Ever walked through a Japanese castle, or seen one in an anime or game? In this episode we look at how the castles of the samurai were built, and why so few of the original ones still stand.

This is Episode 7 of our mini-series on Japanese history, made for JLPT N5–N3 learners. In about seven minutes, you'll learn the two key parts of a castle — the tenshu (天守 / tenshu), the tall tower, and the ishigaki (石垣 / ishigaki), the stone walls — and meet three castles that still keep their original tenshu, all National Treasures (国宝 / kokuhō / kokuhou): Matsumoto (松本城), Inuyama (犬山城), and Himeji (姫路城), the "White Heron Castle." We finish in the castle town (城下町 / jōkamachi / joukamachi) of Kanazawa (金沢).

You'll also pick up five useful everyday words: 守る (mamoru), 防ぐ (fusegu), 残る (nokoru), 美しい (utsukushii), and 雰囲気 (fun'iki).

Next episode: Ninja — the ones you know from anime and games, and what they were really like.

🚀 NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR JAPANESE💻Systematic Learning (Self-Study)🎁 Podcast Listener Reward: Claim your exclusive discount through the link below:https://www.udemy.com/course/intermediate-japanese-jlpt-n3-course1/?couponCode=SEP26_NIHONGOCANDY💻Executive Private Coaching (Live):https://www.welcjp.com/forindividuals📱 LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/mikisasakiwelc

#Samurai #JapaneseHistory #SengokuPeriod #SamuraiHistory #AnimeJapanese #JapaneseCastles #HimejiCastle #MatsumotoCastle #NihongoCandy #LearnJapanese #JapaneseVocabulary #JLPTN5 #JLPTN4 #JLPTN3 #JapaneseForTravel #TravelInJapan #SpeakJapanese #JapanesePhrases #LivingInJapan #JapaneseConversation

Meet two of the most popular heroes of the Sengoku period — the ones you may already know from anime and games. Date Masamune (伊達政宗 / date masamune), the "one-eyed dragon," and Sanada Yukimura (真田幸村 / sanada yukimura), the "greatest warrior in Japan."

This is Episode 6 of our mini-series on Japanese history, made for JLPT N5–N3 learners. In about seven minutes, you'll learn the story behind Masamune's eyepatch and crescent-moon helmet, why Yukimura's bright red armor made him a legend after he nearly defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu, and how the two met just once, on opposite sides at the Siege of Osaka (大坂の陣).

You'll also pick up five useful everyday words: 目立つ (medatsu), 倒す (taosu), 見事な (migoto na), 敵 (teki), and 味方 (mikata). In our "Japanese You Can Still Use Today" corner, we look at nihon-ichi (日本一), "the best in Japan."

Next episode: Japanese castles — the towering keeps and stone walls where the samurai lived.

🚀 NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR JAPANESE💻Systematic Learning (Self-Study)🎁 Podcast Listener Reward: Claim your exclusive discount through the link below:https://www.udemy.com/course/intermediate-japanese-jlpt-n3-course1/?couponCode=JULY26_NIHONGOCANDY💻Executive Private Coaching (Live):https://www.welcjp.com/forindividuals📱 LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/mikisasakiwelc

#Samurai #JapaneseHistory #SengokuPeriod #SamuraiHistory #AnimeJapanese #DateMasamune #SanadaYukimura #NihongoCandy #LearnJapanese #JapaneseVocabulary #JLPTN5 #JLPTN4 #JLPTN3 #JapaneseForTravel #TravelInJapan #SpeakJapanese #JapanesePhrases #LivingInJapan #JapaneseConversation

Takeda Shingen (武田信玄 / takeda shingen) and Uesugi Kenshin (上杉謙信 / uesugi kenshin) were destined rivals who clashed again and again — and yet respected each other deeply.

This is Episode 5 of our mini-series on Japanese history, made for JLPT N5–N3 learners. In about seven minutes, you'll meet the "Tiger of Kai" and the "Dragon of Echigo," follow their Battles of Kawanakajima (川中島の戦い) and the legend of their duel, and learn the meaning of Shingen's famous banner, Fūrinkazan (風林火山 / fuurinkazan) — "as fast as the wind, as quiet as a forest, as fierce as fire, and as still as a mountain."

You'll also pick up five useful everyday words: 宿命 (shukumei), 激しい (hageshii), 悲しむ (kanashimu), 認める (mitomeru), and 尊敬する (sonkei suru). In our "Japanese You Can Still Use Today" corner, we look at the idiom teki ni shio o okuru (敵に塩を送る), "to send salt to the enemy" — helping a rival in trouble, an attitude that reflects the spirit of bushidō (武士道 / bushidō / bushidou), the way of the samurai.

Next episode: Date Masamune (伊達政宗), the "one-eyed dragon," and Sanada Yukimura (真田幸村), called the greatest warrior in Japan.

🚀 NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR JAPANESE💻Systematic Learning (Self-Study)🎁 Podcast Listener Reward: Claim your exclusive discount through the link below: https://www.udemy.com/course/intermediate-japanese-jlpt-n3-course1/?couponCode=AUG26_NIHONGOCANDY💻Executive Private Coaching (Live):https://www.welcjp.com/forindividuals📱 LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/mikisasakiwelc

#Samurai #JapaneseHistory #SengokuPeriod #SamuraiHistory #AnimeJapanese #TakedaShingen #UesugiKenshin #Bushido #NihongoCandy #LearnJapanese #JapaneseVocabulary #JLPTN5 #JLPTN4 #JLPTN3 #JapaneseForTravel #TravelInJapan #SpeakJapanese #JapanesePhrases #LivingInJapan #JapaneseConversation