The realm of the Mountain
- Thread starter maverick
- Start date
maverick
Banned
Throne of power
Kofu-Fukuchiyama
The year is 1589, and for the first time since 1467, the beginning of the Onin war and the Warring states period, there is a centralized government at Kyoto under the near absolute authority of Takeda Katsuyori, son of Takeda Shingen, lord of Kai, Shinano and most of central Japan.
This first period of peace and centralized government before the establishment of the official shogunate would be known as the Kofu-Fukuchiyama period, in reference to the two capitals of the Takeda domain: the fortified palace of Tsutsuijigasaki at Kofu (Shingen had never needed a proper castle for his domain) and Fukuchiyama Castle, at which Katsuyori set his residence at Kyoto.
When Takeda Shingen first entered Kyoto in 1573, he settled in the old and strategic Shoryuji castle, which guarded the western gates of Kyoto. It was Katsuyori the one to choose Fukuchiyama castle, originally property of the Yokoyama clan, as his residence in the capital. In his absence, Katsuyori’s uncles Nobukado and Nobuzane served as administrator of the Takeda domains in Kai and Shinano while Katsuyori remained the military leader of the nation.
It is important to notice though, that while Takeda Katsuyori had a nigh absolute power as military governor of Japan, and as son of Shingen, he was a descendant from the Minamoto Clan, Katsuyori was never given the title of Shogun, as his son Nobukatsu was the true heir to the Takeda clan. Thus, even as Katsuyori wielded all the power, he was merely a regent for his son.
Katsuyori’s government, assisted by several veteran retainers and advisors, would last many years after his son Nobukatsu had reached the age of majority, continuing and expanding the intricate and efficient war machine and system of governance that it had taken the great Takeda Shingen 30 years to build.
Amongst the measures initiated in Kai and expanded on a national level by Katsuyori in the late 1580s and early 1590s, there was doing away with the corporal punishment for minor offences, instituting in its place a system of fines - an act that earned him considerable praise from the peasants and townspeople of Kai and all of the country.
Furthermore, the tax system instituted by the Takeda in this early years was the first to tax most of the people evenly (most exempted powerful samurai families and/or religious establishments at the beginning), and with the option of payment in either gold or rice (a forerunner, in some ways, to the later Kandaka system, which assessed the value of the land in terms of a cash unit and determined the size of the land and military obligations each vassal and daimyo owed).
Further measures extrapolated from the rules of the Takeda code of Kai included limitation of the activities of the Ikko-Ikki and the Nichiren Buddhist sects in land directly administered by the Takeda (although not in other domains), and limitations and prohibitions to the abilities of subjects to move freely and communicate with other provinces, restrictions that had existed well before Katsuyori due to the permanent state of war.
As Established by the Takeda House Code:
“The Pure Land Sect and Nichiren Band (tô) are not permitted to engage in religious controversy within our domain (bunkoku). If there are people who encourage such controversies, both the priests and their parishioners will be punished”
Pay proper reverence to the gods and the Buddha. When your thoughts are in accord with the Buddha's, you will gain more power. If your domination over others issues from your evil thoughts, you will be exposed, you are doomed. Next, devote yourselves to the study of Zen. Zen has no secrets other than seriously thinking about birth-and-death.
These policies nevertheless did not affect the activities of Christian missionaries in western and even central Japan, although their activities were frowned upon in Tokyo. This can be attributed to Katsuyori never having displayed the same levels of Buddhist fanaticism that his father had. Christianity thus spread like wildfire in Kyushu and other provinces, in contrast to the monolithic Buddhist hegemony in Shikoku and the growing confrontation between the Zen Buddhism of the Takeda Domain and the more fanatical Ikko-Ikki and Nichiren sects.
Public works that imitated the damming of the Fuji River in the 1560s also took place in the 1590s, the 1600s and again in the 1650s, all with various degrees of success but only a few matching to the feat that was the Fuji damming project as built by Shingen.
Kofu-Fukuchiyama
The year is 1589, and for the first time since 1467, the beginning of the Onin war and the Warring states period, there is a centralized government at Kyoto under the near absolute authority of Takeda Katsuyori, son of Takeda Shingen, lord of Kai, Shinano and most of central Japan.
This first period of peace and centralized government before the establishment of the official shogunate would be known as the Kofu-Fukuchiyama period, in reference to the two capitals of the Takeda domain: the fortified palace of Tsutsuijigasaki at Kofu (Shingen had never needed a proper castle for his domain) and Fukuchiyama Castle, at which Katsuyori set his residence at Kyoto.
When Takeda Shingen first entered Kyoto in 1573, he settled in the old and strategic Shoryuji castle, which guarded the western gates of Kyoto. It was Katsuyori the one to choose Fukuchiyama castle, originally property of the Yokoyama clan, as his residence in the capital. In his absence, Katsuyori’s uncles Nobukado and Nobuzane served as administrator of the Takeda domains in Kai and Shinano while Katsuyori remained the military leader of the nation.
It is important to notice though, that while Takeda Katsuyori had a nigh absolute power as military governor of Japan, and as son of Shingen, he was a descendant from the Minamoto Clan, Katsuyori was never given the title of Shogun, as his son Nobukatsu was the true heir to the Takeda clan. Thus, even as Katsuyori wielded all the power, he was merely a regent for his son.
Katsuyori’s government, assisted by several veteran retainers and advisors, would last many years after his son Nobukatsu had reached the age of majority, continuing and expanding the intricate and efficient war machine and system of governance that it had taken the great Takeda Shingen 30 years to build.
Amongst the measures initiated in Kai and expanded on a national level by Katsuyori in the late 1580s and early 1590s, there was doing away with the corporal punishment for minor offences, instituting in its place a system of fines - an act that earned him considerable praise from the peasants and townspeople of Kai and all of the country.
Furthermore, the tax system instituted by the Takeda in this early years was the first to tax most of the people evenly (most exempted powerful samurai families and/or religious establishments at the beginning), and with the option of payment in either gold or rice (a forerunner, in some ways, to the later Kandaka system, which assessed the value of the land in terms of a cash unit and determined the size of the land and military obligations each vassal and daimyo owed).
Further measures extrapolated from the rules of the Takeda code of Kai included limitation of the activities of the Ikko-Ikki and the Nichiren Buddhist sects in land directly administered by the Takeda (although not in other domains), and limitations and prohibitions to the abilities of subjects to move freely and communicate with other provinces, restrictions that had existed well before Katsuyori due to the permanent state of war.
