Bōsō Chiran-Ki
Encyclopedia
The , or "Chronicle of Bōsō at War and Peace", is a minor Japanese medieval text of unknown authorship that chronicles events of the southern part of Kazusa Province
of the Bōsō Peninsula
in present-day Chiba Prefecture
in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
.
" (軍記物語), or war tale written primarily in the Kamakura
and Muromachi period
s that focus on wars and conflicts. It consists of one volume, and is arranged in chronological order by event. Its exact time of authorship is also unknown. The Bōsō Chiran-Ki is traditionally dated to the beginning of the Edo period
, and was probably started between 1596 and finished as late as the 1660s. The chronicle is generally thought of to be an accurate account of regional conflicts in Kazusa Province, but the veracity of many parts of the account are uncertain. In spite of its many flaws, the document is one of the most important existing document concerning local history of a large part of Chiba Prefecture prior to the Meiji period
.
The earliest manuscript of the Bōsō Chiran-Ki dates to 1668 and is now held by the National Archives of Japan
. A modern printing of the chronicle was released as part of a long series of source documents of the Bōsō region by the Bōsō Sōsho Kankōkai in 1940.
” feifdoms from local leaders by the Tokugawa clan
, the inevitable demise of the feifdoms by Hideyoshi Toyotomi after the Siege of Odawara in 1590
.
The chronicle especially richly details the conflict between the castle lords of Kazusa Province, specifically:
The chronicle also describes the devastating Kazusa earthquake of 1601. It ends with an account of Rodrigo de Vivero. Rodrigo, a Spanish noble and governor-elect to the Philippines, was shipwrecked off the Pacific Ocean
coast of the Bōsō Peninsula in present-day Onjuku
in 1609, visited Ōtaki Castle and the capitol Edo
.
Kazusa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or .Kazusa is classified as one of the...
of the Bōsō Peninsula
Boso Peninsula
thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....
in present-day Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Authorship
The chronicle has no identifiable author, was probably composed by multiple authors and editors from a variety of sources, and frequently revised over a period of several centuries. The chronicle was, however, probably written by someone with an intimate knowledge of the geography the Bōsō region from the time of the chronicle into the Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
.
Composition
The chronicle is a regional example of a "gunki monogatariGunki monogatari
, or “war tales,” is a category of Japanese literature written primarily in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods that focus on wars and conflicts, especially the civil wars that took place between 1156 and 1568...
" (軍記物語), or war tale written primarily in the Kamakura
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
s that focus on wars and conflicts. It consists of one volume, and is arranged in chronological order by event. Its exact time of authorship is also unknown. The Bōsō Chiran-Ki is traditionally dated to the beginning of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, and was probably started between 1596 and finished as late as the 1660s. The chronicle is generally thought of to be an accurate account of regional conflicts in Kazusa Province, but the veracity of many parts of the account are uncertain. In spite of its many flaws, the document is one of the most important existing document concerning local history of a large part of Chiba Prefecture prior to the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
.
The earliest manuscript of the Bōsō Chiran-Ki dates to 1668 and is now held by the National Archives of Japan
National Archives of Japan
The preserve Japanese government documents and historical records and make them available to the public. Although Japan's reverence for its unique history and art is well documented and illustrated by collections of art and documents, there is almost no archivist tradition...
. A modern printing of the chronicle was released as part of a long series of source documents of the Bōsō region by the Bōsō Sōsho Kankōkai in 1940.
Contents
The Bōsō Chiran-Ki primarily details the circumstances surrounding local conflicts and the hostilities between regional commanders. It notably records the division, from approximately 1587, of traditional “fudaiFudai
was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
” feifdoms from local leaders by the Tokugawa clan
Tokugawa clan
The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...
, the inevitable demise of the feifdoms by Hideyoshi Toyotomi after the Siege of Odawara in 1590
Siege of Odawara (1590)
The third ' occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear...
.
The chronicle especially richly details the conflict between the castle lords of Kazusa Province, specifically:
- Yoritada Masaki, Awa Masaki clan, lord of Katsuura Castle in present-day Katsuura City,
- Yoriharu Toki, Toki clanToki clanThe was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki in Mino Province as their hometown...
, lord of Mangi Castle in present-day Isumi City, - Toyonobu Takeda, Takeda clan, lord of Chōnan Castle in present-day ChonanChonanChonan may refer to:*Chōnan, the Japanese moniker for the eldest son in a family.*Chōnan, Chiba, a town in Japan*Cheonan, a city in South Korea**Battle of Chonan, a battle in the city during the Korean War...
, - Yoshiyasu Satomi, Satomi clanSatomi clanThe Satomi clan was a clan of samurai which claimed descent from Nitta Yoshishige , whose son Yoshitoshi took 'Satomi' as his surname. The Satomi moved from Kōzuke province to Awa province in the mid-15th century, and remained there into the Edo Period. During the Sengoku period, the Satomi were...
, lord of Ōtaki CastleŌtaki Castlewas a flatland castle located in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The site of the castle is now the Ōtaki Shrine, a shrine to Kawakami Gozen, the Japanese goddess of papermaking.- References :*http://www.geocities.jp/hokuriku1970/ootaki.html...
in the present-day town of ŌtakiOtaki, Chibais a town located in Isumi District, Chiba, Japan, occupying the center of the Bōsō Peninsula. The town is known for its association with Edo period general Honda Tadakatsu and its prominent castle. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 10,794 and a population density of 83.1 persons...
.
The chronicle also describes the devastating Kazusa earthquake of 1601. It ends with an account of Rodrigo de Vivero. Rodrigo, a Spanish noble and governor-elect to the Philippines, was shipwrecked off the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast of the Bōsō Peninsula in present-day Onjuku
Onjuku, Chiba
is a town located in Isumi District, Chiba, Japan. As of 2010, the town has an estimated population of 7,823 and a density of 314 persons per km². The total area is 24.92 km²...
in 1609, visited Ōtaki Castle and the capitol Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
.