Honnoji Video

 

Here is a Honnoji documentary special I found on YouTube.  So far, it is decent.  The Honnoji incident is not my specialty.  I know the basics and have some strong opinions on the subject.  That being said, I do not cover it as much as I should.  I just do not find it appealing to me.  Interesting yes, but not catchy.  To be fair, I do visit the Honnoji on a yearly basis to pray for Nobunaga's soul and sometimes give a small lecture on my opinion on the Honnoji to the locals.  When I do that, I remind them that my specialty is the Battle of Okehazama, so they know where I am coming from.  There are much better qualified people than me who can speak about the Honnoji incident.  As for the video itself, interesting.

Nobunaga no tame!

Yoshimoto's Grave Video

 

This is a Battle of Okehazama video related to Imagawa Yoshimoto's grave.  Daisyoji Temple located at Ushikubo in Aichi Prefecture is one of the many graves of Imagawa Yoshimoto.  After Nobunaga defeated and killed Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, Yoshimoto's body was buried at Daisyoji due to the heat.  Okabe Motonobu planned to take Yoshimoto's body back to Sunpu, but the body was quickly decomposing due to the extreme heat.  Yoshimoto's son, Ujizane was able to perform a memorial service there in 1563.

Tenka no tame!

Miyoshi Nagayoshi Video

 Here is a video on Sengoku Warlord Miyoshi Nagayoshi (1522-64) by Sengoku historian Owada Tetsuo.  The video is brief, but is easy to understand.  Owada also displays a family tree of the Miyoshi family.  Nagayoshi died in 1564 at Iimoriyama Castle. After his death, the Miyoshi family along with Matsunaga Hisahide was involved with the murder of shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru.  Yoshiteru was known as the Kengo Shogun since he was extremely skillful with the sword.  During Nobunaga's march to Kyoto in 1568, he brushed aside the Miyoshi.

Nobunaga no tame!

Matsunaga Hisahide Video

 

Matsunaga Hisahide (1508/10-77) was one of the most brutal schemers during the Sengoku Era.  He first served under the Miyoshi, helped assassinate Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and eventually was involved in the burning of the Great Buddha Hall (Todaiji) in Nara.  Hisahide served under Nobunaga for awhile and then rebelled, and eventually went back to Nobunaga.  However, he rebelled again in 1577 and was killed.  His son Hisamichi was captured and executed in Kyoto just after the siege of Shigi Castle.

http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2020/02/shigi-castle-1577.html

The video above is in Japanese and it is easy to follow and understand.  Well done in my opinion.  Also explains Hisahide's death and the destruction of the famous Hiragamo tea item.

Hisahide was known to be a tall, handsome man, and cultured in the tea ceremony.

Tenka no tame!

Nagashino Screen

 

Here is part of the Nagashino battle and below a clip of the battle from the Nobunaga Taiga drama King of Zipangu. You will notice that the battle screen does have some gunners placed outside of the fence.  However, the video clip has all of the Oda/Tokugawa gunners placed inside the fence.  Which is correct?  The Oda/Tokugawa armies had their gunners inside and outside the fence.  One must remember once most of the firing stopped and the Takeda army was almost depleted, Nobunaga along with Ieyasu sent their army to pursue the fleeing Takeda.  For more information on the Battle of Nagashino in English, it is mandatory that you listen to the Battle of Nagashino podcast from the Samurai Archives.  It is informative and well researched.  

I did like the Nobunaga Taiga Nagashino scene.  It was creepy and eerie.  One of the better ones out there regarding to Nagashino.

Nobunaga no tame!

Tetsuya Watari Passes Away

 Tetsuya Watari, the actor who played the role as Nobunaga in the Hideyoshi Taiga drama passed away (1941-2020).  I will be honest with you, he looked a bit too old for the role of Nobunaga.  He was definitely masculine enough for the role, that is for sure.  Overall, he did a decent job.

Tenka no tame!

Nagashino Video

 

I recently watched a documentary on the Battle of Nagashino and was quite impressed.  First, it covered the mishaps at the Battle of Mikatagahara and Takeda Shingen's death.  Second, the video does a great job on the horses used during the Sengoku Era.  They were pony sized horses and they used one of them in an experiment with with a mounted samurai in armor.  As for the rifles, targets were used at 100 and 50 meters.  The accuracy was not that great at 100, but at 50 meters most hit their target.  I suspect that Nobunaga and Ieyasu told their troops not to fire until you see the white of their eyes moment.  Later they did another experiment with the gunners inside the fence.  Firing was erratic.  Then the gunners were placed inside and outside the fence.  Firing was much more consistent.  If you have seen the Nagashino battle screen, gunners were placed inside and outside the fence.  

