Tokugawa Ieyasu: Hostage, Shogun, God (2 part)

27
Acquainted with the armor of the Sengoku era, we again return to the personalities. And again, we face the life and fate of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who eventually became a deity. But in life it so happens that happiness and unhappiness in it constantly go hand in hand.

In 1579, on the orders of Oda Nobunaga, Ieyasu was forced to execute his wife, and offered to his eldest son seppuku. The reason is a suspicion of conspiracy against the father and conspiracy with the tribe of Takeda. History this tragedy is covered in darkness. Some believe that all this was made up specifically to blacken Ieyasu in the eyes of Nobunaga, others that he had reason to doubt the loyalty of his son and wife Sena. Anyway, Nabunaga showed his power: at his insistence, Ieyasu ordered his son to execute his wife, and to commit suicide himself. Sena was killed by samurai Ieyasu. After that, he proclaimed his third son, Hidetada, as his heir, and the second was adopted by anxious continuation of a kind of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.



Tokugawa Ieyasu: Hostage, Shogun, God (2 part)

Tokugawa Ieyasu on the battlefield of Sekigahara. Fig. Giuseppe Rava.

On the other hand, the military campaign of Oda and Tokugawa against the Takeda clan, which began in February 1582, was more than successful. Already a month after the outbreak of hostilities, having lost the finances, allies and combat generals of his father Takeda Katsuri, together with their wives and children, made seppuku, after which the Takeda clan ceased to exist. For this, Ieyasu received Surda Province from Oda.


Rod of the commander sayai. Perhaps this was used by Ieyasu Tokugawa. (Anne and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas, Texas)

In May 1582, Ieyasu went to the residence of Oda Nobunaga - the luxurious and large Azuchi castle. And Nobunaga accepted him as a dear guest and personally (!) Served him at the table, which, I think, frightened him to death. Tokugawa was glad that when this visit was over, he remained alive and, with joy, went to inspect the commercial port city of Sakai. It was there that he learned about the revolt of Akechi Mitsuhide and the death of Nobunaga temple Honno-ji. And here Ieyasu again had a very hard time. After all, after his admission to Azuti, he was considered almost the right hand and Nobunaga's pet, and it is not surprising that Akechi decided to kill him! And it was not very difficult to do this, because Ieyasu was in a foreign territory and did not have enough warriors under his hands. But Tokugawa hired a ninja squad from the province of Iga, and they led him to secret mountain trails in Mikawa. Immediately upon returning, Ieyasu began to gather troops against Aketi Mitsuhide. By breaking an impostor, he would become the actual heir to Oda Nobunaga. But then he was ahead of Hasiba Hideyoshi, who defeated the rebels in the battle of Yamazaki.


Dzindayko - "military drum", which the Japanese on the field Bole transmitted signals. On it, as you can see, the emblem of the clan is also applied! (Anne and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas, Texas)

However, it was not enough to avenge the death of Oda. The fact is that in the localities his administration, which did not respect local customs, was hated and, taking the opportunity, was immediately interrupted. So, in a number of provinces, a dangerous “anarchy” or power of quite small daimyo arose, which of course was intolerable for large daimyo.


Classic armor of the ryoy, restored in the XVIII century. Already in the time of Ieyasu Tokugawa, no one wore such armor, but they were adorned in daimyo castles, demonstrating their nobility. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Ieyasu immediately moved to bring recalcitrant to ... obedience. But he also took into account local traditions. And most importantly, he showed respect for the late Takeda Shingen, although he was his worst enemy. Seeing this, many commanders and advisers of the deceased family of Takeda went to the service of Ieyasu, who in addition promised them to return the lands given to them by Shingan. Naturally, they are not looking for good from good, and yesterday's enemies immediately brought him an oath of loyalty.


The same armor, rear view. A huge bow of agemaki cords attracts attention. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)


Helmet and mask from this armor. On the helmet horns - kuvagata removed.

