Imagine wanting to take over a Fortune 500 company,
but instead of getting an MBA, you literally
apply to wash the CEO's feet. Right. Which is
just... It sounds completely insane, right? I
mean, whether you are prepping for a big meeting
or you just love a good aha moment, you are in
the exact right place today. Absolutely, because
it totally goes against how we think the world
works. Yeah, exactly. To our modern minds, we
expect the path to power to look like a clean,
predictable staircase. You get the right degree,
you network, you put in the hours, and maybe,
just maybe, you earn a seat at the table. But
historically, that's not really how it went down.
No. Not at all. Holding another man's sweaty
shoes was actually the ultimate secret backdoor
to absolute world shaping power. It really was.
So today we are doing a deep dive into the sandal
bearer. We've got a great mission here. We're
examining a stack of sources, including Douglas
J. Brewer's The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
and Mary Elizabeth Berry's Hideyoshi to unpack
this obsolete occupation. And it sounds like
a joke today, you know? The guy holding the shoes.
Right. It sounds like the ultimate intern grunt
work, but it was historically a ticket to absolute
power. And I think this deep dive isn't just
about footwear. It's a really profound look at
how throughout history, proximity to power is
power. Oh, definitely. And I see your digital
backdrop has already shifted to these ancient
sand -swept ruins, which is perfect. Yeah, we're
going way back for this one. We really are. Because
to prove that this job was never just about carrying
shoes, that it was actually about... intimacy
with the divine, we have to start at the very
beginning of documented history. We're talking
about the early dynastic period in ancient Egypt,
so roughly the 31st century BC. Which is just,
I mean, unfathomably ancient. Right. And the
very first time this role is documented, it's
tethered to King Narmer. We're looking at the
Narmer mace head and the Narmer palette. Yeah,
and King Narmer is he's the ruler credited with
unifying upper and lower Egypt. It's the dawn
of pharyonic civilization. OK, let's unpack this
because I keep thinking about a modern equivalent
to make sense. OK, what do you got? Think about
the modern government official who carries the
president's nuclear football. Oh, wow. Yeah.
Right. I mean, to an outsider, it just looks
like you're carrying a bag. Like, oh, there's
a guy carrying the luggage. Yeah, just an assistant.
Exactly. But in reality, you are the most trusted
person in the room. You have security clearance
that, like, generals would kill for. That's a
perfect way to look at it. Because what's fascinating
here is that the visual evidence on the Narmer
palette completely backs that up. The palette
is the, it's that carved slate thing, right?
Right, it's this large shield -shaped piece of
slate. And the sandal -bearer on it isn't just
some background character. In Egyptian art, scale
is everything. Like the bigger you are, the more
important you are. Exactly. Narmer is massive.
Yeah. But right behind him, clearly identified,
is the sandal -bearer. And he's not just holding
shoes, he's designated by two specific symbols.
A rosette and a club. A rosette and a club? I
mean, that doesn't scream entry -level servant.
No, not at all. But our sources, especially Brewer's
work, explain that the rosette is a symbol of
royalty or a direct connection to the divine
king. OK. And the club, that's authority. Right.
It's a weapon. So these symbols show that this
person is a high -ranking official who accompanied
the pharaoh on the most important, sacred occasions.
OK, but wait. I have to push back here. Sure.
Because there's a huge contradiction in the text
that I'm just hung up on. What's that? If this
person is such a high -lanking official, like
they have a weapon, they have royal symbols,
Why does the text mention they also perform the
ancient practice of washing the king's feet?
Ah. Because, I mean, isn't that degrading? You're
this elite VIP and you're washing a guy's dusty,
calloused feet? You see, that's our modern bias
talking. Really? Yeah. In antiquity, you have
to remember touching the king meant touching
a god. Oh. Oh, well. Right. So washing his feet
isn't degradation. It represents a level of exclusive
access. Because he's literally divine. Exactly.
But there's also the physical reality of it.
The king is taking off his armor, his regalia.
He's sitting down, totally exposed. And someone
is holding his barefoot. Yes. In a world where
assassination was a constant threat, the person
allowed to wash your feet is someone you trust
with your life. Because they could just, you
know, easily kill you while you're vulnerable.
Precisely. Generals and politicians would kill
for that level of physical trust. It's not about
the dirt. It's about the intimacy. That is wild,
but it makes total sense when you frame it around
security. It does. But the concept of power through
proximity isn't just an isolated Egyptian quirk,
right? Not at all. It's a universal human strategy.
Because the deep dive naturally transitions to
how this exact dynamic played out millennia later,
it proves this is like a deeply human tactic.
Right, we're jumping forward to feudal Japan.
