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Sengoku Jidai

Zach └(￣-￣└))

The Sengoku Jidai or warring states period is the time through 1467 and 1567 where Japan was in a constant civil war. Local warlords called Daimyo fought for local control. It wasn’t until 1603 when the country was finally brought out of the chaotic state it was in for more than one hundred years. The unification of Japan began in 1548, just 5 years after the introduction of the arquebus in Japanese weaponry.

In  1548 the Oda invaded the much weaker clan, the Matsudaira. The Matsudaira outpowers the Imagawa for an alliance. They accept, but they demand the eldest son of the Matsudaira leader as a hostage. The Matsudaira leader, knowing he is backed against a wall reluctantly agrees, but the Imigawa transport is ambushed by the Oda. The Oda demands that the Matsudaira break their alliance with the Imagawa or they will kill the son. With the fate of his clan, land and life on the line, he responds with something that may seem selfish. He tells them to kill his son. That way he could prove to Imigawa how committed he is to their alliance. The Oda have no idea what to do with him other than keep him in a temple for years. Until Imagawa seizes the town where the boy is kept. Conveniently the old leader of the Matsudaira just passed away meaning that the boy is now the Imagawa. He was a promising leader and his name will go down in history as Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In 1560, the combined Matsudaira and Imagawa forces pushed into Oda land. Tokugawa proves himself as a general by taking key fortifications. Meanwhile, the Imagawa land, pushing them all the way back to their last stronghold. They plan to take the castle and continue the march to Kyoto, the capital, of the time.

In the stronghold, the young Oda Nobunaga proposes an attack on the resting Imagawa. His advisors begged him to stay in the castle or surrender. He refuses and marches to the Imagawa. He collects men on the way amassing a small army of two thousand men. He knows that he is going up against a force numbering in the tens of thousands, so he couldn’t use conventional tactics. He sends some of the peasants on top of a hill to pose as his army. The Imagawa forces, knowing the weakened state of the Oda, continued to party, knowing that they could take the hill with ease. The main army creeps through a back road unknown to the Imagawa. A storm rolls in. The Imagawa return to their tents. The Oda sneak into the camp and slaughter the drunk, unprepared, and confused Imagawa. Most men don’t have their weapons and desert while others are killed on the spot. The leader of the Imagawa was killed in the onslaught. Without a leader or army, the Imagwa land is quickly seized by nearby clans.

Seeing the weak state of his former ally, the young Tokugawa Ieyasu joins Oda. With this new alliance, Oda Nobunaga will be able to look to take Kyoto with the Imagawa protecting their flank from the larger clans to the east. These clans were the Hojo, Iesuki, and the Takeda. Now with his flank secured Oda Nobunaga could focus his army on the march to Kyoto. Between him and the capital were two clans, the Azai and the Saito. Oda married his sister to the leader of the Azai creating an alliance. His father in law was the leader of the Saito so he began negotiating an alliance with him. The overtures were going well until his son killed him and declared war.

The Saito put up resistance, so Oda Nobunaga calls the help of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was one of Oda’s best generals specializing in diplomacy. Using lies, treats, bribes, and promises he was able to win over a large portion of the Saito forces.

The Saito fell quickly but there was one fortress that Oda could not take. He had lacked a base of operations. A place to gather forces and attack from. Toyotomi Hideyoshi planned to build a castle at the foot of the fortress. Legend has it that he did this impossible task overnight. Despite the massive success that the Oda were having the fortress still wouldn’t fall, but yet again they had Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He had been talking to the local peasants and he had been told of a secret route into the castle. Oda gives him the finest men in the army and they set off. Masked by the darkness of night they sneak into the fortress undetected. As the sun rose and a silhouette rose over the temple the gunpowder cache exploded. The shocked soldiers scramble to the walls where they see thousands of men rush the stronghold. The confused men are in disarray; some believe the fortress has fallen, others believe that they are under a full-scale attack. The general’s orders don’t get to the soldiers. In the confusion, the  Toyotomi’s men open the main gate and the last of the Saito falls.

Oda, now in possession of the Saito land, was known as a conqueror and many began to fear him. If he couldn’t justify his march on the capital, the other daimyo might form a coalition to overwhelm his limited forces. This was until 1568 when a man claimed to be the rightful shogun and asked Oda to restore him to the throne. He agrees, knowing that this was the opportunity to seize Kyoto. He declares that he is going to restore the rightful shogun and those who opposed him would be destroyed by the combined Tokugawa-Nobunaga forces. The few clans in his way were much smaller and were taken by relative ease. Oda was in Kyoto before 1569.

Once in Kyoto, the real problems began. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihara sent letters to nearby Daimyo to come and kill Oda. Oda was the only one who threatened his position. While Oda believed that he was just a figurehead and that he was the true leader of japan. He made Yoshihara send out letters inviting the other daimyo to a dinner party where he will kill all those who could threaten his position. Leader of the Askra, another powerful clan, sees through the plot and refuses. Oda declares war on the Askra for denting rightful shogun.

