In Search of the Cherry Blossums VII
Oda Nobunaga was nearing his dream of a unified Japan under his rule, he had but one major obstacle left, the Mori clan. The Mori had recently resurrected the wavering Ikko-Ikki with their expert navy and aid sent to Ishiyama Hongan-Ji.
The Mori had to be dealt with
Nobunaga gathered two of his most trusted generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide to lead the new campaign against the Mori.
Hideyoshi was to lead a campaign along the coast of the inland sea working his way towards the Mori powerbase of Aki province,
Mitsuhide was to lead his forces to the north, along the sea of Japan. Taking out the Mori allies before linking up with Hideyoshi
By 1577 the campaign began, and Mitsuhide almost instantly ran into difficulties. Disobeying orders from Nobunaga and badmouthing him publicly he failed to take any major castles,
To the South Hideyoshi was faring much better, famed for his ability to take castles He was making much more progress.
Hideyoshi using his masterful diplomacy approached Hideyama castle and managed to negotiate the castle and nearby allied families into serving the Oda. He continued to Kozuki castle where he successfully besieged and took it.
One Oda ally The Bessho clan led by Nagaharu revolted against the Oda. Nagaharu was enraged that Oda Nobunaga would allow a lowborn peasant like Toyotomi Hideyoshi to lead his army. The Bessho cut off Hideyoshi from supplies and forced him to turn back.
Hideyoshi besieged the Bessho capital, located nearby Ishiyama Hongan-Ji but was unable to starve out the retainers as the Mori continued supplying them from the sea.
Leading to the 2nd battle of Kizugawaguchi
Nobunaga brought a new ship, six very large ō-adakebune ships. adakebune were essentially wooden floating fortresses, covered in guns cannons and bow emplacements. The Oda forces took the advantage with this new ship and were victorious over the Mori navy destroying Mori naval superiority and once again trapping the monks of Ishiyama Hongan-Ji.
At the same time Mitsuhide was still struggling to make any progress against the Mori allies in the north. At Yakami caslte the Hatano clan was besieged. Mitsuhide promised peace to the Hatano should they surrender the castle and gave his mother as hostage as a show of good will.
The leader of the Hatano accepted the peace deal and went to a Nobunaga held castle to standby.
The next year 1579 mitsuhide began working on another ally of the Mori, the Isshiki clan of Tango province, here he was more successful and overthrough the Isshiki. Soon word arrived that the leader of the Hatano clan had been executed by lord Nobunaga, the garrison at Yakami casle executed Mitsuhide’s mother as retribution.
Mitsuhide was furious over the actions of Nobunaga
the next year 1580 Hideyoshi finally overtook the Bessho clan. Cutting off any possible support that the Ikko-Ikki could receive in Ishiyama Hongan-Ji
ten years after the siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji began, the son of the Chief Abbot surrendered the fortress to Nobunaga. Without the Mori’s aid Ishiyama Hongan-ji’s supplies were exhausted.
The Ikko-Ikki received an official request from the Japanese Emperor to surrender.[16] Nobunaga surprisingly spared the lives of Ishiyama Hongan-ji's defenders, but expelled them from Osaka and burnt the fortress to the ground. Although the Ikkō-ikki continued to make a last stand in Kaga Province, Nobunaga's capture of Ishiyama Hongan-ji crippled them as a major military force.
The Mori were losing ground fast and it seemed their defeat was imminent
Around this time one of those strange characters of history appeared in the court of Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke The Black Samurai. Now when I say black Samurai, I don’t mean like the black knight, or the dark night for that matter, this dude was black and from Africa.
Yasuke was possibly a freed-slave originally from Mozambique (which at the time was being colonized by the Portuguese).
not much is known about his past and much of what we believe is speculation, but it is believed Yasuke was enslaved and ended up in Gao India, another Portuguese colony. He eventually earned his freedom and with his expert military prowess that he had learned from visiting so many different countries he became a mercenary employed by the Portuguese Franciscan monks.
Eventually under the employment of the Portuguese he made his way to Kyoto where the commonfolk were amazed by him, he stood about 1 foot taller than the average Japanese man and was absolutely jacked.
Nobunaga after hearing about him was intrigued, always having a keen interest in western culture. He requested the monks bring Yasuke to him. When the two met, Nobunaga was in disbelief, he believed that Yasuke was simple a Portuguese man who had dyed his skin black, he ordered Yasuke to be stripped naked and scrubbed clean of the Dye. After scubbing and scrubbing and nothing happening besides maybe a skin rash and Yasuke become extremely clean, Nobunaga realized this man was really black.
Nobunaga took an immediate liking to him, he employed him as his personal bodyguard and even granted him a home and a small piece of land, making Yasuke the only Black Samurai in history.
Yasuke fought for Nobunaga against his enemy the Takeda, where he reportedly learned the samurai arts and fought with distinction.
Some have even suggested there might have been a romantic relationship between Nobunaga and Yasuke, Bisexuality was common among the samurai. I guess its possible but sounds like an awful lot of speculation considering what we know about Yasuke comes from outside sources.
