Shibata Katsuie’s right-hand man had been baited to out-run his lines and been destroyed; the entire Shibata coalition had now disintegrated. The Toyotomi defenders switched to the offensive and counterattacked, pushing Shibata Katsuie back to his main castle and besieging it.
The war was over.
***
ANTICIPATION AND A LACK OF ANTICIPATION
You should cultivate the skill of Anticipation.
In the battle’s aftermath, Nobuo demanded his half-brother Nobutaka’s suicide, and the “third son” of Nobunaga was thus killed in the aftermath.
Genba was executed in a spectacle a week later in Kyoto.
But these events did not happen until Katsuie, following Nobunaga’s example, had burned his own castle to the ground, refusing to allow Hideyoshi to take his head.
As Sunzi wrote in Ancient China,
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
The Toyotomi knew themselves… and knew their enemies. The Shibata knew neither, and succumbed in every battle.
Toyotomi is known as the “Second Great Unifier” of Japan… after defeating Katsuie, he is now indisputably the paramount general in Japan, and his path to the unification of the nation is now clear.
But why is there a third Great Unifier? Certainly, Hideyoshi must have made some mistake, no?
Hideyoshi has not made any mistakes to this point; he seems supernaturally gifted. But as Katsuie’s castle burns, he makes the first significant mistake of his otherwise glorious life.
Three princesses, Nobunaga’s nieces, are ferried out of the burning castle. The father of the three princesses had previously died in combat, and their mother Oichi had been remarried to Shibata Katsuie.
And though Hideyoshi would surely have treated her well and given her safe conduct, Oichi now chose to die in the flames with her husband Katsuie.
The younger two princesses were wailing and crying, watching their home castle burn as their mother died in flames. The older merely stood silently and stared at the burning castle.
Hideyoshi had ordered the girls to be treated well and taken to safety, and then sat down to celebrate with his generals.
After sharing stories of the victory and celebrating, he turned to Kanbei –
“Kanbei, did you see the oldest girl, Princess Chacha? She’s a beauty, huh?”
Kanbei frowned. “I don’t know, Lord Hideyoshi… I don’t like her.”
Hideyoshi laughed. “Are you a monk?! How can you not appreciate her beauty?”
“Well,” Kanbei says, “That’s true. The younger girls all seem so innocent, but she is so… composed… on seeing her mother and step-father’s death… I think there’s hatred in her heart and eyes.”
Hideyoshi – making the first major mistake of his life – waves away Kanbei’s Anticipation.
“You’re getting old, Kanbei! She’s a young beautiful girl. We’ll treat her well. Who knows what the future will bring with her?”
Kanbei did not want to ruin the mood, and perhaps this whimsy would pass, too.
“I suppose so, my Lord.”
Vantages #8: Restraint
WHAT IF THE BIRD DOES NOT SING?
The “Three Great Unifiers” of Japan all came from the same school of military thought – Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, indeed, both rose to prominence in the service of the “First Great Unifier,” Oda Nobunaga, a brilliant and ruthless man.
There is a famous parable in Japan about these three men.
In the parable, all three are in a tea garden, along with a Zen Buddhist monk.
A bird lands on a nearby tree branch.
The monk asks each man,
“If you want the bird to sing, and the bird does not sing, what will you do?”
Nobunaga speaks first – “If the bird does not sing, I will kill the bird.”
Hideyoshi speaks second – “If the bird does not sing, I will make the bird want to sing.”
Ieyasu is quiet.
“And you, Ieyasu? What will you do if the bird doesn’t sing?”
Ieyasu answers –
“Wait.”
***
UNHORSED
The bullet hit with fateful impact, the explosive force lifting Ikeda Tsuneoki off his saddle.
He clattered to the ground hard and a whooping shout rose from the Tokugawa defenders at Iwasuki Castle.
I’ve never been shot, but I have shot heavy firearms before. Even a simple modern 9 millimeter handgun will break bones in your hand if you’re holding it wrong. Many modern marksmen, while learning, will fracture a collarbone if they improperly shoot something as heavy as a .30-06 rifle. Guns, obviously, produce a lot of force.
So I can only imagine what it’s like to be on the receiving end of getting shot; General Ikeda was confused, disoriented, and enraged by this turn of fate. His personal attendants rushed to him, and were relieved to see his breastplate absorbed most of the damage.
Ikeda snarls, his pride wounded, shouts the fateful order – “Take that damn castle!”
One of his attendants tries to protest, “But, General Ikeda, Lord Toyotomi instructed us to leave the lesser fortresses and march on the Tokugawa headquarters.”
In his rage and disorientation, Ikeda isn’t listening. He repeats the order –
“I said, take that damn castle!”
***
BEDROCK
When he heard the news, the ninja chief immediately mounted his own horse and rode hard.
