#09 Iehiro talks about his ancestor Ieyasu 04
1)
The Battle of Sekigahara changed the world, but what do you think was the reason for the Eastern Army's victory under Ieyasu?
This is a long story, but the Toyotomi government was in a state of collapse.
It had spent six years fighting on the Korean peninsula by sending a large army of over 100,000 soldiers to Korea. The price has now been paid.
Most of those who fought in the Battle of Sekigahara on the Tokugawa side of the Eastern Army were vassals of the Toyotomi family.
2)
Furthermore, this is the generation of the sons of people who were friends of Toyotomi Hideyoshi before Ishida Mitsunari was born.
There are very few daimyo from the Toyotomi family in the government.
Mitsunari Ishida, Yukinaga Konishi and about one other person were all very minor daimyo.
I think most of those in the Western Army didn't have the energy or stamina to fight or intend to betray them from the beginning.
3)
Then why the Battle of Sekigahara?
Without this battle, the Toyotomi government would have remained in place.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the prime minister of the Toyotomi government.
4)
If he took over the Toyotomi family and cleaned up the mess, it would be seen as a very unpopular start to a new government.
If that were the case, the public would not be satisfied.
Even at that time, there was a real society in Japan.
5)
So, how can we end the Toyotomi government in a way that satisfies everyone? I thought.
And what was invented was the Battle of Sekigahara.
It would be nice if I could and didn't have to fight, but that didn't happen.
I think I came up with that method at that time.
6)
Everyone believes that Ieyasu is the champion. After all, he won the battle that divided the world.
Various stories about the Battle of Sekigahara were created in later generations.
For example, Mitsunari Ishida is said to have been a close friend of Yoshitsugu Otani, but this was not the case.
7)
In fact, after Hideyoshi's death, Ishida Mitsunari tried to assassinate Ieyasu.
There is a list of feudal lords who rushed to Ieyasu's safety then. A fact in history was reorganised by the shogunate years later.
Surprisingly, the name Yoshitsugu Otani is on this list.
This fact came to light 200 years after establishing Yoshitsugu Otani's reputation for standing up to Mitsunari Ishida in Sekigahara.
Yoshitsugu rushed to see Ieyasu because he was apprehensive about him.
8)
What does this mean?
I think he was probably a Tokugawa spy.
But in the end, he fights alongside Mitsunari, right?
That means he thought about what good would come from his death.
9)
During the Sengoku period, many people of a certain level thought about where they would die and chose how they would die.
It's kind of cool to be a warlord.
It's a secret, so you can't tell anyone your true feelings.
10)
In 1603, Ieyasu became Seii Taishogun. Two years later, he handed over the position to his second son, Hidetada.
Why did he give up after only two years?
This is my interpretation, but it is impossible to change the world from the Sengoku Shogunate to a peaceful one just by being appointed Seii Taishogun and opening the ShoguShogunateis.
11)
Just before that, there was an era called the Muromachi Shogunate, which ended with Japan being too weak to do anything and in chaos.
So, establishing a shogunate was not enough to stabilise the country, and I had to study what could be done.
I couldn't do that stabilising as a general.
12)
The general looks like he's just sitting there. He has various rituals to perform and has to settle things on many documents.
So it takes a lot of time, and I don't have much freedom.
Ieyasu wanted to be free and only do what was necessary.
13)
Ieyasu moved to Suruga Castle in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Ieyasu retired from his post as shogun and called himself "Ogosho".
In Edo, his son-in-law, Tokugawa Hidetada, became the next shogun.
This is why it is often referred to as a two-top system.
However, Hidetada could not do what Ieyasu had forbidden.
In other words, a mogul is in a higher position than a general. So, it was a one-stop system.
14)
So when Ieyasu died ten years later, Hidetada effectively became the head.
That's true, but I thought Ieyasu wanted to retire and rest.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi also became Kanpaku and passed it on to his nephew Hidetsugu.
Hideyoshi was also able to do as he pleased.
#09 Iehiro talks about his ancestor Ieyasu 04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4zbzWE5MN4
Tokugawa Iehiro (1965 - ) 19th head of the Tokugawa family
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%83
"Yoshitsugu Otani" A loyal and wise general who is destroyed by betrayal after betrayal
A terrifying talent that Hideyoshi wanted to entrust with his 1 million koku army.
https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/713631
He was supposed to play Ken Watanabe's role in "The Last Samurai," but after "21 years, Hiroyuki Sanada explains why he feels "a sense of destiny" in "Shogun."
https://bu"shun.jp/articles/-/70275
Ken Watanabe: I was given "a chance by an NHK producer to work on the morning drama, Taiga "Dokuganryu Masamune."
https://fujinkoron.jp/articles/-/7965?page=2
Ken Watanabe: "My outlook on life and death changed when I developed acute myeloid leukaemia in my 30s. Hollywood's Hollywood 'Last Samurai' was a big 'turning point'. I also appeared on the Broadway stage."
https://fujinkoron.jp/articles/-/7967
