Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 17: Circumnavigation of the Realm​

With the additional men, supplies, and provisions, the new Azuchi outpost of Iriebashi was able to secure its footing and eventually even build a castle in the foothills where it would overtime overlook the growth of a mercantile population center. Nobuhide would be designated the overall governor of all Japanese-controlled possessions on Bireitou, with Ikeda Terumasa appointed the magistrate of Iriebashi. Further exploration of the island was made, often led by Yasuke, and trade relations with the tribes flourished, with deerskins and venison becoming early staple goods. As Iriebashi stabilized, many successful merchants would establish permanent branches of their enterprises through warehouses and lodgings. Seeing the promise of mercantile opportunity and territorial expansion, the Shimazu clan would even found an auxiliary port to Iriebashi that they would directly control called Mamezaki (豆崎) [1].

Nobuhide would sail back to Azuchi in 1592 to witness his nephew Nobunori’s genpuku ceremony and formally accept the newly created imperial title of Birei-no-Kami (美麗守). While there, he would tell stories of his time on the island, from the tribes he interacted with to the progress of Iriebashi and how it was starting to attract trade from the south to Nobunaga, Nobutada, vassals, merchants, and even Jesuits. Highly intrigued by these stories, Nobunaga himself desired to sail to the island and leave the confines of Azuchi.

This singular dream, however, would transform into a much more ambitious endeavor. After his official retirement, free of much formal duty, Nobunaga would announce a circumnavigation of the entire realm undertaken by him and the Azuchi navy. He not only wanted to see every corner of Japan but also display the power and prestige of the navy and government he had created.

Nobunaga set off in 1595 from Sakai with a fleet consisting of a dozen tekkousen and European style warships, including the Tensho-maru (天正丸), the fleet’s 120-ton flagship and the one Nobunaga himself would be on. Also onboard was Kuki Yoshitaka’s son, Moritaka (九鬼守隆), who served on behalf of his father. The fleet would first sail around Kishu before sailing straight to Kamakura. Awaiting him was Nagatoshi and many Kanto daimyo who had come to pay their respects to the retired chancellor of the realm. The fleet stayed in the harbor for a few days while Nobunaga toured the sights and discussed matters relating to governance with the Kanto Tandai.​

Tensho-maru​

Nobunaga and the fleet would then set sail north to Hakodate. Awaiting him, unfortunately, was the news of Kakizaki Suehiro’s death at the age of 88, succeeded by his son Yoshihiro (蠣崎慶広) [2]. Nobunaga would spend some time visiting Suehiro’s grave and conversing with the new lord in Ezo. Meanwhile, a few Ainu traders interacted with the sailors and officers of the fleet. With the former amazed by the Azuchi navy’s technological prowess and the latter intrigued by the exoticness of the Ainu, a curious young Ainu lad would eventually voluntarily join the navy with the permission of Nobunaga himself. The lad’s name was Atuy Upash.​

Depiction of the fleet’s tekkousen​

After stopping at Hakodate, the fleet would turn southwards, sailing near the coast at certain population centers to project Azuchi’s naval power and grip the local populace and samurai in awe. Their next major stop would be at Shimonoseki (下関) in Nagato province (長門国), a growing port with the silver trade in particular flowing between it and Korea, where the fleet would wait out the typhoon season. Afterwards, the fleet would to proceed to Hakata (博多) in Chikuzen province, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima (鹿児島) in Satsuma province (薩摩国) before preparing for the final destination before concluding the circumnavigation.

It would be 1596 when Nobunaga would finally arrive in Iriebashi and witness the growth of Japan’s first truly overseas territory. Not only was he glad to see Nobuhide and Yasuke but he met some of the island’s tribal leaders, whom immediately bowed to him at his mere presence and stature. Ever curious even in his old age, Nobunaga was interested by their culture and accepted many of their gifts. Just before his departure to Sakai, he gave Yasuke a new surname. Henceforth, the African samurai would be referred to fully as Aguro Yasuke (阿黒弥助).

Nobunaga briefly stopped in Kagoshima once again before the fleet roared back into the port of Sakai, where a huge crowd of merchants, townspeople, foreigners, and samurai gathered. Word of Nobunaga’s journey around all of Japan had spread all over the realm and everyone who could wanted to see the fleet with their own eyes. In one bold stroke, Nobunaga had once again impressed upon all of Japan the power of the new government in a new, unchallengeable way even in his retirement.

[1]: IOTL’s Sua’o port

[2]: ITTL the Kakizaki clan don’t change their surname to Matsumae (松前)​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 18: The Ashina-Satake Plot of 1599 ​

The Satake clan had not been in a favorable position since the official establishment of the Azuchi Daijo-fu in 1583, holding vast lands in two regions it was a secondary player in. The Kanto region saw not only an Oda-led government in Kamakura but the vast majority of daimyo and minor castle lords siding with either Takigawa Kazutada, the chief Oda vassal in the East, or Hojo Ujimasa, the hegemon of the southern Kanto area. Meanwhile, in the Oshu region, Date Terumune had accumulated unchallengeable influence and prestige from his status as a member of the Sangi-shu and through making his second son, Morimune, the head of the Ashina clan, over the other main contender, Satake Yoshihiro (佐竹義広), clan head Yoshishige’s second son. Terumune’s power was even being felt on the periphery of the Nihonmatsu clan, a historical ally of the Satake.

However, the 1590s would give a present a glimmer of an opportunity to Yoshishige In 1592, Ujimasa would pass away, followed by Kamakura Tandai Oda Nagatoshi in 1596. Their successors, Ujinao and the 21-year old Toshimasa (織田利昌), proved to be weaker leaders than their fathers, creating a political vacuum and swaying many Kanto lords more towards the Satake’s side. Finally, in 1599, Date Terumune died at the age of 55, succeeded by his illustrious son Masamune. Despite being a favorite of Nobunaga and a capable samurai leader in his own right, even immediately succeeding his father as an Azuchi councilor, Terumune’s domineering ways had alienated many clans in Mutsu and Dewa provinces. As a result, even within the Ashina clan, anti-Date dissent began to grow against Morimune himself.​

Samurai armor of Satake Yoshishige
​

As Morimune had not yet sired a son, Yoshishige committed to sneakily take over the Ashina clan by poisoning the Ashina lord and secretly convincing Ashina vassals not fully on the Date side to accept Yoshihiro as the next head of the Ashina clan. He hoped to then effectively rival not only Masamune but also Kazutada and Ujinao all at once. Unfortunately, the plot would fail as a gravely ill Morimune overcame the poison he had consumed from food served to him [1]. The plot was uncovered amongst letters between various retainers of the Ashina and Satake clans, although a definitive connection was not uncovered at the time (modern-day research later directly implicated Yoshishige as the originator of the plot).

However, suspicion remained high so Azuchi committed to a full investigation of the matter. Nobutada and the Sangi-shu decided in 1600 to cast indirect blame on Yoshishige, forcing him and Yoshihiro to take the tonsure and retire from Satake clan matters. Yoshishige’s eldest son, Yoshinobu (佐竹義宜) would take over as clan head.

To ensure the issue wouldn’t arise again in the future, Azuchi decided on the future succession of the Ashina clan. Nihonmatsu Yoshitaka (二本松義孝), Nihonmatsu Yoshitsuna’s younger brother, would marry Morimune’s daughter Yasuhime (保姫), and change his name to Ashina Moriyoshi (芦名盛義) to become Morimune’s heir. The hope was that the Date-Satake rivalry could be resolved, and it was for the short-term. However, this issue stemmed from a much larger reality that the Oda had not done enough to politically integrate the daimyo in the Oshu and Kanto regions and create enough checks and balances between the different lords as many old disputes had not been settled after they had submitted to Nobunaga’s authority. Unfortunately, this issue would not be addressed for several years.​

[1]: IOTL, Masamune was poisoned by his mother in an attempt to make Date Masamichi (who is Ashina Morimune ITTL) the next head of the Date clan. IOTL, Masamichi was subsequently executed.

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 19: The Dawn of the 17th Century, Its Promises and Its Passings​

While Nobunaga had stayed in Iriebashi, Nobuhide had proposed to him the idea of a diplomatic mission to Manila in the Spanish Philippines. Nobuhide wanted to establish trade relations with the Spanish, especially in the Philippines. A convinced Nobunaga gave Nobuhide permission to pursue such a plan.

Shortly after Nobunaga left for Sakai, Nobuhide, accompanied by three ships, sailed to Manila as a representative of Azuchi. He would meet with Francisco de Tello de Guzman, the Spanish Governor of the Philippines, who described Nobuhide in his journal as a “straightforward, dashing young lad who was very knowledgeable in commerce, diplomacy, and technology”. Guzman was impressed by Nobuhide’s grasp on Spanish and especially with his fluency with Portuguese and even with Europe overall, Nobuhide himself having closely studied the writings from the Tensho embassy of 1582 [1]. Later, the Governor would even leave a warning in a letter to the Viceroy of New Spain, stating “with men like him, the land of Cipangu could be our ruin in the East”.​

Painting of Manila dated between 1617 and 1619​

Nobuhide, through these talks, successfully cemented the spurring of official Spanish-Japanese trade relations, especially between the Yamato realm and the Philippines. While there, he even managed to visit the Japanese enclave in Manila that had sprung up since the implementation of the red seal system. Knowing of the proliferation of other “Japan towns” across Southeast Asia, Nobuhide began brainstorming ideas on incorporating these enclaves into the greater Japanese economic and political network.

Nobuhide’s breakthroughs in the Philippines in 1596 and 1597 would bear much fruit down the road for Japanese economic and political interests. Sadly, the man who made it possible would not live to see it. On his way back to Iriebashi, Nobuhide’s ships were caught in a vicious tropical storm, and the vessel he was on shipwrecked on the eastern coast of Bireitou. None of the crew survived, including Nobuhide, although the other ships managed to track down the site and retrieve the documents and personal writings he carried with him. He was only 26 when he tragically perished.

Nobuhide’s death sent shockwaves throughout Bireitou, and a grand funeral was organized, with merchants, samurai, and even aboriginal tribal leaders coming to pay their respects to the fallen founder of Japanese Bireitou. A Buddhist temple, Shinshu-ji (信秀寺), would be built in his honor in Iriebashi itself.

In Azuchi itself, Nobuhide’s sudden death sent shockwaves and drove Nobunaga especially into despair. Posthumously, Nobunaga’s ninth son Nobutaka (織田信高) would become Nobuhide’s adopted son and succeed him in Bireitou.

After further negotiations, Spanish ships would start flowing into Japan from Manila in 1599, shortly before the arrival of another European trading partner onto the scene. In 1600, the Dutch ship De Liefde anchored off Kyushu, carrying both a sickly and a wealth of goods, including 19 bronze cannons. Initially, Portuguese Jesuits on site to meet the Dutch attempted to have them executed on the account of them supposedly being “pirates”. However, the Dutch would be taken in by the Shimazu clan, who found a vested interest in these new Europeans staying alive and telling their story. Their captain, an Englishman named William Adams, would tell Yoshihisa and Nagahisa the story of the ship’s journey from the Netherlands across the Pacific and how the expedition originally consisted of 4 ships as well as the intentions of the Dutch.​

Portrait of William Adams​

Eventually, upon both Nobutada’s order and the personal request of Adams, the Anglo-Dutch entourage arrived in Azuchi and had an audience with Nobutada, Nobunaga, and the Sangi-shu, where he divulged similar information regarding his travels. To Kuki Yoshitaka specifically, he also shared his knowledge on nautical mathematics and shipbuilding. News regarding Adams spread rapidly across the realm and overnight he became the most sought after European in the entire realm.

The landing of the De Liefde paved the way for trade relations between the Dutch as well as the English to be formalized in 1605 [2] and 1613 respectively. Notably, the Shimazu clan as the first receivers of the Dutch forged a special relationship with them and enticed them to give Kagoshima special attention as a trading outpost to counter the Portuguese’s historical monopoly and friendships in northern Kyushu, particularly with the Kirishitan daimyo. The dawn of the 17th century thus arrived with much commercial and maritime promise.

During this time, Nobunaga’s usually outgoing and blunt personality had become more reserved after the passing of both Nobuhide in 1597 and then lifelong favorite Hashiba Hideyoshi in 1598, the last of the big 5 generals from the days of the Oda unification wars to be still around. To his deathbed, Hideyoshi remained jovial and thankful to the master who had promoted him from a peasant to one of Japan’s most powerful people as Nobunaga himself lay by his side reportedly with tears in his eyes. Nobunaga still maintained some presence in Azuchi but had almost completely removed himself after those painful losses. His demeanor, however, rebounded somewhat when he beared witness to the birth of his great-grandson between Nobunori and Konoe Sakiko in March 1601, the future Oda Nobutomo (織田信朝).

Spring saw Nobunaga visit his old Kiyosu Castle where his journey towards realizing his ambitions had begun 50 years earlier. On a sunny afternoon on June 2nd, he was sitting outside near one of the castle’s gardens with his wife Nouhime (濃姫). According to later writings, he reportedly was admiring an old tree when he stood up, his right arm extending outwards towards the tree, and remarked,
​

“オオーあそこに蝮がいるぞ、猿も、平手も、皆が待ってる” (Ooo-The viper is over there, so is the monkey, Hirate as well, everyone’s waiting) [3]​

As Nouhime lightly chuckled at what seemed to be an odd comment, Nobunaga’s eyes closed as he collapsed. By the time Nouhime reached him, the fool of Owari [4] lay still on the ground, a last satisfied smile still etched on his face.