Between Oda and the Askra were the Azai, the clan in which Oda married his sister too. With their family alliance, Oda marched his army through the Azai land to reach Asuka. The Astra was allied with the Azai so when the Oda were crossing the Azai they turned on the Oda and declared war. Oda was now surrounded by Askra and his former ally in the Azai. Oda, furious, ordered a full-on assault on the Azai in hopes of killing his brother in law. His general was able to convince him to not go on the suicide charge and that they could sneak through the backroads. As they quietly moved through the countryside back to their homeland they were almost in sight of the enemy. Oda furious of his brother-in-law’s betrayal he was going to murder him but when a ninja shot him twice from a tree everyone knew that he was going to murder everybody

Once back in Kyoto he rallied his forces. He called upon Tokugwawa his army and the intelligence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. With his loyal allies by his side, he marched back into Azai land in hopes of killing his brother in law. He got his opportunity on July 30th, 1570 when the Oda forces lined up against the Azai and the Tokugawa forces lined up against the Asakura. They fight in the Ane river. The river turns red from the blood of the soldiers. Oda is being pushed back but  Tokugawa’s forces have completely decimated Asakura and they flank the Azai. The overwhelmed Azai collapsed but they inflicted massive casualties on the Oda forces.

The Mishi clan was one of the smaller clans that had been conquered by Oda. They see the weakened state of the Oda they ally with the Ikko Ikki warrior monks. They were a force to be reckoned with. They were some of the most elite warriors in all of Japan. They were a menacing force located at the temple of Ishiyama Honganji. Oda, fearing that they were going to invade him, sent 30000 men to eliminate the threat.

They attempt a myriad of different attacks but to no avail. As a result, they camp out in front of the walls of Ishiyama Honganji for 11 years. With the bulk of his forces at the siege, he is caught completely exposed when the now recovered Azai and Asukara allies with the warrior monks of Enryakuji declare war. Oda has to take the shame of allying with the Azai and Asuka so he could destroy them. Enryakji who were based on the mountain of Hiei, a mountain visible from Kyoto.

Oda, not willing to go through an 11-year siege, orders his men to light the tree line on fire. He gives the order to murder every single woman man and child fleeing the mountain. The remainder of the tragic 1571 was spent finally taking the land of smaller clans, massacring monks, and destroying the Azai and Asakura.

The Shinano, a large clan to the East, plan their march on Kyoto and  Nobunaga but first in their way is Tokugawa. Tokugawa, oblivious of the attack, scrambles to gather a small force of men to delay the attack. He sets up his arquebusiers on a plane but the Shinano have their infamous cavalry and they smash Tokugawa’s forces. He retreats to a nearby castle. Legend has it that all that remained of his forces were five men. Tokugawa, probably taking inspiration from the time Zhuge Liang defended a castle by playing the guqin on top of the wall, got one of his men to light all the castle lights and throw open the gates. Then he sent his loyal ninja Hattori Hanzo and a band of ninja to attack the bulk of the Shinano forces. The Shino were too intimidated by the confidence of Tokugawa they assumed that he must have reinforcements. The Shinano, afraid of the army and their neighbours invading retreat.

In 1573 they returned, determined to destroy Tokugawa and make their way to Kyoto. The conquest seemed promising until their leader Takeda Shingen was killed in the Battle of Mikatagahara. His successor Takeda Katsuyori was a much less capable general and was pushed back. He plans on retreating after taking Nagashino Castle. The siege is hindered by the determined troops but they are pushed farther and farther in. They are pushed back to the final wall. A man named Sunayamon volunteers to sneak out and call for reinforcements.

He dived into the river from the highest point, the highest wall. The river was rigid with bells but he snuck past. He ran miles to Tokugawa, Oda and Hideyoshi came to the aid of the castle. Sunayamon runs ahead to tell the men that help is coming but he is captured on the way. Takeda Katsuyori offers him a deal, and he tells the men in the castle that no help is coming. He agrees. The next morning he is put on a crucifix. It’s quite all you can hear are the cherry blossoms being carried in the wind. He yells to the besieged men that help is coming and then he is stabbed to death. When the reinforcements arrive Takeda Shingen is surrounded. He is forced to move the bulk of his forces to face the coalition. The battle was completely one-sided. The Shinano is destroyed but not before they make an alliance with the monks of Shaima Hongki and arguably the strongest clan in Japan, the Uaski.

The leader of the Uaski, Uaski Kenshin is believed to be the reincarnation of the Buddhist god of war and in their first encounter, Oda’s forces are smashed. This forces Oda to put his conquest on pause and build his army backup. Meanwhile, Uaski does the same. Uaski returns in 1557 with an army so large it seemed as though they could crush anyone in his way to unite Japan. Right before he marched out of his home territory he died of a stroke with no heir. With the Uaski in disarray, Oda is able to safely eliminate all of the remaining large clans. With most of the conquest of Japan done, Tokugawa and Oda take a vacation.

