquake: Disaster, Nationalism, and Modern Japan

In 1923, the Great Kantō Earthquake devastated Tokyo and Yokohama, killing over 100,000 people and leveling much of Japan's modern capital. But the disaster wasn't just a natural calamity—it became a crucible for the nation's identity. In the aftermath, rumors ignited horrific violence against Korean residents, the government imposed martial law, and reconstruction reshaped Tokyo into a symbol of resilience and modernity. This episode explores the earthquake itself, the chaos that followed, the scapegoating of Koreans and socialists, and how the disaster accelerated Japan's militarism and nationalism in the 1920s. We also look at the role of the military in relief efforts, the rise of amateur seismology, and how the quake influenced urban planning and architecture. Join Lucas and Luna as they uncover the layers of tragedy, fear, and transformation that followed the Great Kantō Earthquake. #GreatKantoEarthquake #1923Earthquake #Tokyo #Yokohama #KantoRegion #JapaneseHistory #TaishoEra #Nationalism #KoreanMassacre #MartialLaw #Seismology #UrbanPlanning #Disaster #Militarism #ModernJapan #FexingoHistory #History #EastAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]