英語訳
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (The Battle of Sekigahara) - 190
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However, since there were no orders from Ieyasu, they remained there until the 19th day. On that day, Murakoshi Naoyoshi came as Ieyasu's envoy of condolence and conveyed Ieyasu's intentions, so on the 20th day the generals met to discuss their advance.
At that time, Oda Hidenobu was at Gifu Castle, and although some of his retainers earnestly advocated that they should assist Ieyasu, they were persuaded by Mitsunari and ultimately decided to defend the castle for the western army.
Therefore, the eastern army first needed to capture this Gifu Castle. However, as you know, there were castles such as Inuyama and Takegahana that served as the forward positions of Gifu Castle. It was decided that it would be advantageous to make it appear they were attacking Inuyama Castle first, while actually charging directly at Gifu Castle.
Now, to reach Gifu they had to cross the Kiso River - upstream via Kawada and downstream via Ogoshi. The upstream route was shorter, and among the two vanguards, Masanori wanted to take this route. However, Terumasa would not agree, saying "I too am assigned to the vanguard, so I cannot take the longer route." At that time Ii Naomasa had already arrived, so Naomasa and Tadakatsu mediated between them, and it was finally decided that Terumasa would take the shorter route and Masanori the longer one.
However, it was stipulated that those taking the shorter route would not engage in battle until they received a signal from those taking the longer route. So Terumasa's force, consisting of Asano Yukinaga, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, Horio Tadauji, Arima Toyouji, Ichiyanagi Naomori, Togawa Satonobu and others - about 18,000 men in total - reached the vicinity of Kawada in the upper Kiso River at dawn on the 22nd day, where they encountered enemy forces.
At this time Terumasa ordered: "Though there is no signal yet from our allies downstream, since the enemy has opened hostilities, we should not hesitate," and thus engaged in battle. Iki Tadamasa first crossed the river to fight, followed by Terumasa and the other generals. Initially casualties were even, but after about two hours of fighting from 6 to 8 AM, the eastern army finally broke the western army and pursued them as they retreated toward Gifu Castle. Later they withdrew their troops and camped near Shin-Kano, Imojima, and Hirashima, and that night Terumasa sent news of victory to Edo.
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However, Masanori's unit heading downstream was hindered by troops from Takegahana Castle, so they fought them and finally captured the castle on the afternoon of the 22nd. That night they received news of victory from Terumasa stating that he had already pressed close to Gifu Castle. Masanori was angry about this breach of agreement, but at Hosokawa Tadaoki's persuasion, they decided to march rapidly toward Gifu that very night and immediately departed.
So the following day, the 23rd, they attacked Gifu Castle from early morning. Since there had been the incident of the previous day, Masanori sent an envoy to Terumasa, reproaching him for breaking their agreement and challenging him to a duel. But Terumasa replied: "I did not deliberately break our agreement. Enemy soldiers were on the right bank ahead of us, firing guns and provoking battle, so I had no choice but to advance. Therefore, today please let your forces attack the main gate, while our forces will circle to the rear approach."
With this, the matter was peacefully settled and decided accordingly. So Terumasa advanced as agreed, but Masanori's troops set fire to the city streets, making passage impossible. With great difficulty they detoured and pressed close to the main keep. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, since Terumasa had once resided in this castle, his familiarity with the geography gave him great advantage.
Then Terumasa also set fire to the main keep and charged through the gate, claiming to be first to scale the walls. But Hidenobu finally requested surrender, entered Entoku-ji temple in Kami-Kano, and shaved his head to become a monk. After the castle fell, there was again a dispute between Terumasa and Masanori over who had been first to scale the walls. But this too was mediated by Naomasa and Tadakatsu, who settled it by saying both sides had simultaneously captured the castle from front and rear.
Thus the eastern army, with irresistible force, won at Aiwatari, pressed toward the Roku River, and on the 24th day all the generals assembled at Akasaka. At this time Mitsunari was at Ogaki Castle, busily summoning the western army generals, but since Ieyasu had not yet arrived for the eastern army either, both sides remained in a standoff for several days.
Finally, on the 1st day of the 9th month, Ieyasu departed from Edo with about 32,100 men under his command, advancing westward along the Tokaido. Before this, he had left Yuki Hideyasu at Utsunomiya Castle to deal with the Uesugi clan, and separately sent Hidetada
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (The Battle of Sekigahara) - 191