Chris Perry, Author

Tag: 16th century Japan

  • The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Six.

    The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Six.

    Following his move to the Kanto following the destruction of the Hojo Clan in 1590, Ieyasu became indispensable to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s plans for pacifying the rest of Japan. In 1591, Hideyoshi issued an order for clans in the Oshu Region (known today as Tohoku) to stop fighting and observe his newly established peace.

    The modern Tohoku Region roughly corresponds to the medieval region called “Oshu”

    Some clans obeyed, but others refused, and Hideyoshi dispatched an army under the command of his nephew (and adopted heir) Hidetsugu, with Ieyasu playing an important supporting role. Around the same time as this campaign, Ieyasu became known as Musashi Dainagon, or the “Grand Councillor of Musashi,” an illustrious title that further demonstrated his rising profile.

    In 1592, when Hideyoshi ordered the first invasion of Korea, Ieyasu remained in Japan, taking up position at Nagoya Castle (not in the modern city of the same name, but in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, close to the staging ground for troops in Korea). Ieyasu himself never actually went to Korea, and historians have generally praised this as a wise move.

    A semi-contemporary depiction of the fighting in Korea.

    Although Hideyoshi’s ambition to conquer China through Korea was arguably overly ambitious, the campaign did serve to occupy the otherwise restless Samurai who had no more wars to fight at home. Tactical success on the battlefield did not translate to overall strategic or political victory, however, and several feuds emerged that would have profound repercussions in the years to come, feuds that Ieyasu remained aloof from but would be able to take advantage of.

    One such feud involved Ishida Mitsunari. The actual circumstances are quite complex, but Mitsunari was believed to have sent reports to Hideyoshi that portrayed certain generals in a bad light, leading to some being punished upon their return. Though Mitsunari enjoyed Hideyoshi’s support, those whom he had allegedly wronged would remember.

    Ishida Mitsunari, though perhaps unfairly maligned by later historians, his reputation amongst his contemporaries was divisive at best.

    In 1596, Hideyoshi had a son, Hideyori, casting doubt on the position of his adopted heir, Hidetsugu. The details of what followed can be read in the posts about Hideyoshi, but long story short, Hidetsugu was accused of plotting treason and obliged to commit seppuku, with dozens of his household also put to death in the aftermath.

    Hidetsugu’s actual guilt is a matter of some controversy, but his death risked creating political instability at the heart of Hideyoshi’s regime. To get control of the situation, he sought to centralise political power by having many of the realm’s most powerful lords attend him directly, including Ieyasu, who spent more time at Fushimi Castle than at his new base in Edo.

    Totoyomi Hidetsugu, once Hideyoshi’s heir, became a victim of his political ambitions.

    In 1596, Ieyasu was named Naidajin, or Minister of the Interior, the third-highest rank in the Imperial Government, which technically made him a direct advisor to the Emperor, although by this point, real political power was in the hands of the Samurai, and more specifically, Hideyoshi.

    Ieyasu was probably the most powerful individual lord, second only to Hideyoshi, though he was not strong enough in his own right to pose a direct political threat to Hideyoshi. As long as Hideyoshi was alive and healthy, then things would remain stable.

    A contemporary image of Hideyoshi at the end of the 16th Century.

    In 1598, he fell ill, and, seeing the writing on the wall, he set about establishing a system of government to keep things stable until his son came of age. In the summer of 1598, when he was already on his deathbed, Hideyoshi called on the five most powerful lords of the realm to rule in collaboration. When Hideyoshi died in August, the first act of the Five Elders was to withdraw Japanese troops from Korea, bringing home their battle-hardened armies.

    It will surprise no one to learn that the power-sharing arrangement began to fall apart almost immediately. One problem was that the five had little reason to trust one another, and most sources agree they didn’t even seem to like each other much.

    The Five Elders, from left to right: Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Mori Terumoto.

    Another problem was Ieyasu himself; he outranked the other four Elders by a wide margin and was also the most powerful in purely economic and military terms, and the other four assumed (correctly, as it would turn out) that Ieyasu meant to overturn Hideyoshi’s will and take power for himself.

    In the short term, Ieyasu’s power was not enough to take on the other four elders with any hope of success, but he hadn’t gotten where he was with passivity, and throughout the latter part of 1598 and into 1599, Ieyasu set about dividing his enemies and winning a few over to his side.

    A semi-contemporary depiction of Fushimi Castle, which had become Ieyasu’s temporary base.

    To this end, he arranged marriages between members of his family and those of other powerful Daimyo, in direct violation of a 1595 law which Hideyoshi had passed to stop clans from forging alliances against him. He also began to pay personal visits to the residences of ‘second-tier’ lords, who weren’t prestigious enough to be at the centre of government, but who still possessed considerable resources.

    Ieyasu’s main opponent amongst the Elders was Maeda Toshiie, who allied himself with Ishida Mitsunari (him again) to hold the elders together in opposition to what they saw as the ‘threat’ from Ieyasu. Toshiie was an old and well-respected figure, but his political alliance with Mitsunari actually played into Ieyasu’s hands.

    Maeda Toshiie. In his youth, he had been celebrated for his good looks, bravery, and wisdom, but by the late 16th Century, he was a respected, but ageing figure.

    As we have already seen, Mitsunari was not well-liked. He had made some powerful enemies in Korea, and earlier, during the Odawara Campaign against the Hojo, he had been blamed for the handling of the Siege of Oshi, which had not fallen until after Odawara itself. Historians today generally agree that Mitsunari was a competent, if somewhat unlucky, figure. It’s never been definitively proved that he was behind the slanders of certain figures in Korea, and it’s also been pointed out that he was following Hideyoshi’s orders at Oshi, and therefore may not have been directly responsible for the tactics used.

    None of this mattered at the time; however, 16th-century Japan was a period where reputation was everything, and Mitsunari’s was bad. It can be reasoned that some of his enemies sided with Ieyasu for no reason other than that they wanted to make life difficult for Mitsunari, but as long as Maeda Toshiie lived, the unity of the council was preserved.

    Kato Kiyomasa, one of the men allegedly slandered by Mitsunari.

    The problem with political systems that require their main actors to remain alive indefinitely is that, generally, they don’t. Toshiie was no different, and in an ominous sign, on the very day he died, Mitsunari was attacked by seven of the men he had allegedly slandered, and was lucky to escape with his life.

    Ieyasu then stepped in to mediate, and in exchange for agreeing to resign his political position, Mitsunari was allowed to live, albeit temporarily. Exactly why Ieyasu stepped in to protect his enemy is debated, with some historians believing that the enmity didn’t run as deep as once believed (the men had cooperated previously), or that Ieyasu correctly predicted that the settlement would not last, and the hostility towards Mitsunari would be something he could take advantage of when the time came, and the time would come sooner than any of the major players knew.

    Burden of Duty, available now on Amazon!

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%B7
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%85%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%A3
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Keeper_of_the_Privy_Seal_of_Japan
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E6%AC%A1
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%92%8C%E8%B3%80%E3%83%BB%E7%A8%97%E8%B2%AB%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
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  • The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Five.

    The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Five.

    By 1584, two years had passed since the Honnoji Incident and the death of Oda Nobunaga. His eldest son, Nobutada, had died alongside him at Honnoji, leaving several younger sons as potential successors. The problem was that none of these sons had much in the way of military resources with which to stake their claim, and they quickly formed alliances, or else became puppets of Nobunaga’s more powerful retainers, most notably Toyotomi Hideyoshi (still going by Hashiba at this time) and Shibata Katsuie.

    Hideyoshi carries Sanboshi during the Kiyosu Conference.

    In the immediate aftermath of Honnoji, a conference was held at Kiyosu Castle to decide which son would inherit his father’s lands. In the event, Hideyoshi used his influence to ensure that Nobunaga’s grandson, the three-year-old Hidenobu (also called Sanboshi), would be named as the new head of the Oda Clan, whilst Nobunaga’s territories were divided up between his remaining sons and most powerful retainers.

    It will come as no surprise that Nobunaga’s surviving adult sons were not thrilled about this, and it wasn’t long before rival camps were forming around one son or another. Initially, despite his earlier support of Sanboshi, Hideyoshi decided to back Nobunaga’s second son, Oda Nobuo, whilst Katsuie supported the third, Nobutaka.

    Oda Nobuo (left) and Oda Nobutaka, brothers, but rivals for their father’s position.

    Despite nominally supporting one Oda heir or the other, in reality, the rivalry was between Hideyoshi and Katsuie, and tensions rose sharply until the Battle of Shizugatake in June 1583. There, Hideyoshi won a decisive victory, and shortly afterwards, Katsuie and Nobutaka committed suicide, removing a serious obstacle on Hideyoshi’s road to power.

    Despite being on the ‘winning’ side, it wasn’t long before Oda Nobuo fell out with Hideyoshi, and in early 1584, he went looking for support. It’s at this point that Tokugawa Ieyasu reenters the story. Despite trying to stay on good terms with Hideyoshi, sending him congratulatory gifts after his victory at Shizugatake, for example, it was becoming obvious that Ieyasu was too powerful for Hideyoshi to simply leave alone.

    A 19th-century depiction of the Battle of Shizugatake

    The flashpoint came in March 1584, when Nobuo had a retainer who had been colluding with Hideyoshi executed. Using this pretext, Hideyoshi raised an army and marched on Nobuo, who appealed to Ieyasu for help. Ieyasu obliged and dispatched forces into Nobuo’s home province of Owari.

    What followed was what history records as the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute, which is misleading because it was actually a series of battles, only two of which took place anywhere near the eponymous locations. The momentum of the campaign swung back and forth throughout the spring and summer. Despite a considerable advantage in resources, Hideyoshi was unable to bring them to bear, resulting in a stalemate.

    An 18th-century depiction of the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute. Despite the name, it was actually a series of battles fought across central Japan.

