Samurai War Stories

by Cummins, Antony; Minami, Yoshie;

1567–1615; commonly known as Sanada Yukimura. He was from the Sanada clan, who were a landlord and warrior family in Shinano province. His father, Sanada Masayuki, was Ashigaru Taisho or the foot-soldier commander, in Takeda Shingen’s army. As Masayuki’s elder brothers were killed at the Battle of Nagashino, he inherited the Sanada clan. After the Takeda clan was ruined and Oda Nobunaga died, the Sanada clan became independent and defended against Tokugawa’s attack, where the Tokugawa side were repelled by Sanada’s outstanding tactics. Nobushige and his father fought for the West side and were defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara and after the war were deported to Kudoyama near Mt Koya – this punishment was asserted instead of seppuku (ritual suicide), due to the intervention of Nobushige’s elder brother, Nobuyuki. His father, Masayuki, died while confined in Kudoyama. Just before the Winter Siege of Osaka Castle, Nobushige escaped from Kudoyama with his son and joined the Toyotomi army in the castle. Through the two sieges, his feats are considered the most impressive ones performed by those on the Toyotomi side, especially in the Summer Siege, where he directly attacked Ieyasu’s headquarters, which endangered Ieyasu. Soon after this attack, while treating injured men, he was killed and decapitated.

  Sasa-no-Saizo – his correct name being Kani Yoshinaga – Article 55

  1554–1613; an excellent spear fighter and student of Inei, the founder of Hozo-ryu, a school of spear fighting. He served eight lords, the last being Fukushima Masanori. In the Battle of Sekigahara, he captured seventeen heads and was highly praised by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

  Satake Yoshiaki – Article 48

  1531–1565; the seventeenth lord of the Satake clan in Hitachi province. He died at the age of 34 just before he unified Hitachi province.

  Shibui Naizen – Article 35

  ?–1614; a chief retainer to Satake Yoshishige. He was killed in the Winter Siege of Osaka Castle in 1614.

  Shinagawa Okami-no-suke Masakazu – Article 56

  1544–1565; a retainer of the Masuda clan and a provincial landlord in Iwami province. ‘Okami’ means ‘wolf’. He was commonly called so in opposition to Yamanaka Shika-no-suke, as ‘shika’ means deer. He was extremely good at archery and had enormous strength. At the Battle of Gassan, which was a fight over Toda Castle, he met with Shika-no-suke in single combat and was killed by him at the age of 21.

  Soma Daizen-no-kami Toshitane – Article 43

  1581–1625; the son of Soma Yoshitane and the first daimyo of Soma Nakamura province.

  Soma Daizen-no-sho Yoshitane – Article 43

  1548-1635; the sixteenth inheritor of the Soma clan.

  Sue Owari-no-kami Takafusa – Article 27

  1521-55; a retainer of the Ouchi clan. He raised a rebellion against Ouchi Yoshitaka, as a result Yoshitaka Ouchi killed himself in 1551. He also fought with Mouri Motonari at the Battle of Itsukushima and was defeated so, killed himself in 1555.

  Susukida Hayato-no-suke Kanesuke – Article 46 and 56

  ?-1615; a retainer of Kobayakawa Takagage. After being a knight errant, he joined the Toyotomi side at the Sieges of Osaka Castle, serving Toyotomi Hideyori, where he was killed in the Summer Siege.

  Takagi (also, Honda) Kyusuke Hiromasa – Article 33

  1536-1606; a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He defended Oshi Castle in Musashi province at the time of the Battle of Sekigahara and was given 3,000 koku for this victory.

  Takayama Minami-no-bo Sakon – Article 30

  1552-1615; famous as a Christian daimyo, he became the lord of Takatsuki Castle and later, after Nobunaga’s death, served Hideyoshi and was given a fief of 60,000 koku in Harima province. However, with the order of abandonment of Christianity issued by Hideyoshi, he chose to give up his position as daimyo and lived in Kaga by favour of Maeda Toshiie and belonged to the army of the Maeda clan. In 1614, upon the Order of Deportation of the Christians by Tokugawa shogunage, he went to Manila, in the Philippines, and soon after died there.

