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[dramatic music playing]

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[opening theme plays]

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[dramatic music playing]

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[narrator] After more than a century 
of civil war,

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Toyotomi Hideyoshi has united Japan.

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His rivals have 
either sworn their allegiance,

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or they have been destroyed.

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Despite this fledgling peace,

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Hideyoshi now dreams
of a bold and outlandish plan

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to make himself
the most powerful man in Asia.

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[Michael Auslin] 
Japan had been at war for so long.

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By this time,

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we're talking about several generations 
that only knew warfare.

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The rivers of Japan ran red with blood.

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Fields were covered in lakes of blood.

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And Hideyoshi was the one
who ended this nightmare for Japan.

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He'd unified the country,

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he had ended the civil war,

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he had created what seemed
to be a stable political equilibrium,

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but you have a society
filled with samurai

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and filled with daimyo,
who know nothing but war.

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[Spafford] The question was, "What do I do
with this enormous military machine

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now that it has nothing to do?"

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And, so, this concern, I think,
feeds into an increasingly runaway ego.

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I mean, again, this is a man
who came up from nothing

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and got to the pinnacle 
of power in Japan…

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and he, I think,
thinks he can do no wrong.

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[dramatic music playing]

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And so he conceives
of a proposition of conquering China.

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[Auslin] China was, for the Japanese,
sort of the touchstone of civilization.

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It represented the center of the world,

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and had traditionally always looked down
on the Japanese,

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so if you conquered China,
you'd be the greatest warlord in history.

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[in Japanese] Prepare the men.

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[Meyer] I think, in a lot of ways,
actually, his invasion of China

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is the ultimate act of self-regard,

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in the same way we sometimes
think of Napoleon Bonaparte

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or Alexander the Great,

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building empires out of a desire to
etch their name in the records of history.

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This is his chance to be the man
who not only reunified Japan,

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but who carries his battle standard
all the way across the sea.

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Quite a lot of people were opposed 
to Hideyoshi's plans to invade China.

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And one of those was his wife, Nene.

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She was extremely intelligent,

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very insightful,

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pretty strong-minded,

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and she was the most important
person in Hideyoshi's life.

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He involved Nene
in every single decision he was making.

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[Meyer] She pushes back
against this idea of an invasion.

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"It's too difficult.

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It's too likely that, if it fails,

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everything we've built in Japan
will come crashing down."

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[Kitagawa] Nene foresaw the catastrophe
to come because of this invasion.

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She was alarmed and she tried
her hardest to stop Hideyoshi.

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[dramatic music playing]

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[Downer] No matter what Nene said,
Hideyoshi was absolutely determined

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to go ahead with his plans.

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No one was able to stop Hideyoshi.

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[Auslin] Hideyoshi realizes
that in order to get to China,

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he's gonna have to march through Korea.

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It's an enormous logistical nightmare
for Japan

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to get these men over there, to feed them,

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to arm them, to maintain them,

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to set up the headquarters to begin
this march up the Korean peninsula

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in order, ultimately, to defeat China.

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So he writes to Korea

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and asks for passage
through their country.

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[Nathan Ledbetter] The lead negotiator 
on the Japanese side is Konishi Yukinaga.

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He is authorized by Hideyoshi
to present Hideyoshi's demands.

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[Auslin] For centuries, Korea and Japan
had had terrible relations.

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The Japanese had actually invaded Korea
hundreds of years before.

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This is not forgotten.

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[suspenseful music playing]

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[in Japanese] They dare defy me!

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The Koreans won't allow Hideyoshi
to walk through their country to China.

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In part, this was because of
the close ties Korea had had with China,

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and they were a buffer state
between Japan and China.

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[in Japanese] This is not acceptable.

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Get out!

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[yells]

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[Spafford] In Hideyoshi's mind,

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this meant he had 
to first subjugate the Koreans

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and punish them for their hubris
in responding to him that way…

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…and then, move on to taking China.

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[in Japanese] Enough! Get out!

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[Auslin] Undertaking the invasion of Korea

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was the most technically complex
military operation in history

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up until that time.

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Hideyoshi is going to rely
on the daimyo in the west

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because they're closest to Korea,

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so they can mass their troops 
and they can get over there more quickly.

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The daimyo of the west are warriors.

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They're men of battle,

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and the idea of conquering
a hated traditional enemy,

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of extending their influence
in the continent,

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of getting their hands on foreign trade,

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is, for the daimyo,
as irresistible as it is for Hideyoshi.

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So, he orders, in 1592,

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one of the largest invasions 
ever seen in the world

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up until that point in time…
of about 200,000 men.

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It's done on a scale that the world
doesn't witness again

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until the D-Day invasion.

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But Hideyoshi
has completely underestimated

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how difficult this campaign will be.

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[narrator] April 13th, 1592,

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Toyotomi Hideyoshi's first invasion force

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sets sail from the island of Tsushima,
across the Korea Strait.

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They land at the southern port of Busan,

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overwhelming Korean defenses
with sheer numbers.

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The Japanese forces then march inland,

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quickly taking the key cities
of Seoul and Pyongyang,

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before moving towards
the border with China.

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-[woman whimpering]
-[people wailing]

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[woman whimpers]

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[Spafford] Remember, 
the Japanese were coming off 150 years

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of continuous warfare.

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Really, war is what they did.

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[man groaning]

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-[women crying]
-[man groans]

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[woman panting]

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-[grunts]
-[woman groans]

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[Meyer] Hideyoshi's forces 
unleash really tremendous violence

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on the peninsula.

