Part I: Hosokawa Iesada
Chapter 1: The Shogun Grows Bold (1477-1481)
(Subtitle: This isn't last week's EU3!)
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In This Episode:
Code:
Hosokawa Iesada - Taira Clan Daimyo (1477-)
Yamana Tadatsune - Minamoto Clan Daimyo, Shogun (1477-)
Imagawa Mitsunaka - Fujiwara Clan Daimyo (1477-)
Shoni Ronin - Tachibana Clan Daimyo (1477-)
Ashikaga Yoshimasa - Taira Clan Advisor (Artist-2), Shogun and Ashikaga Daimyo (1449-1473)
Asakura Nakoshimi - Taira Clan General
Asakura Yoshitada - Taira Clan General, Nakoshimi's deputy
Hosokawa Katsumoto - Hosokawa Daimyo (??-1473), Kanrei to the Shogun
"The Red Monk" - Yamana Souzen - Yamana Daimyo (??-1473), Kanrei to the Shogun
Iehisa - Commoner. Rebel scum.
Amaterasu - Kami of the sun. Traditionally the head of the 'pantheon' and the mother of the Imperial line.
Go-Tsuchimikado - Emperor (1466-)
[b]Families:[/b]
Taira Clan: Toki, Oda
Fujiwara Clan: Uesugi
Minamoto Clan: Ashikaga
Tachibana Clan: Otomo
[b]Japanese Terms[/b]
Sengoku Jidai - Age of Warring States Ashigaru - Peasant/Common soldier
Katana - A samurai's longsword Han-kyu - A short ranged bow that can be used on horseback
Seppuku - Ritual suicide, usually to atone for shame. Yari - spear
Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu - Japanese islands, north to south Taisho - general
Ikko-Ikki - peasant mobs trained by monks
For Want of a Cherry Blossom
It is possible that in my earlier writings I was too harsh on Hosokawa Iesada, daimyo of his house and champion of the Taira clan. If that is so then let's correct the narrative.
Iesada was the kind of man any culture needs to thrive and be considered civilized. As I wrote before, he was a deeply spiritual man and a formidable poet. He remained serene as chaos surrounded him on all sides. Yes, in another age he might have done quite well. As it stood he lived at the dawn of the Sengoku Jidai and so is remembered with confusion and scorn.
Having won control of the clan in recognition of his cousin's efforts in the Onin War, Iesada appointed men to fill his court and immediately showed the world his one saving grace: He might have welcomed and given estates to former shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa out of mutual esteem, but otherwise he surrounded himself with men who knew their jobs much better then he cared to. These men, in fact if not on paper, led the clan during its formative struggle.
Eight thousand men passed for Taira's army: Under-equipped, demoralized, and with little sense of or loyalty to the clan. Like its rivals, Taira relied heavily on
ashigaru spear and bowmen led by house samurai. Samurai also formed a cavalry contingent armed with
katana and
han-kyu (a short-ranged bow with its grip near the bottom to facilitate use on horseback and to help control vibration.
This army was led by Asakura Nakoshimi
(F1 Sh2 M1 Sg0), a short, no-nonsense commander who perhaps paid more attention to the letter of the Bushido Code as his mentors taught him rather than the spirit. This made him rigid and predictable, but in these uncertain times his men found predictability and certainty valuable traits.
Nakoshimi's initial plan was simple enough: Deal with his master's enemies by seizing their strongholds. He therefore proposed to split his army into two, with one unit dealing with those samurai in Shizmo who refused to submit to their Toki overlords while the other cleared Settsu for the Hosokawa. Like most military plans this one was doomed from the start, but this time not from the actions of his enemies.
While visiting the Oda family, Lord Hosokawa proposed a painting contest in honor of the upcoming Cherry Blossom festival. While there he learned of a young man - the son of a powerful merchant just establishing a route to Kyoto - who allegedly could create paintings that would make Amaterasu herself weep at their beauty. This boy's friends tried to earn him a place in this contest but Iesada rebuked him. "How could a commoner," he demanded, "so far removed from the
kami, possibly be refined enough to create anything resembling art?"