  Takeda Shingen Harunobu – Articles 7, 15, 21, 24, 31, 33, 38 and 57

  1521-1573; a Sengoku daimyo of Kai province and nineteenth inheritor of the Takeda clan. Vastly famous as the greatest sovereign and most excellent general of the Sengoku period, a reputation largely revivd from the manuscript Koyo Gunkan, which was a popular war chronicle of the exploits of the Takeda clan. On top of Kai, he kept expanding his territory to include the provinces Shinano, Kozuke, Totoumi, part of Suruga and part of Mino. He died from disease during the Battle of Mikatagahara, and his death was kept secret for three years, as was in accordance with his will.

  Takeda Katsuyori – Articles 38 and 57

  1546-1582; the fourth son of Takeda Shingen and twentieth inheritor of the Takeda clan. In the ambition to expand their territory more than his father, he aggressively went on campaigns against the alliance of Oda and Tokugawa. However, he suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Nagashinoin in 1575, after this his power waned and he was killed in the Battle of Tenmokuzan by the alliance of Oda and Tokugawa.

  Tanaka Hyobu-no-tayu Yoshimasa – Article 20

  1548-1609; he served Hideyoshi’s son, Hideyori, and after Hideyori’s downfall, served Tokugawa Ieyasu. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he fought for the East side and his men succeeded in the capture of the enemy leader, Ishida Mitsunari. For this he was given Chikugo province with a fief of 320,000 koku. He died from disease at the age of 62.

  Tanaka Denzaemon – Article 20

  Unknown dates; a retainer of Tanaka Yoshimasa.

  Tokugawa Hidetada – Article 25

  1579-1632; the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the second Tokugawa shogun of a then united Japan. Compared with his father and brothers, his military ability is said to have been lower, however he secured the foundation of the future of the shogunate.

  Tokugawa Ieyasu – Articles 3, 10, 24, 30, 33, 39, 42, 50 and 57

  1543-1616; founder and the first shogun of the Tokugawa regime and final unifier of Japan and probably the most famous samurai in history, alongside Miyamoto Musashi. Born in a comparatively weak landlord family in the province of Mikawa, he spent his early days as a hostage with the Oda clan and then the Imagawa clan. After the Battle of Okehazama, he became independent and allied himself with Nobunaga. With this alliance, he destroyed the Takeda clan and taking advantage of the confusion after the Honnoji Incident (Nobunaga’s death), he secured five provinces. Though he was always a competitor of Hideyoshi, he became a retainer of Hideyoshi as a formality. However, after the death of Hideyoshi, he destroyed the opposition forces in the Battle of Sekigahara – the largest and greatest samurai battle – and ruined the inheritance of the Toyotomi clan at the Summer and Winter Seiges of Osaka Castle, at which point he fully unified Japan and founded the Tokugawa shogunate. He died from disease at the age of 75.

  Tomita Kohei – Article 30

  Unknown dates; a retainer of Niwa Nagashige.

  Tomita Kurouzu Takasada – Article 30

  ?-1600; a retainer of Toyotomi Hidetsugu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s stepson. But after Hidetsugu’s fall, he went into service with the Maeda clan and was killed in the Battle of Daijoji in 1600.

  Torii Shirozaemon Nobuyuki – Article 56

  ?-1573; a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the Battle of Mikatagahara against Takeda Shingen, when Tokugawa’s forces retreated, he fought at the rear of the retreat so that they could successfully withdraw. He was killed in this encounter.

  Toyotomi Hideyoshi – Articles 4 and 20

  1537-1598; born into a ‘lower’ family in Owari he served Oda Nobunaga and distinguished himself as capable and became one of the most trusted retainers of Nobunaga. After the assassination of Nobunaga, he destroyed Akechi Mitsuhide, the rebel who killed Nobunaga, and succeeded Nobunaga in position as head warlord of Japan and started to bring an end to the Sengoku, or warring, period. He conducted an invasion of Korea in 1592 to 1598 and during the middle of the second invasion, Hideyoshi died and his forces withdrew.

  Toyotomi Hideyori – Articles 14, 35 and 46

 
1593-1615; son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and born when Hideyoshi was 57 years old, he inherited the Toyotomi administration of Japan after his father’s death in 1598. However, Tokugawa Ieyasu, while seizing more and more power after the Battle of Sekigahara, took the role of supreme ruler of Japan and later conducted the famous Sieges of Osaka Castle – in denial of his own promise to protect Hideyori. In the Summer Siege in 1615, Hideyori and his mother committed seppuku in Osaka Castle.

