This is why I watched your story. Please, don't stop this, keep up the good work.
Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
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The evolution of armor and weaponry really depend on how much war Japan experiences over the next couple decades and who they fight.
Thank you!! This story will be going well into the 18th century at the bare minimum.
Yeah that makes sense I quite like how the weapons evolve throughout time.
Ahh seeing the Japanese win a much needed victory is very fun, and I really liked how the use of junks was one deciding factor for the Japanese. Would the Japanese adopt certain Asian building characteristics into their western ships like bulkheads especially for military boats? I could see them putting junk rigs on some boats, and they could make cambered junk sails as a compromise between the two types of sails too, which would be interesting.
I believe that's more or less what the red seal ships were. The Japanese were slightly more flexible than we'd think.
Masterful work! Now Tomoyoshi will ply his abilities to the Oda Civil War. Kami, Buddha, and God help the enemy he faces.
Hmm that makes sense, and I just wonder when would the mixture of styles be prominent, especially when European and Chinese/Japanese ship design offer different advantages and disadvantages.
Cambered junk rigs (where the junk rig have more cloth and can catch more wind especially upwind) are definitely a modern invention though, and I wonder would we see that kind of design be developed ittl. It'd mitigate the problems of upwind sailing for junk rigged systems while being a lot more intuitive to the Japanese sailors who're used to junk rigs.
So it wasn't just the junks that decided it but also the Japanese tekkou-sen. Junks were specifically in this naval engagement because of Tagawa Seikou as they were his private ships as a Sino-Japanese retainer. Because of that, for the most part the Japanese navy is predominantly variants of the tekkou-sen and European-style warships.
Speaking of which, what would be the status of gunpowder technology at this time?
It’s nearly up to par with Europe at this time with the main difference being that cannons are used significantly less on land due to the terrain and nature of battles.
Hmm I see... Are the tekkou-sen still oar powered or would a bunch have sails instead?
By the Iberian-Japanese War, the tekkou-sen had branched out into different variants (see more in Chapter 38) but the hobayasen back then already incorporated both sails and oars. By this time, the original design has mostly fallen out of use and the zentousen use both sail and oar power.
Chapter 86: Manji War Part IV - A Twist of Events
Chapter 86: Manji War Part IV - A Twist of Events
With Sakuma Moritora briefly distracted by growing instability in the Oshu region and among the Date men in his army and unable to launch a renewed campaign against the rebels, Oda Tomoaki would coordinate a large-scale counterattack across multiple fronts. He would send reinforcements to Etchu province to bolster the Sassa-Anekouji army struggling against Shibata Katsuoki and with this extra manpower, the latter’s advance began to be reversed. Tomoaki himself would lead his main army into Kozuke province and coalesce with the forces of Mori Tomoyoshi and the minor lords of northern Shinano to confront the Takigawa army led by their new lord, Kazumasa (滝川一昌) [1], who had been exerting significant pressure upon the Mori in southern Echigo and northern Shinano provinces. The two sides clashed near Iwabitsu Castle (岩櫃城) in July, with the Tomoaki-Mori army emerging victorious after hours of fighting under the hot summer sun. The victory allowed the rebels to take Iwabitsu Castle and northwestern Kozuke in general, with Mori Tomoyoshi targeting the strategically important Numata Castle next. Additionally, Tomoaki coordinated the diplomatic subjugation of Shinano and Kai provinces with the exception of the Kiso clan through pressure from Tomoaki, the minor Shinano lords, and the Tokugawa. Noriyasu’s younger brother Nagami Nagayori (永見長頼) in particular was instrumental in forcing the Mizuno and Inaba clans to defect from Azuchi and join the rebellion. These successes created a contiguous area of control for the rebellion from Echigo to the Tokugawa lands.
With these accomplishments under his belt, Tomoaki would resume his activities in Echigo in the late summer. By then, however, Sakuma Moritora had brought about enough stability within his ranks and in the Oshu region for him to resume his campaign, although the Date disturbance proved too much for even the great general to untangle and resolve. He moved almost immediately against Tomoaki as soon as the latter marched his army to retake Nagaoka Castle. Moritora directly engaged the rebel cavalry with his strike force, defeating them and scaring Tomoaki into a retreat. Like many other rebel armies throughout the realm, Tomoaki chose to avoid direct battle with the Chinjufu shogun, fearful of the latter’s talent, instead engaging the enemy in a series of smaller battles, sieges, and maneuvers in the early autumn months. Unlike his allies, however, he wasn’t seriously outnumbered and would receive reinforcements that brought his numerical strength up to par with Moritora’s force. Using a smaller force, he lured Moritora westwards, allowing Tomoaki and his army to slip through and march upon the town of Uonuma (魚沼). This trickery was soon discovered, however, and Moritora and his army rushed back to confront Tomoaki with his entire force. They would face off on October 23rd at Uonuma, the rebels numbering 20,000 and the Chinjufu shogunal army 23,000. In the hopes of countering Moritora’s strike force of samurai cavalry and Ainu mercenaries, Tomoaki placed his elite infantry on the left directly across the former. He himself would remain in the center, assigning command of the unit to chief retainer Tsuda Masazane (津田正真) [2]. The rebel right meanwhile was led by Nagao Kagesada. On the other side, Moritora as usual positioned himself on the right wing, with his brother Torahide once again taking charge of the center. Due to the previous disarray of the Date ranks, Mogami Yoshisato was assigned leadership of the left wing.
