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Dan - The Sengoku Period

Konnichiwa minnasan! Hello everyone! This is Dan here!

Have you ever heard of the Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period)? It's one of the most famous moments in Japanese history, and I think it's one of the most interesting. At the end of todays the lesson I gave the class a short presentation on the Sengoku Jidai.

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The Sengoku Period was home to many warring clans, all with their own cultures and armies. Vying for control of Japan, the immense battles were constant and diplomacy often turned to swords! Even though the Emperor was still the official leader of Japan his position was ceremonial and the main control was give to the Shogan (The Military Governor). This was the position that the daimyo (lords) all wanted for themselves.

One of the most important moments of the period was the Onin War. The Hosokawa family and thier allies in the east clashed with the Yamana family and their allies in the west. The battle took place in Kyoto for many years and eventually spread out to the rest of Japan.

The Great Unifiers

After many years of epic battles the country was finally unified by three great

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lords: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Oda Nobunaga was very close to unifying the country when he was betrayed and killed by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide. This lead Toyotomi Hideyoshi (One of Nobunaga's trusted generals) to take control. Toyotomi could not become Shogun because of his common birth so he ruled as the chief adviser to the emperor.

Toyotomi tried to invade Korea twice but failed. Eventually he died in 1598 leaving

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no successor. He appointed five lords to rule until his infant son came of age. However, two of the lords, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari, had a dispute and Ishida accused Tokugawa of disloyalty to Toyotomi's name. A great war began and Japan was once again divided between East and West. The War finally ended with Tokugawa's seige on Osaka Castle. After that Tokugawa became the Shogun of Japan.

Overall, this chaotic era has become a legendary chapter in Japan's great histroy.

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(Shogun Tokugawa)

Images from: (here)

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