WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.139 Imagine wanting to take over a Fortune 500 company, 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:07.360 but instead of getting an MBA, you literally 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.500 apply to wash the CEO's feet. Right. Which is 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:12.740 just... It sounds completely insane, right? I 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:14.679 mean, whether you are prepping for a big meeting 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:17.679 or you just love a good aha moment, you are in 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.760 the exact right place today. Absolutely, because 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.820 it totally goes against how we think the world 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:26.239 works. Yeah, exactly. To our modern minds, we 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.699 expect the path to power to look like a clean, 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.079 predictable staircase. You get the right degree, 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:33.979 you network, you put in the hours, and maybe, 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:36.200 just maybe, you earn a seat at the table. But 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.380 historically, that's not really how it went down. 00:00:39.539 --> 00:00:42.210 No. Not at all. Holding another man's sweaty 00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:44.689 shoes was actually the ultimate secret backdoor 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:47.729 to absolute world shaping power. It really was. 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:50.789 So today we are doing a deep dive into the sandal 00:00:50.789 --> 00:00:52.829 bearer. We've got a great mission here. We're 00:00:52.829 --> 00:00:55.829 examining a stack of sources, including Douglas 00:00:55.829 --> 00:00:58.109 J. Brewer's The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt 00:00:58.109 --> 00:01:01.270 and Mary Elizabeth Berry's Hideyoshi to unpack 00:01:01.270 --> 00:01:03.369 this obsolete occupation. And it sounds like 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:06.109 a joke today, you know? The guy holding the shoes. 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:09.200 Right. It sounds like the ultimate intern grunt 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.680 work, but it was historically a ticket to absolute 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:16.980 power. And I think this deep dive isn't just 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:21.239 about footwear. It's a really profound look at 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:24.579 how throughout history, proximity to power is 00:01:24.579 --> 00:01:27.230 power. Oh, definitely. And I see your digital 00:01:27.230 --> 00:01:30.129 backdrop has already shifted to these ancient 00:01:30.129 --> 00:01:33.329 sand -swept ruins, which is perfect. Yeah, we're 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:35.590 going way back for this one. We really are. Because 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:38.129 to prove that this job was never just about carrying 00:01:38.129 --> 00:01:40.670 shoes, that it was actually about... intimacy 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:43.010 with the divine, we have to start at the very 00:01:43.010 --> 00:01:44.750 beginning of documented history. We're talking 00:01:44.750 --> 00:01:46.969 about the early dynastic period in ancient Egypt, 00:01:47.030 --> 00:01:49.629 so roughly the 31st century BC. Which is just, 00:01:49.629 --> 00:01:52.769 I mean, unfathomably ancient. Right. And the 00:01:52.769 --> 00:01:55.230 very first time this role is documented, it's 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:57.450 tethered to King Narmer. We're looking at the 00:01:57.450 --> 00:01:59.569 Narmer mace head and the Narmer palette. Yeah, 00:01:59.569 --> 00:02:02.329 and King Narmer is he's the ruler credited with 00:02:02.329 --> 00:02:04.549 unifying upper and lower Egypt. It's the dawn 00:02:04.549 --> 00:02:06.989 of pharyonic civilization. OK, let's unpack this 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:08.870 because I keep thinking about a modern equivalent 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:11.009 to make sense. OK, what do you got? Think about 00:02:11.009 --> 00:02:13.490 the modern government official who carries the 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:15.810 president's nuclear football. Oh, wow. Yeah. 00:02:15.810 --> 00:02:17.669 Right. I mean, to an outsider, it just looks 00:02:17.669 --> 00:02:19.710 like you're carrying a bag. Like, oh, there's 00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:21.409 a guy carrying the luggage. Yeah, just an assistant. 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:24.229 Exactly. But in reality, you are the most trusted 00:02:24.229 --> 00:02:26.870 person in the room. You have security clearance 00:02:26.870 --> 00:02:30.849 that, like, generals would kill for. That's a 00:02:30.849 --> 00:02:33.030 perfect way to look at it. Because what's fascinating 00:02:33.030 --> 00:02:35.729 here is that the visual evidence on the Narmer 00:02:35.729 --> 00:02:38.560 palette completely backs that up. The palette 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:40.960 is the, it's that carved slate thing, right? 