Full Imagawa Yoshimoto Video

 Here is the full Ijin Rirekisho Imagawa Yoshimoto video.  The video might be pulled in the near future, so please watch it as soon as possible.  First off, I would like to say, the video is balanced. Yes, the video mentions Yoshimoto's weakness as well as his strengths.  A lot of the video is covered from a local perspective.  This includes the Battle of Okehazama. Yoshimoto was known to be optimistic, overconfident, and arrogant.  Well, this was true of most Sengoku warlords, it was part of the job.  He was a cultured man, this was true as well.  For example, Waka, renga, chado, and kemari were his past times.  Of course, he enjoyed being a courtier.

The strength of the Imagawa was in diplomacy and their house laws. Their alliance with his rivals, the Hojo and Takeda made it possible for peace, but more importantly, the march to Kyoto.  Sessai was the brains of the Imagawa and the video reinstates that.  That was a plus.  When Sessai passed away, it was the start of the decline of the Imagawa.

Regarding to the Battle of Okehazama, Ota Teruo and his team at the Toyoake City Okehazama Battlefield Committee did a fantastic job.  All of usual facts were stated.  One of the keys to the batttle, was geography. Since the battle was in Nobunaga's backyard, he knew every square inch.  Probably due to his love of falconry.  Another twist to the story is what if? What if Sessai was alive during the time of the battle?  The answer is Yoshimoto might have been more cautious about advancing to Owari or might even win the battle.  If he did, he would have Owari's key ports Atsuta and Tsushima which would made the Imagawa more richer.  It was known that Yoshimoto want to end the constant warfare, but it was not to be.  It was left to Nobunaga to start the unification process.

One other interesting fact I learned from the video from Nobunaga's point of view was his triple alliance.  After his victory at the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga created an alliance between the Tokugawa and the Azai.  This alliance made it possible along with his conquest of Mino in 1567 to march his army to Kyoto in 1568.

Nobunaga no tame!