#Yamana Sozen

[noticiasarquelogicasjaponesas]

Sean bienvenidos japonistasarqueologicos a una nueva entrega, esta ocasión os hablaré del castillo de Takeda dicho esto pongase comodo que empezamos. - El castillo, se localiza en la ciudad de Asago, prefectura de Hyogo, data del siglo XV del periodo Muromachi, en este periodo podemos encontrar el clan del shogun Ashikaga, fue construido por Sozen Yamana, el daimyo de la provincia. - Entre sus Restos podemos encontrar : Muros de piedra, fosos, pozos , también fue escenario de la batalla entre el ejército de Hidenaga Hashiba y el ejército de Terunobu Otagaki. - ¿Dónde se localiza el castillo Takeda? Se localiza en el monte Kojo, Oda Nobunaga derrotó al castillo con su ejército en varias ocasiones en el siglo XVI, mientras que Hideyoshi Hashiba tomaba el castillo de Ueda, su hermano pequeño Hidenaga Hashiba condujo a 3000 soldados al castillo de Takeda y marchó desde el paso de Mayumi hasta Tajima , el 28 de octubre de 1600 el castillo takeda fue abandonado. - Espero que os haya gustado y nos vemos en próximas publicaciones de Japón que pasen una buena semana. - 日本の考古学者を歓迎します。今回は竹田城についてお話ししますので、楽にしていてください。 - 兵庫県朝来市にあるこの城は、15世紀の室町時代に遡り、この時代には将軍足利氏の一族を見出すことができ、県内大名の山名宗全が築城したものである。 - 羽柴秀長軍と太田垣輝信軍の戦いの舞台にもなった。 - 竹田城はどこにあるのですか？古城山に位置し、16世紀には織田信長が何度も軍を率いて城を破り、羽柴秀吉が上田城を手に入れる一方、弟の羽柴秀長が3000人の兵を率いて竹田城に入り、真弓峠から但馬に進軍、1600年10月28日に竹田城は放棄された。 - また、次の記事でお会いしましょう。 - Welcome Japanese archaeologists to a new installment, this time I will tell you about Takeda Castle, so make yourself comfortable and let's get started. - The castle, located in the city of Asago, Hyogo prefecture, dates back to the 15th century Muromachi period, in this period we can find the clan of the shogun Ashikaga, it was built by Sozen Yamana, the daimyo of the province. - Among its remains we can find: stone walls, moats, wells, it was also the scene of the battle between the army of Hidenaga Hashiba and the army of Terunobu Otagaki. - Where is Takeda Castle located? It is located on Mount Kojo, Oda Nobunaga defeated the castle with his army several times in the 16th century, while Hideyoshi Hashiba took Ueda castle, his younger brother Hidenaga Hashiba led 3000 soldiers to Takeda castle and marched from Mayumi pass to Tajima, on 28 October 1600 Takeda castle was abandoned. - I hope you liked it and see you in the next Japan posts have a nice week.

[yuriko-mukami]

"Umh... I wrote some notes for the history class. I hope I got everything correctly but, of course, it can be I memorized something in a wrong way..."

"If someone wants to check it out, here are my sheets. Feel free to add more notes and corrections to it."

Yuriko’s History Notes

~The Sengoku Period~

The Onin War

The Onin War was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477 and initiated the Sengoku period. Onin refers to the era when the war started while it ended during the Bunmei era. It was a dispute between a high official Hosokawa Katsumoto and a regional lord Yamana Sozen but it escalated into a nationwide civil war that collapsed the feudal system of Japan.

Daimyo to know

Oda Nobunaga - the first of the three great unifiers

Toyotomi Hideyoshi - the second of the three great unifiers and the man who ended the Sengoku period

Tokugawa Ieyasu - the third of the three great unifiers, the only one out of the three who managed to receive the title of shogun and created Tokugawa shogunate which ushered in the Edo period. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan for 260 years.

Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Oda Nobunaga was one of the great three unifiers of Japan, the other two being Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide and was born on 23 June 1534 in Owari Province. In his youth, he was known as the Fool of Owari.

