1.
Kaga Domain
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The Kaga Domain, also known as Kanazawa Domain, was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with the provinces of Kaga, Noto and Etchū in modern-day Ishikawa Prefecture, in the han system, Kaga was a political and economic abstraction based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields. In other words, the domain was defined in terms of kokudaka and this was different from the feudalism of the West. Maeda Toshiie was a military commander, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. A member of the Council of Five Elders who ruled Japan during the Sengoku period and his eldest son, Maeda Toshinaga, supported Tokugawa Ieyasu in his rise to power and was rewarded by an increase in his lands to 1.25 million koku. Except for the Tokugawa holdings, the domain was the richest in the nation and this branch held the Nanokaichi Domain, rated at the minimum of 10,000 koku. The Maeda clan ruled Kaga until the abolition of the domains in 1871, the hereditary daimyōs were heads of the clan and of the domain. Toshiie Toshinaga Toshitsune Mitsutaka Tsunanori Yoshinori Munetoki Shigehiro Shigenobu Shigemichi Harunaga Narinaga Nariyasu Yoshiyasu The clan records were preserved over the course of centuries, list of Han Abolition of the han system Brown, Philip C. Central authority and local autonomy in the formation of early modern Japan, sankin kōtai dōchūki, Kaga-han shiryō o yomu 参勤交代道中記, 加賀藩史料を読む. Flershem, Robert G. and Yoshiko N. Flershem, Kaga, a domain which changed slowly. Hamburg, Gesellschaft für Natur und Völkerkunde Ostasiens, mcClain, James L. Kanazawa, a seventeenth-century Japanese castle town
2.
Maeda Toshiie
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Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the fourth of seven brothers and his preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as Yari no Mataza, Matazaemon being his common name. The highest rank from the court that he received is the Great Counselor Dainagon, Toshiie was born in the village of Arako, the fourth son of Maeda Toshimasa, who held Arako Castle. Just like Nobunaga, Toshiie was also a delinquent, usually dressed in the style of a kabukimono. It is believed he became a friend to Kinoshita Tokichiro in their youth. Just as Hideyoshi was known as Saru, 猴 or monkey, it is believed that Toshiie was called Inu, 犬 or dog by Nobunaga. Due to a belief that dogs and monkeys are never friendly to each other, Toshiie is often depicted as reserved and stern, in contrast to Hideyoshis talkative. Toshiie began his career as a member of the akahoro-shū, the unit under Oda Nobunagas personal command and he later became an infantry captain in the Oda army. During his military career, Toshiie made the acquaintance of many important figures, such as Hashiba Hideyoshi, Sassa Narimasa, Akechi Mitsuhide, Takayama Ukon, Toshiie also was a lifelong rival of Tokugawa Ieyasu. After defeating the Asakura clan, Maeda fought under Shibata Katsuie in the Hokuriku area and he participated in the 1570 Battle of Anegawa and the 1577 Battle of Tedorigawa. He was eventually granted the fief of Fuchu, and a han spanning Noto, Toshiie benefited from a core group of very capable senior vassals. Some, like Murai Nagayori and Okumura Nagatomi, were retainers of long standing with the Maeda, after Nobunagas assassination at Honnō-ji by Akechi Mitsuhide and Mitsuhides subsequent defeat by Hideyoshi, he battled Hideyoshi under Shibatas command in the Battle of Shizugatake. After Shibatas defeat, Toshiie worked for Hideyoshi and became one of his leading generals, later somewhere during this time he was forced to fight another of his friends, Sassa Narimasa. Narimasa was greatly outnumbered and felled by Toshiie, following the major Maeda victory at the Battle of Suemori Castle, before dying in 1598, Hideyoshi named Toshiie to the council of Five Elders to support Toyotomi Hideyori until he was old enough to take control on his own. However, Toshiie himself was ailing, and could manage to support Hideyori for only a year before he died as well, Toshiie was succeeded by his son Toshinaga. Father, Maeda Toshimasa Siblings, Maeda Toshihisa Maeda Yasukatsu Maeda Toshifusa Sawaki Yoshiyuki Maeda Hidetsugu Maeda Masa Toshiies wife, strong-willed from childhood, she was well-versed in the martial arts and was instrumental in Toshiies rise to success. Children, Maeda Toshinaga Maeda Toshimasa Maeda Toshitsune Maeda Toshitaka Maeda Toshitoyo Kō Maa Gō Chise Kiku Their sons all became daimyōs in their own right, in popular culture He is a playable character in video game Sengoku Basara 2 and an unplayable character in video game Sengoku Basara 4. He is a character in the video game Samurai warriors 2 Extreme legends
3.
Owari Province
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Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646, Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were separated by the Sakai River, which means border river and its abbreviated form name was Bishū. Owari is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō, under the Engishiki classification system, Owari was ranked as a superior country and a near country, in relation to its distance from the capital. Atsuta Shrine is of ancient origin, ranking with Ise Shrine in importance, and is the repository of one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Under the Engishiki classification system, Owari was divided into eight counties, during the Heian period, the province was divided into numerous shōen controlled by local samurai clans. However, by the Sengoku period, the province had fragmented into small territories largely dominated by the Oda clan. Under Oda Nobunaga, the province was reunified, Nobunaga began his campaign to reunify Japan from his stronghold at Kiyosu Castle. and many of his retainers were natives of Owari, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Katō Kiyomasa. Yoshinao was founder of the Owari Tokugawa clan, one of the Gosanke, the castle town of Nagoya prospered during this period, and Owari Province was especially known for its ceramics industry. At the same time, the continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Owari is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 between Japan and the United States and between Japan and the United Kingdom, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Papinot, Edmond. Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan, OCLC77691250 Media related to Owari Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdochs map of provinces,1903
4.
Takaoka, Toyama
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Takaoka is a city located in the northwestern portion of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, and is the central city of its Western District. Takaoka covers the 8th largest surface area in Toyama Prefecture and has the second largest population after Toyama City, Takaoka became a city on April 1,1889, withdrawing from Imizu District. Originally, the Takaoka region was called Sekino, but when Maeda Toshinaga opened the city in 1609, the present-day suburbs of Takaoka formed the provincial capital of the former Ecchu Province, and Ōtomo no Yakamochi took position as a government official in this area. During his five-year stay he wrote many waka poems and this is the reason for Takaoka being named Manyō City. Even today the event at the annual Manyō Festival is the 20 Volume Manyō recital. In 1609, when Maeda Toshinaga of the Kaga Domain entered Takaoka Castle, at the time of the opening of the city, it was reorganized for a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants and the Samurai Yashiki were positioned around the castle and towards the southern plateau. However, in 1615, when an edict was passed there was to be only one castle in each feudal domain. This resulted in the start of Takaoka’s role as a city of commerce, Takaoka copperware and lacquerware also took off at this time. More recently, on April 1,1889, Takaoka was registered as one of Japans first cities together with 30 cities nationwide, an Imperial decree in July 1899 established Fushiki Port as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. On November 1,2005, the town of Fukuoka was merged into Takaoka, therefore, Nishitonami District was dissolved as a result of this merger. Takaoka covers an area of 209.42 km2, which equates to roughly 5% of the area of Toyama Prefecture. The Takaoka region extends 19.2 km from north to south,24.5 km from east to west with a perimeter of 125.9 km – which is equal to the length of coastline in Toyama Prefecture. Shogawa River and the Oyabegawa River run through Takaoka and tributaries weave their way though the city center, including small rivers, a total of 10 rivers flow through the city. The Amaharashi coast lies to the north of the region, just off the coast lies the island Otokoiwa. Another island, Onnaiwa, lies nearby and the view of this island against the backdrop of the Mount Tate range of peaks is famous, the climate of Takaoka is a humid subtropical climate, similar to that of much of the Japan Sea coast. All of the regions in Toyama Prefecture can experience large quantities of snow in winter, depending on the year, the city can experience extraordinarily heavy snowfall, like, for example in 2006 when snow piled 1. 4m high and in 20111. 27m was recorded. According to weather records, the temperature in 2010 was 14.5 °C, the average level of humidity was 79%. Takaoka is served by JR Wests Takaoka Station with the Hokuriku Main Line, the Himi Line, within the city, Manyōsens Shin-Minato Harbor and Takaoka Kidō lines offer transport
5.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
6.