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.280 Right, it's this large shield -shaped piece of 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:45.819 slate. And the sandal -bearer on it isn't just 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:48.819 some background character. In Egyptian art, scale 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:51.580 is everything. Like the bigger you are, the more 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:53.900 important you are. Exactly. Narmer is massive. 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:56.439 Yeah. But right behind him, clearly identified, 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:58.840 is the sandal -bearer. And he's not just holding 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:01.800 shoes, he's designated by two specific symbols. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:06.069 A rosette and a club. A rosette and a club? I 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:08.389 mean, that doesn't scream entry -level servant. 00:03:08.710 --> 00:03:11.710 No, not at all. But our sources, especially Brewer's 00:03:11.710 --> 00:03:14.389 work, explain that the rosette is a symbol of 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:16.969 royalty or a direct connection to the divine 00:03:16.969 --> 00:03:20.409 king. OK. And the club, that's authority. Right. 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:22.710 It's a weapon. So these symbols show that this 00:03:22.710 --> 00:03:26.150 person is a high -ranking official who accompanied 00:03:26.150 --> 00:03:29.129 the pharaoh on the most important, sacred occasions. 00:03:29.930 --> 00:03:32.250 OK, but wait. I have to push back here. Sure. 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:34.090 Because there's a huge contradiction in the text 00:03:34.090 --> 00:03:36.550 that I'm just hung up on. What's that? If this 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:39.990 person is such a high -lanking official, like 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:41.909 they have a weapon, they have royal symbols, 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:45.729 Why does the text mention they also perform the 00:03:45.729 --> 00:03:47.889 ancient practice of washing the king's feet? 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:50.550 Ah. Because, I mean, isn't that degrading? You're 00:03:50.550 --> 00:03:53.270 this elite VIP and you're washing a guy's dusty, 00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:55.590 calloused feet? You see, that's our modern bias 00:03:55.590 --> 00:03:57.610 talking. Really? Yeah. In antiquity, you have 00:03:57.610 --> 00:03:59.509 to remember touching the king meant touching 00:03:59.509 --> 00:04:02.449 a god. Oh. Oh, well. Right. So washing his feet 00:04:02.449 --> 00:04:06.090 isn't degradation. It represents a level of exclusive 00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:09.090 access. Because he's literally divine. Exactly. 00:04:09.430 --> 00:04:11.270 But there's also the physical reality of it. 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:14.189 The king is taking off his armor, his regalia. 00:04:14.569 --> 00:04:17.129 He's sitting down, totally exposed. And someone 00:04:17.129 --> 00:04:20.410 is holding his barefoot. Yes. In a world where 00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:23.350 assassination was a constant threat, the person 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:25.790 allowed to wash your feet is someone you trust 00:04:25.790 --> 00:04:27.670 with your life. Because they could just, you 00:04:27.670 --> 00:04:29.850 know, easily kill you while you're vulnerable. 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:32.589 Precisely. Generals and politicians would kill 00:04:32.589 --> 00:04:35.329 for that level of physical trust. It's not about 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:38.259 the dirt. It's about the intimacy. That is wild, 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.139 but it makes total sense when you frame it around 00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:43.379 security. It does. But the concept of power through 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:46.740 proximity isn't just an isolated Egyptian quirk, 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:49.439 right? Not at all. It's a universal human strategy. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.100 Because the deep dive naturally transitions to 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:54.899 how this exact dynamic played out millennia later, 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:57.959 it proves this is like a deeply human tactic. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.040 Right, we're jumping forward to feudal Japan. 