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[whimpers]

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When they take garrisons,

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they will often massacre
defending troops who surrendered.

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They'll attack civilians,

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pretty much without regard for any
distinction between civilian and soldier.

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[gasping]

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[groans]

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The Korean campaign so far had been one
of almost unprecedented cruelty.

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[sobbing]

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[Turnbull] The Japanese carried out 
terrible atrocities in terms of rape,

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slaughter, pillage and slave-taking.

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[protesting]

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[screams]

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[Turnbull] Against this sickening tide 
of violence,

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rebellions began in almost every province

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when loyal Koreans rose up to try
and drive back these cruel invaders.

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[thunder rumbling, wind whistling]

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Regular Koreans, farmers, monks,
regular people,

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organized into what became
known as Righteous Armies.

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Essentially,
these are small guerrilla forces.

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[Turnbull] The most famous 
Korean guerrilla leader

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was a general called Gwak Jae-u.

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Soon after the Japanese 
had landed in Busan,

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Gwak raised his first army.

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He was a very rich man and is known
to have sold many of his possessions

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in order to buy arms
for his Righteous Warriors.

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He has become 
a considerably legendary figure in Korea.

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Supposedly, his red coat was dyed
in the menstrual blood of virgins,

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so that it provided magical
protection against enemies.

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[speaks in Korean]

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[bird squawking]

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Gwak's main objective was to attack
and break the Japanese supply lines.

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The supply lines were a major element 
of weakness for the Japanese,

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because they had to be
reinforced from Japan itself,

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and then any supplies
transported the length of Korea,

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where they were vulnerable
to guerrilla attack.

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[army marching]

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One of the first major guerrilla attacks

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was against a Japanese emplacement
near the Nam River.

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Spies had spotted that the Japanese
had placed wooden stakes in the river

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so that their men knew
where it was safe to cross.

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It was a wonderful opportunity
for a surprise attack.

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When the Japanese began
to ford the river,

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their heavy armor weighed them down.

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[Meyer] Normally, the Koreans would be
at a large disadvantage.

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The Japanese troops are experienced,
most of them have some kind of armor,

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better-made weapons,

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but none of that matters
if you're trying to fight in the water.

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And it's that moment that
the Righteous Armies spring the trap.

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[shouts orders in Korean]

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[men shouting]

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-[groans]
-[arquebuses firing]

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[Turnbull] The Koreans launched volleys 
of bullets

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and hails of arrows against the Japanese.

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[dramatic music playing]

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The Japanese were totally helpless.

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[men shouting]

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[yells]

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[groans]

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[groans]

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[screams]

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[Turnbull] It was then 
a complete massacre…

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[screams]

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[ominous music playing]

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…as the dead Japanese
were washed downstream.

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The battle across the Nam River

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was the first Korean victory
on land of the war.

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It's a crushing victory
for the Righteous Armies.

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And it proves, crucially,
the Japanese can lose on land.

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[Turnbull] It gave them huge confidence

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that they would be able to resist
the Japanese invaders and drive them back.

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[thunder rumbling]

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Inspired by the Righteous Armies,

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ordinary people in their farm houses

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rose up against the occupying Japanese.

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This was full-scale guerrilla conflict.

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00:15:23,526 --> 00:15:26,571
-[people shouting]
-Night attacks, arson attacks on camps,

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everything they could lay their hands on
in terms of military ingenuity.

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-[arquebus fires]
-[groans]

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[groans]

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They harass, and then retreat.

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They try and make
the Japanese advance hell.

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00:15:42,379 --> 00:15:44,130
Make it as hard as possible

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00:15:44,214 --> 00:15:48,134
for the Japanese to take more territory
and hold on to what they already have.

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00:15:51,513 --> 00:15:56,393
Before long, Japanese supply lines,
river boats, were under constant attack.

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00:15:56,476 --> 00:16:00,313
Communication between the armies,
movement of supplies was hindered,

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00:16:00,397 --> 00:16:04,609
and the scale, the relentless nature 
of these attacks by the Righteous Armies,

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began to decimate the morale
of Hideyoshi's invasion force

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00:16:07,654 --> 00:16:10,031
-and badly hinder their progress.
-[screams]

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00:16:12,283 --> 00:16:16,871
You know, the western daimyos
have been bled dry by the war in Korea.

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00:16:16,955 --> 00:16:18,498
They're down to 50,000.

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00:16:18,581 --> 00:16:21,209
So, they've lost two-thirds
of their fighting force.

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[narrator] As the war progresses,

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00:16:27,424 --> 00:16:33,263
China's Ming Dynasty sends 50,000 troops
to Korea to thwart the Japanese advance.

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00:16:34,014 --> 00:16:36,141
Despite a number of epic battles,

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00:16:36,224 --> 00:16:39,978
this only creates a stalemate
as all sides battle for ground.

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00:16:40,061 --> 00:16:41,062
[arquebuses fire]

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00:16:41,187 --> 00:16:42,313
In Japan,

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Hideyoshi issues erratic orders
to push forward into China,

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but his commanders
in Korea cannot advance…

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00:16:49,863 --> 00:16:52,323
yet they dare not defy their master.

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[suspenseful music playing]

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[Turnbull] When reporting back to Japan,

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Hideyoshi's generals always
tried to place a positive spin

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00:17:08,465 --> 00:17:10,425
on what was happening in Korea.