As Established by the Takeda House Code:
“The Pure Land Sect and Nichiren Band (tô) are not permitted to engage in religious controversy within our domain (bunkoku). If there are people who encourage such controversies, both the priests and their parishioners will be punished”
Pay proper reverence to the gods and the Buddha. When your thoughts are in accord with the Buddha's, you will gain more power. If your domination over others issues from your evil thoughts, you will be exposed, you are doomed. Next, devote yourselves to the study of Zen. Zen has no secrets other than seriously thinking about birth-and-death.
These policies nevertheless did not affect the activities of Christian missionaries in western and even central Japan, although their activities were frowned upon in Tokyo. This can be attributed to Katsuyori never having displayed the same levels of Buddhist fanaticism that his father had. Christianity thus spread like wildfire in Kyushu and other provinces, in contrast to the monolithic Buddhist hegemony in Shikoku and the growing confrontation between the Zen Buddhism of the Takeda Domain and the more fanatical Ikko-Ikki and Nichiren sects.
Public works that imitated the damming of the Fuji River in the 1560s also took place in the 1590s, the 1600s and again in the 1650s, all with various degrees of success but only a few matching to the feat that was the Fuji damming project as built by Shingen.
Nice state of affairs chapter. The Takeda seem to be secure in the short and medium term.
So there is a state religion, but it is relatively lax in a large portionof the country. While the Christian presence pleases me I fear it could lead to future conflict.
Could Kyushu become majority Christian? Also I confess little knowledge on the two fanatical sects you mentioned. Could you give me a two pence story on the situation?
After these wars peace of exhaustion should set in. But who stands most likely to cause trouble for the Takeda in the current set up?
So there is a state religion, but it is relatively lax in a large portionof the country. While the Christian presence pleases me I fear it could lead to future conflict.
Could Kyushu become majority Christian? Also I confess little knowledge on the two fanatical sects you mentioned. Could you give me a two pence story on the situation?
After these wars peace of exhaustion should set in. But who stands most likely to cause trouble for the Takeda in the current set up?
maverick
Banned
Well, the Ikko-Ikki are described in the first chapters, when they join the Takeda, the Asakura and the Asai in their war against Oda Nobunaga, who exterminated them IOTL; here's the article at Samurai archives
As for the Nichiren, here are two articles about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren_Buddhism#Doctrine_and_practices
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Nichirensh.html
Well, that remains to be seen, but I think that It should be fairly obvious by now.
__________________
As for the Nichiren, here are two articles about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren_Buddhism#Doctrine_and_practices
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Nichirensh.html
Well, that remains to be seen, but I think that It should be fairly obvious by now.
__________________
Last edited:
maverick
Banned
Part IV:
Avatars
The Sudden Death of Takeda Katsuyori and the Birth of the Takeda Shogunate
It was a cold morning of April, the day that death found Takeda Katsuyori, and the year was 1595. It had been less than a year before that his son, Takeda Nobukatsu, took the title of Shogun, the first since the overthrowing and vanishing of Ashikaga Yoshimoto in 1580 by Katsuyori himself. Since then, while the emperor remains as the de jure ruler of Japan, the Lord of Kai and heir of Shingen had practically become the absolute ruler of the country.
The Takeda Shogunate, or Fukuchiyama Shogunate, that was established in 1594 shared many similarities and had many differences from its predecessors, the Kamakura and the Ashikaga shogunates. For instance, the daimyos of the major and minor provinces were not required to reside in Kyoto while delegating their responsibilities on relatives or retainers, but were allowed, and in some cases forced, to remain in their capitals for the better part of the Shogunate.
In fact, communications between some domains were restricted, as was between subjects of certain territories, as was the ability of the subjects of the country to move from one domain to the other. These restrictions were especially severe regarding the members of certain religious sects, such as the Ikko-Ikki, even if during the rule of the first Takeda shoguns the enforcements of these laws was somewhat relaxed and in some cases non-existent.
Nevertheless, the power structure was never as decentralized as under the Ashikaga, nor did the Takeda depend on the Daimyo as much as the Ashikaga had. To a degree, the power was centralized enough that several of the daimyos had been forced to become puppets of Kyoto or allies, as was the case of the Date and the Mori. The fact was that during the first 50 years of the third shogunate, no daimyo or coalition of daimyos would have been powerful enough to challenge the power of the central government.
An interesting fact to note about this degree of centralization is that the military and political power of the Shogun was that of the Kamakura and was not shared with the Emperor and the Daimyos as was with the Ashikaga, thus giving the Takeda shogunate a greater amount of stability in its first decades of existence.
Finally, one must note that the great degree of institutionalization that took place in the late Shogunate was incredibly far from what was taking place between 1595 and 1632, the reign of Nobukatsu, as the Empire was still leaving the times of the warring daimyos and entering into a period of peace and political reorganization. For the time being, Japan would be more of a confederation of regional military caudillos with the strongest one, the Generalissimo, in Kyoto.
Avatars
The Sudden Death of Takeda Katsuyori and the Birth of the Takeda Shogunate
It was a cold morning of April, the day that death found Takeda Katsuyori, and the year was 1595. It had been less than a year before that his son, Takeda Nobukatsu, took the title of Shogun, the first since the overthrowing and vanishing of Ashikaga Yoshimoto in 1580 by Katsuyori himself. Since then, while the emperor remains as the de jure ruler of Japan, the Lord of Kai and heir of Shingen had practically become the absolute ruler of the country.
The Takeda Shogunate, or Fukuchiyama Shogunate, that was established in 1594 shared many similarities and had many differences from its predecessors, the Kamakura and the Ashikaga shogunates. For instance, the daimyos of the major and minor provinces were not required to reside in Kyoto while delegating their responsibilities on relatives or retainers, but were allowed, and in some cases forced, to remain in their capitals for the better part of the Shogunate.
In fact, communications between some domains were restricted, as was between subjects of certain territories, as was the ability of the subjects of the country to move from one domain to the other. These restrictions were especially severe regarding the members of certain religious sects, such as the Ikko-Ikki, even if during the rule of the first Takeda shoguns the enforcements of these laws was somewhat relaxed and in some cases non-existent.
Nevertheless, the power structure was never as decentralized as under the Ashikaga, nor did the Takeda depend on the Daimyo as much as the Ashikaga had. To a degree, the power was centralized enough that several of the daimyos had been forced to become puppets of Kyoto or allies, as was the case of the Date and the Mori. The fact was that during the first 50 years of the third shogunate, no daimyo or coalition of daimyos would have been powerful enough to challenge the power of the central government.
An interesting fact to note about this degree of centralization is that the military and political power of the Shogun was that of the Kamakura and was not shared with the Emperor and the Daimyos as was with the Ashikaga, thus giving the Takeda shogunate a greater amount of stability in its first decades of existence.