Tanegashima, the matchlock guns, arrived in Japan by the Portuguese Empire and were used by the samurai class and their footsoldiers. The guns changed the way of the war in Japan forever. Oda Nobunaga ordered 500 of these guns to his army which gave him a huge advantage in the war. He was also interested in trading with the Europeans. He collected pieces of Western art but also arms and armor and was probably one of the very first Japanese who wear European clothes. He was also a patron of Jesuit missionaries in Japan and supported the rise of the first Christian church in Kyoto.

Before his death, Oda Nobunaga was the most powerful warlord (daimyo) in Japan. He died at Honno-ji when Akeshi Mitsuhide surrounded the temple with his army. Oda Nobunaga committed seppuku (suicide) and told his page, Mori Ranmaru to run. Mori set the temple on fire so that no one could decapitate Oda. After that Akeshi also attacked Oda Nobutada, the eldest son and heir of Nobunaga. Also, Nobutada committed suicide.

Akeshi Mitsuhide didn’t manage to hold the power after his deeds because Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s army defeated him, and he was murdered by bandits when he was fleeing. That made Toyotomi as Oda’s successor.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi started his life on 17 March 1537 as a peasant. He became Oda Nobunaga’s retainer and sandal bearer but continued unifying Japan after his lord had died, finally ending the Sengoku period by thwarting the Kunohe Rebelion launched by Kunohe Masazane against his rival Nanbu Nobunao. The rebellion spread across Mutsu Province. Toyotomi Hideyoshi backed Nobunao along with Tokugawa Ieyasu, sending a large army to defeat the rebels. Kunohe Masazane was outnumbered, and he surrendered Kunohe castle. That was the final battle of the Sengoku period and completed the unification of Japan.

About Sengoku Period’s Meaning for Japan’s future

After the Onin war, the feudal system collapsed, and the Sengoku period was constantly warring over the power in the country. The unification returned the piece and the Tokugawa shogunate ruled for over 200 years but was overthrown in the mid-19th century. The resignation of the 15th Tokugawa shogun led to the restoration of imperial rule. Japan has already started to modernize during that time and the less feudal form of governance was formed in Meiji Restoration.

~Other Notable People~

The Theory of Uesugi Kenshin

There is a theory about a great warlord Uesugi Kenshin that he was actually a woman. The theory is based on a report from the 16th century and is written by a Spanish person to King Philip II. In the report, Uesugi is referred to as an aunt of Uesugi Kagekatsu. The other evidence supporting the theory is that Uesugi Kenshin had stomach cramps monthly and his military campaigns were planned around these cramps. The cause of Uesugi’s death is recorded in Todaiki as uterus cancer.

Other than that, Uesugi Kenshin had interested in historical novels, poetry, and calligraphy aimed at the female audience. His appearance is rather feminine if you look at his portraits from the Sengoku period. He was also allowed freely enter women’s quarters in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. He had no children, wife, or concubine. 

Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi was born in 1548 and was a swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer, and ronin who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 61 duels. He was known as a sword-saint of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryuu style of swordsmanship and also wrote books called The Book of Five Rings and The Path of Aloneness.

Izumo no Okuni

Izumo no Okuni was born in 1578 and was a shrine maiden in the Grand Shrine of Izumo. She is believed of inventing kabuki theater. She started to perform her new art style of kabuki (the art of singing and dancing) in the theater on the riverbed of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Her kabuki became popular and was known for performers who were often lower-class women.

While this was the start of the kabuki theater, female actors were later banned, and it became an all-male form of theater which it still is in these days.

[theworldaswedontknowit]

The Sengoku Period: 1460s - 1560

So, when did the Sengoku Jidai start? Honestly, like its namesake I can’t really pinpoint a date but it’s definitely within the realms of the 1450s to 1460s and I’d pick the days when Yamana Sozen declared his allegiance to the succession of the Shogun – Ashikaga Yoshimasa’s son and his son in law, Hosokawa Katsumoto, pledged himself to the Shogun’s brother who had been selected before the child was born. You see this situation time and again in history, all over the world, the brother gest picked because the guy has no son…only for a son to be born. Honestly, the same situation can be seen in the Todo family 130 years later and they were minor for most of their early existence.

