History never cooperates by giving definitive beginning or ending dates. I think you got as close to the beginning and ending of direct samurai rule as possible. For such a long period you created a succinct and understandable timeline. Enjoyed how you distilled the competing factors and interpretations of events. A well constructed video as always..
THANK YOU!! So I translate Heian period folktales and put them up on UA-cam and I've had to repeatedly defend the fact that the early warriors were not referred to as "samurai" but rather as "bushi" or also very often "tsuwamono" (兵) and I'm very glad for you explaining this fact. Also, this is very appropriate because I just started working on translating a section of folktales that deal with warriors, starting with Taira no Masakado's rebellion, an occurrence that I think you yourself would be very very interested in Masakado is sometimes referred to as "the first samurai." Thanks again for the video. いと忝うこそ侍れ
@@outboundflight4455 I haven't. Though I believe Antony Cummins from "Samurai and Ninja History" here on UA-cam has lots of info on that topic. While I do love stories about warriors and fighting, and it was largely samurai that got me interested in Japanese culture, I've decided to focus more on Japanese storytelling, literature, poetry and things of that nature. Though through the samurai, martial arts and fighting definitely have an important place in Japanese literature so I'm probably going to stumble into it at some point.
Samurai are simply the warrior elite, clans descending from the lineages of disinherited spare imperial princes and their relative matrilineal rural relatives taking provincial or frontier offices. The bushi are best referred, personally, as the foot conscripts and armed servant retainers hailing from any social classes mustered by their martial feudal warlords.
Informative video. Could you do a video on samurai who were not born to the class but were elevated to it such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi? I'm having trouble finding info about how (un)common this was. I understand it wasn't an ordinary occurrence, but was it exceptionally rare? The names of other elevated samurai would be useful as well as an approximation of the per cent of samurai elevated from farming and trades backgrounds. I get this may differ greatly during the periods and ending with Hideyoshi's proclamation, so perhaps limit it to the Muromachi period or a contrast between Kamakura and Muromachi. Thanks.
At first, I was just curious about history of clans featured in shogun 2. Now I stayed as someone more interested in the history than game itself. Thank you so much for bringing history to wider audience ❤
While I think it fair to discuss the many Samurai in the Meiji government, I don't think you could extend Samurai rule to 1945. Already by 1905, with most of the Meiji oligarchs still alive, the bonds had begun to fray and their arrangement wouldn't really last past their deaths. Even before that, you had new institutions that dilluted any form of "Samurai power" in the government.
I get what you’re saying but I also think that it’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that “samurai” rule lasted until the US occupation. I agree that it does make sense why many leaders in imperial Japan came from ex-samurai backgrounds: they had resources 80% of the population didn’t. But, the political and military offices were not as highly restricted as they would have been in previous periods. Yes, many people in the leadership were former samurai or had those roots but they did open the doors of the military academies, regardless of prior social rank. In addition, for as many samurai that thrive in the imperial, there were probably as many or more who fell on harder times. They also were not as restricted in their marriage choices and former samurai families were free to marry with each other which further erodes any class consciousness. Similarly, imperial propaganda adopted the ideal of the samurai mostly as a way to encourage a sense of nationalism amongst conscripts telling them that they were following in the footsteps of ancient predecessors. But by the 20th century a “samurai” would have referred to the grandfathers of the imperial soldiers and sailors, they were symbolically following in those footsteps. I’ll be with their lord being the emperor himself. I also agree that the military was the main political force before 1945 but that was grounded in their claims of defending the nation especially against a possibly aggressive west not because of any family or class links. Additionally, many of the zaibatsu that formed before the war had roots in the merchant classes of the Edo era. Finally, if you want to just focus on bloodlines you get some interesting results. Konoe Funimaro, who was Tojo’s predecessor had kuge roots. PM Hosukawa Morihiro was the head of his clan and Abe Shinzo’s family were part of the Meiji era ex samurai elite, especially his maternal grandfather and war criminal and 1950s PM Kishi Nobuske. Anyway, good video as always. But, I am not fully on board with your conclusion still it was fun to watch.
Very cool video, the only thing missing from the timeline is the Reiwa era but it has only lasted around 5 years so I can see why you didnt put it there
The Taira leaders like Taira no Kiyomori and Oda Nobunaga were always being depicted as “villains” in history because they went against the status quo And yet, those who demonized the Taira, mainly the Minamoto (who got credited as the heroes of the era) wanted to be like the Taira at the same time. Just like the OG Minamoto like Yoritomo creating the Kamakura Bakufu following Kiyomori’s model. Just like the Later Minamoto like Tokugawa Ieyasu creating the Edo Bakufu following Nobunaga’s vision. The Minamoto are hypocrites.
