All language subtitles for Butterfly.Effect.S01E09_English

- [Male Narrator] Our
history is no more

than a series of
incredible events.

Each one of us can
influence its course.

The tiniest of our
decisions can influence

the future of mankind.

To know the past is to
anticipate the future.

1597, a Japanese general
barely 15 years old

is humiliated by
military defeat.

His name is Hideaki.

October 21st, 1600.

In the heat of battle,
General
Ieyasu orders his archers

to shoot upon an
indecisive ally.

Three years later,
Ieyasu becomes shogun,

the uncontested leader of
the entire Japanese people.

These three intimately
connected events

will lead to a united Japan
and 250 years of civil peace.

Let's see how.

(dramatic drumming)

We are in the 17th
century on a territory

covered with mountains,
shaken by earthquakes,

and split into a
multitude of islands,

the Land of the
Rising Sun, Japan.

This is the period
of the shoguns,

the period of the
Sengoku and the samurai.

During this period, Japan
is a major civilization.

More than 10 million people
live on the three main
islands,

Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

In this Japan, the
most precious object

measured no more than a few
millimeters, a grain of rice.

Rice is the foundation of the
economic and social system.

Because it feeds the population,

rice defines the wealth
of each individual.

The more land you
possess to grow rice,

the higher rank you
occupy in society.

So possession of lots of land
guarantees lots of power.

Such is the case of those
known as the daimyo.

These are local lords
with their castles

and their own armies.

The majority of the country's
land belongs to them,

so they are very powerful.

In this form of
political organization,

the role of the emperor
is purely symbolic,

that of a spiritual
guide to the nation.

The real power lies in
the hands of the shogun,

a sort of supreme general to
whom everybody owes obedience.

So the government of Japan
relies on a delicate balance,

a sharing of power between the
central power of the shogun

and the local power
of the daimyo.

To achieve this, both
parties need the final piece

on the chessboard
of Japanese society,

a military class of
professional warriors,

the fearsome samurai.

- [Female Narrator] Welcome
to the memory of humanity.

Here, we can control time,

analyze and compare
billions of events,

and alter them to rewrite
history endlessly.

For example, let's
amuse ourselves

by comparing Japan with the
Europe of the Middle Ages.

In both cases, a
single sovereign,

but with very
different authority.

In France, the king
holds all the power.

He is an absolute monarch.

In Japan, the emperor's role
is merely representative.

On both sides, power resides
in the possession of land,

but in Europe, this is
organized around family ties

and in Japan around clans.

In Japan, siege machinery
is barely developed.

As a result, the castles
are often made of wood,

unlike the stone-built
castles of Europe.

Knights and samurai have a
number of points in common.

They wear armor, ride horses,
and live only for battle.

Loyal to one lord, they
obey a fierce code of honor.

Wearing a sword or a
katana is an honor.

One major difference,
the attitude to death.

A samurai cannot live under
the burden of dishonor,

and if he fails, he
elects to kill himself.

In Japan, as in Europe,
the exercise of power

is a question of
balancing forces

between central power
and local lords.

Sometimes, this
balance can be upset.

Then the country
falls into chaos.

(ethnic string music)

- [Male Narrator]
Into civil war,

when clans ripped
themselves apart over power

and the castles burn.

For a century, Japan has had
no master and known only war.

This is the terrible
Sengoku period.

Conflict and betrayal
are the order of the day,

reaching into the very
heart of the clans.

Without a powerful
shogun to govern Japan,

the warlords take advantage

and fight each
other for supremacy.

Finally, one of the
warlords manages

to bring a halt to the madness.

He brings people to their senses

and becomes head
of the government.

But peace is tedious
for the armies.

After a century of internal
struggle, they know only war.

To prevent them fighting
inside the country,

warriors are sent to
busy themselves abroad.

And so Japan decides to
invade an old enemy, Korea.

This is the moment

when three major players in
our story take the stage.

The invasion of Korea
proves a resounding defeat.

Commanders are disgraced,

and in particular,
the young Hideaki.

The young, inexperienced
commander falls victim

to the political maneuvers of
the opportunistic Mitsunari.

The latter, a far
better administrator

than military commander,
is ready to play

every card in his possession
to achieve his ends.

Humiliated by the
defeat in Korea,

Hideaki can find only one man

to defend him against
all the others,

master strategist Ieyasu,

considered the greatest
of the samurai commanders

and an extremely lucky general.

Mitsunari and Ieyasu do not
think very highly of each
other,

but they do have one thing
in common, their ambition,

which will soon
explode upon the scene.

The head of the government,

who has kept the country
united with an iron fist

for many years,
falls sick and dies.

His son, still too
young to govern,

is unable to prevent
political intrigues

and military maneuvering.

