英語訳
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (Overview of the Honnōji Incident and the Battle of Yamazaki) - 131
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I find it interesting that we can see aspects of Nobunaga's own character and behavior, but moving on from that, Ieyasu's party went to Kyoto to tour the prosperity of Sakai port. First they went to Kyoto together with Nobutada, and while Nobutada set up camp at Myōkaku-ji temple, Ieyasu and his group went further down to Sakai.
At that time, Nobunaga was attacking the Mōri clan in the west, with Hashiba Hideyoshi serving as general of the expedition, and it was right in the middle of the water siege of Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū. So Nobunaga entered Kyoto on the 29th day of the fifth month to support this campaign, took up residence at Honnō-ji temple on Rokkaku Aburakoji Street, and was waiting for warriors to gather from various provinces. But at dawn on the second day of the sixth month, as you all know, he encountered the rebellion of his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide, and with only twenty or thirty soldiers at hand, he could do nothing and finally committed suicide, with Nobutada also following him in death. This was truly an unexpected great calamity - Nobunaga was forty-nine years old at the time, and Nobutada was twenty-six (some accounts make it twenty-eight).
Originally this Mitsuhide had gradually gained Nobunaga's trust and eventually became lord of Tanba and Shiga district in Ōmi, receiving the greatest favor, but his character apparently did not match well with Nobunaga's, so he frequently received insults from Nobunaga and accumulated resentment. Particularly regarding Ieyasu's visit, he was initially appointed as host and enthusiastically prepared for it, but then was suddenly ordered to serve as vanguard for the China campaign and had to hurry to his domain to prepare for departure, which seems to have further solidified his rebellious intentions. In any case, since he attacked the completely unprepared Nobunaga with a large army of ten thousand, Mitsuhide easily achieved his objective. But when he sent messengers to various generals in the Kinki region seeking their support, things did not go as he hoped. Moreover, Nobunaga's second son Nobuo was at Matsugashima Castle in Ise, his younger brother Nobutaka was in Osaka about to embark on the Shikoku campaign, and both were preparing to rise upon hearing of the calamity. Furthermore, Hosokawa Fujitaka, lord of Miyazu Castle in Tango, and his son Tadaoki, who were supposed to depart as vanguards of the China army together with Mitsuhide and had family ties with him, nevertheless showed their intention to break relations. For these reasons, Mitsuhide worked all the more urgently to strengthen his position, arriving at Azuchi on the 5th and taking that castle, and also capturing the two castles of Nagahama and Sawayama.
Meanwhile, Hashiba Hideyoshi received this shocking news on the night of the 3rd at his campaign site.
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[Header] San'yō Shimbun No. 3878 Supplement (Published October 3, Meiji 44 [1911])
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He quickly planned to raise an army of revenge, immediately establishing peace with the Mōri side the next day, withdrawing his troops from the 5th, returning to his home castle of Himeji on the 6th, then combining the armies of six men - Ikeda Nobuteru, Nakagawa Kiyohide, Takayama Nagafusa, Kanbe Nobutaka (Oda), Niwa Nagahide, and Hachiya Yoritaka - to fight a decisive battle with Mitsuhide at Yamazaki on the 13th. At this time Hideyoshi was forty-six years old and Mitsuhide was fifty-five.
Of course, as you all know, this battle resulted in Mitsuhide's defeat. That night in the late hours, Mitsuhide fled with only a few followers, trying to reach Sakamoto Castle in Ōmi, but on the way near Ogurisu he was ambushed and stabbed to death by bandits. Moreover, over the following two days his entire clan was almost completely destroyed, making it truly a fragile end.
Now, going back a bit to the Honnō-ji incident of June 2nd, Ieyasu was at Sakai port as I mentioned earlier. On this day he was planning to return to Kyoto when he received this terrible news, but since his followers were of course few in number, he appeared to be in great difficulty about what to do. However, fortunately he was able to pass through Iga by mountain paths and finally arrived at Shirako in Ise on the 4th (according to the Ietada Nikki), from where he was able to reach Ōhama in Mikawa by ship. The journey was extremely difficult and there are various stories about it, but Anayama Nobukimi, who had separated from Ieyasu along the way, was eventually killed by bandits in Iga.
So immediately upon returning home, Ieyasu recruited soldiers and planned to march west again. Sakai Tadatsugu and others again served as the vanguard and set up camp at Tsushima in Owari on the 17th, but on the 19th they received news from Hideyoshi of the pacification of Mitsuhide and his forces, so they finally withdrew their army.
The above may not seem directly related to our city's history, but it was certainly a great incident that marked an epoch in national affairs, and it also relates to Sakai Tadatsugu's career, so I have outlined the main course of events. I believe it is necessary to continue with a brief account of the causes and results of the Battle of Komaki.
○ The Oda Clan After the Honnō-ji Incident
[Header] Toyohashi City Historical Discussions - (The Oda Clan After the Honnō-ji Incident) - 132