But back to the story…
TAKEDA AND UESUGI
In the east upon the death of Uesugi Kenshin turmoil struck the Uesugi clan. Kenshin had been a devoutly religious man and never married, he might have even been celibate, (another weird theory is that Uesugi Kenshin was actually a woman, but I have already given you a strange “woke” historical story, so I’ll let you read about that one on Wikipedia for yourself)
Kenshin had however adopted 2 sons Kagekatsu and Kagetora who began fighting for power upon the death of their father.
Unfortunutely, the sons of the tiger and dragon were nothing compared to their parents
Uesugi Kagekatsu married Takeda Katsuyori’s sister cementing an alliance between the Takeda and the Uesugi
Uesugi Kagetora had been the 7th son of the deceased great Hojo Ujiyasu. Ujiyasu’s son, Kagetora’s older brother now ruled the Hojo.
The three great clans of the east The Uesugi, Takeda, and Hojo thus entered an all out war supporting their faction in the Uesugi succession crisis.
By 1579, Kagekatsu had gained the upper hand and forced Kagetora to commit suicide. This bloody division allowed Oda Nobunaga's generals (headed by Shibata Katsuie) to conquer the Uesugi's lands in the north, Kaga, Noto, and Etchu. The Uesugi were weakened and the Takeda and Hojo were now at war and weakening each other.
The true victor of the Uesugi succession crisis was not Kagekatsu but the Oda clan.
In 1582, Kagekatsu led an army into Etchu and was defeated by Oda forces at the Battle of Tenjinyama. He hastily returned to Echigo when he learned that an Oda general had raided Echigo in his absence.
When Oda laid the Siege of Uozu castle in Etchu, Kagekatsu's fortunes appeared bleak. Kagekatsu sent a letter to one of his few remaining allies, it reads like a suicide note;
“Please don't worry about us.
I was born in a good era. We will fight against over 60 provinces of Japan with only this Echigo province.
If we survive, I'll become an unmatched hero. Even if we are destroyed, my name will go down in history.”
What a narcissist…
Uozu castle fell on June 3, 1582, however… drastic events elsewhere in the Oda domain would allow him to be spared.
The Tiger’s son was faring no better than the Dragons.
Takeda Katsuyori held little power and even fewer allies after his crushing defeat in the battle of Nagashino
Katsuyori fought against the Hojo during the Uesegi civil war although his brother-in-law was victorious Katsuyori was not. In the Battle of Omosu, A naval battle occurred between the Takeda and Hojo, the Hojo infiltrated the Takeda camp using Ninjas shortly before the battle causing Severe chaos to erupt which resulted in massive casualties and the Takeda to be disoriented.
Later, while the navies faced off, the land armies of each family advanced towards one another.[2] In the end, the Hōjō were victorious.
The few that still followed Katsuyori, at this point questioned his authority.
In early 1582 an old vassal and one of his father’s legendary 24 Generals of Takeda Shingen, Kiso Yoshimasa forsook his former lord and joined the Oda. Katsuyori attempted to bring Yoshimasa back under his rule but failed… another reminder of the days long gone of Takeda superiority.
Nobunaga and Ieyasu fought together once again, they marched into Kai province, the homeland of the Takeda. One of Katsuyori’s retainers begged him to leave Kai and join him at his castle which was much more defensible but Katsuyori couldn’t bring himself to abandon his family’s historic homeland.
The Oda-Tokugawa army marched to Kai province, heading towards the capital, Shinpu Castle with a force of 50,000 soldiers, once news had reached Katsuyori’s men of this they began to panic.… out of the original 15,000 Takeda men only 600 remained.
As the Oda forces led by Nobunaga’s son and heir Nobutada approached, Katsuyori set fire to Shinpu Castle and fled the Tenmoku mountain to take refuge with another old retainer of his Oyamada Nobushige.
Katsuyori with his 600 men (and 200 women and children from his family and kin) fled east where they hoped to be welcomed in by Nobushige. Once at the gates of Nobushige’s castle, Nobushige refused to let them in.
With no fort to hold and no more allies, the remaining Takeda servants and warriors had lost hope and dispersed in panic: all along the way men had dropped out until only forty-one warriors and some 50 ladies were left, close kinsmen of Katsuyori who could not run away. They put up a temporary palisade around an ordinary manor house in a village called Tano and made their last camp there.
Once the Oda forces found them they immediately surrounded Takeda’s makeshift camp and prepared for an attack. The last 41 soldiers executed their wives and children and came out of the tent with their swords, seeking an honorable death. The 41 men fended off the Oda forces fighting valiantly while Takeda Katsuyori committed Seppoku with his wife and young son.
The Once great Takeda clan died with Takeda Katsuyori.
Nobushige, who had denied Katsuyori refuge rode out after the battle to pay homage to Nobunaga. Nobunaga had Nobushige executed for the disloyalty he had shown to his lord.
