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Battle of Sekigahara
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The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on September 15 1600 that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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Timeline
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| Commanders of Eastern Army (Tokugawa Force) |
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| | Tokugawa Ieyasu - 30,000 men | | | Maeda Toshinaga | | | Date Masamune | | | Kato Kiyomasa - 3,000 men | | | Fukushima Masanori - 6,000 men | | | Hosokawa Tadaoki - 5,000 men | | | Asano Yukinaga - 6,510 men | | | Ikeda Terumasa - 4,560 men | | | Kuroda Nagamasa - 5,400 men | | | Kato Yoshiaki - 3,000 men | | | Tanaka Yoshimasa - 3,000 men | | | Todo Takatora - 2,490 men | | | Mogami Yoshiaki | | | Yamauchi Katsutoyo - 2,058 men | | | Hachisuka Yoshishige - | | | Honda Tadakatsu - 500 men | | | Terasawa Hirotaka - 2,400 men | | | Ikoma Kazumasa - 1,830 men | | | Ii Naomasa - 3,600 men | | | Matsudaira Tadayoshi - 3,000 men | | | Oda Nagamasu - 450 men | | | Tsutsui Sadatsugu - 2,850 men | | | Kanamori Nagachika - 1,140 men | | | Tomita Nobutaka | | | Furuta Shigekatsu - 1,200 men | | | Wakebe Mitsuyoshi | | | Horio Tadauji | | | Nakamura Kazutada | | | Arima Toyouji - 900 men | > Commanders of Western Army (Ishida Force) | | | Mori Terumoto (official head of the alliance) - (not present) | | | Uesugi Kagekatsu | | | Maeda Toshimasa (Brother of Maeda Toshinaga) | | | Ukita Hideie - 17,000 men | | | Shimazu Yoshihiro - 1,500 men | | | Kobayakawa Hideaki (defected) - 15,600 men | | | Ishida Mitsunari (de facto head of the alliance) - 4,000 men | | | Konishi Yukinaga - 4,000 men | | | Mashita Nagamori | | | Ogawa Suketada (defected) - 2,100 men | | | Otani Yoshitsugu - 600 men | | | Wakisaka Yasuharu (defected) - 990 men | | | Ankokuji Ekei - 1,800 men | | | Satake Yoshinobu | | | Oda Hidenobu | | | Chosokabe Morichika - 6,600 men | | | Kutsuki Mototsuna (defected) - 600 men | | | Akaza Naoyasu (defected) - 600 men | | | Kikkawa Hiroie (defected) - 3,000 men | | | Natsuka Masaie - 1,500 men | | | Mori Hidemoto - 15,000 men | | | Toda Katsushige - 1,500 men | | | Sanada Masayuki | | | Sanada Yukimura | | | Shima Sakon - 1,000 men | |
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on September 15 1600 that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Ieyasu to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa bakufu, the last shogunate to control Japan.
Background and pretextEven though Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan and consolidated his power following the Siege of Odawara in 1590, his ill-fated invasion of Korea significantly weakened the Toyotomi clan's power as well as the loyalists and bureaucrats that continued to serve and support the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death. Hideyoshi's and his brother Hidenaga's presence kept the two sides from anything more than quarreling, but when both of them died, the conflicts were exacerbated and developed into open hostilities. Since the Toyotomi clan was known to be descended from peasant stock, neither Hideyoshi nor his heir Hideyori would be recognized or accepted as Shogun.
Most notably, Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori were publicly critical of the bureaucrats, especially Ishida Mitsunari and Konishi Yukinaga. Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of this situation, and recruited them, redirecting the animosity to weaken the Toyotomi clan.
BeginningTokugawa Ieyasu was no longer rivaled in terms of seniority, rank, reputation and overall influence within the Toyotomi clan after the death of Regent Maeda Toshiie. Rumors started to spread stating that Ieyasu, at that point the only surviving ally of Oda Nobunaga, would take over Hideyoshi's legacy just as Nobunaga's was taken. This was especially evident amongst the loyalist bureaucrats, who suspected Ieyasu of agitating unrest amongst Toyotomi's former vassals.
