Chris Perry, Author

Tag: Azuchi-Momoyama Period

  • The Battle of Sekigahara

    The Battle of Sekigahara

    Though the Battle of Sekigahara is often used as a convenient end point for the Sengoku Jidai, the final Battle was part of a campaign across Japan between the Western Forces, now led by Ishida Mitsunari, and the Eastern Forces, who followed Tokugawa Ieyasu.

    Ishida Mitsunari, leader of the Western Forces.

    The first blow had fallen at Fushimi Castle, garrisoned by troops loyal to Ieyasu, which had fallen in early August, but fighting had also broken out elsewhere in the realm, as forces loyal to both sides sought strategic advantage and settled a few old scores. Each side had its share of victories and setbacks, with various battles and sieges occurring throughout Japan.

    Mori Terumoto, despite nominally being the commander of the Western Army, dispatched forces against Ieyasu’s supporters in Kyushu and Shikoku, whilst the Date clan, loyal to Ieyasu, attacked the Uesugi in northern Japan. As might be expected in a war between East and West, some of the heaviest fighting was in central Japan, and it was here that Eastern forces would have the better of it.

    Oda Hidenobu. His lands ended up trapped between the forces of East and West.

    Despite stiff resistance from Oda Hidenobu (Nobunaga’s grandson), Eastern forces crossed the strategically important Kiso River and defeated a counterattack at Komeno. They then took Takegahana Castle, opening the way for them to lay siege to Hidenobu’s base at Gifu Castle, a fortress that Western forces had expected to hold out, but which fell in a single, bloody day.

    The Eastern army didn’t have it all their own way; a Western attack on Tsu Castle in modern-day Mie Prefecture overwhelmed the badly outnumbered garrison. Though this Battle would ultimately prove to have a relatively minor effect on the overall outcome, it is perhaps best remembered for the account of the life of the lord of Tsu castle, Tomita Nobutaka, being saved by the timely intervention of a warrior described as being “beautiful and martial, hearing of the urgency of the situation, went out alone on horseback, their armor and helmet brilliant, spirited and courageous…” This warrior turned out to be Nobutaka’s wife.

    Tomita Nobutaka is rescued by his wife.

    Despite this defeat, the strategic initiative began to shift towards the Eastern forces throughout August and September. Some later sources place the blame for this on Ishida Mitsunari; he was criticised for being slow to respond after the fall of Gifu, though some scholars have defended him, arguing that no one had expected the formidable fortress to fall in a single day, and Mitsunari had had to deal with widely scattered forces of variable loyalty.

    Another figure who may have played a part in undermining Western Forces was Mori Terumoto. Though he was nominally the commander in chief, he limited himself to campaigning in Shikoku and Kyushu, and it was revealed after the campaign was over that there had been a secret agreement between Ieyasu and the Mori, promising to allow the Mori to keep their lands in exchange for not fighting too hard, leading some to speculate that Mori forces were deliberately ‘pulling their punches’.

    Mori Terumoto. Despite his strength, historians suggest he deliberately held his forces back after making a deal with Ieyasu.

    Regardless of the reasons, by October, both sides were heading towards a decisive confrontation. On October 20th, Ieyasu’s advanced forces arrived at Akasaka, near Mitsunari’s base at Ogaki Castle (in the modern city of the same name). It was said that the sight of Ieyasu’s forces arriving en masse led to a sharp decline in morale amongst the Western forces, with some simply deserting.

    Recognising the severity of the situation, Mitsunari’s chief retainer, Shima Kiyoki, led a surprise attack on the advancing Eastern Army, winning a small tactical victory, which did much to boost Western morale, though it would prove to be their last success. The next day, Ieyasu marched the bulk of his forces to Sekigahara.

    Shima Kiyoki. His ambush of Eastern forces on the day before Sekigahara would prove to be the last victory for the West.

    Given how significant the Battle would prove to be, it might surprise you to learn that the exact course of events has never been completely established. The main reason for this is that there are dozens of second-hand sources written by people who ‘heard’ about what happened but were actually there. Even among the first-hand sources, there are conflicting accounts, as various figures seek either to associate themselves more closely with the victory or to distance themselves from the defeat, for reasons ranging from political considerations to personal pride.

