| A March to KOMAKI&Nagakute | 
From... |
| A March to KOMAKI&Nagakute |
From... |
| Originally, NOBUNAGA had received the Emperor OGIMACHI’s unification directive. He had installed and later removed the last ASHIKAGA SHOGUN, YOSHIAKI and, at the head of his generals, brought a successful end to the SENGOKU ”100 Year Wars.” He was the power. With his assassination, the ODA machine had no head. Like the frayed end of a rope - with no knot - the individual generals had no leader. |
| Their council elected one
year old, SAMBOSHI, to NOBUNAGA’s empty
chair. This ancient precedent placated 2nd
and 3rd sons, NOBUO and NOBUTAKA to an
uneasy station, but they were not their
father and never had been.
NOBUO and NOBUTAKA had entertained their utter illusion of inheriting the head, and SHOGUNAL crown of all Japan, while the real powers, ODA right arm, HIDEYOSHI and TOKUGAWA of the “Five Provinces” bided time and played their hands. SHIZUKATAKE saw the end of SHIBATA KATSUIYE and ODA NOBUTAKA in favor of 2nd son, NOBUO. Now, seeing the lay of the land, with HIDEYOSHI looming largest, NOBUO began courting IYEYASU. The following year, 1584, all ODA generals and vassals were to gather at AZUCHI, NOBUNAGA’s creation and dream castle overlooking Lake BIWA, to bring SAMBOSHI their good wishes for the New Year’s SHO-GATSU festivities, - when HIDEYOSHI failed to show. |
 ODA NOBUO |
 Azuchi - The Most Beautiful |
This blatant insult and
loud, trumpeting statement-of-intentions,
would bring new changes and urgency, and new
destiny, for the Big Game.
The greatest single power had challenged and NOBUO, who had been crawling under IYEYASU’s wing for some time, now called for support. TOKUGAWA saw himself outnumbered, but this was his time. This was destiny. This was aligning himself with the rightful blood on one side, or with the rebel, there was no other course. |
| HIDEYOSHI
had the new support of MORI NAGAKAZU 森 of
MINO and SHINANO; and could rely on MAEDA
TOSHIIYE and NIWA NAGAHIDE. NAGAHIDE had
built AZUCHI for NOBUNAGA and was then
master at arms manufacturing center,
SAWAYAMA in OMI. SAWAYAMA had just past to another HIDEYOSHI supporter, HORI HIDEMASA. HIDEYOSHI had given KAGA to TOSHIIYE and KATSUIYE’s ECHIZEN to the NIWA. He also had the support of UESUGI KAGEKATSU. This then giving him most of the HOKURIKU and northern TOSANDO. NIWA NAGAHIDE See sword See KOTETSU pdf. SAWAYAMA. |
| Weaker side, IYEYASU, held
the TOKAIDO and was somewhat bolstered from his marriage into the ODAWARA HOJO. Regardless, this was fate. This would place his future. Loss could bring obscurity, but would only mean he rightfully supported the rightful ODA heir. A tie or a win would be the highest of all possible expectations and would place him permanently an equal with HIDEYOSHI. |
 Equal Thirds |
NOBUO’s only hold on his
father’s power was the veneer of his last
name. He was NOBUNAGA’s second boy, a
ridiculous token and no more. The power was
a divvy between HIDEYOSHI and IYEYASU.
|
 Tokugawa Iyeyasu |
 Daikoku God of Good-fortune |
The two built palisades
opposite each other around several positions
near KOMAKI. The stalemate was broken by a
sneak attack planned by the HIDEYOSHI forces
on TOKUGAWA’s MIKAWA, but IYEYASU had heard
of it and slipped through the night to face
the rear of their guard having breakfast the
next morning.
In
his sleep during the previous nights,
TOKUGAWA had had a dream wherein, the God
of Luck and Good Fortune rode at his side
marking a great victory with
success!
|
| Wearing his
new DAIKOKU KABUTO, IYEYASU rode into battle, and
into history after the successful “Breakfast
Skirmish” that would become known by its location,
“NAGAKUTE.” He reviewed the 2500 heads of HIDEYOSHI’s choicest troops and allied generals. His complete victory at NAGAKUTE would bring a protracted stall and complicated negotiations. HIDEYOSHI would gain his expected governmental control from the hill top Castle at MOMOYAMA 桃山, his Golden Pavilion to rise at OSAKA and the China campaigns, all settled in the future before him. TOKUGAWA, now enjoined in support of the Taiko, and nearly equal in power, would remain the richest, most powerful DAIMYO and head of the KANTO “Five Provinces”, the Rice Bowl of Japan, to await his coming SHOGUNAL triumph.
|
 The Battle of Nagakute |
| The
negotiations following NAGAKUTE had one or
two small concessions for IYEYASU:
First, his prized “KAI-no-KUNI GO” YOSHIHIRO, TAKEDA SHINGEN’s famous HAITO ”personal sword” that had passed to his son, KATSUYORI and with which KATSUYORI had killed 11 on the day TAKIGAWA KAZUMASU’s army rode the last of the TAKEDA down near TEMMOKUZAN, the sword that had transferred as gift from NOBUNAGA and KAZUMASU to IYEYASU, would be forfeit. See Shingen
This beloved symbol of IYEYASU’s whole success and life’s work would be given over to HIDEYOSHI, and IYEYASU would also marry HIDEYOSHI’s sister. HIDEYOSHI
would give IYEYASU another sword, but this
groveling of IYEYASU allowed face for
HIDEYOSHI and a new cycle of waiting and
biding. While the two powers bartered position on the future of Japan, NOBUO earned his greatest stake by naming his father’s ICHIMONJI YOSHIFUSA, after a NAGAKUTE kill, the KOKUHO master-piece, OKADA-GIRI. See Okada-giri |
| From then forth, all new
TOKUGAWA SHOGUNs would create a new DAIKOKU
ZUKIN as the honored protocol for the next
250 years. All 15 generations bannered the
“Good Luck” DAIKOKU ZUKIN as the Crown of
Power. Japan’s oldest families have certain traditions for their SHO-GATSU New Years Festival. Each family has a symbol of some great event or circumstance that played a part in the history of that family. These articles are brought out and displayed every SHO-GATSU. The TOKUGAWA family symbol, displayed during their SHO-GATSU celebration is the DAIKOKU ZUKIN. Displayed in honor of the good luck, the God of Good Fortune brought IYEYASU at the turning point in the TOKUGAWA path. From his dream, that he created his KABUTO - for luck ...at the battle of NAGAKUTE
|
 Tokugawa Iyeyasu |
|