He was 67.​

A golden statue of Nobunaga in Gifu​

[1]: The Tensho embassy was a 1582 Kirishitan embassy of 4 young Catholic samurai to Europe organized by the Jesuits and sponsored by Kirishitan daimyo Otomo Sourin, Omura Sumitada, and Arima Harunobu. The embassy went all the way to Rome and met the pope while also having an audience with King Philip II of Spain, recording their observations and being the first unofficial representatives of Japan in the Western world. They came back in 1590. While IOTL, they almost had no impact in the long run, their writings ITTL are read more widely by merchants and samurai and are cited more often. However, the religious nature of the embassy and the fact that Sumitada and Sourin are dead when they come back still means the embassy still does little directly in affecting diplomatic relations between Europe and Japan.

[2]: Greater Japanese interest and supports results in trade relations being formalized 4 years earlier than IOTL.

[3]: The viper refers to Saito Dousan (斎藤道三), a previous ruler of Mino province and Nobunaga’s father-in-law who served as a inspiration for Nobunaga, the monkey refers to Hideyoshi (it was his main nickname), and Hirate refers to Hirate Masahide (平手政秀) who was Nobunaga’s guardian and had committed seppuku soon after Nobunaga became Oda clan head because he felt that he had failed him. Nobunaga later built a Buddhist temple in honor of him (政秀寺).

[4]: Nobunaga’s old nickname as a teenager due to his delinquency that lasted until right after Masahide committed seppuku.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 20: Retrospective on the Era of Nobunaga​

Historians offer various perspectives on the Great Unifier, varying from that of a cosmopolitan despot who advanced the interests of the greater populace against the old samurai order to Nobunaga as a brutal tyrant who appeased outsiders and held no respect for Buddhism. What can be agreed upon is that Oda Nobunaga single-handedly ushered in a new era for the Yamato realm in a fashion not done since the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1192 by Minamoto-no Yoritomo. In one generation, the Oda clan went from a minor political player in the scheme of things to the supreme master of Japan with expanded territories. Nobunaga had also built a new city, Azuchi, which would eventually emerge as Japan’s biggest urban center and from which the new central government, the Azuchi Daijo-fu or chancellorate, would emanate power from.

Under Nobunaga, the basic foundation of Japan’s new non-Sinocentric foreign policy was created with a particular focus on expanding commercial and maritime interests south of Kyushu. This led to two major developments: the creation of a standing Azuchi navy run by ex-pirates, sailors of independent navies, and various Oda vassals which enforced and protected such interests and the beginnings of territorial expansion overseas in Bireitou and Ezo respectively. This new foreign policy direction would indirectly lead to technological advances in the Oda clan’s military with a gradual increase in the percentage of arquebusiers within infantry ranks, the beginnings of gunpowder weapon usage by cavalry with individual acquisitions of bajouzutsu (馬上筒), and the construction of European style warships alongside iron-plated Japanese tekkousen within the new Azuchi navy.​

Bajouzutsu​

In his lifetime, Christianity would establish deep roots in Japan despite setbacks. The Kirishitans, as Japanese Christians came to be called, were numerous in urban centers in particular, where interactions with Europeans were the greatest. By 1600, Kirishitans constituted 5% of the realm’s population.

The era of Nobunaga also heralded the end of many other things, including any military power held by Buddhist temples and sects as well as the significance and allure of the position of Seii Taishogun (征夷大将軍), as Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s deposition in 1573 marked the end of shogunal governance in Japan. The confiscation of weapons from civilians also significantly decreased the lethality of any future non-samurai rebellion in the realm. On the other hand, the authority of the imperial court would rebound under the establishment of the new Daijo-fu style government, with imperial titles co-opted for political purposes and samurai clans and nobles starting to interact with each other more, as demonstrated by the Oda-Konoe alliance through the marriage of Oda Nobunori and Konoe Sakiko.

Finally, through Nobunaga’s ruthless unification conflicts, many daimyo were either wiped off the map or reduced in power while many more clans and lords would rise to the spotlight and stand tall as new power players in the now reunited governance of the realm. It now lay to these individuals as well as Nobunaga’s heirs to build upon the Great Unifier’s undeniably enormous legacy.​

Promotional photo from the 1992 drama Nobunaga, King of Zipangu [1]

Members of the Sangi-shu 1584-1601

Bold=incumbent
Orange=Oda clan members by blood
Blue=Noble

Oda vassals:
Niwa Nagahide (丹羽長秀): 1584-1585
Takigawa Kazumasu (滝川一益): 1584-1586
Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀): 1584-1587
Shibata Katsuie (柴田勝家): 1584-1588
Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉): 1584-1598
Ikeda Tsuneoki (池田恒興): 1585-1589
Mori Nagayoshi (森長可): 1586-
Sassa Narimasa (佐々成政): 1587-1591
Maeda Toshiie (前田利家): 1588-1599
Kuki Yoshitaka (九鬼嘉隆): 1589-1601 [2]
Nagaoka Fujitaka (長岡藤孝): 1591-1600
Kuroda Yoshitaka (黒田孝高): 1598-1601 [3]
Maeda Geni (前田玄以): 1599-
Sakuma Morimasa (佐久間盛政): 1600-

Tozama daimyo:
Miyoshi Yasunaga (三好康長): 1584-1585
Otomo Sourin (大友宗麟): 1584-1587
Date Terumune (伊達輝宗): 1584-1599
Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康): 1584-
Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元): 1584-
Miyoshi Nobutaka (三好信孝): 1585-
Shimazu Yoshihisa (島津義久): 1587-
Date Masamune (伊達政宗): 1599-

Other:
Oda Nobutada (織田信忠): 1584-1593
Kitabatake Nobuoki (北畠信意): 1584-
Kajuuji Harutoyo (勧修寺晴豊): 1584-
Oda Nobukane (織田信包): 1593-
Oda Nobunori (織田信則): 1599-

Kyoto Shoshidai (magistrates):
Murai Sadakatsu (村井貞勝): 1573-1587
Sugaya Nagayori (菅屋長頼): 1587-1592
Asano Nagamasa (浅野長政): 1592-

Azuchi bugyo (magistrates):
Fukuzumi Hidekatsu (福富秀勝): 1577-1592
Mori Naritoshi (森成利): 1592-

Kamakura Tandai:
Oda Nagatoshi (織田長利): 1583-1596
Oda Toshimasa (織田利昌): 1596-

Bireitou governors:
Oda Nobuhide (織田信秀): 1592-1597
Oda Nobutaka (織田信高): 1597-​

[1]: Real drama from OTL

[2]: Kuki Yoshitaka would pass away in October 1601.

[3]: Kuroda Yoshitaka would take the tonsure in mourning of Nobunaga and subsequently retire.

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 21: Survey of Daimyo in the Era of Nobunaga​

Advancements made towards greater political stability, economic prosperity, and trade expansion across the entire realm under Nobunaga’s unified rule were strongly aided by the different administrations of various daimyo across Japan’s feudal landscape.

The clan that undoubtedly prospered the most was the Shimazu clan, which was blessed with both a direct connection with the Oda clan through Nagahisa and the political savvy of not just Yoshihisa and Nagahisa but also the former’s younger brother Yoshihiro (島津義弘). They successfully positioned themselves as the premier daimyo in Kyushu by presenting themselves as the main alternative to northern Kyushu clans like the Otomo and Arima who were seen as a bit too pro-Catholic for many in Azuchi. The Shimazu, particularly Nagahisa, took advantage of the clan’s geographic location and heavily invested in the expansion of Kagoshima as a maritime port and a rising rival to Nagasaki. This was particularly boosted with the establishment of a Shimazu trading outpost, Mamezaki, on Bireitou and the forging of strong bilateral trade relations with the Dutch when they first arrived.

Meanwhile, the Mōri surprisingly recovered from their monumental territorial loss in 1582, retaining only 4 of 9 provinces. Fortunately, area they held were their core and valuable territories, from the profitable silver mines in Iwami province (石見国) to the cultural splendor of Yamaguchi, referred to as the “Kyoto of the West'' as it acted as a haven for many nobles during the chaos of the Sengoku period. Mōri Terumoto would also build up Shimonoseki as a maritime port especially after Yamaguchi came under direct control of Azuchi. Shimonoseki would rapidly boom as it oversaw all trade flowing into the Seto Inland Sea towards Sakai from the north, including ships coming from Nagasaki, Hakata, and Joseon. With the Sou clan’s (宗氏) and Azuchi’s assistance, trade between the Joseon kingdom and both Yamaguchi and Shimonoseki also began around this time, with silver particularly prized as exports. Mōri’s regional maritime power was bolstered by arguably Japan’s strongest daimyo navy, composed of former Murakami navy (村上水軍) sailors and the pre-existing Mōri-Kobayakawa navy.​

Sketch of Shimonoseki in the 17th century​

Mōri Terumoto also created 3 subdomains, or shiryou (支領) controlled by cadet branches of the Mōri clan to help accommodate numerous Mōri vassals whose lands had been ceded to the Oda and better administratively govern his lands especially in key areas: the Iwami subdomain (石見支領) controlled by his cousin Kikkawa Hiroie (吉川広家), the Mihara subdomain (三原支領) controlled by his uncle Kobayakawa Takakage (小早川隆景), and the Shimonoseki subdomain (下関支領) controlled by another uncle, Hoida Motokiyo (穂井田元清). These administrative decisions assisted with practical governance and eased the burden of the landless vassals, aiding the Mōri’s rebounding power and prestige.

On the other side of Azuchi lay the lands of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga’s greatest ally in his unification wars. After the fall of the Takeda clan, Ieyasu had successfully recreated the old Imagawa clan domain prior to the famous Battle of Okehazama (桶狭間の戦い) through the acquisition of Suruga province and would move the old Imagawa capital of Sunpu (駿府). Ieyasu proved to an able administrator, focusing his efforts on developing the Tokaido (東海道) road through his three provinces, which linked the Kanto region and Kamakura with Oda lands and Kyoto entirely through his territories. The road had its origins in the 7th century, but it was under Ieyasu when it began to develop as a major economic and cultural pipeline with its famous inns regulated by the Tokugawa clan. The Tokaido came to be utilized for sightseeing Mt. Fuji and pilgrimages to Ise Shrine (伊勢神宮). It also linked together the collective military strength of the Tokugawa, allowing for swift mobilization if necessary.

Beyond the Tokaido, Ieyasu also invested in maritime trade expansion to take advantage of the sea route between Sakai and Kamakura with some success, Hamamatsu (浜松) in particular becoming an important midpoint between the two major urban centers.​

Ukiyo-e depiction of a part of the Tokaido near Mt. Fuji​

Finally, in the furthest north in Ezo lay the Kakizaki clan, led by clan head Kakizaki Yoshihiro. In the aftermath of the 1585 Northern Expedition and the establishment of Oda presence at Hakodate, the Kakizaki clan continued a gradual expansion up north, with small scale expeditions and settlement growth taking place with the assistance of Hakodate magistrate Mōri Yoshikatsu. By 1600, the entirety of Oshima Peninsula (大島半島) was either loosely or directly under their control, with Ainu tribes in the area either conquered and wiped out or submitting to Yoshihiro as tributary vassals. Influence also extended outwards towards other Ainu tribes to the north and east, who started gaining access to Japanese goods coming all the way from Sakai and Nagasaki, reflecting an expanded commercial nature of the increasingly connected realm. Furs, fish, seal blubber, and exotic Ainu products, meanwhile, traveled southwards from Kakizaki lands, and Yoshihiro would start nurturing a timber industry in Ezo. Ezo would continue to be an ever-enticing northern frontier for many and the Kakizaki clan was there to take full advantage of that, putting them in a powerful position among the various Oshu daimyo.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 22: Oda Nobutada’s Rule and Administration​

The 8 year transition of power away from the aging Nobunaga to Nobutada had finally concluded, and the latter finally took sole control over the realm at the hearty age of 44. Nobutada, on top of this 8 year experience, had governed Owari and Mino provinces as Nobunaga’s deputy for 17 years, participated in government as a member of the Sangi-shu for 9, and led multiple military campaigns, including the one that ultimately annihilated the Takeda clan. As such, he was a capable administrator who successfully sought to maintain political balance and minimize corruption in his appointments and decisions. Lacking any overriding political agenda or vision, however, Nobutada would focus on strengthening and building upon the gains and strides made by his father.