Minamoto also kinda rode on the laurels set down by Taira and then claimed how great they were instead. Yeah I find them hypocritical (and arrogant) as well.
The pioneers in history rarely live long enough to see the fruits of their hard work. It’s usually the ones that follow that enjoy the fruits of their hard work. The Tokugawa’s are the prime example, and if Hideyoshi had played his cards right it would have been his family living off the Oda’s initial success.
That's because it wasn't ideological to them, but personal. They were not ideological opponents, but familial since both couldn't be on top and keep all their allies together. It was ultimately about who would rule, not how it would be ruled. And many by the time they were in opposition had no choice but to fight each other-only clever long term foresight based on guesses could have prevented it, all that was left was for their descendants to embrace it and come out on top for their own survival and prosperity. They were heroes because they sought to keep the Emperor instead of becoming Emperor themselves -that was the primary and only real Ideological difference and what made them heroes: Loyalty to the monarch, even if they sought power for themselves, they still supported his legitimacy instead of trying to usurp his line and actual cultural and religious importance. If anything could be said to be honorable and heroic, it was that choice. A subtle difference to us, only because we don't understand the importance at the time.
Any chance of covering the history of magic in Japan? I've been trying to find books on the subject, but nothing on magic during the Sengoku era. Mainly wanted to know this stuff for historical fantasy alt-history.
7:56 Thinking about how much control the OG Hojo really had over the shogunate, we have to also consider that the shogunal constitution that had been used for so long until the Edo period, the “Goseibai Shikimoku”, was written by Hojo Yasutoki, not by someone from OG Minamoto family.
I would say that the Samurai rule truly ended in 1945. Even after the Meiji restoration, all important positions in the government and the military were held by the Samurai.
after starting a chinese history podcast... looking at the timeline starting at 700 is crazy. (ok, after doing a little research you can go further back, but it still is like thousands of years younger than china, i wasnt expecting that being so close tbh, i never looked at the dates before all blended into an vague "feudal era" idea)
so if Hideyoshi himself went to Korea do you think he would had won? and obviously brought Ieyasu and Masamune since they were not trusted to be left alone at home?
@@TheShogunate oh ok, be it Hideaki's or Mitsunari's fault I thought they just didn't compare to Hideyoshi and the other older guys, no clue what made Hideyoshi think he could take on them and China, he already had the legacy of great unifier, though i dont like the usurping aspect Ieyasu was much better at diplomacy and not doing 15 years of daily warfare, after beating Mitsunari
@@yukimurasanada5209I am a fan of this field. I have read a lot of historical materials about China, Japan, and Korea. I am Chinese and my English is very poor. In fact, Japanese infantry is very strong in the Asian region, but the problem is that they do not have large-scale cavalry units. Since the Mongol invasion, their cavalry units have remained small-scale. In Japan, they are filled with mountains and hills, and cavalry is not effective. However, on the mainland, cavalry is the foundation of field combat, which means they cannot defeat the cavalry in mainland China. But there are exceptions, in fact they defeated thousands of North Korean border cavalry, using night time and firearms. But among the reinforcements from China, there are at least 20000 cavalry troops, which makes it impossible for them to cope.
@@onion9387 ah ok that explains it better, i was just thinking the more talented generals would had made a difference, but northern china has a lot of cavalry, i'm sure even the takeda cavalry would not last long
@@yukimurasanada5209 The scale of Japanese cavalry has always been very small, with most battles probably only having a few hundred knights, or even fewer. Many soldiers in Japan ride horses to the battlefield and then dismount to become infantry, which is their common tactic. Too many mountains and forests, few plains, which have been transformed into farmland. A general cannot change the war, and the few effective means for Japanese soldiers to deal with Chinese cavalry are firearms. As I mentioned earlier, they used firearms and night raids to defeat several thousand cavalry used by North Korea to deal with the Tatars. But when it comes to cross sea operations, North Korean militia and navy harassed their supply lines, resulting in insufficient gunpowder and lead ammunition, ultimately unable to defeat Chinese cavalry in field combat, making them extremely passive in the later stages of the war
Damn, so Japan tried once to abolish The Shogunate and Samurai 5 centuries before their second attempt which made the nation fester with the corruption of fascism… if only Go-Daigo succeeded…
The USA force japan to become a democracy, but to keep them on the USA side against the URRS, they keep the samurai clans on the governament. until to day, the samurais are rulling japan, not with swords but with the democracy, big companies and the yakuza.