    The sources broadly agree that the two sides crashed into each other at around 8am, their approaches hidden by early-morning fog, and that the Battle of Sekigahara began almost by accident. After some initial skirmishes, both sides withdrew and regrouped. The fighting lasted most of the morning, and sources seem to agree that it was a fairly evenly matched affair until late morning, when a large section of the Western army under the command of Kobayawaka Hideaki switched sides and attacked the vulnerable flank of his former allies, putting them to flight.

    A later depiction of Kobayakawa Hideaki being tormented by the ghosts of those he betrayed. Some sources suggest that Hideaki drank himself to death at the age of just 21, supposedly from guilt.

    Though the betrayal is a historical fact, the exact reasons remain unclear. Some sources suggest that Hideaki had made a deal with Ieyasu beforehand, either promising not to fight or to indeed switch sides, whilst others state that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, born of fear of defeat or naked opportunism.

    There is also disagreement over how much Ieyasu knew about the betrayal before the fact; some sources tell us that he was waiting for Hideaki to launch his attack, while some reports suggest that Ieyasu ordered his forces to open fire on Hideaki, though whether this was to force his decision or because he wasn’t aware of Hideaki’s betrayal is disputed.

    Guns of the type used at Sekigahara.
    Rama – Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2176826による

    Regardless of his reasons or Ieyasu’s foreknowledge, the betrayal was the decisive moment, and by midday, the Western Army was routed and fleeing from the field. In the days that followed, Ieyasu and his vassals conducted what would be termed ‘mopping up’ in modern times, rounding up those who could be captured, laying siege to numerous castles, and generally consolidating the victory.

    Those who had betrayed the Eastern army were then tasked with capturing Ishida Mitsunari’s base at Sawayama Castle, which fell after a few days, resulting in the deaths (in Battle or by suicide) of most of Mitsunari’s family. The man himself had already fled, and Ieyasu placed a high priority on his capture, blaming him for raising the Western Army in the first place (Mitsunari was not the only leader, or even, arguably, the most prominent).

    A contemporary map of Sawayama Castle.

    In fact, historians disagree on the extent of Mitsunari’s role in raising an army against Ieyasu. The long-held view was that he was the primary ringleader, but most of the sources that speak of this are from the later Edo Period, when there was a political interest in shifting the blame onto the by then dead (spoilers) Mitsunari, and away from other clans, who may have played a larger role, but who were too powerful to blame directly.

    Mitsunari managed to flee as far as the village of Furuhashi in Omi Province (modern-day Shiga Province) before Ieyasu’s forces caught up with him. Taken under guard to an audience with Ieyasu at Otsu Castle, Mitsunari was then paraded through Osaka and presented as a common criminal before being beheaded at the Rokujogawara execution grounds in Kyoto.

    A later depiction of the Battle of Sekigahara.

    With Mitsunari gone, Ieyasu then turned his attention to consolidating his control of the realm, but we’ll cover that next time.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%96%A2%E3%83%B6%E5%8E%9F%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E7%94%B0%E4%B8%89%E6%88%90
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E6%9D%A1%E6%B2%B3%E5%8E%9F
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%A9%E5%B7%9D%E7%A7%80%E7%A7%8B
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E8%B0%B7%E5%90%89%E7%B6%99
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%B0%E8%BE%BA%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%85%E4%BA%95%E7%95%B7%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8A%E6%9D%89%E9%81%BA%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%A8%E6%9B%BD%E5%B7%9D%E3%83%BB%E5%90%88%E6%B8%A1%E5%B7%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B2%B3%E7%94%B0%E6%9C%A8%E6%9B%BD%E5%B7%9D%E6%B8%A1%E6%B2%B3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B1%B3%E9%87%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%B9%E3%83%B6%E9%BC%BB%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84#%E6%85%B6%E9%95%B75%E5%B9%B4%E3%81%AE%E7%AB%B9%E3%83%B6%E9%BC%BB%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B2%90%E9%98%9C%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E7%A7%80%E4%BF%A1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B2%90%E9%98%9C%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E6%BF%83%E6%B4%A5%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E7%A7%80%E5%85%83
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E5%90%88%E6%88%A6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8A%E7%94%B0%E5%90%88%E6%88%A6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E6%B4%A5%E5%9F%8E%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%9B%E5%88%A9%E8%BC%9D%E5%85%83%E3%81%AE%E5%9B%9B%E5%9B%BD%E3%83%BB%E4%B9%9D%E5%B7%9E%E5%87%BA%E5%85%B5
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E5%9E%A3%E5%8E%9F%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%AD%E7%80%AC%E5%B7%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B3%B6%E6%B8%85%E8%88%88
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%9E%A3%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E6%A5%BD%E5%AF%BA_(%E5%A4%A7%E5%9E%A3%E5%B8%82)