Oda Nobunaga
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Oda Nobunaga was a powerful Daimyō of Japan in the late 16th century who attempted to unify Japan during the late Sengoku period. Nobunaga is regarded as one of three unifiers of Japan along with his retainers Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga was widely known as one of the most brutal figures in history, eliminating anyone who stood in his way. He was both a ruler and keen businessman, strategizing at both the micro- and macroeconomic scales. He met his demise when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled against him at Honnō-ji, Oda Nobunaga was the first for whom this goal seemed attainable. Nobunaga had gained control over most of Honshu before his death during the 1582 Honnō-ji incident and it is not certain whether Nobunaga was killed in the attack or else committed seppuku. The motivations behind Mitsuhides betrayal was never revealed to anyone who survived the incident, following the incident, Akechi Mitsuhide declared himself master over Nobunagas domains, but was quickly defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who regained control of and greatly expanded the Oda holdings. Oda Nobunaga was born on June 23,1534, in the Owari domain and he was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari Province. He is said to have born in Nagoya Castle, although this is subject to debate. Through his childhood and early years, he was well known for his bizarre behavior. He was known to run around with other youths from the area, with the introduction of firearms into Japan, however, he became known for his fondness of tanegashima firearms. In 1551, Oda Nobuhide died unexpectedly, Nobunaga was said to have acted outrageously during his funeral, throwing ceremonial incense at the altar. This convinced many Oda retainers of Nobunagas mediocrity and lack of discipline, alienated, they then began to side with his soft-spoken and well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki. Hirate Masahide, a mentor and retainer to Nobunaga, was ashamed by Nobunagas behavior. This had an effect on Nobunaga, who later built a temple to honor Masahide. Although Nobunaga was Nobuhides legitimate successor, the Oda clan was divided into factions. Oda Nobutomo, the deceased Nobuhides brother and deputy to the shugo, used the weak Yoshimune as his puppet, Nobutomo murdered Yoshimune when it was discovered that he supported and attempted to aid Nobunaga. This also ensured that the Imagawa clan would have to stop attacking Owaris borders, although Nobuyuki and his supporters were still at large, Nobunaga brought an army to Mino Province to aid Saitō Dōsan after Dōsans son, Saitō Yoshitatsu, turned against him. The campaign failed, as Dōsan was killed in the Battle of Nagara-gawa, a few months later Nobuyuki, with support from Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada, rebelled against Nobunaga
7.
Maeda Matsu
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Maeda Matsu, also known as Omatsu no Kata, was a Japanese woman of the 16th century. She was the wife of Maeda Toshiie, who founded the Kaga Domain, Matsu had a reputation for intelligence, she was skilled at both literary and martial arts. Her sons — Toshinaga, Toshimasa, Toshitsune, Toshitaka, and Toshitoyo – were each allowed the title of daimyō and she also had four daughters, Kō, Maahime, Gōhime and Chiyo. Actress Matsushima Nanako acted as Maeda Matsu in NHK Taiga drama Toshiie to Matsu in 2002, in the TV mini-series Tenchijin, one of her sons sells her to Tokugawa Ieyasu in order to live
8.
Japanese name
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Japanese names in modern times usually consist of a family name, followed by a given name. More than one name is not generally used. Japanese names are written in kanji, which are characters usually Chinese in origin. The kanji for a name may have a variety of possible Japanese pronunciations, Names written in hiragana or katakana are phonetic renderings, and so lack the visual meaning of names expressed in the logographic kanji. Japanese family names are extremely varied, according to estimates, there are over 100,000 different surnames in use today in Japan, the three most common family names in Japan are Satō, Suzuki, and Takahashi. Many Japanese family names derive from features of the landscape, for example, Ishikawa means stone river, Yamamoto means the base of the mountain. While family names follow relatively consistent rules, given names are more diverse in pronunciation. Unusual pronunciations have especially become common, with this trend having increased significantly since the 1990s, male names often end in -rō or -ta, or contain ichi, kazu, ji, or dai while female names often end in -ko or -mi. Other popular endings for female names include -ka and -na, the majority of Japanese people have one surname and one given name with no other names, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members bear no surname. The family name – myōji, uji or sei – precedes the given name, the given name may be referred to as the lower name because, in vertically written Japanese, the given name appears under the family name. People with mixed Japanese and foreign parentage may have middle names, historically, myōji, uji and sei had different meanings. Sei was originally the patrilineal surname which is why up till now it has granted only by the emperor as a title of male rank. The lower form of the name sei being tei which is a name in Japanese men. Although there was an ancestor in ancient Japan from whom the name Sei originally came. There were relatively few sei, and most of the noble clans trace their lineage either directly to these sei or to the courtiers of these sei. Uji was another name used to designate patrilineal descent, but later merged with myōji around the same time, myōji was, simply, what a family chooses to call itself, as opposed to the sei granted by the emperor. While it was passed on patrilineally in male ancestors including in male ancestors called haku, multiple Japanese characters have the same pronunciations, so several Japanese names have multiple meanings. A particular kanji itself can have multiple meanings and pronunciations, in some names, Japanese characters phonetically spell a name and have no intended meaning behind them
9.
Sengoku period
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The Sengoku period is a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict. Japanese historians named it after the otherwise unrelated Warring States period in China and it came to an end when all political power was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate. In the years preceding this era the Shogunate gradually lost influence, many of these Lords began to fight uncontrollably with each other for control over land and influence over the shogunate. As trade with China grew, the developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt. The Ōnin War, a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by a dispute over succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the Sengoku period. The eastern army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed with the army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed, the conflict in Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces. The period culminated with a series of three warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who gradually unified Japan, after Tokugawa Ieyasus final victory at the siege of Osaka in 1615, Japan settled down into several centuries of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Ōnin War in 1467 is usually considered the point of Sengoku period. There are several events which could be considered the end of it, The Siege of Odawara, the Battle of Sekigahara, the upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan regional lords, called daimyōs, rose to fill the vacuum. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were usurped by more capable underlings. One of the earliest instances of this was Hōjō Sōun, who rose from humble origins. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Late Hōjō clan remained a power in the Kantō region until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Well-organized religious groups also gained power at this time by uniting farmers in resistance. The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō-ikki and this in turn provided Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had risen through the ranks from ashigaru to become one of Odas most trusted generals, with the opportunity to establish himself as Odas successor. Toyotomi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyōs and, although he was ineligible for the title of Seii Taishogun because of his common birth, during his short reign as Kampaku, Toyotomi attempted two invasions of Korea
10.