Finally, one must note that the great degree of institutionalization that took place in the late Shogunate was incredibly far from what was taking place between 1595 and 1632, the reign of Nobukatsu, as the Empire was still leaving the times of the warring daimyos and entering into a period of peace and political reorganization. For the time being, Japan would be more of a confederation of regional military caudillos with the strongest one, the Generalissimo, in Kyoto.
maverick
Banned
And now, an overview of Religion in Japan...
Ah! Kami-sama!
Takeda Nobukatsu was, as his father before him and the great Takeda Shingen before him, a follower of Buddhism, and devoted himself to the study of Zen, one of the most important schools of Buddhism in Japan. And as his lineage before him, the Takeda Shogun was well aware of the dangers of religious sects and their pervasive influence in society.
Buddhism can be divided into two main branches: Theravada (Ancient Teaching), which is widespread in south-east Asia; and Mahayana (Great Vehicle) which is prevalent in eastern Asia.
Mahayana Buddhism, the dominant religion in Japan, can be divided into several sects, which interact in different manners with Shintoism, which has lost popularity since the arrival of Buddhism, and the central government.
Zen Buddhism, seen by the Takeda as an unofficial state religion to be encouraged, is amongst the biggest ones, followed in the early 17th century by Nichiren Buddhism and by the Pure Land Buddhism, which itself contains the more radical True Pure Land School. Tendai and Shingon Schools of Buddhism are also important, but are not seen by the Takeda as a direct threat. (2)
The Nicheren School was founded by the 12th century monk Nicheren, a revolutionary and progressive thinker. The Controversy around the Nicheren sect, besides the fanaticism of some of its members, was caused by Nicheren’s ideas: that every other Buddhist sect was wrong in its dogma and did not teach the truth path to enlightenment, and that woman could too achieve enlightenment.
Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra [3] and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime.
The Pure Land Sects on the other hand, based on the teachings of the Pure Land Sutras. Adherents believe that Amitabha Buddha provided an alternative path towards attaining enlightenment: the Pure Land Path. In Pure Land Buddhist thought, Enlightenment is difficult to obtain without the assistance of Amitabha Buddha, since people are now living in a degenerate era, known as the Age of Dharma Decline. Instead of solitary meditative work toward enlightenment, Pure Land Buddhism teaches that devotion to Amitabha leads one to the Pure Land, where enlightenment can be more easily attained.
The practices of Pure Land Buddhism are particularly popular amongst those considered “impure” such as hunters, fishermen, those who tan hides, prostitutes and so on. Pure Land Buddhism provided a way to practice Buddhism for those who were not capable of practicing other form.
This leads us to the Jodo Shinsu (True Pure Land Sect) and the Ikko-Ikki, its militant wing. Unlike the other Buddhist sects, the True Pure Land rejects Shintoism and any meshing of the Pantheons. At the same time, it discouraged all of the traditional Buddhist practices of the other sects and discouraged Kami (deity) veneration. Relations were extremely bad with the Nichiren sect in particular.
Mobs, peasants and farmers along with Shinto priests and local nobles began to rise against Samurai Rule in the 15th century following the teachings of the Jodo Shinsu priest Rennyo [4]. Thus the Ikko-Ikki, the “Single-Minded Leagues” were thus born in the 1480s, and by the decade of the 1570s, as a result of the fanatical extermination campaigns of Oda Nobunaga, would become a highly organized and feared force in Japan.
The provinces of Kaga and Noto were taken in the last decades of the Sengoku period, the first time Japanese provinces were ruled by commoners, and the revolutionary ideas of the Ikko-Ikki spread, thanks to their success and their hold of Ishiyama Hongan-Ji, just outside of Osaka. Warrior monks, peasants, former prostitutes, farmers, ronin that found themselves without purpose given the new peace, local nobles, all were attracted by the militant sect and their growth in the early decades of the 17th century was only equaled by the only other sect that was as dangerous to the central government: Christianity.
Notes:
-Ah! Kamisama!=Oh! my God!
2. Tendai and Shingon are along with Zen and Pure Land, the biggest sects in Japan, part of Mahayana Buddhism;
3. Sutra: rope or thread; a type of literal composition, in Buddhism, refers to the canonical scriptures that are the teachings of Buddha; so, for practical purpose Sutra=Gospel
4. Rennyo (1415-1499), a Buddhism missionary and thinker, was ambivalent and rather neutral to the Ikko-Ikki.
Ah! Kami-sama!
Takeda Nobukatsu was, as his father before him and the great Takeda Shingen before him, a follower of Buddhism, and devoted himself to the study of Zen, one of the most important schools of Buddhism in Japan. And as his lineage before him, the Takeda Shogun was well aware of the dangers of religious sects and their pervasive influence in society.
Buddhism can be divided into two main branches: Theravada (Ancient Teaching), which is widespread in south-east Asia; and Mahayana (Great Vehicle) which is prevalent in eastern Asia.
Mahayana Buddhism, the dominant religion in Japan, can be divided into several sects, which interact in different manners with Shintoism, which has lost popularity since the arrival of Buddhism, and the central government.
Zen Buddhism, seen by the Takeda as an unofficial state religion to be encouraged, is amongst the biggest ones, followed in the early 17th century by Nichiren Buddhism and by the Pure Land Buddhism, which itself contains the more radical True Pure Land School. Tendai and Shingon Schools of Buddhism are also important, but are not seen by the Takeda as a direct threat. (2)
The Nicheren School was founded by the 12th century monk Nicheren, a revolutionary and progressive thinker. The Controversy around the Nicheren sect, besides the fanaticism of some of its members, was caused by Nicheren’s ideas: that every other Buddhist sect was wrong in its dogma and did not teach the truth path to enlightenment, and that woman could too achieve enlightenment.
Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra [3] and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime.
The Pure Land Sects on the other hand, based on the teachings of the Pure Land Sutras. Adherents believe that Amitabha Buddha provided an alternative path towards attaining enlightenment: the Pure Land Path. In Pure Land Buddhist thought, Enlightenment is difficult to obtain without the assistance of Amitabha Buddha, since people are now living in a degenerate era, known as the Age of Dharma Decline. Instead of solitary meditative work toward enlightenment, Pure Land Buddhism teaches that devotion to Amitabha leads one to the Pure Land, where enlightenment can be more easily attained.
The practices of Pure Land Buddhism are particularly popular amongst those considered “impure” such as hunters, fishermen, those who tan hides, prostitutes and so on. Pure Land Buddhism provided a way to practice Buddhism for those who were not capable of practicing other form.