True, the Uesugi and Go-Hojo clans also dug on the Oda lands. Their troops entered the three provinces, which Ieyasu already considered their own, and he had to start a war with them again. But fate here again favored the future deity, so that most of the land of the Takeda clan was inherited by Ieyasu Tokugawa. So in the end, the provinces of Kai, Shinano, Suruga, Totomi and Mikawa were under his authority.


A lot of samurai armor hit the most diverse museums in the world. But it is clear that for the most part this is just the armor of either the Sengoku and Edo eras. (Royal Arsenal, Copenhagen)

Now it was necessary to begin preparations for the war with the arrogant peasant Hasiba Hideyoshi, who already in 1583 had defeated the forces of all the oppositionists opposing him and became the actual successor of the Nobunaga case. Dissatisfied, and they are always there, just silent for the time being, they immediately declared him a usurper and offered an alliance to Ieyasu. And he agreed, which led him to war against Hideyoshi.


Helmet infantry - dzingasa. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

In March 1584, the combined forces of Tokugawa and Hideyoshi met on the lands of Owari province. Moreover, Hideyoshi had 100 thousands of people, but the forces of Tokugawa and his allies did not exceed 50 ... Nevertheless, in the battle of Haguro 17 in March 1584, Hasib Hideyoshi’s cumbersome and poorly controlled army failed to defeat Ieyasu. Hideyoshi was so frightened by the military genius Ieyasu that he stopped the attacks and took up a defensive position. But then his patience snapped, and he sent a squad under the command of his nephew Hasib Hidetsugu against Tokugawa to an 20000 man. There was a battle with Komakki-Nagakute and in it Ieyasu not only defeated the enemy army, but also forced its commander to flee from the battlefield in disgrace.


Bocakari-do armor — that is, with an okegawa-do cuirass, on which the heads of the rivets are visible. Typical armor of the Sengoku era. (Metropolitan Museum, New York).

Then Hasiba Hideyoshi attacked ally Ieyasu Oda Nobuo, defeated him and in November 1584 of the year forced him to sign peace with him, and recognize his vassal dependence. Ieyasu saw that he was losing allies in this way, "remembered" that both he and Hideyoshi both faithfully served Nobunage, and immediately made a truce with the enemy. Moreover, Hideyoshi was sent hostage by his grandson. That is, he recognized the dominant position of the latter, formally, he continued to remain independent.


Aketi Mitsuhide. Uki-ё Utagawa Yoshiku.

It ended with the fact that now the quarrel began between his own vassals. Some demanded that Ieyasu continue the fight with Hideyoshi, others demanded that he recognize his suzerainty. Thus, Ieyasu fell into an extremely difficult situation: his vassals began to come out from under his power, and here on the nose was a new war with Hideyoshi. He, however, was in no hurry to fight, and in April 1586 of the year married his sister Asahi to Ieyasu. Tokugawa accepted a new wife, but did not recognize vassalage. Then Hideyoshi decided on extreme measures: in October of the same year, he sent his mother to Ieyasu as a hostage, asking only one thing - to recognize his sovereignty.

And Tokugawa thought, thought, remembered the Japanese proverb - “that which is bent may straighten,” and agreed to recognize the primacy of Hasiba. 26 October 1586, he arrived at his residence in Osaka, and the next day, during an audience with Hideyoshi, he bowed before him and officially asked him to accept him "under the strong hand of the Hasiba family." That is, he bent in front of the “peasant”, whom he did not respect, and he simply hated, of course, but ... he gave due credit to his mind and strength and believed that the time for his destruction had not yet come!

Real power always forces one to be reckoned with. Therefore, it is not surprising that Hideyoshi first received from the emperor the aristocratic surname of Toyotomi, and then in September 1587, he also asked for the position of adviser from the imperial court for Ieyasu and thanked him for acknowledging his supremacy. Then he, along with Ieyasu, decided to destroy the Go-Houjou family.