    With success on the battlefield impossible, both sides sought diplomatic support from other clans, with Ieyasu reaching out to the Hojo and Chosokabe, whilst Hideyoshi gained the support of the Uesugi, Mori, and Satake. Even with these allies, the stalemate persisted, and the only option was to negotiate, and both sides sat down to talk in November.

    Though he had not achieved a military victory, the negotiations favoured Hideyoshi; he forced Nobuo to submit and cede several territories, whilst those who had supported Ieyasu found themselves either isolated or also forced to submit to Hideyoshi. Ieyasu himself retained his territories and arranged for his son, Hideyasu, to be adopted by Hideyoshi, though only sources favourable to the Tokugawa call it an adoption; Hideyoshi’s partisans describe Hideyasu as a hostage.

    Ieyasu’s son, Hideyasu. Whether he was an adopted son or a hostage depends on who you ask.

    The fact that Ieyasu had been able to force a stalemate against heavy odds is a noteworthy military achievement in itself, but it is made all the more remarkable by the fact that, throughout 1583-85, his territories had been subject to extraordinary rainfalls, which had led to flooding and the consequent devastation to infrastructure and food supplies.

    The Battle of Komaki-Nagakute could not be considered a ‘victory’ for either side, but Hideyoshi was clearly in the ascendancy, and Ieyasu’s resources had been strained to the brink by years of flood, famine, and war. Then, in 1586, the massive Tensho Earthquake struck, causing catastrophic damage across central Japan, striking both sides’ lands equally. Though his superior resources meant that Hideyoshi was probably better positioned to recover, he had bigger plans. Instead of attempting to crush Ieyasu a second time, he tried a different tack.

    The theorised intensity scale of the 1586 Tensho Earthquake.
    As6022014 – 宇佐美龍夫 『最新版 日本被害地震総覧 416‐2001』 , Lincun(2010)ファイル:地図 令制国 和泉国.svg, CC 表示-継承 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18458686による

    Using Oda Nobuo as an intermediary, Hideyoshi attempted to convince Ieyasu to submit. Initially refusing, Ieyasu was finally convinced by an offer of marriage to Hideyoshi’s younger sister, Lady Asahi. Some sources suggest that Hideyoshi forced his sister to divorce her husband so the marriage could take place, whilst others suggest she was already divorced, or else her husband was dead. Either way, given that Lady Asahi was already in her 40s by the time the marriage took place, it was clearly a match made for political rather than dynastic reasons.

    A marriage like that may seem strange to our modern eyes, but it was generally seen as a politically savvy move, as it bound Ieyasu and Hideyoshi together as family. Shortly after the wedding, Ieyasu travelled to Osaka and formally submitted to Hideyoshi as his vassal and brother-in-law. Later Tokugawa sources suggest that on the night of his arrival in Osaka, Ieyasu was secretly visited by a nervous Hideyoshi, who was still unsure whether he truly meant to submit. The meeting is probably apocryphal, but Ieyasu certainly swore loyalty to Hideyoshi in an elaborate ceremony shortly afterwards.

    Lady Asahi, whose marriage to Ieyasu bound him and her elder brother, Hideyoshi, together. The fact that she was around 44 years old when they married was no obstacle.

    Later in 1586, Ieyasu moved his base to Sunpu, which was more central to his domains and better positioned to monitor peace in the Kanto region on Hideyoshi’s behalf. For the next few years, Ieyasu proved himself a loyal retainer. In 1590, when tensions between the Hojo and Hideyoshi began to rise, he attempted to act as a mediator, since he was father-in-law to Hojo Ujinao.

    Ieyasu’s diplomatic efforts bore some fruit, with the Hojo sending Ujinao’s uncle, Ujinori, to Kyoto to negotiate with Hideyoshi. However, Ujinao himself refused to come, and Hideyoshi was determined to either force the Hojo to submit or be destroyed. Later scholars suggest that Ieyasu’s position with the Hojo might have been deliberately undermined by rumours that he stood to benefit from their defeat, as he had been promised the eight provinces of the Kanto in exchange for the five he currently controlled, in the event of the Hojo being removed.

    The situation just before the Odawara Campaign. Ieyasu stood to gain control of the territory of the Hojo (green) in the event of their defeat, a fact that may have put a damper on previously good Tokugawa-Hojo relations.
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39214209

    Ieyasu denied the rumours, and their exact impact on negotiations is controversial, but Tokugawa forces served Hideyoshi in the vanguard of what became known as the Odawara Campaign that saw the Hojo decisively defeated, and Ieyasu received the eight Kanto provinces as the rumours had suggested he would.

    Precisely why Hideyoshi offered these provinces to Ieyasu is still debated. It was certainly true that Ieyasu was in no position to refuse the offer, and taking possession of these new lands effectively doubled his income, at least on paper. On the other hand, the provinces had been Hojo territory for generations, and the local lords would prove difficult to control, not to mention the damage caused by the recent campaign.

    Edo Castle as it appeared in the 19th Century. The site was underdeveloped when Ieyasu arrived in 1590, but it would eventually grow to become the centre of his dynasty’s power.

    Some suggest that Hideyoshi genuinely believed in Ieyasu’s abilities to bring the region under control. Others conclude that his real intention was to separate Ieyasu from his power base in Mikawa. Either way, it would prove a fateful decision, perhaps best exemplified by the fact that Ieyasu’s chosen base, Edo Castle, is the site of the Imperial Palace in modern Tokyo.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%B7
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  • The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Four.

    The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Four.

    The Battle of Nagashino in 1575 had been one of the most significant battles of the later Sengoku Jidai. The military power of the once mighty Takeda clan had been broken, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, formerly a largely independent warlord, effectively became a vassal of Oda Nobunaga.

    The strategic situation in 1575, with Tokugawa lands in light blue (circled).
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39198356

    Between 1575 and the early 1580s, Ieyasu consolidated his position in the recently conquered territory, and the Takeda, under the leadership of Katsuyori, focused on holding together what they had, seeking diplomatic support from other clans in the Kanto and even a rapprochement with their historic enemies, the Uesugi Clan.

    It will probably not surprise you to learn that this period of relative peace was not particularly peaceful at all, with low-level skirmishing occurring along the borders, but it wasn’t until 1581 that full-scale war broke out again, when Ieyasu took the strategically important Takatenjin Castle in Totomi Province.

    The site of Takatenjin Castle as it appears today.
    立花左近 – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29796111による

    The fall of the castle was a problem in and of itself, but in the aftermath, the Takeda, already severely weakened, did nothing. Historians have argued that the failure to challenge the loss of such an important castle led many lords to conclude that the Takeda were finished and that their leader, Katsuyori, could no longer protect them.

    Consequently, when the Oda-Tokugawa forces launched their final attack on the Takeda in February 1582, resistance was short-lived, as lords defected en masse, forcing Katsuyori to first retreat, and then flee, before he was trapped and forced to commit suicide at Tano in March.

    A 19th-Century depiction of Takeda Katsuyori’s final moments.

    In the aftermath of this campaign, Ieyasu was awarded complete control of Suruga Province. When Nobunaga embarked on a tour of his new conquests, Ieyasu laid on luxurious entertainment along the route, even going so far as to refurbish the road and have tea houses specially constructed to receive the Great Lord’s retinue.

    In May 1582, Ieyasu arrived at Nobunaga’s base at Azuchi to pay tribute in gratitude for Suruga Province. At the same time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (still known as Hashiba at this point) called for reinforcements for his ongoing campaign against the Mori. Nobunaga announced his intention to lead the campaign personally, intending to do to the Mori what he had recently done to the Takeda.

    The situation in 1582, just prior to the Honnoji Incident.
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39198356

    For his part, Ieyasu planned to return to Mikawa first, gather his forces, and then join the campaign later. As part of his journey, Ieyasu stopped in Sakai (in modern Osaka) for what the sources described as “sightseeing”. He was in Sakai when news arrived of the Honnoji Incident and Nobunaga’s death.

    Ieyasu, attended by just a few retainers, was now in mortal danger. At this point, he seems to have lost his head somewhat and tried to head to Kyoto to avenge Nobunaga, or else join him in death (which would have been the likely outcome regardless). Fortunately for Ieyasu, cooler heads prevailed, and he was convinced instead to attempt to escape.

    An example of what the passes of Iga look like today.

    What followed was a much-celebrated (and often mythologised) journey from Sakai to safety in Mikawa. He was aided in his efforts by the legendary retainer Hattori Hanzo, who was a fairly remarkable man in his own right, but not the magical ninja of later legend. It is said that Ieyasu escaped back to Mikawa with just 34 retainers, but they represented the elite of the Tokugawa Clan, and their loss would have been a mortal blow.

    However, Ieyasu successfully escaped and set about gathering his forces to march on the traitor Akechi Mitsuhide and avenge Nobunaga’s death. News soon arrived that Mitsuhide had been killed, and Nobunaga avenged by Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi, so, with no enemy to fight or vengeance to take, Ieyasu went home.

    Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

    His respite would be short-lived, however. In the chaotic aftermath of Nobunaga’s death, the recently conquered Takeda territories erupted into rebellion, and it wasn’t before any semblance of order was gone. Seeking to take advantage, the mighty Hojo Clan marched an army of 60,000 into the provinces, which were now largely up for grabs.

    Despite some initial setbacks, the sheer size of the Hojo force meant that they were able to quickly conquer large parts of Kozuke, Kai, and Shinano Provinces. Ieyasu had plans of his own for that territory, and besides, he couldn’t allow the Hojo to establish what would likely have been an insurmountable power base right on his doorstep.

    Hojo Ujimasa. His attempts to establish control over the former Takeda territories provoked a response from Ieyasu.

    What followed became known as the Tensho-Jingo War, characterised by both sides attempting to assert their influence over the scattered remnants of former Takeda loyalists. There was relatively little direct conflict between the two sides, with the exception of the Battle of Kurokama in August 1582, where a force of some 10,000 Hojo warriors attempted to cross the Misaka Pass into Kai, where they were intercepted and decisively defeated by a Tokugawa force only a fifth their size.