This leads us to the Jodo Shinsu (True Pure Land Sect) and the Ikko-Ikki, its militant wing. Unlike the other Buddhist sects, the True Pure Land rejects Shintoism and any meshing of the Pantheons. At the same time, it discouraged all of the traditional Buddhist practices of the other sects and discouraged Kami (deity) veneration. Relations were extremely bad with the Nichiren sect in particular.
Mobs, peasants and farmers along with Shinto priests and local nobles began to rise against Samurai Rule in the 15th century following the teachings of the Jodo Shinsu priest Rennyo [4]. Thus the Ikko-Ikki, the “Single-Minded Leagues” were thus born in the 1480s, and by the decade of the 1570s, as a result of the fanatical extermination campaigns of Oda Nobunaga, would become a highly organized and feared force in Japan.
The provinces of Kaga and Noto were taken in the last decades of the Sengoku period, the first time Japanese provinces were ruled by commoners, and the revolutionary ideas of the Ikko-Ikki spread, thanks to their success and their hold of Ishiyama Hongan-Ji, just outside of Osaka. Warrior monks, peasants, former prostitutes, farmers, ronin that found themselves without purpose given the new peace, local nobles, all were attracted by the militant sect and their growth in the early decades of the 17th century was only equaled by the only other sect that was as dangerous to the central government: Christianity.
Notes:
-Ah! Kamisama!=Oh! my God!
2. Tendai and Shingon are along with Zen and Pure Land, the biggest sects in Japan, part of Mahayana Buddhism;
3. Sutra: rope or thread; a type of literal composition, in Buddhism, refers to the canonical scriptures that are the teachings of Buddha; so, for practical purpose Sutra=Gospel
4. Rennyo (1415-1499), a Buddhism missionary and thinker, was ambivalent and rather neutral to the Ikko-Ikki.
maverick
Banned
The Six Great Gateways
During the years of the Takeda Shogunate, six ports were opened for trade with foreign nations: Hakata (later Fukuoka) and Nagasaki in Kyushu, along with Kagoshima under the Shimazu; Osaka ;Sendai in the domains of Date Masamune in the North and Hiroshima under the rule of the Mori Clan.
Hakata was a city of merchants which is believed to be the oldest city in Japan, had benefited from commerce with the Chinese, Korean and other foreign merchants, before decaying as a result of several wars including the Mongol invasions. It was under the rule of Kuroda Nagamasa that the city would become prosperous again, as Takeda Nobukatsu gave the city its role as gateway to the continent. Fukuoka castle was built in the early 1600s on the southern shores of the Naka River.
Nagasaki, the only port under the control of a Kirishitan (Christian) daimyo, was not only ruled by the convert Omura Sumitada, one of the first daimyos to convert and open his domains to the richness of western culture and products, but surrounded as well by catholic domains, as the port served as a gateway for the entrance of European (chiefly Portuguese and Spanish) merchants and missionaries.
The neighbouring daimyos, including the Arima of Shimabara and the Ryuzoji, soon became influenced by the preaching and the economic advantages of dealing with the Portuguese, and soon enough Catholicism spread like wildfire through western Kyushu as Nagasaki became a permanent foothold of the Society of Jesus and other minor orders, including the Augustinians and the Benedictines, which arrived in the 1600s and 1610s, decades after the Jesuits.
The policies of Otomo Sorin in the northeast and the Kirishitan daimyos of the west assured that Christianity would become a mayor influence through Kyushu, and it was even rumoured that the Nabeshima had converted in order to benefit from the trade and avoid isolation.
In the south, on the other hand, the Shimazu through the port of Kagoshima had learned to deal with the always willing Dutch and the English, and thus now religious links were attached, even if deals with the Portuguese were also made. Despite their debilitation after the Takeda campaign of the 1580s, the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma was able to recover thanks to the seas. Expansion through the seas was encouraged by the daimyo at Kagoshima, and while European merchants were welcomed, military adventures against pirates and the independent kingdom of Ryuku were undertaken with the tacit consent of the Shogunate.
In 1612, the Shimazu under the daimyo Tadatsune led the invasion of the Chinese vassal Kingdom of Ryuku. The trade benefits thus acquired, and the political prestige of being the only daimyō family to control an entire foreign country secured the family's position as one of the most powerful daimyō families in Japan at the time.
Hiroshima, under the rule of Mori Terumoto, the man that had built it out of nothing just years before, was somewhat more isolated that the other ports, but was nevertheless given the status of Open Port due to the importance of the Mori Clan within the Shogunate. Inviting a mixture of European merchants, it didn’t gain the importance of some of the other ports, although it did bring considerable profit for its daimyo.
Osaka was one of the reasons Hiroshima never prospered as much as Nagasaki or Kagoshima, as it had been for a considerable part of Japan’s history one of its most important economic and cultural centres. Most interestingly, it also became the centre of Japan’s most violent religious controversy in the 1630s and 1640s, as the Ikko-Ikki, who had their base at Ishiyama Hongan-Ji, became involved in several disputes with the Jesuit missionaries that arrived at Osaka.
Finally Sendai, the last of the ports to be opened and the most isolated, was nevertheless the one to grow the faster, thanks to its exclusive trade with the Spanish in Mexico and the Philippines. Date Masamune had through a diplomatic mission sent by him and led by his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga, made contact with the governments of France, Spain and the Papal States, and assured a constant economic link with the Spanish Empire, as well as the establishment of a Jesuit Dioceses in Sendai.
The building of the Dioceses under Padre Sotelo, an emulation of the policies of the rich daimyos of Kyushu, assured that Christianity would have two entrances to Japan and a lasting influence over its society, economy and culture.
During the years of the Takeda Shogunate, six ports were opened for trade with foreign nations: Hakata (later Fukuoka) and Nagasaki in Kyushu, along with Kagoshima under the Shimazu; Osaka ;Sendai in the domains of Date Masamune in the North and Hiroshima under the rule of the Mori Clan.
Hakata was a city of merchants which is believed to be the oldest city in Japan, had benefited from commerce with the Chinese, Korean and other foreign merchants, before decaying as a result of several wars including the Mongol invasions. It was under the rule of Kuroda Nagamasa that the city would become prosperous again, as Takeda Nobukatsu gave the city its role as gateway to the continent. Fukuoka castle was built in the early 1600s on the southern shores of the Naka River.
Nagasaki, the only port under the control of a Kirishitan (Christian) daimyo, was not only ruled by the convert Omura Sumitada, one of the first daimyos to convert and open his domains to the richness of western culture and products, but surrounded as well by catholic domains, as the port served as a gateway for the entrance of European (chiefly Portuguese and Spanish) merchants and missionaries.
