Feudal Japan1558-1615

By: Cristian Alexander Lopez

Click the link for a YouTube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dr6-xz66gI&feature=related

What’s the Point?

Well, as we all know, we hardly even covered Japan, and when we did it was a minuscule amount of information given

So I have done this PowerPoint to give you an insight to Japanese History during The Sengoku, Azuchi-Momoyama, and very early Edo period

This power point will be split into two different parts the Oda Japan and the Toyotomi/Tokugawa Japan

Oda Japan

In the year 1558 a man named Oda Nobunaga took control of his father’s, Oda Nobuhide, clan which was the Oda

The Oda clan at the time was in a rather stressful situation. They shared a border with the Imagawa clan (with whom they were at war) to the south east.

the Saito clan of the Mino province was to the north. They had a new leader Saito Yoshitatsu who was hostile to the Oda clan

In June 1560 Imagawa Yoshimoto assembled a force of 20,000-25,000 men from his provinces of Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa and marched to the Oda of the Owari province and assaulted Washizu castle.

Nobunaga attempted a sally from the rear of the castle that wasn’t surrounded and joined his small force with a larger ashigaru army he had waiting for him. He then marched on the unsuspecting Imagawa army.

Battle of Okehazama, 1560

Okehazama (cont.) It happened to be that the Imagawa

were very confident of their position and sure of victory. So sure that they began to celebrate their campaign course so far.

After learning of the Imagawa position, Nobunaga had his clan flags put up behind a hill to make the Imagawa believe the Oda were resting, when actually Nobunaga began to move closer to the Imagawa camp

Next an amazing thing happened! It began to rain on a clear day! The Oda attacked the Imagawa and killed Yoshimoto! The Oda beat the Imagawa!

Aftermath of Okehazama

This battle changed the fate of Japan completely.

The Imagawa clan would soon be absorbed by the Oda and the old Imagawa vassals would join the Oda. One clan was the Matsudaira clan who were poorly treated by the Imagawa, but would have a great destiny in their future.

The Saito clan were destroyed by the Oda and Nobunaga even received letter of congratulations from Emperor Ogimachi of Japan

This was later followed by a brief war with the Asai clan of Omi province for control of Mino province

A Map of Japan for Reference

The Path to Kyoto The Oda and Asai conflict quickly

dissolved when Oda gave his sister Oichi to Asai Nagamasa to be wed. Together they had three daughters, and often popular culture romanticizes their relationship.

In 1567 the soon to be shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, appealed to Nobunaga for help.

The Miyoshi and Matsunaga clans of the Kinai region in central Honshu declared Yoshiaki’s nephew to be the proper heir, so Yoshiaki chose to have Nobunaga help him as he was the strongest friendly warlord in the area.

Nobunaga then successfully pushed the two clans out of Kyoto (the capital of Japan at the time) and had Yoshiaki named shogun, though Nobunaga was the one who really ran the show.

Anegawa, 1570

In 1570 Nobunaga had Yoshiaki request the presence of the Daimyo of the local clans to attend a certain banquet.

However one of the warlords named Asakura Yoshikage of the Asakura in Echizen province refused as he wanted to be the champion of the Shogun instead of Nobunaga. Thus Nobunaga went out to destroy him as a result.

During his march to the Echizen province Nobunaga was told that the Asai clan had betrayed the Oda and marched to assist the Asakura. The reason for their betrayal was simply that the Asakura and Asai had enjoyed an alliance for decades and Nagamasa did not want to sever the ties between the two clans.

Anegawa

Sadly for the Asai clan the Oda clan had two allies to support them in this war: The Toyotomi clan led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Tokugawa Clan led by Ieyasu Tokugawa (formerly the Matsudaira clan)

Not to long however the Miyoshi clan joined the anti-Oda coalition against the Oda coalition

Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa vs. Asai, Asakura, and Miyoshi

Battle of Anegawa, 1570

In July Nobunaga and Ieyasu joined for a force numbering 28,000 soldiers and marched toward the Asai stronghold of Odani castle.

Asai Nagamasa and Asakura Kagetake joined forces to number 20,000 soldiers and met Nobunaga’s and Ieyasu’s army at Anegawa river.

While the Asai fought harder than the other three armies the combined Asai-Asakura army were eventually defeated by the Oda and Tokugawa combined army.

The Takeda Enter the Fight

The Miyoshi clan eventually and slowly slipped out of the war as they had pressure coming from their Shikoku provinces of Awa and Awaji.

In the year 1572 while the Asai, Asakura and Ikko monks were putting up small hopeless wars, the famed and powerful Takeda clan led by The Tiger of Kai, Takeda Shingen, began to advance westward from their Shinano, Kai, and Suruga provinces and attacked the Tokugawa in northern Totomi province and were merely kept at bay because of small Oda reinforcements.

Meanwhile the Takeda sent other soldiers to begin attacking the Oda in Mino province and captured Iwamura castle, which infuriated Nobunaga as it was an embarrassing event.