With these accomplishments under his belt, Tomoaki would resume his activities in Echigo in the late summer. By then, however, Sakuma Moritora had brought about enough stability within his ranks and in the Oshu region for him to resume his campaign, although the Date disturbance proved too much for even the great general to untangle and resolve. He moved almost immediately against Tomoaki as soon as the latter marched his army to retake Nagaoka Castle. Moritora directly engaged the rebel cavalry with his strike force, defeating them and scaring Tomoaki into a retreat. Like many other rebel armies throughout the realm, Tomoaki chose to avoid direct battle with the Chinjufu shogun, fearful of the latter’s talent, instead engaging the enemy in a series of smaller battles, sieges, and maneuvers in the early autumn months. Unlike his allies, however, he wasn’t seriously outnumbered and would receive reinforcements that brought his numerical strength up to par with Moritora’s force. Using a smaller force, he lured Moritora westwards, allowing Tomoaki and his army to slip through and march upon the town of Uonuma (魚沼). This trickery was soon discovered, however, and Moritora and his army rushed back to confront Tomoaki with his entire force. They would face off on October 23rd at Uonuma, the rebels numbering 20,000 and the Chinjufu shogunal army 23,000. In the hopes of countering Moritora’s strike force of samurai cavalry and Ainu mercenaries, Tomoaki placed his elite infantry on the left directly across the former. He himself would remain in the center, assigning command of the unit to chief retainer Tsuda Masazane (津田正真) [2]. The rebel right meanwhile was led by Nagao Kagesada. On the other side, Moritora as usual positioned himself on the right wing, with his brother Torahide once again taking charge of the center. Due to the previous disarray of the Date ranks, Mogami Yoshisato was assigned leadership of the left wing.
Salmon = Tomoaki’s army, Blue = Moritora’s army
On the morning of November 6th, the Battle of Uonuma began with exchanged salvos of cannonfire from both sides, poking holes into both sides’ formations. Then, the infantry of the center and the Chinjufu left/rebel right began to clash. For the majority of the battle, these areas witnessed a stalemate with attempts at flanking maneuvers mirrored and checked. The decisive action instead was found where Tomoaki’ line infantry and Moritora’s cavalry and Ainu mercenaries came to blows with one another. Unable to charge directly upon Tomoaki’s ranks due to the lethality of the musketeers, Moritora split his contingent into three parts. The center, entirely made up of cavalry, skirmished with the line infantry, galloping back and forth while firing their bajouzutsu towards the musketeers. This distracted Tomoaki’s men enough for the rest of the cavalry and the Ainu mercenaries to pincer the enemy left by conducting flanking maneuvers on both sides. Once the pincer move began to apply pressure upon the enemy, the galloping cavalry then initiated a frontal charge, surrounding the rebel left on all sides. While the musketeers were adept at close quarters combat, they began to sustain heavy losses. Seeing this situation unfold, Tomoaki took charge and led the reserves towards the Chinjufu right. This action reinvigorated the morale of the elite musketeers and the rest of the rebel left and Moritora’s momentum began to be reversed. Eventually, the rest of the Chinjufu army began to noticeably be pushed back. Seeing the writing on the wall and unwilling to suffer heavy losses, the Chinjufu shogun ordered a retreat, suffering his first defeat ever in his illustrious military career. He suffered 6,000 casualties whereas the rebels suffered 2,000.
Oda Tomoaki’s rebels had won an important victory in Echigo against someone considered the most talented commander in all of Japan. The victory at Uonuma coincided with another decisive battle between Azuchi and the rebels, this one taking place near Mt. Komaki (小牧山) in Owari province on October 14th. The Tokugawa, numbering 10,000, ambushed and defeated the Azuchi army that outnumbered them 2 to 1, its general Nijou Tomohira barely escaping with his life. Uonuma, however, would not come without a devastating loss for the victors. During the battle, Tomoaki had been stabbed in the left armpit area by a spear and knocked off his horse but continued fighting and rallying his men against the enemy. His wound, however, proved mortal and three days later, the great rival of Konoe Toshishige, Francophile diplomat, and brother of the late Oda Nobutomo would succumb to it.
Folding screen depiction of the Battle of Mt. Komaki (小牧山の戦い)
Tomoaki’s death would leave the rebellion leaderless and rudderless. His son Nagaaki was far too young at the age of just 16 to take up his father’s mantle against the kōbu kanpaku. Noriyasu eventually emerged as the rebellion’s unofficial leader as he was the most powerful daimyo amongst the rebels and was the closest physically to Azuchi. However, he knew that he could not provide the rebellion the legitimacy it had begun with. It was in this context that Noriyasu wrote a letter to Kanbe Tomoyoshi and instructed the merchant Chaya Nobumune in Mikawa province to covertly sail to Luson province and deliver it. That letter contained news of what had transpired and a plea for the governor of Luson province to take up the mantle of leadership for the rebellion.