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00:17:13,970 --> 00:17:15,597
[inaudible]

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00:17:18,475 --> 00:17:22,312
[Horikoshi speaking Japanese] 
Hideyoshi was a total dictator,

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00:17:22,395 --> 00:17:29,319
so making him angry 
could have meant your life was at risk.

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00:17:29,903 --> 00:17:34,074
Therefore his vassals
didn't report bad news,

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00:17:34,157 --> 00:17:35,825
but reported only good news,

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00:17:36,618 --> 00:17:42,165
so Hideyoshi became out of touch
with the war situation in Korea.

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[Auslin] Any reports of bad news
or of desire to withdraw,

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Hideyoshi really just rejects,

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00:17:50,215 --> 00:17:53,927
which means that he is not
really well attuned to what is going on.

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00:17:54,010 --> 00:17:57,305
He's really not understanding
the scale of this disaster.

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00:17:58,848 --> 00:18:00,725
In fact, there's actually evidence

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00:18:00,809 --> 00:18:03,686
to suggest that Hideyoshi thought
he was winning in Korea.

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00:18:05,188 --> 00:18:08,733
Just as his attention is required
to deal with the Korean campaign,

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00:18:08,817 --> 00:18:11,444
Hideyoshi is becoming
increasingly distracted

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00:18:11,528 --> 00:18:13,488
and obsessed with another problem.

244
00:18:16,449 --> 00:18:20,328
The fact that Hideyoshi does not have
an heir weighs very heavily on his mind.

245
00:18:21,496 --> 00:18:22,580
His wife's childless,

246
00:18:22,664 --> 00:18:26,459
and he had great dreams of forming,
essentially, a new dynasty in Japan,

247
00:18:26,543 --> 00:18:31,339
one that would be the Toyotomi family
carrying on through the generations.

248
00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:36,136
[Spafford] Hideyoshi had succeeded
at inventing a past for himself,

249
00:18:36,219 --> 00:18:40,223
but there was just no amount of invention
that would get around the problem

250
00:18:40,306 --> 00:18:42,142
that he didn't have successors.

251
00:18:43,476 --> 00:18:47,939
And without successors, in a sense,
all of his legacy would come undone,

252
00:18:48,022 --> 00:18:50,733
and he was aware of the fact
that it would come undone.

253
00:18:55,822 --> 00:18:59,450
[Kitagawa] At this point, Nene was too old
to give birth to any children.

254
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,497
At the same time, Hideyoshi had, like,
hundreds of concubines in Osaka.

255
00:19:04,998 --> 00:19:07,917
One of them
could give birth to his children.

256
00:19:08,001 --> 00:19:12,338
And, then, that person, a son,
could be a successor of Hideyoshi.

257
00:19:14,716 --> 00:19:16,718
[wind whistling]

258
00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,769
[Downer] Concubines tended to be
from very high-level families.

259
00:19:27,353 --> 00:19:30,440
They were all daughters of daimyo,
they were of noble blood.

260
00:19:31,566 --> 00:19:35,737
I think the key difference between
a concubine and a wife would be that

261
00:19:35,820 --> 00:19:39,157
you could probably, to some extent,
choose your concubines.

262
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,202
You probably wouldn't choose your wife.
It would be an arranged marriage.

263
00:19:45,872 --> 00:19:49,334
Lady Chacha was
Hideyoshi's favorite concubine.

264
00:19:50,752 --> 00:19:53,588
She was actually
the niece of Oda Nobunaga.

265
00:19:54,589 --> 00:19:56,799
She was very famously beautiful.

266
00:19:56,883 --> 00:20:00,845
She was also a bit of a prima donna.
She was a very proud woman.

267
00:20:00,929 --> 00:20:04,849
She was very imperious,
so she was quite a contrast to Nene,

268
00:20:04,933 --> 00:20:08,186
who was a down-to-earth,
rather common-sense woman.

269
00:20:14,651 --> 00:20:18,196
[Auslin] After so many years
of not being able to produce a child,

270
00:20:18,863 --> 00:20:21,324
Chacha gives birth to a son, Tsurumatsu,

271
00:20:22,075 --> 00:20:23,618
and Hideyoshi is thrilled.

272
00:20:25,745 --> 00:20:27,121
He wants to control Asia,

273
00:20:27,205 --> 00:20:30,041
and he needs a son 
to continue the Toyotomi line.

274
00:20:57,694 --> 00:20:59,696
[weeping softly]

275
00:21:01,781 --> 00:21:04,075
[Downer] Hideyoshi's son Tsurumatsu died.

276
00:21:06,035 --> 00:21:07,745
He was crushed with grief.

277
00:21:13,876 --> 00:21:15,628
[Auslin] Suddenly, 
the future of the family

278
00:21:15,712 --> 00:21:17,714
is once again thrown into doubt.

279
00:21:17,797 --> 00:21:19,632
[sobbing]

280
00:21:19,716 --> 00:21:24,012
[Auslin] This clearly has an effect 
on Hideyoshi's mental status…

281
00:21:25,471 --> 00:21:28,808
because one of his favorite daughters
has also recently died,

282
00:21:28,891 --> 00:21:29,934
and then his mother.

283
00:21:32,478 --> 00:21:34,981
[Spafford] And this contributed

284
00:21:35,064 --> 00:21:38,359
to generating a sense of crisis 
for Hideyoshi,

285
00:21:38,443 --> 00:21:43,614
a sense that all of his most important
efforts were failing

286
00:21:43,698 --> 00:21:45,366
at the moment of greatest need.