(Slider: Aristocracy +1) His father simply shrugged and returned to his duty, as was proper. History does not record what happened to the son. His friends however, being young, foolish and wrong-headed, took their own counsel and chose to spread sedition and treason. Soon their lies bore fruit.
(Throughout this chapter I'll add my commentary since the AI's acting much differently now. I'm not sure whether I find it challenging or annoying yet - perhaps a little of both. It's definitely interesting.)
The criminals were led by a man-child named Iehisa. Iehisa's rebellion bore fruit in Etchu province, an Asakura stronghold. He coordinated his attack well and even had support form local
yoriki (police). Within a matter of weeks most of the towns and villages were in his hands while loyalists took refuge in a handful of
shiro (castles).
(The rebels almost immediately assaulted. That surprised me since there were only five regiments. I sat back and waited for them to lose morale...but they won.)
This was more than Asakura Nakoshimi could abide. He waited to receive Iesada's permission then launched a fierce counterattack. There was little grace in his campaign: Nakoshimi's men lacked the training for advanced tactics, and anyway Iehisa's resistance didn't require any. Between June and October he reclaimed Etchu, rooted out and executed sympathizers, and finally captured Iehisa attempting to escape by boat.
(A ping pong match reminiscent of NA/IN followed.)
In an age renowned for its severity Iehisa's execution nonetheless stands out. With little direction coming from Kyoto, the Asakura lords who he tormented decided his fate. Being a commoner,
seppuku was never an option and they felt decapitation too quick. Instead he was paraded through the province on horseback with a heavy stone tied around his neck to force his head to bow. Then at a busy crossroads they placed him in a box with only his head showing. They used swords to cut into his shoulders and so set the groove, then left him there with bamboo saws and guards who exhorted (required) passersby to join in. Afterward they used his body to test the sharpness of new blades.
With order restored, Nakoshimi once more planned to split his army and deal with the traitors in Shizmo and Settsu. Once more events ran away from him.
Diplomatic Overtures
No land outside Japan showed the least interest in the Taira. The Dragon, as usual, turned its attention inward while the Joseon and Manchu dueled and the southern kingdoms battled back and forth. This is as well for Iesada's court dealt with its rivals with mixed success.
Shogun Yamana Tadatsune was eager to renew his family's rivalry with the Hosokawa, especially given Iesada's rumored weakness. He therefore requested an audience with the emperor during which he claimed that Hosokawa Katsumoto, daimyo during the Onin War, ceded Settsu to the Yamana in exchange for the Red Monk's daughter as wife. Since no one alive could confirm nor dispute Tadatsune's claim, the emperor made no stand but instead encouraged the two families to come to some form of agreement. Nonetheless the provocation was there, and the Shogun used Nakoshimi's plan to move half his army there as an excuse.
In response to this, Iesada made overtures to the Fujiwara and Tachibana courts. The Fujiwara were a curious case. Imagawa's hold on that clan already showed signs of weakening before a determined Hojo assault where the latter accused the clan leaders of complacency regarding the ongoing rebellion in Uesugi lands. This meant the Taira envoy had to deal with
two courts and managed to irritate both. After much debate the Fujiwara answered him with unusual rancor. Speaking for his clan, Imagawa Mitsumaka informed him that he knew that "Lord Hosokawa is a weak man, lacking in virtue and backbone." Therefore he would be happy to protect "those families who fear the Shogun's aggression."
This happened on the same day.
Since time immemorial families have secured the peace - and their own influence - through intermarriage into rival families or the Imperial court. This was Taira's plan for their southern neighbor in 1477: Iesada's court didn't plan to contest ownership of Shikoku and other than that the two clans were too far away to influence each other. The marriage was therefore designed to foster goodwill. It also brought strange gifts from pale faced, round-eyed barbarians on a tall ship bearing the flag of a golden platypus.