    Despite this shock outcome, neither side seems to have had much enthusiasm for fighting each other. A peace was quickly agreed upon that recognised Tokugawa control over Kai and Shinano, in exchange for Hojo dominance in Kozuke and for Ieyasu’s daughter, Tokuhime, as wife to Hojo Ujinao, uniting the two clans in a political and dynastic alliance.

    The situation in early 1584, showing just how far Ieyasu had risen in little more than a decade.

    Peace with the Hojo secured Ieyasu’s eastern border and left him in total control of three provinces, Kai, Suruga, and Totomi, and almost total control of two more, Mikawa (except the far west) and Shinano (except the far north). Less than a decade earlier, Ieyasu had looked like he was on the way out, but now, he was one of the most powerful warlords in the realm.

    That power was far from unchallenged, though. History tells us that Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi was the man to inherit Nobunaga’s power and go on to reunite the realm. However, in the autumn of 1582, there were actually several possible candidates to succeed. Though most would quickly fall in line, or be crushed, by the dawn of 1583, apart from Ieyasu and Hideyoshi, there was another man, Shibata Katsuie, who potentially had the power to claim it all.

    Shibata Katsuie. Apart from Ieyasu, he was the most serious rival to the rise of Hideyoshi.

    Ieyasu rather wisely kept himself out of the inevitable clash. When Hideyoshi defeated Katsuie at the Battle of Shizugatake in June 1583, Ieyasu was amongst those who were quick to send formal congratulations to Hideyoshi, seeking to keep on good terms with the realm’s new top dog.

    It wouldn’t last, however. The simple truth was that Ieyasu was too powerful to be left unchecked, and tensions began to rise almost as soon as Katsuie had been defeated, until the Spring of 1584, when Hideyoshi set out to deal with Ieyasu once and for all.

    Sources
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A6%E7%94%B0%E5%8B%9D%E9%A0%BC
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E5%A4%A9%E7%A5%9E%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E8%B3%80%E8%B6%8A%E3%81%88

  • The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Two.

    The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Two.

    The Battle of Okehazama in 1560 saw Tokugawa Ieyasu’s masters, the Imagawa, dealt a serious blow at the hands of Oda Nobunaga. In the aftermath, Ieyasu began asserting his independence, and in 1562, the so-called “Kiyosu Alliance” between Ieyasu and Nobunaga was formalised.

    The mon of the Tokugawa.
    百楽兎 – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1056853による

    The Imagawa, however, were down, but not out, and Ieyasu’s position was far from secure, despite his new alliance. In 1563, the “Mikawa Ikko-Ikki” Rebellion broke out, and in early 1564, when the Imagawa announced their intention to crush Ieyasu, several of his vassals in Mikawa switched sides, joining the Ikko-Ikki or else rising against Ieyasu in anticipation of an Imagawa attack.

    The name “Ikko-Ikki” suggests that the uprising was similar to other religiously motivated risings that occurred throughout Japan during this period. Indeed, the focal point seems to have been several temples in Mikawa; however, some scholars now suggest that the uprising was motivated more by economic reasons, and some even go so far as to say that Ieyasu may have provoked the rising, or at least took advantage of it to cement his control of Mikawa Province.

    A later depiction of the Battle of Azukizaka. Ieyasu is the figure on the white horse on the right.

    While it’s impossible to know for sure, Ieyasu did much to boost his own reputation in putting down the rebellion. At the Battle of Azukizaka (sometimes called the Battle of Batogahara) in January 1564, Ieyasu led his forces in crushing the rebels, despite ferocious fighting. The story goes that Ieyasu charged the enemy fearlessly, and came under heavy gunfire, with several rounds penetrating his armour, but leaving him uninjured, inspiring his men, and leading some rebels to switch sides.

    In the aftermath, Ieyasu banned the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism in Mikawa, only to lift the ban in 1567, just a few years later, lending credence to the argument that the fighting had never been about religious issues but about political control of the province.

    The Honshuji Temple, one of the focal points of the rebellion, as it appears today.

    Before 1566, Ieyasu’s family name was Matsudaira, but around this time, he petitioned the Emperor to change it to Tokugawa. The exact reasons for this are related to the complex (and often impenetrable) genealogies of the Minamoto and Fujiwara Clans, from whom Ieyasu claimed descent. You may remember that Minamoto and Fujiwara were the names of two of Japan’s most ancient and illustrious families, and it was a big deal to claim descent from them.

    This would become much more important later, as only a member of the Minamoto could become Shogun (technically), but that was still decades in the future. At the time, the name change was probably more closely associated with prestige and a desire to assert independence from the Imagawa, with a new name symbolising a new era for the clan.

    Takeda Shingen.

    In 1567, Ieyasu further strengthened his alliance with Nobunaga by marrying his eldest son to Nobunaga’s daughter. However, they were both just nine years old at the time, so the marriage was a political rather than conjugal union. The next year, Ieyasu dispatched forces to support Nobunaga’s march on Kyoto, and in December, he made an alliance with Takeda Shingen and launched a joint invasion of Imagawa territory.

    The attack was a success, but the relationship between Ieyasu and Shingen fell apart almost immediately. According to Tokugawa accounts, it had been agreed that Ieyasu would take Totomi Province, and Shingen would take Suruga. However, it wasn’t long before Takeda forces were also crossing into Totomi, in direct violation of the agreement (which may never have existed to begin with).

    Suruga and Totomi Provinces.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1691864

    Ieyasu then sought the support of the Hojo Clan, and their Lord, Ujiyasu, who had his own ambitions for the former Imagawa territory. Together, they successfully pushed the Takeda forces back, and in 1570, Ieyasu moved his base from Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province to Hikuma, which he promptly renamed Hamamatsu, in Totomi. Later that year, he would further prove his value as an ally of Oda Nobunaga by supporting his campaign against the Azai-Asakura Alliance, fighting in the rearguard in the defeat at Kanegasaki, and then providing important reinforcements at the victorious Battle of Anegawa in July.

    In 1571, the alliance would be sorely tested, as the last Ashikaga Shogun, Yoshiaki, sought to rally forces in opposition to Oda Nobunaga, with the ultimate goal of restoring his family’s position. The Anti-Nobunaga coalition (which was, importantly, not necessarily pro-Ashikaga) included the forces of the Azai-Asakura Alliance, the powerful temple of Ishiyama Honganji, and Takeda Shingen, among others.

    Ashikaga Yoshiaki

    In the aftermath of the defeat of the Imagawa, Hojo Ujiyasu, who had favoured an alliance with Ieyasu against the Takeda, died and was replaced by his son, Ujimasa, who reversed his clan’s diplomatic position and reestablished the alliance with Shingen. At this point, Yoshikai, seeking to take advantage of the pressure he was now under, sought to gain Ieyasu’s support, offering him the position of Kanrei or deputy Shogun in exchange.

    Ieyasu refused this offer and chose to retain his alliance with Nobunaga; in response, Takeda Shingen launched an invasion of the Mikawa and Totomi Provinces in September 1572. Leading 20,000 troops, Shingen crossed the Aokuzure Pass, and with the help of several defections amongst Ieyasu’s retainers, swiftly gained control of northern Totomi.

    A later depiction of the Takeda Army advancing into Totomi Province.

    Meanwhile, a separate force invaded Nobunaga’s territory in Mino, meaning that when Ieyasu called for aid, none was readily available. Ieyasu was forced into an impossible situation; his forces were heavily outnumbered by the advancing Takeda, and a pitched battle would almost certainly end in defeat. On the other hand, if he retreated or even stayed on the defensive, he faced the prospect of losing support from his retainers, some of whom had already proved they were willing to switch sides.

    The Takeda headed towards the strategically important Futamata Castle, and Ieyasu had no choice but to try to head them off. The advance guards of both armies clashed at the Battle of Hitokotozaka, and the Tokugawa were soundly beaten, causing them to retreat to the relative safety of Hamamatsu, and giving the Takeda a clear path to lay siege to Futamata, which fell shortly afterwards.

    The remains of Futamata Castle.
    CC 表示-継承 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=427661

    In the aftermath of this disaster, still more Tokugawa retainers switched sides and joined the Takeda, and it was assumed that Shingen, whose army, strengthened by defections and reinforcements, now stood at around 30,000 men, would march on Hamamatsu. Instead, the Takeda forces bypassed it entirely. It has been suggested that this was a ploy to lure Ieyasu out of the powerful fortress, giving Shingen the opportunity to destroy him in the open.

    If that was the plan, it worked, and despite urging from his retainers to remain in Hamamatsu, Ieyasu was emboldened by some long-awaited reinforcements from Nobunaga and decided to march out and intercept the Takeda. The result was the disastrous Battle of Mikatagahara, in which the Tokugawa were decisively defeated, with Ieyasu himself only being saved by the bravery of his retainers, who fought a rearguard action so ferocious that Ieyasu was allowed to escape, and the Takeda were convinced to call off the pursuit.

    A later depiction of the Battle of Mikatagahara

    The winter of 1572 saw the Takeda forces camping deep inside Tokugawa territory, whilst Ieyasu himself was holed up in Hamamatsu, his army scattered, and his prospects looking very bleak.

    A painting of Ieyasu supposedly made after the defeat at Mikatagahara. Traditional history suggests that Ieyasu commissioned the painting as a reminder of the defeat and a warning against future arrogance; however, this account doesn’t appear in any sources before the 20th century and is now generally believed to be apocryphal.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%B7
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%80%E8%A8%80%E5%9D%82%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
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    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/c8236e8b4e534230da1d01117685da63b98d761a
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E8%B1%86%E5%9D%82%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84_(1564%E5%B9%B4)
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%B2%B3%E4%B8%80%E5%90%91%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B2%A1%E5%B4%8E%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E5%AE%97%E5%AF%BA

  • The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Final Chapter.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Final Chapter.