287
00:21:45,450 --> 00:21:47,702
And it is possible that this also

288
00:21:47,785 --> 00:21:52,457
contributed to what people saw as
a progressive loss of his mental acuity.

289
00:21:59,630 --> 00:22:01,632
[Ashmore] With each and every day…

290
00:22:02,425 --> 00:22:06,846
Hideyoshi's actions became more erratic
and more disturbing.

291
00:22:08,514 --> 00:22:11,684
[Kitagawa] Everybody was able to see 
the changes

292
00:22:11,768 --> 00:22:14,562
and he, himself,
could not put himself together.

293
00:22:15,271 --> 00:22:19,901
Rumor had it that Hideyoshi
also contracted syphilis

294
00:22:19,984 --> 00:22:21,652
from one of his concubines,

295
00:22:21,736 --> 00:22:25,281
and then that made his behavior 
even more irrational.

296
00:22:25,365 --> 00:22:26,741
[grunts]

297
00:22:26,824 --> 00:22:29,369
Hideyoshi literally became mad.

298
00:22:35,166 --> 00:22:37,168
[screams]

299
00:22:38,169 --> 00:22:39,212
[Hideyoshi chuckles]

300
00:22:41,547 --> 00:22:43,341
[woman gasps]

301
00:22:50,014 --> 00:22:52,725
[Auslin] He increasingly sees himself 
as isolated

302
00:22:53,518 --> 00:22:56,479
and fears that he's going to be a failure,

303
00:22:56,562 --> 00:22:59,399
that his family
will disappear when he dies.

304
00:23:03,277 --> 00:23:07,490
After his infant son died,
Hideyoshi was left without an heir.

305
00:23:09,283 --> 00:23:10,368
While the Korean war

306
00:23:10,451 --> 00:23:12,161
-was still continuing…
-[belches]

307
00:23:13,037 --> 00:23:15,289
Hideyoshi made a dramatic decision.

308
00:23:17,542 --> 00:23:22,213
He named his nephew,
Hidetsugu, as his successor.

309
00:23:22,296 --> 00:23:24,298
[dramatic music playing]

310
00:23:25,883 --> 00:23:28,636
[Auslin] Hidetsugu was 
a very unsavory character.

311
00:23:28,719 --> 00:23:30,930
He was addicted to pleasures of the flesh.

312
00:23:31,013 --> 00:23:33,015
-He was brutal and violent.
-[crying]

313
00:23:33,141 --> 00:23:34,100
[arquebus fires]

314
00:23:34,225 --> 00:23:37,061
-[woman groans]
-Sometimes just shoot peasants at will.

315
00:23:37,145 --> 00:23:39,480
He was seen as an unworthy successor,

316
00:23:40,565 --> 00:23:42,233
but Hideyoshi had no choice.

317
00:23:43,443 --> 00:23:47,488
Hidetsugu was the only legitimate heir
within his own family.

318
00:23:53,870 --> 00:23:56,581
[Turnbull] But a surprise was in store 
for Hideyoshi.

319
00:23:58,249 --> 00:23:59,876
[baby crying]

320
00:23:59,959 --> 00:24:01,919
[Turnbull] Only about six months later,

321
00:24:02,003 --> 00:24:05,047
Hideyoshi's favorite concubine,
Lady Chacha,

322
00:24:05,131 --> 00:24:06,966
then gave birth to a son,

323
00:24:07,049 --> 00:24:08,801
a boy called Hideyori.

324
00:24:11,262 --> 00:24:14,474
Hideyoshi now had 
a major succession dispute

325
00:24:14,557 --> 00:24:18,060
between the unstable Hidetsugu,
whom he had named,

326
00:24:18,144 --> 00:24:22,398
and the infant son,
whom he really now wanted to be his heir.

327
00:24:22,482 --> 00:24:24,484
-[dramatic music plays]
-[bird shrieks]

328
00:24:25,985 --> 00:24:28,488
This was a very dangerous situation,

329
00:24:28,571 --> 00:24:31,824
so Hideyoshi determined
to get rid of Hidetsugu

330
00:24:31,908 --> 00:24:34,952
by sending him into exile on Koyasan.

331
00:24:35,912 --> 00:24:37,997
That could have done the trick,

332
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,751
but rumors grew that Hidetsugu
was planning a return,

333
00:24:41,834 --> 00:24:45,671
and indeed was considering a military coup
against Hideyoshi.

334
00:24:46,339 --> 00:24:48,090
That couldn't be allowed to happen.

335
00:24:48,174 --> 00:24:50,176
[dramatic music playing]

336
00:24:51,469 --> 00:24:55,348
[Ashmore] To secure the rights 
of his second son…

337
00:24:55,973 --> 00:24:57,808
Hidetsugu had to die.

338
00:25:21,707 --> 00:25:23,709
[blade slashes]

339
00:25:29,173 --> 00:25:31,217
[dramatic music playing]

340
00:25:31,300 --> 00:25:33,302
[sobbing]

341
00:25:35,304 --> 00:25:39,308
Hideyoshi then rounds up
31 women and children,

342
00:25:39,392 --> 00:25:42,186
mainly Hidetsugu's closest family,

343
00:25:42,270 --> 00:25:43,980
marches them through Kyoto,

344
00:25:44,564 --> 00:25:46,899
and has them executed.