Fall of the Old Shogunate and the Tiger of Kai

Nobunaga was blessed in the year 1573 for the mighty Takeda Shingen had died, it is not known the cause of his death however.

The Death of Lord Shingen proved to cripple the Takeda clan and never properly recover from it.

While the war around Kyoto continued, Ashikaga Yoshiaki broke his former alliance with Nobunaga to help the Asai and Asakura.

This proved to be a foolish move as on May third Nobunaga surrounded Kyoto thus forcing Yoshiaki to negotiate a temporary peace.

A Map of Japan for Reference

Victory for the Kinai Region With the Takeda off their backs for some

time the Oda then turned to the war with the Asai and Asakura.

Yoshiaki afraid of Nobunaga now barricaded himself in a fort in 1573, his plan was to hold Nobunaga long enough for the Asai and Asakura to attack Nobunaga from behind.

The fact Yoshiaki put himself in a very well defended position helped Nobunaga get the wind of his plan and he reacted at once attacking the Yoshiaki’s fort and eventually breaking through with time to spare.

Yoshiaki then began pleading for peace and his life, Nobunaga granted his plea by banishing Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki would be the last of the Ashikaga shoguns, while Nobunaga would rule from Kyoto, but refuse the title of shogun for unknown reasons.

Fall of the Asai, Ikko Monks and Asakura

With Yoshiaki taken care of he immediately set off north and ambushed the Asakura army and continued to chase them to Echizen province and defeated them with Asakura Yoshikage committing seppuku. Asakura Kagetake continued the Asakura clan under Oda rule.

Asai Nagamasa was then quickly defeated at Odani castle in Omi province, but gave his wife and three daughters his brother-in-law, Nobunaga, before his death.

With Asai and Asakura defeated and the Takeda currently quiet, Nobunaga then took revenge on the Ikko monks who have been assisting the Asai and Asakura. He assaulted their castle of Nagashima and burned it down killing the warrior monks as well as many innocent children and women, around 20,000 people died. However this would not be Nobunaga’s only massacre.

Oda’s Vassals Before the battle of Nagashino it is important to

recognize the few notable generals under Oda Nobunaga. The first is Akechi Mitsuhide. He once served under the

Saito clan and later the Ashikaga for a short time until he was recruited by Nobunaga. Mitsuhide became known rather quickly for being a very capable commander and administrator. He did not like Nobunaga very much for after granting peace with a daimyo, Nobunaga killed the man instead and the people under the Daimyo’s rile became enraged captured Mitsuhide’s mother and executed her. Nobunaga often did throw public insults at him that Mitsuhide never did quite forgive him for.

The second is Tokugawa Ieyasu who was once called Matsudaira Takechiyo gained much territory under Nobunaga being one of his strongest generals.

The third is Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was born a peasant farmer’s son who eventually joined the Oda military and quickly rose through the ranks and became known as a great general and was made fun by Nobunaga being called “monkey”.

Nagashino and the Takeda Although the Takeda clan had just

recently lost their famed lord only two years ago, Takeda Katsuyori, the successor to Shingen, went on the offense in 1575 by quickly taking a castle in the Totomi province that belonged to the Tokugawa.

The Takeda army then began to lay siege to Nagashino castle. The brave Tokugawa garrison managed to push the Takeda out enough to send out a messenger to alert Tokugawa Ieyasu of the siege.

However Nobunaga did not want to send his large army away from Kyoto to help their ally. Yet, Ieyasu threatened to join the Takeda against him if he did not send support. This did convince Nobunaga to help the Tokugawa.

Map of the Battle of Nagashino

The Oda, who marched with 30,000 and the Tokugawa who marched with 8,000 went on to Nagashino with piles of lumber.

Nobunaga then placed barricades made from the lumber were he used his riflemen to fire at the Takeda cavalry from behind the wooden barricades. There much of the powerful Takeda cavalry were defeated.

Nobunaga then sent his flanking force around a small hill to attack the Takeda while the main army advanced on the Takeda’s main line. Takeda Katsuyori was then defeated while losing a large number of soldiers and eventually be easily destroyed by the Oda.

A Map of Japan for Reference

Death and Success With the Takeda defeated and conquered,

the Uesugi clan took to hostile feelings to the Oda.

The Uesugi clan were the legendary rivals to the Takeda. Led by Uesugi Kenshin, he came to a bloody stalemate at the fourth battle of Kawanakajima with the Takeda.

Kenshin was a master tactician and was very religious as he became a monk. Kenshin was nicknamed “The god of War” and the “Dragon of Echigo”.

While the Oda were preparing for an inevitable war with the Uesugi, the leader of the Uesugi, Kenshin, had died. The Oda no longer were threatened from the East.

The Incident at Honnoji The Oda were at their height, having defeated

the Takeda, the Uesugi in disarray over Kenshin’s death, the old Shogunate removed, and the Tokugawa watching the Eastern borders.

Nobunaga then looked to his western borders were the Mori clan controlled most of the Chugoku region . He then sent two of his better generals to invade their lands, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide.