Hello Shogunate my name is Isaiah and I have something important to say to you. God loves you and like any father he wants to help you and keep you safe especially from the devil. But I am not just speaking to you about this I am also talking to your fans about this. God loves you an je wants to help all of us to be saved. Not just from ourselves but from the devils clutches. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord for his love is for evreyone. Shalom Shalom.
Last time I was this early, the Taira were the most powerful force in Japan!
Last time I was this early, Japan wasn't a nation.
Didn't the minamoto defeated them ?
@@RedLights9000-f3l the joke flew over your head sir
@@TheMercian13 dang it
History never cooperates by giving definitive beginning or ending dates. I think you got as close to the beginning and ending of direct samurai rule as possible. For such a long period you created a succinct and understandable timeline. Enjoyed how you distilled the competing factors and interpretations of events. A well constructed video as always..
Thank you!
THANK YOU!!
So I translate Heian period folktales and put them up on UA-cam and I've had to repeatedly defend the fact that the early warriors were not referred to as "samurai" but rather as "bushi" or also very often "tsuwamono" (兵) and I'm very glad for you explaining this fact. Also, this is very appropriate because I just started working on translating a section of folktales that deal with warriors, starting with Taira no Masakado's rebellion, an occurrence that I think you yourself would be very very interested in Masakado is sometimes referred to as "the first samurai."
Thanks again for the video. いと忝うこそ侍れ
Have you ever considered translating Japanese Koryu Martial arts texts or scrolls
@@outboundflight4455 I haven't. Though I believe Antony Cummins from "Samurai and Ninja History" here on UA-cam has lots of info on that topic. While I do love stories about warriors and fighting, and it was largely samurai that got me interested in Japanese culture, I've decided to focus more on Japanese storytelling, literature, poetry and things of that nature. Though through the samurai, martial arts and fighting definitely have an important place in Japanese literature so I'm probably going to stumble into it at some point.
Samurai are simply the warrior elite, clans descending from the lineages of disinherited spare imperial princes and their relative matrilineal rural relatives taking provincial or frontier offices.
The bushi are best referred, personally, as the foot conscripts and armed servant retainers hailing from any social classes mustered by their martial feudal warlords.
Nice! I’ve subscribed to you! Looking forward to checking your videos out
@@03dashk64 Shoot. Much appreciated, friend.
Thanks again for featuring that EXQUISITE o-yoroi artwork! 🙏🙇♂⛩☸
This is some good info for people that do not know much about the samurai. Thank you for sharing it with them 👊🏻
Spectacular video as always.
Your assistance was most appreciated!
Finely someone puts Kiyomori as the first one who opens the road for them, he has made the first step and did the hard work
Sorry but its Kiyomori.
@@palemoon1904 it's fine 👍
What a great video! Gave me some new perspective about the true timeframe of samurai power in Japan. Well done!
Informative video. Could you do a video on samurai who were not born to the class but were elevated to it such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi? I'm having trouble finding info about how (un)common this was. I understand it wasn't an ordinary occurrence, but was it exceptionally rare? The names of other elevated samurai would be useful as well as an approximation of the per cent of samurai elevated from farming and trades backgrounds.
I get this may differ greatly during the periods and ending with Hideyoshi's proclamation, so perhaps limit it to the Muromachi period or a contrast between Kamakura and Muromachi.
Thanks.
That’s a good question I’d also like to know that given the feudal system of the Samurai in the Middle Ages.
Same.
Great Video as always, would Love to watch more Videos on the Heian Period and before.
Yes, me too!
Amazing nuanced breakdown as usual!
Another interesting video nice to know exactly when it started and ended.
Excellent summary, thank you
At first, I was just curious about history of clans featured in shogun 2. Now I stayed as someone more interested in the history than game itself. Thank you so much for bringing history to wider audience ❤
While I think it fair to discuss the many Samurai in the Meiji government, I don't think you could extend Samurai rule to 1945. Already by 1905, with most of the Meiji oligarchs still alive, the bonds had begun to fray and their arrangement wouldn't really last past their deaths. Even before that, you had new institutions that dilluted any form of "Samurai power" in the government.
Thank you for showing the timeline of Samurai rule in Japan 🗾
Here for it!
I get what you’re saying but I also think that it’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that “samurai” rule lasted until the US occupation. I agree that it does make sense why many leaders in imperial Japan came from ex-samurai backgrounds: they had resources 80% of the population didn’t.