The struggle for power begins.

Mitsunari declares himself
protector of the young heir,

but Ieyasu isn't fooled.

He decides to rebel.

For all the lords of Japan,
the hour has come to choose,

remain loyal to power
and follow Mitsunari,

or join Ieyasu's rebellion.

Once again, the country
tears itself apart.

(dramatic instrumental music)

- [Female Narrator]
To choose sides.

Often in the
history of humanity,

men have had to
make crucial choices

without being certain
of the consequences.

In this medieval Japan, should
you line up behind Mitsunari

because he presents continuity
of power and legitimacy,

or should you support the
opponent of established power,

Ieyasu, because he is more
charismatic and more competent?

Let us jump forward several
centuries to the 1940s.

The French army has just been
destroyed by the German tanks.

The country is cut in two.

To deal with this debacle,

power is handed over
to Marshal Petain,

the hero of the First World War.

However, his authority
is not recognized by all,

in particular, by
General de Gaulle,

who refuses to capitulate
to the Germans.

The French army has
to make a choice,

legitimacy with Petain or
rebellion with de Gaulle?

The majority of the
military chooses to stand

behind the old marshal out
of loyalty and patriotism.

If the army had
chosen de Gaulle,

France could have
continued the fight

thanks to its colonial forces.

De Gaulle will be
considered a rebel.

Let's continue our story.

(ethnic string music)

- [Male Narrator] Japan is
once
more put to fire and sword.

Hideaki, although formally
humiliated by Mitsunari,

joins the loyalist forces,

but he has not forgotten
Ieyasu's kindness.

Face to face, two
armies of equal might,

that of the rebels led by Ieyasu

and the legitimate
under Mitsunari.

The two enemies spend
several weeks maneuvering,

besieging castles, taking
cities, gathering allies.

Each side has a
chance of winning,

and a set battle can
never be certain,

but the final confrontation
cannot be avoided.

It will take place in
a steep sided valley

in the village of Sekigahara.

Mitsunari arrives first

and deploys his troops
on the high ground.

His tactic is simple,

wait on favorable ground
'till Ieyasu attacks.

Then he will counterattack
the rebel on his flank

with the support
of young Hideyaki.

Rain falls on the
battlefield all night long.

The ground is sodden.

Exhausted, Ieyasu's
soldiers take up position

in the dark in the
center of the valley.

(dramatic instrumental music)

For Ieyasu, the night is long.

A few days earlier,
he had received

a secret message
from young Hideaki.

In the letter, the
young general announces

that in the heart of the battle,

he will change sides
and fight alongside him.

This alliance could
present him with a victory,

but is it a trick?

Can he trust Hideaki?

Is this a trap set by Mitsunari?

There is only one
way to find out.

(dramatic music)
(men shouting)

(gun fire)

It's a titanic clash,
merciless combat,

heroic duals, and an
uncertain outcome.

Neither army is able to gain
the upper hand over the other.

Ieyasu's forces begin to weaken.

This is when Hideaki
is given the order

to charge the rebel flank.

This attack should bring
victory to the loyalists,

but Hideaki does
not move one inch.

Neither do his 15,000 men.

The 19 year old leader has the
future of Japan in his hands.

He faces a terrible choice.

Should he follow his head
and support Mitsunari,

the man who once humiliated him,

or should he listen to his
heart and join with Ieyasu,

the man who always
supported him?

In either camp, the top generals

await the young man's verdict.

But Ieyasu is not a man
to sit by and do nothing.

He decides to force fate's hand.

He orders his men to
shoot on Hideaki's troops.

For him or against him, the
young man has to decide.

(gun fire)

An insane maneuver,
but one that works.

Instead of counterattacking,

the young general
understands the message.

Responding only with his heart,

he charges Mitsunari's troops

and decides the future of Japan.

(explosion)

(techno music)

- [Female Narrator] We have
just reached a turning point.

A turning point is a key
event,
a crossroads in our history

where the world swings
one way or the other.

Ieyasu narrowly wins the battle

thanks to the last minute
betrayal by young Hideaki.

To force him to choose,

he orders his troops
to fire at him,

but he could've produced
the opposite effect

and lost the battle.

What might have
happened if Mitsunari

had emerged victorious?

Mitsunari was not much liked,

neither were his
men, nor his allies.

The peace would not have held,

and Japan would have been
plunged back into civil war.

Constant warfare would
have weakened the country.

Famines would have led
to a drop in population.

Nobody would've been able to
resist the European
colonizers,

and Japan would've
suffered the same fate

as Singapore, Burma, or Hong
Kong, become a British colony.

And so the Japanese would
not have attacked America

at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The United States may well
have stayed on the sidelines

during the Second World War.