In 1467 Yamana would gather troops with another war lord, Ouchi Masahiro and Hosokawa’s home would go up in flames. The game was on.

With rumours that Yamana intended to attack the Imperial palace Hosokawa demanded all of the Imperial family moved, paying no heed to whether these rumours were true or not. In the end Yamana did actually attack the Imperial palace and the fighting between them in Kyoto brought about its destruction. Genuinely, they completely destroyed it. The fighting would go on for months before Hosokawa convinced the Emperor and Shogun to denounce the Yamana as nothing more than rebels and undermine their supporter. Yet, it had little affect and even the deaths of both Yamana and Hosokawa did nothing to lighten up the situation.

Finally the Shogun – you know the big military leader dude, only this one was a little too concerned with poetry to actually control the situation – appealed for these people to disperse and essentially go home. However, it wouldn’t come to an end and Kyoto would still be being destroyed until 1477 when Ouchi Masahiro finally backed down, returning home but not before burning his part of Kyoto. Even with the Onin war over riots and mobs continued to descend on the city and honestly this ain’t ever gonna get better. Well, it is, but not for a long time.

The Onin war is also where we can see elements of the idea of the Western and Eastern armies. Yamana being the west and Hosokawa being the east. In 130 years time we’re going to see the big bang that is Sekigahara, the war that brought an end to the period end in much the same way as the war that started it all. Ishida Mitsunari, commander of the Western army will lose to Tokugawa Ieyasu, commander of the Eastern army, in 1600.

It’s these mobs however, that spelled the rise of the Ji-samurai or common birth samurai. What was once disorganised militias became organised armies and instrumented the rise of a very different kind of Samurai. Before this Samurai had typically been of noble birth but now simple famers and their sons did so as well. Good examples of “farmer” turned Samurai is Toyotomi Hideyoushi himself, who rose from Oda’s sandal bearer to nearly Shogun.

With these armies rising, the Hatakeyama family tearing apart any peace in their bit of the map over a family feud the future looked grim. With Yoshimasa retiring and putting his 15 year old son on the throne things really did turn sour. The Ashikaga’s suddenly seem to go through a time of not producing their own sons. Yoshihisa would produce only the daughter before dying in 1489 at the age of 24, his father taking the throne back and also dying a year later. From then on only one natural son of the Shogun, Yoshimasa, would take over before being followed by the brother who was part of the starting of the war. Then two adoptive sons, the uncle sandwiched between them.

The dominating family of the early Segoku Jidai was the Hosokawa but from what I can tell a lot of their wars were infighting. The Ryo Hosokawa war began in 1507 and was a dispute over who was going to succeed the head of the family, much like with the Shogun. Only this time Hosokawa Masamoto is super duper dead. The war would end when Hosokawa Harumoto defeated Hosokawa Takakuni, only for the entire head family to collapse when Harumoto died in 1563.

Come 1543 the Warring states is in full swing. Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen are beginning to show their capabilities, Mori Motonari is being the hotshot in the south and…the Date…aren’t really doing anything? Oda is 9, Hideyoushi is 6 and Ieyasu is a few months old. Okay, so not much is really going on but the Portuguese have just arrived and this is a big deal because what do they bring with them? Why, guns of course!

This little addition to the Japanese weapon arsenal is going to change the face of Samurai warfare. Even today, many historical figures are depicted in favouring it. Data Masamune’s weapon in Samurai Warriors is a sword and gun, which I think is an appropriate metaphor for how wars were fought now. The addition of guns allowed for distance combat, indeed it was a factor in the bringing down of the “Demon Horsemen of Kai” and if something that sounds that badass can be defeated with guns the you know everything is going to go down.

Update on the Hosokawa, the Miyoshi have just betrayed them and oh boy, that’s one massive screw you to them. Under Miyoshi Nagayoshi the Miyoshi are going to expand their territory and go on regular campaigns against the Hosokawa. Two years later Sue Harukata is going to betray Ouchi Yoshitaka at the incident at Tainei-ji. So, the two biggest players who started this all are out of picture. Just about the write time for the next big one to waltz right in.