The immediate aftermath of Nobunaga’s death coincided with a turnover of many key figures and their replacement with rising stars. Just months after Nobunaga’s passing, Kuki Yoshitaka, the progenitor of Japanese naval prowess as the first magistrate of the Azuchi navy, died, with Horiuchi Ujiyoshi succeeding him. Ujiyoshi would subsequently be appointed to the Sangi-shu the following year after the passing of Maeda Geni who by that point had become the most influential member of the government aside from Nobutada himself. In the same year, Shimazu Yoshihisa retired from the government, although he would continue to play an important role in Shimazu clan affairs until his death in 1611 at the age of 78. Succeeding him was Nagahisa, whose political ambition and existing influence was immediately felt as he would in time become a major proponent of a pro-Dutch, anti-Jesuit expansionist foreign policy.​

Portrait of Shimazu Nagahisa​

Finally, Oda Nobutaka in Bireitou died of malaria at just 27 in 1603. This time, Nobutada would send his second son to Bireitou as Nobutaka’s successor, having him change his name from Tadanaga (織田忠長) to Tadataka (織田忠高). This 22 year old, unlike his two predecessors, would live much longer and leave his own mark on Bireitou and Japanese history itself over the next few decades.

The first thing Nobutada did was demand personal tribute and homage from every single daimyo in the realm, including important samurai figures governing Oda territories on Bireitou. Among the nobility, only the reigning imperial regent, Konoe Nobutada (近衛信尹), did not also have to swear fealty to the daijo-daijin. He also led a grand funeral procession for his father in Azuchi. Through these actions, Nobutada firmly established his authority nationwide.

In the domestic sphere, Nobutada consolidated the administration and bureaucratic structure of the government, creating the gaikou-bugyo, or foreign affairs magistrate (外交奉行) and the oometsuke-shoku, or inspector-general (大目付職) along the various urban (町奉行), finance (勘定奉行), and naval (水軍奉行) magistracies. The latter reported directly to Nobutada and was responsible for supervising the activities of the various daimyo, castle lords, and direct Oda vassals, and similar positions would overtime be replicated not just in the Kamakura regional governments but in most daimyo domains. Nobutada also worked on completing the Nakasendo (中山道) from Gifu to Kozuke province, an infrastructural counterpart to the Tokaido that was initiated in the 1590s partially in response to the latter with fears of the Tokugawa holding a perpetual monopoly on trade between the Kanto and Kinki regions. Inland trade and connectivity was also a major motivator for Nobutada and many of his vassals who were disproportionately from Mino province. In 1604, plans for paving a permanent Hokurikudo (北陸道) through Echizen and Kaga (越前国, 加賀国) all the way to Echigo province also began to take shape with the urging of councilor Sakuma Morimasa.​

Early structure of the Azuchi Daijo-fu​

In the early 1600s, despite enormous trade expansion and steady naval buildup from the previous decade, Portuguese merchants still maintained a significant monopoly on Ming goods through their outpost on Macau even with an onslaught of warfare in Southeast Asia with the Dutch due to the Ming ban on direct trade between itself and Japan. Moreover, Ming officials in Beijing started to become concerned over Japanese territorial expansion in Bireitou and rumors of Japanese designs on the Ryukyu Kingdom, part of the Chinese tributary sphere along with Joseon. To resolve these issues, in 1606 Nobutada sent Mori Naritoshi, who had become the inaugural foreign affairs magistrate, and Seki Narimasa (関成政) to Beijing and formally recognize Chinese regional hegemony as a tributary for the first time since 1404, with Emperor Wanli recognizing Nobutada as the “King of Japan” (日本国王) and the two Japanese emissaries promising not to subjugate the Ryukyu Kingdom. Unlike his father, Nobutada was not overly concerned about becoming a subordinate for practical purposes, as in practice outside of occasional diplomatic missions with gifts the realm unilaterally controlled and directed its own trade affairs and commercial interests.

This move proved to be a significant economic benefit for Japan as its merchants could trade directly with China again at the expense of Portuguese mercantile interests. Macau would lose its iron grip over Sino-Japanese good exchanges and overtime Portuguese trade power would decline considerably with this loss of revenue combined with pressure from the Dutch in Southeast Asia.

Nobutada’s third significant achievement during his role was the firm establishment of a national coinage. His father had previously ordered the minting of the Ooban (大判) ovoid gold plate as a standard gold coin for the realm back in 1588. However, Japan’s trade expansionism and burgeoning economic growth, uninhibited due to peacetime, demanded a multilayered currency that could sufficiently support increasing economic activity abroad and at home. Therefore, in 1605, two further coins were introduced: the koban (小判) [1], a mostly gold plate with some silver, and the Keicho Tsuho (慶長通宝) [2], a newly minted copper version of the longstanding mon (文) coin. To support the new currency system, new gold and silver mines were opened and operations of existing ones were increased. Nobutada’s currency additions would form the basis of Japan’s monetary system for the rest of the 17th century and helped facilitate the country’s mercantilization and economic growth.

As successful as Nobutada’s sole rulership was, unlike his father’s it would prove to be short-lived. In 1609, Nobutada succumbed to a case of pneumonia at the age of 52. His legacy, from his early days in Gifu to his years as the unquestioned chancellor of the realm, was of positive, if more incremental and moderate compared to Nobunaga’s, changes to Japan. The 29 year old Nobunori would now take over the helm as the next head of the Azuchi Daijo-fu.​

Statue of Oda Nobutada in Azuchi
​

[1]: Same as the Koban established in 1601 IOTL.

[2]: The Keicho Tsuho is the Kanei Tsuho (寛永通宝) of TTL, just established much earlier

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 23: Affairs of the Wanli Emperor and His Sons​

Under Emperor Wanli, Ming China experienced economic and political heights, collectively referred by historians as the Wanli Restoration, not seen since the early 15th century. Administrative reforms, the crackdown on wokou pirates throughout the mid-16th century, and the rapid flow of silver from both the New World, especially from the Potosi mines, and Japan into the realm were behind the Ming Dynasty’s reviving fortunes. The latter pass through the port of Macau, leased to the Portuguese by 1557 and also the main destination of Japanese goods as the ban on Sino-Japanese trade remained in place. This economic renaissance would continue despite the Emperor’s reversal of many of the administrative reforms in the 1580s, previously pushed through by his late Senior Grand Secretary, Zhang Juzheng.

This new wealth and stability allowed Beijing to suppress and defeat several major rebellions at the end of the 16th century, most notably the Pubei rebellion along the northern frontier and the Bozhou rebellion in the Bozhou Tusi region, as well as scattered Mongol incursions. However, trouble brewed beneath the surface. A quarrel over the imperial succession broke out between the Emperor and his senior ministers as Wanli wanted to make his favorite concubine’s son, Zhu Changxun, the next emperor despite him being only his third child. In contrast, the ministers supported making his eldest son, Zhu Changluo, Wanli’s successor and adhere to the rule of primogeniture. Eventually, Emperor Wanli got his way in 1601 and Zhu Changxun officially became the Crown Prince [1].​

Palace portrait of Emperor Wanli​

Due to this and other disputes, however, Emperor Wanli gradually began to lose interest in imperial matters at the turn of the century. This loss of interest coincided with the rise of a formidable foe in the north: Nurhaci, a Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain with a grudge against the Ming over the death of his father. He had embarked on a quest in the previous decade to subjugate the various Jurchen tribes under his leadership, even defeating a 9-tribe coalition of 30,000 in 1593 at the Battle of Gure. Despite his aggressive moves and his grudge, his reverence to the Ming especially through his consistent tributary missions earned him a few titles from Beijing, most notably the title of “dragon-tiger-general” in 1595. However, the 1601 fall of the Hada tribe and Nurhaci’s increased consolidation and centralization of the tribes under him alerted many in the imperial court. In particular, the crown prince Zhu Changxun and veteran general Li Rusong [2] urged Emperor Wanli to address the Jurchen problem.

In 1605, Li Rusong and the crown prince left Beijing with an army of 120,000 to break apart Nurhaci’s ever expanding Jurchen confederation and would rendezvous with a Joseon force of 15,000 led by the kingdom's crown prince Gwanghae. In the crown prince’s absence, an attempted coup by Consort Gong, the mother of Zhu Changluo, and several senior government officials. would take place, to be quickly stopped by the imperial guards. Consort Gong and Zhu Changluo would subsequently be executed on Wanli’s orders along with the rest of the collaborators. Back in the north, the united Joseon-Ming army of 135,000 marched towards the Jurchen capital of Hetu Ala and met Nurhaci at the Suzi river, a tributary of the bigger Hun river. Despite the speed and skill of Nurhaci’s horse archers, the Joseon-Ming’s numbers, gunpowder weapons, and generalship dealt a significant defeat on Nurhaci. Unfortunately, Li Rusong would also be mortally wounded in the battle, preventing a proper pursuit of Nurhaci’s retreating men.​

Portrait of Li Rusong​

Despite Li Rusong’s death, the Battle of the Suzi River represented the zenith of Nurhaci’s ambitions, as the Ming were successful in prying several tribes from the Jianzhou chieftain’s grip and Nurhaci was coerced into making a heavy tribute. Nevertheless, he would continue to be a lethal and politically savvy menace on the northeastern Ming-Joseon frontier.

A victorious Zhu Changxun would return to his father in early 1606 who was still shaken by the coup. The crown prince would henceforth take greater control over the governance as his father grew even more distant from his imperial duties, being the main Ming negotiator in 1607 when Oda Nobutada’s emissaries arrived in Beijing. Thus, the Ming Dynasty was able to overcome internal and external hiccups and maintain its economic and political upswing.

[1]: IOTL, Zhu Changluo wins out in becoming the crown prince and goes on to become the Taichang Emperor. Zhu Changxun meanwhile becomes the new Prince of Fu.

[2]: Li Rusong is not ambushed by a Mongol force in the northern frontier and lives beyond 1598.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 24: Tyranny of the Inspector General​

The position of Inspector General, or Oometsuke-shoku (大目付職), was created in 1602 to better monitor the political affairs of the various daimyo and lords across the realm and ensure that corruption was minimized, being done in the aftermath of the Ashina-Satake plot and the death of Nobunaga. To maintain independence from those it would be monitoring, the inspector-general answered directly to the Daijo-daijin.

Asano Nagamasa (浅野長政), the longtime Kyoto Shoshidai, was appointed as the first inspector general. An honest and experienced administrator, he first gained prominence after inheriting Nagahama Castle (長浜城) from his brother-in-law Hashiba Hideyoshi. As inspector general, he rigorously applied his reputable skill as well as his connection with Kyoto nobility to great effect. By the time he retired in 1606, he had helped establish the new position as an integral part of checks and balances upon samurai clans and lords.​

Portrait of Asano Nagamasa, the first inspector-general of the Azuchi Daijo-fu​

When Nobutada died in 1609, as the next daijo-daijin, the position of inspector-general, now held by Saito Yoshioki (斎藤義興), a grandson of Saito Dousan, was significant but not overly powerful within state matters. However, the ascension of Nobunori as daijo-daijin would bring about a change in the hierarchy of political power and influence. Unlike his father, Nobunori had no experience leading any military campaigns and was surrounded by senior vassals and advisors, particularly his great uncle Oda Nobukane, in Gifu. Therefore, he would spend especially the first part of his rule significantly influenced by those around him. Quickly, the trio of Saito Yoshioki, Oda Nobukane, Yoshioki’s cousin Saito Mototada (斎藤元忠) closed ranks around the new chancellor and began to implement their own agenda.

While Nobutada oversaw the beginning of trade relations with the Dutch and Ming in 1604 and 1607 and even had limited contact with the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, many of his aides and retainers were uninterested or even hostile to further open trade facilitation, fearing unchecked foreign influence or feeling that these economic exchanges favored western Japan too greatly. Unlike the late Maeda Geni, who felt neutral towards Kirishitans, retainers like Yoshioki also harbored strong anti-Jesuit and anti-Kirishitan sentiments.

The Nobunori-yoriaishu (信則寄合衆), as the trio came to be known, started off by continuing Nobutada’s old policies, finishing up key infrastructure projects in central Japan like the Hokurikudo and Nakasendo and expanding Shinto-Buddhist patronage. Through Nobunori, they were even able to orchestrate the abdication of Emperor Go-Yozei in 1611 in favor of Prince Tsuruhito, who took the throne as Emperor Go-Mizunoo (後水尾天皇). Simultaneously, the yoriaishu began to remove officials they viewed as either rivals or too sympathetic to Europeans. The most prominent of these dismissals was of foreign affairs magistrate Mori Naritoshi, who was put under house arrest after 30 years of continuous service to the Oda clan. Even the Sangi-shu was effectively influenced by the yoriaishu, with Nobukane able to sway Kitabatake Nobuoki and Miyoshi Nobutaka as the elder of the Oda clan while expansionist voices like Shimazu Nagahisa and Date Masamune marginalized.​

Portrait of Saito Yoshioki​

The rule of three proved to be short-lived, as Mototada and Nobukane would both pass away in 1612 and 1614 respectively. However, Yoshioki would transition a reign of influential triumvirs to a semi-dictatorship, exploiting the realmwide espionage apparatus at his disposal by dispensing favors to loyalists and threats when necessary. Notably, he invested Mototada’s son Motonobu (斎藤元信) with southern Shinano province after Mōri Hideaki (毛利秀秋) died without an heir in 1615.