    In 1591, with dominance of Japan secured, Hideyoshi announced his intention to invade Ming China, via Korea, launching the first of two campaigns to subjugate the small kingdom. We’ll take a look at these invasions in more detail later, but in summary, the Japanese landed with a force of some 160,000 veteran warriors and achieved a series of quick successes against the Koreans.

    A contemporary Korean image of the Japanese attack on Busan.

    However, Chinese intervention turned back the invasion, and ultimately led to a stalemate that ended in a negotiated peace in 1593, that saw Japanese warriors remain in the fortresses they have built in the south of the peninsular, from which they would launch a second attempt in 1597, which would end when political changes at home saw the Japanese leave, with both sides declaring ‘victory’.

    Meanwhile, Hideyoshi, who had ordered the invasion but did not travel to Korea himself, was facing problems closer to home. In 1591, his brother, Hidenaga, who had been an important military and political supporter, died. This was followed in short order by Tsurumatsu, Hideyoshi’s two-year-old son and heir, throwing the succession into doubt.

    A stylised image of Tsurumatsu, who was only two when he died.

    In response, Hideyoshi adopted his nephew, Hidetsugu, as heir to the Toyotomi family, and (presumably) eventually to supreme power. This arrangement endured until 1593, when one of Hideyoshi’s concubines, Lady Yodo, gave birth to a second son, Hideyori, whose arrival was apparently widely celebrated.

    That is, widely celebrated by everyone but Hidetsugu, whose position was now under threat. In 1595, rumours began to spread that Hidetsugu was plotting rebellion, and a delegation, led by Ishida Mitsunari, was sent to his residence to investigate. He wrote a five-page letter declaring himself innocent of the accusations, which was promptly delivered to Hideyoshi.

    Toyotomi Hidetsugu

    Hideyoshi then summoned his nephew for an audience, but when Hidetsugu arrived at Fushimi Castle, as ordered, he was denied entry and instead told to shave his head and become a monk. Hidetsugu apparently complied, retiring to Mount Koya. However, even this was not enough, and on August 20th, 1595, an order arrived demanding Hidetsugu commit seppuku.

    Hidetsugu swiftly complied, but even this did not satisfy Hideyoshi, who went further and ordered the deaths of Hidetsugu’s entire family. In the end, 39 people, including children, wives, and concubines, were beheaded at Sanjo Kawara, in Kyoto, and dumped in a mass grave. Some sources say that the commoners who came to watch were so disgusted with the manner of the executions that they began hurling insults at the magistrates responsible, and in the aftermath, a memorial stone dedicated to “Hideyoshi’s Evil” was erected.

    A 19th-century depiction of Hidetsugu committing seppuku. Even his death did not spare his family from Hideyoshi’s wrath.

    Theories around why Hideyoshi ordered his nephew’s death, and why it was carried out with such thorough brutality, have swirled since the moment Hidetsugu’s head was struck off. A common view is that Hidetsugu really was planning to rebel, or at least Hideyoshi believed he was, and the purge that followed was simply ensuring no one survived to take revenge.

    Another theory is that Hidetsugu himself had earned a reputation as a violent lunatic, routinely hacking people down in the street, and even being known to take potshots at commoners with a musket, earning him the nickname the “Killing Regent”. Modern scholars are generally sceptical of this reputation, however, citing a lack of contemporary sources referring to what should have been a fairly well-known situation.

    A much later depiction of Hidetsugu (top left) taking potshots at passersby. Images like this served to discredit Hidetsugu’s memory, but sources from his lifetime make no mention of such behaviour, except in reporting rumours.

    An addition to this theory is that Ishida Mitsunari, and his associates, deliberate sought to slander Hidetsugu in the eyes of Hideyoshi, though again this is now widely seen as a latter invention, written by authors in the Edo Period, decades after the events, and writing at a time when there was active interest in painting both Hideyoshi, and Mitsunari in a bad light.

    All of this paints Hideyoshi in an increasingly tyrannical light, and subsequent events in his reign would not help matters. In 1596, the Keicho-Fushimi Earthquake struck the area around modern Osaka, leading to widespread damage and the deaths of more than a thousand people. Earthquakes are nothing out of the ordinary in Japan, but damage to several temples around Kyoto prompted an inspection by Hideyoshi himself.

    A 19th-century depiction of Hideyoshi during the Keicho-Fushimi Earthquake.

    At the Hokoji Temple, Hideyoshi had ordered the construction of a “Great Buddha”, which was said to be over 19m tall, making it one of the largest in history. However, in order to speed up construction, Hideyoshi is said to have ordered the construction changed from the traditional bronze to wood. When the earthquake struck, the Buddha was badly damaged as a result of its lighter construction.

    It is said that Hideyoshi, enraged at the damage caused to so expensive a monument, took a bow and shot an arrow into the Buddha’s forehead. Such an act of sacrilege was widely condemned, but scholars disagree over whether it actually happened, as the only sources (again) come from much later. The contemporary sources only say that Hideyoshi, upon inspecting the damage, ordered the Buddha and the hall containing it to be dismantled.

    A sketch by Dutch merchant Engelbert Kaempfer, showing the great Buddha as it appeared in 1691.

    On a side note, both structures would be reconstructed by Hideyoshi’s successor, Hideyori, and the re-consecration of the site would indirectly lead to the downfall and destruction of the Toyotomi Clan in 1615, but that’s a story for another time.

    As we’ve discussed previously, Hideyoshi had issued an order expelling Christian missionaries from Japan back in 1587, but it had generally gone unenforced. That changed in 1596, when the Spanish Galleon, San Felipe, wrecked off the coast of Shikoku. In the immediate aftermath, the local lord (who happened to be a Chosokabe) confiscated the ship’s cargo, and the Spanish complained to Hideyoshi.

    A European Ship in Japanese waters around the late 16th Century.

    It seems that Hideyoshi himself didn’t much care about the confiscated Spanish treasure; however, one of the crew aboard the San Felipe, a man known as de Hollandia, proved to be a bit of a blowhard. He boasted to the local Japanese authorities that the Spanish Empire was vast, and he produced a map of the world to prove his point.

    The Japanese were shocked that the Spanish holdings were so extensive, and when they asked how Spain had come to acquire such territory, de Hollandia made the fateful mistake of claiming that missionaries had gone in first to convert the population, who then served as a vanguard for the Conquistadors who followed.

    The classic image of a Conquistador, this one in Seville, Spain. Though the Conquistadors were very successful in the Americas and the Philippines, they never set foot in Japan, though Hideyoshi had reason to fear they might.
    By CarlosVdeHabsburgo – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24964604

    Hideyoshi may not have cared about treasure, but he was definitely paying attention now. He took the silver for himself and then ordered all Spanish Friars in Osaka arrested, along with several Japanese converts. In the end, 26 were taken to Nagasaki and publicly executed

    1596 also saw the restart of conflict in Korea, when negotiations with the Chinese broke down, and Hideyoshi ordered a second invasion, dispatching 140,000 men to reinforce the garrisons already in place. This time, instead of attempting to take the whole of Korea, Hideyoshi planned a more limited campaign, advancing into Gyeongsang Province and securing defensible positions there to serve as staging grounds for another round of conquest later.

    An image depicting the fighting around Ulsan, site of some of the fiercest battles of the second invasion.

    By late 1597, however, Hideyoshi knew he was nearly done. His son and heir, Hideyori, was just a child, and he knew that his succession was far from guaranteed. In order to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power, he summoned five powerful Daimyo to Fushimi, making them swear to rule the realm as a Council of Regents (or Elders) until Hideyori came of age.

    The five regents were Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mori Terumoto, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Of the five, Ieyasu was far and away the most powerful, though he was not strong enough to oppose the other four directly, especially the venerable Maeda Toshiie and Mori Terumoto. This was presumably the point, however, as Hideyoshi wanted to create a council that was made up of men strong enough to rule, but not strong enough to rule alone.

    The Council of Five Elders, from left to right: Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Mori Terumoto. Of the five, Ieyasu was the most powerful, and it became the task of the other four to rein him in.

    Hideyoshi passed away in August 1598, and the order he had done so much to create would not long outlive him. The council he had created fell apart within a year, following the death of Maeda Toshiie in 1599 and the political manoeuvring of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who won the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and was declared Shogun in 1603.

    Though Hideyori would never rule in his own right, he would continue on as a living example of Hideyoshi’s legacy, but he would eventually fall foul of the rising power of the Tokugawa, and Hideyoshi’s line would come to an end in 1615, though, once again, we are getting ahead of ourselves.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
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  • The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Six.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Six.

    The mon of the Toyotomi Clan.

    By the late 1580s, Hideyoshi was at the very pinnacle of political and military power in Japan. Jesuit records from the time name him “tyrant” and suggest that he has achieved more power over the realm than any warlord before him.

    After the successful conclusion of the Kyushu Campaign, Hideyoshi ordered a new palace built in Kyoto. Called Jurakudai (or Jurakutei in some sources), Toyotomi moved his political base there from Osaka Castle in early 1588, inviting the Emperor Go-Yozei for a feast in April 1588 and obliging powerful Daimyo (such as Tokugawa Ieyasu) to travel there and pay homage to him.

    An image of the Emperor visiting Jurakudai.

    Having secured personal political power, Hideyoshi then turned his attention to pacifying the realm at large. Through his military campaigns, he had subdued most of the powerful Daimyo in the realm, but there remained the issue of establishing peace at the local level as well.

    The Sengoku Jidai exists in the popular imagination as more than a century of conflict, featuring epic clashes between armies of Samurai loyal unto death, and iconic lords like Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and Uesugi Kenshin, who were locked in a titanic struggle for ultimate control of the realm.

    Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen engaged in a duel that probably never happened but remains an enduring, if inaccurate, image of the Sengoku-era battlefield.

