Soon after Nara becomes the capital of Yamato, the Smallpox Epidemic of 735 begins in Japan. The country is brought to its knees as the disease kills over 1/3 of the population. The political, social, and religious fabric of Japan is forever altered.

As always, thank you so much for joining us on this journey through the history of Japan. You can always reach me at twitter.com/sagaofjapan. I deeply appreciate you taking the time out of your day to give a listen to the Saga of Japan, and I hope to see you next time! If you like the show, please leave a review, rating, or subscribe.

Source list: The Nihon Shoki (Primary Source) / The Kojiki / The Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 1 / A Concise History of Japan by Brett Walker / The History of Japan to 1334 by George Sansom / Historians of China and Japan by W.G. Beasley and E.G. Pulleybank / Japan: A Concise History - by Milton W. Meyer / A History of Japan by John Caiger and Richard Mason

Note: While there are obvious Coronavirus parallels, the episode was written and mostly recorded months before the current pandemic reared it's head.

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