He also convinced Nobunori into conducting an investigation into the Jesuits at Nagasaki in 1617. Azuchi subsequently found 6 European Jesuits and 7 Japanese missionaries, including Tensho emissary participant Julian Nakaura (中浦ジュリアン) guilty on charges of treason and conspiracy against the central government based on flimsy evidence, and they were publicly paraded around naked before being publicly tied to poles and impaled to death with spears. A small portion of the majority Catholic population rioted in response to what became known as “Martyrdom of the 13” but would be crushed by Oda troops. Although Yoshioki hoped that the pre-emptive suppression against the missionaries would lead to decreased Catholic influence and an end to any threat of foreign political intrigues, the event would only lead to long-term damaged relations and greater distrust between the realm and the Iberian powers, merchants and missionaries alike.​

17th century Western depiction of the "Martyrdom of the 13"​

Around this time, Sakuma Morimasa would become a close ally of Yoshioki and often backed him up with the size and distribution of his and his brother’s lands, including Shibata Katsumasa (柴田勝政) and Sassa Katsuyuki (佐々勝之) [1]. His cousin, Nobuhide (佐久間信栄) was also made the magistrate of Yamaguchi, a familial recovery considering Nobuhide’s father Nobumori (佐久間信盛) was exiled from the government and had all of his lands and troops confiscated by Nobunaga in 1580.

While Saito Yoshioki's tyranny, favoritism, and brutality shocked and even angered many, others were either beneficiaries or scared into submission, fearing one of his spies lurking nearby. Yoshioki’s ultimate downfall would therefore come from a place even he could not fully control.

[1]: Katsumasa and Katsuyuki were adopted heirs of Shibata Katsuie and Sassa Narimasa respectively.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 25: Autonomy and Growth in the Subtropics​

Amidst Saito Yoshioki’s tyranny, less oversight and care was given to the more peripheral regions of the realm, including Bireitou. For the newest extension of Japan, though, this proved to be beneficial as it was able to avoid having its affairs constricted by the anti-expansionist, trade skeptic tendencies of the new Azuchi government. Ironically, Azuchi’s few demands would result in long-lasting gains for the island territory.

The turn of the 17th century would see the beginning of expansion into the northwestern and central coastal plains of Bireitou as well as the formation of a stable, permanent presence on the island. Throughout the 1590s, scores of unemployed samurai, or ronin (浪人), merchants, and ex-wokou pirates emigrated to Iriebashi and surrounding areas, resulting in a predominantly male population that was militarized but lacked in agricultural expertise. Many of these former warriors/mercenaries transitioned into lifestyles of farming and fishing through pressure and pure necessity while Iriebashi began booming as a trading hub, but Bireitou remained overly dependent on imports of rice from Oda lands and the goodwill of aboriginal tribal leaders whom they bartered for goods and produce with.

Upon his arrival in Iriebashi in 1604 after Oda Nobutaka’s death in 1604, Oda Tadataka focused on creating settlements in the interior and subjugating the aboriginal tribes through military and diplomatic means in order to address these issues. He hoped to not only encourage the development of self-sustaining agricultural colonies in the interior that were capable of holding down the inland plains and project Japanese influence but also exact sufficient tribute, resources, and even auxiliary levies from the native tribes.​

Portrait of Oda Tadataka​

With only a gradual flow of people from the main islands, the latter progressed more initially. Tadataka gained legitimacy and trust of many minor tribes in northern Bireitou through a marriage alliance with the prosperous native kingdom of Tatuturo further to the south arranged in 1605, and the governor would use this to encourage Bireitoan samurai to marry aboriginal women and settle down. Many would do so, directly linking the new Japanese inhabitants with the natives. Despite such peaceful overtures, armed disputes between the natives and Japanese that had intermittently occurred did not cease. If anything, the further Japan expanded into the island, the bigger these broke out into small-scale conflicts.

Although Bireitou possessed a well-trained core of samurai to deal with such conflicts, the numbers and terrain unfamiliarity often put the Japanese at a disadvantage. The lack of a peasant base to levy spear-wielding ashigaru and arquebusiers forced a change in the equipment and fighting style of Bireitou samurai forces. Over several years, cavalry contingents largely disappeared as they were useless in the jungles and forests samurai traversed through and arquebus usage and proficiency dramatically increased, with an infantry-friendly variant of the bajouzutsu becoming widespread in particular. One-on-one skill with the sword also became highly prized compared to the main islands, and even the bow made a comeback as a reliable and respected ranged weapon under humid and rainy conditions. Aguro Yasuke, the main military magistrate on the island, even owned an antique Genoese crossbow he had received from a Spanish merchant. These adaptations would transform the samurai in Bireitou into an elite core of fighters that would come to firmly make their prowess in history.

Meanwhile, the 1607 rekindling of direct Sino-Japanese trade relations saw a sharp increase in trade interactions between Bireitou and Ming China, and soon the Bireitou provincial government would see itself incentivizing masses from the mainland to emigrate to the island and found agricultural settlements under the jurisdiction of Iriebashi. The surge in immigrants from mainland China and the clearing of land to establish rice paddies and farming villages gave the Japanese the agricultural underclass they had been looking for, and with time rice production dramatically increased, increasing the self-sufficiency of the island. However, while Bireitou offered economic opportunities for destitute peasants and commoners in China, the immigrants would largely be relegated to the bottom of the new social hierarchy on the island, below merchants, the Japanese, and even many tribal allies and subjects.​

17th century drawing of a majority-Fujianese village in Bireitou by an Englishman​

Meanwhile, back in Azuchi, annual ceremonial tributes from the island had begun under Nobutada in order for the central government to maintain proper oversight, lay down orders and regulations, and appoint or remove top officials. However, starting in 1609, the yoriaishu demanded greater returns from the island in the form of imports of Bireitoan goods and resource, as the more conservative-minded bureaucrats wanted Bireitou less as a trade expansion opportunity and more of a resource extraction territory and disliked the fact that rice imports, albeit at decreasing rates, went to the island with no return. Ikeda Terumasa, by now Tadataka’s senior councilor, decided on a new exotic export: natively-grown mangos. With permission from Tadataka, he mandated the growing of mango trees and set strict quotas in every inland settlement, and this led to an unexpectedly profitable enterprise, expanding even beyond the realm with Bireitoan mangos overtime appearing in every corner of the Japanese trade network. They would even become a common dessert on the island.​

Modern day mango orchard in Bireitou​

With that exception, the 1610s saw Bireitou attaining more autonomy from Azuchi as the latter became increasingly enamored with the machinations and tyranny of Saito Yoshioki. Mamezaki, the Shimazu holding in Bireitou, also grew in prestige and prosperity, albeit not as much as the Oda-Azuchi holdings. It also saw the passings of Bireitou’s other two grand founders, senior councilor Ikeda Terumasa and military magistrate Aguro Yasuke in 1613. Their successors would continue their lineages as among the highest ranking samurai families on an island with an ever-brighter outlook buoyed by increasing immigration and expansion.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 26: The Heir in Gifu Strikes Back​

Azuchi under Saito Yoshioki’s tyranny had looser control and influence not just in Bireitou but also in the Kanto region where Kamakura Tandai Oda Nobumasa overcame factional squabbles in the wake of the deaths of Hojo Ujinao and Takigawa Kazutada in 1610 and 1615 and centralized regional power in Kamakura, in southern Kyushu where the politically exiled Shimazu Nagahisa independently strengthened ties with the rising Dutch and English, and in Ezo where Kakizaki Yoshihiro’s grandson and successor Kinhiro (柿崎公広) continued to exert his clan’s prestige throughout the north. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that the person who would end his tenure as inspector-general came not among the ambitious from afar but from Gifu, regionally where theoretically Yoshioki was strongest in given his clan's origins in Mino province.

Oda Nobutomo, born in 1601, was raised in a very different environment than his father had been. Whereas Nobunori was born in a Gifu prosperous but preceding Nobunaga's policies of rapid trade expansion and political unity in the constant presence of his father and his retinue until the age of 21, Nobutomo became a castle lord at the age of 8 and experienced a Gifu flush with the riches and knowledge of the entire Japanese realm, Europe, Ming China, and other parts of east and southeast Asia, only less cosmopolitan than Azuchi or Sakai. His guardian was his great-great-uncle and retired lord of western Izumo province, Oda Nagamasu, with Inaba Michishige (稲葉通重) serving as his senior councilor. The yoriaishu certainly focused on controlling Gifu almost as much as regulating governmental affairs in Azuchi, but while Nagamasu paid sufficient lip service to the trio he privately disliked the way they controlled Nobunori and established a much looser environment in Gifu for the young lord.​

Family tree of the main line of the Oda clan [1]​

Therefore, in addition to being tutored on Confucian, Japanese, and other Chinese classics, practiced rulership at Gifu castle, and trained martially any young samurai was, Nobutomo also freely rode the plains of Gifu and Owari provinces in his spare time with few attendants and gained his own individual understanding and perspective on the lives of everyday farmers and commoners. He also had regular exchanges with merchants operating in Gifu and under the tutelage of Nagamasu even became a beginning practitioner of tea ceremonies.

As he became older, especially after the death of Nobukane, Nobutomo developed a personal hatred towards Yoshioki and how the latter controlled his father and the government in general. The breaking point occurred in 1618 when Yoshioki appointed his cousin Inoue Yoritsugu (井上頼次) as the new Gifu magistrate and complete the precedent of consulting with the senior Oda member in Mino province, in order to better control Nobutomo and dole out political patronage in the Saito clan’s home province. Nobutomo, with the support of the Inaba clan under its new head and his close aide, Inaba Michishige's son Michikatsu (稲葉通勝), began scheming a proper response.

In September 1619, Nobutomo with his entourage including Michikatsu traveled to Azuchi Castle to pay respects to his father. He used his status as the Oda clan heir to gain a private audience with his father without Yoshioki where he persuaded the weak-willed Nobunori to take back power and had him stamp his approval of Nobutomo’s following actions against Yoshioki. Once this was done, Nobutomo carried out his plan: on the night of September 25th, his men and the Inaba clan overtook Saito Yoshioki’s residence and eventually fought their way into the inspector general’s bedroom. Mizuno Tadakiyo (水野忠清), whose clan had also become close with Nobutomo, was stationed in the vicinity of Saito Motonobu’s residence and took into custody a messenger of Yoshioki. In what would become known as Nobutomo’s Coup (信朝の政変), the Oda heir laid out charges of political treachery and corruption with Nobunori’s stamp of approval before the inspector general along with a sentence of death, and forced Yoshioki to commit seppuku in his bedroom before much of his family, with the written charges forced into his mouth. His 17 year old son Norioki (斎藤則興) took the tonsure, as did the rest of Yoshioki’s immediate family.​

Ukiyo-e of Yoshioki’s seppuku, with his written death sentence in his mouth as according to legend​

Political upheaval briefly followed, with Nobunori and the Sangi-shu retaking control of the government and dismissing many officials appointed by Yoshioki. Yoritsugu was replaced as Gifu magistrate with Tsumaki Yoritada (妻木頼忠) while Mori Naritoshi was brought back from political exile. Sakuma Morimasa was forced to retire from the Sangi-shu and as head of his clan for being a big ally and beneficiary of Yoshioki's regime, while Saito Motonobu’s southern Shinano fief was confiscated and the Saito clan in general was dissolved. Motonobu’s old lands would be divided between Inaba Michikatsu and Mizuno Katsunari (水野勝成), Tadakiyo’s older brother, while Hori Chikayoshi (堀親良), son of the late Nagasaki magistrate Hidemasa. Nobutomo himself would become a member of the Sangi-shu, and a new and proper governance by Oda Nobunori of the realm would commence.​

Portrait of Oda Nobunori​

[1]: Youngest generation individual portraits to be revealed later

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 27: Prince Gwanghae’s Kingship​

The reign of Joseon king Seonjo saw factional struggles between different neo-Confucian schools of thoughts break out, namely the older Westerners and the younger Easterners. The factional politics culminated in the purge of 1589, where key Easterner Jeong Yeo-rip was accused of treasonous behavior against the king through his activities in a secret society he had founded and was driven into suicide, leading to a cascade of executions and exiles of any Easterners suspected of links to Yeo-rip’s supposed rebellion. However, in 1590, leading Westerner Jeong Cheol was dismissed from the government and Grand Secretary Yi Sanhae took full control, installing his new Northerner faction, a recent Easterner splinter faction, at the helm of government. He remained unchallenged as the power behind the throne for 18 years, expanding trade relations with the Japanese, particularly the Mōri and Sou clans, and aiding Ming China in 1605 against Nurhaci’s Jurchen forces at the Battle of the Suzi River.

In 1608, King Seonjo died and was succeeded by Crown Prince Gwanghae, who is referred by historians today as Gwanghae-gun during his reign. Having led the Joseon army at the Battle of the Suzi River, he witnessed firsthand the inferiority of his own country’s troops amidst the Ming-Joseon victory, Ming troops being much more proficient with gunpowder weapons and maintaining a higher level of discipline. Coupled with the reality of more powerful neighbors emerging in the form of Oda Japan and a wounded but formidable Jurchen confederation, the new king embarked upon a spree of reforms across the board to strengthen his kingdom against any future invasions. He implemented the Daedong law, initially in Gyeonggi province and later to the rest of Joseon, which established taxation based on rice rather than local commodities, easing the burden on the populace . Gwanghae-gun’s administration also reintroduced the hopae identification system [1], cultivated the publication of new books, documents, and other literary works, and maintained flourishing trade with Japan.​

Portrait of Joseon king Gwanghae-gun​

Gwanghae-gun focused the bulk of his time, however, on reforming the Joseon army. He built up a small but elite standing army and centralized conscription and local levy mobilization methods, with messengers from the main army now responsible for relaying the king’s orders as opposed to local troops waiting on a general with an army to essentially pick them up. The new Joseon infantry began training with arquebuses with the old seunja hand cannons falling out of use, while mounted archers and “hwacha” rocket arrow propellers continued to be important elements in the reformed military.