  • The Road to Sekigahara

    The Road to Sekigahara

    Before his death in 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had established a Council of Five Elders to rule Japan until his son, Hideyori, came of age. Of the five, the two most influential were Tokugawa Ieyasu and Maeda Toshiie, and almost before Hideyoshi’s body was cool, the two men set about trying to undermine and outmanoeuvre each other.

    The ultimate victor would be Ieyasu, largely because Toshiie died in the Spring of 1599 and was replaced by his son, Toshinaga, who lacked his father’s political connections and ability. Later that year, a plot to assassinate Ieyasu was uncovered, and Toshinaga was implicated. Forced to flee to his home province of Kaga, he only avoided direct conflict with Ieyasu by sending his mother as a hostage.

    Maeda Toshinaga. Like many before him, he would prove unable to live up to an illustrious father’s reputation.

    The revelation of his plot allowed Ieyasu to neutralise the threat of Toshinaga in the short term, but it wouldn’t last. Hideyoshi’s death had had exactly the destabilising effect he had feared, and throughout 1598-1600, old rivalries, feuds, and ambitions resurfaced. Historians disagree on what exactly led to a fresh outbreak of conflict, but there are a few theories.

    Some speculate that, without Hideyoshi’s strong hand, his attempts to centralise power in the realm were doomed to failure, as powerful local clans, who had been largely independent for decades (or more), saw little reason to kowtow to a government now headed by an infant. Others suggest that the invasion of Korea, whilst possibly intended to keep the Samurai busy, had actually stirred up old rivalries and forged a few new ones as the prideful warrior class competed for prestige amongst themselves at the expense of a cohesive campaign.

    Despite their reputation for honour and duty, the Samurai primarily followed strength. When Hideyoshi died, the lack of strong central authority meant that it wasn’t long before local clans slipped back into old habits.

    There are others who don’t necessarily disagree with either view, but argue that the unpopularity of Ishida Mitsunari was a key factor in the breakdown of relations between the men at the centre of the post-Hideyoshi political scene. He was not a powerful lord in his own right, and his reputation for military incompetence and political scheming weakened his ability to hold the administration of the realm together during Hideyori’s minority.

    Though it could be argued that Mitsunari’s failings were overemphasised in later (pro-Tokugawa) sources, it is clear that Ieyasu himself had ambitions to increase his own power and perhaps to claim ultimate authority. He frequently violated Hideyoshi’s laws and even his will, doing things like forming marriage alliances with other powerful lords, and eventually residing at Osaka Castle, even though Hideyoshi’s testament had stipulated that he remain at nearby (and weaker) Fushimi Castle.

    A later depiction of Ieyasu. Though he started out as something of a first among equals, by early 1600, it was clear he was aiming for ultimate power.

    Ieyasu was the strongest individual member of the Council of Elders, but he lacked the strength to oppose the other four if they combined against him, so he set about ensuring that that wouldn’t happen. After dealing with Maeda Toshinaga in the aftermath of the alleged assassination plot, he intervened directly in a conflict between another elder, Ukita Hideie, and his vassals.

    The result of the so-called “Ukita Incident” was that many of these vassals left Hideie’s service, seriously weakening his power and, conversely, his ability to oppose Ieyasu. Indeed, by early 1600, it was beginning to appear that Ieyasu might claim supreme power without resorting to violence. He had largely co-opted the former Hideyoshi administration, and even Mitsunari, who had previously opposed Ieyasu, seemed to be coming around.