  Tsuchiya Yemon-no-jo Masatsugu – Article 56

  1544-1575; a retainer of Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori. He killed Torii Nobuyuki in the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573 and he himself was killed in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.

  Tsukuda Mataemon – Article 17

  ?-1617; served Gamo Ujisato and later Fukushima Masanori. He was also a Christian. With the ban on Christianity issued in 1614, he refused to convert from his religion but Tokugawa Ieyasu gave him a pardon as he was a distinguished warrior. However, he kept true to his faith and gave Christians shelter and was thus executed in 1617.

  Ueda Mondo-no-suke Shigeyasu – Article 56

  1563-1650; first served the Niwa clan. After Niwa’s fall, he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the Battle of Sekigahara, went into service for the Asano clan. As well as numerous military achievements, he was famous as a garden designer and tea master.

  Uesaka Shume – Article 30

  Unknown dates; all that is known is found in Article 30.

  Uesugi (also, Nagao) Kenshin – Articles 22, 31 and 54

  1530-1578; the warlord of Echigo province. Famous for his bravery in warfare and thus called a ‘god of war’. He unified Echigo and successfully promoted industry in his territory. He had numerous battles through his life against Takeda Shingen, Hojo Ujiyasu, Oda Nobunaga and many others, he famously fought on five occasions with Takeda Shingen at Kawanakajima in Shinano. He died suddenly from a disease while preparing for his next campaign.

  Wada Yoshimori – Article 10

  1147-1213; the military commander of the Kamakura shogunate. After Minamoto-no-Yoritomo’s death, the Kamakura shogunate had a struggle for power with the Hojo clan and Yoshimori was killed in 1213, together with his family.

  Yagi Shinzaemon – Article 56

  Unknown dates; an ashigaru foot soldier for Asano Saemon, who was in turn a retainer of Asano Nagamasa.

  Yamada Gorozaemon – Article 61

  Unknown date; a ronin of Harima province. He joined the Toyotomi side in the Siege of Osaka Castle.

  Yamaguchi Genba-no-kami Munenaga – Articles 30 and 50

  ?-1600; lord of Daijoji Castle in Kaga province. Sided with Ishida in the Battle of Sekigahara. In 1600 his castle was besieged by 20,000 men of the Maeda Toshimaga’s forces while the besieged were only 500 in number. In the end he killed himself, together with his son.

  Yamanaka Shika-no-suke Yukimori – Articles 41 and 56

  1544-1578; born into the Amago clan, he was part of a very influential family in western Honshu. After 1566, when the Amago clan was ruined by the Mouri clan, he devoted himself to restore the clan, making three major attempts to reinstate it. Yamanaka served Oda Nobunaga and went against the Mouri clan, Yamanaka defended Kozuki Castle but surrendered it to the Mouri clan in the end. Yamanaka was captured alive but while he was being taken to the headquarters of the Mouri clan, he was killed by a retainer, as stated in Article 41.

  Yamashita Matasuke – Article 13

  Unknown dates; nothing is known of him except what is written in the above article.

  Yamazaki Nagato-no-kami Naganori – Article 30

  1552-1620; first served Asakura Yoshikage and after Asakura was ruined, he served Akechi Mitsuhide. After Akechi was killed, he served Shibata Katsuie, and after Shibata was killed by Hideyoshi, he served Maeda Toshiie and Toshinaga. Because he successfully ruined Yamaguchi Munenaga, he was given 12,000 koku by Maeda Toshinaga.

  Yoshihiro Kahei-no-jo Muneyuki – Article 23

  ?-1600; a retainer to OtomoYoshimune. He was killed at the Battle of Ishigakibara in 1600.

  Watanabe Hanzo Moritsuna – Article 47

  1542-1620; a retainer to Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is said that to have been good at spear fighting and fought in famous battles, such as the battles of Anegawa, Mikatagahara and Nagashino. Hence he was nicknamed Spear Hanzo and was included in the poem mentioned above, with Devil Hanzo and Head-Taker Gengo.