One month later the Shogun, citing his claims on Settsu, declared war. Fujiwara immediately joined hoping to crush the Taira on two fronts.
(Bug? Unusual result? Improved AI? Fujiwara was indeed allied to us both. Apparently before I could react (and I shouldn't have had to being the defender), Minamoto called them in as allies. They accepted.)
Through the Winter of 1477-1478, officials attempted to reassure house daimyos and merchants while coming up with a cohesive response. Hosokawa Iesada had very little to add to the discussion and so, perhaps wisely albeit worryingly, retired to his haiku and paintings with the former shogun. Yoshimasa at least made a token effort to stop the fighting by ordering the Yamana to withdraw, but by now his family and clan both considered him worthless if not a traitor.
In March 1478 Lord Yamana at the head of twelve thousand men successfully conquered Settsu. By then, however, he had far more to worry about.
Diplomats worked feverishly in the Otomo and Shoni courts convincing them that a Taira defeat would make the Tachibana position that much more difficult. Better a powerful ally in the center of Honshu, they reasoned, then two clans with no reason whatsoever for gratitude. They agreed and through the winter first agreed to a defensive alliance, then applied it retroactively to current hostilities. By March all of Japan was at war.
Call to Arms! is my new favorite toy
Shogun's War - Northern Campaign
Asakura Nakoshimi abandoned any plans of relieving Settsu and recalled the men he sent there, instead focusing on subduing the traitors in Shinano and using it as a forward base. He began a series of raids along the Fujiwara border meant to disrupt supplies and disperse reinforcements.
(And kill new regiments.) This did not always go as planned. For example, one of Fujiwara's militia groups continually dodged retribution and wasn't brought to heel until they reached Kyoto, almost linking up with the Minamoto.
(There are two major changes I've noticed with AI behavior. Here we see that the AI really does not like fighting at a disadvantage and will try to dodge, run around or otherwise avoid a decisive battle. I didn't get to one of their regiments in time. It ran. I pursued and it kept running.)
Having returned from Kyoto, Nakoshimi advanced into Echigo and helped those Uesugi rebelling against the Fujiwara cause retain control. Through the summer and autumn the two clans traded skirmishes and raids. The Fujiwara began recruiting ashigaru from the northern provinces where Nakoshimi didn't or couldn't go and slowly their army bulged.
By October 1478, Nakoshimi chose to risk the throw. At that stage his army consisted of six thousand men, having sent a small number south to try and retake Settsu from Yamana occupation. Imagawa Mitsunaka led an army of six thousand in defense of Musashi. The two armies were nearly identical in composition with spear and bowmen dominating while cavalry acted on the wings. Following the usual challenges the two armies settled into roughly parallel lines and slammed into each other.
This was a cruel, desperate battle with honor yielding to the pragmatism of survival. Samurai slashed at each other and their lessers with equal ferocity only to find themselves cut open by
yari or barbed arrows. Entire commands lost sight of or interest in their commanders' signal banners and so acted without order but some effectiveness. Finally at a crucial moment towards afternoon Mitsunaka's horsemen broke through and threatened to cut off Nakoshimi's staff. He withdrew in good order with two thousand wounded and killed. Fujiwara's losses were similar and they dared not pursue.
Up until now Iesada's court strictly forbade allocating more than basic supplies to Nakoshimi's army, acting on their daimyo's desire to save money for trade and crafts. His defeat caused a ripple of panic and now the court reacted too far in the other direction, abandoning any and all pretext of worrying about the future. This general unease worried farmer and merchant alike and as goods grew scarce, so prices rose to the dismay of commoners already living in fear of famine and disease.
(Minting on full.)
