Chris Perry, Author

Tag: Azuchi 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
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E8%83%BD%E5%AF%BA%E3%81%AE%E5%A4%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%A4%A7%E8%BF%94%E3%81%97
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E5%90%8D%E5%A0%AF%E7%86%99
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%9C%A8%E5%90%88%E6%88%A6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%89%E5%B2%A1%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    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 First Unifier – Oda Nobunaga. Part Three.

    The First Unifier – Oda Nobunaga. Part Three.

    By 1573, Oda Nobunaga was arguably the strongest warlord of his day, controlling a large territory that dominated central Japan. He had taken control of Kyoto and brought about the end of the Ashikaga Shogunate (though he would never take the title for himself), and with the death of Takeda Shingen, his most dangerous rival had been removed.

    Nobunaga’s position is red. Dominant, but not yet unchallenged.
    By Alvin Lee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39200929

    You probably know by now that even a strong position was never completely unchallenged during the Sengoku Jidai, and Nobunaga still had enemies to deal with. In the summer of 1573, he launched a campaign against the Azai-Asakura alliance, whom he had defeated at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570 and now meant to finish off.

    Nobunaga’s forces laid siege to the formidable Odani Castle. When Azai-Asakura forces marched to relieve it, they were ambushed and forced to retreat to Ichijodani Castle with Nobunaga in hot pursuit. The Azai-Asakura were then decisively defeated at the Battle of Tonezaka and tried to retreat again; however, a series of defeats, betrayals, and suicides put an end to the alliance and then to the clans themselves.

    A modern reconstruction of the castle down around Ichijodani.
    663highland – 投稿者自身による著作物, CC 表示 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12059706による

    A side note to these events is the end of the marriage between Nobunaga’s sister, Oichi, and Azai Nagamasa, lord of the Azai Clan. When Nagamasa betrayed Nobunaga, Oichi remained faithful and was by his side as Odani Castle came under siege. Some sources say that Oichi gave birth to her third daughter during the siege (though others disagree). There is also debate over how she escaped, with some saying she was aided by a loyal retainer, and others stating that Nobunaga and Nagamasa agreed to let Oichi and her daughters go, a tale often romanticised as demonstrating the love both men had for her.

    Romantic stories aside, with the end of the Azai-Asakura threat, Nobunaga turned his attention to the peasant rebellion in Ise Province (the so-called Nagashima Ikko-Ikki), which had resulted in the death of his younger brother, Nobuoki. The campaign was successful at first, with several outlying forts being taken, but an attempt to secure the rebels’ main fortress at Nagashima failed, and Nobunaga was obliged to fall back after an ambush threatened to cut him off.

    A 19th-century depiction of the fighting in Nagashima.

    The year would end on a more positive note for him, however, as Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who was still claiming the title of Shogun, was forced to flee Wakae Castle (in modern Osaka) and retreat to Kii Province. In December, Nobunaga’s forces captured the important and wealthy Tamonyama Castle (modern Nara), further securing his territory in central Japan.

    1574 would bring new problems, starting with another peasant rebellion (the Echizen Ikko-Ikki) in territory that Nobunaga had only recently taken from the Azai-Asakura. Shortly after that, a renewed attack by the Takeda, now led by Shingen’s son, Katsuyori, invaded Mino Province. Nobunaga marched to meet them, but the border castles fell before he could arrive, and so he withdrew, avoiding a decisive clash with the Takeda for now.

    Takeda Katsuyori

    With crises in all directions, Nobunaga was stretched to his limit, but it was in moments like this where he showed his brilliance and his brutality. The Ikko-Ikki fortress at Nagashima had been a thorn in his side for years, and he set out to remove it in the summer of 1574, surrounding the fortress from land and sea and starving the defenders into surrender by September.

    It is said that some attempted to flee by boat, but Nobunaga stopped them with a volley of gunfire. Suitably provoked, the Ikko-Ikki launched a counterattack that ultimately failed, but killed Nobunaga’s half-brother. In response, Nobunaga had the remaining 20,000 defenders, including women and children, locked up inside the castle, which he then ordered burned.

    A memorial to those who were killed during the fall of Nagashima.
    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=20094400による

    With Nagashima subdued, Nobunaga turned his attention to the Takeda, who had launched a series of relatively small-scale invasions throughout 1574, and by April 1575, were besieging the Tokugawa-controlled fortress at Nagashino. What followed was one of the most heavily mythologised battles of the era, and even today, many of the details are open to debate, but what is not in doubt is that the Battle of Nagashino inflicted a mortal wound on the Takeda. They never again posed a serious strategic threat to Nobunaga’s ambitions.

    One of his other long-term enemies was the Temple of Hongan-ji, the spiritual centre of the widespread Ikko-Ikki movement. The movement had been severely weakened by the loss of Nagashima, and in late Summer 1575, Nobunaga crushed the Echizen Ikko-Ikki, further weakening Hongan-ji’s power. This turn of events allowed Nobunaga to establish a short-lived peace in the territory he controlled.

    Emperor Ogimachi (r 1557-1586) was Emperor for most of Nobunaga’s rise to power.

    In November 1575, Nobunaga was appointed Dainagon, and Ukone no Taisho, Chief Councillor, and General of the Right, respectively, positions in the Imperial court which established his position, and right to rule the country (in the Emperor’s name, of course) Around this time Nobunaga also began distributing territory and other titles to his followers on behalf of the Emperor, and it is from this point that historians generally agree that Nobunaga gave up the pretence of supporting the Ashikaga, and began eyeing the position for himself. In light of this, he officially recognised his son, Nobutada, as his heir and gave orders for the construction of a new fortress at Azuchi.