Gwanghae-gun’s new army was tested in 1618 when a tribal horde of 20,000 of the Holjaon Jurchens crossed the Yalu River and began raiding the northern countryside. The king sent a force of 25,000 to confront them under the generalship of Gang Hong-rip and his forces would meet the Holjaon in battle at the Battle of Gilju. In the first hour, Hong-rip’s cavalry and the Jurchen horsemen charged towards one another, exchanging volleys of arrows while also engaging in clashes of swords and lances. Hong-rip then suddenly ordered the cavalry to retreat, making it look like the battered and outnumbered Joseon mounted troops were routing when in reality they were executing a feigned retreat. The well-trained cavalry, pursued by the Jurchens, split into left and right wings at the last possible moment, opening up a gap in the center. They then retreated for slightly longer before reversing course and leading another charge against the pursuing Jurchen horsemen, while the Jurchens who galloped through the gap in the center were greeted with arquebus fire, hwacha fire arrows, and even cannon balls from 2 Ming field cannons Hong-rip had brought onto the battlefield. The Joseon infantry followed up their projectile barrage with a frontal assault, and the crippled Holjaon force shattered, the survivors barely managing to cross back across the Yalu River. Gwanghae-gun’s reformed army emerged victorious, suffering only 2,000 casualties.​

Blue=Jurchen, Red=Joseon​

This huge victory proved the effectiveness of Gwanghae-gun’s reforms, and they would be cemented for good. After the battle, there were fears that Nurhaci himself would lead an army into the peninsula. However, the khan of the newly declared Later Jin realm was preoccupied in a war with the Ming-backed Northern Yuan khanate and was therefore unable to exact revenge. In the meantime, Joseon’s borders were secure. Gwanghae-gun thus continued to have a free hand in government, enthusiastically backed by the ever-dominant Northerner faction [2]. Secretly, however, the conservative-minded Westerner faction, out of power for the last 30 years, were biding their time against a royal court they viewed as overly liberal and ambitious.

[1]: The hopae system, first established in 1413, mandated males 16 and older to carry identification tags bearing the individual’s name, place of birth, status, and residence.

[2]: With Yi Sanhae’s uninterrupted tenure lasting until 1609 and the strong leadership of Gwanghae-gun, the Northerner faction never splinters into Greater and Lesser factions.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 28: Survey of Daimyo in the Eras of Nobutada and Nobunori​

​

Yoshioki’s control over national policy and patronage in Azuchi was felt by Japan’s various daimyo and their domains in different ways, although many were relatively unaffected in their capacity to govern their territories without intrusive intervention. Regardless, a trajectory towards greater prosperity and development generally continued well after the death of Oda Nobunaga in 1601.

Despite the 1587 Oda crackdown on Jesuit influence and wealth in response to the uncovering of the slave trade of native Japanese, Catholicism remained a significant force with northern Kyushu as its stronghold, patronized extensively by the the trio of the Otomo, Arima, and Omura clans. The same year, Otomo Yoshimune succeeded his father Sourin as the premier Kirishitan daimyo in Japan, although he lacked his father’s piety and dedication to the faith. As a result, while Yoshimune continued to patronize the Catholic Church and maintain firm relations with Portuguese and later also Spanish merchants, the axis of Catholic hegemony in Japan shifted to the Arima and Omura domains, where by 1600 the majority of the populace were Kirishitans. Arima Harunobu and his cousin Omura Yoshiaki not only enthusiastically supported the Catholic faith but also incorporated Jesuits, notably the former emissaries of the Tensho embassy, into their bureaucracies. The two clans also reaped a lot of the outflow of Nagasaki imports as Yoshiaki controlled the countryside immediately surrounding, and as a result nurtured active relationships with the Iberian merchants in the bustling port. Thus, the infamous Martyrdom of the 13 in 1617 was felt negatively economically and politically by the two clans, and they even fell under the deep suspicion of the notoriously anti-Catholic Saito Yoshiaki, although nothing would come from them.

On the flipside were Sakuma Morimasa and his younger brothers, who had been adopted by Shibata Katsuie and Sassa Narimasa as the two had no sons. Morimasa had been a lieutenant of the former in the Hokuriku army that had brought the Hokuriku region, including the former lands of the Uesugi clan, under Oda hegemony. He had been awarded lands in Kaga province (加賀国) before being awarded the domain of Daihouji Yoshioki (大宝寺義興) in 1587 after the latter died without a male heir through Katsuie’s influence. After the death of Maeda Toshiie in 1599, he inherited leadership of the Hokuriku group and was also close to Nagao Kagehiro (長尾景広) and Shibata Harutoki (新発田治時) in Echigo province.​

Portrait of Sakuma Morimasa​

Using his political influence upon his appointment to the Sangi-shu, Morimasa successfully pushed for the construction of the Hokurikudo, which would in the long run economically integrate the Hokuriku region with central and western Japan, and would especially benefit his and his brothers’ lands. Through his eventual affinity with the yoriai-shu and Saito Yoshioki, he was able to steer policies and patronage in his clan’s favor whenever he could, making the Sakuma clan among the most powerful vassals of Azuchi. Internally, the coastal town of Sakata (酒田) was developed to become a major port on trade routes going from Ezo to Shimonoseki. In the 1610s, Sakata even became host to a small newfound trade, mainly for furs, with the coast of Enkaishu (沿海州) [1]. Morimasa’s achievements, despite his forced political retirement with the fall of Yoshioki’s regime in 1619, remained unaffected and would be protected and expanded upon by his son Moriyuki (佐久間盛行).

In the middle, politically and physically, was western Kii province, controlled by Nagaoka Tadaoki. As a natural heir to the old Ashikaga legacy upon lands previously governed by the Hatakeyama clan, Tadaoki and his father Fujitaka welcomed former shogunal vassals and surviving members of cadet families of the Ashikaga clan into their service and established a robust administration. The city of Wakayama (和歌山) became a booming center under Tadaoki with a Kyoto-style high culture developing under the influence of ex-Ashikaga retainers, and thus a remnant of the Ashikaga shogunal legacy would establish a new homeland.​

Portrait of Nagaoka Tadaoki
​

Finally, the Kanto region saw immense economic growth as well as increased autonomy from Azuchi. Benefiting greatly from the development of the Tokaido, Nakasendo, and even the Hokuriku roads, several towns emerged as important urban centers, including Maebashi (前橋) in Kozuke province, Musashino (武蔵野) in Musashi province, and Utsunomiya (宇都宮) in Shimotsuke province. The latter also acted as economic links to the Oshu region, with Utsunomiya’s growth also aided by Kamakura tandai Oda Toshimasa’s Oshu-kaido project (奥州街道) linking Kamakura to the far north with Utsunomiya in between. Odawara also continued to grow as the region’s second biggest port and the center of Hojo power. Economic integration together with the end of warfare in the Kanto region also led to an increase in agricultural output in the vast Kanto plain (関東平野).

These developments came amidst the times of Saito Yoshioki and Azuchi’s tendency to impact political and commercial affairs in western and central Japan disproportionately due to a focus on increasing trade relations with the outside world, leading to the greater independence of Kamakura from Azuchi and a repeat of previous relationships between the Kinki and Kanto regions from the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunate. Under Toshimasa, the Kamakura-fu’s administration grew more complex much like the Daijo-fu’s did, and it even developed its own navy. The dissipation of factionalism after 1615 helped increase Kanto autonomy as well, shaping national affairs for years to come.​

[1]: Enkaishu is the modern day Primorsky Krai.

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 29: Merchants and Mercenaries in Southeast Asia​

Southeast Asia was a region in flux in the early 17th century, with native kingdoms and sultanates like Siam and Maguindanao competing not only with each other but also with the ever growing presence of Europeans, from the Dutch in Java to the Spanish in the Philippines. Even the Ottoman Empire based in far away Constantinople held political sway in the East Indies.

It was amidst this complex situation that Japanese red seal ships first spread across the South China Sea and made their presence felt in major ports like Manila and Malacca from the 1580s onwards. The ensuing economic and cultural exchanges impacted both ends, with Japanese merchants bringing in mainly silver, copper, katana swords, and handcrafted goods and leaving with Chinese silk, deerskins, sugar, and sappanwood back to the realm. These profitable interactions boosted trade expansion efforts by Azuchi, bringing more Japanese to the shores of Southeast Asian, and it wasn’t long before small “Nihonmachi ” (日本町) Japanese enclaves popped up all over Southeast Asia. Oda Nobuhide the Younger visited the Japanese enclave in Dilao within Manila in 1597 on his diplomatic expedition to the Philippines. Taking note of what he saw, he wrote down a proposal to incorporate the various enclaves into the greater Japanese cultural and economic sphere. However, due to his tragic death that year, it would be 23 years before his writings on the subjects were properly analyzed and implemented by Azuchi as part of a greater effort to reinvigorate the realm’s foreign policy after stagnation earlier in Nobunori’s chancellorship.​

Sappanwood, a sought after product from the tropics​

Many Japanese transplants were ronin dispossessed by unification wars and other circumstances who became mercenaries on foreign soil. They would prove to be among the most elite and talented warriors for their hosts, some even becoming commanders within foreign armies. The most notable example of this was Honjo Shigenaga and his three sons, Akinaga (本庄顕長), Mitsunaga (本庄充長), and Fusanaga (本庄房長), ex-Uesugi vassals who left Echigo province after they finally surrendered to Oda forces in 1583 and eventually ended up with their extended retinue in Ayutthaya several years later. Around this time, Ayutthaya had gained independence from the Myanma [1] Taungoo Empire in 1584 and re-established a Siamese kingdom in the region, and the Honjo clan would find employment under King Naresuan. Shigenaga and his sons partook in Naresuan’s expansionist campaigns against the Taungoo Empire, Cambodia, and Lan Na throughout the 1590s, with accounts of the old Echigo samurai even leading a charge of samurai mercenaries atop an elephant. Shigenaga in time also became an important conduit between Japanese merchants and the Siamese court, even helping establish unofficial contact with Japan in the early 1600s, both in Azuchi and Iriebashi. The prestige and success of the Honjo clan also led to the cultivation of Southeast Asia’s biggest and most influential “Nihonmachi” within Ayutthaya. Eventually, Shigenaga attained nobility status in Siam, and his second son and successor Mitsunaga would go on to become a close advisor to Naresuan’s nephew, Si Saowaphak [2], the Siamese king from 1610. Mitsunaga would expand Japanese economic and political power directly in the Siamese royal court and helped increase the usage of mortars, arquebuses, and other gunpowder weapons in the kingdom’s military.​

Depiction of Honjo Shigenaga parrying an exploding shell​

Other powers, European and native alike, employed samurai mercenaries as well, although on a more contractual basis compared to the situation in Siam. They became especially sought by the Dutch East India Company in their efforts to wrest control of ports from Portugal and Spain to a lesser extent and establish a territorial foothold in the region. In particular, samurai units played a key role in conquering the Banda islands for the Dutch between 1609 and 1621. The Iberian powers failed to compete with the VOC [3] in recruiting due to greater suspicion amongst Japanese towards them because of the events in Nagasaki in 1587, although Catholic samurai mercenaries from northern Kyushu assisted the Portuguese in defending Macau from the Dutch in 1622. Eventually, Azuchi banned samurai from becoming mercenaries in inter-European conflicts in 1623 after Spain and Portugal protested to Nobunori and Zhu Changxun, now Emperor Zhenchun after his father’s death in 1620, demanded compensation for damages to Macau because of mercenary participation in the battle on both sides. The practice, however, illicitly continued on a smaller scale.

A notable mercenary and swordsman during this time was Miyamoto Harunobu (宮本玄信), better known as Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵). Musashi spent the early part of his life traveling the realm and engaging in duels before traveling to Manila in 1611 and becoming employed by the Spanish, participating in various expeditions and suppressions of rebellions. He became well-known for his swordsmanship and combat skills and even attained a level of leadership in Dilao. However, after the Martyrdom of the 13 in Nagasaki in 1617, fear of retaliation saw him leave for Ayutthaya, where he entered the service of the Honjo clan and participated in the 1620 campaign against Cambodia, which had begun to resist Siamese hegemony and favored closer relations with the Vietnamese Nguyen lords. Musashi then was enticed into service under the VOC in the final Dutch conquest of the Banda islands in 1621. While achieving much fame, success, and profit in this campaign, the gruesome aftermath disillusioned the talented warrior from further mercenary work. He would subsequently settle down in Iriebashi and focused on kenjutsu (剣術) training and teaching, establishing his own style of swordsmanship.​

Portrait of Miyamoto Musashi​

[1]: The term Burma is never used ITTL.

[2]: Si Saowaphak was not assassinated in 1611 or taken hostage by Japanese traders in 1610. If anything, the Japanese in Siam become some of his biggest backers under the Honjo clan.