As they went off, Nobunaga settled down in the Honnoji temple in Kyoto to relax. However the Akechi army came at the gates of the temple (which was not garrisoned) and began to burn and invade the temple.

Nobunaga then had his head cut off by one of his retainers and told him to make sure Mitsuhide does not get it. The retainer jumped into the flames with the head. Oda Nobunaga had died, betrayed by Mitsuhide.

Hideyoshi’s Climb to Power After Mitsuhide killed Nobunaga he then went

to the imperial court and made peace with them, and some accounts say he became shogun. In fact that is were the Japanese saying “To be Shogun for thirteen days.” comes from.

Mitsuhide then sent a letter to the Mori clan for an alliance against the Toyotomi. Fate however intervened by having the messenger intercepted by the Toyotomi.

Hideyoshi then set out to finish off the Akechi clan. At the battle of Yamazaki, with Hideyoshi’s 20,000 and Mitsuhide’s 10,000 they fought and the Akechi were defeated.

Although it is commonly accepted that Mitsuhide died at that battle, it is also said that he escaped and started a new life as a Buddhist monk named Tenkai who eventually become a Daisojo, the highest rank of priesthood.

Japan when Hideyoshi Took Power

Conquest of Japan The Toyotomi and the Tokugawa had a

short war between each other to become Nobunaga’s heir. In the end peace was made and Hideyoshi was the successor, although he still feared the Tokugawa’s might.

Hideyoshi then began his campaign that would bring all of Japan under his rule. He attacked the Hojo clan and they quickly surrendered. Date Masamune the Date clan that unified the Oshu (Mutsu) province pledged loyalty to him.

The Mori soon fell and marched with the Toyotomi. The Chosokabe clan quickly fell and were reduced to the Tosa province only. Hideyoshi saved the Otomo clam from disaster and later subjugated the Shimazu clan. All of Japan was under his rule now.

A Map of Hideyoshi’s Conquests

Hideyoshi’s Ambition Hideyoshi was not eligible for the title of

shogun as he did not come from nobility, he was a peasant farmer’s son

His control of Japan however did not satisfy him, he wanted to control all of Asia. In the year 1592 Japanese troops landed in Korea.

The campaign in Korea went well for a while as they had control over most of the peninsula, until the Ming soldiers came to “assist” the Koreans.

The fight to get out of Korea was tough, but two individuals who did very well were Yoshihiro Shimazu who had defeated a large Chinese force with his smaller army and Kobayakawa Hideaki who performed an amazing sally out of a trapped castle.

The second Korean invasion went bad from the start and ended quickly.

The Bugyo and Regents After the wars in Korea, Hideyoshi, who

was very ill and old, asked ten of his strongest vassals to watch over his son Hideyori while he came of age.

The five members of the regents were Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Mori Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, and Uesugi Kagekatsu. They were charged with ruling until Hideyori came of age.

The five members of the Bugyo were Ishida Mitsunari, Natsuka Masaie, Maeda Gen-I, Mashita Nagamori, and Asano Nagamasa. They were charged with domestic areas until Hideyori came of age.

Hideyoshi died on September 18, 1598.

The Road to Sekigahara The death of Hideyoshi did not ensure

his son of safety, as his death caused a power race and ultimately collision between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had decided to overthrow Hideyori, but was halted by Ishida Mitsunari.

They then both began gathering alliances for the upcoming war, the way things went, it was basically a east vs. west war.

However, Mitsunari’s bad treatment of his fellow supporters would cost him the war.

Battle of Sekigahara, 1600 Near the small village of Sekigahara

the two armies confronted in Mino province, each with over 80,000 soldiers.

Hideaki who had already thought about defecting to Ieyasu’s side was mistreated by Mitsunari.

Ieyasu was in a valley an was surrounded by Mitsunari’s soldiers, so he fired at Hideaki and his men who weren’t taking action. They then responded by attacking Mitsunari’s rear.

The quick change of events finished the battle within the day. The Tokugawa had won!

Siege of Osaka In 1615, Hideyori was old enough to

claim his position of power. However Ieyasu decided to fight him.

This campaign did not last too long as most of the Toyotomi supporters such as Mitsunari were killed at the battle of Sekigahara.

Before too long Osaka was under siege and it’s defenders fell.

The last threat to the new Tokugawa Shogunate was gone. The Mori clan was reduced to the Chosu domain, Nagato province, and the Shimazu were confined to the Satsuma province. They would one day overthrow the Shogunate as the Cho-Sat alliance.

Special Thanks to:

Ms. Ball and Mr. Banfield for helping me out.

The Total War Center (TWC) for their support.

Total War: Shogun 2, for getting me introduced to Japanese history.

Sengoku Basara for keeping me interested in Japanese history.

And for the Samurai Archives for their ton of information!

Bibliography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dr6-xz66gI&feature=related

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Tokugawa_Ieyasu

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Toyotomi_Hideyoshi

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Oda_Nobunaga

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Akechi_Mitsuhide