The neighbouring daimyos, including the Arima of Shimabara and the Ryuzoji, soon became influenced by the preaching and the economic advantages of dealing with the Portuguese, and soon enough Catholicism spread like wildfire through western Kyushu as Nagasaki became a permanent foothold of the Society of Jesus and other minor orders, including the Augustinians and the Benedictines, which arrived in the 1600s and 1610s, decades after the Jesuits.
The policies of Otomo Sorin in the northeast and the Kirishitan daimyos of the west assured that Christianity would become a mayor influence through Kyushu, and it was even rumoured that the Nabeshima had converted in order to benefit from the trade and avoid isolation.
In the south, on the other hand, the Shimazu through the port of Kagoshima had learned to deal with the always willing Dutch and the English, and thus now religious links were attached, even if deals with the Portuguese were also made. Despite their debilitation after the Takeda campaign of the 1580s, the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma was able to recover thanks to the seas. Expansion through the seas was encouraged by the daimyo at Kagoshima, and while European merchants were welcomed, military adventures against pirates and the independent kingdom of Ryuku were undertaken with the tacit consent of the Shogunate.
In 1612, the Shimazu under the daimyo Tadatsune led the invasion of the Chinese vassal Kingdom of Ryuku. The trade benefits thus acquired, and the political prestige of being the only daimyō family to control an entire foreign country secured the family's position as one of the most powerful daimyō families in Japan at the time.
Hiroshima, under the rule of Mori Terumoto, the man that had built it out of nothing just years before, was somewhat more isolated that the other ports, but was nevertheless given the status of Open Port due to the importance of the Mori Clan within the Shogunate. Inviting a mixture of European merchants, it didn’t gain the importance of some of the other ports, although it did bring considerable profit for its daimyo.
Osaka was one of the reasons Hiroshima never prospered as much as Nagasaki or Kagoshima, as it had been for a considerable part of Japan’s history one of its most important economic and cultural centres. Most interestingly, it also became the centre of Japan’s most violent religious controversy in the 1630s and 1640s, as the Ikko-Ikki, who had their base at Ishiyama Hongan-Ji, became involved in several disputes with the Jesuit missionaries that arrived at Osaka.
Finally Sendai, the last of the ports to be opened and the most isolated, was nevertheless the one to grow the faster, thanks to its exclusive trade with the Spanish in Mexico and the Philippines. Date Masamune had through a diplomatic mission sent by him and led by his retainer Hasekura Tsunenaga, made contact with the governments of France, Spain and the Papal States, and assured a constant economic link with the Spanish Empire, as well as the establishment of a Jesuit Dioceses in Sendai.
The building of the Dioceses under Padre Sotelo, an emulation of the policies of the rich daimyos of Kyushu, assured that Christianity would have two entrances to Japan and a lasting influence over its society, economy and culture.
Sorry for the silence.
Alright asusual my eyes are on the Christian developments. With so many prominent families backing it the Church would be difficult to suppress on Kyushu. The clan that converts for secular reasons, while sad, is realistic.
The opening of Japan should make it stronger, but it could also have adverse affects.
Glad to see you have addressed the Ryuku Kingdom. If I recall correctly I believe after World War II the Yankees even held a plebcite about restoring it as an independent nation.
With the Ikko Ikki and Christainity enjoying more success what is becoming of the ancient position of Mikato?
Alright asusual my eyes are on the Christian developments. With so many prominent families backing it the Church would be difficult to suppress on Kyushu. The clan that converts for secular reasons, while sad, is realistic.
The opening of Japan should make it stronger, but it could also have adverse affects.
Glad to see you have addressed the Ryuku Kingdom. If I recall correctly I believe after World War II the Yankees even held a plebcite about restoring it as an independent nation.
With the Ikko Ikki and Christainity enjoying more success what is becoming of the ancient position of Mikato?
maverick
Banned
A Thousand Victories in Succession
By 1626, Japan had enjoyed nearly 40 years of peace under a strong and unified central government in which the Shogun and the Emperor once again sat together at their palaces in the Imperial Capital of Kyoto. Takeda Nobukatsu had for over 30 years been the absolute military and political ruler of Japan, in a tradition that went as far back as his ancestor, Minamoto no Yoritomo.
Nobukatsu was nevertheless part of a long tradition of military conquerors; his grandfather, the great Shingen, had conquered Shinano, Kyoto and much of central Japan, and his father Katsuyori had completed the unification of Japan that his father before him had started 50 years ago. Now the Shogun stood in a peaceful capital, in a throne of peace bought by the blood of thousands.
The growing and pervasive foreign influences that penetrated into the heart of Japan from all directions, from the Chinese and Korean merchants to the Catholic missionaries, combined with an uneasy sensation of tranquility that dominated the heart of the Shogun had begun to push him towards the direction of military glory and conquest.
The Shimazu conquest of the Ryuku Kingdom, a Chinese vassal archipelago to the South of Japan, convinced Nobukatsu not only that the chance of creating a name for himself had arrived, but that no power in earth no matter how great could stop him. He interpreted the lack of Chinese intervention over Ryuku as a sign of weakness.
The first designs of Nobukatsu contemplated the possibility of invading the island of Formosa, or the Spanish domains in the Philippines, both strategic positions that would have given him an enormous deal of power in the region. Yet the weaknesses of the Japanese fleet, as well as a desire for a more glorious and worthy military campaign led to the final and fateful decision to invade the Empire of Korea, in a plan that many testimonies later blamed to madness and even megalomania.
Preparations began in earnest in the early months of 1626, as Nobukatsu rallied the men loyal to him from the 24 Hosts of the Takeda Clan, an organization inherited and inspired by the traditional “24 Generals” of Takeda Shingen, and called for the Clan’s allies to come forward for the great Endeavour that was the Conquest of Korea.
The Mori, the Otomo, the Uesugi, the Date, the Ryuzoji, the Asakura, the Azai, the Yamana and several other clans responded to the calls, as did the Chosokabe and the Shimazu, although on a lesser scale. The army that was assembled at Kyushu under the banners of the Takeda Shogun numbered around 150,000 men.
Korea, under the rule of the King Injo of Joseon, had been weakened politically and economically by the 1623 coup that put Injo on the throne in the first place and by the 1624 civil war between Injo and his former supporter, Yi Gwal. These circumstances left a debilitated government in the midst of an economic crisis, trapped between the Jurchens in Manchuria, who had taken the region from the Ming Dynasty of China, and the belligerent Empire of Japan.
Having invaded Tsushima in the spring of 1626, the vanguard of the Imperial Japanese Army landed in Southern Korea, the offensive being spearheaded by troops of the Mori and Date clans led by Mori Hidenari in a nominal capacity.
The Japanese invasion was justified as an intervention in the internal crises plaguing Korea, and with the poor state in which the Korean military and economy found itself in 1626; Nobukatsu was able to overrun half of the peninsula by the summer.