Once they decided - it means they did it, so now it would be possible to characterize the increased capabilities of these two rulers. And in 1590, the troops of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and all his vassals, including the Ieyasu army, with a total number of people in 200000, surrounded the citadel of Go-Houjou and after several months of siege were able to take it. Hideyoshi gave the new lands of Kanto province again to Tokugawa, but instead took his old ancestral possessions. The benefit was seemingly obvious, since the new lands gave him more income, but Ieyasu's power there was not too fragile, since for the local nobility he remained both a stranger and a conqueror. In addition, many lands here were empty, and transport communications were absent. However, here Ieyasu showed himself from the best side already as an administrator. He raised the regional economy, repaired the roads, built safe castles and opened many ports on the coast. In just ten years, a powerful economic base arose here, which subsequently ensured him victory in the struggle to unite the country, and then even became the new center of political life in Japan.


Mon Tokugawa

In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to start a war in Korea. Many samurai rushed to Korea, hoping to gain fame there. Hideyoshi was endowed with killing many there and trying to send Ieyasu Tokugawa there. But he managed to avoid being sent to the war, explaining that he needed to end the war with the "remnants of the Go-Houjou family." Finally, before his death in September 1598, Hideyoshi created the Board of Trustees of the five elders with his son Toyotomi Hideyori, and put Ieyasu Tokugawa at his head, who promised to support the Toyotomi clan after the death of his head.


In such a luxurious palanquin, daimyo was worn in Japan. (Museum of Okayama Castle)

On September 18, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died on 1598, and his five-year-old son Hideyori immediately found himself in the position of the country's formal ruler. But instead of him, of course, the Council of Five Elders and the Council of Five Governors immediately began to rule. Since Ieyasu was the most influential member of the Council of Elders, he immediately decided to take advantage of weakening the kind of Toyotomi in his own interests. He made alliances with the daimyo who, during his lifetime, opposed Hideyoshi, and began to intensively prepare for war.


Samurai re-enector at Matsumoto Castle.

All this resulted in the conflict and Isis Mitsunari. It looked like a dispute between the vassals of Toyotomi, but in fact it was a confrontation between Tokugawa Ieyasu, who wanted to become a shogun, and Isida Mitsunari, who wanted to save power for young Toyotomi Hideyori.


Monument at the battle site of Sekigahara. On the left is the Mitsunari flag, on the right is Tokugawa.

October 21 1600 in the "month without gods" of the army of Tokugawa and Isis met on the Sekigahara field. The battle between them ended in complete victory for Ieyasu. Ishida Mitsunari, along with his generals, was captured and executed. Tokugawa Ieyasu became the de facto ruler of Japan.

To be continued ...
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27 comments
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  1. +4
    25 November 2018 05: 26
    The more you read, the more you are surprised that all these bushido-shmusido are invented for small fish, and the main characters are guided by completely different rules: profit, rationality, self-preservation.
    Cognitive dissonance torments
    1. 0
      25 November 2018 07: 28
      And in our USSR, wasn’t that so? Little slogans on fences, but how did the top live?
      1. +5
        25 November 2018 07: 58
        My damn upbringing in childhood is to blame - the longer I live, the more I get disappointed in people and justice crying
        1. +2
          25 November 2018 08: 27
          Not you alone! On the contrary, you are in great company - Charles Harold, Lord Byron, Earl of Monte Cristo, Eugene Onegin ... and your humble servant, who generally grew up among people who did not differ in intelligence or high moral qualities. What justice is there!
          1. +3
            25 November 2018 09: 10
            "By and large, life is ///, I never liked it on this planet."
            O. Divov
            1. +4
              25 November 2018 13: 19
              Well, colleagues, the Japanese topic has got you in the wrong place somewhere ... In my unassuming look, life is beautiful and amazing. It’s all the more beautiful because I wasn’t allowed to be born in the family of a politician or oligarch, and especially a monarch or feudal ruler, thanks to which I can afford to say and do what I consider necessary and (or) pleasant. Lies and stupidity around, speak? Where? I do not see, honestly. Somewhere someone is lying to someone - what am I doing with that? Or, if you do not deviate from the Japanese topic:
              Someone to someone in the imperial palace
              Speaks words of untruth
              I can't hear them

              smile
              So fun, colleagues. We are too few left to be sad over trifles. smile
              1. +2
                25 November 2018 13: 48
                Joker we, shining with erudition. laughing
            2. +2
              25 November 2018 19: 52
              If you look at beautiful things - life is beautiful. And you can always look at the sky and the trees.