Japanese people
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Japanese people are an ethnic group native to Japan. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of the population of their country. Worldwide, approximately 129 million people are of Japanese descent, of these, people of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as the Japanese diaspora. The term ethnic Japanese may also be used in some contexts to refer to ethnic groups, including the Yamato, Ainu. The Japanese language is a Japonic language that in the past was treated as a language isolate, the Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Domestic Japanese people use primarily Japanese for daily interaction, the adult literacy rate in Japan exceeds 99%. Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism, Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japans native religion. Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the century and evolved into many different sects. Today, the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran, most Japanese people profess to believe in both Shinto and Buddhism. Japanese peoples religion functions mostly as a foundation for mythology, traditions, Christianity in Japan is among the nations minority religions. Just under 2%, or about 2.5 million, of Japans population are Christians, many Japanese practice Christianity in the diaspora in Brazil, which is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. About 60% of Japanese Brazilians are Roman Catholics, while 90% of Japanese Mexicans are Roman Catholic, certain genres of writing originated in and are often associated with Japanese society. These include the haiku, tanka, and I Novel, although modern writers generally avoid these writing styles, historically, many works have sought to capture or codify traditional Japanese cultural values and aesthetics. Twentieth-century Japanese writers recorded changes in Japanese society through their works, some of the most notable authors included Natsume Sōseki, Junichirō Tanizaki, Osamu Dazai, Yasunari Kawabata, Fumiko Enchi, Yukio Mishima, and Ryōtarō Shiba. In contemporary Japan, popular authors such as Ryū Murakami, Haruki Murakami, decorative arts in Japan date back to prehistoric times. Jōmon pottery includes examples with elaborate ornamentation, in the Yayoi period, artisans produced mirrors, spears, and ceremonial bells known as dōtaku. Later burial mounds, or kofun, preserve characteristic clay haniwa, beginning in the Nara period, painting, calligraphy, and sculpture flourished under strong Confucian and Buddhist influences from China. Among the architectural achievements of this period are the Hōryū-ji and the Yakushi-ji, after the cessation of official relations with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, Japanese art and architecture gradually became less influenced by China
11.
Samurai
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Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are referred to as bushi or buke. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean those who serve in close attendance to the nobility, the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, a reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, the samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japans population, following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD, which led to a retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform and this edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. As part of the Taihō Code of 702 AD, and the later Yōrō Code, the population was required to regularly for census. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Monmu introduced a law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military and these soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in-return were exempted from duties and taxes. This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modeled after the Chinese system and it was called Gundan-Sei by later historians and is believed to have been short-lived. The Taihō Code classified most of the Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks and those of 6th rank and below were referred to as samurai and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these samurai were civilian public servants, the word is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as samurai for many more centuries, Emperor Kanmu introduced the title of seii-taishōgun, or Shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery, these clan warriors became the Emperors preferred tool for putting down rebellions, though this is the first known use of the Shogun title, it was a temporary title, and was not imbued with political power until the 13th century. At this time, the Imperial Court officials considered them to be merely a military section under the control of the Imperial Court, ultimately, Emperor Kanmu disbanded his army. From this time, the Emperors power gradually declined, while the Emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates. To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated, or gathered, political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy. Some clans were formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the Imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands
12.
Edo period
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The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the countrys 300 regional daimyō. The period was characterized by growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies. The shogunate was established in Edo on March 24,1603. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3,1868, instrumental in the rise of the new bakufu was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main beneficiary of the achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Already powerful, Ieyasu profited by his transfer to the rich Kantō area, after Hideyoshis death, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control from the Toyotomi family. Ieyasus victory over the western daimyōs at the Battle of Sekigahara gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy daimyō houses, reduced others, such as that of the Toyotomi, Ieyasu still failed to achieve complete control of the western daimyōs, but his assumption of the title of shogun helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his base, Ieyasu installed his son Hidetada as shogun. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication, in 1615, the Tokugawa army destroyed the Toyotomi stronghold at Osaka. The Tokugawa period brought 250 years of stability to Japan, the political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han to describe the government and society of the period. In the bakuhan, the shogun had national authority and the daimyōs had regional authority and this represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of centralized and decentralized authorities. The feudal hierarchy was completed by the classes of daimyō. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the shinpan, or related houses and they were twenty-three daimyōs on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu, the second class of the hierarchy were the fudai, or house daimyōs, rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the 18th century,145 fudai controlled such smaller han, members of the fudai class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven han formed the group, the tozama, former opponents or new allies. The tozama were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago, because the tozama were least trusted of the daimyō, they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central government positions. The Tokugawa not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, they also had unprecedented power over the emperor, the court, all daimyōs and the religious orders
13.
Hokuriku region
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The Hokuriku region was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lied along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region and it is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan. Due to its shape, and the Noto Peninsula jutting out. Since the Heian Era until the Edo Period the region was a recipient of population. With the growth of urban centers in the 20th century, particularly Tokyo and Chukyo, the region is also known for traditional culture that originated from elsewhere that has been long lost along the Taiheiyō Belt. The main industries in the Hokuriku area include chemicals, medicine, tourism, textiles and textile machinery, heavy machinery, farming, koshihikari, a popular variety of rice is a special product of Hokuriku region. The Hokuriku region has the highest volume of snowfall of any inhabited and this is because dry Siberian air masses, which develop high humidity over the Sea of Japan, are forced upwards when they encounter the mountains of Honshū, causing the humidity to condense as snow. The long winters and deep snow of this region are depicted in Hokuetsu Seppu, the Hokuriku region is also the setting for Yasunari Kawabatas novel Snow Country. Hokuriku is listed as #4 in Lonely Planets Best in Travel 2014 - Top 10 Regions
14.
Nagoya
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Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is Japans third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area and it is located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu. It is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japans major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba and it is also the center of Japans third-largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2015,2.28 million people lived in the city, the citys name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋. One possible origin is the adjective nagoyaka, meaning peaceful, the name Chūkyō is also used to refer to Nagoya. Notable examples of the use of the name Chūkyō include the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University, oda Nobunaga and his protégés Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were powerful warlords based in the Nagoya area who gradually succeeded in unifying Japan. In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari Province from Kiyosu, about seven kilometers away, during this period Nagoya Castle was constructed, built partly from materials taken from Kiyosu Castle. During the construction, the town around Kiyosu Castle, consisting of around 60,000 people. Around the same time, the nearby ancient Atsuta Shrine was designated as a waystation, called Miya, on the important Tōkaidō road, a town developed around the temple to support travelers. The castle and shrine towns formed the city, during the Meiji Restoration Japans provinces were restructured into prefectures and the government changed from family to bureaucratic rule. Nagoya was proclaimed a city on October 1,1889, and designated a city on September 1,1956, Nagoya became an industrial hub for the region. Its economic sphere included the famous pottery towns of Tokoname, Tajimi and Seto, as well as Okazaki, other industries included cotton and complex mechanical dolls called karakuri ningyō. Mitsubishi Aircraft Company was established in 1920 in Nagoya and became one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in Japan, the availability of space and the central location of the region and the well-established connectivity were some of the major factors that lead to the establishment of the aviation industry there. Nagoya was the target of US air raids during World War II, the population of Nagoya at this time was estimated to be 1.5 million, fourth among Japanese cities and one of the three largest centers of the Japanese aircraft industry. It was estimated that 25% of its workers were engaged in aircraft production, important Japanese aircraft targets were within the city itself, while others were to the north of Kagamigahara. It was estimated that produced between 40% and 50% of Japanese combat aircraft and engines, such as the vital Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. The Nagoya area also produced machine tools, bearings, railway equipment, metal alloys, tanks, motor vehicles, the bombing continued through the spring of 1945, and included large-scale firebombing. Nagoya was the target of two of Bomber Command’s attacks and these incendiary attacks, one by day and one by night, devastated 15.3 square kilometres
15.