While Oda tours his land he is interrupted by a message from Hideyoshi. He needs assistance with a siege. Oda tells Akechi Mitsuhide to bring the army to Hideyoshi while he attends some business at the temple. Akashi Mitsuhide tells his army that the enemy was in the castle. The confused men storm the castle; they kill their own men unknowingly. Oda sees now that he has no voice and commits suicide.

Tokugawa was now surrounded by Mitsuchide. He was hundreds of miles from his homeland. Luckily he was accompanied by a few men, one of them being Hattori Hanzo. Tokugawa and his men follow Hattori Hanzo through a secret passage through the country while picking up other ninjas for their cause. Meanwhile, Mitchuhide sends letters to all the Daimyo of Japan to join him and unify Japan. Hideyoshi intercepts the letters and attacks him. The unprepared forces are quickly destroyed by Hideyoshi.

With the traitor now dead all the major daimyo of Japan meet to decide who would be the next shogun. The heir was killed by Mitchie. They decided on Oda’s 2-year-old son. Hideyoshi knew with the new child shogun he was able to take control over the position.

With all of Oda’s land and the army under his control, Hideyoshi suppresses smaller clans and conquers more warrior monks. With the final unification of Japan behind him, he has a dispute with Tokugawa. They both know a war would destroy the unification that they had both worked so hard for. As a result, Tokugawa Hideyoshi acknowledged Hideyoshi as his lord and Hideyoshi let Tokugawa’s province govern themselves nearly independently.

With the country in relative peace so Hideyoshi surveyed the country to see what taxes to impose. He decided to tax each province depending on their rice output. Most importantly of all, he stopped the change of hierarchy. Peasants were peasants for their entire life. He also put restrictions on travel. That way farmers were forced to work their land. He confiscated the peasant’s swords.

The only thing preventing Japan from peace and stability was the thousands of Samurai with their own agendas. Seeing nothing fit for them to do, he sent them to conquer China, which resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the Japanese. Despite the foreign conflict the Japanese people lived in peace until the death of Hideyoshi. In 1558 Hideyoshi died with only a 5-year-old son. He entrusted 5 of the most powerful men in japan to look over his son until he is able to rule. One of these men was Tokugawa. After the failed Korean campaign people began to consider having Tokugawa as shogun but others began to fear his growing power. Ishida Mitsunari, a high ranking official who had grown bitter towards Tokugawa for disregarding his political advice for the duration of the war, had plotted to assassinate him. Not only would he get his revenge but with the most powerful Daimyo eliminated it could be an opportunity to amass more power.

He planned to make it seem as though the leader of the Miata, another one of the powerful daimyo, was behind the plot. Tokugawa had many people loyal to him at all political levels and soon learned of the plot. He informs the Maeda and for it, the Maeda pledge their loyalty to Tokugawa. Ishida was set to be assassinated by one of Tokugawa’s generals. Desperate, he ran to Tokugawa himself to beg for mercy, which he granted. After that, he immediately began to build an army to oppose the one of Tokugawa. He allied with Uesuki Kagekatsu descendant of  Uesuki Kenshin.

With the imposing war about to begin both sides consulted their allies. Then in 1600 the Uesugi and Ashieda come storming into the Tokugawa land but are halted at a relatively small siege at a border castle with only 2000 men while they had 40000 men besieging the castle. This brought the Tokugawas allies to organize an offensive and destroy the Uesugi.

That left Tokugawa to face off against Asheda. Both sides positioned their armies at the Sekigahara river while one of Asheda’s allies positioned a large portion of men on top of a hill overlooking the river.

When the two armies fought they were evenly matched but Asheda saw an opportunity. He ordered the army a top the hill to flank Tokugawa but the leader of the army, Kobuka Hidaoki didn’t respond. This was not surprising to Ashieda. Neither side knew who Kobuka was loyal to. The three were no stranger to each other. During the Korean campaign Ashieda accused Kobuka of being a reckless and incompotent general so Hideyoshi confiscated Kabaka's land for his failure. Tokugawa was able to intervene and the land was returned to Kobuka. Kobuka, still bitter toward Isheda helped him with previous sieges and was offered great wealth for his services. To Kobuka revenge on Ashieda was better than the unlimit wealth that Ishieda offered and so the Ashieda force caught off guard was dispersed. Kobuka’s forces had slammed into the flank of the Ashieda men and they were sent into a panic. Men deserted while others were cut down on the spot. At the end of the day Tokugawa was able to win the battle and with that become the leader of Japan.

He was declared Shogun by the emperor in 1603 and retired only 2 years later to let his son take his place. Thus the Sengoku Jidai came to a close and Japan was at peace for centuries to come