Congratulations on making it to the fourth and final part of this summary of the Genpei War. We’re on the home stretch now. Just three battles to go—arguably the three most epic battles of the entire war. The sheer number of ukiyo-e paintings depicting them is testament to that fact. What is it about them that makes them so epic? One word… Yoshitsune. Yoritomo’s legendary…
We’re on to part three of the 5-year long epic Genpei War now. Things are really starting to heat up. Yoritomo settled himself into Kamakura and is busy taking over the east, leaving the Takeda and his uncle to take care of the front line and put a stop to any Taira advances. Things are about to get even more fiery though; the long drought…
Welcome to part two of this four-part series of articles on the Genpei War. Part one finished off with the war having barely begun and none of the major players even having made an appearance, which means we have a lot to get through this time! This part promises at least twice the action and drama of part one at double the pace. For anyone…
Welcome to the first of this four-part series on the Genpei War. This is going to be a long one, and rightfully so. The Genpei War was the culmination of two situations that had been developing for centuries: the rise of the samurai and the deterioration of the court. Over the course of these four articles, we’re going to be covering all the major players,…
Welcome to the Later Three Years’ War. For those of you who came here from the Former Nine Years’ War, you can enjoy this story as the successful sequel that made the franchise that would become known as ‘Samurai’. For those of you who haven’t yet read the Former Nine Years’ War, it would be a good idea to go back and read it first….
As a title, The Former Nine Years’ War is pretty compelling, wouldn’t you agree? Not only does it imply that you have nine years worth of battles to look forward to, but it also hints at a sequel. While there is in fact a sequel(the Later Three Years’ War), the Former Nine Years’ War took place between the years 1051 and 1062—a twelve-year period! So…
Japan is no stranger to riots. The Edo shōgunate’s biggest headache was trying to keep the country’s economy stable through numerous challenges, including droughts brought about by earthquakes and volcanoes, and a particular shōgun who prioritised dogs over his own people. When the shōgunate failed to stabilise the economy, farmers would riot. And while these riots tended to die down quickly, the shōgunate realised that…
Every now and again history throws out a character so accomplished and yet so shrouded in mystery that they beg the question ‘Were they real?’. Of all such people, there are perhaps none so famous as Shōtoku Taishi. His face has adorned seven varieties of Japanese banknotes over the past hundred years―a feat unrivalled by any other historical figure. In the Heian era, he was…