Yes, the Sengoku period. Right. Which, for the
listener, is just absolute chaos. It's the Warring
States period. constant civil war, shifting alliances,
betrayals everywhere. And into this mess walks
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And according to Mary Elizabeth
Berry's biography on him, he's born of completely
humble origins, a peasant. Right. No noble blood
at all. But around 1557, he joins the Oda clan
under Oda Nobunaga as a lowly servant. And Nobunaga
is, he's becoming one of the most powerful, ruthless
warlords in Japan. Yeah. And Hideyoshi eventually
becomes his sandal bearer, which is actually
a position of relatively high status there, but
still he's dealing with shoes. Exactly. Here's
where it gets really interesting, because I compare
this to, like, A brilliant modern corporate strategy.
Okay, how so? It's like taking a seemingly dead
-end job in the mailroom of a Fortune 500 company
just to guarantee that you'll ride the elevator
with the CEO every single day. That is exactly
what he did. But my question is, how exactly
did Hideyoshi leverage holding Nobunaga's sandals
into actual influence? I mean, you're on the
elevator, sure, but how do you get the CEO to
listen to you? Well, if we connect this to the
bigger picture of the Sengoku period, it makes
total sense. Because Nobunaga was surrounded
by samurai and generals who were constantly plotting.
Right, everyone's a threat. Exactly. So Nobunaga
had to be incredibly guarded around them. But
the sandal bearer... He's practically invisible.
Right. You don't perform for the servant. You
don't guard your words around the guy holding
your shoes. Oh wow. So Hideyoshi is just like
a fly on the wall. He's present for everything.
Uh huh. He overhears military strategies. He
observes negotiations. He learns the ruler's
psychology. He's figuring out what makes Nobunaga
tick. Yes. Hideyoshi wasn't just holding shoes.
He was receiving an absolute master class in
statecraft from one of Japan's most brilliant
military minds. And no one even realizes he's
taking notes. Exactly. They just see a peasant
with a pair of sandals. That is genius. But okay,
we have to look at the undeniable historical
payoff here. Because he doesn't stay a sandal
bearer forever. Far from it. Our sources bring
up 1560, the Battle of Okuhazama. A massively
pivotal moment. Right. Nobunaga defeats Imagawa
Yoshimoto against all odds to become this dominant
warlord. And Hideyoshi is right there on the
front lines as the sandal bearer. He's right
in the middle of the action. And then it just
snowballs. Because eventually, Nobunaga dies,
and Hideyoshi secures all these high imperial
court titles. Right. culminating in the year
1585, where he becomes the Kanpaku, the imperial
regent. He basically becomes the ruler of Japan.
So what does this all mean? Because I have to
push back on the sheer scale of this promotion.
It's a huge leap, yeah. It's one thing to get
a promotion from the mail room, but Hideyoshi
literally took over the company. How does a servant
become the regent? Well, this raises an important
question about social mobility. Yeah. Because
Hideyoshi's ascension proves that this lowly
position was actually the ultimate launch pad.
Because he had the proximity. Because of the
proximity, yes, but also what he did with it.
By being present at history -making moments like
Okazama, he proved his loyalty under fire. He
wasn't just hiding in the back. Right. He was
actively using his invisible status to anticipate
Nobunaga's needs. He gained military insight
that other generals didn't have because he truly
understood how Nobunaga's mind worked. So when
Nobunaga died and there was this massive power
vacuum, Hideyoshi was perfectly positioned to
step right into it. The other lords are probably
arguing, but Hideyoshi knew exactly how to wield
the power he'd been studying up close for decades.
That is just incredible. From holding shoes to
running the country. It really is. And you know,
for you listening right now, it's so easy to
feel frustrated when you've been assigned the
grunt work, right? Oh, absolutely. Taking the
meeting minutes, setting up the projector. Exactly.
You're just taking notes in the back of the room
and feeling like you don't matter. But remember
the sandal bearers. Yes. Proximity to decision
makers is an invisible currency. You are in the
room where it happens. You can learn the psychology
of the people in charge just by quietly observing.
That's such a great takeaway. It's an incredible
advantage if you know how to use it. It really
is. Now, to wrap up this deep dive, I know you
had a final thought based on these sources that
just kind of blew my mind when we were prepping.
Yeah. It's something that really stuck with me
from reading both Brewer and Berry's work. Let's
hear it. Well, think about history's most terrifying
and absolute rulers. Okay. From the god -kings
of Egypt, like Narmer, to the utterly ruthless
warlords of Japan like Nobunaga. Guys who had
literal life and death power over a thousand.
Exactly. These were men who projected total invincibility
and yet both of them required a designated official
human being just to carry their footwear and
wash their feet. They literally couldn't manage
their own shoes. Right. So what does that reveal
about the profound vulnerability of absolute
power? Oh, man. The higher and more untouchable
a leader becomes, the more they are entirely
physically dependent on the lowly servants standing
quietly right behind them. That is so true, the
illusion of being a god. But you still need a
guy to wipe the dust off your toes. Exactly.
Absolute power always has a blind spot. Wow.
Such a fascinating perspective. So the next time
you see someone quietly doing the grunt work
in the background, remember, they might just
be running the place next year.