    Whilst there is certainly truth to this image, much like any period of civil war, Japanese society at large had become incredibly violent during the 16th century. At the local level, the decentralised nature of Daimyo rule led to the emergence of Jizamurai, literally “Local Samurai”. These men often started out as armed peasants, usually levied into the armies of some local lord, and sent home again when the campaign ended.

    Throughout the 16th century, these Jizamurai gradually achieved military and political influence over their local communities, often being allowed to collect tax revenue on behalf of their lord in exchange for military service, similar to a Knightly Manor in medieval Europe.

    This situation worked fine whilst the realm was fractured into dozens of minor domains, but as consolidation followed conquest in the latter half of the 16th century, tensions between “Samurai” and “Jizamurai” became more of an issue. When a lord was defeated, he was usually killed or deprived of his land, meaning that the Jizamurai would often find themselves serving a new lord to whom they had no personal loyalty, leading to frequent conflicts.

    Ashigaru on campaign. By the late 16th century, the distinction between Warrior and Peasant was often unclear to the point of being non-existent.

    On a societal level, the distinction between Jizamurai and peasants was often academic. Though technically of a higher social status, a Jizamurai usually lived in the village, amongst the peasantry, who would themselves often have access to weaponry and a far greater loyalty to their local Jizamurai than to some powerful Daimyo whom they never saw.

    This led to frequent Peasant Uprisings throughout the Sengoku Period, most famously the Ikko-Ikki, who were motivated by religious fervour but were largely made up of peasants and Jizamurai. It wasn’t just political violence; feuds between villages were common and often escalated into violence, as rival communities would quickly resort to the sword to settle disputes over territory, waterways, and other local matters.

    In 1587, Hideyoshi passed a law forbidding the use of force to resolve such disputes. Though the exact wording of the law has been lost, by looking at the wording of laws from the later Edo Period, which often referred to ‘precedents’ (i.e., earlier laws), we can infer what Hideyoshi’s decrees may have looked like.

    If any villagers or other people in a village engage in a dispute over mountains or waters, using bows, spears, or guns to fight amongst themselves, that entire village shall be punished. – From a decree by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada -1610

    Scholars debate exactly what Hideyoshi intended with this law, with some suggesting that he meant to disarm and pacify the peasants, whilst others say it was more to do with establishing who had weapons, and who had the right to weapons, part of an ongoing centralisation campaign in which a clearer line was to be drawn between Warrior and Peasant.

    In 1589, Hideyoshi celebrated the birth of a son, Tsurumatsu, whom he swiftly named as his heir, securing his dynasty for the foreseeable future. The following year, after a series of political slights, he launched a decisive campaign against the Hojo, lords of the Kanto, crushing them in the Odawara Campaign.

    A later, heavily stylised depiction of Hideyoshi’s son, Tsurumatsu.

    Also in 1590, he crushed the defiant clans of Northern Japan in a swift campaign, and it is at this point that the “Sengoku Jidai” is said to have come to an end. For the first time in more than a century, the country was under the control of one man, and the realm would never again fracture as it once had. Despite this, one decision made by Hideyoshi in the aftermath of the Odawara Campaign had already sown the seeds of his clan’s ultimate downfall.

    With the destruction of the Hojo, Hideyoshi offered the five provinces of the Kanto to Tokugawa Ieyasu, in exchange for the three he had originally ruled. At the time, this move was seen as political savvy. It positioned the potentially rebellious Ieyasu farther from Kyoto, and though the five Kanto provinces were nominally richer than the three Ieyasu had given up, they had recently been conquered and were potentially volatile, meaning the move weakened Ieyasu in the short term.

    Tokugawa Ieyasu.

    Hideyoshi, however, had not considered Ieyasu’s political and economic acumen. His base in the Kanto would eventually serve as a springboard for his own rise to power, demonstrated perhaps most clearly by the fact that Japan’s modern capital, Tokyo, is on the same site as Ieyasu’s was, more than 430 years after he moved there, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

    The threat from Ieyasu was not Hideyoshi’s only concern, however. In 1591, his brother, Hidenaga, who had proven to be an extremely competent commander and political ally, died in February, followed by his son and heir, the two-year-old Tsurumatsu, in September of the same year.

    Toyotomi Hidenaga

    Following these deep personal and political blows, Hideyoshi adopted his nephew, Hidetsugu, and then retired, handing control of the clan over to him. As was common at the time, Hideyoshi retained true political power; however, becoming known as the Taiko, a title of respect for former regents.

    Also in 1591, with Japan secured, Hideyoshi announced his intention to invade China, launching a brutal invasion of Korea to use it as a base for his main objective. We’ll give the Korean Wars their own post, but for now, we can say that the invasions both highlighted Hideyoshi’s power and brought about political divisions that would ultimately destroy his legacy.

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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%80%E7%8B%A9
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%B5%E8%BE%B2%E5%88%86%E9%9B%A2
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%96%A7%E5%98%A9%E5%81%9C%E6%AD%A2%E4%BB%A4
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%B7%E8%B3%8A%E5%81%9C%E6%AD%A2%E4%BB%A4
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%81%9A%E6%A5%BD%E7%AC%AC%E8%A1%8C%E5%B9%B8
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%81%9A%E6%A5%BD%E7%AC%AC
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E4%BE%8D

  • The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Four.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Four.

    Despite an ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu, by late 1584, Hideyoshi was the most powerful man in the realm. Having secured his position as Oda Nobunaga’s successor, he dominated central Japan and could call on economic and martial resources that dwarfed those of his rivals.

    The strategic situation in late 1584, Hideyoshi controlled the territory in red.
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39198357

    Despite this, he was not yet unchallenged. To the west, the Mori remained undefeated, to the east, was Tokugawa Ieyasu, and further away, the Hojo, who had remained untouched by Nobunaga’s conquests, and to the south, in Kii Province, the locals coalesced around fiercely independent religious and social movements that resisted any attempts to impose central rule.

    Meanwhile, Hideyoshi solidified his political power, being elevated to the Third Rank of the nobility in November 1584 and to the Second Rank in March 1585. Around this time, some sources suggest that the Imperial Court even went so far as to offer him the title of Shogun, only for Hideyoshi to refuse, though the exact nature of the offer, if it existed at all, is unclear.

    Kii Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1683109

    With his position secured, Hideyoshi turned his attention to Kii Province. We’ve spoken about the power of certain religious institutions before, and nowhere was this more apparent than in Kii (sometimes called Kishu). Luis Frois, a well-known Portuguese writer at the time, referred to the area as under the control of five “Great Republics”, which weren’t democracies in the way we’d recognise today, but were strongly independent polities with extensive territories, economic might, and military strength.

    In 1570, Nobunaga began what would prove to be a long campaign against the power of the Ikko-Ikki, based at Honganji Temple. The warrior monks of Kii Province were a key ally of the Ikko-Ikki, and in 1576, Nobunaga dispatched an army against them, aiming to reduce their ability to support his enemies elsewhere.

    A semi-contemporary depiction of Nobunaga’s attempts to subdue Kii Province.

    Despite being defeated on the battlefield, the warriors of Kii engaged in guerrilla warfare, led most famously by the Saika-shu, an organisation made up of local samurai and mercenaries, which was well known for its heavy (and skilful) use of firearms. Nobunaga eventually signed a peace treaty and withdrew, allowing his enemies to claim that they had actually defeated him.

    Nobunaga’s death in 1582 put an end to any further campaigning, and for a time, at least, Kii Province was left alone, though no one believed the peace would last. In early spring 1586, Hideyoshi, at the head of an army of some 100,000 men, invaded with the intention of crushing the independent ‘Republics’ for good.

    A depiction of Hideyoshi’s attack on Kii Province.

    The campaign was a true demonstration of Hideyoshi’s new power. Though the Saika-shu and others fought bravely, they were swiftly overwhelmed. Some scholars speculate that the Saika and their allies underestimated Hideyoshi. In the earlier Sengoku Period, it had often been enough to inflict heavy casualties in an initial battle, which would force the attackers to either negotiate or back off.

    These tactics had worked against Nobunaga, who had ultimately been unable to secure decisive control over Kii, for fear of tying down too many men. Hideyoshi had no such hesitation, and even though his losses were heavy, he kept pushing on, and the Saika, who were often hugely outnumbered, were swept aside.

    Firearms of the type used effectively, but ultimately unsuccessfully by the Saika-shu.

    Hideyoshi was able to secure control of Kii in the short term, but his hold over it was always fragile, and there would be several more outbreaks of rebellion in the coming years. In fact, it wouldn’t be until 1614, long after Hideyoshi had passed away, that Kii could be truly said to have been pacified.

    After this, Hideyoshi turned his attention to Shikoku and the powerful Chosokabe Clan. Once allies of Nobunaga, the Chosokabe had fallen foul of his ambitions and had been under threat of invasion at the time of his death at Honnoji.

    Shikoku.
    By TUBS – This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this file:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16385942

    An army under Nobunaga’s third son, Nobutaka, had been gathered at Sumiyoshi (in modern Osaka) with the purpose of attacking Shikoku; in fact, they had been meant to set out on the same day that Nobunaga was killed, and news of his death demoralised the army, some of which simply went home.

    In the aftermath of Nobunaga’s death, the Chosokabe had consolidated control of all of Shikoku and lent support to opponents of Hideyoshi, notably Shibata Katsuie, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the Saika-shu of Kii Province. None of these enemies had been able to overcome Hideyoshi, however, and it was probably no surprise when he turned his vengeful eye on the Chosokabe themselves.

    Chosokabe Motochika, Lord of the Chosokabe at the time of Hideyoshi’s invasion.

    There were some attempts at negotiation, but Hideyoshi’s demands that the Chosokabe give up three of the four provinces of Shikoku were unacceptable. The strategic situation for the Chosokabe was made worse when the Mori, one-time antagonists of Hideyoshi, instead made a permanent peace with him. Some sources suggest that it was at this point that the Mori submitted to Hideyoshi outright.