    Ukita Hideie. One of the Five Elders, Ieyasu’s machinations left him in a severely weakened position.

    In the Spring of 1600, Ieyasu felt strong enough to send envoys to another Elder, Uesugi Kagekatsu, to demand an explanation for the construction of an (illegal) castle in his domain, as well as for rumours of collusion between him and Maeda Toshinaga. Kagekatsu agreed to go to Kyoto, but asked that the trip be postponed until the Autumn, a request that was refused.

    Scholars generally agree that Ieyasu had already decided on a military campaign against the Uesugi, and he had sent the demand, knowing full well that Kagekatsu would refuse, thus giving him the pretext he needed. There are also some sources that suggest that Kagekatsu himself was behind a plot to lure Ieyasu into the difficult terrain of Northern Japan, and there ambush and destroy him.

    Uesugi Kagekatsu. Sources disagree over whether he was a passive victim of Ieyasu’s ambition or a cunning strategist plotting to trap and destroy him.

    Regardless of who ultimately provoked the campaign, Ieyasu left Osaka in mid-June, heading first to his base at Edo, from where he issued orders to his vassals and supporters to prepare for an attack against the Uesugi. It is perhaps a testament to how ephemeral his power was that, no sooner had Ieyasu left Osaka than members of the government, including Ishida Mitsunari, rose up against him and sent a letter to Mori Terumoto inviting him to come to Osaka to “settle affairs.”

    Shortly after this, copies of a letter denouncing Ieyasu as a traitor to Hideyori’s government were circulated, and Terumoto was nominated as Commander of what would eventually become known as the “Western Army”, the collective forces gathered in opposition to Ieyasu’s “Eastern Army”. The first blow would fall on Fushimi Castle, still held by Ieyasu’s vassals, when it came under attack in August 1600.

    Mori Terumoto. In terms of resources, Terumoto was second only to Ieyasu, which made him the obvious choice to lead the coalition army.

    Though some sources suggest that the forces led by the Shimazu and Kobayakawa Clans actually intended to enter Fushimi to fight on Ieyasu’s behalf, they were refused by the garrison and thus ‘forced’ to attack the castle instead. However, the only contemporary source for this is the Shimazu’s own records, and it is generally dismissed as an attempt by the Shimazu to excuse their opposition to Ieyasu after the fact.

    Fushimi was garrisoned by around 1800 men, and when the Western Army’s force of some 40,000 arrived, the result was a foregone conclusion. The garrison held out bravely, and there are many stories of heroism, but the odds were simply too great, and Fushimi fell after a siege of around two weeks, with most of the garrison being put to the sword.

    The reconstructed Fushimi Castle as it appears today. Though the original castle fell, the delay would prove decisive.

    Despite the defeat, the sacrifice of the garrison at Fushimi would not be in vain; 40,000 troops had been tied down for nearly two weeks, and this gave Ieyasu time and relative strategic freedom to gather his allies and position his forces, and it was time that had been well spent. At the beginning of September 1600, Ieyasu departed his capital of Edo and marched towards the most important battle of his life, and one of the most decisive in Japanese history.

    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 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!

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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E6%AC%A1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%91%9B%E8%A5%BF%E5%A4%A7%E5%B4%8E%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
    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
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%99%E5%8C%97%E4%B8%80%E6%8F%86
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E6%88%B8%E6%94%BF%E5%AE%9F%E3%81%AE%E4%B9%B1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A5%A5%E5%B7%9E%E4%BB%95%E7%BD%AE
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%97%E5%9C%B0%E6%96%B9
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E8%AD%B7%E5%B1%8B%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%94%90%E6%B4%A5%E5%B8%82
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%83%E5%B0%86%E8%A5%B2%E6%92%83%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E7%94%B0%E4%B8%89%E6%88%90

  • Book Plug

    Book Plug

    It’s Golden Week here in Japan, and in the spirit of the holiday, I’ve decided to do something a bit different and plug my latest book, Burden of Duty, so here you go:

    In the chaotic aftermath of the Honnō-ji Incident, burned, half-blind, and consumed by shame, Sagano Takashi awakens in the care of foreigners. His lord, Oda Nobunaga, is dead. His world has collapsed. And by every code he has lived by, he has failed.