The documentary also covers Nobunaga's reliance on firearms and without them, bloodshed in Japan would have continued for many more decades.  The documentary uses clips from the Nobunaga drama King of Zinpangu Nagashino battle scene and music from the movies Kagemusha and Ran. Sengoku historian Owada Tetsuo also makes an appearance as well.  He mentions Nobunaga's use of Heino Bunri/Separation between farmer and soldier.  This helped Nobunaga to create a gunnery squad which help to win on the battlefield more often.

Nobunaga no tame!

New Okehazama Book I

This post is an update on my friend Takeuchi Motokazu's new Okehazama book, Okehazama no Tatakai Zenya no Shinjutsu. His theory is that Imagawa Yoshimoto's last camp before the Battle of Okehazama was Odaka Castle.  I disagree with that theory since it was well known that Yoshimoto stopped at Kutsukake Castle on May 18th, 1560.  While I do disagree with Takeuchi's theory, he does have a primary source that supports him.  That primary source is the Mikawa Monogatari, written by Okubo Hikozaemon.  According to the Mikawa Monogatari, Yoshimoto's army arrived at Odaka Castle from Chiryu.  Is that possible?  Chiryu to Kutsukake is around six miles.  Kutsukake to Odaka is about eight miles.  If Yoshimoto's main army did leave for Odaka from Chiryu, the journey would have been approximately between fourteen to fifteen miles.  Possible?  Yes.  Kiyosu to the Okehazama battlefield is approximately fifteen to seventeen miles.  

That being said, I do not believe that Yoshimoto and his main army left Chiryu for Odaka.  Yoshimoto did stop at Kutsukake on the eve of the battle and held his last war council there.  Kutsukake was an important logistical castle for the Imagawa since it was near the Mikawa border.  After the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga awarded Yanada Masatsuna Kutsukake Castle and cash for intelligence role.

Tenka no tame!

Dosan's Crest

Nobunaga's father-in-law, Saito Dosan's crest was an ocean wave.  Dosan created the crest himself and it was original.  The wave attacks then retreats and then attacks again.  In a way, this was how Dosan usually fought his battles.  Dosan defeated Nobunaga's father twice in the 1540s. This picture above is a temporary Sengoku Era castle gate at Gifu Castle Park.  

I did receive some feedback from the Kajino family on Takeuchi Motokazu's new Okehazama book and plan to write a post soon on the matter.

Nobunaga no tame!

Odaka Castle Video

 

My Sengoku historian colleague Hide again has a great video on Odaka Castle.  The video includes the Honmaru, the moats, and the earthen bridge.  Odaka Castle was built by Hanai Bitchu no Kami in the years of 1504-21.  It was 348 by 105 feet in length.  Odaka consisted of two moats, one outer, and an inner and it was constructed on a lowland hill.  The Hanai and Mizuno families held Odaka before falling in the hands of the Imagawa.

During the Battle of Okehazama, Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) delivered 450 bags of rice and 110-150 horses to Odaka.  Nobunaga had two forts to counter Odaka, Marune and Washizu.  Nobunaga was victorious at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when he killed Imagawa Yoshimoto.  After the battle, Odaka was abandoned due to its lost strategic value.

Tenka no tame!

New Okehazama Book

I recently received news that a new book has been published on the Battle of Okehazama.   Okehazama no Tatakai Zenya no Shinjutsu, by Takeuchi Motokazu discusses that the night before the battle, Imagawa Yoshimoto was at Odaka Castle, not Kutsukake.  Historically, Yoshimoto was at Kutsukake Castle on the eve of the battle.  That is certain.  That being said, I would like to find out why Takeuchi Motokazu has come up with the idea that Yoshimoto was at Odaka, not Kutsukake on the eve of Okehazama.  Mikawa Monogatari perhaps? The distance between Kutsukake and Odaka is approximately eight miles.  As for the book itself, it should be an interesting read.  

The book is 900 yen electronically and 2,400 hardback.  It can be purchased on Amazon.  Unfortunately, the book cannot be found at bookstores.

Nobunaga no tame!