Today, we dive into the chaotic final act of Japan’s Warring States period, and hear about the three warlords who brought it to an end. Oda Nobunaga, the ruthless innovator who shattered the status quo on the battlefield. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the peasant-born schemer who climbed from the lowest social ranks to the very top of Japan's hierarchy. And Tokugawa Ieyasu, the patient survivor who outlasted them all and built a shogunate that would rule Japan for over 250 years.

Joining us for this is Chris Harding, a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections, based at the University of Edinburgh.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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