Sengoku Japan Guide — A New English Project by Genji Ishida
I have started a new English-language project called Sengoku Japan Guide, created for readers outside Japan who want to understand Japan’s Sengoku period.
The Sengoku period is already well known around the world through famous figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
But understanding the period requires more than knowing the names of famous samurai.
What was the Muromachi shogunate?
What was the relationship between the emperor and the shogun?
What were shugo, daimyo, and kokujin?
Where were historical provinces such as Owari, Mikawa, Totomi, and Suruga?
How did castles function?
And how did regional rulers actually govern their territories?
For readers who did not grow up studying Japanese history, these basic ideas can be surprisingly difficult to understand.
For that reason, Sengoku Japan Guide is not simply a translation of Japanese articles. The articles are rewritten and reorganized for international readers, with additional explanations of political systems, geography, historical terminology, and background information.
Detailed Guides on note
The main archive of Sengoku Japan Guide is published on note.
Topics will include:
- Introduction to the Sengoku period
- The Muromachi shogunate and the Ashikaga shoguns
- Daimyo and samurai
- Historical provinces of Japan
- Castles and historic sites
- Political institutions and society
- Regional history
The note articles are designed as detailed guides that can be read independently, even by readers with little previous knowledge of Japanese history.
Read Sengoku Japan Guide on note:
https://note.com/daidarahand
Shorter Articles on Substack
I also publish Sengoku Japan Guide on Substack.
The Substack version focuses on shorter and more accessible articles, often built around a single historical question.
For example:
- What was Japan’s Sengoku period?
- Did the Onin War really start the Sengoku period?
- Who held political power: the emperor or the shogun?
These shorter articles are intended to provide an easy entry point, while readers who want more detail can continue to the longer guides on note.
Follow Sengoku Japan Guide on Substack:
https://substack.com/@genjiishida
Official English Profile
I have also created an English profile page for my historical writing and publishing activities.
Genji Ishida — Official English Profile:
https://sites.google.com/view/genji-ishida
I am Genji Ishida (石田源志), a Japanese historical writer and farmer based in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
I also create and publish work under the name DaidaraHand.
My work focuses on Sengoku Japan, regional history, daimyo and samurai, castles, historic sites, historical geography, and historical fiction.
Understanding Sengoku Japan Beyond Famous Samurai
Outside Japan, the Sengoku period is often introduced through famous samurai, major battles, and the rise of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Those stories are important, but they are only part of the picture.
To understand why the Sengoku period developed, we also need to understand why the Muromachi shogunate weakened, how regional warriors became increasingly independent, how Japan’s historical provinces functioned, and how political authority changed across the country.
Sengoku Japan Guide will gradually explore these subjects through articles about political institutions, warrior families, historical provinces, individual daimyo, castles, battles, and historic sites.
Future articles will also cover regions such as Owari, Mikawa, Totomi, Suruga, and Sagami, as well as families such as the Oda, Imagawa, and other regional powers.
The goal is to build an English-language guide that helps readers understand not only who fought during the Sengoku period, but also how Sengoku Japan actually worked.
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