Later, a supposed conspiracy to assassinate Ieyasu surfaced, and many Toyotomi loyalists, including Toshiie's son, Toshinaga, were accused of taking part and forced to submit to Ieyasu's authority. However, Uesugi Kagekatsu, one of Hideyoshi's appointed regents, defied Ieyasu by building up his military. When Ieyasu officially condemned him and demanded that he come to Kyoto to explain himself before the emperor, Kagekatsu's chief advisor, Naoe Kanetsugu responded with a counter-condemnation that mocked Ieyasu's abuses and violations of Hideyoshi's rules, in such a way that Ieyasu was infuriated.
Afterwards, Ieyasu summoned the help of various supporters and led them northward to attack the Uesugi clan, which at that moment were besieging Hasedo, but Ishida Mitsunari, grasping the opportunity, rose up in response and created an alliance to challenge Ieyasu's supporters, also seizing various daimyo as hostages in Osaka Castle.
Ieyasu then left some forces led by Date Masamune to keep the Uesugi in check and marched west to confront the western forces. A few daimyo, most notably Sanada Masayuki, left Ieyasu's alliance, although most, either bearing grudges against Mitsunari or being loyal to Ieyasu, stayed with him.
The battleMitsunari, in his home Sawayama Castle, met with Otani Yoshitsugu, Mashita Nagamori, and Ankokuji Ekei. Here, they forged the alliance, and invited Mori Terumoto, who actually did not take part in the battle, to be its head.
Mitsunari then officially declared war on Ieyasu and lay siege to the Fushimi Castle, garrisoned by Tokugawa retainer Torii Mototada on July 19. Afterwards, the western forces captured various Tokugawa outposts in the Kansai region and within a month, the western forces had moved into the Mino Province, where Sekigahara was located.
Back in Edo, Ieyasu received news of the situation in Kansai and decided to deploy his forces. He had some former Toyotomi daimyo engage with the western forces while he split his troops and marched west on the Tokaido towards Osaka Castle.
Ieyasu's son Hidetada led another group through Nakasendo. However, Hidetada's forces were bogged down as he attempted to besiege Sanada Masayuki's Ueda Castle. Even though the Tokugawa forces numbered some 38,000, an overwhelming advantage over the Sanada's mere 2,000, they were still unable to capture the strategist's well-defended position. At the same time, 15,000 Toyotomi troops were being held up by 500 troops under Hosokawa Fujitaka at Tanabe Castle in Wakayama Prefecture. Some among the 15,000 troops respected Hosokawa so much they intentionally slowed their pace down. Both these incidents resulted in a large number of Tokugawa and Toyotomi troops not to show up in time at the battlefield of Sekigahara.
Knowing that Ieyasu was heading toward Osaka, Mitsunari decided to abandon his positions and marched to Sekigahara. On September 15, the two sides started to deploy their forces. Ieyasu's eastern army had 88,888 men, whilst Mitsunari's western army numbered 81,890.
Fall of the western armyEven though the western forces had tremendous tactical advantages, Ieyasu had already contacted many daimyo on the western side, promising them land and leniency after the battle should they switch sides. This led some western commanders holding key positions to hesitate when pressed to send in reinforcements or join the battle that was already in progress.
Mori Hidemoto and Kobayakawa Hideaki were two such daimyo. They were in such positions that if they decided to close in on the eastern forces, they would in fact have Ieyasu surrounded on three sides. Hidemoto, shaken by Ieyasu's promises, also persuaded Kikkawa Hiroie not to take part in the battle.
Even though Kobayakawa had responded to Ieyasu's call, he remained hesitant and neutral. As the battle grew more intense, Ieyasu finally ordered arquebusiers to fire at Kobayakawa's position on Mount Matsuo. At that point Kobayakawa joined the battle on the eastern side. His forces assaulted Yoshitsugu's position, which quickly fell apart as he was already engaging Todo Takatora's forces. Seeing this as an act of treachery, western generals such as Wakisaka Yasuharu, Ogawa Suketada, Akaza Naoyasu, and Kutsuki Mototsuna immediately switched sides, turning the tide of battle.
The western forces disintegrated afterwards, and the commanders scattered and fled. Some, like Ukita Hideie managed to escape, while others, like Sakon was shot and wounded by a rifle though it's unknown if he died from it, Otani Yoshitsugu committed suicide. Mitsunari, Yukinaga and Ekei were some of those who were captured and a few, like Mori Terumto and Shimazu Yoshihiro were able to return to their home provinces. Mitsunari himself would be decapitated.