00:05:00.220 --> 00:05:02.920 Yes, the Sengoku period. Right. Which, for the 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:05.379 listener, is just absolute chaos. It's the Warring 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:09.300 States period. constant civil war, shifting alliances, 00:05:09.819 --> 00:05:12.860 betrayals everywhere. And into this mess walks 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:16.180 Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And according to Mary Elizabeth 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.899 Berry's biography on him, he's born of completely 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:21.879 humble origins, a peasant. Right. No noble blood 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:25.420 at all. But around 1557, he joins the Oda clan 00:05:25.420 --> 00:05:28.699 under Oda Nobunaga as a lowly servant. And Nobunaga 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:32.459 is, he's becoming one of the most powerful, ruthless 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:35.759 warlords in Japan. Yeah. And Hideyoshi eventually 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.040 becomes his sandal bearer, which is actually 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:40.439 a position of relatively high status there, but 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:42.779 still he's dealing with shoes. Exactly. Here's 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:44.740 where it gets really interesting, because I compare 00:05:44.740 --> 00:05:48.720 this to, like, A brilliant modern corporate strategy. 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:51.579 Okay, how so? It's like taking a seemingly dead 00:05:51.579 --> 00:05:54.279 -end job in the mailroom of a Fortune 500 company 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:56.000 just to guarantee that you'll ride the elevator 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.939 with the CEO every single day. That is exactly 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:01.639 what he did. But my question is, how exactly 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:04.399 did Hideyoshi leverage holding Nobunaga's sandals 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.560 into actual influence? I mean, you're on the 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:08.560 elevator, sure, but how do you get the CEO to 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.319 listen to you? Well, if we connect this to the 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:14.100 bigger picture of the Sengoku period, it makes 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:16.949 total sense. Because Nobunaga was surrounded 00:06:16.949 --> 00:06:19.589 by samurai and generals who were constantly plotting. 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:22.730 Right, everyone's a threat. Exactly. So Nobunaga 00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:25.550 had to be incredibly guarded around them. But 00:06:25.550 --> 00:06:28.470 the sandal bearer... He's practically invisible. 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:31.290 Right. You don't perform for the servant. You 00:06:31.290 --> 00:06:32.930 don't guard your words around the guy holding 00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:35.689 your shoes. Oh wow. So Hideyoshi is just like 00:06:35.689 --> 00:06:37.970 a fly on the wall. He's present for everything. 00:06:38.209 --> 00:06:40.819 Uh huh. He overhears military strategies. He 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.360 observes negotiations. He learns the ruler's 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:45.379 psychology. He's figuring out what makes Nobunaga 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:48.839 tick. Yes. Hideyoshi wasn't just holding shoes. 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:52.160 He was receiving an absolute master class in 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:54.939 statecraft from one of Japan's most brilliant 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:57.240 military minds. And no one even realizes he's 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:59.339 taking notes. Exactly. They just see a peasant 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:02.560 with a pair of sandals. That is genius. But okay, 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:04.519 we have to look at the undeniable historical 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:06.699 payoff here. Because he doesn't stay a sandal 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:09.019 bearer forever. Far from it. Our sources bring 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:12.959 up 1560, the Battle of Okuhazama. A massively 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.660 pivotal moment. Right. Nobunaga defeats Imagawa 00:07:16.660 --> 00:07:19.639 Yoshimoto against all odds to become this dominant 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.220 warlord. And Hideyoshi is right there on the 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.480 front lines as the sandal bearer. He's right 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.519 in the middle of the action. And then it just 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.660 snowballs. Because eventually, Nobunaga dies, 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:33.079 and Hideyoshi secures all these high imperial 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:35.519 court titles. Right. culminating in the year 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.920 1585, where he becomes the Kanpaku, the imperial 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.339 regent. He basically becomes the ruler of Japan. 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:45.540 So what does this all mean? Because I have to 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:47.879 push back on the sheer scale of this promotion. 