英語訳
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (The Decline of the Imagawa Clan and the Invasion of the Takeda Clan) - 100
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Not only that, but gradually advancing northward, in the second month of the 17th year he faced off with Murakami Yoshikiyo, lord of Katsuo Castle in Hanishina District, at Uedahara, and in the seventh month of that year defeated the Ogasawara forces at Shiojiri Pass. Due to these circumstances, the power of the Murakami and Ogasawara clans gradually diminished, with Nagatoki fleeing to Echigo in the twelfth month of the 21st year and Yoshikiyo in the eighth month of the 22nd year, both relying on Uesugi Kenshin. This was the fundamental cause of the Kawanakajima battles.
Regarding these Kawanakajima battles, theories from works like the "Kōyō Gunkan," "Kōetsu Gunki," and "Kawanakajima Gosen-ki" have been widely circulated, so many errors have been transmitted. However, in recent times, fundamental historical materials related to this have been gradually discovered, and there have been scholarly studies by Dr. Tanaka Yoshinari and others, but since these seem to have little relation to our present historical discussion, I think it would be inappropriate for someone like me without specialized knowledge to discuss them here.
In any case, the first Kawanakajima battle was in the seventh month of Kōji 1, and at this time they remained in opposition until the intercalary tenth month of that year. However, it was temporarily resolved through Imagawa Yoshimoto's mediation, but seven years later in the tenth month of Eiroku 4, they clashed again and fierce battles occurred. Of course, during those seven years there seem to have been many smaller battles, but the activities of both sides in other directions during this period were quite remarkable.
Here it becomes necessary to discuss the Hōjō clan a little. Initially, a man named Hōjō Sōun was a general of the Imagawa clan who eventually established himself in Izu, conquered Odawara, and with momentum to sweep across the eight provinces of Kantō, frequently invaded Kōshū as well. He died in the eighth month of Eishō 16, but his son Ujitsuna succeeded his father and increasingly expanded his territory. In the first month of Taiei 4 he captured Edo Castle, in the seventh month of Tenbun 6 he took Kawagoe, in the tenth month of the 7th year he won at Kō-no-dai, already combining Izu, Sagami, and Musashi, conquering parts of Kazusa and Shimōsa, and gradually extending toward Jōshū. At this time, Takeda Nobutora, considering that he could never resist this, allied deeply with the Imagawa clan and established defensive strategies, but Ujitsuna, viewing this alliance of the two clans as disadvantageous to himself, further invaded Suruga. However, Ujitsuna also died in the seventh month of Tenbun 10, so his son Ujiyasu succeeded
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[Header] Sanyō Shinpō No. 3830 Supplement (Published August 8, Meiji 44)
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to leadership. This Ujiyasu was a person accomplished in both literary and martial arts and a famous military commander. There is a work called "Musashino Kikō" by this person, which I believe you gentlemen are familiar with. When Ujiyasu succeeded, he was exactly twenty-six years old, but as I mentioned before, it was precisely in this year that Takeda Shingen established his independence at age twenty-one. Since he was busy with the Shinano conquest, he thought it better to make peace with the Hōjō clan, so in the twelfth month of Tenbun 13 he had someone named Kobayashi Kunanosuke carry his message to seek diplomatic relations. At that time, Imagawa Yoshimoto had agreed with Uesugi Norimasa to launch a pincer attack on the Hōjō clan and sent out troops, so Shingen acted as mediator between them, and this too temporarily resulted in reconciliation.
However, afterward Ujiyasu increasingly achieved his ambitions in Kantō, and in the second month of Tenbun 23, when Imagawa Yoshimoto personally went on campaign to Mikawa, taking advantage of this opportunity he again sent troops to invade Suruga. At this time, Shingen responded to Yoshimoto's request and took position at Kariya River, fighting across the river, but was defeated by the Hōjō forces and retreated. On this occasion, the abbot of Zentoku-ji in Sena was a brother of Elder Sesshū, so he worked between the three clans of Imagawa, Takeda, and Hōjō to mediate once more. The three clans, each considering their interests, agreed to this and desired mutual alliance, so in the third month the three commanders met at this Zentoku-ji temple and concluded a pact.
From this time, the three clans of Takeda, Imagawa, and Hōjō each removed their rear concerns and advanced toward their respective targets. Ujiyasu launched troops in the tenth month of that year, attacked Koga Castle in Shimōsa, finally captured Ashikaga Haruuji and confined him in Hadano in Sagami Province. However, he later restored Haruuji's son Yoshiuji to Koga Castle and also released Haruuji from confinement, having him reside in Sekijuku Castle in Shimōsa. In this way, he both won the hearts of Kantō people and made this a method of power transition. As for the Takeda clan, as I mentioned before, although the Kawanakajima battles began from this point, they steadily worked to pacify Shinano, eventually sending troops to Hida. In the seventh month of Eiroku 7, they sent their general Yamagata Masakage to burn the famous temple called Senkō-ji, greatly weakening the power of Matsukura castle lord Miki Yoritsuna.
As for what happened with Imagawa Yoshimoto, as I mentioned before, now...
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (The Decline of the Imagawa Clan and the Invasion of the Takeda Clan) - 101