logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
37m 40s

Shogun and Shinto: What Life Was Like In...

History Hit & Assassin's Creed
About this episode

What was life like in feudal Japan? If you were born into the chaos of the Warring States period, would you have been a farmer, a merchant or a samurai? Or perhaps even an Emperor?


Delving into the history behind the latest Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Matt Lewis and Dr Tomoko Kate Kitagawa shed light on the customs, culture and class structures of medieval Japan. They explore what daily life would have been like for people beyond the famous names of history and legend, and how they saw themselves within the shifting society of the Sengoku era


Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. 


Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Ella Blaxill

Produced by: Joseph Knight, Peta Stamper, Matt Lewis

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Oct 6
The Russian Revolution: What Really Happened?
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia transports us to the tense atmosphere of World War One as Russia made the difficult transition from an imperial state to a socialist republic.But what was it like for the ordinary person on the streets of Moscow, or in the wheatfields of Kursk? ... Show More
55m 47s
Sep 29
Life as a Samurai
Assassin’s Creed Shadows recreates everyday life in Japan during the Sengoku jidai - the Warring States period - and highlights how reality doesn’t always align with pop culture perceptions of samurai as a noble elite.Matt Lewis spoke to Dr Kate Kitagawa and Professor Eric Rath t ... Show More
37m 45s
Sep 22
Ancient Egyptian Architecture In Assassin's Creed Origins
Historians Review & Ubisoft Developer Interview with Maxime DurandIn Assassin’s Creed Origins players can do what no tour group today can do: clamber all over and inside the monuments of Ancient Egypt, from the Sphinx to Cleopatra's Palace, from the temple at Karnak to the Great ... Show More
1h 8m
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Le Japon et la période des royaumes combattants - Entretien avec Julien Peltier
Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour, et bienvenue dans ce nouvel entretien historique ! J’ai eu le plaisir d’y recevoir Julien Peltier, un spécialiste de l’histoire japonaise médiévale, et plus particulièrement de la figure du guerrier japonais, ainsi que de la période Sengoku. ... Show More
1h 49m
Jun 2023
Medieval Japan: Myths of the Samurai
Medieval Japan - especially its stories of fearless Samurai and Ninja warriors - have an enduring place in our consciousness. But how true are they? In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks to Joseph Robey, who has made it his mission to make the stories of Medieval Jap ... Show More
42m 17s
Dec 2022
277: Japan: Samurai and Shoguns
In today's episode, Tom and Dominic discuss the history of Japan through six characters, with leading cultural historian of Japan, Chris Harding, as they cover feuding lords and buddhist monks, both world wars, Japanese medieval poetry, Manga culture, and much, much more. Join Th ... Show More
1h 5m
Aug 2023
Die Geräuschkulisse Bagdads - Episode 2: Kultur des Wohlstands
Unter den Muslimen des Mittelalters gab es weise Krieger, Dichter, Philosophen, Ritter und Knappen. Diese elitäre Kultur und die Art und Weise wie sie auf die breite Masse abfärbte, machte diese Epoche in Bagdad so spannend. In dieser Folge betrachten wir die ritterliche Kultur u ... Show More
17m 41s
Jan 2024
Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate
The Warring States period brought Japan to its knees. It was a time of turbulence and treachery, with rival warlords fighting bitterly for control of the land. But by the dawn of the 17th century, one of Japan's 'Great Unifiers' had emerged victorious - Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ... Show More
29m 30s
Sep 2021
Part One: The Slavery Loving Fascist who Built Modern Japan
Mia Wong is joined by Robert Evans to discuss Nobusuke Kishi. FOOTNOTES: Machiavelli’s Children Leaders and Their Legacies in Italy and Japan by Richard J. Samuels Chinese Comfort Women Testimonies from Imperial Japan’s Sex Slaves by Peipei Qiu, with Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei Ya ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 2023
EPISODE 103: The Lone Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (Part 2)
Ever since I started History on Fire, one topic has been the most consistently requested by listeners. Over the years, I received hundreds of messages asking me to cover the life of Miyamoto Musashi. That time has come. Here we go. Musashi has been the subject of one of the great ... Show More
2h 12m
Oct 2023
EPISODE 102: The Lone Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (Part 1)
Ever since I started History on Fire, one topic has been the most consistently requested by listeners. Over the years, I received hundreds of messages asking me to cover the life of Miyamoto Musashi. That time has come. Here we go. Musashi has been the subject of one of the great ... Show More
1h 45m
May 2021
Fuujin & Raijin: The Gods of Thunder and Wind (Ep. 76)
Who are Fujin and Raijin (the Japanese Wind God and Thunder God), where did they come from, and what do they do? Today I'll tell you about their origins in India and a Japanese Goddesses' decaying body. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncann ... Show More
12m 24s
Jan 2024
Comment les Samouraïs ont-ils disparu ? - Entretien avec Olivier Ansart
Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour, et bienvenue dans ce nouvel entretien historique dans lequel j’ai eu le plaisir de recevoir Olivier Ansart, un historien spécialiste des idées politiques dans le Japon de l’époque Edo. Il s’est notamment intéressé dans ses recherches au Bushi ... Show More
1h 58m