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:49.899 It's a huge leap, yeah. It's one thing to get 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:52.240 a promotion from the mail room, but Hideyoshi 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.300 literally took over the company. How does a servant 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:57.920 become the regent? Well, this raises an important 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.040 question about social mobility. Yeah. Because 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.930 Hideyoshi's ascension proves that this lowly 00:08:02.930 --> 00:08:05.050 position was actually the ultimate launch pad. 00:08:05.230 --> 00:08:06.750 Because he had the proximity. Because of the 00:08:06.750 --> 00:08:08.850 proximity, yes, but also what he did with it. 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:11.509 By being present at history -making moments like 00:08:11.509 --> 00:08:14.430 Okazama, he proved his loyalty under fire. He 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:16.949 wasn't just hiding in the back. Right. He was 00:08:16.949 --> 00:08:20.050 actively using his invisible status to anticipate 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:23.129 Nobunaga's needs. He gained military insight 00:08:23.129 --> 00:08:25.970 that other generals didn't have because he truly 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:29.220 understood how Nobunaga's mind worked. So when 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:32.639 Nobunaga died and there was this massive power 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:35.519 vacuum, Hideyoshi was perfectly positioned to 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.029 step right into it. The other lords are probably 00:08:38.029 --> 00:08:40.809 arguing, but Hideyoshi knew exactly how to wield 00:08:40.809 --> 00:08:43.470 the power he'd been studying up close for decades. 00:08:43.830 --> 00:08:47.710 That is just incredible. From holding shoes to 00:08:47.710 --> 00:08:49.990 running the country. It really is. And you know, 00:08:50.029 --> 00:08:51.870 for you listening right now, it's so easy to 00:08:51.870 --> 00:08:53.490 feel frustrated when you've been assigned the 00:08:53.490 --> 00:08:55.350 grunt work, right? Oh, absolutely. Taking the 00:08:55.350 --> 00:08:57.429 meeting minutes, setting up the projector. Exactly. 00:08:57.450 --> 00:08:59.070 You're just taking notes in the back of the room 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:01.029 and feeling like you don't matter. But remember 00:09:01.029 --> 00:09:03.950 the sandal bearers. Yes. Proximity to decision 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:07.149 makers is an invisible currency. You are in the 00:09:07.149 --> 00:09:09.769 room where it happens. You can learn the psychology 00:09:09.769 --> 00:09:12.389 of the people in charge just by quietly observing. 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:14.750 That's such a great takeaway. It's an incredible 00:09:14.750 --> 00:09:16.850 advantage if you know how to use it. It really 00:09:16.850 --> 00:09:19.889 is. Now, to wrap up this deep dive, I know you 00:09:19.889 --> 00:09:21.769 had a final thought based on these sources that 00:09:21.769 --> 00:09:23.549 just kind of blew my mind when we were prepping. 00:09:23.710 --> 00:09:25.529 Yeah. It's something that really stuck with me 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:27.610 from reading both Brewer and Berry's work. Let's 00:09:27.610 --> 00:09:30.809 hear it. Well, think about history's most terrifying 00:09:30.809 --> 00:09:33.429 and absolute rulers. Okay. From the god -kings 00:09:33.429 --> 00:09:36.580 of Egypt, like Narmer, to the utterly ruthless 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:39.879 warlords of Japan like Nobunaga. Guys who had 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.539 literal life and death power over a thousand. 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:46.840 Exactly. These were men who projected total invincibility 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:51.330 and yet both of them required a designated official 00:09:51.330 --> 00:09:53.769 human being just to carry their footwear and 00:09:53.769 --> 00:09:55.610 wash their feet. They literally couldn't manage 00:09:55.610 --> 00:09:58.649 their own shoes. Right. So what does that reveal 00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:01.370 about the profound vulnerability of absolute 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:04.149 power? Oh, man. The higher and more untouchable 00:10:04.149 --> 00:10:06.649 a leader becomes, the more they are entirely 00:10:06.649 --> 00:10:09.870 physically dependent on the lowly servants standing 00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:12.690 quietly right behind them. That is so true, the 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:14.870 illusion of being a god. But you still need a 00:10:14.870 --> 00:10:17.250 guy to wipe the dust off your toes. Exactly. 00:10:17.709 --> 00:10:20.789 Absolute power always has a blind spot. Wow. 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:24.210 Such a fascinating perspective. So the next time 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:25.929 you see someone quietly doing the grunt work 00:10:25.929 --> 00:10:27.529 in the background, remember, they might just 00:10:27.529 --> 00:10:28.889 be running the place next year.