Battle of Shizugatake
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The Battle of Shizugatake was a battle in Sengoku period Japan between supporters of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Oda Nobutaka. Sakuma Morimasa attacked on orders from Shibata Katsuie, and Nakagawa was killed, on hearing this Shibata Katsuie immediately ordered Sakuma Morimasa to withdraw his troops as they were dangerously over extended and isolated from Katsuies own force. Sakuma, however did not heed his lords orders and made camp and it was understood that Hideyoshi was at least four days march away during Sakumas attack. However, as soon as Hideyoshi learned of Sakumas actions he led his men on a march through the night and reached Shizugatake within a day. Hearing that Hideyoshi was coming with reinforcements, Sakuma ordered his men to break the siege lines, by this time it was too late and Hideyoshis forces easily smashed through the defenses of the besieging army. Hideyoshis army pushed Sakumas forces into a rout and pursued back to Shibata Katsuies fortress at Kitanosho Castle in Echizen Province. They seized the castle but not before Shibata set the keep on fire, killed his family, Hideyoshis chief seven generals in the battle at Shizugatake earned a great degree of fame and honor, and came to be known as the shichi-hon yari or Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Among these generals were men who would become some of Hideyoshis closest retainers. Great Military Leaders and their Campaigns Thamsen & Hudson Ltd, London
16.
Shibata Katsuie
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Shibata Katsuie or Gonroku was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 Siege of Nagashima. Katsuie was born in the village of Kamiyashiro, a branch of the Shiba clan, note the differences between Shibata, Shiba, and the Shibata clan of Echigo. Katsuie was the retainer of Oda Nobukatsu, when control of the Oda clan was contested, Katsuie initially supported his lord, Nobukatsu, against his elder brother Oda Nobunaga. In 1556, Katsuie launched a coup détat against Nobunaga and he was defeated at the Battle of Inō, and in the aftermath Nobunaga had his brother executed, but impressed with the retainers loyalty and bravery, spared the life of Katsuie. Katsuie pledged his services to Nobunaga, earning his praises, in 1570, while a joint Oda–Tokugawa coalition fought the Battle of Anegawa, Katsuie was under Siege of Chōkō-ji Castle by 4000 soldiers of the Rokkaku clan. Katsuie eventually won via an attack, forcing the Rokkaku to retreat. This action, along with a series of brilliant victories, gained him renown as Oni Shibata and he fought in the Battle of Nagashino. In 1575, after gaining control of Echizen, he took command of Kitanosho Castle and was ordered to conquer the Hokuriku region, after controlling Kaga and Noto, he began a campaign against Etchū Province in 1581. In a meeting in Kiyosu to determine the successor to Nobunaga, he supported Oda Nobutaka and he allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu to battle Hideyoshi. However, his domain was sealed off in the winter by snowfalls, both of his allies were defeated while Katsuie battled snowfalls and Uesugi. His forces, under the leadership of Sakuma Morimasa, besieged Nakagawa Kiyohide at Shizugatake in a move to turn the tide launching the battle of Shizugatake, Sakuma ignored Shibatas orders to merely test the enemys defence and was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshis returning forces. He retreated to Kitanoshō castle but with the destroyed, Katsuie had no other option. Katsuie chose the option and ordered his retainers to set fire to the castle. He implored Oichi to take their daughters and leave, but she decided to follow his death, ironically, Katsuie had not so much as lifted a spear personally during the battle. His death poem was, 夏の夜の 夢路儚き 後の名を 雲井にあげよ 山不如 Natsu no yo no yumeji hakanaki ato no na o kumoi ni ageyo yamahototogisu Fleeting dream paths, O bird of the mountain, carry my name beyond the clouds. Shibata Katsuie is a character in Koei Tecmos Samurai Warriors 2, Empires. He fights with a spear in Empires and twin axes in later games
17.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a preeminent daimyō, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japans second great unifier. He succeeded his former lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Warring States period. The period of his rule is called the Momoyama period. After his death, his young son Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hideyoshi is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. He financed the construction, restoration and rebuilding of many temples standing today in Kyoto, Hideyoshi played an important role in the history of Christianity in Japan when he ordered the execution by crucifixion of twenty-six Christians. Very little is known for certain about Hideyoshi before 1570, when he begins to appear in surviving documents and his autobiography starts in 1577 but in it Hideyoshi spoke very little about his past. According to tradition, he was born in Owari Province, the home of the Oda clan and he was born of no traceable samurai lineage, being the son of a peasant-ashigaru named Yaemon. He had no surname, and his given name was Hiyoshi-maru although variations exist. Many legends describe Hideyoshi being sent to study at a temple as a young man, under the name Kinoshita Tōkichirō, he first joined the Imagawa clan as a servant to a local ruler named Matsushita Yukitsuna. He traveled all the way to the lands of Imagawa Yoshimoto, daimyō of Suruga Province, in 1558 he joined the Oda clan, now headed by Oda Nobunaga, as an ashigaru. According to his biographers, he supervised the repair of Kiyosu Castle, a described as apocryphal. In 1561, Hideyoshi married One who was Asano Nagakatsus adopted daughter and he carried out repairs on Sunomata Castle with his younger brother Toyotomi Hidenaga and the bandits Hachisuka Masakatsu and Maeno Nagayasu. Hideyoshis efforts were well received because Sunomata was in enemy territory and he constructed a fort in Sunomata, according to legend overnight, and discovered a secret route into Mount Inaba after which much of the garrison surrendered. Hideyoshi was very successful as a negotiator, in 1564, he managed to convince, mostly with liberal bribes, a number of Mino warlords to desert the Saitō clan. Hideyoshi approached many Saitō clan samurai and convinced them to submit to Nobunaga, including the Saitō clans strategist, the new surname included two characters, one each from Odas two other right-hand men, Niwa Nagahide and Shibata Katsuie. Hideyoshi led troops in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570 in which Oda Nobunaga allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu to lay siege to two fortresses of the Azai and Asakura clans and he participated in the 1573 Siege of Nagashima. In 1573, after victorious campaigns against the Azai and Asakura, initially based at the former Azai headquarters in Odani, Hideyoshi moved to Kunitomo, and renamed the city Nagahama in tribute to Nobunaga. Hideyoshi later moved to the port at Imahama on Lake Biwa, from there he began work on Imahama Castle and took control of the nearby Kunitomo firearms factory that had been established some years previously by the Azai and Asakura
18.
Kaga Province
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Kaga Province was an old province in the area that is today the southern part of Ishikawa Prefecture. Ruled successively by the Kaga ikki, Shibata Katsuie, and the Maeda clan, Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit, Kaga was the last province under Provinces of Japan enactment system by 823. Following the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system in 1871, in 1872 Kanazawa was merged with Nanao Prefecture to form todays Ishikawa Prefecture. The provincial name was given to a WWII aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy as well as a destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Media related to Kaga Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdochs map of provinces,1903
19.