But, the political and military offices were not as highly restricted as they would have been in previous periods. Yes, many people in the leadership were former samurai or had those roots but they did open the doors of the military academies, regardless of prior social rank. In addition, for as many samurai that thrive in the imperial, there were probably as many or more who fell on harder times. They also were not as restricted in their marriage choices and former samurai families were free to marry with each other which further erodes any class consciousness. Similarly, imperial propaganda adopted the ideal of the samurai mostly as a way to encourage a sense of nationalism amongst conscripts telling them that they were following in the footsteps of ancient predecessors. But by the 20th century a “samurai” would have referred to the grandfathers of the imperial soldiers and sailors, they were symbolically following in those footsteps. I’ll be with their lord being the emperor himself.
I also agree that the military was the main political force before 1945 but that was grounded in their claims of defending the nation especially against a possibly aggressive west not because of any family or class links. Additionally, many of the zaibatsu that formed before the war had roots in the merchant classes of the Edo era.
Finally, if you want to just focus on bloodlines you get some interesting results. Konoe Funimaro, who was Tojo’s predecessor had kuge roots. PM Hosukawa Morihiro was the head of his clan and Abe Shinzo’s family were part of the Meiji era ex samurai elite, especially his maternal grandfather and war criminal and 1950s PM Kishi Nobuske.
Anyway, good video as always. But, I am not fully on board with your conclusion still it was fun to watch.
Excellent as always one of the best history channel (of any place or time). Pip pip
I’m listening to part 2 of the Shogun on Audible right now so this video is perfect
外国人から見た日本史ってこんな感じなんやな
Very cool video, the only thing missing from the timeline is the Reiwa era but it has only lasted around 5 years so I can see why you didnt put it there
Thank you for making these oberlook videos ❤
good videos i watched all of the sengoku jidai
Invicta did mention about this top from his channel. Really good one. Really hope you guys get a collab, maybe with Metatron as well, it would be epic
Beautiful video!
Esta información vale millones, muchas gracias, Shogunate.
I consider the samurai's reign in Japan to between the Kamakura and Edo bakufus i.e 12th to 19th century as a timespan.
Last 2 Era's on Timeline Showa and Heisei
My Brain: This is where Godzilla comes into play
The Taira leaders like Taira no Kiyomori and Oda Nobunaga were always being depicted as “villains” in history because they went against the status quo
And yet, those who demonized the Taira, mainly the Minamoto (who got credited as the heroes of the era) wanted to be like the Taira at the same time.
Just like the OG Minamoto like Yoritomo creating the Kamakura Bakufu following Kiyomori’s model.
Just like the Later Minamoto like Tokugawa Ieyasu creating the Edo Bakufu following Nobunaga’s vision.
The Minamoto are hypocrites.
Minamoto also kinda rode on the laurels set down by Taira and then claimed how great they were instead. Yeah I find them hypocritical (and arrogant) as well.
The pioneers in history rarely live long enough to see the fruits of their hard work. It’s usually the ones that follow that enjoy the fruits of their hard work. The Tokugawa’s are the prime example, and if Hideyoshi had played his cards right it would have been his family living off the Oda’s initial success.
That's because it wasn't ideological to them, but personal. They were not ideological opponents, but familial since both couldn't be on top and keep all their allies together. It was ultimately about who would rule, not how it would be ruled. And many by the time they were in opposition had no choice but to fight each other-only clever long term foresight based on guesses could have prevented it, all that was left was for their descendants to embrace it and come out on top for their own survival and prosperity. They were heroes because they sought to keep the Emperor instead of becoming Emperor themselves -that was the primary and only real Ideological difference and what made them heroes: Loyalty to the monarch, even if they sought power for themselves, they still supported his legitimacy instead of trying to usurp his line and actual cultural and religious importance. If anything could be said to be honorable and heroic, it was that choice. A subtle difference to us, only because we don't understand the importance at the time.
Any chance of covering the history of magic in Japan? I've been trying to find books on the subject, but nothing on magic during the Sengoku era. Mainly wanted to know this stuff for historical fantasy alt-history.
7:56 Thinking about how much control the OG Hojo really had over the shogunate, we have to also consider that the shogunal constitution that had been used for so long until the Edo period, the “Goseibai Shikimoku”, was written by Hojo Yasutoki, not by someone from OG Minamoto family.