    With the support of the Mori and their powerful navy, Hideyoshi launched a three-pronged attack on Shikoku, which the Chosokabe were hard-pressed to oppose. Outnumbered some 3 to 1, the Chosokabe fought bravely, but the campaign was over quickly. From June to August 1585, there was a series of battles and sieges that invariably resulted in Chosokabe defeat.

    A 19th-century depiction of the Invasion of Shikoku.

    Eventually, despite claiming he would rather fight to the end, Chosokabe Motochika surrendered at the urging of his senior vassals. As punishment for his defiance (or reward for his surrender), Hideyoshi confiscated three of the four Shikoku Provinces, leaving the Chosokabe with their home province of Tosa and an obligation to provide Hideyoshi with up to 3,000 troops for any future campaign and hostages to ensure the peace.

    During the Shikoku Campaign, which was led by his brother, Hideyoshi was appointed Kampaku by the Imperial Court. This was a result of a political crisis that had been ongoing since before Nobunaga’s death in 1582. At the time, the Imperial Court had (allegedly) invited Nobunaga to become Shogun, or Kampaku (Regent). Both contemporary and modern scholars disagree on Nobunaga’s response to this offer, but his death in June of that year ultimately rendered it moot.

    Emperor Go-Yozei, who was the sovereign during this time.

    What followed was a drawn-out political squabble between rival factions at court over who would ultimately take the position of Regent. We’ve spent a lot of time looking at how the Imperial Court was a decorative but ultimately impotent organisation by this point, and any title the Emperor might bestow would be largely symbolic without any external political power to back it up.

    Into this silk-clad quagmire stepped Hideyoshi. Traditionally, the position of Regent had rotated amongst five prestigious warrior families, of which Hideyoshi was not a member. To overcome this issue (which was one of tradition, rather than law), he was formally adopted as the son of Konoe Sakahisa (who was less than a year older than him) in July 1585, being named Kampaku shortly afterwards.

    Konoe Sakahisa, who formally adopted Hideyoshi.
    Leehiroki258 – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162775880による

    There was supposedly an agreement in which the childless Hideyoshi would take the position as a temporary solution to the crisis, before handing it over to the Konoe family’s chosen heir at a later date. Hideyoshi had other ideas, however. In 1586, he petitioned the Emperor for a new family name, which the Emperor duly bestowed. From then on, Hideyoshi would be known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the name by which he is best remembered in English sources.

    Hideyoshi would then adopt the Emperor’s younger brother, Prince Hachijo, as his son and eventual successor. This was a clear breach of the agreement with the Konoe, but since Hideyoshi was the most powerful man in the realm, and the proposed heir was a member of the Imperial Family, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

    Prince Hachijo

    Hideyoshi went further, seeking to replace the powerless Imperial aristocracy with a new “Samurai Nobility”. For centuries, the ‘Nobles’ had held all the prestige, but practically none of the actual power, which was in the hands of the Samurai after long years of civil war.

    Hideyoshi sought to address this by bestowing titles on some of the other powerful Daimyo, including Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari, appointments that would have long-term political repercussions.

    Ishida Mitsunari, we haven’t talked about him much, but he’s going to become very important later.

    Another attempt was made to force obedience from Ieyasu when Hideyoshi demanded that he hand over hostages to ensure ongoing peace. Ieyasu refused, and Hideyoshi began planning a large-scale military campaign to finally bring Ieyasu to heel. The massive Tensho Earthquake in January 1586 caused severe damage to Hideyoshi’s capital at Osaka and several other castles and staging areas, bringing an end to the plans, and causing Hideyoshi to adopt a more conciliatory policy towards Ieyasu.

    A monument at the site of Kaerikumo Castle, which was destroyed in a landslide during the 1586 earthquake. The evidence of the landslide can be seen on the hill in the background.

    Later that year, Ieyasu would marry Hideyoshi’s younger sister, Princess Asahi, and he would later travel to Kyoto and swear allegiance to Hideyoshi as Regent. Despite this nominal submission, Hideyoshi had failed to subdue Ieyasu, whose military power remained intact.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%9D%E6%97%A5%E5%A7%AB
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%96%A2%E7%99%BD%E7%9B%B8%E8%AB%96
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AB%E6%9D%A1%E5%AE%AE%E6%99%BA%E4%BB%81%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BF%91%E8%A1%9B%E5%89%8D%E4%B9%85
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E5%9B%BD%E6%94%BB%E3%82%81
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%B8%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E5%88%86
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E5%9B%BD%E5%B9%B3%E5%AE%9A
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B4%80%E5%B7%9E%E5%BE%81%E4%BC%90
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%91%E8%B3%80%E8%A1%86
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A0%B9%E6%9D%A5%E8%A1%86
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kii_Province
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1586_Tensh%C5%8D_earthquake
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaerikumo_Castle

  • The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Two.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Two.

    In 1577, a dispute between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie led to Hideyoshi taking his army home, and leaving Katsuie to battle the mighty Uesugi Kenshin alone, a battle he lost. In the aftermath, Hideyoshi had every reason to fear the wrath of his master, Oda Nobunaga, and he was arguably lucky to keep his head, let alone his position.

    A 19th-century depiction of Hideyoshi in Nobunaga’s service.

    Nobunaga was well known for his ferocity, but he recognised capable subordinates. Hideyoshi had been reckless, but he had also earned a reputation as a good administrator and leader of men, and it wasn’t long before he was back in the Great Lord’s good books. In late 1577, he was dispatched west to contend with the powerful Mori Clan and by the end of the year, he was in control of Harima Province and advancing into neighbouring Tajima.

    During this period, Hideyoshi made the famous Himeji Castle his base and used it as a springboard for a series of successful campaigns against the Mori over the next few years. By late 1578, he had subjugated (either through conquest or submission) Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces, in addition to his earlier conquests, and he was poised to advance further when the Araki Clan, based at Arioka Castle, rebelled, obliging him to redeploy his forces to put them down.

    Himeji Castle as it appears today (after renovations in 2015)
    Niko Kitsakis – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40135622による

    Able to resume his advance in 1580, Hideyoshi secured Tajima Province, bringing the once-mighty Yamana Clan under his control and incorporating many of their former vassals and members of the clan itself into the new administration, a policy widely praised as the reason that Tajima was swiftly pacified.

    By 1581, he had advanced into Bitchu Province and secured Awaji Island for his master, utilising slow but effective siege tactics, starving his enemies into submission, a time-consuming but strength-preserving strategy. One disadvantage, though, was that it meant you were easy to find should your enemy have sufficient strength elsewhere.

    The area that Hideyoshi either conquered or was fighting in during this period.

    In Spring 1582, Hideyoshi led an army of some 30,000 to besiege the mighty fortress at Takamatsu. Strategically vital for control of Bitchu Province, the castle was defended by 3,000 Mori warriors, who quickly called for aid. Mori Terumoto responded and began mustering an army that would eventually number over 50,000. Hideyoshi now faced a problem: already outnumbered, if he tried to take the formidable fortress by storm, he’d deplete his forces further. On the other hand, trying to starve the garrison, who knew help was on the way, would take too long and risk trapping his army between the walls of the fortress and the vengeful spears of the Mori.

    Hideyoshi responded in a typically inventive fashion. Unable to take the castle by storm, he ordered a levee built and the nearby river dammed, diverting water into Takamatsu itself, flooding the castle to such an extent that the garrison’s food supplies were almost completely ruined and they were reduced to communicating by boat.

    A later depiction of the Siege of Takamatsu Castle. The tower to the left is Hideyoshi’s observation post, and you can see the castle itself flooded in the background.

    Despite this, the castle still held out, and when news arrived that Terumoto was on the march, Hideyoshi sent a message to Azuchi, requesting immediate reinforcement from Nobunaga. Sensing an opportunity to catch the powerful Mori clan in open battle, where they could be destroyed, Nobunaga quickly dispatched Akechi Mitsuhide to reinforce Hideyoshi, while he went to Kyoto to make arrangements for a larger force that would be sent to finish the job.

    As we already know, Mitsuhide never arrived; instead, he turned his forces around and attacked Nobunaga at his base at Honnoji, killing him and his heir. Hideyoshi was well placed to respond to this betrayal, and he swiftly concluded a peace treaty with the Mori (who were apparently initially unaware of Nobunaga’s death). Some have speculated that his rapid reaction is evidence of his involvement, or at least foreknowledge of the plot, though there’s nothing concrete to suggest that he was anything other than in the right place at the right time.

    Funasaka Pass as it appears today. This was one of the narrow routes that Hideyoshi’s army had to contend with during their remarkable march back towards Kyoto.
    Bakkai – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92337495による

    More to the point, Hideyoshi was far from the only player on the board. Hideyoshi’s former rival, Shibata Katsuie, was to the north, with an army facing the Uesugi, while in the Kanto, Takigawa Kazumasu (sometimes called Sakon) had a large army intended to monitor the Hojo. Nobunaga’s son and heir had been killed during the Honno-ji Incident, but his third son, Nobukatsu, had gathered a force at Sakai (modern Osaka) to conquer Shikoku.

    Any one of these forces could have been the one to avenge Nobunaga’s death and put an abrupt end to Akechi Mitsuhide’s ambitions. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu was a potential avenger, making his famed escape from mortal danger with the (supposed) help of the famous Ninja of Iga. Ieyasu would return to his home in Mikawa and gather his forces, but events would move quickly, and though all parties moved against Mitsuhide, it was Hideyoshi who struck first.

    Tokugawa Ieyasu as he appeared in later life. He was close to Kyoto during the Honnoji Incident and was forced to make a dramatic escape back to Mikawa. Hideyoshi would prove to be faster, but Ieyasu’s time would come.

    In the days following the Honnoji Incident, Mitsuhide moved to consolidate his position. Unfortunately for him, he faced harsh military and political opposition. On the one hand, Nobunaga’s body had not been recovered from the flames, and rumours abounded that he was still alive. Even among those who may have believed Nobunaga was dead, Mitsuhide commanded little respect. He was a traitor, after all, and surrounded by enemies who wished to avenge Nobunaga and take power for themselves.

