Before Saito Dosan perished at the Battle of Nagaragawa in 1556. He wrote his will/deed to his son-in-law, Nobunaga. Dosan did not want his evil son, Yoshitatsu to obtain the deed. Dosan was one of the few men who recognized Nobunaga's genius. I have loosely translated the deed to the best of my ability. Here it is:
I write out this malice to soon end
to my hearts content.
I give Oda Kazu no Suke Nobunaga Mino
and present transfer documents to him.
Rather than suffering and dying in old age,
I would be happier dying in a midst of bloody battle
and then attain nirvana.
I shall lose tomorrow's battle, that I am sure.
However, where my soul shall dwell
after leaving this world.
Koji 2 Year
April 19 Saito Yamashiro Nyudo Dosan
I have high respect for Dosan since he knew Nobunaga's rare talent. God Bless him for that.
Nobunaga no tame! Mino no mamushi!
14 comments:
What a great document!
Ahah, I'm not sure if Dosan liked so much Nobunaga-- But he definitely hated Yoshitatsu XD
After the meeting Nobunaga at Shotokuji Temple in 1553, Dosan knew after that his son-in-law was no fool. I would not say it was the lesser of the two evils either. Both had high respect of one another in my opinion. One reason why was that Dosan had to fight his way to the top just like Nobunaga did. They were independent men who made a name for themselves.
Dosan was definitely an intriguing historical figure.
But I must say that I found Yoshitatsu's story interesting too.
I find Yoshitatsu not up to par. Yeah, his mother was a cocubine (Miyoshino), but Dosan became larger than life after his death. Nobunaga made sure Mino would be under Oda control. Yoshitatsu passed away in 1561, but his son Tatsuoki would still control Mino. There is evidence that Nobunaga occupied Inoguchi 1564, but lost in 1565, and took full control in 1567 and Gifu was born.
One must remember that the big three of Mino Inaba Yoshimichi, Ando Morinari, and Ujie Bokuzen had to won over.
Lamers's book on Nobunaga explains the Mino big three role in great detail.
Well, of course one can't compare Dosan to Yoshitasu (or useless Tatsuoki--but he was still a kid when he got power), but I still find "Lord Leper" interesting--
As for Lamer's book, I'm really looking forward to buy it!
I'm still looking around to see if I can order it from some libraries around here, otherwise I'll buy it online-- BUT I MUST HAVE IT.
I'd love to have the Shinchoko-ki too, but it looks like an English translation has never been resealed-- Such a pity.
Do you own a copy of the Shinchoko-ki? It is a must have. I have both Ota Gyuichi and Oze Hoan version. I plan to buy another copy of gyuichi's version when I am in Japan in October.
Break the bank or whatever, Lamers book is a must for any scholar of Nobunaga. Another great book even though it is out of print is Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth Century Japan. Published in 1984, one of the true biograpghy of Nobunaga in English.
I told you I don't have it since I don't understand Japanese XD
The only bits I've ever got from it are from the SamuraiArchive Wiki and a manga called "Sengoku" (a wonderful work!) ^_^;
Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth Century Japan was written by Neil McMullin. Out of print. However, check the university libraries. This is the best in covering the war against the Ishiyama Honganji and the slaughter at Mt. Hiei in English.
I heard of Sengoku before. To tell you the truth, I am collecting comics related to the Sengoku Era.
As for my personal library related to Nobunaga, it is getting bigger by the week, and need more bookshelfs. :-)
Interesting. Where did you find it?
I found Buddhism and the State book at San Diego State University. The book is awesome and fills in the blanks that Lamers missed in Japonius Tyrannus
I will have to look for that book. Hopefully the LA Public Library has it.
--The author of "Sengoku" is also working on a prequel to his manga focused on the battle of Okehazama: http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=22433
I thought you may be interested in this ^_^
If you ever decide to get a copy, make sure to share the scans with me @_@
I do have the Okehazama comic and ordered the second volume as well. It should come in mail this weekend or Monday. I also ordered some other history books related to the Battle of Okehazama. I do not agree with the person who wrote it, but want to know what makes him tick. If you want to know where I ordered the comic from, the company is called yesasia.com
*awe* Great, there's also free shipping available :D !!! *searches further*
In case, would you be up to translate them? It would be cool to release scanlations of them; I hardly believe that some western company is going to buy the series since such hardcore historical themes are not very popular, but it would be a pity to not share the goodness...
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