Hojo who appeared during Sengoku period were not related to the original Hojo. Some says that they borrowed the name
@@palemoon1904 Yeah, that’s why I mentioned the OG Hojo. The Hojo in Sengoku was Later Hojo. Not the same Hojo.
@@nont18411 👍
Thanks! To be fair, the families still wield considerable influence in commerce and business. Maybe politics.
I would say that the Samurai rule truly ended in 1945. Even after the Meiji restoration, all important positions in the government and the military were held by the Samurai.
Great video
Did y'all know that Takeshi Takahashi from Mortal Kombat is a descendant from the Tira clan? Now you know! 👍🏻
after starting a chinese history podcast... looking at the timeline starting at 700 is crazy.
(ok, after doing a little research you can go further back, but it still is like thousands of years younger than china, i wasnt expecting that being so close tbh, i never looked at the dates before all blended into an vague "feudal era" idea)
Japan was founded by Chinese castaways, China has been a country for almost 5,000 years.
damn i got it here after 5 seconds released wtf.
18:30 HE SAID IT
so if Hideyoshi himself went to Korea do you think he would had won? and obviously brought Ieyasu and Masamune since they were not trusted to be left alone at home?
No I highly doubt that would have changed anything anything.
@@TheShogunate oh ok, be it Hideaki's or Mitsunari's fault I thought they just didn't compare to Hideyoshi and the other older guys, no clue what made Hideyoshi think he could take on them and China, he already had the legacy of great unifier, though i dont like the usurping aspect Ieyasu was much better at diplomacy and not doing 15 years of daily warfare, after beating Mitsunari
@@yukimurasanada5209I am a fan of this field. I have read a lot of historical materials about China, Japan, and Korea. I am Chinese and my English is very poor. In fact, Japanese infantry is very strong in the Asian region, but the problem is that they do not have large-scale cavalry units. Since the Mongol invasion, their cavalry units have remained small-scale. In Japan, they are filled with mountains and hills, and cavalry is not effective. However, on the mainland, cavalry is the foundation of field combat, which means they cannot defeat the cavalry in mainland China. But there are exceptions, in fact they defeated thousands of North Korean border cavalry, using night time and firearms. But among the reinforcements from China, there are at least 20000 cavalry troops, which makes it impossible for them to cope.
@@onion9387 ah ok that explains it better, i was just thinking the more talented generals would had made a difference, but northern china has a lot of cavalry, i'm sure even the takeda cavalry would not last long
@@yukimurasanada5209 The scale of Japanese cavalry has always been very small, with most battles probably only having a few hundred knights, or even fewer. Many soldiers in Japan ride horses to the battlefield and then dismount to become infantry, which is their common tactic. Too many mountains and forests, few plains, which have been transformed into farmland. A general cannot change the war, and the few effective means for Japanese soldiers to deal with Chinese cavalry are firearms. As I mentioned earlier, they used firearms and night raids to defeat several thousand cavalry used by North Korea to deal with the Tatars. But when it comes to cross sea operations, North Korean militia and navy harassed their supply lines, resulting in insufficient gunpowder and lead ammunition, ultimately unable to defeat Chinese cavalry in field combat, making them extremely passive in the later stages of the war
Hello can you do video about miyoshi clan
LETS GO early crew
Is that samurai warriors 2 ost lol
Love it
Damn, so Japan tried once to abolish The Shogunate and Samurai 5 centuries before their second attempt which made the nation fester with the corruption of fascism… if only Go-Daigo succeeded…
Another video on the Edo period series please
What does "bakufu" translate to?
Tent government. AKA Shogunate
Lembrei do @BrasaodeArmas vendo esse vídeo. Aposto que ele também gostaria muitíssimo!
武士（Bushi）と野武士（Noubushi）と悪党（Akutou）は異なるが、日本人でも知らない人が多いから仕方ないだろ
The USA force japan to become a democracy, but to keep them on the USA side against the URRS, they keep the samurai clans on the governament. until to day, the samurais are rulling japan, not with swords but with the democracy, big companies and the yakuza.
❤❤❤❤❤
Anyone notice that once America arrived and demanded Japan open up things turned to shit?
🗿👍
In which age did Samurai Jack live? 😂
Early
Facebook tells me they were all blk
Date late
Hello Shogunate my name is Isaiah and I have something important to say to you. God loves you and like any father he wants to help you and keep you safe especially from the devil. But I am not just speaking to you about this I am also talking to your fans about this. God loves you an je wants to help all of us to be saved. Not just from ourselves but from the devils clutches. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord for his love is for evreyone. Shalom Shalom.