Today, we dive into the chaotic final act of Japan’s Warring States period, and hear about the three warlords who brought it to an end. Oda Nobunaga, the ruthless innovator who shattered the status quo on the battlefield. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the peasant-born schemer who climbed from the lowest social ranks to the very top of Japan's hierarchy. And Tokugawa Ieyasu, the patient survivor who outlasted them all and built a shogunate that would rule Japan for over 250 years. Joining us for this is Chris Harding, a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections, based at the University of Edinburgh. You can follow Chris Harding's YouTube channel here: youtube.com/@UCQW0vSxZv4VELND7Akj1CYw And read more about Oda Nobunaga on Chris's Substack here: http://chrishardingjapan.com/p/why-oda-nobunaga-welcomed-the-west 0:00 Introduction 1:11 The Fall of the Ashikaga Shogunate 2:38 The Onin War and a Century of Chaos 4:48 The Powerless Emperor and the Rise of Warlords 7:35 Oda Nobunaga: The Rise of the "Great Fool" 12:50 Gunpowder and the Revolution of Japanese Warfare 16:53 The Demon King: Destroying the Buddhist Armies 23:32 The Assassination of Nobunaga and a New Heir 26:50 Toyotomi Hideyoshi: From Peasant to Ruler 34:02 The Sword Hunt and the New Social Order 43:06 Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Battle of Sekigahara 47:35 The Great Peace: 250 Years of Tokugawa Rule Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and McKenna Fernandez, edited by Matthew Wilson & the channel manager is Vilde Øksnes. You can find more Dan Snow's History Hit on the audio podcast here: https://podfollow.com/dan-snows-history-hit/view Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #DanSnowsHistoryHit #HistoryPodcast #JapanHistory