    Militarily, Mitsuhide was too weak to assert effective control over much territory. He had between 13,000 and 15,000 men, but was obliged to capture and garrison several important castles, whittling his already limited forces down still further. Then there was the speed at which Hideyoshi moved. Mitushide arguably did what he could, and with the limited communications and transportation available at the time, it’s hard to see how he could have moved faster, but Hideyoshi was faster still, and on July 2nd, 1582, just 12 days after Honnoji, the two sides clashed at the Battle of Yamazaki, to the south-east of Kyoto.

    Akechi Mitsuhide. Historians debate why he decided to betray Nobunaga, but within two weeks of the incident, he’d be dead.

    The numbers vary by source, but Hideyoshi is said to have had between 20 and 40,000 men, while Mitsuihides had 10 to 16,000. Despite the long odds, Mitsuhide’s army was well-positioned, and the ground around Yamazaki was boggy, limiting movement and reducing Hideyoshi’s advantage in numbers.

    Mitsuhide probably understood that a defensive victory against difficult odds would have greatly enhanced his prestige, and for most of the day, Hideyoshi’s army took heavy losses in vicious frontal assaults. Around 4pm, however, reinforcements arrived for Hideyoshi, outflanking Mitsuhide’s position, and causing his army to fall back. As the battle moved to higher and drier ground, Mitsuhide’s force was gradually surrounded and forced back.

    The battlefield of Yamazaki as it appears today. Historians believe the heaviest fighting took place around the bypass that can be seen in the centre.

    Later sources suggest that the casualties were about the same (around 3,000 each), but under attack from three sides, the morale of Mitushide’s army broke first, and by sunset, their retreat became a rout. When the battle was over, it is said that Mitsuhide had just 700 men remaining. His exact fate isn’t clear; some say he was wounded and committed seppuku, while others suggest he was killed by vengeful peasants or bandits. Either way, his head was brought to Hideyoshi the day after the battle, and then displayed at Honnoji, a powerful statement confirming Hideyoshi as Nobunaga’s ‘avenger’ and giving an enormous boost to his credibility.

    Hideyoshi would spend a few weeks stamping out the last embers of Mitushide’s rebellion, but despite his military successes, he was not unchallenged as Nobunaga’s successor. The other players, who had all been poised to strike, still remained in the field, and each had their own ambition to rule, either directly or through one of Nobunaga’s other sons.

    This would result in the Kiyosu Conference, but we’ll cover that and its consequences next time.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E5%B4%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E5%90%8D%E5%A0%AF%E7%86%99
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A7%AB%E8%B7%AF%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%82%99%E4%B8%AD%E9%AB%98%E6%9D%BE%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E6%9D%BE%E5%9F%8E_(%E5%82%99%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD)

  • The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part One.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part One.

    If the bird will not sing, make it sing.

    Oda Nobunaga’s death in June 1582 left a power vacuum that was ultimately filled by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then using the family name Hashiba). Hideyoshi’s tale is remarkable even by the standards of the time: from peasant footsoldier to master of the realm, he epitomised the danger and opportunity of the Sengoku Jidai and would be the man most responsible for bringing it to an end.

    Hideyoshi’s origins are suitably mysterious and have been subject to a fair bit of speculation and mythologising, mostly by the man himself. After his rise to power, he is supposed to have spread the rumour that he was a secret bastard of the Emperor, stating that his mother had been a maid in the Imperial Palace and had “grown close to the Emperor’s Body”, which is quite the thing to say about your own mother.

    Hideyoshi’s mother. She is often called Omandokoro, though this is the name she took after becoming a nun, and most sources think her birth name was Naka.

    Less mum-shaming sources suggest that Hideyoshi was born in 1536 or 37 in Owari Province, now part of the modern city of Nagoya. His father, usually recorded as Kinoshita Yaemon, is a similarly mysterious figure, but historians generally agree he was probably of the lower classes, most likely a peasant soldier (Ashigaru). Hideyoshi’s childhood is also poorly recorded, with some sources suggesting his father died when he was 7, after which Hideyoshi entered a monastery, though he left shortly afterwards.

    At the age of 15, he received part of his inheritance and left home to become a wanderer. Sometime later (the dates are unclear), he is recorded as Kinoshita Hideyoshi in the service of the Iio Clan, which, in turn, was a vassal of the Imagawa Clan. It’s not certain exactly when he came into the service of the Oda Clan, but it appears to have been before 1554, when he was serving at Kiyosu Castle (under Oda control) in charge of the kitchens, and in some kind of role in construction or maintenance.

    Kiyosu Castle as it appears today.

    Even this is a matter of some debate, though, as other sources state he didn’t join the Oda until 1558 (though they agree he served at Kiyosu Castle), and a common origin story in English language sources is that he was Nobunaga’s sandal bearer, a story which possibly reflects his role as a kind of ‘military servant’ which might explain how he was able to gain recognition from Nobunaga.

    Even the matter of Hideyoshi’s marriage is subject to debate; it is certain that he married Nene, but her origins and even the year of the marriage aren’t totally clear. Some sources say the marriage took place in 1561, when Nene was 12 or 13, and Hideyoshi was in his 20s. This earlier date is controversial because even though 13 was the age at which girls became adults (legally speaking), it was still considered unusual for a girl to marry as soon as she came of age.

    Hideyoshi’s wife, Nene, who also became a Nun, is often recorded as Kodai-in as a result.

    Another theory is that the marriage took place in 1565, when Nene was 16 or 17, still young by modern standards, but a far more acceptable age at the time. Nene’s adoptive father was Asano Nagakatsu, who would later receive a stipend of 300 Koku from Nobunaga and served as one of his bodyguards. This status suggests that Nagakatsu was of sufficient rank, and the marriage to Nene is often cited as evidence that Hideyoshi was already moving up in the world by the mid-1560s.

    As well as his marriage, further evidence of his rise in Nobunaga’s service appears in 1565 when his name appears as the co-signer on documents assigning fiefs, suggesting he was already one of Nobunaga’s most important vassals. Throughout the back half of the decade, he is recorded as having taken part in several of Nobunaga’s campaigns, notably taking Mitsukuri Castle during the Omi Campaign in 1568.

    Omi Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1690755

    In 1569, in support of the Mori Clan (who were his temporary allies), Nobunaga dispatched a force of some 20,000 to support them against a rebellion, whilst the bulk of the Mori forces were in Kyushu fighting the Otomo clan. This army, led by Hideyoshi, was, by all accounts, a phenomenal success, capturing no fewer than 18 castles in just 12 days and ending the rebellion swiftly.

    A year later, he was part of Nobunaga’s campaign against the Asakura Clan of Echizen Province, which ended when Nobunaga’s brother-in-law, Azai Nagamasa, switched sides, threatening to cut off Nobunaga’s retreat. Though the exact scale of the threat is debated (as I mentioned in my posts on Nobunaga himself), what is certain is that Hideyoshi led the rearguard and was instrumental in ensuring that his master was able to escape.

    Azai Nagamasa, Nobunaga’s brother-in-law, whose betrayal nearly spelt disaster for his campaign.

    After the Battle of Anegawa, in which Nobunaga avenged himself on the Azai-Asakura forces, Hideyoshi was appointed castellan of the strategically important Yokoyama Fortress, from which he would be tasked with keeping up the pressure on the remnants of the Azai-Asakura until their final destruction in 1573.

    I’ve previously mentioned the tradition of changing names among Samurai and how it often leads to confusion when you’re trying to source information about specific figures who may have had several names. While Hideyoshi is generally remembered as “Toyotomi Hideyoshi” in English-language sources, this wasn’t his name until much later. His peasant origins mean that he likely didn’t have a surname at all, and the names he was known by later were either taken from places or bestowed by others.

    Shibata Katsuie
    Niwa Nagahide

    In 1573, Hideyoshi adopted the name Hashiba. The origins of this name are somewhat unclear; a common theory is that he took one character each from Shibata Katsuie and Niwa Nagahide (the Japanese character ‘wa’ can also be pronounced ‘ha’), though this is disputed.

    Along with a name change, the fall of the Azai Clan in 1573 resulted in Hideyoshi receiving their former lands around the shores of Lake Biwa. He based himself at Imahama, which is promptly renamed Nagahama, after Nobunaga. This was not some unique quirk of his, by the way, the ‘giving’ of character from prestigious names was a common occurrence, and was generally treated as a respectful and honoured thing to do.

    Nagahama Castle as it appears today.
    By 663highland, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73322120

    He continued to play a significant role in Nobunaga’s military expansion, serving at the decisive Battle of Nagashino in 1575, and capturing Kiriyama Castle from the powerful Kitabatake Clan of Ise Province the next year. In 1577, Hideyoshi’s star seemed to be on an inexorable rise, but personal rivalries would get in the way.

    Nobunaga dispatched an army under Shibata Katsuie to face Uesugi Kenshin in the north. Now, you may remember from my post about him, but Kenshin was a formidable opponent, a rival to both Hojo Ujiyasu and Takeda Shingen; he was certainly not a man to take lightly. Nobunaga obviously understood this and dispatched reinforcements commanded by Hideyoshi.

    Uesugi Kenshin

    At this point, a simmering feud between Hideyoshi and Katsuie exploded. The exact nature of the argument isn’t recorded in contemporary sources, and later writers could only speculate; however, it is known that Hideyoshi literally took his army and went home. This open defiance of Nobunaga’s orders would have been bad enough, but when Katsuie was defeated shortly afterwards at the Battle of Tedorigawa, Nobunaga was furious.