              However, life is wonderful if you do not even look at beautiful things temporarily.

              And children see all the beauty of the world until a period of rights and obligations begins.
        2. 0
          26 November 2018 08: 45
          Quote: Tlauicol
          the longer I live, the more frustrated I am in people and justice

          the more I know people, the more I love dogs
          (author unknown)
  2. +2
    25 November 2018 07: 10
    interesting, mysterious, unusual for Europeans world ....

    Thank you.
  3. +7
    25 November 2018 07: 32
    We will never understand the samurai psychology: "he executed his wife and offered his son to make a sepuku." A family is more expensive than a dozen gentlemen, it is better to strangle them.
    I liked the material, thanks
    1. +3
      25 November 2018 07: 51
      If he had not executed her and killed his sons, the wine would have fallen on him. He could not give a damn about it and start a war. And he would have understood !!! But ... Nobunaga would have beaten him and what would have happened? He himself and his family would die, the whole clan would die, and his samurai would become ronin. KIND KILLED FOREVER! And so ... three people died and that's all ... THE KIND HAS ALREADY BEEN HEALED, Nobunaga - perished! But Tokugawa became a shogun. And his family has become the main for centuries! End justifies the means!
      1. +5
        25 November 2018 08: 09
        At this difficult moment for himself, Ieyasu recalled the code of the samurai:
        "True courage is to live when it is rightful to live and to die when it is right to die.
        One should go to death with a clear understanding of what a samurai should do and what degrades his dignity ...
        If in a war the samurai happens to lose the battle and he has to lay down his head, he should proudly say his name and die with a smile without the humiliating haste ...
        A samurai must, first of all, constantly remember that he can die at any moment, and if such a moment comes, then the samurai must die with honor. This is his main business. "
        - "Bozhezhtyzhmoyzhezhtyzh, what a crap" - thought the future God: "I'd rather go cut my wife and son, and then suddenly Nobunaga will smash me ?! After all, the end justifies the means!"

        and, what’s most interesting, he did the right thing - science is another example to him - and the Japanese probably consider the story of the shogun more interesting than this filinka letter for losers - Bushido feel
        1. +4
          25 November 2018 08: 28
          By the way, he wrote down this code. Before Ieyasu, these were unwritten rules!
          1. +3
            25 November 2018 08: 38
            Well it's 5+. What a scumbag! Such would not have disappeared either in Europe or in Asia! Borgia, Machiavelli, Richelieu, Messiah in one bottle!
            Quote: kalibr
            By the way, he wrote down this code. Before Ieyasu, these were unwritten rules!
    2. +4
      25 November 2018 09: 04
      Why is it "not to understand"? If the Germans had not strangled the sons of Vitovt, left hostage by their father, in Malbork, the further emergence of the Commonwealth would have been a big question.
    3. +3
      25 November 2018 13: 44
      Quote: XII Legion
      We will never understand samurai psychology: "

      This is not a samurai psychology. This is the psychology of all more or less successful rulers at all times and in all parts of the world. Power, only power, nothing but power, all for its sake. Examples of mass.
      1. +2
        25 November 2018 14: 22
        Not only power, there were other motives. I do not think that the story of Medea was born from scratch.
        1. +3
          25 November 2018 16: 13
          Quote: 3x3zsave
          Not only power, there were other motives.