345
00:25:50,319 --> 00:25:52,321
-[groans]
-[bones break]

346
00:25:54,574 --> 00:25:56,325
[Auslin] It's so extreme

347
00:25:56,409 --> 00:25:59,328
that no one can believe 
it represents anything other than

348
00:25:59,412 --> 00:26:01,831
Hideyoshi beginning
to lose his grip on reality.

349
00:26:05,918 --> 00:26:09,797
[Meyer] One of the people implicated
in the supposed plot of Hidetsugu

350
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,675
to launch a coup 
and install himself in power

351
00:26:12,758 --> 00:26:14,260
was the One-Eyed Dragon himself.

352
00:26:16,554 --> 00:26:19,724
Date Masamune and Hidetsugu
were friendly.

353
00:26:19,807 --> 00:26:22,727
They actually went hunting together
somewhat regularly,

354
00:26:22,810 --> 00:26:27,356
and, as a result, Masamune
is seen as a friend to Hidetsugu.

355
00:26:29,025 --> 00:26:31,569
Hideyoshi is infuriated.

356
00:26:37,575 --> 00:26:39,744
Masamune is a deeply ambitious man.

357
00:26:39,827 --> 00:26:41,287
It's not beyond reason

358
00:26:41,370 --> 00:26:44,332
that he would've been willing
to go behind Hideyoshi's back.

359
00:26:44,415 --> 00:26:46,167
[suspenseful music playing]

360
00:26:52,882 --> 00:26:55,760
As a result,
Masamune is brought before Hideyoshi

361
00:26:55,843 --> 00:26:59,513
and made to answer
for his association with Hidetsugu.

362
00:26:59,597 --> 00:27:01,599
[suspenseful music playing]

363
00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:31,379
The only thing that saves him
is the intercession of a cooler head,

364
00:27:31,462 --> 00:27:34,131
one of the few people
Hideyoshi still listens to.

365
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,260
Tokugawa Ieyasu speaks up,

366
00:27:38,344 --> 00:27:40,930
saying that there's no reason 
to doubt Masamune,

367
00:27:41,013 --> 00:27:43,015
that his loyalty is impeccable,

368
00:27:43,099 --> 00:27:45,768
and that, therefore,
punishment is unnecessary.

369
00:27:45,851 --> 00:27:48,104
"We should trust this man and his word."

370
00:27:48,187 --> 00:27:53,901
As a result, Masamune will feel himself
profoundly indebted to Tokugawa Ieyasu…

371
00:27:55,778 --> 00:27:58,614
a debt that Ieyasu will call in later on.

372
00:28:02,535 --> 00:28:04,453
[Auslin] Though Hideyoshi is paranoid,

373
00:28:04,537 --> 00:28:07,581
he agrees to spare Masamune
on one condition.

374
00:28:07,665 --> 00:28:11,460
Masamune must gather his forces
and join the invasion of Korea,

375
00:28:11,544 --> 00:28:13,337
even if they're all destroyed.

376
00:28:18,384 --> 00:28:20,678
[narrator] Despite having 
great misgivings,

377
00:28:20,761 --> 00:28:23,180
Date Masamune, like other daimyo,

378
00:28:23,264 --> 00:28:27,518
does not dare defy Hideyoshi's orders
to join the fight in Korea.

379
00:28:27,601 --> 00:28:30,271
Doing so would bring
certain death and shame.

380
00:28:30,813 --> 00:28:33,065
Although reinforcements have been sent,

381
00:28:33,149 --> 00:28:36,777
Japanese forces are bogged down
fighting an unwinnable war,

382
00:28:36,861 --> 00:28:40,740
lacking food and supplies
and racked with illness and disease.

383
00:28:40,823 --> 00:28:42,116
[arquebus fires]

384
00:28:42,199 --> 00:28:45,453
Unaware of the true nature
of events on the ground,

385
00:28:45,536 --> 00:28:49,457
Hideyoshi continues to issue orders
for his forces to advance.

386
00:28:58,507 --> 00:29:00,509
[men talking indistinctly]

387
00:29:02,052 --> 00:29:04,221
[Auslin] The war in Korea was devastating.

388
00:29:05,181 --> 00:29:08,476
It had cost tens of thousands
of Japanese lives

389
00:29:08,559 --> 00:29:12,271
and untold hundreds of thousands
of Korean lives.

390
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,532
As the disaster in Korea is unfolding,

391
00:29:23,616 --> 00:29:26,285
and they're receiving 
these increasingly bizarre orders

392
00:29:26,368 --> 00:29:27,828
back from Japan,

393
00:29:28,496 --> 00:29:31,749
it's clear that Hideyoshi is becoming
more and more unstable,

394
00:29:31,832 --> 00:29:34,877
that he's unable to make
clear, strategic decisions,

395
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,463
that he believes he's winning
when he's not.

396
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:41,801
And that, of course,

397
00:29:41,884 --> 00:29:45,095
is paralyzing for his generals,
who don't have clear direction.

398
00:29:45,930 --> 00:29:49,767
It makes a lot of his top commanders 
wonder about his mental stability

399
00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:51,936
and whether they'll ever 
return home alive.

400
00:29:56,190 --> 00:29:59,360
[Ledbetter] There's a very desperate 
situation on the ground,

401
00:29:59,443 --> 00:30:01,862
and the commanders recognize this,

402
00:30:01,946 --> 00:30:04,782
and they recognize the need

403
00:30:04,865 --> 00:30:07,785
to begin opening up negotiations

404
00:30:07,868 --> 00:30:09,495
to try to reach a resolution.