Tomoyoshi’s initial reaction was sadness as he grieved the death of his brother, knowing that he was the last living son of Oda Nobunori (his younger sister, Nison-in (二尊院), still lived ironically as the mother of Nijou Tomohira, ironically making the latter Tomoyoshi’s nephew). He then contemplated the matter of leading the rebellion. Tomoyoshi knew that if left leaderless, the rebellion would be finished in a year and Konoe Toshishige’s rule would be completely solidified and untouchable, possibly for decades to come. As Manchiyo’s regent, Toshishige had begun to minimize the voices and influence of daimyo in or invested in Bireitō and Luson in favor of the nobles and samurai in central Japan. Tomoyoshi, having already rejected the regency in 1653, had previously resigned himself to these developments and focused on internal matters. If he wanted to help change course, it was now or never.
After making his decision, Tomoyoshi would first confide with his son before making his grand speech to all the officers and commanders in his army. The Luson governor started by announcing the death of Oda Tomoaki, which was met with glum silence among the mostly sympathetic and shocked men. By contrast, Tomoyoshi’s reveal of Tokugawa Noriyasu's letter saw gasps heard from the mass. He then stated that he had the intent to accept the offer, sail to Kyushu with an army, and “restore proper governance” as he put it. He ended his speech with the following
“If you wish to regard me as a traitor to Azuchi and the emperor himself, I shall gladly slit my belly. But why not seize the opportunity to correct central politics and show what we southern samurai are capable of?!”
A brief and uncertain quiet was broken when Kashiwabara Yoshinao stood up and declared, “It would be an honor to accompany a great leader like you wherever you go!!”. He was followed by proclamations and standing cheers from the rest of the men with the exception of Wakamatsu Hirohide, who gave a modest nod of approval. With this sequence of events having occurred, Kanbe Tomoyoshi and all of Luson joined the rebellion, with the governor himself set to become its new leader.
Depiction of Kashiwabara Yoshinao’s declaration of allegiance and support in the movie Tomoyoshi
Having won over the hearts and minds of his men, Tomoyoshi began to write and send letters to prospective allies, including Tarui Norishige, Tagawa Seikou, Shimazu Norihisa, and Mōri Tsugumoto. Chaya Nobumune would also be entrusted with a letter to Noriyasu informing the Tokugawa lord of his decision and asking him to hang on until Tomoyoshi landed in Kyushu. Notably, Wakamatsu Tomohide was initially not written a letter as it became clear that Hirohide was undecided on whether to join the rebellion, hence his suspicious reaction to Tomoyoshi’s speech. Hirohide was eventually persuaded to back Tomoyoshi on the promise that his blood relatives in the Kitabatake clan, who had become among Konoe Toshishige’s biggest backers, would not be severely punished. Ikeda Tadamasa (池田忠政) would help reassure Tomohide as well, thus preventing Bireitō from becoming a battleground in the civil war. As for the war against Spain, Tomozane would remain in the province with 10,000 men, supported by Kikkawa Yoshihiro’s 8,000 men. The rest would cross over into Kyushu with the assistance of Tagawa Seikou’s navy.
With the entry of Kanbe Tomoyoshi on the rebel side, the conflict which previously had been restricted to eastern and central Japan was about to spread to the west and more blood would be spilled. For the first time, however, it could be argued that perhaps the rebels, not Azuchi, held the strategic edge and even the momentum in early 1661.
[1]: Takigawa Kazutoshi died that year of natural causes at the age of 77.
[2]: No relation to the Tsuda cadet branch of the greater Oda clan.
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Ooh! Major Ws for the rebels! Even tho Tomoaki has died the spirit of his rebellion goes on, especially when the South also is declaring for the rebels, and with Kanbe coming in as the new regent I see Japan having a more expansionist policy afterwards, which would be interesting.
I wonder how would Moritora escape death. He's very much a reason why azuchi is doing so well, and we know he also fights the Russians. Is he going to switch sides as things go worse?
I wonder how would Moritora escape death. He's very much a reason why azuchi is doing so well, and we know he also fights the Russians. Is he going to switch sides as things go worse?
Tomoyoshi joining the rebels is a major game changer for the course of the war. Now you have Japan's most capable military commander who has just beaten Spain now taking his best soldiers to the rebel side, not to mention a man who has the credibility and gravitas to command the other rebel Daimyo in a cohesive whole.
Tbh it’s a tossup between Tomoyoshi and Sakura Moritora in terms of who’s the most talented military commander and it could go either way. You also have Oda Tomoaki (before he died of course) who’s the only one to have ever defeated Moritora and Miyoshi Yasunori who’s the only major general to have fought in the Iberian-Japanese and Furuwatari Wars, and now this one. Tokugawa Noriyasu is pretty strong too.
Thanks for catching that!!
Muneshige is the head of one of the more senior branches of the Date clan. He’s Date Norimune’s third cousin and played a significant role in OTL’s Date Disturbance.