NOBUNAGA, HIDEYOSHI AND IYEYASU It now becomes comparatively easy to follow one main thread in the history of Japan. An account of Nobunaga's conqi....sts is an account of the successive withdrawal of various territories from chaotic feudalism to form the basis of a new Japanese empire. At the time that he was born, there was no central government. Though the emperors remained the fount of honour, they did not make a single public appearance between 1521 and 1587: the Shoguns were puppets in the hands of contending chieftains : the provinces ceased to be administrative areas and the only effective government was that exercised by the heads of the principal feudal houses in the lands—often comprising several provinces— which they had acquired by force of arms. The free city of Sakai near Osaka was an interesting but unique phenomenon. It had expelled its feudal lord, and the Jesuit Vilela says it was "governed by its own laws and customs in the fashion of Venice." An important factor in the situation was the temporal power of the Buddhist Church. Even more than before the larger monas teries became fortresses with lands, troops and secular ambitions. In spite of this worldly tendency Buddhism had shown itself in the preceding centuries by no means deficient in religious vigour. The preaching of Nichiren stimulated patriotism in the time of the Mongol invasions and out of the monasteries of Ky6to, wealthy foundations devoted to art and political intrigue, there arose in the 12th century sects analogous to Protestantism which preached with signal success simple doctrines intelligible to the masses. One of these sects called Shinshu allowed the clergy to marry, with the result that abbots became hereditary and even more like feudal lords than celibate prelates had been. In Echizen, Echigo, Kwanto and Kaga, the vast tracts ruled by religious establishments of this sect were hardly distinguishable from ordinary baronies, and Kennyo, the eleventh abbot, was accused of wishing to supplant the emperor.
Nobunaga.—Oda Nobunaga belonged to the Taira family and inherited a small fief in the province of Owari. He was a brilliant military genius and at that time the natural career for a man of his calibre was to extend his lands by conquest and, if possible, penetrate to Kyoto and get the Shogun into his power. In execut ing this programme he had the assistance of Hideyoshi, a simple peasant said to have been remarkably ugly, who entered his service as a groom, and after his death surpassed his achievements and ended by administering the whole empire. Nobunaga also acted in concert with Iyeyasu, a rising young warrior of the Tokugawa family which was a branch of the Minamoto. By 1568 Nobunaga had taken possession of all Owari with the neigh bouring provinces of Mino, Ise and Omi, had entered KyOto and installed Yoshiaki, the last of the Ashikaga ShOguns.
It was in 1572 that Nobunaga first made the acquaintance of the Jesuits, to whose doings we must now turn. Thirty years earlier the hazard of a storm had driven a Portuguese ship which was bound for Macao to the coast of Tanegashima, an island lying off the extreme south of Kyushu. They were well received, and when the news of the discovery spread among the Portuguese establishments in the East seven expeditions were equipped in the next few years to exploit the new market. They traded in the ports of Kyushu and even visited KyOto. In 1549 the first missionary, Xavier (see article XAVIER), landed at Kagoshima, accompanied by two Portuguese priests, and by a Japanese called Anjiro or Yajiro who had some how found his way to Malacca. He was most favourably re ceived by the Daimy6 of Satsuma, who saw in his arrival a prospect of opening a lucrative trade with foreign markets. But the ships which were expected at Kagoshima, went to Hirado in stead. In 155o the disappointed Daimy6 issued an edict in which he forbade Christianity, and the missionaries thereupon moved to Hirado. Here they were well received by the Portuguese merchants, who recommended them to the Japanese, and their preaching had some success. Xavier paid a fruitless visit to Kyoto, but his stay at Yamaguchi in western Japan and in the province of Bungo in Kyushu had more result. When he left, after spending about two years in Japan, it is said that he had baptized 76o persons. In the year following Xavier's departure more Jesuits arrived in Bungo, which was for some time the principal Christian centre. It was from there that they began to send to the General of their order in Rome the series of reports called Annual Letters which give a most valuable picture of con temporary Japan. The head of the Otomo family, the ruling house in the province, assisted them not only by encouragement in his own territories but by his influence among his neighbours. In Hirado the fortunes of Christianity varied : sometimes the desire to encourage trade at any price prevailed, but sometimes in dignation at aggressive propaganda, and such outrages as burn ing temples, provoked restrictive legislation. Sumitada, chieftain of Omura, a fief near Hirado, became a most zealous Christian. He gave land and residences to the Jesuits, forced Christianity on his vassals by drastic means, and in 1567 built a church at Nagasaki, then an obscure fishing village. His object was to provide a centre for Portuguese trade and religion and he suc ceeded so well that in five years Nagasaki grew into a town of 30,00o inhabitants, while he himself