History is full of the extraordinary. Each week, we'll transport you back in time to witness history's most incredible moments and remarkable people. New episodes Mondays, or a week early for Noiser+ subscribers. With Noiser+ you'll also get ad-free listening and exclusive content. For more information, head to noiser.com/subscriptions For advertising enquiries, email info@adelicious.fm Hosted by John Hopkins. Production: Katrina Hughes, Kate Simants, Nicole Edmunds, Jacob Booth, Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer, Cody Reynolds-Shaw. Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/shorthistory for £100 sponsored credit.
https://www.noiser.com/short-history-of
episode 16: The Samurai
After a bloody battle on September 22nd, 1877, Saigo Takamori and his loyal warriors pause on a hillside overlooking Kagoshima. They’ll never surrender, but they’re wounded, exhausted, and massively outnumbered, and Saigo already knows how this will end. Because his noble Samurai army aren’t just fighting the Emperor’s gun-wielding forces. They’re fighting progress itself. And that’s a battle they cannot win. But were the Samurai really a class of elite martial artists, driven by unbreakable codes of chivalry and loyalty? Or, behind the propaganda, just a self-important militia of romanticised thugs?
This is a Short History of the Samurai.
Written by Joe Viner. With thanks to Jonathan Clements, historian, and author of A Brief History of the Samurai.
For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices