The Trap

Nobunaga succeeded at the Battle of Okehazama due to he was able to trap the Imagawa and the crush them in a surprise attack.  David D. Neilson's thesis Society at War goes into great detail on this.  Neilson (pp.  80-81).

"It soon became clear that the Imagawa would pass through an area where there were several riverside villages under the leadership of a village headman named Tozaemon, a man with whom Maeno Shoemon and Hachisuka Koroku were acquainted.  Seeing this as the opportunity they needed to halt the progress of the Imagawa army that they had been waiting for, Maeno and Hachisuka set their plan in motion.  Bringing them a large amount of carefully chosen foods and sake, they and some of their men joined a group of villagers led by the aforementioned Tozaemon and some Shinto and Buddhist priests, and went out to the road to wait for Imagawa Yoshimoto to pass by.  They were planning to offer the food to him as a gift celebrating the auspicious beginning of his campaign against Nobunaga and secure his favor.  


They waited on their hands and knees in the dirt on the side of the road with their gifts laid out on white cloths.  It was so hot that those who were waiting later said that they became dizzy from the heat.  It was no small gesture-and no small risk for peasants to approach someone like Imagawa Yoshimoto and the Imagawa outrider who initially encountered them told them to disperse or be cut down.  They were persistent however, and after the outrider returned to tell Imagawa Yoshimoto of the peasant's wish to offer him their congratulations, Hachisuka Koroku, who was secreted within the group, had the villagers move to a place further down the road to a place which was shady and therefore more inviting during the heat of the day.  The trees and hills father down the road also provided much needed cover for the approach of the Oda army which was already riding out from Kiyosu to lay in wait among the nearby hills and villages.  Onikuro who Maeno and Hachisuka had been ordered to report to once they had Yoshimoto's location, had been sent out ahead of the main Oda force.  He took their report and rode back to relay this critical piece of intelligence information directly to Nobunaga."

The gift giving scene is played out really well in the movie Fuunji Oda Nobunaga (1959).  The Men of the Fields did everything they could to make sure the trap worked or Nobunaga would not have been  successful at at.  The weather played a key role and the Imagawa army must have been exhausted from the intense heat.  The gifts of food and drink along the shade of the trees provided much relief to the Imagawa army.  Yoshimoto took the bait and the rest was history.   Happy Battle of Okehazama Day!

Okehazama no tame!

New Okehazama resources

Earlier this week I found out from a friend that there is new new material on the Battle of Okehazama.  After looking at the link, I can tell you this is a must have.  All 156 pages are in color and the contents contain lots of maps, photos, and the like.  The information is easy to follow and understand.  I approve the new book and looking forward to reading it in the future.  The book is on sale this week and it is perfect timing since the Okehazama festival is near as well as the anniversary of the battle.   I would like to know Wataru and Yukio Kajino's opinion on the new book.  Hopefully, a positive response.

Here is the link:  http://okehazama.jp/

Nobunaga no tame!

Ota Kinjo

One of the newest landmarks that was erected at the Arimatsu Okehazama Battlefield is dedicated to Ota Kinjo.  Ota Kinjo (1765-1825) was a Confucian scholar and poet who visited the area in 1819.  It was said that he wrote a poem about the battle.  The man who was in charge in construction and setting this landmark up was Mr. Okehazama, Wataru Kajino.  It is certainly a nice new landmark that has made the Arimatsu Okehazama Battlefield much more beautiful.

Tenka no tame!

The birth of Okehazama

It is that time of year again and this month I will continue to discuss the Battle of Okehazama.  Okehazama's roots came from the warrior class.  During the period of 1340-41 the losers of the Nanbokucho Wars fled and hid near the Chofukuji Temple area.  There were around twenty or so people that fled and they served under Nitta Yoshisada.  The families included Nakayama, Aoyama, and the Kajino.  This was the birth of Okehazama. During the time of the Battle of Okehazama, the population was less than a hundred people. It makes sense since the picture above was taken in the Taisho/Early Showa Era shows that the battlefield was nothing but farmland.

Even its name has changed throughout the centuries.  Before the Edo Era, the area was known as Horazama, Kukihazama, and Hokehazama.  By the Edo Era, the name was more stabled to Okehazama with various kanji spelling. The modern kanji spelling of Okehazama first appeared in 1878.  Okehazama was founded and built by warriors and it was the perfect place for Nobunaga's finest hour in 1560 when he defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Nobunaga no tame!

DKIA

DKIA (Demon King in Action) and he was good at it. This is a passage from Carol Richmond Tsang's War and Faith: Ikko Ikki in Late Muromachi Japan. She uses the Echizen no kuni soetsuki.

Tsang (p. 1).

"In the autumn of Tensho 3 [1575], a Buddhist priest visited the military commander Oda Nobunaga during one of the latter's campaign conquest. His temple had economic interests in the province Nobunaga had just absorbed, and the priest hoped to safeguard them by being on the spot. His diary of the stay mentions some of Nobunaga's forces returning to camp after a 'mountain hunt,' which usually referred to tracking wild boar, a common samurai pastime. This time they did not hunt wild boar or the like, however, the priest noted a new definition of the term: 'a mountain hunt means killing members of the ikki (league) and cutting off their noses to bring back as an indication of the number killed. Also, more than two hundred were alive and beheaded in the rice fields to the west of camp.'

The soldiers' prey was human. In the sixteenth-century Japan, rewards for warriors depended largely on the number and status of those they killed, and their commanders required proof. Noses sufficed as trophies from low-status enemies."

This brutality was nothing new in the Sengoku world. The grim warfare was a necessity since only the meanest, evilest, and wicked ruled and survived in Sengoku Japan. I stated this before, nice guys do not finish last in Sengoku Japan, they are dead! Nobunaga used his wickedness to scare the living the hell out of his enemies and he excelled at it.

Tenka no tame!

Funeral story

I wrote a short story on Oda Nobuhide's funeral and Nobunaga's behavior. Enjoy.

The sound of horror was heard when a few matchlock rifles were fired directly at the temple building. "Take that! That is what you blasphemous monks get for lying to me! If you would have said that my father's life was in God's hands, I probably would spare your lives!" Yelled a livid Nobunaga. He had the monks locked inside the temple with no escape and shot them to death. When Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide was mortally ill, he asked them if his father would recover. The monks replied yes he would recover, but regrettably it would not be the case.

Nobunaga was wearing a yellow yukata with a rope sash; his hair was tied up like a tea whisk with a red and green cord, and his face of that of the devil as he loaded the rifle one more time. The roar of the rifles shook the earth and those monks who were wounded or escaped being hit pleaded Nobunaga for mercy. "Get the hell out of here or I will kill all of you!" One of his pages Maeda Toshiie replied,"What about the ones who cannot escape my Lord?" Nobunaga with an evil look answered,"Kill them since they are no use anymore and burn the building to hell!"

Nobunaga's elders Hirate Masahide and Hayashi Hidesada were at Nagoya Castle when they heard the news about the massacre. "The young Lord has gone crazy. I do not know what he is thinking. His behavior worries me." Hayashi said. Hirate replied, "I have done everything I could to curb him, but he just goes his own way." Hayashi answered back,"Nobunaga is truly the Fool of Owari!" Hirate responded in a low and unconfident voice. "It will get only worse before it will get better. Unfortunately, it has not hit rock bottom yet."

The Tiger of Owari (Oda Nobuhide) unexpectedly passed away in early 1551 at the age of forty-two at Suemori Castle. He was a capable man and struck friendships with many. Nobuhide was often at war against the Saito, Imagawa, and the Matsudaira. a few days later the former lord's funeral was held at a Soto Zen temple called Banshoji. Nobuhide's posthumous name was Togan and the funeral attracted several monks who wondered around and were lured in by the cash that was handed out. In all, some three hundred clerics attended the ceremony. However, one monk from Kyushu that was present at the funeral service would soon recognize Nobunaga's future as the new warlord of the ages.

Lord Nobunaga's elders were in attendance. Hayashi, Hirate, Naito and others included Nobunaga's lovely wife Nohime (Kicho) was present and everyone was wearing formal attire. Nohime's heart was heavy in sorrow as her mother Omi no kata recently passed away last month. As for his younger brother Nobuyuki, his retainers were also in presence. Nobunaga's mother Dota Gozen, Shibata Katsuie, Sakuma Morishige, Sakuma Jiemon, and others were there. As for Dota Gozen and Nobunaga, sadly, never got along since she sided with Nobuyuki.

As the monks were chanting the sutras, the temple had a gloomy tense feeling since Nobunaga was not in attendance. His elders were nervous and terrified. They began to ask each other questions on Nobunaga's whereabouts. Hirate then politely asked Nohime,"Do you know where the young Lord is at this hour?" She whispered softly with prayer beads in hand. "Unfortunately no. I did see him this morning, but he left." Hayashi then asked the same question to Nobunaga's pages. Again, no word on the young Lord's situation and everyone looked bewildered. Nobunaga's page, Maeda Toshiie then told Hirate that the young Lord went riding alone in the countryside. "You got to be kidding me. At this time of hour, the young Lord is riding alone? He should know better than that." Replied Hirate with beads of sweat all over his face due to stress.

Just about when the head priest rang the bell to start burning the incense for the dead, Toshiie cried out,"The young Lord has finally arrived!" Hayashi and Hirate's faces of nervousness and confusion turned into liberation. "Thank God, Nobunaga is finally here to pay his respects to the former Lord." Hirate said to himself as he slowly breathed a sign of relief. The rest of the Oda house was happy as well. That being said, the fireworks were about to begin.

Nobunaga then slowly walked on the wooden floor. His apparel was not proper at all. Instead he wore a red yukata caked with mud with a rope sash, from his waist sway a couple of gourds, his hair tied up as a tea whisk with a green cord as he normally prefers, and carried his sword and dagger. Hirate then harshly scolded Nobunaga. "Learn from your younger brother Nobuyuki who is dressed in formal attire!" Nobunaga paid no attention to Hirate or his elders. He pounded the sword on the floor and with his right hand grabbed a handful of the incense powder. The temple was dead silent. Nobunaga's face was a bit dirty and sweaty,showed no emotion at all, and his elders were terrified. Nobunaga then threw the incense powder, ignored everybody and left. Everyone in attendance was in total shock and said that Nobunaga was the biggest fool in the entire province of Owari. However, the monk from Kyushu begged to differ. "That young Lord will rule many provinces in the future. Yes, that one who just left the building." Nobunaga's elders were certainly embarrassed and could not believe what they just saw. Some say that young Nobunaga purposely played the role of the fool in order to survive.

Nobunaga wanted to grieve alone and in his own way and rejected traditional authority. He was facing north towards Iwakura (home of the Oda Iwakura house) and started to load the matchlock rifle. He lit the fuse and was about to fire and then said, "Do not worry father. I will finish the job you started and unify Owari!" The somber sound of the rifle was something as if were a twenty-one gun salute. Black smoke filled the air and the smell of gunpowder was pungent. Nobunaga again fired and told his father he will unify Owari. The future Demon King quietly saddled up on his gray horse and slowly headed back to Nagoya Castle.

Nobunaga no tame!

Multiple Dosan Graves?

Saito Dosan was defeated and killed by his son Yoshitatsu at the Battle of Nagaragawa in 1556. Donsan does have a grave located in Gifu City. According to this link, there is a chance that there might be multiple graves of Saito Dosan. http://ameblo.jp/mikawa-hide/entry-11202206062.html

One theory could be that Dosan's corpse was cut in to pieces by Yoshitatsu's soldiers who claimed they were the one who killed Dosan. If that is correct, then there should be more graves. Here is how Dosan was killed according to the Shincho-Ko ki, p. 103 Elisonas/Lamers (Gyuichi).

"Nagai Chuzaemon took on Dosan, laid hold of him as he was raising high his assault sword, and locked him in an embrace. Just when Nagai had almost succeeded in taking Yamashiro Dosan alive, Komaki Genta, a ferocious samurai, came running up, mowed down Dosan crosswise at the shins, and took his head as he fell prostrate. Chuzaemon, keen to get some evidence for later, sliced off Dosan's nose and made off."

Saito Dosan was an interesting and colorful figure in my opinion. If there are more of his graves/tombs scattered around Gifu City, I would like to know.

Tenka no tame!