After nearly a century of war, Japan had experienced almost 40 years of peace, a factor that contributed to the stabilization of the Japanese government and economy, as well as military strategy and doctrine, but meant that there was some scarcity of battle hardened soldiers and commanders, as a mayor war had not taken place since the 1580s.
The Koreans on the other hand had just come out of a civil war and had faced the threat of the Jurchens from Manchuria for the better part of the last two decades, but had seen their economy and government nearly obliterated.
The Japanese steamroller, at the time the most disciplined force in the region, from the Ashigaru infantry to the battle hardened Samurai and the Takeda Cavalry and Arquebusiers, began preparations to besiege the Korean capital of Hanseong by July of 1626, taking the half emptied city by the end of that month and pursuing the fleeing Korean Court of King Injo northwards, towards Pyongyang.
The capture of the Korean capital was followed by three days of celebrations in which Nobukatsu began to expand his plans for Asia, contemplating the conquest of strategic positions such as Luzon and Taiwan, as he had before deciding to invade Korea, while also making plans for a possible invasion of Manchuria, taking advantage of the conflict between the Joseon of Korea, the Jurchens in Manchuria and the Ming Dynasty in China.
It was on August of 1626 that Nobukatsu changed his name to Takeda Katsuchiyo, to reflect his successes in Korea, Katsuchiyo meaning: “Thousand Victories in Sucession”
The joyous mood in the Japanese camps would nevertheless prove to be short-lived as an unexpected complication would come to turn the war into a labyrinth of epic proportions and a regional crisis through the intervention of Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu, thus beginning the Manchurian phase of the War.
By 1626, Japan had enjoyed nearly 40 years of peace under a strong and unified central government in which the Shogun and the Emperor once again sat together at their palaces in the Imperial Capital of Kyoto. Takeda Nobukatsu had for over 30 years been the absolute military and political ruler of Japan, in a tradition that went as far back as his ancestor, Minamoto no Yoritomo.
Nobukatsu was nevertheless part of a long tradition of military conquerors; his grandfather, the great Shingen, had conquered Shinano, Kyoto and much of central Japan, and his father Katsuyori had completed the unification of Japan that his father before him had started 50 years ago. Now the Shogun stood in a peaceful capital, in a throne of peace bought by the blood of thousands.
The growing and pervasive foreign influences that penetrated into the heart of Japan from all directions, from the Chinese and Korean merchants to the Catholic missionaries, combined with an uneasy sensation of tranquility that dominated the heart of the Shogun had begun to push him towards the direction of military glory and conquest.
The Shimazu conquest of the Ryuku Kingdom, a Chinese vassal archipelago to the South of Japan, convinced Nobukatsu not only that the chance of creating a name for himself had arrived, but that no power in earth no matter how great could stop him. He interpreted the lack of Chinese intervention over Ryuku as a sign of weakness.
The first designs of Nobukatsu contemplated the possibility of invading the island of Formosa, or the Spanish domains in the Philippines, both strategic positions that would have given him an enormous deal of power in the region. Yet the weaknesses of the Japanese fleet, as well as a desire for a more glorious and worthy military campaign led to the final and fateful decision to invade the Empire of Korea, in a plan that many testimonies later blamed to madness and even megalomania.
Preparations began in earnest in the early months of 1626, as Nobukatsu rallied the men loyal to him from the 24 Hosts of the Takeda Clan, an organization inherited and inspired by the traditional “24 Generals” of Takeda Shingen, and called for the Clan’s allies to come forward for the great Endeavour that was the Conquest of Korea.
The Mori, the Otomo, the Uesugi, the Date, the Ryuzoji, the Asakura, the Azai, the Yamana and several other clans responded to the calls, as did the Chosokabe and the Shimazu, although on a lesser scale. The army that was assembled at Kyushu under the banners of the Takeda Shogun numbered around 150,000 men.
Korea, under the rule of the King Injo of Joseon, had been weakened politically and economically by the 1623 coup that put Injo on the throne in the first place and by the 1624 civil war between Injo and his former supporter, Yi Gwal. These circumstances left a debilitated government in the midst of an economic crisis, trapped between the Jurchens in Manchuria, who had taken the region from the Ming Dynasty of China, and the belligerent Empire of Japan.
Having invaded Tsushima in the spring of 1626, the vanguard of the Imperial Japanese Army landed in Southern Korea, the offensive being spearheaded by troops of the Mori and Date clans led by Mori Hidenari in a nominal capacity.
The Japanese invasion was justified as an intervention in the internal crises plaguing Korea, and with the poor state in which the Korean military and economy found itself in 1626; Nobukatsu was able to overrun half of the peninsula by the summer.
After nearly a century of war, Japan had experienced almost 40 years of peace, a factor that contributed to the stabilization of the Japanese government and economy, as well as military strategy and doctrine, but meant that there was some scarcity of battle hardened soldiers and commanders, as a mayor war had not taken place since the 1580s.
The Koreans on the other hand had just come out of a civil war and had faced the threat of the Jurchens from Manchuria for the better part of the last two decades, but had seen their economy and government nearly obliterated.
The Japanese steamroller, at the time the most disciplined force in the region, from the Ashigaru infantry to the battle hardened Samurai and the Takeda Cavalry and Arquebusiers, began preparations to besiege the Korean capital of Hanseong by July of 1626, taking the half emptied city by the end of that month and pursuing the fleeing Korean Court of King Injo northwards, towards Pyongyang.
The capture of the Korean capital was followed by three days of celebrations in which Nobukatsu began to expand his plans for Asia, contemplating the conquest of strategic positions such as Luzon and Taiwan, as he had before deciding to invade Korea, while also making plans for a possible invasion of Manchuria, taking advantage of the conflict between the Joseon of Korea, the Jurchens in Manchuria and the Ming Dynasty in China.
It was on August of 1626 that Nobukatsu changed his name to Takeda Katsuchiyo, to reflect his successes in Korea, Katsuchiyo meaning: “Thousand Victories in Sucession”
The joyous mood in the Japanese camps would nevertheless prove to be short-lived as an unexpected complication would come to turn the war into a labyrinth of epic proportions and a regional crisis through the intervention of Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu, thus beginning the Manchurian phase of the War.
You know, this reminded me of the 30 Years War(all those different phases).
How can such a short word have such a complex meaning?
I was digging through the old pages and found this again. I love this timeline because its setting is so much more "exotic" than much of what is found elsewhere on the board. I hope it gets updated sometime soon!
How can such a short word have such a complex meaning?