405
00:30:16,293 --> 00:30:18,170
For a long time during negotiations,

406
00:30:18,254 --> 00:30:23,342
Hideyoshi was not aware that the terms
being put forth by the Chinese

407
00:30:23,425 --> 00:30:26,512
were not the ones that he wanted to hear.

408
00:30:29,557 --> 00:30:31,976
[Turnbull] Because of his 
deteriorating mind

409
00:30:32,059 --> 00:30:35,813
and the false reports 
that the generals had sent to him,

410
00:30:35,896 --> 00:30:40,526
Hideyoshi believed that he had won
his campaign in Korea,

411
00:30:40,609 --> 00:30:46,156
and he now sought recognition
for his triumph at the very highest level.

412
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,869
In other words,
from the Ming Emperor of China.

413
00:30:51,912 --> 00:30:55,541
[Meyer] At minimum, what Hideyoshi wants
is a division of Korea.

414
00:30:55,624 --> 00:30:59,670
He suggests Korea be divided
into two spheres of influence,

415
00:30:59,753 --> 00:31:02,715
a southern sphere dominated by Japan

416
00:31:02,798 --> 00:31:05,301
and a northern one
dominated by the Chinese.

417
00:31:05,384 --> 00:31:07,720
This is the minimum
he is willing to accept.

418
00:31:08,304 --> 00:31:11,098
In addition,
Hideyoshi wants the Emperor of China

419
00:31:11,181 --> 00:31:13,726
to dispatch one of his own daughters
to Japan,

420
00:31:13,809 --> 00:31:15,227
to be taken as a concubine.

421
00:31:25,487 --> 00:31:29,700
[Turnbull] Konishi Yukinaga knew
that this was mission impossible.

422
00:31:29,783 --> 00:31:33,370
There was no way that the Ming emperor
was going to give Hideyoshi

423
00:31:33,454 --> 00:31:36,290
the recognition
that he thought he deserved.

424
00:31:40,961 --> 00:31:46,383
[Meyer] What Hideyoshi wants
is frankly insulting to the Chinese.

425
00:31:46,467 --> 00:31:49,595
They refuse categorically
to deal on these terms.

426
00:31:52,598 --> 00:31:55,476
[Turnbull] After all,
he hadn't won a victory in Korea.

427
00:31:55,559 --> 00:31:57,436
It had been an ignominious defeat.

428
00:32:02,107 --> 00:32:06,028
Instead, they offer
Augustin Konishi a different deal,

429
00:32:06,111 --> 00:32:07,988
one that he ultimately accepts.

430
00:32:21,168 --> 00:32:24,088
When the Chinese envoys arrived in Kyoto,

431
00:32:24,171 --> 00:32:29,551
accompanied by Konishi and the other
negotiators coming from Korea,

432
00:32:29,635 --> 00:32:33,681
they presented Hideyoshi
with Chinese robes,

433
00:32:35,391 --> 00:32:38,352
and Hideyoshi was very pleased,

434
00:32:38,435 --> 00:32:40,938
because he thought this meant that

435
00:32:41,021 --> 00:32:44,191
they were offering their submission 
to him.

436
00:32:53,033 --> 00:32:56,370
However, very quickly
there's complete confusion.

437
00:32:58,706 --> 00:33:01,041
First, these ambassadors refuse,

438
00:33:01,125 --> 00:33:03,919
because they're the ambassadors
of the Emperor of China,

439
00:33:04,003 --> 00:33:05,254
to bow to Hideyoshi.

440
00:33:05,337 --> 00:33:07,589
They expect him to bow to them.

441
00:33:08,173 --> 00:33:10,551
He, of course,
is not going to bow to anybody,

442
00:33:10,634 --> 00:33:13,095
and so there's a standoff
between the two sides.

443
00:33:13,178 --> 00:33:15,180
[suspenseful music playing]

444
00:33:22,312 --> 00:33:26,233
When they actually bring out the letter
from the Emperor of China

445
00:33:26,316 --> 00:33:27,484
announcing these terms,

446
00:33:27,568 --> 00:33:31,071
"Hideyoshi, you are King of Japan.
I recognize you as such.

447
00:33:31,155 --> 00:33:32,573
As my vassal--"

448
00:33:32,656 --> 00:33:34,950
[in Japanese] What is the meaning of this?

449
00:33:35,034 --> 00:33:38,078
-What is the meaning of this, you idiot!
-Calm down, my dear!

450
00:33:38,162 --> 00:33:40,164
[Hideyoshi groans]

451
00:33:41,248 --> 00:33:44,585
[Meyer] He realizes these crown and robes,
they're not gifts.

452
00:33:44,668 --> 00:33:46,754
They're markers of his submission,

453
00:33:46,837 --> 00:33:51,050
being given by the Emperor of China,
to show "You are mine now."

454
00:33:51,633 --> 00:33:54,428
[in Japanese] How can I wear this? 
Get out!

455
00:33:54,511 --> 00:33:55,971
Get out of here!

456
00:33:57,097 --> 00:33:58,223
Get out!

457
00:33:58,307 --> 00:34:02,019
Hideyoshi is so humiliated and so angry,

458
00:34:02,102 --> 00:34:04,772
he orders a second invasion of Korea…

459
00:34:04,855 --> 00:34:05,773
[in Japanese] Out!

460
00:34:05,856 --> 00:34:08,442
…but this time his objectives
are more limited.

