Shogun
Shogun is a series launched by Disney this year that has been well received in North America. Here's a look at Shogun's real-life backstory, the Sekigahara Combine, as well as some resources for sightseeing related to the Sekigahara Combine.
The Battle of Sekigahara
Tokugawa Ieyasu
(1543~1616)
Ishida Mitsunari
(1559~1600)
In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the supreme ruler of Japan and a great man of his generation, died, leaving behind his -year-old son. Before his death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi set up the system of the Council of Five Elders and Five Commissioners to assist his young son in ruling the country. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the head of the Council of Five Elders, was the leader of the most prestigious samurai family at that time, just below the Toyotomi family. As the head of the Council of Five Elders, Tokugawa Ieyasu coerced, seduced, and drew in the rest of the samurai who were subordinate to the Toyotomi family, almost overthrowing the Toyotomi family. Ishida Mitsunari, the head of the Council of Five Elders, was a young samurai who was single-handedly promoted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi from a small samurai and had absolute loyalty to the Toyotomi family. He had long been dissatisfied with Tokugawa Ieyasu's insubordination, so he moved around and gathered many samurai who were dissatisfied with Tokugawa Ieyasu's domineering behavior. Finally, when Tokugawa Ieyasu went east to conquer the Uesugi family, Ishida Mitsunari raised an army and formed a western army to crush Tokugawa. Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of the fact that Ishida Mitsunari was very unpopular, and formed an eastern army with samurai of the former Toyotomi family to fight against Ishida Mitsunari. The two sides, totaling 200,000 troops, gathered in Sekigahara. In the end, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was more experienced in war, was superior, and the western generals had their own plans, so in just four hours, a great battle was decided, and Ishida Mitsunari was arrested and beheaded. From then on, the Tokugawa family replaced the Toyotomi family as the most powerful samurai family in Japan. In 1603, the Edo Shogunate was established, and the center of power in Japan shifted from Osaka and Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo).
Fushimi Momoyama Castle
Fushimi Castle for short was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified Japan. It became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's residence in his later years because it was located between Kyoto and Osaka, allowing for better control of the capital area. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was good at siege warfare, and Fushimi Castle, built in his later years, became a masterpiece of Japanese castles.
Before Tokugawa Ieyasu led his army to the east against the Uesugi clan, he expected that Ishida Mitsunari would take advantage of the situation and Fushimi Castle would be the first castle to be attacked. In order to preserve his strength, he left his own general, Torii Mototada , and only 1,000 soldiers to defend Fushimi. The Torii family had served the Tokugawa family for generations, and Torii Mototada had grown up with Ieyasu as his childhood playmate.
On the eve of their departure, Ieyasu and Mototada drank and talked late into the night, understanding that they would never see each other again. At the banquet, there was no courtesy between the king and his ministers, but only the love of brotherhood.
After Ieyasu left, Ishida Mitsunari raised an army of 40,000 men to besiege Fushimi Castle. Faced with an army 20 times the size of the enemy's, Torii Mototada was unafraid and defended the castle for more than 10 days, but was eventually outnumbered and defeated. Torii Mototada died bravely without surrendering or fleeing, and was praised by the samurai of the Western army as a reference for samurai.
It is said that the battle was so fierce that the blood of the dead and wounded samurai from both sides penetrated into the floor and stained the floor so red that it could not be washed away. When Fushimi Castle was demolished, the floorboards were used to build the patio of the main hall of Housen-in (located in the northeast of Kyoto), which is still said to be a bloody patio.
Gifu Castle
Formerly known as Inabayama Castle, Gifu Castle was the residence of Saito Dosan, a famous conspirator and "Viper of Mino" during the Warring States period. After the fall of the Saito family, Oda Nobunaga took over the castle and renamed it Gifu Castle, beginning his reign of power. Gifu Castle was strategically located on a high hill overlooking the Nobi Plain (Nagoya area).
Prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, the vanguard of the Eastern Army, which consisted of former members of the Toyotomi family, fought Oda Hidenobu , the grandson of Oda Nobunaga , who was a subordinate of the Western Army, and conquered Gifu Castle in order to welcome Tokugawa Ieyasu to the city.
Gifu Castle, located on Mount Kinka in Gifu, Japan, has been transformed into a civic park, offering various attractions for visitors. One of the key features of the park is a cable car that takes visitors up the hill to the castle. The Tenshukaku, or Heavenly Guardian's Pavilion, was reconstructed using reinforced concrete. Inside, it houses a museum displaying historical artifacts, including samurai armor, weapons, and exhibits related to the castle's history and the Sengoku period. The museum offers insights into the life and times of the warlords who once occupied the castle, providing an educational experience for visitors. Additionally, the top floor of the Tenshukaku offers panoramic views of the surrounding area, making it a popular spot for sightseeing.
Ogaki Castle
Ogaki Castle was a strategic place that held the road from Mino (present-day Gifu Prefecture) to Osaka, Kyoto, and was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Before the Battle of Sekigahara, Ishida Mitsunari's western army of 100,000 men defended the castle against Tokugawa Ieyasu's eastern army.
Tokugawa Ieyasu tricked Ishida Mitsunari to lead his army out of the castle and set up a battlefield by pretending to ignore Ogaki Castle and continue westward to Osaka. Ishida Mitsunari, who was inexperienced in military affairs and did not listen to the advice of the rest of the samurai, set up his troops in Sekigahara, giving Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was good at field battles and had a lot of experience in military affairs, a chance. In only 4 hours, Ishida Mitsunari was defeated and fled.
Apart from some stone walls, there is not much left of the original castle, which was besieged and taken by Tokugawa after the Battle of Sekigahara and destroyed in World War II.The small keep in Ogaki Park is a modern reconstruction, built in 1959 and then completely redesigned in 2002 to be more faithful to the pre-war original. The castle keep now houses an interesting history museum, dedicated to the events at Sekigahara. Other exhibits include Edo Period weapons, suits of armor, documents and original roof tiles.
Sekigahara Battlefield
The ancient battlefield of Sekigahara, along with Waterloo and Gettysburg, was one of the world's three greatest battlefields, and in the early morning hours of September 10, 1600, Ishida Mitsunari, who had been trapped in a trap, led the western army in Sekigahara, blocking the eastern army's attempt to advance westward. Ishida Mitsunari, who had little military experience, took the rare step of arranging a crane-wing formation, forming a half-enclosure around the eastern army.200 years later, during the Meiji Restoration, Major Mitchell, a German military advisor hired by the Meiji government, saw the Sekigahara Battle Formation and said without hesitation that the western army would surely win the battle.
However, the generals of the western army were all harboring their own ideas, and Ishida Mitsunari was not a great general and was not well-liked, so only one-third of the 100,000-strong army was put into the battlefield. Only one-third of the 100,000-strong army was committed to the battlefield. The Mouri family watched from the sidelines, and Kobayakawa Hideaki turned his back on the Western army, causing it to collapse in only four hours. Ishida Mitsunari escaped and was arrested, and the battle of the century was won in half a day.
Nowadays, the old battlefield of Sekigahara has been restored to its normal idyllic setting, with samurai positions scattered around the farmland. A new memorial hall has been built at the center of the battle, showing the details of the battle of the century and the swords and armor used by the samurai at that time. In addition to samurai performances, you can dress up as a samurai and feel the atmosphere of the battlefield.