Sassa Narimasa
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Sassa Narimasa, also known as Kura-no-suke, was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama period. Narimasa was born in what is now Nishi-ku, Nagoya, He became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga in 1550 and was granted Etchū Province as a reward for helping Shibata Katsuie fight the Uesugi clan and he participated in the 1577 Battle of Tedorigawa. After Nobunagas death, in 1584 he joined Tokugawa Ieyasu in unsuccessfully challenging Toyotomi Hideyoshi and he submitted to Hideyoshi and his life was spared. In 1587, he was given a fief in Higo Province in Kyushu, however, due to difficulties in suppressing a local revolt, he committed suicide by Hideyoshis instruction in 1588. His daughter married kuge Takatsukasa Nobufusa and they had a son Nobuhisa
20.
Siege of Odawara (1590)
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The third siege of Odawara occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshis 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, thus, despite the overwhelming force brought to bear by Hideyoshi, the siege saw little actual fighting. The massive army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded the castle in what has called the most unconventional siege lines in samurai history. The samurai were entertained by everything, from concubines, prostitutes and musicians to acrobats, fire-eaters, the defenders slept on the ramparts with their arquebuses and armor, despite their smaller numbers, they discouraged Hideyoshi from attacking. So, for the most part, this consisted of traditional starvation tactics. Only a few small skirmishes erupted around the castle, as when a group of miners from Kai Province dug under the castle walls, after three months, the Hōjō surrendered, facing overwhelming numbers and, presumably, an impending shortage of food and supplies. Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Hideyoshis top generals, was given the Hōjō lands, though Hideyoshi could not have guessed it at the time, this would turn out to be a great stepping-stone towards Tokugawas attempts at conquest and the office of Shogun. In addition to taking Odawara Castle, Hideyoshi also defeated the Hōjō at their outposts at Hachiōji, Yorii, the Chiba, allies of the Hōjō in Shimōsa, also saw Sakura Castle fall to Honda Tadakatsu and Sakai Ietsugu of the Tokugawa army during the campaign. Chiba Shigetane, daimyō of the Chiba, surrendered the castle to the forces on the condition that his clan would not be abolished. The Siege of Odawara is the climax of Hideyoshis story in the video game Samurai Warriors 2, in the Sengoku Basara Season 2 anime, Odawara Castle was the setting for the fight between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Date Masamune. Hideyoshi was killed in the castle at Masamunes hands, afterward, Ishida Mitsunari went to the castle to grieve his masters demise
21.
Hosokawa Tadaoki
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Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai warrior of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. Tadaoki was the eldest son of Hosokawa Fujitaka and he fought in his first battle at the age of 15. In that battle, he was in the service of Oda Nobunaga, Tadaoki was given the Province of Tango in 1580. Soon after that, he married Hosokawa Gracia, the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide, in 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled against Nobunaga and Nobunaga was killed. Akechi turned to Hosokawa Fujitaka and Hosokawa Tadaoki for help and they refused to help him, and Mitsuhide was defeated. Tadaoki was present on Hideyoshis side in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute and the Odawara Campaign, during the 1590s he became friends with Tokugawa Ieyasu and in 1600 sided with him against Ishida Mitsunari. In July Ishida had attempted to gain leverage over those leaning towards Ieyasu by taking as hostages all those whose families were in Osaka Castle. This happened to include Tadaokis wife - who was by now a Christian, to avoid capture, Gracia ordered a servant to kill her and set fire to their quarters. At the Battle of Sekigahara Tadaoki commanded 5,000 men in the Tokugawa vanguard and he was awarded a fief in Buzen and went on to serve at the Siege of Osaka. He was succeeded by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, who was present at the Siege of Shimabara, in 1632 Tadatoshi received a huge fief in Higo, where the Hosokawa family remained until 1871
22.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
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Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which effectively ruled Japan from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605 and his given name is sometimes spelled Iyeyasu, according to the historical pronunciation of he. Ieyasu was posthumously enshrined at Nikkō Tōshō-gū with the name Tōshō Daigongen and he was one of the three unifiers of Japan, along with his Former Lord Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle in Mikawa on the 26th day of the month of the eleventh year of Tenbun. His mother and father were step-siblings and they were just 17 and 15 years old, respectively, when Ieyasu was born. Two years later, Odai-no-kata was sent back to her family, as both husband and wife remarried and both went on to have further children, Ieyasu in the end had 11 half-brothers and sisters. The Matsudaira family was split in 1550, one wanted to be vassals of the Imagawa clan. As a result, much of Ieyasus early years were spent in danger as wars with the Oda and this family feud was the reason behind the murder of Ieyasus paternal grandfather, Matsudaira Kiyoyasu. Unlike his father and the majority of his branch of the family, Ieyasus father, Hirotada, in 1548, when the Oda clan invaded Mikawa, Hirotada turned to Imagawa Yoshimoto, the head of the Imagawa clan, for help to repel the invaders. Yoshimoto agreed under the condition that Hirotada send Ieyasu to Sunpu as a hostage, Oda Nobuhide, the leader of the Oda clan, learned of this arrangement and had Ieyasu abducted from his entourage en route to Sunpu. Ieyasu was just five years old at the time, Nobuhide threatened to execute Ieyasu unless his father severed all ties with the Imagawa clan. Hirotada replied that sacrificing his own son would show his seriousness in his pact with the Imagawa clan, despite this refusal, Nobuhide chose not to kill Ieyasu, but instead held him for the next three years at the Mansho Temple in Nagoya. In 1549, when Ieyasu was 6, his father Hirotada was murdered by his own treacherous vassals, at about the same time, Oda Nobuhide died during an epidemic. Nobuhides death dealt a blow to the Oda clan. An army under the command of Imagawa Sessai laid siege to the castle where Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhides eldest son, with the castle about to fall, Sessai offered a deal to Oda Nobunaga, Nobuhides second son. Sessai offered to give up the siege if Ieyasu was handed over to the Imagawa, Nobunaga agreed, and so Ieyasu was taken as a hostage to Sunpu. Here he lived a good life as hostage and potentially useful future ally of the Imagawa clan until 1556 when he was age 13 years old. In 1556 he came of age, and, following tradition, one year later, at the age of 13, he married his first wife, Lady Tsukiyama, and changed his name again to Matsudaira Kurandonosuke Motoyasu
23.