461
00:34:09,818 --> 00:34:12,863
It was instead a simple act of revenge.

462
00:34:12,946 --> 00:34:14,448
[dramatic music playing]

463
00:34:14,531 --> 00:34:18,285
[narrator] Hideyoshi forces
over 100,000 more samurai

464
00:34:18,368 --> 00:34:22,289
to invade Korea in a punishing
assault of death and destruction.

465
00:34:23,415 --> 00:34:25,084
However, within months,

466
00:34:25,167 --> 00:34:28,921
Korean and Chinese soldiers once again
halt the advance

467
00:34:29,004 --> 00:34:32,382
and drive Japanese forces
back to their coastal garrisons.

468
00:34:36,011 --> 00:34:39,348
[Meyer] At this point, 
many daimyo are up in arms.

469
00:34:39,431 --> 00:34:41,934
They've lost huge amounts
of men and treasure

470
00:34:42,017 --> 00:34:43,519
with nothing to show for it.

471
00:34:44,937 --> 00:34:48,899
[Benesch] In the Sengoku period,
it was always important for a ruler

472
00:34:48,982 --> 00:34:52,694
to reward his followers 
with lands and treasure,

473
00:34:52,778 --> 00:34:57,282
but the course of the war meant that
there were actually no new lands in Korea

474
00:34:57,366 --> 00:35:00,369
or anything to be given
to these daimyo for the long term.

475
00:35:00,452 --> 00:35:03,330
So, there was
a great deal of dissatisfaction

476
00:35:03,413 --> 00:35:05,833
among those daimyo
who had gone to Korea.

477
00:35:05,916 --> 00:35:07,918
[suspenseful music playing]

478
00:35:10,712 --> 00:35:14,049
So much so that quiet whispers in court

479
00:35:14,133 --> 00:35:17,761
began to circulate
amongst powerful figures

480
00:35:17,845 --> 00:35:19,221
as to what should be done,

481
00:35:20,264 --> 00:35:22,057
what steps should be taken,

482
00:35:23,016 --> 00:35:24,685
and how he should disappear.

483
00:35:26,937 --> 00:35:30,482
People began to talk openly of rebellion.

484
00:35:33,652 --> 00:35:36,864
[Meyer] Hideyoshi is in 
an increasingly difficult position.

485
00:35:37,948 --> 00:35:41,034
Physically, of course,
he's more and more unwell.

486
00:35:41,118 --> 00:35:44,746
It's getting harder and harder for him 
to leave his castle at Fushimi.

487
00:35:51,295 --> 00:35:54,047
Before he dies… he knows he's dying.

488
00:35:56,258 --> 00:35:57,968
Hideyori. [sighs]

489
00:35:58,051 --> 00:36:01,430
[Auslin] He has to make sure Hideyori
won't be deposed or murdered,

490
00:36:01,513 --> 00:36:04,057
as had happened for decades
during the civil war.

491
00:36:12,107 --> 00:36:14,026
[in Japanese] Please take care of him.

492
00:36:16,737 --> 00:36:19,573
He makes an incredibly important
strategic decision.

493
00:36:29,666 --> 00:36:32,586
He decides to appoint a Council of Elders

494
00:36:32,669 --> 00:36:36,632
and have them swear to protect
and watch over Hideyori

495
00:36:36,715 --> 00:36:40,469
until he becomes an adult
and can take over his position

496
00:36:40,552 --> 00:36:41,970
as the leader of Japan.

497
00:36:45,641 --> 00:36:51,063
The men he picks for this are the five
most powerful leaders across Japan.

498
00:36:54,149 --> 00:36:57,152
Some of them are people 
he has had a long relationship with,

499
00:36:57,236 --> 00:36:58,820
people he trusts.

500
00:36:58,904 --> 00:37:02,074
Others are chosen
primarily because of their power,

501
00:37:02,157 --> 00:37:05,369
not necessarily because
Hideyoshi trusts or likes them.

502
00:37:06,036 --> 00:37:08,997
But it's a gamble that in many ways
I think he had to make.

503
00:37:11,291 --> 00:37:13,710
Of the five regents,
or the five councilors,

504
00:37:13,794 --> 00:37:17,506
the two most important
are Tokugawa Ieyasu

505
00:37:18,507 --> 00:37:20,217
and Maeda Toshiie.

506
00:37:26,431 --> 00:37:29,893
[Meyer] Maeda Toshiie will be stationed
in Osaka Castle

507
00:37:29,977 --> 00:37:33,105
and will be the one responsible
for raising young Hideyori,

508
00:37:33,188 --> 00:37:34,898
for managing his education,

509
00:37:34,982 --> 00:37:38,318
preparing him for the rigors
of leading the country.

510
00:37:40,279 --> 00:37:43,156
[Auslin] Tokugawa Ieyasu is, 
by this point,

511
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:45,200
the most powerful daimyo in Japan,

512
00:37:45,284 --> 00:37:46,827
other than Hideyoshi,

513
00:37:46,910 --> 00:37:49,705
and so he's really given
sort of ultimate authority.

514
00:37:49,788 --> 00:37:52,416
He's basically put in charge
of the entire government.

515
00:37:57,087 --> 00:38:00,841
[Eason] One might expect that a council
would be brought together

516
00:38:00,924 --> 00:38:05,220
of individuals able to cooperate
and effectively run a government.

517
00:38:05,304 --> 00:38:09,391
However, it seems that this
may not have been Hideyoshi's intent

518
00:38:09,474 --> 00:38:10,892
in this particular case.