became one of the most important feudal lords of Kyushu. His neighbour, the chieftain of Arima, thought it well to follow this example and became known to the Portuguese as Prince Andrew. In Arima and other places there were many vicissitudes, but on the whole the progress of Christianity was astonishing. The Annual' Letter of 1582, only thirty-two years after the landing of Xavier, reports that there were 150,000 converts. In this year, too, at the suggestion of the Jesuit Valegnani, an embassy of four Japanese youths was despatched from Kyushu to the Pope and also visited Lisbon and Madrid. The vast majority of the conversions mentioned took place in Kyushu, but the propaganda of a Jesuit called Vilela had considerable results in Kyoto, and its success is inter esting because his converts cannot have been actuated by com mercial motives. In 1564 a chieftain called Takayama Yusho challenged Vilela to a public disputation and, admitting that he was vanquished, embraced Christianity with all his household and vassals. But in Kyoto too, the aggressiveness of the mis sionaries irritated the Buddhist clergy, who as early as 1565 and 1568 induced the emperor to issue two anti-Christian edicts, and it would probably have fared ill with the new religion but for the constant support of Nobunaga, who was now the most power ful man in Japan and who ruled 3o out of the 66 provinces. He assisted and protected the Jesuits in every way he could and even built a house and church for them in the new city of Azuchi which he constructed on the shores of Lake Biwa. Nobunaga never showed the slightest sign of becoming a Christian himself but, like many Japanese, he was anxious to learn all he could from Europeans, and he was also actuated by violent hatred of the Buddhist priesthood. In his early struggles they had taken sides against him and in 1570 they were a menace to his rule in Kyoto. In that year the Miyoshi family threatened the city in conjunc tion with the Shinshu priests of Osaka, whose temple there was one of the strongest fortresses in Japan, and while he was occu pied with them his enemies, the nobles of Echizen and Omi, planned another attack with the help of the monasteries of Hieizan. As soon as he had disposed of his lay enemies Nobunaga made a sudden attack on this holy mountain and, after perpetrating an appalling massacre, burnt the monasteries of which there are said to have been 3,000. He was not quite so successful in deal ing with the temple fortress of Osaka which, under the command of the abbot Kennya, a most capable soldier, withstood a long siege until both parties agreed to accept the mediation of the emperor, who evidently regarded this open war with a religious body as a public scandal. Nobunaga's stormy career now came to an unexpected close. He had sent Hideyoshi to the west in order to subdue the powerful Daimyo of Choshii near the straits of Shimonoseki. In June 1582 a body of troops under Akechi Mitsuhide which was meant to reinforce this expedition suddenly turned on KyOto. The motives of Mitsuhide, who was killed in the struggle, have never been satisfactorily explained. Possibly he was avenging some ancient insult. At any rate he attacked Nobunaga's house and the latter, being unable to escape, com mitted suicide.
Hideyoshi.—Nobunaga was a considerable military genius but not of any administrative ability. He had, however, made his age familiar with the idea that supreme authority under the em peror was vested in one man, and Hideyoshi, the peasant who had been his groom, who had become his trusted lieutenant, and who now took his place, made the most of this idea and in eight years' time became both military and civil master of the whole country. At first the question of succession presented some difficulty. Hideyoshi supported the claims of the child of Nobunaga's de ceased eldest son and constituted himself the infant's guardian. Nobunaga's other sons objected and one of them, Nobuo, ulti mately took the field and had the support of Iyeyasu. But when Iyeyasu and Hideyoshi, who had formerly worked together, found themselves pitted against one another, they thought that the question at issue was not worth a conflict and made a compact which they confirmed by a matrimonial alliance. None of Nobunaga's descendants ultimately played any political role of importance and Nobuo subsequently fought for Hide yoshi. In the first years of his rule Hideyoshi conducted a vigorous and successful campaign against Echizen and, as a re sult, four provinces on the Sea of Japan submitted to him. He also subdued the island of Shikoku which had become a prac tically independent principality under Chosokabe of Tosa. But, more than this, he began to organize an efficient system of central government supervised by five ministers called Bugyo, and to reform the administration of justice and the coinage. In 1585 he received from the court the title of Kwampaku and was master of all Japan except Kyushu and the Kwanto with the provinces to the north of it. He now turned his attention to these two regions, beginning with Kyushu. The warlike Shimazus of Satsuma had been advancing towards the north and threatened Bungo among other provinces. The chieftain of Bungo asked Hideyoshi to intervene. He gladly did so and when he received a defiant answer to his representations from Satsuma, he invaded the island and reduced it to submission, but was careful to show a wise clemency to the powerful house of Shimazu.