Ishida Mitsunari
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Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century, also known by his court title, Jibu-no-shō. He was born in the north of Ōmi Province, and was the son of Ishida Masatsugu. The Ishida withdrew from service after the Azais defeat in 1573, according to legend, he was a monk in a Buddhist temple before he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but the accuracy of this legend is doubted since it only came about during the Edo period. Mitsunari met Toyotomi Hideyoshi when the former was still young and the latter was the daimyō of Nagahama, when Hideyoshi engaged in a campaign in the Chūgoku region, Mitsunari assisted his lord in attacks against castles like the Tottori Castle and Takamatsu Castle. After Hideyoshi seized power, Mitsunari became known as a financial manager due to his knowledge. From 1585 onward, he was the administrator of Sakai, a role he took together with his elder brother Ishida Masazumi and he was appointed one of the five bugyō, or top administrators of Hideyoshis government. Hideyoshi made him a daimyō of Sawayama in Ōmi Province, a five hundred thousand koku fief, Sawayama Castle was known as one of the best-fortified castles during that time. Mitsunari was a leader of bureaucrats in Hideyoshis government, and was known for his rigid character, though he had many friends, he was on bad terms with some daimyōs that were known as good warriors, including Hideyoshis relatives Fukushima Masanori and Katō Kiyomasa. After Hideyoshis death, their conflict worsened, the central point of their conflict was the question of whether Tokugawa Ieyasu could be relied on as a supporter of the Toyotomi government, whose nominal lord was the child Toyotomi Hideyori. In 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara was fought as a result of political conflict. Mitsunari succeeded in organizing an army led by Mōri Terumoto, but the coalition following Tokugawa Ieyasu was greater, and the battle resulted in Mitsunaris defeat. After his defeat, Mitsunari sought to escape, but was caught by villagers, other daimyōs of the Western army, like Konishi Yukinaga and Ankokuji Ekei were also executed. After execution, his head, severed from his body, was placed on a stand for all the people in Kyoto to see and his remains were buried at Sangen-in, a sub-temple of the Daitoku-ji, Kyoto. A theory / legend says Ieyasu showed him mercy, but hid him, for reasons, with one of his veteran generals, Sakakibara Yasumasa, then grew old. To thank Yasumasa for his silence, Mitsunari gave him a treasured sunnobi-tantō of 31,2 cm therefore nicknamed Ishida-Sadamune, Mitsunari had three sons and three daughters with his wife. After his fathers death, Shigenari changed his name to Sugiyama to keep living. In James Clavells historical-novel Shōgun, Ishida served as basis for the character of Ishido, Ishido was portrayed by Nobuo Kaneko in the 1980 TV mini-series adaptation
24.
Toyotomi Hideyori
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Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga, when Hideyoshi died in 1598, the five regents he had appointed to rule in Hideyoris place began jockeying amongst themselves for power. Tokugawa Ieyasu seized control in 1600, after his victory over the others at the Battle of Sekigahara, Hideyoris arranged marriage to Senhime, the seven-year-old granddaughter of Ieyasu, was designed to mitigate Toyotomi clan dissension and plotting. In this period, the boy practiced calligraphy with phrases wishing for peace throughout the world. However, Ieyasu continued to view the young Hideyori as a potential threat, Tokugawa forces attacked Hideyori in the Siege of Osaka in the winter of 1614. The attack failed, but Hideyori was induced to sign a truce, in April 1615, Ieyasu received word that Toyotomi Hideyori was gathering even more troops than in the previous November, and that he was trying to stop the filling of the moat of Osaka Castle. Toyotomi forces began to attack contingents of the Shoguns forces near Osaka, there was no time to set up a proper defense of the castle, and it was soon set ablaze and pummeled by artillery fire. Hideyori and his mother committed seppuku, and the final major uprising against Tokugawa rule for another 250 or so years was put to an end and his widow remarried but later became a Buddhist nun. Recognizing that they had a numerical disadvantage, they decided to attempt a tactic of inducing surprise. When the confusion was to be at its height, Hideyori would have marched out of Osaka castle with his home troops and would in theory be the final blow to the Tokugawa. What happened, according to Murdoch, was that Akashi was not able to get behind the Tokugawa troops, having been discovered and engaged before he emerged from the lanes. Whats more, the plans fell apart as Moris Ronin, ever eager to fight, began shooting at the Tokugawa ranks, Sanada at once told the ronin to stop but they only doubled their efforts. Mori Katsunaga, deciding to take advantage of his ronins eagerness, upon this, Sanada realized in order to keep any structure of his original plan, he too, would need to engage alongside the ronin. Hideyori began moving with his troops to leave Osaka, meanwhile, the Osaka troops had been doing quite well in spite of the numerical disadvantage. Not only did the Jesuits write this, but, in another account, ono Harunagas son entered the castle and immediately dispatched a letter from Tokugawa to his father. The letter said Do not let Hideyori leave the castle, in the castle is a conspiracy and as soon as Hideyori leaves it he will be attacked from the rear. It is because of this letter, according to Siebold, that Hideyoris portion of the plan miscarried and he was just about to leave when he was brought word of its contents, and at this point, stalled in entering the fray. Eventually, despite the ferocity and initial victories of the Osaka troops, let Hideyori defend the castle to the last, when it fell, it would be time to take a decision
25.
Battle of Sekigahara
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The Battle of Sekigahara was a decisive battle on October 21,1600 that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Japan had a period of peace after the battle. Oda Nobunaga had slowly consolidated control over much of Japan and was in control of the shogun, Ashikaga tried to escape this predicament in 1573 by attacking Oda, but failed and was exiled, thus ending his shogunate. Nobunaga ruled unopposed until he was betrayed by his own retainer Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582, while under attack in Kyoto, Nobunaga committed suicide by seppuku. Toyotomi Hideyoshi quickly avenged his master Nobunaga and consolidated control over Japan, Hideyoshi had risen from humble roots to become the ruler of Japan. The death of Hideyoshi created a vacuum in Japan, which ultimately was resolved by the outcome at Sekigahara. With no appointed shogun over the armies, this left a vacuum in the Japanese government. Most notably, Katō Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori were publicly critical of the bureaucrats, especially Ishida Mitsunari, Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of this situation, and recruited them, redirecting the animosity to weaken the Toyotomi clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu was unrivaled in terms of seniority, rank, reputation, rumors started to spread stating that Ieyasu, at that point the only surviving ally of Oda Nobunaga, would take over Hideyoshis legacy just as Nobunagas was taken. This was especially evident amongst the loyalist bureaucrats, who suspected Ieyasu of agitating unrest amongst Toyotomis former vassals. Later, a conspiracy to assassinate Ieyasu surfaced, and many Toyotomi loyalists, including Toshiies son, Toshinaga, were accused of taking part. However, Uesugi Kagekatsu, one of Hideyoshis appointed regents, defied Ieyasu by building up his military, afterwards, Ieyasu summoned the help of various supporters and led them northward to attack the Uesugi clan. Many of them were at that moment besieging Hasedō though, Ishida Mitsunari, grasping the opportunity created by the chaos, rose up in response and created an alliance to challenge Ieyasus supporters. Mitsunari, in his home Sawayama Castle, met with Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Mashita Nagamori, here, they forged the alliance, and invited Mōri Terumoto, who actually did not take part in Sekigahara, to be its head. Thus formed what came to be referred to as the Western Army, Mori seized Osaka Castle for their base of operations, since most of Tokugawa’s forces had vacated the area to attack Uesugi. Ishida wanted to reinforce Mori at the impregnable Osaka Castle and this would let Mitsunari control the traditional capital city of Kyoto and challenge Tokugawa’s power. To this end, Mitsunari’s forces headed for Gifu Castle in order to use it as an area to move on Kyoto. Back in Edo, Ieyasu received news of the situation in the Kansai region, Tokugawa himself commanded 30,000 men and his subordinates led another 40,000 men
26.