    With the help of old friends, reluctant allies, and opposed by those with their own plans for the chaos, he sets out across a Japan on the brink of collapse to find those responsible for his pain, and to salvage what he can from the ashes.

    But as he journeys home, Takashi must answer a difficult question: how much is honour worth, and what can a man do when the burden of duty becomes too great?

    A sweeping tale of survival, redemption, and the human cost of loyalty, the second chapter of the Gekokujo series sees Takashi fall from the greatest heights and forced to use every ounce of his strength to find his way back.

    Burden of Duty, Book Two of the Gekokujo Series, available now on Amazon!

  • 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
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E5%9F%8E
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E7%89%A7%E3%83%BB%E9%95%B7%E4%B9%85%E6%89%8B%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E7%A7%80%E4%BF%A1
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    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E4%BF%A1%E5%BF%A0
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E4%BF%A1%E9%9B%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B3%A4%E3%83%B6%E5%B2%B3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%94%E7%94%B0%E4%BF%A1%E9%95%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E6%AD%A3%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B3%A4%E3%83%B6%E5%B2%B3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B5%90%E5%9F%8E%E7%A7%80%E5%BA%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%9D%E6%97%A5%E5%A7%AB

  • 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
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B3%A4%E3%83%B6%E5%B2%B3%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E6%AD%A3%E5%A3%AC%E5%8D%88%E3%81%AE%E4%B9%B1
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  • The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Three.

    The Third Unifier – Tokugawa Ieyasu. Part Three.

    After the disastrous Battle of Mikatagahara in January 1573, contemporaries might have been forgiven for thinking that Tokugawa Ieyasu was finished. His army had been defeated and scattered, several important fortresses had fallen, and Takeda forces were camped deep inside his home province of Mikawa.

    The Battle of Mikatagahara was a disaster from which Ieyasu might not have recovered.

    Fate, however, was on Ieyasu’s side. Though Mikatagahara had been a catastrophe, the Takeda would prove unable to take advantage of their victory. Not long after the Battle, Takeda Shingen, arguably the most formidable warrior of his day, fell ill (some sources say he was wounded in battle, though later stories of Ninja assassinations are likely mythological).

    With their leader bedridden, the Takeda campaign stalled. They tried to keep the full extent of his illness secret, but when Shingen died in May, the once-mighty Takeda army began a full retreat from Mikawa. The Art of War writes that a general should know his enemy, and Ieyasu, student of war that he was, seems to have realised that something was amiss.

    An image depicting Shingen’s illness. He was arguably the most formidable warlord of his day, and his death was a huge strategic boon to the Tokugawa.

    Under Shingen, the Takeda were aggressive and highly capable, but after his (still secret) death, Ieyasu identified several weaknesses and launched a counter-attack, the success of which effectively confirmed his theory that Shingen was gone. With the momentum swinging back towards the Tokugawa, several clans that had defected to the Takeda switched sides again, and Ieyasu was able to swiftly regain the strength lost at Mikatagahara.

    Shingen’s successor, Katsuyori, has been remembered as a poor imitation of his father, though much of what was recorded about him was written by his enemies. In the short term, however, Katsuyori and Ieyasu were fairly evenly matched, and throughout 1574 and into 1575, they traded blows, with the momentum shifting back and forth.

    Takeda Katsuyori. Though perhaps unfairly maligned in later writings, he would prove unable to live up to his father’s legacy.

    Ieyasu had something that Katsuyori didn’t, however, a powerful ally. The death of Shingen had removed a serious (possibly existential) threat to the ambitions of Oda Nobunaga, and in 1575, he was finally able to dispatch significant forces to support Ieyasu’s ongoing campaign against the Takeda.

    In early 1575, Takeda forces once again advanced against Mikawa province, laying siege to the strategically important Nagashino Castle. Sources suggest that the Takeda invested the castle with 15,000 men, whilst the defenders numbered only 500. Despite the disparity in strength, the fortress was situated in terrain that made it difficult for the Takeda to bring their full forces to bear, and for a time, the garrison held out.

