Hey guys!!

This is the second part of the story of Japanese warriors so if you haven't read the first part I highly recommend you do; The 4 warriors that ruled Japan part 1
For those who did, welcome back!

3. Tokugawa Ieyasu

The Tokugawa (=徳川) possessed a large area at first, but Ieyasu (=家康) was taken to many different areas as a "hostage."
(While he was treated normally, he was still a hostage to prevent unnecessary conflict).
It is this time he first met Oda (they were more of a friend that time).
Later on, at the battle of Okehazama, Tokugawa was on Imagawa's side, but after that, Ieyasu decided to take the side onOda.
He fought with Takeda before the battle of Nagashino, but he lost very badly, which became a great lesson for him.
When Nobunaga died in a mutiny, Ieyasu was fairly close to the site with few of his people and even considered committing suicide.
However, he narrowly escaped back to his land (some say Ninjas helped his return).

After Oda, the Toyotomi ruled Japan and completed the unification of the country.
At that time Ieyasu did not try to fight over Toyotomi and became one of the important retainers (=五大老).
When Hideyoshi died, he asked Ieyasu and his fellow retainers to make Hideyoshi's son (then 5 years old) be his heir.
At first, everyone seemed to obey their late master, but Ieyasu starts to possess more power than the others.
Eventually, the former retainers split into two groups, the Toyotomi and Tokugawa.
The conflict resulted in the battle of Sekigahara (=関ヶ原の戦い).
The battle was expected to go on for years but resulted in few hours with Tokugawa becoming the ruler.

With his powers, Ieyasu starts a shogunate and the Edo period begins (1603-1868).
The Edo becomes one of the peaceful and stable periods in Japanese history.
Because of that, Ieyasu is seen as a hero who brought the long and chaotic conflicts (that continued for almost 700 years) to an end and made the basis for the stable Edo which will continue for over 260 years.
Still, there were some conflicts between Tokugawa and Toyotomi in the early years.
The rebellion by Toyotomi continues until Hideyoshi's son performed Seppuku at the age of 23 (1615).

Ieyasu himself resigned from Shogun in 1605 and hand over the powers to his son.
Later he dies in 1616 at the age of 75.
Records of him suggest he might have suffered stomach cancer but the true reason is (of course) unknown. 

Ieyasu was very patient in achieving his power until it was close enough to reach out with minimal damage in him.
Had he not followed Hideyoshi and fought against unification, he could have lost or if he did win, may have lost a lot of his men.
This is perhaps what he had learned from the battle against Takeda.
The Haiku of the Coocoo is; 鳴かぬなら 鳴くまで待とう ホトトギス (should the Coocoo not cry, just wait until it does).
Still, some say that he had waited too much as he only had few years ruling the country.
But all in all, this may have been the best strategy for the Sengoku.

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The Hikone castle (=彦根城) used to be in possession of one of the important retainers of Tokugawa.

4. Akechi Mitsuhide

History can be rewritten by those who possess the greatest power.
This is what my history teacher told me when I was in high school.
And this is probably partly true for Akechi Mitsuhide (=明智光秀).
Normally, he would not be told as one of the rulers in Japan, but I believe otherwise (and that is why I am writing about him). 

The early years of Mitsuhide are unknown but records show he had a connection with both imperial family and Nobunaga.
It is said that, because of that, he was seen as one of the important retainers of Nobunaga and were assigned part in many wars (some important positions).
However, it is said that, by fighting beside Nobunaga, he starts to figure out his cruelty.
In fact, he is said that he actually tried to save a lot of those who were affected by Nobunaga.

In the year 1582, Mitsuhide was ordered to help Hideyoshi take down the Chugoku region.
He knew Nobunaga was in Kyoto with minimal bodyguards and a similar situation for Ieyasu.
Given the situation, he decides to attempt a mutiny against Nobunaga.
The Akechi raids into Honnoji temple in Kyoto, where Nobunaga was staying.
The temple went on fire and Nobunaga is said to have performed Seppuku before his enemies can kill him. 
(Strangely, Nobunaga's bones were never to be found in the site and is said to have been removed before Mitsuhide can get them).
The specific event is called the incident of Honnoji (=本能寺の変) and rocked the whole country.

After the event, Mitsuhide called out to many who opposed Nobunaga to fight with him.
Sadly, no one took his sides, and the Akechi were taken down by Toyotomi who returned from Chugoku in incredible speed.
Mitsuhide is said to have been defeated in war, but some say he escaped and performed Seppuku after being attacked by bandits.
Since Seppuku was a very honorable way to die, it is possible that part of the story was tampered with.

There is no doubt Mitsuhide is a traitor, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a hero.
For the people who have been affected by Nobunaga's cruelty, Mitsuhide may have been a hero.
Also, he was the person who rocked the whole country to start the race for unification once more.
Again little is know about this man most likely since the records were lost by the power of the next rulers.

From his kindness, he is remembered as follow; 鳴かぬなら 放してしまえ ホトトギス (should the Coocoo not cry, let it go).
It is perhaps this kindness and act of heroism that led to the mutiny against his cold-blooded master. 

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The family crest (=家紋) of Akechi (and also my father's family!) is a design of Platycodon.
(There is likely no connection between Akechi and my family as this kind of crest was quite popular)
...

So, here was the story of the 4 warriors of Japan.
If you liked it or want to know more, please like and share!! 

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