[3]: Abbreviation for Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie the Dutch translation of the Dutch East India Company​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 30: Nobunori’s New and Proper Governance, The Calm Before the Storm​

Nobutomo’s coup in 1619 not only swept Saito Yoshioki out of power but reduced the power of hereditary Oda retainers in Azuchi, with Nobunori taking more direct control of the government and Oda clan members and regional daimyo gaining greater influence over political affairs. Trade expansionist-minded Oda retainers were also promoted to an extent, most notably Mori Naritoshi who was appointed to the Sangi-shu and became one of the leading figures of the new administration. The position of inspector-general, while still important, would see its powers and influence considerably reduced to prevent another political usurpation from happening again. Additionally, under Yoshioki’s tyranny, while the realm had continued prospering and expanding economically, control over its peripheries and foreign policy needed much reinvigorating due to neglect and lack of interest. The next few years would see an effort to make up for the lost years.

Firstly, Nobunori promoted Ikeda Masatora (池田政虎), the 29 year old second son of the late Ikeda Terumasa, to the foreign affairs magistracy from his old position as Iriebashi urban magistrate. Being a full-time resident of Bireitou from a young age and fluent in Chinese, Masatora was naturally well-informed on the political and economic dynamics of east and southeast Asia and set a new course in Azuchi diplomacy. Under the advice of the shrewd magistrate, Nobunori sent embassies to Batavia, Manila, Ayutthaya, Dong Kinh, and Banda Aceh in the 1620s to establish firmer relations with European and Southeast Asian powers, and Azuchi even managed to organize a mission to Goa in 1626, marking Japan’s first serious interaction with the Indian subcontinent. The realm was also able to navigate difficult crises overseas, such as the Dutch-Ming war over the Penghu Islands between 1622 and 1624, damages caused by roaming samurai mercenaries in various conflicts, and tensions between Japan and Siam after the murder of Si Saowaphak in 1624 by anti-Japanese nobles in favor of his 13 year old son Athittayawong. Referring to Nobuhide the Younger’s writings, the various Nihonmachis throughout Southeast Asia were recognized politically as autonomous outposts of the realm and began to receive financial support, although arrangements differed by city based on size and relations with the on-site foreign government. Nobunori’s new foreign policy improved relations with the Iberian powers and especially Dai Viet, although in the long run the former never fully trusted the Japanese again and the Netherlands began to displace them as the pre-eminent European presence in the realm.​

Portrait of Ikeda Masatora​

The Sangi-shu was also permanently expanded in size from 13-14 to a firm 15 members with the appointments of Kamakura Tandai Oda Toshimasa and Bireitou governor Oda Tadataka, both strengthening both the power of the Oda clan in political affairs and prestige and reasserting Azuchi influence over the Kanto region and Bireitou respectively. Closer to home, Nobunori also arranged a marriage between his eldest daughter Takahime (尊姫) and the emperor, strengthening Oda power in the imperial court on top of his second son Tomoshige becoming the heir of the Konoe family.

The change in governance also benefited the operations of the Azuchi navy, now headed by naval magistrate Kuki Moritaka (九鬼守隆). Saito Yoshioki’s lack of interest in trade resulted in temporary stagnation in naval expansion and activity, but this was quickly reversed after 1619. Organizationally, the Azuchi navy integrated the Kanto navy as its 5th sub-branch based from Shimoda (下田) alongside those in Iriebashi, Nagasaki, Kanazawa (金沢), and Hakodate as well as the central fleet in Hyogo (兵庫).​

Drawing of Shimoda from the early 1600s​

Despite incidents and diplomatic tension with the Iberian powers, the Kirishitan population grew to around 10% in the 1620s, with the heaviest concentrations in northern Kyushu, and the Kinki region. Native Japanese priests, particularly outside of Kyushu, progressively began to distance themselves from the authority of European Jesuits and Franciscans due to the latter’s damaged reputation over the preceding decades, although no break on doctrine occurred. Knowledge of other non-Japanese religions began to spread in the realm, particularly through the various embassies in the 1620s. In one instance, Theravada Buddhist monks accompanied the Ayutthaya embassy on their journey back to Japan and subsequently took a tour of Kyoto’s temples and shrines and conversed with various Buddhist priests on their differing interpretations and applications of Gautama Buddha’s teachings. These interactions along with the successful embassy to Goa led to a new Japanese tradition of Buddhist pilgrimage to sites in India and Southeast Asia.​

A Siamese statue of the Buddha gifted to Myoushin-ji Temple (妙心寺) in 1622​

The aftermath of the 1619 coup was marked by political revitalization on the domestic and international fronts. However, nothing could prevent one particular incident. On November 1626, while the Goa embassy was sailing back to Sakai, Tadataka’s adopted son Tadahide (織田忠秀) [1], who was in Iriebashi, received an urgent messenger with shocking and troubling news: a Spanish expedition had begun construction of a coastal fortress in southwestern Bireitou.

Crisis loomed large in the distance.

[1]: Tadahide is actually Oda Nobuhide’s biological son who was only 6 when his father died and was thus deemed too young to be appointed governor of the island. He is, however, Tadataka’s heir as Tadataka has no sons.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 31: Nurhaci Strikes Back​

​

By 1610, Ming Emperor Wanli had withdrawn from government, ceasing to attend imperial council meetings. His place was largely taken by Crown Prince Zhu Changxun, although the Emperor’s absence at many ceremonies and court rituals weakened the power and legitimacy of the government. Nevertheless, the imperial court largely managed its affairs under the Crown Prince’s leadership for 10 years before Emperor Wanli finally died. Zhu Changxun inherited the Dragon Throne at the age of 34, henceforth known as Emperor Zhenchun.

Zhenchun immediately addressed a resurgent external threat: the Jurchens, now the Jin khanate. Some tribes had defected from Nurhaci’s grasp in the aftermath of the Battle of the Suri River but within a few years he had mostly reversed these losses. The key to his subsequent success was his Eight Banners army, which incorporated Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements into a cohesive military force. In 1616, he proclaimed himself khan and elevated his federation, now consisting of most Jurchens and a handful of Han Chinese defectors, to khanate status, referred by historians as the Later Jin khanate. In 1617, conflict broke out between Nurhaci and the Ming-backed Northern Yuan, led by the ambitious Ligdan Khan who sought to reinvigorate his fractious Mongol realm. In this war, Nurhaci’s experience as a cunning commander and political player won out as he earned victory after victory and swayed many eastern tumens to his side. Upon the conclusion of this war, the Jurchens once again breathed upon the neck of Ming China.​

Bronze statue of Nurhaci​

When the last independent Jurchen tribe, the Yehe, became Nurhaci’s next target, it became clear that the Ming needed to deal with the Jin directly. In 1621, Emperor Zhenchun assembled an army of 100,000 under the command of Sun Chengzong and sent messengers to Joseon, the Northern Yuan, and the Yehe to aid the Ming effort. Ligdan Khan, eager to get revenge, committed 20,000 Yuan horse archers to the campaign while Joseon king Gwanghaegun sent a force of 20,000, with the Yehe committing their entire force to preserve their independence. A confident Nurhaci, commanding an army of 75,000 troops, devised a plan to prevent the different contingents from coalescing and pick off the smaller ones before facing the Ming. He would personally march into Joseon with his entire force.

Knowing he stood no chance against the old steppe chieftain, Hong-rip instead split his army into smaller, more mobile contingents and scattered them in fortresses and forested areas to skirmish the approaching Jin army. Nurhaci crossed the Yalu River and quickly devastated the Joseon countryside. However, his army was continuously harassed by Hong-rip’s soldiers who employed hit-and-run and scorched earth tactics to pick off Jin troops and deprive them of supplies to great effect. When Nurhaci attempted a siege on a nearby fortress, the reinforced garrison countered with arquebus, cannon fire, and night raids into the Jin camp. The situation became unbearable and when news of Ming, Yehe, and Mongol forces coalescing to the north came, Nurhaci retreated, satisfied that although unbroken, Joseon forces were too scattered to reconfigure fast enough and would be forced to deal with the destruction his army caused in the country.

Sun Chengzong’s army of 130,000 Han Chinese, Yehe Jurchens, and Mongols met Nurhaci’s weakened army of 65,000 at the Battle of Sarhu. Jin cavalry manned the entire front line with infantry in the back while Chengzong placed arquebusiers and Ming infantry in the center, positioning Mongol cavalry on the left and Yehe cavalry on the right with Chinese infantry and cavalry support troops on both wings and artillery in the back. The battle began with the Jin horse archers sprinting back and forth shooting arrows at the coalition army in an attempt to lead them into feigned retreats across the board. The Ming center, the most disciplined portion of Chengzong’s army steadily marched forwards, only stopping to fire matchlock volleys, while the Yehe and Mongol cavalry eventually fell for Nurhaci’s trap and rode towards the retreating Jin, who immediately turned back and charged. While the Yehe were immediately routed, the Mongols held on, allowing Chengzong to divert Ming reserves to the collapsing left wing. When it seemed after an hour that the Mongols would break, Nurhaci ordered a general charge against the Ming center but miscalculated its strength and numbers and the Jin were overwhelmed with arquebus and cannon fire, triggering a disorganized retreat. This allowed troops in the center to wheel around and push back the Jin left wing, eventually forcing them to retreat as well. Sensing danger, the Jin cavalry on the right also retreated in good order. For the second and last time, Nurhaci failed to defeat the might of Ming China on the battlefield.​

Brown=Jin, Yellow=Ming, Green=Mongol, Blue=Yehe​

After the battle, Emperor Zhenchun began planning a large expedition to subjugate Jurchen lands just north of the Great Wall but was distracted by Dutch activities in the south, first the assault on Macau and then outright war over the Penghu archipelago between 1622 and 1624. He also contended with several peasant revolts that broke out at the end of the decade. Regardless, Jurchen power had been broken and the Jin khanate would decline after Nurhaci’s death in 1626. With the Northern Yuan still weakened after years of war, the Ming frontier in the north was secure for now.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 32: Capital of the Merchants, Capital of the Nobles, Capital of the Samurai​

It was recognized that in the early 1600s, Japan had three de facto capitals representing different groups: that of the merchants in Sakai, that of the nobles in Kyoto, and that of the samurai in Azuchi. All three were roughly equal in population around this time, with Azuchi destined to eventually become the consistently most populous among the three by a small margin.

Azuchi as a major city was born between 1576 and 1579 amidst the construction of Azuchi Castle, which birthed a burgeoning castle town, or joukamachi (城下町). The decade following the completion of the castle witnessed immense population growth, aided due to multiple factors. Principally, the requirement for every daimyo and vassal outside of the Kanto region to both maintain a permanent residence and reside in Azuchi for periods of time established a steady demand of goods and services from samurai families and necessitated the rapid construction of said residences and supporting infrastructure, attracting droves of commoners from wealthy merchants to unskilled laborers. An initial tax moratorium and Nobunaga’s free trade policies also incentivized this population growth. While samurai lodgings and residences occupied the castle surroundings and the general eastern half of the city, the western half which stretched to the beaches of Lake Biwa (琵琶湖) came to be predominantly filled by commoners and became the commercial sector of Azuchi. By the 1620s, the population of Azuchi had grown to 280,000 and would overtake Kyoto as the biggest city in Japan within a few decades.​

17th century depiction of Azuchi Castle and Lake Biwa​

In time, Azuchi would serve as the intersection of the three major highways of eastern Japan: the Tokaido, Nakasendo, and Hokurikudo. This, combined with the constant movements of daimyos and their retinues to and from the city and the flow of goods and people from Kyoto and Sakai, solidified Azuchi as the cultural cross-section of not only the entire realm but the outside powers which interacted the most with Japan, from Ming China to Spain and Portugal. This could be seen with the presence of a sizable Kirishitan population alongside newly built Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Nevertheless, Azuchi remained a samurai-dominated city as the seat of the Daijo-fu, with the castle serving as both the residence of the Daijo-daijin and his immediate family and the halls of politics and administration. Meanwhile, daimyo clan and vassal residences served similar roles on a smaller scale, with even inns and lodgings being the scene of political intrigue.

Touching the Seto Inland Sea was Sakai, the mercantile and commercial epicenter of the realm. Ascending to economic prominence during the 16th century as a semi-independent city governed by merchants, it maintained that status under Oda rule, lagging only slightly behind Azuchi in terms of population. It had the second largest percentage of foreigners among its populace and multiple languages and peoples could be heard and seen among its streets and shops, with a significant Kirishitan minority residing within city borders as well. Sakai’s harbor was packed with ships from all over Japan, East and Southeast Asia, and Europe, with goods from Ezo bear furs to Portuguese wine pouring into the city. It also served as an important pitstop for the Azuchi navy, which was headquartered nearby in Hyogo.​

16th century depiction of Sakai​

Sakai’s size and prosperity benefitted from the role merchants played in its governance. While Nobunaga had stripped the city of its semi-thalassocratic government in 1570 and assigned a magistrate, merchants like Imai Soukyuu (今井宗久) and Sen Soueki (千宗易) [1] continued to serve as key advisors and maintained trust among commoners and shopkeepers. This collaborative environment was key in unifying the people of Sakai when ex-Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and his army besieged the city in 1583, where non-samurai volunteers participated in the fighting. This system came under threat under Saito Yoshioki’s tyranny when magistrate Ban Tomoharu (塙友治) reined in on some of the merchants’ long-standing privileges, resulting in political friction and some economic damage, although his successor Sugaya Katsuyori (菅屋勝頼) fortunately reversed these policy changes. By the 1620s, Sakai’s population sat around 250,000, its population growth so great the city had begun to expand beyond its inner moat and fuel the growth of surrounding exurbs including Osaka.