Through the winter Nakoshimi's army grew until by 1479 it numbered twelve thousand versus ten thousand under Mitsunaka's command. In May 1479 Nakoshimi once more advanced hoping to deliver a decisive blow. Once more the two armies clashed in Musashi province. This time the Fujiwara benefited from improved morale - the belief that they won once and could do so again - and maneuvering Nakoshimi's army between two large groves where he forfeited his numerical advantage. This time Nakoshimi lost over three thousand, while Fujiwara losses were somewhat less.
Once more panic gripped the court and men called for Nakoshimi's removal and hints that he should 'apologize' for his failure - permanently. Iesada retorted that "removing valuable men (from power) during a crisis is foolhardy." He did appoint Taisho Asakura Yoshitada
(F2 Sh3 M0 Sg1) as Nakoshimi's deputy.
Yoshitada was a good choice: Not only was he tactically competent, but he valued humility. Given that the two commanders happened to be from the same family, he saw no value in competing with Nakoshimi for laurels and quietly submitted to being his deputy. Yoshitada's first mission concerned the army's continued rapid expansion: By November, when the Fujiwara decided to end this once and for all, the Taira army boasted fourteen thousand men.
Imagawa Mitsunaka actually didn't plan to fight the Taira. Given the fluid situation down south, he more than did his share of the war's workload simply by keeping Nakoshimi busy. He planned to attack Echigo and so subdue the rebels within the Uesugi faction once and for all.
Through the autumn of 1479 the two armies engaged in a strange dance of maneuver and second guessing. Mitsunaka didn't want to fight a numerically superior army and so threatened Shinano. Nakoshimi ceased marching and formed a defensive line. Satisfied, Mitsunaka resumed his attack on Echigo. The Taira army resumed its march to defend the rebels.
(This is part of the behavior I described avoiding disadvantageous battles. Several times they began marching towards Echigo. I'd reply. The AI then shifted its march to Shinano which would presumably be unoccupied by the time they got there. I stopped marching. The AI would then attack Echigo. I'd start marching again. Etc. I don't know if there's some sort of counter preventing the AI from doing this forever or if it missed a click, but finally it decided to go for it.)
After a long period of maneuvering for position the two armies clashed in Shinano province in late November. A cold drizzle fell during the night changing to light snow and fog by dawn. This warped bowstrings and reduced visibility impeding Imagawa's ability to deal with the defenders. He hadn't been idle however, and by now the Fujiwara army numbered eleven thousand. Nonetheless Nakoshimi's army numbered twice as many cavalry. These samurai could dart in, slash back and forth, then disappear into the mist as resistance stiffened. For an entire day the two armies clashed. Only with evening and clearer skies did the day's result become clear and the Fujiwara withdrew losing five thousand to perhaps three.
This time Nakoshimi pursued and once again the two armies met at Musashi. The Fujiwara army was scattered into small pockets of resistance across several square miles however and never formed a line. Over the next two weeks entire commands surrendered, their samurai officers committing
seppuku in disgrace, or simply vanished.
By January 1480 Fujiwara resistance had ended. Nakoshimi left his deputy in charge while he rushed south to make sense of the chaos engulfing southern Honshu.
Note the different colors for unit morale with the number of men like Vic2. Green = good, Red = bad, Yellow = middle
Shogun's War - Southern Front
There is little to say from the Taira point of view about this early stage of the war on the southern front except this: It is a shame that history does not record the name of the diplomat Iesada's court sent to the Tachibana, for he in all probability saved his lord an embarrassing defeat.
After Yamana Tadatsune seized Settsu at the head of twelve thousand he had the opportunity to seize the rich towns along the Inland Sea. One can assume that, robbed of their 'protector', the merchants and officials here would have forsaken their duty to resist and simply defected. Perhaps that was Tadatsune's plan all along. Shoni Ronin, daimyo of his family and of the Tachibana clan, ruined any such hope by invading from Kyushu in May 1478.