Hattori Hanzo was always elegant in any landscape, but perhaps most elegant of all on horseback. He seemed to almost supernaturally fuse with the landscape. The weapons in his hands became part of his body; when he was mounted, his mind and the horse’s became one.
With his great speed, he arrived at the Tokugawa forward camp.
He navigated the sentries quickly with the relevant watch-words; all knew to look for the legendary Hanzo when he arrived, never to impede his progress.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was sitting calmly in his war tent, reading and sending dispatches. He would look up slowly from his work at any messenger and news. Nothing excited him.
Hanzo moved swiftly into the tent, and Ieyasu nodded at his chief, asks –
“News?”
“Good news! Ikeda Tsuneoki has gotten himself bogged down halfway between here and Mikawa – this our chance!”
“A feint?”
“No, he’s behaving foolishly. Apparently he was shot from the saddle and his pride was wounded. He’s stranded himself near Iwasuki Castle, he’s cut off from the advance guard and Hideyoshi’s main force.” Hanzo pauses only the briefest moment, then adds – “Hideyoshi’s nephew and heir is on the march with Ikeda.”
Ieyasu nods. His emotions were unreadable.
He closes his eyes for a moment, calculating and double-checking assumptions in his head, and then orders –
“This is our chance. Full mobilization. Annihilate them.”
Ieyasu waits a moment, then calls for his attendant –
“Bring my horse! I will join the assault force.”
***
PRIDE COMETH
“Idiot!” Hideyoshi was in a rare furious mood. “Idiot! Idiot! Why did he stop at Iwasuki Castle? It doesn’t matter! The Tokugawa headquarters in Mikawa is exposed – if it falls, the war is over! Iwasuki doesn’t matter!”
It is March of 1584; the year previous, Hideyoshi had defeated his main rival for leadership of the Oda Clan, Shibata Katsuie, and begun building a magnificent castle at Osaka with which to rule the nation.
While technically the three-year-old Prince Sanposhi was ruler of the Oda Clan, the idiot “second son” Oda Nobuo had nevertheless just naively expected that Hideyoshi would now turn the new castle and leadership of the clan over to him.
When Hideyoshi demanded an oath of loyalty from Nobuo, there was a breach between the two men. Hideyoshi attempted to get three of Nobuo’s senior retainers to defect; this detected, Nobuo executed the three men.
Hideyoshi used it as a pretext for war.
Tokugawa Ieyasu joined the anti-Toyotomi coalition, nominally under Oda Nobuo’s command, and the two strongest men in Japan were now at war.
Hideyoshi’s forces struck first – Ikeda Tsuneoki had incited the very important Inuyama Castle at the crossroads of the battle to defect, and had taken it nearly bloodlessly. It was a perfect Toyotomi-style diplomatic coup.
Tokugawa Ieyasu always moved slowly and deliberately – but would occasionally, seemingly unpredictably, very rarely, explode into fast-moving action. His forces mobilized and re-took Inuyama Castle quickly.
This had led General Ikeda to be filled with shame.
Meanwhile, the Tokugawa were outnumbered 2-to-1, and refused to do battle with the Toyotomi forces. They would skirmish and pick off loose Toyotomi units who wandered from the pack, but then would withdraw into strong fortifications at Inuyama and Mount Komaki.
This stalemate was devastating to Hideyoshi Toyotomi – he was, after all, something of a usurper. Tokugawa was in the field under the banner of restoring and protecting the Oda Clan. His ninja and diplomats wrote many propaganda posters about Hideyoshi’s crimes and usurpations – most of which were true – and Hideyoshi was seeing his relative position decline.
The plan to break the stalemate that Toyotomi Hideyoshi approved was known to be risky.
Considerably outnumbered, the Tokugawa had forward-deployed almost all of their soldiers and left their home province unguarded. To reclaim his honor, General Ikeda had proposed – and Hideyoshi had accepted – a lightning strike to seize the relatively unguarded Tokugawa headquarters.
The orders had been extremely clear – no small battles! Take whatever small losses skirmishers dealt to the Ikeda/Toyotomi forces en route to the Tokugawa home province of Mikawa. Leave a small detachment to pin down any castle, but keep moving. Take Mikawa before Tokugawa could rally to its defense.
But now, in a mix of headstrong pride and terrible neglect, Ikeda Tsuneoki had defied all orders and was now dissipating his force – and precious time – fighting a useless battle to soothe his wounded feelings.
Hideyoshi calms slightly and asks –
“And my nephew?”
The messenger froze and shuffled his feet for a moment, not wanting to answer, but then saying meekly, “We don’t know, sir. He’s with General Ikeda, but we’ve lost contact with them.”
Hideyoshi has a surprise reaction to this even worse news – he calms down and speaks quietly.
“I see. Well, perhaps we can turn this into a victory yet.”
He raises his voice loudly enough for all outside attendants to hear –
“Full mobilization! We’re marching to relieve Ikeda and destroy the Tokugawa!”
