This is just an example podcast. Japan’s Premier Wine-Producing Region On the sixth day of March, 1868, the famous 300-strong samurai corps known as Shinsengumi, engaged a pro-imperial force 10 times its size at the battle of Koshu-Katsunuma. The members of Shinsengumi were loyal to the last Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshinobu. Yoshinobu wanted to maintain the status quo in Japan by keeping the country closed to outside influence and trade. Unfortunately for Shinsengumi, they were not on the right side of history. The overwhelming force of the pro-imperial combatants won the day, while 179 members of Shinsengumi were either killed or wounded. This battle is seen as decisive in the Boshin Civil War of 1868-1869. Why is this bit of history important? As it turns out, the defeat of the forces loyal to the last Shogun at the battle of Koshu-Katsunuma was a necessary step for the modernization of Japan. Although I sympathize with the members of Shinsengumi, a force that lived by the samurai code of Bushido, their defeat helped usher in rapid change for Japan. One of these changes meant that ordinary Japanese citizens could freely travel to foreign lands, and in the 1870s, two young men from Katsunuma did just that. They travelled to France to learn the art of winemaking, and the rest is history. Now, some 150 years after the battle of Koshu Katsunuma, the area surrounding the historic battle site is producing fine wines that beg the attention of the rest of the world. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/david-ellis078/message