    The site of Nagashino Castle as it appears today.

    The situation changed dramatically, however, when the garrison’s food supplies were burned. In response, a messenger, Torii Suneemon, slipped through Takeda’s lines and made it to a combined Oda-Tokugawa army that was supposed to have numbered some 38,000 men (30,000 Oda and 8,000 Tokugawa, which goes some way to demonstrating the power dynamic in this ‘alliance’.)

    Suneemon then tried to return to Nagashino to inform the garrison that help was on the way, but he was instead captured by the Takeda. Katsuyori offered him a deal: if he told the garrison that no help was coming, he’d be set free. Instead, Sunemon shouted that relief was on the way, and the garrison should hold out, for which he was crucified in full view of the walls.

    A later (and somewhat dramatised) depiction of Suneemon exhorting the garrison of Nagashino to keep resisting.

    When the Oda-Tokugawa forces arrived two days later, the garrison was still holding out, and the Takeda turned to give battle. Although the Battle of Nagashino is one of the most famous and decisive battles of the Sengoku Jidai, scholars disagree on what actually happened. Nagashino has long been famous for Nobunaga’s innovative use of massed firearms, with thousands of foot soldiers firing in a three-rank system that kept up a constant hail of fire that decimated the Takeda’s famous cavalry charge.

    The exact number of firearms and the tactics used are still debated, but what is known for sure is that Nagashino represented a blow to the Takeda Clan from which they would never recover. In the aftermath, both Ieyasu and Nobunaga moved to take advantage, extending their control over Suruga and Totomi Provinces, and boxing the Takeda up in their traditional home in Kai and Shinano Province (modern Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures)

    An 18th-century depiction of the Battle of Nagashino, with the Oda-Tokugawa forces on the left, and Nagashino Castle on the far right.

    Though Ieyasu had been on the winning side, the victory over the Takeda would mark the time when his relationship with Nobunaga ceased to be an alliance of equals. There was no disputing Nobunaga’s power by this point, and the resources at his disposal dwarfed anything Ieyasu could deploy. Consequently, in the aftermath of Nagashino, Ieyasu found himself a vassal to the Great Lord.

    Perhaps the best evidence of how far the relationship had shifted came in 1579, when, on Nobunaga’s order, Ieyasu had his wife and eldest son put to death on suspicion of conspiring with the Takeda to arrange Nobunaga’s assassination.

    Ieyasu’s first wife, Lady Tsukiyama.

    The long-held theory was that Lady Tsukiyama, Ieyasu’s wife, and his eldest son, Nobuyasu, were indeed conspiring with the Takeda. Some sources portray Lady Tsukiyama as a scheming, evil woman who seduced men into joining her plot, whilst Nobuyasu is said to have been a cruel, vindictive psychopath who committed acts such as shooting random peasants dead during festivals for no reason other than that they danced poorly.

    The catalyst for their death was apparently Nobunaga’s daughter, Tokuhime, who just so happened to be married to Nobuyasu. It is said that she hated her mother-in-law so much that she concocted the entire plot to have both of them removed.

    Ieyasu’s eldest son, Nobuyasu, who was either a traitor, a violent lunatic, the victim of a vindictive wife, or a combination of all three, depending on who you believe.

    There is another school of thought that suggests Nobunaga had nothing to do with the incident and that Ieyasu and Nobuyasu were instead engaged in a long-term feud. Nobuyasu, apparently supported by his mother, is said to have defied his father’s orders and even been plotting open rebellion, with or without the support of the Takeda.

    Faced with such a direct threat to his authority, Ieyasu sought the advice of his overlord, Nobunaga (who also happened to be Nobuyasu’s father in law), who is said to have instructed that, as the matter was an internal family affair, that Ieyasu should do as he thought best, resulting in the execution of Lady Tsukiyama, and Nobuyasu’s seppuku.

    Whether Nobunaga gave the order or Ieyasu acted on his own initiative, this incident highlights the situation Ieyasu faced in the late 1570s. Subordinate to Nobunaga’s power, and insecure at home, despite his successes, there was still no reason to believe that Ieyasu was going to be anything other than a footnote in another man’s story.