Tadatsune rushed southward which gave Nakoshimi the opening he needed to release a small number of men to retake Settsu during the summer. The Tachibana used Settsu as a staging area of their own attacking Minamoto's northern holdings. By the spring of 1479 they seized Harima and attacked
shiros in two other provinces.
Failure to achieve naval superiority prevented Tadatsune from counterattacking so he marched back to engage the Tachibana armies plaguing his realm. They avoided decisive battles and so he contented himself with retaking lost towns and building forts in place of the castles Ronin destroyed.
By January 1480, when Nakoshimi defeated the Fujiwara and marched south, Tadatsune had retaken Harima but lost two other provinces.
End Game
In February 1480 Nakoshimi arrived in time to receive Settsu's surrender. He barely hesitated, crossing the border and attacking Tanba on the Minamoto north coast. As Tanba previously fell, the wooden forts Tadatsune left them with were no match for a series of determined attacks and the province surrendered by summer.
Tadatsune chose this opportunity to switch tactics. Having failed to win the war of maneuver he tried to force a decisive battle against the Tachibana in Bingo. On August 9, he engaged with fifteen thousand against ten thousand. Nonetheless Shoni Ronin continued to avoid battle sacrificing small commands and even an entire company of house samurai cavalry to prevent defeat.
His stratagem worked, for at dawn the next morning Tadatsune found himself flanked ... by the Taira! Nakoshimi's spies received word of his rival's intentions and he force marched for four days cross country to join battle.
For another day they battled. The allies acted as if they coordinated a classic hammer and anvil strategy, but there's no indication the two commanders met or exchanged messages until after the battle. The Minamoto army retired into the mountains that night leaving over five thousand wounded and slain. The allies lost about two thousand in two days, most of those from Ronin's army during the first desperate delaying actions. Tadatsune's army dissolved over the next few weeks as house samurai returned to defend their homes.
The war continued for another year but by now all that remained were mopping up actions. Nonetheless the Fujiwara and Minamoto proved adept at their own delaying actions.
In the north Asakura Yoshitada split his army into small commands and sieged each Fujiwara castle in turn. They won more battles than they lost, but the disciplined Fujiwara reinforcements now fought for their homes and to prevent disgrace. Desperate cavalry sorties relieved several castles, while ashigaru and allied monks leading
ikko-ikki (literally 'single-minded legion' - peasant mobs) in attacks on supply lines and isolated samurai.
Yet over the several months they failed to relieve Deva, Mitsu or Totomi. By August 1481 Yoshitada imposed an embarrassing, but ultimately harmless peace where the Fujiwara repudiated all their alliances.
(The lesson here is that 'covering' doesn't work as well as it did in HttT. Fujiwara's freshly recruited troops fought my sieges off more than once.)
In the south, Asakura Nakoshimi pursued a more methodical approach. In the beginning this was more a policy of necessity than design, as Ronin's Tachibana army held most of southern Honshu under siege. After they forced a humiliating peace on the Shogun in October 1480, Nakoshimi maintained two sieging armies and a third one to hunt down stragglers.
(Where the AI showed a gift for war of maneuver. When I thought I pinned them on the south coast of Honshu, the Minamoto army tried to end-run me by way of Shikoku and Kyushu. I checked - we daimyo all seem to have permanent military access rights with each other. Ick...but probably necessary since daimyo need to have an army in Kyoto to claim the shogunate.)
Within the next year Taira and Tajima both surrendered while the Minamoto never won another battle. Tadatsune bowed to destiny.
After four years of war the Minamoto clan lost two valuable provinces and irreplaceable resources. Worse, Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado was outraged this his shogun would throw the entire country into civil war. He stripped Yamana Tadatsune of his title.
Yet there would be no successor, not right away. The Imperial Court favored the Taira clan to try their luck, yet Nakoshimi was too loyal to try to overreach his master, while Yoshitada continued to shy away from success.
As for Hosokawa Iesada, he still had a painting contest to organize.