519
00:38:14,062 --> 00:38:18,525
He seems to have
quite consciously selected daimyo

520
00:38:18,608 --> 00:38:21,028
who had competing interests
with one another.

521
00:38:21,528 --> 00:38:23,697
Therefore, perhaps ensuring

522
00:38:23,780 --> 00:38:26,908
that the members of the council
could be counted upon

523
00:38:26,992 --> 00:38:28,785
to watch one another closely

524
00:38:28,869 --> 00:38:31,580
and make sure that
no one did anything rash.

525
00:38:33,749 --> 00:38:37,127
Trying to make sure that no member
of the council became

526
00:38:37,210 --> 00:38:39,671
more powerful than the other four.

527
00:38:43,467 --> 00:38:45,469
[squawking]

528
00:38:57,856 --> 00:38:59,816
[Auslin] September 1598,

529
00:38:59,900 --> 00:39:01,902
after a lifetime of war,

530
00:39:01,985 --> 00:39:05,405
one of Japan's great unifiers,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, dies.

531
00:39:09,326 --> 00:39:13,372
I think for few individuals
can we really ever say,

532
00:39:13,455 --> 00:39:15,916
"This individual changed
the course of history."

533
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,171
And Hideyoshi is most definitely someone
for whom that can be said.

534
00:39:26,510 --> 00:39:28,595
[Auslin] His achievements were immense,

535
00:39:28,678 --> 00:39:32,182
probably the greatest ever
by any Japanese leader in history.

536
00:39:34,309 --> 00:39:36,103
[Spafford] He was the rare leader

537
00:39:36,186 --> 00:39:41,108
who was actually able to imagine
something that was entirely unheard of.

538
00:39:41,900 --> 00:39:46,571
He brought peace in a way that perhaps
Nobunaga never dreamed of doing.

539
00:39:49,449 --> 00:39:52,619
[Auslin] He had unified the country.
He had ended the civil war.

540
00:39:52,702 --> 00:39:54,996
He had created what seemed to be

541
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:58,291
a stable political equilibrium
among the great daimyo.

542
00:39:58,375 --> 00:39:59,793
But even more than that,

543
00:39:59,876 --> 00:40:03,630
his rise is an astonishing triumph

544
00:40:03,713 --> 00:40:05,382
over one's humble origins.

545
00:40:05,465 --> 00:40:08,260
From a peasant
and the lowest level of the samurai,

546
00:40:08,343 --> 00:40:11,138
to the undisputed leader of Japan.

547
00:40:14,933 --> 00:40:16,351
[Meyer] When Hideyoshi dies,

548
00:40:16,435 --> 00:40:20,105
the Council of Five Elders does not
initially make the announcement

549
00:40:20,188 --> 00:40:22,732
that the great lord,
the great regent has passed.

550
00:40:23,316 --> 00:40:24,443
Instead,

551
00:40:24,526 --> 00:40:27,737
they issue cease-fire orders
in Hideyoshi's name

552
00:40:27,821 --> 00:40:30,240
and finish recalling
Japan's forces from Korea.

553
00:40:34,119 --> 00:40:37,998
[Spafford] In many ways, 
when Hideyoshi died,

554
00:40:38,081 --> 00:40:40,834
I suspect the daimyo
breathed a sigh of relief.

555
00:40:44,588 --> 00:40:48,008
The adventure in Korea
had proven disastrous.

556
00:40:50,093 --> 00:40:51,595
That being said,

557
00:40:51,678 --> 00:40:56,933
there was certainly enormous anxiety
in the wake of his passing

558
00:40:57,017 --> 00:40:59,561
because he did not leave an adult heir,

559
00:40:59,644 --> 00:41:02,272
who could take over
his mantle uncontested.

560
00:41:05,358 --> 00:41:06,943
[Meyer] As Hideyoshi wished,

561
00:41:07,027 --> 00:41:10,572
the council officially declares
young Hideyori the ruler of Japan,

562
00:41:10,655 --> 00:41:13,783
though, as a young child,
he exercises no actual power.

563
00:41:14,367 --> 00:41:17,454
In practice, power is now divided
in a careful arrangement

564
00:41:17,537 --> 00:41:18,788
among the five elders.

565
00:41:19,372 --> 00:41:22,250
This produces
an enormously dangerous situation.

566
00:41:22,334 --> 00:41:24,336
[suspenseful music playing]

567
00:41:36,389 --> 00:41:39,851
We have this delicate arrangement
of power between five regents.

568
00:41:39,935 --> 00:41:42,521
One that could,
with any change in that balance,

569
00:41:42,604 --> 00:41:46,942
fall apart completely and create
this deadly vacuum at the center.

570
00:41:50,362 --> 00:41:53,073
No doubt most daimyo,
the moment Hideyoshi died,

571
00:41:53,156 --> 00:41:55,200
started preparing for war.

572
00:42:04,876 --> 00:42:06,545
After decades on the sidelines,

573
00:42:06,628 --> 00:42:09,381
Tokugawa Ieyasu is now ready 
to make his move.

574
00:42:14,928 --> 00:42:16,721
[horse neighs]

575
00:42:16,805 --> 00:42:20,350
The wheels are now set in motion
for a cataclysmic struggle for power.

576
00:42:22,143 --> 00:42:23,645
[horse neighs]

577
00:42:26,231 --> 00:42:28,233
[closing theme plays]