  * * *

  1 The document is titled , but its provenance is unknown.

  Bibliography

  PRIMARY SOURCES

  Musha Monogatari – the Japanese National Archives

  Zoho-Monogatari – the Japanese National Archives

  SECONDARY SOURCES

  Kikuchi Shinichi & Nishimaru Keiko, Musha Monogatari, Musha Monogatari Sho, Shin Musha, Monogatarai – Honbun to Sakuin, Izumi Shoin, 1994

  Kamo Yoshihisa, Sinban Zohyo Monogatari, Paroru Sha, 2006

  Nakamura Michio, Zohyo Monogatari, Oan Monogatari, Iwanami Bunko, 1942

  Asano Tagatake & Higuchi Hideo, Zumaki, Zohyo Monogatari, Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1967

  Plate Section

  Fig 1. Asahi Idezaemon is on the right. Yuhi Irizaemon is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 2. Ogawa Asaemon and Okawa Fukazaemon. (See here)

  Fig 3. Nagara Genzaemon is on the right. Kichinaizaemon is in the middle. Sukenaizaemon is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 4. The Commander’s Standard Bearer, Magozo is on the right. The Commander’s Standard Carrying Servant, Hikozo is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 5. The Musket Carrying Servant, Tsutsuhei is on the right. The Musket Carrying Servant, Teppei is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 6. The Bow Carrying Servant, Yazaemon. (See p.25)

  Fig 7. The Box Carrying Servant, Yarokubei, is above. The Sandal Carrying Servant, Kirokubei, is below. (See here)

  Fig 8. The Groom Kinroku, is on the right. (See here)

  Fig 9. The Arrow Box Carrying Servant, Yazo is on the right. The Bullet Box Carrying Servant, Zundon is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 10. Yagi Gozo, the Quarter Master, is on the right. Bazo, the Labourer, is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 11. From right to left: Sasuke, the Young Lower Retainer. Kasuke, the Sandal Carrying servant. Yasuke, the Labourer. Mosuke, the Labourer. (See here)

  Fig 12. Koroku, the Lord’s Spear Servant, is on the right. Shinroku, the Middle Servant, is on the left. (See here)

  Fig 13. Magohachi and Hikohachi. (See here)

  Fig 14. The flag of Jiki Hachiman. (See here)

  Fig 15. Samurai armour, which has rules pertaining to what colour thread can be used. (See here)

  Fig 16. Information on armour and coloured thread. (See here)

  Fig 17. More information on armour and coloured thread. (See here)

  Fig 18. The five types of decapitated head. (See here)

  Fig 19. The small table of food to be offered to the lord with sake at the head inspection. (See here)

  Fig 20. Container for the Horo cape in the story. (See here)

  Fig 21. In the old nun’s story, the teeth of the severed heads were blackened to show the best warriors: ‘Remember, heads are not what you should be afraid of, back then we even slept among the heads with the smell of blood in the air.’ (See here)

  Fig 22. The old nun, crossing a moat in a wooden washtub. (See here)

  Fig 23. The old nun’s mother is carried by her father after delivering a baby girl. The baby has been bathed in the water of a rice field and is wrapped in the retainer’s kimono. (See here)

  Fig 24. Kiku’s escape from Osaka Castle. (See here)

  Fig 25. Lord Hideyoshi in the Yamazato tea rooms of Osaka Castle. (See here)

  ANTONY CUMMINS has a Masters degree in Archaeology and is the author of True Path of the Ninja, To Stand on a Stone, Conversations with an Assassin and The Illustrated Guide to Viking Martial Arts. He is a a specialist on the ninjutsu manuals of Japan, and has released several DVDs, as well as working as a host for the documentary �
��The Ninja: Shadow Warriors’.

  Yoshie Minami was born in Tokyo and currently lives in Saitama, Japan. She has a BA in Linguistics from the International Christian University. As a translator, she has published True Path of the Ninja and True Ninja Traditions and has worked with Antony as part of the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team on the best-selling In Search of the Ninja for The History Press.

  COPYRIGHT

  First published 2013

  The History Press

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  This ebook edition first published in 2013

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  © Antony Cummins, 2013

  The right of Antony Cummins to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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