Rise of the Tokugawa ShogunateTokugawa Ieyasu redistributed the lands and fiefs of the participants, generally rewarding those who assisted him and displacing, punishing, or exiling those who fought against him. In doing so, he gained control of many former Toyotomi territories. Following the public execution of Ishida Mitsunari, Konishi Yukinaga and Ankokuji Ekei, the influence and reputation of the Toyotomi clan and its remaining loyalists drastically decreased.
From the Toyotomi clan's point of view though, the battle was technically only an internal conflict between Toyotomi vassals. This view was challenged however because Ieyasu was later made Shogun, a position that had been left vacant since the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate 27 years earlier. This change in official ranks also reversed the subordinate position of the Tokugawa clan, thus making the Toyotomi clan subordinates of the Tokugawa instead. In any case, Ieyasu did not gain any casus belli to take action against the frail Toyotomi clan; rather, it would take more political maneuvers for Ieyasu to destroy Hideyori once and for all.
Seeds of DissentWhile most clans were content with their new status, there were many clans, especially those on the western side, who became bitter about their displacement or what they saw as a dishonorable defeat or punishment. Three clans in particular did not take the aftermath of Sekigahara lightly:
- The Mori clan, headed by Mori Terumoto, remained angry toward the Tokugawa shogunate for being displaced from their fief, Aki, and being relocated to the Choshu Domain, even though the clan did not take part in the battle at all.
- The Shimazu clan, headed by Shimazu Yoshihiro, blamed the defeat on its poor intelligence-gathering, and while they were not displaced from their home province of Satsuma, they did not become completely loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate either. Taking advantage of its large distance between Edo and the island of Kyushu as well as its improved espionage, the Shimazu clan demonstrated that it was virtually an autonomous kingdom independent from the Tokugawa shogunate during its last days.
- The Chosokabe clan, headed by Chosokabe Motochika, was stripped of its title and domain of Tosa and sent into exile. Former Chosokabe retainers never quite came to terms with the new ruling family, the Yamauchi clan, which made a distinction between its own retainers and former Chosokabe retainers, giving them lesser status as well as discriminating treatment. This class distinction continued even generations after the fall of the Chosokabe clan.
The descendants of these three clans would in two centuries collaborate to bring down the Tokugawa shogunate, leading to the Meiji Restoration.
Miyamoto Musashi- According to tradition, the legendary kensei Miyamoto Musashi was present at the battle among the ranks of Ukita Hideie's army. Supposedly, he fought well and escaped the defeat of Hideie's forces unharmed. Whether this is fact or myth is unknown; Musashi would have been around 16 years of age at the time.
Appearances in popular culture- This battle is the main fighting scene in the film . The film also reveals some of the main characters and political situation, which is a little perverted by the film plot.
- This battle figures prominently in the manga and anime series Samurai Deeper Kyo.
- The battle appears in the video games Kessen and Samurai Warriors 2 for the Playstation 2. Both games feature many what-if scenarios, some of which turns the tide of the battle resulting in victory for the Western army.
- The battle will also be featured in as part of the Japanese campaign.
- This battle appears in as one of the historic battles for the PC.
- In Azumi, the Battle of Sekigahara is a major plot element.
- James Clavell's best-selling novel "Shogun" depicts the events leading up to this climactic battle, although the battle itself is only referred to in a short two-paragraph postscript.
- The 2003 mini-series Musashi begins with a young Miyamoto Musashi emerging from beneath numerous corpses in the aftermath of Sekigahara. The Japanese manga Vagabond also begins with a similar scene.
- In the 1954 film SAMURAI I: by director Hiroshi Inagaki the beginning of the film involves the great battle of Sekigahara, and Miyamoto Musashi is portrayed by legendary actor Toshiro Mifune.
- The battle is also featured in the Shogun episode of the BBC 2 series Heroes and Villains.
External links - The website of Samurai Author and Historian Anthony J. Bryant
- Anthony J. Bryant is the author of Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power, Praeger Publishers;(September, 2005)
- A strategy war game based on the battle:
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