FIRST TIME WATCHING "History Of Japan" [Bill Wurtz Reaction]

Comments · 69

• SF

  @SFWarboss · 2 weeks ago

  The simplified version for why the various military governments still allowed the Emperor to exist as a figurehead is because the common people of Japan legitimately considered him to be divine and the Imperial family to be descended from the Gods. This meant openly deposing the Imperial family would have led to a mass uprising against the Shogunate by the peasantry and the total loss of support for the Shogunate&apos;s legitimacy as a ruling body from the nation&apos;s religious authorities. Ultimately, it was much easier to keep the Emperor in a gilded cage and let the masses believe he was still the one in charge, rather than to risk a total implosion of the fabric of Japanese society that eliminating the Imperial family would have sparked. Even to this day, the Emperor, despite existing purely as a figurehead with no active role in the governance of Japan, is considered such an integral part of their cultural identity that there are not even laws in place that allow for him to abdicate; when Emperor Akihito stepped down in 2019 due to declining health to allow his son to take the throne, they actually had to pass a special, one-time law granting him the ability to actually do so.<br><br>Simply put, as far as Japan is concerned, there NEEDS to be an Emperor, and not even the Emperor is allowed to decide there shouldn&apos;t be an Emperor anymore.

  78

• FL

  @flyingeagle3898 · 2 weeks ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4p_d4vGlSA&amp;t=240">4:00</a> The &quot;tornadoes&quot; were actually typhoon&apos;s/hurricanes and yes it happened twice wiping out/greatly damaging the mongol invasion fleet. That&apos;s the &quot;divine wind&quot;<br>Bill wurtz videos are good as a overview but yeah the best approach is to pick things you want to know more about and watch/read long form content about those subjects with the eventual goal of understanding every reference in the videos when you watch them again 🎌🗾

  34

• RA

  @ranko_arc · 2 weeks ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4p_d4vGlSA&amp;t=216">3:36</a> The emperor is part of the religious system as the descendant of Amaterasu so removing him will most likely make the believers revolt.

  70

• KA

  @kamiのdraco · 2 weeks ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4p_d4vGlSA&amp;t=210">3:30</a> The emperor of Japan is considered to a a direct descendant of the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu, so they were particularly important in Japanese religion (especially after the Meiji Restoration when Imperial Shintoism became the big religion in the country). It should also be pointed out that for most of recorded Japanese history, the emperor was not the actual ruler of Japan. Legally speaking, he was in charge, but starting in the Heian period (794-1185), the regents (often the emperor&apos;s maternal grandfather or uncle), followed by the shoguns, were Japan&apos;s de facto rulers, so it was easier and more beneficial to say they were acting on behave of the emperor, rather than straight up usurping him.

  17

• KO

  @Kozmo3789 · 2 weeks ago

  &quot;Comment Japan down below.&quot;<br><br>Nihon

  5

• TH

  @TheRebelLionOx · 12 days ago

  I&apos;m only halfway through the vid as I comment this but if you&apos;re interested in more fun videos on history, I&apos;d recommend Extra History, they&apos;ve got a few on Japan that are great watches, including one on Korea around that invasion attempt by Japan (which is an incredible story). So if I were to recommend a couple series of theirs around stuff talked about in this video it would be &quot;Warring States: Sengoku Jidai&quot; then afterward &quot;Korea: Admiral Yi&quot;.<br>Take care and good luck!

• JO

  @JOPA_Nerds · 2 weeks ago

  Funniest bit of anecdotal irony is that the high school I attended and graduated from while my dad was stationed in Japan was named after Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was the guy the US sent to Japan to &quot;Open the country. Stop having it be closed.&quot;<br><br>Turns out being a closed nation doesn&apos;t help all that much in the advanced technologies department, especially when someone else rolls up with huge boats with bigger guns than yours...so you&apos;re basically forced to comply...

  8

• KI

  @KintokiSan · 2 weeks ago

  The craziest part of japan&apos;s history<br>to me is always that the US saw a<br>country wanting to be left alone and<br>said &quot;you will trade with us and like it!&quot;

  1

• GA

  @gabrielmorales3441 · 2 weeks ago

  If you want to know more japanese history, extra credits/ extra history has some great series about some of the pivotal moments mentioned here

  2

• CY

  @CynicalDio · 2 weeks ago

  Btw the opening of Japan is not an instantaneous open. It took sometimes for Japan to open up its borders. Maybe 5 years at most. But yeh, it was a series of diplomatic missions from the United States. <br><br>The Gunboat Diplomacy is one of the well-known strategy used by the Americans especially during the late 19th and early 20th century.

  1

• CN

  @CNRAUS · 2 weeks ago

  literally just watched the &apos;history of the whole world i guess&apos; one like 20 minutes ago and now this pops up, crazy coincidence

  2

• SH

  @ShiningDestinyKai · 2 weeks ago

  HIRE A SAMURAI! 🗾

  3