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) is considered the first Unifier of Japan and with good reason. While getting together much of the middle ground of Honshu, he paved the way for Hideyoushi to take up his mantle and for Ieyasu to take over and finish the job. Without Oda the warring states may have gone on longer or at least it would look very different. Without Oda, Hideyoushi wouldn’t have gone through his rise to power, certainly not in the same way at least. Ieyasu is a different matter I’ll get into another time.

So, 1560, it’s a big year. Oda Nobunaga is 26 years old, he’s finally the cemented head of the Oda clan after a succession struggle with his younger brother. That younger brother is now dead and Nobunaga really wants to show his might and his skill. He spies an opportunity at Okehazama.

The Imagawa would invade and a plucky young general, named Matsudaira Motoyasu, would capture one of Oda’s castle, Marune. This plucky little general is the future Tokugawa Ieyasu. At a disadvantage Oda looked for ways he could defeat the Imagawa and honestly, Yoshimoto gave it to him. While sending the Matsudaira to Odaka Castle Yoshimoto rested at Okehazama. This was a place that Oda knew well and really, the hill top ambush did happen.

Yoshimoto, who was so clueless as to what was happening, came out from his tent thinking that only a drunken brawl had broken out. He believed this to such an extent that he ordered the angry samurai running at him with a big spear to go back to his post. Realising that he was actually an Oda man he drew his sword and managed to break the spear, only for a second Oda man to lop off his head. Only two senior retainers would escape Okehazama.

So, what’s happened over the last 100 years. The Hosokawa have been torn apart by infighting and are almost completely powerless while Yamana is nowhere to be seen, their greatest supporters betrayed and decimated by the Sue. The rising stars of the north have risen, the Uesugi are going to play a part to the very end while the Takeda are going to go out with a slightly unimpressive bang in 1575. Our future Western Army leader, Ishida Mitsunari, has just been born as Sakichi and his family currently serve the Azai. He will be fourteen years old when he first rises to any minor prominence and even then, only as an attendant to Hideyoushi. Tokugawa Ieyasu, currently named Matsudaira Motoyasu is finally free of his life as a hostage, joining up with Oda in secret and fearing for the lives of his wife and son who are still in the hands of the down but not out Imagawa.

Finally, Oda Nobunaga has fought his defining battle, the one that has cleared his way to Kyoto and cleared the way for 22 years of plunder before he is betrayed by his loyal retainer, Akechi Mitsuhide.

[scoobydoojedi]

Akamatsu clan

The Akamatsu claimed descent from Minamoto Morifusa (d.1077) of the Murakami-Genji (Minamoto). The Akamatsu became a powerful family in the Muromachi Period and owed their success to the actions of Akamatsu Norimura. At first a supporter of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Kemmu Restoration, Norimura had later switched to the Ashikaga side. In 1336 he was awarded the governorship of Harima. By the time of the 3rd Ashikaga shôgun, Yoshimitsu, the Akamatsu were shugo for Harima, Bizen, and Mimasaka as well as one of the four families that provided members of the Bakufu’s samurai-dokoro (Board of retainers). The assassination of Ashikaga Yoshinori in 1441 by Akamatsu Mitsusuke resulted in a damaging response by the Yamana and others, and by the Sengoku Period, their power had waned. They were weakened by rebellions and at length became vassals of the Toyotomi.

*Prominent People*

*Akamatsu Norimura* (1277 - 1350) Norimura supported Emperor Go-Daigo and Ashikaga Takauji in the struggle to overcome the Kamakura shogunate(Minamoto clan Rule).He became a part of the Ashikaga shogunate. Norimura constructed a fort on a hill which later became the site for Himeji Castle.Norimura was a patron of Sesson Yūbai who established Hōun-ji and Hōrin-ji in Harima.In records about the establishment of land rights for Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, Norimura's help is recognized.

*Akamatsu Mitsusuke*(1381-1441) In 1408 Shogun Yoshimitsu died and was succeded by Ashikaga Yoshimochi (1385-1428). Some years after he came to power, Yoshimochi decided to replace the head of the Yamana (currently the wily and possibly unbalanced Mitsusuke) with one of his favorites, a certain Akamatsu Mochisada, rumored to be the shogun’s lover. Learning of the plan, Mitsusuke departed Kyôto in 1427 and entrenched himself in Mimasaka. Yoshimochi declared the act treasonous and called for his lieutenants to prepare for battle, to no avail. Yoshimochi’s retainers managed to talk the shôgun out of the business, creating an embarrassing situation Mochisada took responsibility for and committed suicide.