          This is something yes. Here it should be understood that before the ideas of humanism came to the world in the Renaissance, the issues of life and death were perceived by people somewhat differently - more simply and more calmly. Nobody even thought to condemn Vitovt for the death of his sons — a normal practice of that time, nothing outstanding. Children for him, as well as for his opponents, had value only as continuers of the clan, dynasty and nothing personal. Moreover, for the sovereign parent, children were often political opponents, rivals, and the most dangerous because of their origin. smile
          Robert Kurtgöz himself almost killed his father William the Conqueror, knocking him off his horse in battle, the children of Henry I, the King of England fought against his father and quite successfully, Prince Vladimir tried to get out of our father’s power, Svyatoslav, and then his son Yaroslav repaid him same. So, the lords of the world have never experienced any special affection for their children, especially in medieval Japan, who did not even hear of humanism for a long time. smile Tokugawa still had sons, and maybe even more, why should they be pitied and lamented? smile
          From the point of view of modern Europeans, brought up in the traditions of humanism, which we are, this is of course wildness. For those times - a normal, common thing, nothing special.
          1. +1
            25 November 2018 20: 04
            Absolutely right. Moreover, in the Middle Ages, children, before entering adulthood and for people, were not particularly considered.
  4. +2
    25 November 2018 11: 58
    And in 1590 the troops of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and all his vassals, including the army of Ieyasu, 200000 people

    I wonder how much you need to divide these 200000 to get the real number of troops? On 10? At 16?
    1. +5
      25 November 2018 12: 28
      In Japan, everything was recorded and recorded because it was paid with rice. Each samurai reported how many soldiers he was bringing. Each daimyo had an official informant from the overlord - who knocked upstairs about the deception. Then everything was rechecked, and all these papers, invoices, loan certificates, statements on rice coke - everything is intact! Therefore, nothing needs to be divided. These are not our chronicles, where everyone wrote what he wanted. Everything is cross-referenced.
      1. +1
        25 November 2018 22: 31
        Quote: kalibr
        These are not our annals, where everyone wrote what they wanted.

        This is exactly the template that worked for me.
    2. +5
      25 November 2018 13: 41
      Quote: HanTengri
      I wonder how much to divide these 200000 to get the actual number of troops?

      These figures seemed to me too overestimated at first. And then I looked at the average yield of rice compared with crops grown in Europe. Taking into account the fact that in Japan, the crop is harvested several times a year now is up to 150 c / ha, while the yield of rye or wheat is now on average about 25 c / ha, that is, approximately 6: 1. If in the Middle Ages the ratio was the same, then, respectively, the same piece of land could feed people six times more than in Europe, respectively, and the population density was greater. Given the compactness of the territory of Japan, problems with logistics are also easier to solve, which further increases the mobilization resource. So 200000 is quite possible, you can imagine.
      This is in case the explanations of Vyacheslav Olegovich did not convince you. smile
      1. +2
        25 November 2018 18: 56
        Quote: Trilobite Master
        Quote: HanTengri
        I wonder how much to divide these 200000 to get the actual number of troops?

        These figures seemed to me too overestimated at first. And then I looked at the average yield of rice compared with crops grown in Europe. Taking into account the fact that in Japan, the crop is harvested several times a year now is up to 150 c / ha, while the yield of rye or wheat is now on average about 25 c / ha, that is, approximately 6: 1. If in the Middle Ages the ratio was the same, then, respectively, the same piece of land could feed people six times more than in Europe, respectively, and the population density was greater. Given the compactness of the territory of Japan, problems with logistics are also easier to solve, which further increases the mobilization resource. So 200000 is quite possible, you can imagine.
        This is in case the explanations of Vyacheslav Olegovich did not convince you. smile

        Kamikaze prevented the epic battle of the Japanese infantry and the Mongol cavalry from happening. Although in the Khubilai era it was no longer pure Mongolian cavalry.
      2. +4
        25 November 2018 22: 28
        Quote: Trilobite Master
        This is in case the explanations of Vyacheslav Olegovich did not convince you.

        You lie FSE and hide! We know you!wassat laughing I looked at the population of Japan, Tokugawa era - 15 million on average. Those. 200 thousand is 1,3% mob. ability. Let's say the troops were gathering from half of the territory => we have 2,6% of the mob. ability, which is quite comparable with Europe in the developed Middle Ages. I got excited, it turns out. crying
  5. 0
    25 November 2018 16: 49
    Interesting article.

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