    Ooooh, foreshadowing!

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AF%89%E5%B1%B1%E6%AE%BF
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%BE%E5%B9%B3%E4%BF%A1%E5%BA%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E7%AF%A0%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%96%B9%E3%83%B6%E5%8E%9F%E3%81%AE%E6%88%A6%E3%81%84
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A6%E7%94%B0%E5%8B%9D%E9%A0%BC
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A6%E7%94%B0%E4%BF%A1%E7%8E%84

  • 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
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%EF%BC%9D%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%9A%E5%8F%B7%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%85%B6%E9%95%B7%E4%BC%8F%E8%A6%8B%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B9%E5%BA%83%E5%AF%BA%E9%90%98%E9%8A%98%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%85%B6%E5%B0%9A%E9%81%93
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B9%E5%BA%83%E5%AF%BA
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodo-dono
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E6%AC%A1
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%87%E7%A6%84%E3%83%BB%E6%85%B6%E9%95%B7%E3%81%AE%E5%BD%B9

  • 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.

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%AA%E9%96%A4
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E9%95%B7
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B7%80%E6%AE%BF
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E9%B6%B4%E6%9D%BE
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E9%99%BD%E6%88%90%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87
    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 Five.

    The Second Unifier – Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Part Five.

    In 1586, the powerful Tensho Earthquake brought about a temporary halt to Hideyoshi’s campaign to subdue the entire realm. In the aftermath, he had made peace with, then accepted the formal submission of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and now turned his attention to Japan’s southern island, Kyushu.

    Kyushu.

    As we’ve looked at in previous posts, the most powerful clan in Kyushu at this time were the Shimazu, who were on the verge of conquering the entire island, and were putting enormous pressure on their long-term rivals, the Otomo, who reached out to Hideyoshi for help. Hideyoshi responded by issuing a ceasefire order, the sobujirei, though scholars disagree if this was an order issued on a case-by-case basis, or a formal law brought in my Hideyoshi.

    Regardless of the legal basis, the Otomo swiftly agreed, but the Shimazu remained defiant, with the head of the clan, Shimazu Yoshihisa, going as far as suggesting that the Shimazu, a clan with its long and proud lineage, would never submit to a peasant ‘upstart’ like Hideyoshi. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hideyoshi didn’t take kindly to this and so ordered the invasion of Kyushu, officially in support of the Otomo.

    A statue of Shimazu Yoshihisa. He was the head of a proud clan and believed he had no reason to fear the ‘upstart’ Hideyoshi. He would be proved wrong.
    Ginger1192 – 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=24854517による

    At first, Hideyoshi seems to have tried to avoid committing his own troops to the invasion, instead relying on forces provided by the Mori, Chosokabe and their vassals to do the bulk of the fighting. This strategy may have been wise from a manpower preservation point of view, but the Shimazu proved more than capable of living up to their lineage, defeating the initial landings and giving Hideyoshi the proverbial bloody nose in the process.

    Much like the independent clans of Kii Province and the Chosokabe of Shikoku, however, the Shimazu were about to learn that Hideyoshi was a different kind of ruler, able to marshal resources that even the might of Kyushu could not hope to match. Taking the field himself, Hideyoshi is said to have amassed an army of some 300,000, with all the requisite supplies and resources to support such a massive force.

    Ashigaru. Far from the popular image of massed ranks of ferocious samurai, armies in the late Sengoku Period were largely made up of semi-professional troops armed with firearms, spears, and mass-produced swords.

    This was possibly the largest army ever assembled in Japan before the modern era (though sources vary), and the Shimazu were swiftly overwhelmed. It is important to note that, despite the overwhelming advantage in numbers, Hideyoshi’s force was not a single, massive bludgeon. He had proven himself a skilled strategist, able to deploy significant force in key areas, using innovative tactics to wear down defenders and capture strategic castles and other territory, rarely relying on brute force to break enemy forces.