"Katsu" is the verb "to win". "Chi" is an alternate pronunciation of the kanji for "one thousand". "Yo" is more complicated, but I'm guessing it's this one: 代 , which can mean(among others), period, age. If so, "for one thousand victories" would be an alternate translation.
Ummm, sorry to interject, but you're mixing incompatible kanji readings into one title. Given that it's a formal title and given the era, I'd use the On readings of each kanji and in particular the "Tou-on" readings. In the case of multiple on readings, just go for the ones with best match to the phonetic Japanese you know. I'd give a "correct" name, but my kanji dictionary is currently in storage. I also wouldn't say it was a name replacement, but more a title.
maverick
Banned
Interesting, not quite sure what you mean...as I found it, Katsuchiyo was Takeda Shingen's name, the one given to him by his father, before he changed his name to Harunobu and eventually to Shingen.
But if you have suggestions, I'm always open to improvement of my works...
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The Manchurian Khan
Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu had been Chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchen for more than 40 years before the Korean War, and had for his reign worked tirelessly towards the unification of the Jurchen tribes, through the conquest of the Hulun tribes and the unification of the Ula and the Yehe Clans with his own Jin Dynasty.
Having waged war against the Ming Dynasty in China, the Mongols, the Koreans and the other Jurchen Clans, the territory of the Jin Dynasty had greatly expanded by the 1620s, decade by which Nurhaci had unified most of central and southern Manchuria and was in the process of putting all the Jurchen tribes under his banners while pushing the Ming out of Manchuria and northern China.
It was here that events in Korea caught his eye, and the threat of Japanese Imperialism and the opportunity presented by the weakness of the Korean Kingdom provided the casus belli for the Manchurian intervention. Even as preparations were being made to attack the great Fortress of Ningyuan in northern China, the greatest weapon the Ming had against the Manchu, Nurhaci suspended that campaign and decided to intervene in the Korean crisis as per the request of the rebels defeated during the Korean civil war of 1624.
King Injo’s pro-Ming and anti-Manchu policies did not help matters with the Manchurian court, and thus the requests of the exiled Korean rebels under Han Yun.
In the late months of 1626, 30,000 Manchu cavalry under Ah Min and former General Gang Hong-rip invaded Joseon, calling for restoration of Gwanghaegun and execution of Westerners leaders including Kim Ja-jeom.
With the Japanese holding Hanseong and the Manchu fast approaching from the North, the situation of the Injo King and the exile court had become incredibly desperate, and from their safe haven at Ganghwa Island, on the estuary of the Han River just a few miles north of Incheon, they waited to see how the situation developed.
Events in the occupied capital of Hanseong transpired somewhat differently, as Takeda Katsuchiyo saw the Manchurian invasion as a threat to Japanese interests in the region and a direct affront to his personal honor. The angered Shogun and his worried generals remained at the capital for a week nevertheless discussing strategies as the occupation armies halted their advances in southern Korea, allowing the Korean court to relocate to safety in the west.
The Takeda Shogun was nevertheless not the kind of man to sit idly as events developed around him, and thus ordered for his Grand Army to march northwards to take on the Manchus directly, setting a chain of events that would result in the battle of Pyongyang on October of 1626 and unleashing of the full strength of the Jin hosts upon the Korean peninsula.
But if you have suggestions, I'm always open to improvement of my works...
*************************************************
The Manchurian Khan
Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu had been Chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchen for more than 40 years before the Korean War, and had for his reign worked tirelessly towards the unification of the Jurchen tribes, through the conquest of the Hulun tribes and the unification of the Ula and the Yehe Clans with his own Jin Dynasty.
Having waged war against the Ming Dynasty in China, the Mongols, the Koreans and the other Jurchen Clans, the territory of the Jin Dynasty had greatly expanded by the 1620s, decade by which Nurhaci had unified most of central and southern Manchuria and was in the process of putting all the Jurchen tribes under his banners while pushing the Ming out of Manchuria and northern China.
It was here that events in Korea caught his eye, and the threat of Japanese Imperialism and the opportunity presented by the weakness of the Korean Kingdom provided the casus belli for the Manchurian intervention. Even as preparations were being made to attack the great Fortress of Ningyuan in northern China, the greatest weapon the Ming had against the Manchu, Nurhaci suspended that campaign and decided to intervene in the Korean crisis as per the request of the rebels defeated during the Korean civil war of 1624.
King Injo’s pro-Ming and anti-Manchu policies did not help matters with the Manchurian court, and thus the requests of the exiled Korean rebels under Han Yun.
In the late months of 1626, 30,000 Manchu cavalry under Ah Min and former General Gang Hong-rip invaded Joseon, calling for restoration of Gwanghaegun and execution of Westerners leaders including Kim Ja-jeom.
With the Japanese holding Hanseong and the Manchu fast approaching from the North, the situation of the Injo King and the exile court had become incredibly desperate, and from their safe haven at Ganghwa Island, on the estuary of the Han River just a few miles north of Incheon, they waited to see how the situation developed.
Events in the occupied capital of Hanseong transpired somewhat differently, as Takeda Katsuchiyo saw the Manchurian invasion as a threat to Japanese interests in the region and a direct affront to his personal honor. The angered Shogun and his worried generals remained at the capital for a week nevertheless discussing strategies as the occupation armies halted their advances in southern Korea, allowing the Korean court to relocate to safety in the west.
The Takeda Shogun was nevertheless not the kind of man to sit idly as events developed around him, and thus ordered for his Grand Army to march northwards to take on the Manchus directly, setting a chain of events that would result in the battle of Pyongyang on October of 1626 and unleashing of the full strength of the Jin hosts upon the Korean peninsula.
Mixing On and Kun readings of kanji isn't common, but I'm certain I've seen it done before.
Really? Man, only out of Japan one week and my kanji is getting rusty. Is the "chiyo" section really a 'kun' reading? Coulda swore the mixing wasn't done until the Meiji language reformations.
Like I said, my dictionary is in storage. But hey, so far so good on the religion section, though I would think that contact with the Dutch and other Protestant nations would lead to interesting things in regards to Japanese Christianity. Even removing impetus for sakoku, Japanese Christianity still has the problems of it's native intellectuals feeling somewhat lesser in status to the foreign priests, particularly the Spanish orders who tended to be bigots. Also OTL, pretty soon after reintroduction in the Meiji era, native sects started splintering off the missions, not to mention Buddhist sects taking up some of the useful organizational methods from Christianity by the 1880s.
Not to mention without the tight Tokugawa control on religious movements and institutions, I would expect that the sort of new religious groups that exploded in the pre-Meiji period and forward would continue to burble up. Sub-sect formation within Buddhism was pretty fluid until Tokugawa clamped down on it.