This expedition brought Hideyoshi into con tact with Christianity as a political power and led to the restrictive edicts which caused the Jesuits to execrate his name. Up to this time he had shown no animus against them and he certainly was not prejudiced in favour of Buddhism, for he had an old quarrel with the monastery of Negoro, which he burnt in 1584. In the main island the Jesuits had confined their activity to religious mat ters, but what Hideyoshi saw and heard in Kyushu evidently con vinced him that they were not merely a new sect but that they aimed at establishing an imperil= in imperio and were a danger to the State. He was careful to complete his campaign before making new enemies, but when on his return journey he reached Hakata in the north of the island he unexpectedly caused five questions to be put to the vice provincial of an order which sufficiently indicate the nature of his suspicions. On what author ity, he asked, do the Jesuits con strain Japanese subjects to be come Christians? Why do they incite their disciples to destroy temples? Why do they persecute Buddhist priests? Why do they eat animals useful to men, such as cattle? Why do they allow Portuguese to carry off Japanese and make slaves of them in the Indies? The answers to these questions were not considered satisfactory and an edict was immediately published (1587) ordering foreign priests to leave the country within 20 days on pain of death. Portuguese merchants, however, were allowed to remain. But this ordinance was not put into force. A certain number of churches were destroyed, but Hideyo.51ii was clement by nature and desirous to reap the advantages of foreign trade. He winked at the infractions of his edict and in the years follow ing it, though the Christians were obliged to behave with more moderation, their numbers seem to have increased, for in 1595 we are told there were 137 Jesuits in Japan and 300,000 converts. But in 5597 he became uncompromisingly severe, the reason for this change of attitude being apparently the arrival of Spaniards.
Spaniards.—In virtue of a papal bull, accepted by both Spain and Portugal, the latter enjoyed a monopoly of religious propa ganda and trade in Japan. But in 1593 a party of Franciscans, describing themselves as envoys, arrived from Manila and were well received. They quarrelled with the Jesuits, against whom they made accusations to the Japanese authorities. About the same time a Spanish ship was stranded on the coast of Tosa and, according to the story, the pilot being anxious to impress the Japanese, dilated on the Spanish conquests and when asked how they had been made replied that "the Catholic king first sent ministers of the Gospel to convert the natives, who afterwards uniting with the captains of his majesty made their work of conquest easier." This remark, whether historical or not, is no doubt a correct epitome of Hideyoshi's suspicions. He was seized with a fury against missionaries: 26 Christians, native and foreign, were executed, many churches were destroyed : feudal chiefs were forbidden to become Christians, and all Jesuits were commanded to leave the country. But they managed to evade the order for some time and before it could be rigorously enforced Hideyoshi died. We must now return to his other doings.
After his successful expedition to Kyushu, only the east and north remained to be subdued. The northern districts were not in a position to offer much resistance but the provinces called KwantO were practically a powerful independent kingdom ruled by Hoja Ujimasa. This family of Hojos had nothing to do with the great but now extinct house of Kamakura. They had come from Ise about a century before and established themselves at Odawara in a strong position. As they refused to come to KyZito and do homage to the emperor, who was still recognized as the nominal sovereign, Hideyoshi, Iyeyasu and Nobuo marched against them in 1590 with an army of 250,000 men and received their submission before the end of the year. The castle of Odawara bad to surrender in 159o. The DaimyOs of the north also ten dered their submission. This time Hideyoshi treated his van quished enemies with unusual severity. The HojOs were ordered to commit suicide and their provinces were given to Iyeyasu who was recognized as ruler of the KwantO. Hideyoshi's return to KyOto was a veritable triumph. Custom would not allow him to become ShOgun, for the office was restricted by tradition to those of Minamoto lineage, but in 1591 he received at his own request the title of Taika by which he is generally known. This title, which had fallen out of use, had formerly been used by the Fuji wara, when they retired from the office of Kwampaku. Hideyoshi was now master of the whole country and has been called the Napoleon of Japan. There is some truth in this name, for he began to show signs of overweening ambition.