Things quieted after a time, and to help smooth matters over, Mitsusuke became a monk. He spent only a year in a monk’s habit, however; in 1428Yoshimochi died and Mitsusuke returned to secular life. Yoshimochi was succeded by his brother, Yoshinori (1394-1441).

In a bizarre twist in 1440, the events of 1427 were repeated. Mistusuke again learned that the shogun planned to have him ousted. Yoshinori had a favorite named Akamatsu Sadamura (again, a suspected lover) that he planned to have succeeded Mitsusuke (perhaps after the later was forced into retirement).

Mitsusuke responded to this second threat from the Bakufu to his position in a drastic fashion, perhaps emboldened by the Bakufu’s lack of resolve in 1428. In 1441 the shogun went on a campaign against the wayward Yûki family of northern Hitachi province. When Yoshinori returned, Mitsusuke invited him to his residence in Kyoto for a celebration that would include a victory feast. Yoshinori agreed, and during a presentation of dancing in the garden a number of horses suddenly burst from their stables and caused great confusion among the party. Mitsusuke had arranged this noisy diversion, and in the course of the pandemonium he had Yoshinori struck down. Without much further ado, the Akamatsu mounted their horses and departed for their home provinces.

The assassination of Yoshinori caused considerable shock and uncertainty in Kyoto. After three days a coalition of warriors drawn from the other important shugo families - Yamana, Hosokawa, and Hatakeyama - set out, only to hesitate at the borders of the Akamatsu’s lands. The one leader who did charge on ahead was Yamana Sozen (1404-1474), and this fiery character defeated the Akamatsu and forced Mitsusuke to commit suicide. For his efforts he was awarded most of the Akamatsu’s lands (including, no doubt as he had intended, Mimasaka), thereby greatly enhancing the power of the Yamana and helping set the stage for the later Onin War. Yoshinori’s assassination, though rarely mentioned in the west outside of strictly academic circles, was a notable contributor to the weakening of Ashikaga authority, although it could just as easily be argued that the event was a sign of just how weak the foundations of Ashikaga rule already were.

*Akamatsu Yoshisuke* (????-1576) He saw much of the former Akamatsu domain slip out of his hands between 1550 and 1570, though he did capture Akashi castle in 1554 from Hosokawa Harumoto. He was defeated in 1569 by Kuroda Kanbei and within a few years had been so weakened that he lived in Himeji at the sufferance of his nominal vassals, the Kodera (Kuroda's lord).

*Akamatsu Masanori*(????-1577) Cousin of Akamatsu Yoshisuke. He had a reputation as a discerning and proud general. He held Kôzuki castle in Harima province and came under attack by the Oda (as led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in late 1577. Masanori resisted stoutly but when a relief force sent by the Ukita was defeated and Kôzuki isolated, the Oda army launched an all-out attack. Masanori killed his family before committing suicide and thus died along with some 1,100 of his men.

*Akamatsu Norifusa* (????-1598) Norifusa was a son of Akamatsu Yoshisuke. He served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and assisted in the Battle of Shizugatake, the Komaki campaign, the 1585Invasion of Shikoku, and the Korean invasion of1592. Norifusa was given a 10,000 koku fief in the Itano district of Awa province.



[jibuyo]

Do you think Yamana Sozen, The Red Monk, is the sole man who responsible for kindling the flame of warfare that would lead into the bloodiest history in Japan?

I’m sorry I’m not familiar with the details of Onin war, I only know who (Hosokawa vs Yamana, but I don’t know the people themselves... it’s like Genpei war where I only know that it was Taira vs Minamoto and Minamoto no Yoritomo became a shogun), when and where. And then the change from shugo daimyo to sengoku daimyo. And then, Oda Nobunaga appeared. 

I said it yesterday, I’m only familiar with details about stuff that Mitsunari was involved in. The rest might come with time... or not.