historyofjapan

Episode 434 - The Wrong Kind of Hero, Part 2

Added 2022-04-15 16:37:00 +0000 UTC

Perhaps the most challenging part of this episode was not going on a long tangent about the internal politics of Tosa domain. There's a whole 'sub-plot' to the Sakamoto Ryoma story involving the political rivalry between the domain's elder, Yoshida Toyo, and the Kinnoto loyalists under Takechi Zuisan that's deeply fascinating--but also not directly relevant, given that the 'resolution' for the story takes place after Sakamoto leaves Tosa behind. It's still very interesting, though, and might be a future newsletter topic (stay tuned!).

The whole Kyoto situation is another area where I had to really restrain myself from going on long tangents. There's a lot to unpack in terms of the political situation in Kyoto from 1860-63, particularly given that a lot of the people who would later become major figures in the Meiji government were involved in some way or another (for example, you might have noticed that future Prime Minister Sanjo Sanetomi made a brief appearance). As did, of course, the vaunted Shinsengumi, which is definitely a topic that has been requested before. I've been debating episodes on them for a while, but there's honestly more research out there on their pop cultural image than the actual history of the group.

Anyway, part 3 is next week,after which I'm going to take a one-week hiatus due to some work-related backup that I need to deal with. Enjoy the show!