    The Shimazu, much like the Chosokabe before them, fought bravely, but they were outmatched from the start, and eventually, Yoshihisa, who had claimed his clan would never submit to an ‘upstart’, was forced to seek peace. The terms were harsh; the Shimazu were forced to give up almost all of Kyushu, and were confined to Satsuma Province in the southwest of the island (in the western half of modern Kagoshima Prefecture).

    Satsuma 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=1691755

    The rest of Kyushu was divided up amongst Hideyoshi’s supporters, with the Otomo (who the invasion had nominally been in support of) receiving some, but not all of their lands back.

    It is at this point that Hideyoshi turned his attention to a group that have only been briefly mentioned thus far, but who had a significant presence on Kyushu, the Jesuits. We’ll have a detailed look at Portuguese activities in Japan in their own post, but to summarise, after the first arrival of Portuguese merchants in Japan in 1543, they had slowly, but steadily expanded their influence through commerical interests, and the spread of Christianity, ultimately being based at the port of Nagasaki.

    A contemporary depiction of a Portuguese trading ship of a type commonly seen at Nagasaki.

    Outside of Kyushu, the attitude of powerful Daimyo towards these Christians seems to have been fairly ambivalent, with most tolerating their presence, but few converting to the foreign religion. Hideyoshi himself issued permits for Christian priests to preach their religion in Osaka, and, according to some sources, he asked Jesuit Priest Gaspar Coelho to assist him in building an armada to be used in the conquest of China once Japan had been unified.

    This changed after the subjugation of Kyushu. Sources differ on exactly what occurred, with some blaming the machinations of the native Japanese Buddhist clergy, but the short version is that Hideyoshi became aware of the fact that Nagasaki had effectively been handed over to complete Portuguese control. They had fortified it and were apparently using it as a port through which non-Christian Japanese were sold out of the country as slaves.

    A contemporary image of Portuguese at Nagasaki. Though the trade was primarily in silks, spices, and silver, rumours of Japanese slaves being transported out of the country were enough to earn Hideyoshi’s ire.

    The issue of Japanese being sold as slaves by Portuguese merchants remains controversial (surprise, surprise), with debates raging over the extent of the practice and how involved the Japanese themselves were. There are contemporary sources which indicate that Japanese slaves could be found across Asia, and the concept of ‘unfree labour’ was already well established in Japan at this time, ranging from effective serfdom to labourers convicted to a term of service as punishment for a crime.

    Another issue is that one of the primary sources describing Portuguese involvement in slavery also describes them as a people that skin cows and horses alive, and eat the meat raw with their bare hands, suggesting that the purpose of such ‘records’ was more about demonising the Portuguese than recording actual events.

    A contemporary depiction of Portuguese in Japan. Though not all sources paint them in a negative light, the foreign visitors were often looked on as strange and even barbarous by comparison.

    Regardless of how extensive the trade was, it provided a convenient enough excuse for Hideyoshi to act. Though highlighting the fortifications at Nagasaki, and the selling of Japanese as slaves, modern historians more generally agree that the move against the Christians was more about consolidating power, as Hideyoshi believed that Christian theology was a direct threat to the traditional Japanese belief in a divine Emperor, from whom Hideyoshi’s power ultimately derived.

    Another theory is that Hideyoshi wanted to control trade with the West, believing (erroneously) that the trade was controlled by the Jesuits, when in reality, religious and commercial interests were separate, and often in conflict (the Jesuits, for example, actively opposed enslaving Japanese) This theory suggests that Hideyoshi hoped that removing the priests would allow him to take direct control of the trade.

    A contemporary image of a Christian Mass in Japan. Hideyoshi believed that the priests controlled the merchants.

    Whether he was motivated by political, religious, or economic reasons (or all three), Hideyoshi issued what became known as the Bateren expulsion order (bateren being the Japanese word for Christian priests, derived from the Latin Patren) in 1587. What followed was a brief campaign of repression against Christianity; the Jesuit base in Kyoto was burned, and territory around Nagasaki was seized.

    Ultimately, however, Hideyoshi seems to have largely ignored his own order, keeping several Christian priests as interpreters and scribes, and allowing trade to continue practically unmolested. For now, at least, Hideyoshi had bigger problems than Christian priests.

    Hojo Ujinao

    Sources
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89
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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Japan