The Seven Samurai Peasants Who Became Warlords cover art

The Seven Samurai Peasants Who Became Warlords

The Seven Samurai Peasants Who Became Warlords

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We know the samurai as an elite warrior class, but in the chaos of the Sengoku period, at least seven men rose from peasant or low-born origins to become daimyo — lords of entire provinces. This episode follows the astonishing stories of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the 'Monkey' who unified Japan; Saitō Dōsan, the 'Viper of Mino' who murdered his lord and seized a domain; Takeda Shingen's father, who started as a lowly official; and others like Hōjō Sōun, Maeda Toshiie, and Katō Kiyomasa — whose birth didn't fit the samurai ideal. We explore how the desperate warfare of the 15th and 16th centuries opened doors for talent regardless of rank, and how the Tokugawa peace that followed slammed them shut again. Drawing on the phrase 'gekokujō' — the low overcoming the high — we examine what these stories tell us about social mobility in a supposedly rigid society, and whether the 'peasant samurai' legend is more myth than history. #Samurai #Japan #Sengoku #Gekokujo #ToyotomiHideyoshi #SaitoDosan #HojoSoun #MaedaToshiie #KatoKiyomasa #PeasantSamurai #SocialMobility #Daimyo #FeudalJapan #AzuchiMomoyama #TokugawaShogunate #JapaneseHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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