Between Azuchi and Sakai lay Kyoto, which had rebounded after the cessation of nearby spillover conflict throughout the 16th century, being the largest city in the realm at 300,000 residents by the 1620s. This allowed the proper rebuilding of damaged temples and shrines and aided in the renewal of Kyoto’s cultural significance. Kyoto became host to bustling commercial activity once again, with luxury goods particularly sought after. The same could not be said about its political authority. While Azuchi’s legitimacy relied on the emperor on paper, in practice the imperial court had little say in politics outside its urban vicinity. Even in Kyoto, Nijo Castle (二条城) stood as a reminder that no part of Japan could truly override Azuchi’s authority as the headquarters of the Kyoto Shoshidai and the Oda clan’s Kyoto lodgings.​

Portrait of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, a powerless sovereign​

Compared to Sakai and Azuchi, Kyoto had a significantly smaller Kirishitan population due to Kyoto’s deep Shinto-Buddhist roots and Kyoto’s population greater wariness towards outsiders. On the other hand, Kyoto became the site of the first interactions between Japanese and Siamese Buddhist monks and the city itself would proportionally attract more visitors from Ming China, Joseon, and other parts of Asia.

The combined political, economic, and cultural might of the three cities was the engine the Oda Chancellorate ran on in controlling and keeping together the Yamato realm through both the individual strengths of Azuchi, Kyoto, and Sakai and their cross-interactions. It was these three urban epicenters that would define Japan for decades to come. [2]

[1]: Sen no Rikyuu’s (千利休) old name

[2]: I expect people to ask about Kamakura, so to give an update Kamakura is the 4th largest city in Japan at 130,000.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 33: Casus Belli​

​

After the 1622 siege of Macau and the subsequent Ming-Dutch conflict over the Penghu Islands, the Spanish grew concerned over their access to Ming trade via the Portuguese in Macau and the Japanese in Sakai and Nagasaki. The decline of Portuguese power in Asia amidst the Dutch-Portuguese war, which saw the Dutch increasingly gain the upper hand, only added to Spain’s anxieties in the region. In 1625, Fernando de Silva, interim governor-general of the Philippines, proposed establishing a Spanish presence in southern Bireitou to King Philip III, as that part of the island lay outside Japanese control and would be close to both Macau and the Ming coast, where the Spanish could expect exchanges with Chinese smugglers and Japanese merchants. He would gain approval a few months later. On May 11th, 1626, an expedition under Sergeant Major Antonio Carreno de Valdes landed on the southwestern coast and would subsequently begin construction on the fortress of San Salvador.

It didn’t take long before news of San Salvador reached Iriebashi and Azuchi, and reactions ranged from shock and alarm to even calls for war. Among the war hawks were Oda Tadataka, the pro-Dutch Shimazu Nagahisa, and the heir Nobutomo himself, although they were a vocal minority who would be restrained by the chancellor, his uncle Kitabatake Nobuoki, and naval magistrate Kuki Moritaka, who were fearful of Spanish-Portuguese military power. Nevertheless, there was unanimity in taking some sort of action against the Spanish for violating Japan’s territorial claims and influence on the island. After much discussion, Spanish trading rights and privileges in the realm were suspended and talks with the Dutch began on a possible defensive alliance. Back in Bireitou, Oda Tadahide would send his cousin Norishige (織田則重) [1] south with a force of a few hundred to establish an inland castle, later known as Momoyama Castle (桃山城) to expand Japanese power and influence into the southern part of the island and monitor Spanish activities on Bireitou. Reports on progress of Fort San Salvador’s construction from spies flowed from Momoyama to Iriebashi and then to Azuchi. In Iriebashi itself, the naval presence was increased to intercept any Spanish ships in the area.​

Modern-day replica model of Fort San Salvador​

In early 1627, Manila sent 2 ships to Nagasaki in an attempt to repair relations and resume trade relations with Azuchi but were refused landing and forced to leave. On their way back, one of them was intercepted by the Japanese warship Iwakura-maru (岩倉丸), its crew detained, questioned, and escorted to Iriebashi under suspicions of an impending Spanish attack on Japanese holdings in southern Bireitou. This incident would see war nearly break out as San Salvador went on high alert, and it was only through Tadataka’s swift release of the Spanish ship that conflict was averted. A few months later, Ikeda Masatora and ex-Philippines governor Fernando de Silva met in Iriebashi where they signed a series of agreements that resolved matters: in return for Azuchi recognition of San Salvador and restitution over the Spanish ship detainment, Spanish trade in Japan would be restricted to Nagasaki and Iriebashi and further expansion on the island would be forbidden, with other European powers including the Dutch also implicitly banned from building outposts on Bireitou.

The 1627 Bireitou agreements, however, failed to contain suspicions and rebuild trust between Manila and Azuchi. De Tabora, now fully aware of Japan’s naval and land-based military strength, would request and receive reinforcements from New Spain as he also began to train more Filipinos as auxiliary troops in preparations of a feared Japanese invasion. Similarly, Tadataka incorporated more Han Chinese settlers and indigenous vassals as infantry equipped with arquebusiers, bows, and long spears to resist a potential Spanish invasion. Spain would also begin to involve itself in the internal affairs of Siam as they sent advisors to support the young king Athittayawong, reduce Japanese political and economic influence in the kingdom, and make up for lost revenue from Japan’s new trade restrictions.​

Portrait of the teenage Siamese king Athittayawong, a puppet of anti-Japanese Siamese nobles and Spanish advisors​

Nevertheless, a pro-peace agenda was still advocated by Azuchi against the wishes of a hawkish minority. However, fate would induce changes as certain key figures would pass away. In 1629, Naritoshi, formerly Nobunaga’s favorite page from decades past, died at the age of 64. Then in 1630, Kitabatake Nobuoki’s passing at 72 would be followed by the death of the chancellor Nobunori himself. With his passing came the ascendance of a very different type of chancellor as Oda Nobutomo, aged 29, was made the new daijo-daijin.

Although hawkish, Nobutomo was nevertheless a pragmatist who sought to build towards a long-term defensive alliance with the Dutch, which was in the works, and court diplomatic goodwill among smaller nations in Southeast Asia to counterbalance Spanish expansionary schemes in the region while also emphasizing naval readiness in case of conflict. That conflict would be triggered by an Oda spy living in Dilao for years who had obtained copies of correspondence between Manila and Madrid in 1630 and snuck onto a ship headed to Japan early the next year. In these letters to the Spanish king, de Tabora elaborated on ideas to squeeze Japan out of Southeast Asia economically and diplomatically and eventually take all of Bireitou, including a plan to influence Kirishitan leaders as well as the Omura and Arima clans to betray the Oda, describing Japan as a direct threat that needed to be tamed to allow Spanish expansion in the region to proceed unimpeded. He even referred to earlier writings on Oda Nobuhide the Younger's visit to Manila in 1597, noting how compared to back then when Japan was already a potential threat that the realm had progressed and expanded significantly.

Upon reading the translated correspondence, Nobutomo knew something needed to be done. He convened a secret meeting of the Sangi-shu without haste and with some discussion determined on a course of action. In April 1631, Oda Tadataka returned to Bireitou in what seemed like a customary trip but quickly gathered all of his major vassals to deliver a simple message: take San Salvador from the Spanish.

With Japanese messengers also sailing to the Dutch, the English, and the Maguindanao sultanate, the stage was set for the Iberian-Japanese War.​

Ceremonial portrait of Oda Nobutomo

Members of the Sangi-shu 1601-1630

Orange-Oda clan members
Blue-Nobility
Bold-Incumbent

Oda vassals:
Mori Nagayoshi (森長可): 1586-1605
Maeda Geni (前田玄以): 1599-1602
Sakuma Morimasa (佐久間盛政): 1600-1619
Horio Yoshiharu (堀尾吉晴) 1601-1611
Murai Sadanari (村井貞成): 1601-1614
Horiuchi Ujiyoshi (堀内氏善): 1602-1615
Takigawa Kazutada (滝川一忠): 1605-1615
Hashiba Hidetsugu (羽柴秀次): 1611-1623
Nagaoka Tadaoki (長岡忠興): 1614-
Shibata Katsumasa (柴田勝政) 1615-1616
Kawajiri Shigeyuki (河尻鎮行) 1615-1627
Sassa Katsuyuki (佐々勝之): 1616-
Mori Naritoshi (森成利): 1619-1629
Kuki Moritaka (九鬼守隆): 1623-
Inaba Michikatsu (稲葉通勝): 1627-
Niwa Nagashige (丹羽長重): 1629-

Tozama daimyo:
Shimazu Yoshihisa (島津義久): 1587-1602
Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康): 1584-1616
Miyoshi Nobutaka (三好信孝): 1585-1621
Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元): 1584-1625
Date Masamune (伊達政宗): 1599-
Shimazu Nagahisa (島津長久): 1602-
Nagao Kagehiro (長尾景広): 1616-1630 [2]
Satake Yoshinobu (佐竹義宣): 1621-
Ukita Nobuie (宇喜多信家): 1625-

Other:
Kajuuji Harutoyo (勧修寺晴豊): 1584-1603
Kitabatake Nobuoki (北畠信意): 1584-1630 [2]
Oda Nobukane (織田信包): 1593-1614
Oda Nobunori (織田信則): 1599-1609
Hirohashi Kanekatsu (広橋兼勝): 1603-1623
Oda Nagamasu (織田長益): 1614-1622
Oda Nobutomo (織田信朝): 1619-1630 [3]
Oda Tadataka (織田忠高): 1620-
Oda Toshimasa (織田利昌): 1620-
Sanjonishi Saneeda (三条西実条): 1623-

Kyoto Shoshidai:
Asano Nagamasa (浅野長政): 1592-1602
Kyogoku Takatsugu (京極高次): 1602-1609
Sugaya Nobuyori (菅屋信頼): 1609-1616
Nagaoka Okimoto (長岡興元): 1616-1619
Hijikata Okiuji (土方意氏): 1619-

Azuchi bugyo (magistrates):
Mori Naritoshi (森成利): 1592-1605
Ogasawara Hidemasa (小笠原秀政): 1605-1615
Sato Tsugunari (佐藤継成): 1615-1619
Ban Yasutomo (塙安友): 1619-1629
Sugaya Nobuyori (菅屋勝頼): 1629-

Oometsu-shoku (inspector general):
Asano Nagamasa (浅野長政): 1602-1607
Saito Yoshioki (斎藤義興): 1607-1619
Hori Chikayoshi (堀親良): 1619-

Kamakura Tandai:
Oda Toshimasa (織田利昌): 1596-

Bireitou governors:
Oda Nobutaka (織田信高): 1597-1603
Oda Tadataka (織田忠高): 1603-
​

[1]: Norishige is Oda Nobutaka’s son.

[2]: Became daijo-daijin in 1630

[3]: Died in 1630

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Map of Daimyo 1630​

Category I: Oda clan blood members

A. Oda Toshimasa (織田利昌) 1575-
B. Oda clan main fiefs
C. Kitabatake Tomotoyo (北畠具豊) 1625-
D. Miyoshi Yasutaka (三好康孝) 1583-
E. Saionji Kinnori (西園寺公則) 1613-
F. Oda Naganori (織田長則) 1601-
G. Shimazu Nagahisa (島津長久): 1561-
​

Category II: Hereditary and direct vassals/fudai daimyo

1. Mōri Tadakatsu (毛利忠勝) 1594-
2. Tooyama Noritomo (遠山則友) 1609-
3. Takigawa Kazutoshi (滝川一利) 1583-
4. Mori Noriyoshi (森則可) 1601-
5. Gamou Noritomo (蒲生則知) 1604-
6. Kawajiri Shigenori (河尻鎮則) 1607-
7. Inaba Michikatsu (稲葉通勝) 1598-
8. Mizuno Katsunari (水野勝成) 1564-
9. Sassa Katsuyuki (佐々勝之) 1568-
10. Maeda Toshimasa (前田利政) 1578-
11. Shibata Katsushige (柴田勝重) 1579-
12. Anekouji Tadatsuna (姉小路忠綱) 1584-
13. Kuki Moritaka (九鬼守隆) 1573-
14. Nagaoka Tadaoki (長岡忠興) 1562-
15. Asano Nagaakira (浅野長晟) 1586-
16. Mori Tadamine (森忠峯) 1596-
17. Seki Naritake (関成武) 1576-
18. Sogo Masanori (十河存則) 1608-
19. Murai Sadamasa (村井貞昌) 1586-
20. Nakagawa Hisamori (中川久盛) 1594-
21. Takayama Norifusa (高山則房) 1610-
22. Ikeda Yoshinori (池田由則) 1605-
23. Akechi Mitsutada (明智光忠) 1591-
24. Niwa Nagashige (丹羽長重) 1571-
25. Hashiba Hidemitsu (羽柴秀三) 1610-
26. Miyabe Nagafusa (宮部長房) 1581-
27. Ukita Nobuie (宇喜多信家) 1573- [1]
28. Nanjo Mototada (南条元忠) 1579- [1]
29. Hachisuka Iemasa (蜂須賀家政) 1558-
30. Horio Noriharu (堀尾則晴) 1599-
31. Ban Tomoharu (塙友治) 1592-
32. Kuroda Noriyuki (黒田則之) 1602-
33. Horiuchi Ujihiro (堀内氏弘) 1596-