***
THE LIGHTNING DISSIPATES
Confusion and disorientation reigned supreme.
With a lightning strike, troops march light and by the fastest routes. They do not have solid battle lines, reserves, defenses, and supplies. They often separate and spread out to reach the rallying point as fast as possible.
If these lightning maneuvers work correctly, a large cohesive army seemingly just appears out of nowhere at its target, taking defenders off guard and giving a huge advantage to the lightning-fast army.
But before that final rallying appearance, the fast-moving army’s battle lines are precariously spread long and communications are hampered – by design – by the speed of the rapid movement.
It’s thus imperative that the separated units do not enter individual battle with the enemy’s main force.
General Ikeda’s slight delay to soothe his wounded pride had given just enough time for Tokugawa’s main force to march and overtake them. Even though the overall Toyotomi forces outnumbered the Tokugawa 2:1, General Ikeda – along with with Hideyoshi’s 17-year-old heir, Hidetsugu, were now facing an onslaught and were outnumbered 4:1.
Meanwhile, the Tokugawa fought like desperate men – fighting to prevent their homeland from falling.
Not ready for combat and with the Tokugawa enemy arriving from the rear, many of the Ikeda/Toyotomi generals and officers were killing in the opening salvos, and their forces started to disintegrate. Despite having a 2:1 advantage in any full battle, each individual corps of the Toyotomi blitzkrieg was now being torn to pieces mid-march by furious, fast-moving Tokugawa forces that outnumbered them. The Tokugawa had known they were bringing desperate battle; the Toyotomi forces had been caught flat-footed and surprised.
It was a massacre.
General Ikeda sighed, knowing he was beaten. He turned to Hideyoshi’s heir and said,
“Hidetsugu, please flee. Let Hideyoshi know that I was a fool, but I was loyal to the end. I’ll slow the pursuit.”
And so, as Hidetsugu ran desperately for his life, the General placed his war banner on a small hill and bellowed a challenge,
“Who dares come for the head of General Ikeda!”
Gunfire lit the air, and many of the Ikeda’s most loyal senior officers died in the first volleys of this last stand.
Soon, Tokugawa gunners, spear corps, and cavalry were assaulting the position.
General Ikeda is said to have fought valiantly, killing or wounding many Tokugawa footsoldiers as they began to overrun his final standing position.
He was defiant until the end, swinging his sword, calling out challenges and heaping abuse on the Tokugawa, but pride eventually demurred as he was ran through with a spear. His head was cut off and sent along with his commander’s banner to Lord Ieyasu as a prize.
The Ikeda/Toyotomi forces completely disintegrated.
***
TOKUGAWA FORWARD HEADQUARTERS NEAR NAGAKUTE
The Tokugawa senior generals were in reverie –
“We’ve beaten them!”
“They’re falling apart!”
Tokugawa Ieyasu had let the men voice their celebration, but it wearied him. They were getting lost in bloodlust.
One of the Tokugawa general makes the bold suggestion,
“Let’s pursue them and give the final battle!”
Ieyasu speaks now, one word –
“No.”
The room sombers up rapidly.
All eyes turn to Ieyasu.
“We have an expression that we live and die by – ‘After victory, tighten the straps on your helmet!’ We’ve won the field, but this is the most dangerous moment. No pursuit. Immediate withdrawal!”
Some of the Tokugawa generals begin to protest and Ieyasu holds his hand up to quiet them and speaks –
“The orders are clear! Any man over-pursuing the enemy will be punished by execution. I don’t care if he comes back to camp with Hideyoshi’s head itself, no honor, execution for that! We’re the rock the water breaks upon, not the water! Don’t get carried away. Full withdrawal!”
Hours later, Hideyoshi arrived at the scenes of the battle with 20,000 fresh reinforcements and surveyed the scene – it was a complete massacre; he’d lost many soldiers and senior generals.
But the Tokugawa were nowhere to be found.
Hideyoshi marched on a number of local castles, looking for an outlet for his rage, but no counterattack came.
The Tokugawa had disappeared back into the earth.
***
VANTAGES #8: RESTRAINT
We will get to know Tokugawa Ieyasu much more in two chapters – he was the final stumbling block that Hideyoshi had to navigate to unify the nation under his command.
Eventually, Hideyoshi would win the nation, but – due to a slowly escalating series of small and large blunders due to vanity – his heirs would be destroyed and the Tokugawa would rule Japan for the next 250 years.
The Battles of Komaki and Nagakute were the only time that any of the “Three
Great Unifiers” faced each other in combat, and here, you can see both the distinct talents and genius of both Hideyoshi and Ieyasu.
You can also see how a single rash action can unmake the grandest of plans.
After finally consolidating his reign some decades later, Ieyasu said one of the greatest quotes of all-time as guidance for his descendants –
MACHINA Page 13