    Hideyoshi was arguably lucky to keep his head after that, and he would spend some time in the political wilderness. His time would come again, however, and we’ll talk about that next week.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%89%8B%E5%8F%96%E5%B7%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E6%B5%9C%E5%9F%8E_(%E8%BF%91%E6%B1%9F%E5%9B%BD)
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9C%A7%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%91%E3%83%B6%E5%B4%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A7%89%E5%B7%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A8%AA%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E_(%E8%BF%91%E6%B1%9F%E5%9B%BD)
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%B9%E7%BE%BD%E9%95%B7%E7%A7%80
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A6%B3%E9%9F%B3%E5%AF%BA%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E5%8F%B0%E9%99%A2
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%85%E9%87%8E%E9%95%B7%E5%8B%9D
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A3%AF%E5%B0%BE%E6%B0%8F
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E6%94%BF%E6%89%80

  • The Hosokawa Rebellion

    The Hosokawa Rebellion

    As we’ve looked at previously, internal clan conflict wasn’t uncommon during the 15th century; in fact, it had gotten to the point that violent succession struggles were almost a fact of life. One exception to this rule had been the Hosokawa Clan.

    In the mid-15th Century, the Hosokawa were just one of several powerful clans that dominated the area around Kyoto, the centre of political power in the realm. While other clans had risen and fallen throughout the Century, the Hosokawa went from strength to strength, in large part because they managed to maintain a stable succession, leading to one of their number, Hosokawa Masatomo, being strong enough to launch the Meio Coup in 1493, giving him effectively complete control of the government and what was left of its prestige.

    Hosokawa Masatomo, who arguably led his clan to the height of its power, and laid the groundwork for its downfall.

    The relative stability of the Hosokawa Clan came to an end with Masatomo, however. He had succeeded his father largely because he had been the only viable candidate and had earned the support of his clan’s vassals after his father’s death. Masatomo apparently didn’t learn from this, however. Firstly, his spiritual beliefs meant that he swore off contact with women, which rather limited his opportunities to father an heir.

    This was no problem, though; adoption was(and continues to be) a widely accepted custom amongst the rich and powerful in Japan, and all Masatomo had to do was select a candidate who could earn the support of the wider Hosokawa Clan, and their position would be (relatively) secure.

    It must have come as quite a shock then, when Masatomo adopted not one, but three sons. To be fair, he didn’t adopt them all at once, and most contemporary sources speculate that his intentions were to split the Hosokawa lands between his new heirs, but you won’t be surprised to learn that it didn’t work out that way.

    No sooner was the ink dry on the adoption documents than rival factions began to form around the three potential heirs. Masatomo didn’t help matters by clearly favouring one son, Sumitomo, over the other two, but the whole situation would have been precarious even under the best of circumstances, and the Hosokawa certainly didn’t enjoy those.

    Hosokawa Sumitomo, Masatomo’s apparently preferred heir.

    We’ve looked at the wide-ranging political problems the Shogunate faced during the latter half of the 15th century, and when Masatomo seized control of the government, he also inherited those problems. It’s hard to see how even the most focused, capable, and diplomatic leader might have reversed the situation the Shogunate found itself in, and unfortunately for the Hosokawa, Masatomo was an eccentric iconoclast, prone to doing things like attempting to fly, deriding long-standing ceremonies, and generally making political enemies wherever he went.

    It is a strange quirk of human history, though, that factions who seem to have hostile (and often violent) intentions towards each other will exist in a kind of tense equilibrium as long as there is someone, or something, that they can focus their ire on. In the early 16th century, that someone was Masatomo.

    None of the three factions was strong enough to openly oppose him, because if they had, they’d have been attacked and wiped out by the other two, who would need little encouragement to remove a rival, even if that meant supporting Masatomo in the short term.

    It is also true that, eventually, the dam always breaks, and when it comes to court politics, that usually means blood. In June 1507, supporters of one of Masatomo’s adopted sons (Sumiyuki) assassinated him in his bathhouse. The next day, they attempted to do the same thing to another son, Sumitomo, but he managed to escape with the help of his allies in the Miyoshi Clan.

    Just a moment ago, I mentioned that one faction couldn’t make a move without antagonising the other three, and that’s exactly what happened. Sumiyuki’s supporters had tried to remove Sumitomo and failed. Now, Sumitomo fled Kyoto and sought the aid of the third brother, Takakuni, who was only too happy to oblige.

    The stylised end of Hosokawa Sumiyuki.
    Musuketeer.3 – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示-継承 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24893374による

    The combined forces of Takakuni and Sumitomo were indeed too much for Sumiyuki, and by August, he had been defeated and forced to commit suicide. The question then was who would actually succeed Masatomo. Both Takakuni and Sumitomo could arguably claim to have avenged their adopted father’s death, and both had significant support from the remaining Hosokawa retainers.

    As we mentioned last time, it is at this point that the previously deposed Shogun, Yoshitane, returned to the scene. Given that Masatomo had overthrown him in a coup and installed a puppet, it wasn’t difficult to convince Shogunate loyalists to side with Yoshitane. Suddenly, becoming heir to the Hosokawa Clan wasn’t quite the prize it had been. Though Sumitomo was in the stronger position, he now faced a resurgent Yoshitane, and his brother, Takakuni, saw the way the wind was blowing and threw in his lot with the returning Shogun as well.

    Just as Sumiyuki had been unable to oppose the combined forces of his brothers, Sumitomo did not have the strength to challenge the Shogun and Takakuni. Sumitomo also lost considerable support due to the actions of his supporters in the Miyoshi Clan, who had become overbearing in the short period after their victory.

    So, in April 1508, when Yoshitane and Takakuni marched on Kyoto, Sumitomo and the Miyoshi had little choice but to flee with their puppet Shogun, Yoshizumi. Shortly after this, Yoshitane was reinstated as Shogun, and Takakuni was named the new head of the Hosokawa Clan.

    The once and future Shogun, Yoshitane, picked the right moment to return to the political scene.

    In June the following year, Sumitomo and the Miyoshi attempted to retake the city but were defeated and driven back; however, a counterattack led by Yoshitane was similarly defeated. The back-and-forth nature of the conflict continued until the Battle of Ashiyagawara (sometimes called the Siege of Takao Castle), in the summer of 1511, after which Sumitomo’s victorious forces were able to briefly reoccupy Kyoto.

    ‘Briefly’ is the operative word here, because in September of the same year, Takakuni and Yoshitane’s forces counterattacked, retook Kyoto, and drove Sumitomo and the Miyoshi back to their strongholds in Awa Province, across the Inland Sea on Shikoku.

    Awa Province.
    By Ash_Crow – Own work, based on Image:Provinces of Japan.svg, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1652119

    Around this time, Yoshizumi died of illness, and Sumitomo suffered a serious loss of support. Many of his allies had supported Yoshizumi as Shogun, and Sumitomo as his champion, but now Yoshizumi was gone, Yoshitane, who was now firmly entrenched in Kyoto, was the only remaining claimant to the title, and many Shogunate loyalists deserted to him, weakening Sumitomo and strengthening Takakuni.

    Ashikaga Yoshizumi, whose death proved that a puppet shogun is better than no Shogun at all.

    This stalemate did not mean peace, however, and constant, low-level fighting would continue throughout the region and the wider realm; what would later be called the Sengoku Jidai was already well underway, even if the area immediately around Kyoto was relatively quiet.

    In 1517, the stalemate was broken when Miyoshi forces in support of Sumitomo invaded Awaji and used it as a springboard to threaten the mainland. Around this time, the Ouchi Clan, who had supported Takakuni and Yoshitane for the better part of 10 years, left the capital to deal with unrest in their home provinces, caused by the apparent resurgence of Sumitomo and the Miyoshi’s faction.

    The departure of the Ouchi was a major blow to Takakuni, and over the next two years, he saw his position gradually chipped away, as forces defected to Sumitomo or simply abandoned the fight to deal with their own affairs. Finally, in early 1520, Shogun Yoshitane himself switched sides, throwing his support behind Sumitomo and forcing Takakuni to flee Kyoto.

    Ouchi Yoshioki, the head of the Ouchi Clan, whose decision to leave Kyoto seriously weakened Takakuni.

    Takakuni fled to Omi Province, but he wasn’t ready to roll over just yet. Gathering a force of his allies, he counter-attacked in May 1520 and retook the capital. This time, his victory was decisive; he forced the leader of the Miyoshi Clan to commit suicide and even managed to drive Sumitomo back into exile on Shikoku, where he died of illness shortly afterwards.

    The following year, Takakuni exiled the fickle Yoshitane and installed Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the son of Yoshizumi, as Shogun, though he was just as much a puppet ruler as his father had been. Takakuni was appointed kanrei (deputy) for the new Shogun’s enthronement ceremony, but would resign the position immediately afterwards, proving to be the last man to hold the position, according to historical records.

    It wouldn’t be until October 1524 that the last embers of Miyoshi resistance were stamped out on Shikoku, but even then, Takakuni was far from secure in his position. In 1526, he faced serious opposition from within his own clan and was defeated when he tried to march against them. In 1527, this combined force actually managed to drive Takakuni out of Kyoto, and an attempted counterattack was defeated at the Battle of Katsuragawa in March that year.

    Takakuni, ever tenacious, refused to give up, despite being defeated in 1528 and again in 1530. Things finally came to a head for him in 1531, at the Battle of Tennoji, which is often called the Daimotsu Kuzure, which can be translated as “The Fall of the Big Shots” (lit. big names fall, or collapse).

    The Battlefield Memorial of the Fall of the Big Shots.

    Takakuni was defeated. He survived the battle but was captured shortly afterwards, supposedly whilst hiding in an indigo storage barrel at a dye shop, after which he was obliged to commit suicide. Several of his main supporters (the eponymous “Big Names”) suffered similar fates, and Takakuni’s faction disintegrated.

    Takakuni’s body was likely still warm (and probably blue, given his hiding place) when the forces that had opposed him turned on each other. Members of the Hosokawa, Hatakeyama, and Miyoshi Clans all began fighting, and any hope of retaining a stable government in Kyoto was lost.

    Sources
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