    It couldn’t last, however, and in Spring 1576 Ishiyama Hongan-ji was in arms against him again, supported by a loose coalition of powerful clans, and at least nominally acting on behalf of the exiled Shogun, Yoshiaki. Initial attempts by Oda forces to subdue Hongan-ji failed, but when Nobunaga himself arrived, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Tennoji, and subsequently laid siege to the vast Ishiyama temple complex.

    This modern recreation shows that the Ishiyama Hongan-ji complex was more akin to a fortified town than a temple.

    Nobunaga might have hoped to repeat his success at Nagashima, but those hopes were to be dashed when a fleet from the Mori Clan destroyed the Oda blockade at the Battle of Kizugawaguchi in August 1576, ensuring that, for the time being, supplies would continue to flow into Ishiyama, and the siege would drag on.

    Meanwhile, in 1577, Nobunaga led an army into Kii Province and forced the surrender of the Saika Clan before withdrawing, only to then have to face a rebellion from the Matsunaga Clan in Ise Province, which was put down in characteristically brutal fashion, with the castle burned, and its occupants forced to commit Seppuku.

    This image depicts Matsunaga Hisahide at the moment of his death. The story goes that Nobunaga offered to spare him in exchange for a rare tea kettle. In response, Hisahide is supposed to have smashed the kettle to pieces before killing himself.

    From 1578 to 1580, Nobunaga was forced to contend with the powerful Mori Clan and their allies for control of Harima Province. Meanwhile, his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide, successfully subdued the provinces of Tamba and Tango. In late 1580, Nobunaga forced the surrender of Arioka and Miki Castles, bringing the whole of Harima under his control.

    Meanwhile, the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi in December 1578 reversed the strategic situation in the seas around Ishiyama (Osaka Bay), when the rebuilt Oda navy inflicted a decisive defeat on the Mori fleet, finally cutting Ishiyama off completely. The siege would last until 1580, however, and it would eventually take an Imperial Order to convince the leadership to surrender, in exchange for being allowed to leave.

    A semi-contemporary image of Ishiyama Hongan-ji during the siege.

    War was never far away, but as 1581 dawned, Nobunaga was stronger than any Daimyo had ever been, and it was seriously possible that if anyone were to bring an end to the Sengoku Jidai and reunite the country, it would be him. However, he still had a few more rivals to overcome first.

    The Battle of Nagashino had been a death blow to the Takeda, but as late as 1582, they were still clinging on, and now Nobunaga made the decision to end them once and for all. Gathering a force of some 100,000 and supported by his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga invaded Takeda territory in early 1582. The campaign was almost too easy, as Takeda resistance crumbled almost immediately, forts often surrendered without a fight, or after only a token display of defiance, and many former Takeda retainers simply switched sides, or else ran away from the advancing Oda.

    A heavily stylised (and much later) depiction of the end of Takeda Katsuyori, whose death would signal the end of his clan.

    The Takeda eventually stood their ground at the formidable Takato Castle, but, despite its reputation, it was taken quickly, and what remained of the Takeda began to melt away. Eventually, Takeda Katsuyori and his son Nobukatsu were trapped at Tano (modern Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture) and forced to commit Seppuku, bringing an end to the Takeda line and any hope of resistance to Nobunaga.

    With the Takeda gone, Nobunaga took some time to reorganise the newly conquered territories, and then headed home through the lands of his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, who laid on entertainments, refreshments, and accommodation, all purpose-built for Nobunaga’s visit.

    A reconstruction of Nobunaga’s ‘throne’ at Azuchi.
    日本語版ウィキペディアのMaakunさん – 原版の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=115518317による

    By Spring, Nobunaga was back at his base at Azuchi, from where he made plans to invite the Emperor for a formal visit, and rumours began that the court was about to appoint him Shogun, or else some other senior position. The exact nature of this appointment and Nobunaga’s receptiveness to it are unclear, as the sources don’t agree on whether anything was offered at all, let alone what Nobunaga said about it. The Imperial visit was supposedly arranged for the following year, but again, the sources are scant.

    During this brief period of peace, Nobunaga is supposed to have announced his plans to conquer Shikoku from the Chosokabe. One of his retainers, Akechi Mitsuhide, was apparently unhappy about this, as he had previously acted as an intermediary between Nobunaga and the Chosokabe. Mitsuhide was further agrieved when Nobunaga ordered him to provide entertainment for the visiting Tokugawa Ieyasu. The story goes that Nobunaga accused Mitsuhide of doing a poor job (rightly or not) and launched into a public dressing-down of Mitsuhide that ended (according to some sources) with a literal kick in the backside.

    A 19th-century imagining of Nobunaga publicly chastising Mitsuhide.

    Given the importance of public image in Japan, it is easy to see why Mitsuhide might have felt a genuine grievance over this treatment. There is also a story that Mitsuhide’s mother had once served as a hostage for a truce that Nobunaga had gone on to break, resulting in the poor woman’s death. Whilst some of these stories are poorly sourced at best, what is known is that by the summer of 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide had had enough.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E4%BF%A1%E9%95%B7
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuru,_Yamanashi
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E9%81%A0%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%B2%E5%B7%9E%E5%BE%81%E4%BC%90
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%9C%A8%E5%90%88%E6%88%A6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BF%A1%E8%B2%B4%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B4%80%E5%B7%9E%E5%BE%81%E4%BC%90
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E7%8E%8B%E5%AF%BA%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84_(1576%E5%B9%B4)
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E5%B1%B1%E5%90%88%E6%88%A6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%80%E6%AC%A1%E6%9C%A8%E6%B4%A5%E5%B7%9D%E5%8F%A3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E6%AC%A1%E6%9C%A8%E6%B4%A5%E5%B7%9D%E5%8F%A3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E5%B3%B6%E4%B8%80%E5%90%91%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86