Category III: Non-hereditary vassals/tozama daimyo
a. Tsugaru Nobuhira (津軽信枚) 1586-
b. Nanbu Toshinao (南部利直) 1576-
c. Akita Sanesue (秋田実季) 1576-
d. Tozawa Masamori (戸沢政盛) 1585-
e. Shiba Akimori (斯波詮森) 1578-
f. Kasai Kiyotaka (葛西清高) 1571-
g. Sakuma Moritora (佐久間盛虎) 1617- [2]
h. Onodera Yoshimichi (小野寺義道) 1566-
i. Date Masamune (伊達政宗) 1567-
j. Mogami Yoshitoshi (最上義俊) 1605-
k. Ashina Morinori (蘆名盛則) 1613-
l. Nihonmatsu Yoshitsuna (二本松義綱) 1574-
m. Souma Yoshitane (相馬義胤) 1548-
n. Satake Yoshinobu (佐竹義宣) 1570-
o. Nasu Sukekage (那須資景) 1586-
p. Utsunomiya Yoshitsuna (宇都宮義綱) 1598-
q. Sano Hisatsuna (佐野久綱) 1600-
r. Oyama Toshitsune (小山利恒) 1595-
s. Minagawa Takatsune (皆川隆庸) 1581-
t. Oda Tsuneharu (小田経治) 1578-
u. Satomi Toshiteru (里見利輝) 1614-
v. Hojo Ujinobu (北条氏信) 1591-
w. Irobe Mitsunaga (色部光長) 1587-
x. Nagao Kageyasu (長尾景泰) 1604-
y. Tokugawa Tadayoshi (徳川忠康) 1595-
z. Takeda Nobumichi (武田信道) 1574-
aa. Kiso Yoshitoshi (木曽義利) 1577-
bb. Chosokabe Tadachika (長宗我部忠親) 1591-
cc. Kawano Michinori (河野通軌) 1576-
dd. Amago Norihisa (尼子則久): 1618-
ee. Tahara Chikaie (田原親家) 1561-
ff. Mōri Tadamoto (毛利忠元) 1595-
gg. Otomo Chikamori (大友親盛) 1567-
hh. Ryuzōji Noriie (龍造寺則家) 1605-
ii. Matsura Takanobu (松浦隆信) 1592-
jj. Sou Yoshinari (宗義成) 1604-
kk. Omura Suminobu (大村純信) 1618-
ll. Arima Naozumi (有馬直純) 1586-

Ezo: Kakizaki Kinhiro (柿崎公広) 1599-

Beige: Minor lords

[1]: I screwed up, he should be in Category III.

[2]: He should be in Category II.

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 34: Iberian-Japanese War Part I - Deliberation and Mobilization​

Nobutomo’s first major decision as daijo-daijin was unprecedented among all of his predecessors, including historical shoguns, emperors, and ancient leaders of Japan. However, for someone like him it was unsurprising, considering he had previously organized a coup and saw himself as the heir of Nobunaga’s vision and legacy perhaps more than his father or grandfather ever did. This vision and personality would define his 21 year tenure, one marked by bloodshed not seen since the unification of the realm.

Early in 1631, Nobutomo laid out his thoughts and decisions on the upcoming war effort to his councilors and stated that Spain’s significant presence in the region needed to be suppressed and Japanese sovereignty and authority asserted, noting Spanish meddling in Siamese court politics and the more troubling details of the Manila-Madrid letters. To accomplish this bigger goal, he declared that the Spanish Philippines needed to be invaded. Predictably, Nobutomo faced pushback on this, with councilors like Sassa Katsuyuki and Niwa Nagashige concerned on the cost of mobilizing thousands of troops and then transporting them all the way to Bireitou and Luzon, the northernmost island of the Philippines. Meanwhile, noble and imperial representative Sanjonishi Saneeda urged the chancellor, as an appointed minister of the emperor, to receive imperial approval before justifying any military expeditions into lands outside of the claimed Yamato realm. Additionally, there was a fear that an overextension of land forces on unfamiliar ground would leave the main islands vulnerable to a Spanish-Portuguese amphibious invasion.

What shook off the fears and reluctance was Nagahisa’s speech. The 70 year old elder of the Sangi-shu challenged his younger peers on what his own father would’ve done, Nagahisa being the last surviving son of the late Oda Nobunaga. He spoke of the great unifier’s successes, from the Battle of Okehazama to the circumnavigation of the realm exile of the corrupt and reminded everyone that Nobunaga had always boldly met every threat and never stepped back from anything. With a thrust of energy, he declared, “My father the great Nobunaga’s ambition was not just to create a united realm of peace and prosperity, but to build a land that could match and even exceed the splendor and advancements of the southern barbarians!!” As the last words escaped his old, tired lungs and he slowly sat back down, an energized spirit could be felt in the room as nearly all were swayed by the Kyushu lord. Ever the pragmatist, Nobutomo would nevertheless proceed with obtaining the approval of the emperor in going behind Bireitou, albeit with a united front behind him, while he prepared for the initial assault on San Salvador and the navy for any engagements between Hakodate and the Luzon Straits.

Although imperial approval was obtained within days, Tadataka wasted no time and headed back to the island before news of it could reach him. In any case, Nobutomo appointed him as the supreme commander of Japanese forces in anticipation of imperial consent and Tadataka needed to march south towards San Salvador as quickly as possible. He organized an army of 6,000 at Iriebashi, consisting of 1,000 Chinese conscript infantry from the villages, 2,000 allied auxiliary allies, and 3,000 elite samurai, of which 1,000 were cavalry. 10 artillery pieces would also be brought along. He left for San Salvador in May and would be joined by 500 soldiers from Tatuturo and 250 elite musketeer mercenaries under the command of Zheng Zhilong [1], one of the wealthiest merchants in the area, while Oda Tadahide stayed back to guard the Bireitou provincial capital. Tadataka’s deputies included Miyamoto Musashi, the late Yasuke’s son Aguro Atsumasa (阿黒敦政), and Shimazu clan vassal Kimotsuki Kaneatsu (肝付兼篤), who led the 500-strong Shimazu contingent from Mamezaki, the Shimazu clan’s possession on the island.​

Portrait of Zheng Zhilong​

Back in Azuchi, Nobutomo assigned his younger brother Kanbe Tomoyoshi as the head of the first wave of troops southwards from the main islands. Numbering around 40,000, this wave would draw from northern Kyushu, the Mōri clan, and the main Oda fiefs. Half of the army would be matchlock infantry, the highest proportion of arquebus-armed troops among any Japanese army up until that point. In addition, most cavalry were by now trained in the usage of gunpowder weapons themselves, particularly the bajouzutsu.

Meanwhile, Kuki Moritaka prepared to set sail at the head of a coalesced Azuchi navy, bringing together the Nagasaki and Hakodate squadrons and around half of the Sakai main squadron to eventually meet with the Iriebashi navy. Joining him would be the Shimazu, Chosokabe, and Mōri navies. His first task would be the transport of the land forces gathering in Hakata (博多) before securing control over the Luzon Straits. Deputy naval magistrate Wakizaka Yasumoto (脇坂安元) would be responsible for guarding Japanese waters.​

Portrait of Kuki Moritaka​

In addition to mobilization at home, Nobutomo sent messengers to the Dutch, English, and the Maguindanao sultanate to court them as allies. The Dutch, who had been worked on by Japanese diplomatic efforts for a few years now, would eagerly participate as part of their decades-long independence war against Spain, which had inherited the Low Countries in 1556 as part of the partition of the huge Habsburg empire. With the promise of total Spanish expulsion from the island of Mindanao, Maguindanao’s sultan Muhammad Kudarat would also join Japan against Spain. The English, however, refused to break their 1629 truce with Spain as they did not consider their presence in Southeast Asia important enough to risk or expand for the time being.​

Sketch of Sultan Muhammad Kudarat of Maguindanao​

Nobutomo would also send inspector general Hori Chikayoshi to the Omura and Arima fiefs and deliver orders for both clans to expel Portuguese and Spanish merchants and Jesuits who were part of their clan bureaucracies to root out potential spies out of Kyushu. Chikayoshi would also oversee suspension of trade relations with Spain throughout all of Kyushu per a realmwide decree from Azuchi and utilize spies to monitor Kirishitan activities in urban areas and northern Kyushu, where Catholics were most common.

Nagahisa expressed a desire to join the expedition himself but would not be able to due to his increasingly poor health. He would pass away in the winter of 1631, leaving behind an enormous legacy including the foundation of Japanese-Dutch relations and his clan’s participation in Bireitou expansion efforts. With him died the last vestige of the generation that had built the united Oda rule that now firmly existed. It would now be left to the next generation to take the next steps.

[1]: For extra context, Zheng Zhilong is the IOTL father of Koxinga.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 35: Iberian-Japanese War Part II - The Spanish Response​

Within days of Nobutomo’s moves, reports flowed into Manila of certain Japanese ships traveling to Batavia and Mindanao, followed by letters from San Salvador “unusual movements” at Momoyama Castle. This was immediately followed by confirmation of troop movements southwards from Iriebashi, all but indicating likely war with Japan. De Tabora, knowing the immense threat Japan would pose towards Iberian presence in the region due to their size, proximity, and technological parity, would send messengers to both Madrid and Mexico City, the capital of New Spain, in order to receive reinforcements and fully commit Portugal and its possessions to the war effort for coordination purposes. While historically the Spanish Philippines and the Portuguese East Indies rarely collaborated, de Tabora sought to overcome bureaucratic barriers and fight the common enemy. The governor general also successfully enlisted the participation of the Tidore sultanate, a long-time Spanish ally, and even sent envoys to Ayutthaya hoping to have Siam join the war to make up for Iberian manpower deficiencies in the region. However, Siam was already enmeshed in a years-long war with Cambodia and the Honjo clan with the backing of the Nguyen lords and therefore could not join the war.

In the meantime, de Tabora alerted Portuguese outposts in Macau, Malacca, and Goa of the impending war including the likelihood of a Dutch-Japanese alliance, putting Portuguese possessions in direct danger. He also mobilized Spanish companies and enlisted scores of Filipino auxiliary troops in and around Manila, sending men to both San Salvador and Cagayan in northern Luzon to shore up the garrisons there. Finally, he expelled all Japanese from Manila, including the Nihonmachi Dilao enclave, to extinguish any chance of an attack from within. Any Dilao residents who protested his expulsion decree were killed, marking the end of the Nihonmachi of Manila.

Although it would take many months, word of the impending Spanish-Japanese conflict would eventually arrive in Madrid, where its seriousness was immediately understood. King Philip III/IV of Portugal and Spain, was eager to not only defeat Japan but reassert Iberian power in the East. Court favorite and minister Gaspar de Guzman, better known as the Count-Duke of Olivares, saw something else aside from the aforementioned objectives in the upcoming conflict. Back in 1624, Olivares had proposed the Union of Arms which would’ve mandated military contribution quotas from each of the constituent realms of the Spanish Crown to even out the burden Castile suffered from bearing the financial and resource costs of Spanish military campaigns in Europe. However, he faced strong opposition, particularly from Catalonia and Portugal, and thus it was never implemented. Portugal especially cared little for supporting the wars of a crown demonstrating negligence in defending their own overseas possessions from the Dutch. Now, Olivares would reintroduce this concept in this new context with the promise of Spanish resources going towards retaking lost Portuguese possessions in the East Indies and firmly defending those under threat. This time, he succeeded, only having to placate Catalan nobles with titles and privileges, and the Union of Arms became reality. This new arrangement would not only affect the Iberian-Japanese conflict but also Spain’s ongoing conflict against the Dutch in the Low Countries.​

Sketch of the Count-Duke of Olivares​

Under the advice of Olivares, King Philip would amass a fleet of 5,000 men and 25 ships, including 17 galleons, led by Antonio de Oquendo, Admiral-General of the Ocean Fleet and a talented nava commander, destined to the East Indies as well as plenty of gold to employ mercenaries. While an impressive and unprecedented effort considering the distance, it would take some time before it would arrive in the region. Fortunately, reinforcements consisting of a fleet of 8 galleons and 7 smaller ships would also come from New Spain. However, even this fleet would not arrive until February 1632, and by then the first engagements of the war occurred at Fort San Salvador, its garrison manned by Juan de Alcarazo.​

Portrait of Antonio de Oquendo​

The 300-strong Spanish garrison at San Salvador was reinforced by 100 Filipino auxiliaries, 50 Chinese levies from villages within the Spanish sphere of influence, and 50 indigenous allies as well as 10 ships within its harbor. They would be facing an army of nearly 7,000 as well as the entire Iriebashi fleet, led by Itou Sukenori (伊東祐慶). Blood was about to be shed.​