Sekigahara 1600
Location: Gifu Province, Japan
Type of Battle:Extended meeting engagement
Combatants: Western Army commanded by Ishida Mitsunari. Eastern Army commanded by Tokugawa Ieyasu, assisted by Kobuayawaka Hideaki
Result:A resounding victory for Tokugawa faction, leading to eventual victory in the Sengoku Jidai – a long series of civil wars.
Accessiblity:Good, by rail and road
Other: Battlefield monument, museum and ‘Warland’ battle theme park with excellent display of arms and armour. Shrine to the defeated Western Samurai near railway station.
Introduction
Japan in the 16th Century was torn apart by almost continuous civil war between rival clans and
their daimyo, or warlords, each
seeking to establish a military governorship of the islands with the title ‘Shogun’.
Ruling over them all was the
semi-divine Emperor, who legimitised temporal power by his presence, but took
very little part in day-to-day politics. Some families by clever political
intrigue had managed to elevate themselves to high status social rank, and
establish governorship over large areas of Japan. By the later 16th century chief among these clan leaders were Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen,
Uesegi Kenshin, Toyotomi Hiyedoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. From 1573 onwards, Oda
had established control over most of the islands, but was murdered in 1583 by
rebellious followers. He was succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became ruler
of most of the country and established his capital at Kyoto, with Osaka Castle
as his chief fortress. On his death in 1598 a regency for his infant son was established
under Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Uesegi Kagekatsu, Mori Terumoto and Ukita Hideie, each vying with the other
for supremacy. It was a poisonous mixture that could only lead to further
bloodshed.
Soon Tokugawa Ieyasu had
attracted by far the largest number of followers and tried to set himself up as
heir to the Hideyoshi shogunate on the death of Maeda Toshiie in 1599. Faced by
potential risings on every quarter, Ieyasu left Osaka with the bulk of his
troops to menace the Uesegi clan. His enemies gathered an enormous force of
128,000 men, mostly from the Western part of Japan, hence known as the ‘Western
Army’. They camped around the pass of Sekigahara in October 1600, east of
Kyoto, in order to try conclusions with the ambitious Ieyasu.
The Battle
Ieyasu had received intelligence of his enemy’s intentions,
and knew that Kobayakawa Hideaki was prepared to come over to his side, along
with all his samurai and ashigaru,
the ordinary foot soldiers. Early in the morning of 21 October Ieyasu’s forces
moved into the attack and after some delay Hideaki’s forces treacherously
joined the general melee against his erstwhile allies.
Outnumbered and outflanked, Mitsunari fled and his troops
surrendered – about 9,00had been slaughtered on the field. Soon afterwards
Ieyasu was able to assume the regency, hunting down Mitsunari and having him executed. Ieyasu set
up his capital at Edo, the site of modern Tokyo, and in 1603 was appointed Shogun by the emperor. Rivalry
with the Toyotomi clan brought further conflict at Osaka in 1615, but the the
Tukugawa Shogunate remained in place and lasted after the death of Ieyasu until
1867, overseeing a lengthy period of peace and stability. Under the aegis of
the Tokugawa shoguns, the warrior elite of Japan turned their energies to less
warlike pursuits, becoming loyal servants of the state.
Sekigahara Today
The Tokugawa camp is now the site of a public park
opposite the town’s museum, where there is a significant collection of arms and
armour from the time of the battle. Extensive battlefield trails exist for
walkers to explore the area, and the kessen-ba,
the site of the final denouement of the fighting, is marked by a stone obelisk.
The entire site can be viewed from Mount Sasao after a brisk walk, where Ishida
had his camp. Opposite here, the slopes of Mount Matsuo give a panoramic view
of the battlefield from the point of view of Kobayakawa Hideyaki.
Sekigahara ‘Warland’ is a modern theme park near the
battle field with plaster statues of various warriors in authentic poses, and
while this will not necessarily appeal to everyone, it does house a very
impressive display of armour of the period.
________________________________
From: docwho499 <
docwho499@...>
To:
samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 25 February 2012, 19:28
Subject: RE: [samuraihistory] Any recommended battle tours in central Japan (<2hr from Koyto )??
Any recommended battle tours in central Japan (<2hr from Koyto )??
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]