Uesugi Kagekatsu
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Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai daimyō during the Sengoku and Edo periods. Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao clan and husband of Uesugi Kenshins elder sister, after his father died, he was adopted by Kenshin. Upon Kenshins death in 1578, Kagekatsu battled Kenshins other adopted son Uesugi Kagetora for the inheritance and he forced Kagetora to commit seppuku, and became head of the Uesugi clan. Kagekatsu married Takeda Katsuyoris sister after the Siege of Ōtate, as a general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kagekatsu took part in the Odawara and Korea campaigns, and rose to prominence to become a member of the council of Five Elders. Originally holding a 550,000 koku fief in Echigo Province, Kagekatsu received the fief of Aizu, after Hideyoshis death, that year, Kagekatsu then allied himself with Ishida Mitsunari, against Tokugawa Ieyasu, as the result of some political dispute. The Sekigahara Campaign can be said to have begun, at least in part, with Kagekatsu and he built a new castle in Aizu, attracting the attention of Ieyasu, who ordered him to Osaka, to explain his conduct. Kagekatsu refused, and Tokugawa began plans to lead a 50,000 man army north against him, Ishida and Uesugi hoped to occupy Tokugawa Ieyasu with this fighting in the north, distracting him from Ishida Mitsunaris attacks in and around Osaka. Anticipating this, Ieyasu remained in Osaka to engage Mitsunari, his generals Mogami Yoshiaki, declaring his allegiance to Tokugawa following his defeat, Kagekatsu became a tozama daimyō, he was given the Yonezawa han, worth 300,000 koku, in the Tōhoku region. Kagekatsu would later fight for the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan in the 1614–15 siege of Osaka
27.
Niwa Nagashige
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Niwa Nagashige was a Japanese daimyō who served the Oda clan. Nagashige was the eldest son of Niwa Nagahide and married a daughter of Oda Nobunaga. He took part in his first campaign in 1583, assisting his father in the battles against Shibata Katsuie, in the Battle of Nagakute, at the age of thirteen, Nagashige led a troop of the Niwa clan in place of his father, who was ill. In 1585, upon Nagahides death, Nagashige received his fathers fief of 1,230,000 koku and this is believed to have been Hideyoshis effort to reduce the Niwa clans strength. In 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, Nagashige took part in Ishida Mitsunaris force and fought against Maeda Toshinaga of Kaga and his daimyo status was restored in 1603, when the Tokugawa family granted him 10,000 koku at Futsuto, in Hitachi Province. At the siege of Osaka from 1614 to 1615, Nagashige fought on Tokugawa Ieyasus side, for his service in battle, he had his stipend increased, his fief was transferred to the Edosaki Domain. Nagashige was promoted again in 1622 with a move to the Tanagura Domain and his rise culminated in 1627, when he was granted the Shirakawa Domain and built Shirakawa Castle. Nagashiges successor was his son, Mitsushige
28.
Noto Province
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Noto Province was an old province in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces, the ichinomiya of the province was Keta Shrine. Nanao, Ishikawa was the ancient capital and the castle town of Noto. For much of the Sengoku Period Noto was ruled by a branch of the Maeda clan of Kaga. Following the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system in 1871, Noto Province was renamed Nanao Prefecture, however, in 1872 Nanao was merged with Kanazawa Prefecture to form todays Ishikawa Prefecture and Imizu District was given back to Niikawa Prefecture. Maps of Japan and Noto Province were reformed in the 1870s when the system was introduced. At the same time, the continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Noto is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 between Japan and the United States and between Japan and the United Kingdom, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Papinot, Edmond. Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan, OCLC77691250 Media related to Noto Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdochs map of provinces,1903
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Tokugawa shogunate
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The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu and the Edo bakufu, was the last feudal Japanese military government, which existed between 1600 and 1868. The head of government was the shogun, and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan, the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle and the years of the shogunate became known as the Edo period. This time is called the Tokugawa period or pre-modern. Following the Sengoku period, the government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu, society in the Tokugawa period, unlike the shogunates before it, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The daimyō were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyō and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyō might be trained as samurai, otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value, as a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much bigger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to challenge the established order until the arrival of foreign powers. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The bakuhan taisei was the political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning military government—that is, the han were the domains headed by daimyō. Vassals held inherited lands and provided service and homage to their lords. The bakuhan taisei split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan, provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shogun, who was responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shogun and lords were all daimyō, feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, the shogun also administered the most powerful han, the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa. Each level of government administered its own system of taxation, the emperor, nominally a religious leader, held no real power, this was invested in the shogun. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, the sankin kōtai system of alternative residence required each daimyō to reside in alternate years between the han and the court in Edo
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Kanazawa Castle
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Kanazawa Castle is a large, well-restored castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which formed the castles private outer garden. Two hundred and fifty regional lords, called daimyōs, ruled over large domains in 16th century Japan, though they were subordinate to the shogunate, they were relatively autonomous. Each daimyō asserted proprietary rights, levied taxes, established judicial procedures, many constructed jōkamachi, or castle towns, across the Japanese countryside. Maeda Toshiie was one such daimyō and he was the fourth son of a minor samurai family, but entered the service of a powerful daimyo and warlord when he was 15. Thanks to his skill in battle, he rose quickly through the ranks, two years later, he also controlled portions of the Kaga area, including the town of Kanazawa. Under his rule, Kanazawa began to grow, the castle was greatly reconstructed in 1592 after the first of Hideyoshis invasions of Korea, at which time its moats were dug. It was burned down and reconstructed in 1620–21 and again in 1631–32, then almost completely gutted in the great Kanazawa fire of 1759, after several minor fires and an earthquake, it was again destroyed by fire in 1881. What remains, including the 1788 Ishikawa Gate, is now part of Kanazawa Castle Park, the Sanjukken Nagaya and the Tsurumaru Storehouse are two additional remaining structures. The Hishi Yagura turret, Gojikken Nagaya warehouse, and Hashizume-mon Tsuzuki Yagura turret were faithfully restored in 2001 to their 1809 form, todays pillars are Japanese Hinoki Cypress with massive American cypress as ceiling beams. It is such a structure within that in the late 18th century it was called the palace of 1,000 tatami. The castles distinctive, whitish roof tiles are made of lead, the reason for that is not only that they are fireproof, but legend says that also that in times of siege, the tiles could be melted down and cast into bullets. Even after Toshiie became the most powerful figure in northwestern Japan, due to these attacks and the general military insecurity of the Sengoku period, or Warring States period, it was logical for the Maeda to construct a castle town that would be safe from attack. The Kanazawa castle is located at the center of the city, a system of moats and canals surround the castle for extra protection. Though some were in place when Toshiie arrived in Kanazawa, the Maeda began to expand the system in the 1590s. Maeda Toshinaga, Toshiie’s son, built a system of inner moats that total over 3,000 meters in length, to supply drinking water, a series of canals, built from 1583-1630, connected to the moat system. All together, the system was nearly 15 kilometers long, for further protection, the castle was split into nine easily defensible areas. The units were divided with walls and gates, and the Maeda family lived in the honmaru, in most castle towns, a temple was deliberately placed in order to reinforce weak points in castle defenses
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Edo