They would not have
become the superpower

that changed the
direction of that war.

The Pacific would've
become British.

But let's get back to
the Battle of Sekigahara.

(gentle rhythmic music)

- [Male Narrator] Six hours
of fighting, 30,000 dead,

the bloodiest battle in the
history of medieval Japan.

After his defeat, Mitsunari
is captured and beheaded.

And Ieyasu becomes the new
uncontested master of Japan.

In 1603, he receives
the title of shogun

from the hands of
the emperor himself.

With immense authority,
Ieyasu imposes a true state

and protects Japan from
its old demon, civil war.

To curb the powers
of local lords,

he orders the destruction
of many castles.

To better control the lords,

he orders them to reside
regularly in his city,

Edo, the new capital,

which will be renamed
Tokyo in 1868.

In parallel, the
borders are reinforced.

Mines and foreign trade comes
under his direct control.

Emphasis is placed on urban
and agricultural development.

After legitimizing
his taking of power,

Ieyasu will offer Japan 250
years of peace and development.

A new era opens up for
Japan, the Edo Period.

- [Female Narrator] The
winners write history.

As the founder of a regime
that
enjoyed 250 years of peace,

Ieyasu was,
naturally, glorified.

But what if he had lost?

His name would've
signified traitor.

His clan would've
been dishonored.

Let's go back 1600 years.

Caesar, still just a general,
makes a similar choice.

He embraces illegality

by marching on Rome with
his legions to seize power.

Defeat means certain
death and dishonor.

But the gamble pays off.

Caesar becomes the
new ruler of Rome.

Acclaimed by the people, he
is the incarnation of a
leader

to the point where his
name enters the language.

Caesar, synonymous with emperor,

will later be turned
into kaiser and czar.

A different path for
Augustus, Caesar's successor.

Augustus is discrete
and pragmatic.

A skillful politician, he
manipulates public opinion.

His plots eliminate rivals

more surely than
military campaigns,

which he leaves to his generals.

His 40 year reign turns
Rome into a vast empire,

but Augustus will never
be loved as Caesar was.

Historical reality is often
more complex than it seems,

including that of the radiant
Japan of the Edo Period.

(eerie music)

- [Male Narrator] Even
though the Edo Period

was one of long peace, it
still had its dark shadows.

50 years before the
Battle of Sekigahara,

a Portuguese vessel
made landfall

for the first time in Japan.

It brought with it
firearms and Christianity.

And only a few years later,
the arquebus has become

the essential weapon
on the battlefield,

and 300,000 Japanese
become Christians.

A Spanish captain, run
aground on Japan around 1597,

is said to have boasted
that missionaries

were a useful first
step to conquest.

After first showing a
welcoming face to
Christianity,

Ieyasu finally banned it

and persecuted any
who tried to resist.

All Europeans are then
forbidden residents.

The Japanese themselves
are no longer allowed

to leave the archipelago.

Foreign trade is banned.

Any infringement is
severely punished.

Japan withdraws into itself

and enters a long
period of isolationism.

It will only emerge when
forced two centuries later.

(rock music)

In July, 1835, four American
warships enter Tokyo Harbor

and compel the emperor
to free up trade,

and so Japan is forcibly
opened
up to the rest of the world.

But that is another story.

(techno music)

- [Female Narrator] History
is never black or white,

but shades of gray.

The Edo Period is one of long
civil peace and development,

but also one of turning
inwards and racism.

Its instigator was
an ambitious man

who seized power by force,
but exercised it with wisdom.

So it is difficult to
tell if his actions

had a positive or
a negative effect.

This is far from
being an isolated case

in the history of humanity.

Alexander the Great wanted
to build one universal empire

where all peoples would
be equal, but he razed

the cities of Thebes and
Persepolis to the ground.

Caesar redistributed
farmland to the people

and pushed the Roman Republic
to the status of empire,

but to do that, he
plunged his country

into a terrible civil war.

Napoleon put an end to the
terror of the French
Revolution,

but his wars devastated Europe.

Stalin was able to
unite the Russian people

and beat the Nazis, but at
the cost of millions of
lives.

For the world, the United
States is the symbol freedom,

but to this day, it
is the only country

to have used a nuclear
bomb against civilians.

Humanity is capable
of the worst,

exterminating millions of
people, causing the extinction

of thousands of species
of animals and plants,

of oppressions, of lies,
and of destruction.

But it is also
capable of the best,

creating, protecting, loving.

Like a child, it grows
and gains in maturity,

century after century.

The history of humanity is
weighed down with errors,

but it is rich in experience.

Perfection is rarely
found in the acts of man,

but sometimes in
their intentions.

(dramatic instrumental music)