War.—Hitherto his objects had been eminently rea sonable—for who can doubt that Japan needed unification ?—but he now aimed at the conquest not merely of Korea, but of China. His motives are unknown. The Jesuits assert that his prime abject was to acquire land outside Japan where he could settle all the Christian nobles and Samurai, and keep them out of mischief. But though he sent 20,000 Christian troops to Korea, and may have thought it a good plan to leave them there, this is not likely to have been his chief reason for embarking on so great and dangerous an enterprise. Remarks attributed to him earlier in his career suggest that he had long cherished the scheme: be was undoubtedly impressed with the value of foreign commerce, and acquaintance with the Spaniards and Portuguese may have opened his eyes to the advantage of foreign conquests. Also he probably found it easier to subdue Japan than to rule it in peace. Though h?, had broken the power of the ancient great houses so completely that only five of them were left, the country was full of new military leaders who were ready enough to follow him in any profitable adventure but who, he may have felt, were likely to grow restless in peace and quiet. At any rate as
as 1587 he complained to the Korean court of their failure to send em bassies to Kyoto. The diplomatic correspondence which ensued was not altogether amicable and it is noticeable that in writing to the king of Korea (as also to the Spanish governors of the Indies and Philippines) Hideyoshi expressed himself as if he were sovereign of Japan and made no allusion to the emperor. Finally he informed the king of his intention to invade China and called for his co-operation. The king of Korea refused and is said to have remarked that the idea of conquering China was like "a bee trying to sting a tortoise through its armour." How ever, an army of some 300,00o men was prepared and despatched against Korea in May, 1592, from Nagoya in Hizen where Hide yoshi spent more than a year superintending the preparations. He did not go to Korea himself and Ukida Hideiye was named commander-in-chief. Transport was, of course, the great difficulty .but every feudatory was ordered to furnish ships in proportion to his revenue. The plan of campaign was to divide the invading force into three parts. The van, consisting of three army corps, was to land at Fusan and advance at once on Seoul by three route:, eastern, central and western. Then four more corps to gether with the troops under the direct orders of the commander in-chief were to cross and effectually subdue the regions through which the van had passed. Finally two more corps were to be sent by sea up the western coast to Phyong-Yang (Heijo) and there join the van, which by that time would be preparing to march into China across the Yalu river. The first part of this programme was duly executed. Before autumn the first and second parts of the expedition occupied Seoul and Phyong-Yang, but disasters at sea prevented the third portion from reinforcing the troops which were to advance into China. At this period the Japanese had nothing which could be called men-of-war, but merely open transports propelled by rowing. The Koreans, how ever, who had been taught by experience in fighting pirates, had "turtle-shell" ships, which, being covered and protected, gave them a great advantage. The Japanese flotilla was practically destroyed and thus the troops already in Korea were isolated from their base. In October the Chinese awoke to the fact that their territory was threatened with invasion, but with their usual self-confidence thought it sufficient to send 5,000 men across the Yalu. The Japanese had no difficulty in routing this small force, but then the tide turned. The Government of Peking at last realized the danger and despatched a considerable army. The Japanese troops had to evacuate Phyong-Yang and fall back on Seoul and to evacuate that city in turn in May i593. Though after this the Chinese gained no more victories, and though the war continued until 1598 not wholly unsuccessfully for the Japanese, yet from this point onwards it ceased to be an attempt at con quest. The Japanese held a line of forts along the southern coasts of Korea and took the fortress of Chinju with a terrific slaughter of Koreans but Hideyoshi devoted his attention chiefly to obtaining honourable terms of peace. The negotiations were slow, for though the Chinese seem to have been willing to make terms, the Koreans were not. At last, in 1596, a Chinese embassy was received by Hideyoshi at Osaka, but when the envoys handed him a patronizing missive from the Ming emperor recognizing him as king of Japan he flew into a passion and sent them back. Large reinforcements were despatched to Korea next year and this time the Japanese were successful in a naval engagement, which secured their communications. The Chinese also sent re inforcements and the struggle recommenced. In October 1598 the Satsuma detachment of Japanese troops gained a victory of which a gruesome memorial still survives in the Mimizuka or Ear mound at Kyoto. It is said that 38,000 of the enemy fell. Their ears were cut off, packed in barrels and sent to the capital where they were buried under this tumulus. This was followed by a brilliant Japanese victory at Junten, but meanwhile, though it was not known in Korea at the time, Hideyoshi had died on September i6th. It is said that before his death he requested Iyeyasu to arrange for the immediate termination of hostilities. At any rate, a general withdrawal of troops from the peninsula was at once begun, though not without difficulty, since, in spite of the armistice, the Chinese and Koreans attacked the trans ports. The exact date when diplomatic relations were resumed is uncertain but it was soon after 1600.