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Edo, also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. It was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868, during this period, it grew to become one of the largest cities in the world and home to an urban culture centered on the notion of a floating world. From the establishment of the Tokugawa bakufu headquarters at Edo, the became the de facto capital and center of political power. Edo grew from what had been a small, little-known fishing village in 1457 into the largest metropolis in the world with a population of 1,000,000 by 1721. Edo was repeatedly devastated by fires, with the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 being the most disastrous, an estimated 100,000 people died in the fire. During the Edo period, there were about 100 fires mostly begun by accident, between 1600 and 1945, Edo/Tokyo was leveled every 25–50 years or so by fire, earthquakes, or war. In 1868, when the shogunate came to an end, the city was renamed Tokyo, the emperor moved his residence to Tokyo, making the city the formal capital of Japan, Keiō4, On the 17th day of the 7th month, Edo was renamed Tokyo. Keiō4, On the 27th day of the 8th month, Keiō4, On the eighth day of the ninth month, the nengō was formally changed from Keiō to Meiji and a general amnesty was granted. Meiji 2, On the 23rd day of the 10th month, ishimaru Sadatsuga was the magistrate of Edo in 1661. During the Edo period, the Shogunate appointed administrators with jurisdiction over the police, and beginning with the rule of Tokugawa Yoshimune), the machi bugyō heard criminal and civil suits, and performed other administrative functions. The city was out as a castle town around Edo Castle. Kyotos character was defined by the Imperial Court, the nobles, its Buddhist temples and its history, Osaka was the countrys commercial center. Areas further from the center were the domain of the chōnin, the area known as Shitamachi, northeast of the castle, was a center of urban culture. The ancient Buddhist temple of Sensō-ji still stands in Asakusa, marking the center of an area of traditional Shitamachi culture, some shops in the streets near the temple have existed continuously in the same location since the Edo period. The Sumida River, then called the Great River, ran along the edge of the city. The shogunates official rice-storage warehouses, other buildings and some of the citys best-known restaurants were located here. The Japan Bridge marked the center of the commercial center. Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here, shippers managed ships known as tarubune to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes such as the Tōkaidō
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Toyama Castle
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Toyama Castle, also called Azumi Castle, is a castle in Toyama city, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Built in 1543, the castle and its land is maintained by the government of Japan as a public park. In 1581, Sassa Narimasa, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga became lord of the castle, after the Honnoji Incident of 1585, there was a falling out between Sassa Narimasa and Hideyoshi, and Hideyoshi attacked the castle with 100,000 soldiers, destroying it. Maeda Toshinaga later rebuilt the castle and temporarily used it as his retirement home until much of it burned down in 1609, in 1661 Maeda Toshitsugu rebuilt the castle again and made it his home. His descendents ruled over Toyama from here until the Meiji Restoration, post-World War II, it was rebuilt as a modern concrete structure in 1954. Toyama Castle - Japan Visitor Guide Toyama Sightseeing Guide
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Uozu, Toyama
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The highest mountains in Uozu are Sougadake and Kekachiyama, and the highest elevation in Uozu is 2,414 m. Several rapid rivers run through Uozu, from east to west, they are the Fuse River, the Katakai River, the Kado River, and the Hayatsuki River. As of October 1,2016, the city has an population of 42,556. The total area is 200.63 km², foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, Brazilians, and Thais, comprise 1% of the citys population. The city was founded on April 1,1952, and has sister city relationships with Chiang Mai City, Thailand and Ibara City, the current mayor is Mr. Yoshinori Sawasaki. Uozu is located 3 hours by rail and 4.5 hours by car from Tokyo, since March 2015, rail access is possible via Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed train from nearby rail hub of Toyama. Uozu is served by two lines, the Toyama Chihō Railway Main Line and the Ainokaze Toyama Railway line, running together from Uozu Station westward. Uozu is known for three mysterious phenomena, the mirage, the squid, and the buried forest. Mirages, or shinkirou, may be seen over the sea in both spring and winter, the spring mirage for which Uozu is famous for may be seen on warm, sunny, windless days from April to June. Refraction of light at the boundary between warm air above and colder air near the surface of the sea is responsible for the phenomenon, during a mirage, faraway objects such as ships at sea or the coastline appear to grow vertically, and may display bar-code-like stripes. In a Class A Mirage, the image of an object may appear upside-down above it, the Mirage Land Amusement Park with its large Ferris wheel is most suitable for observation of mirages. The winter mirage seen from December to March results from a different process than the spring mirage and is common in other parts of the world. In the early morning hours, from the end of March to the beginning of June, female firefly squid, or hotaruika and their name comes from a bluish white glow which emanates from various points on their bodies. 2000 years ago, a primeval sugi forest along the coast was partially buried so that only the trunks were preserved, trunks of such sugi trees are on display at Uozus buried forest museum. Uozu Festival held on the first weekend of August is the most flamboyant of the citys festivals, activities include fireworks on the evening of Saturday, and the pulling of seven giant floats called Tatemons along the sea coast to Suwa Shrine on Friday and Saturday. Tatemons are 15 meters tall and weigh 5 tons, they sport approximately 90 lanterns, on the last evening, groups dance the Serikomi Chouroku, or butterfly dance, through the streets of the old city. This festival was held in Hawaii as part of the Honolulu Festival from 2001-2003. Other festivals include the Sengoku Noroshi Matsuri in May, and the Hachiman Mikoshi Matsuri in September, popular shopping destinations include the Sun Plaza, Apita, and Apple Hill shopping complexes
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National Diet Library
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The National Diet Library is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan in researching matters of public policy, the library is similar in purpose and scope to the United States Library of Congress. The National Diet Library consists of two facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan. The Diets power in prewar Japan was limited, and its need for information was correspondingly small, the original Diet libraries never developed either the collections or the services which might have made them vital adjuncts of genuinely responsible legislative activity. Until Japans defeat, moreover, the executive had controlled all political documents, depriving the people and the Diet of access to vital information. The U. S. occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur deemed reform of the Diet library system to be an important part of the democratization of Japan after its defeat in World War II. In 1946, each house of the Diet formed its own National Diet Library Standing Committee, hani Gorō, a Marxist historian who had been imprisoned during the war for thought crimes and had been elected to the House of Councillors after the war, spearheaded the reform efforts. Hani envisioned the new body as both a citadel of popular sovereignty, and the means of realizing a peaceful revolution, the National Diet Library opened in June 1948 in the present-day State Guest-House with an initial collection of 100,000 volumes. The first Librarian of the Diet Library was the politician Tokujirō Kanamori, the philosopher Masakazu Nakai served as the first Vice Librarian. In 1949, the NDL merged with the National Library and became the national library in Japan. At this time the collection gained a million volumes previously housed in the former National Library in Ueno. In 1961, the NDL opened at its present location in Nagatachō, in 1986, the NDLs Annex was completed to accommodate a combined total of 12 million books and periodicals. The Kansai-kan, which opened in October 2002 in the Kansai Science City, has a collection of 6 million items, in May 2002, the NDL opened a new branch, the International Library of Childrens Literature, in the former building of the Imperial Library in Ueno. This branch contains some 400,000 items of literature from around the world. Though the NDLs original mandate was to be a library for the National Diet. In the fiscal year ending March 2004, for example, the library reported more than 250,000 reference inquiries, in contrast, as Japans national library, the NDL collects copies of all publications published in Japan. The NDL has an extensive collection of some 30 million pages of documents relating to the Occupation of Japan after World War II. This collection include the documents prepared by General Headquarters and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, the Far Eastern Commission, the NDL maintains a collection of some 530,000 books and booklets and 2 million microform titles relating to the sciences
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Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
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Media related to Maeda Toshinaga at Wikimedia Commons
1st (Maeda) daimyō of Kaga