Also syncretism, my friend, syncretism. You could easily make some sort Japanese brand of Sikhism.
maverick
Banned
Yes I know, but that was only the first few posts on Religion, have patience
Besides, I have to look through "The Dragon Rises High" again to re-learn the lessons of religious chaos in medieval Japan
maverick
Banned
The Korean war continued...
The 24 Great Hosts and the Eight Banners
Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu had created the Eight Banners as Administrative divisions in which all Manchu Families were placed, providing the basic framework for the Manchu military organization. The fundamental building block of the banners was the company, some of which reflected pre-existing lineage or tribal connections in their membership, while others deliberately overrode such connections in an effort to create a more centralized military force. Each company was, in principle, required to furnish 300 troops to the larger banner army.
The Twenty Four Great Host Army of the Takeda, whose structure was reminiscent of the old armies that Shingen had once taken to conquer Shinano, Kyoto and Echigo, was a more decentralized structure at the time of the war in Korea, due to the need to meet several challenges in the peninsula, from occupation duties to fighting the Joseon armies and the guerillas formed in occupied territories and of course, maintaining the advance northwards to both chase the fleeing Korean court and meet the invading Manchu Army.
The 30,000 men strong Manchu Army that crossed the Yalu River on October of 1626 advanced rapidly though Northern Korea just as the Takeda Shogun ordered his Generals, Mori Hiromoto and Yamagata Ryusaku, to march northwards to engage the Manchu with 60,000 soldiers, including the best of the Takeda and Mori Samurai and Ashigaru Infantry and Arquebusiers, along with most of the army’s cavalry regiments.
Having marched deep into Korean territory, the two rivaling armies met in the proximities of Pyongyang in late February of 1627, only to then spend a month avoiding battle, in an attempt to better position themselves against the enemy forces. By March 20th, both commanders were finally forced to engage their opponents north of Pyongyang, after having completely ignored the city for 5 weeks and failing to occupy it.
Despite Mori Hiromoto’s overcautious nature and reports about the Manchu army numbering about 90,000 troops, the more impulsive and aggressive Yamagata Ryusaku managed to prevail over the Mori Commander and upon receiving reports revealing that the Manchu army was smaller than the Japanese army, he ordered an attack for the next day.
The left wing of the Japanese army under Yamagata crossed the Taedong River, thus bringing 30,000 men to engage the Manchu camp north of the River. Mori Hiromoto would cross the River three hours later with the cavalry and a 8,000 men strong Infantry force to attack the Manchu rear. In a matter of five hours, the Manchu army had been decimated and its remains either scattered or forced to flee northwards, where they’d been further defeated along the Taedong once more two weeks later.
Militarily, the first engagements between the Manchu and the Japanese were a show of Japanese numerical and tactical superiority, having mastered the combination of firearms and arme blanche (arquebuses, muskets, Swords and spears), and upon having spent years studying Korea and months occupying it, even Joseon weapons such as the Korean Cannon, known for its accuracy and range, and the Turtle Ship (adapted as the Atakebune in Japan) were employed by the Conquering Japanese army.
Politically, the loss of over 16,000 men in a matter of months, along with the death of the Jin Princes Jirgalang and Ajige, along with the capture of Amin and the death in battle of the Korean general Gang-Hong Rip, caused a great deal of shock at the Manchu Court at Mukden, enough to convince Nurhaci to postpone his plans to invade China and concentrate all of his efforts in destroying Japan and turning Korea into a vassal.
Thus the real war between the Jin Dynasty of the Manchu and the Takeda of Japan had begun.
The 24 Great Hosts and the Eight Banners
Khan Nurhaci of the Manchu had created the Eight Banners as Administrative divisions in which all Manchu Families were placed, providing the basic framework for the Manchu military organization. The fundamental building block of the banners was the company, some of which reflected pre-existing lineage or tribal connections in their membership, while others deliberately overrode such connections in an effort to create a more centralized military force. Each company was, in principle, required to furnish 300 troops to the larger banner army.
The Twenty Four Great Host Army of the Takeda, whose structure was reminiscent of the old armies that Shingen had once taken to conquer Shinano, Kyoto and Echigo, was a more decentralized structure at the time of the war in Korea, due to the need to meet several challenges in the peninsula, from occupation duties to fighting the Joseon armies and the guerillas formed in occupied territories and of course, maintaining the advance northwards to both chase the fleeing Korean court and meet the invading Manchu Army.
The 30,000 men strong Manchu Army that crossed the Yalu River on October of 1626 advanced rapidly though Northern Korea just as the Takeda Shogun ordered his Generals, Mori Hiromoto and Yamagata Ryusaku, to march northwards to engage the Manchu with 60,000 soldiers, including the best of the Takeda and Mori Samurai and Ashigaru Infantry and Arquebusiers, along with most of the army’s cavalry regiments.
Having marched deep into Korean territory, the two rivaling armies met in the proximities of Pyongyang in late February of 1627, only to then spend a month avoiding battle, in an attempt to better position themselves against the enemy forces. By March 20th, both commanders were finally forced to engage their opponents north of Pyongyang, after having completely ignored the city for 5 weeks and failing to occupy it.
Despite Mori Hiromoto’s overcautious nature and reports about the Manchu army numbering about 90,000 troops, the more impulsive and aggressive Yamagata Ryusaku managed to prevail over the Mori Commander and upon receiving reports revealing that the Manchu army was smaller than the Japanese army, he ordered an attack for the next day.
The left wing of the Japanese army under Yamagata crossed the Taedong River, thus bringing 30,000 men to engage the Manchu camp north of the River. Mori Hiromoto would cross the River three hours later with the cavalry and a 8,000 men strong Infantry force to attack the Manchu rear. In a matter of five hours, the Manchu army had been decimated and its remains either scattered or forced to flee northwards, where they’d been further defeated along the Taedong once more two weeks later.
Militarily, the first engagements between the Manchu and the Japanese were a show of Japanese numerical and tactical superiority, having mastered the combination of firearms and arme blanche (arquebuses, muskets, Swords and spears), and upon having spent years studying Korea and months occupying it, even Joseon weapons such as the Korean Cannon, known for its accuracy and range, and the Turtle Ship (adapted as the Atakebune in Japan) were employed by the Conquering Japanese army.
Politically, the loss of over 16,000 men in a matter of months, along with the death of the Jin Princes Jirgalang and Ajige, along with the capture of Amin and the death in battle of the Korean general Gang-Hong Rip, caused a great deal of shock at the Manchu Court at Mukden, enough to convince Nurhaci to postpone his plans to invade China and concentrate all of his efforts in destroying Japan and turning Korea into a vassal.
Thus the real war between the Jin Dynasty of the Manchu and the Takeda of Japan had begun.