Iyeyasu and Hideyori.—The question of Hideyoshi's succes sor now became all important. His son had died and in 1598 he handed over the office of Kwampaku to his nephew Hidetsugu, a man of some ability but of an extremely cruel disposition, whom he intended to make his heir. But in the same year one of his wives bore him another son who received the name of Hideyori. Hideyoshi then quarrelled with his nephew, who was finally ordered to commit suicide, and the infant Hideyori was recognized as heir apparent. At the time of Hideyoshi's death Iyeyasu was the most important Daimyo in Japan. He ruled the Kwanta and his new fortress town of Yedo was rapidly growing. The dying Taiko asked him to become the guardian of his son. Iyeyasu was un willing to do this, but by the Taiko's last instructions he was installed as chief of a board of five regents and Hideyori with his mother resided in the great castle which his father had built at Osaka. The board of five ministers appointed in 1585 was retained to administer the country under the direction of the five regents who collectively acted as TaikO, yet another board, called middle counsellors, being appointed to arrange all difficulties which might arise between the two bodies. But this complicated arrangement did not work well, and the divergences of opinion between the two boards gradually took the form of a more per sonal quarrel between Iyeyasu and Ishida Mitsunari, a man of great ability who had been easily first among the ministers and now found himself overshadowed by the regents. He formed a powerful combination against Iyeyasu, charged him with dis obeying the Taiko's last instructions and practically declared war. Iyeyasu, however, showed even greater ability in forming a counter-combination and in inducing Ishida's confederates not to give him effective support. The issue was decided at the great battle of Sekigahara in the province of Mino on Oct. 21, 1600, one of the most important dates in Japanese history as it prac tically inaugurated the Tokugawa regime. Iyeyasu, however, for the moment took no steps against Hideyori but absolved him and his mother of all complicity and proceeded to consolidate his own power. As the Tokugawa family were a branch of the Minamoto, he was eligible as ShOgun and he obtained this title from the emperor. Strictly speaking, it had been in abeyance for only six years, as the last of the Ashikagas lived on in obscurity until 1597, and Iyeyasu himself held it for only two years for, f ollow ing the inveterate Japanese habit of abdicating while retaining the real power, he ceded the title to his son Hidetada in 16o5. He fixed his residence at Shizuoka and for some time kept on friendly terms with the young Hideyori, who was encouraged (perhaps in order to get rid of some of his great wealth), to re-erect the temple of Hokoji in KyOto and a colossal image which had been set up by his father but destroyed in the earth quake of 1596. When the building was ready, Iyeyasu objected to the inscription placed on a bell and forbade the dedication ceremony. Subsequent explanations did not remove the mis understanding—if indeed there really was one—and a breach became inevitable. Hideyori and his advisers invited to Osaka all who had suffered by the general redistribution of fiefs which took place after the battle of Sekigahara and finally Iyeyasu be sieged the castle at the end of 1614. The resistance was stubborn and in Jan. 1615 a peace was arranged, one of the terms being that the moats should be filled in and the outer ramparts de molished. This considerably reduced the strength of the defences and Iyeyasu found a pretext to renew the siege in May. The fortress was stormed at last. Hideyori committed suicide: his cause collapsed and Iyeyasu's rule was undisputed.