The Ways of the Samurai Read online

  Shingen’s force would not remain here long, however, as his gun-bugyo, Yamamoto Kansuke, had devised an interesting plan known as Operation “Woodpecker.” A “woodpecker” force of 8,000 men would climb Saijoyama under cover of night and “tap” Kenshin’s rear, driving the enemy “bugs” out of their positions, down the mountain and across the Chikumagawa onto the Hachimanabara, or “War God Plain,” below. Here, Shingen’s main body, having also crossed the Chikumagawa by night, would be waiting for them. The formation Shingen chose for his main body was the kakuyoku, or “crane’s wing,” which was considered to be the best formation for surrounding an enemy. Driven by the attack against his rear into the arms of the “crane’s wing” Kenshin would be caught between two forces, surrounded and destroyed.

  The “crane’s wing” formation was deployed as follows:

  “A screen of arquebusiers and archers protect the vanguard while the main body of samurai, forming a second and third division, are spread out behind them like the swept-back wings of a crane. The general’s headquarters occupy the centre, protected on both sides by hatamoto (meaning “under the standard”), the particular chosen samurai. A squadron of reserve troops stand on each side, slightly to the rear of the hatamoto. There is a rearguard, with more archers and arquebusiers.”

  Shingen set up his headquarters in the center of the Hachiman Plain, somewhere in the rear of the samurai wings. This command post consisted of a maku, or cloth curtains, bearing the Takeda mon, or clan badge, making it easily identifiable to all. From this position he waited for his plan to be put into motion.

  As dawn broke the next day Shingen’s troops, peering through the dispersing mist, were met by the sight of Kenshin’s army not fleeing across their front, as planned, but charging head on towards them. Kenshin, having received reports on Shingen’s movements, had guessed what his rival’s plan might be and had accordingly planned a counter-maneuver. Using the cover of night as had his enemy, Kenshin had moved his army in total secrecy across the Amenomiya ford, leaving a 3,000 man rearguard to protect the ford, and deployed somewhat west of Shingen’s position.

  Adopting a formation known as kuruma gakari, or “winding wheel,” Kenshin crashed violently into Shingen’s “crane.” The “winding wheel” was an offensive maneuver which allowed units which had become exhausted or depleted through combat to be replaced with a fresh unit, thus enabling the attacker to maintain the force and momentum of the attack. A very carefully organized and complex maneuver, its use indicates that Kenshin’s troops must have practiced it to the point of perfection. Kenshin’s vanguard was commanded by his younger brother, Takeda Nobushige, and as Kenshin’s “winding wheel” fully engaged the Takeda front ranks, Nobushige was killed in the desperate close combat.

  Kenshin’s leading units were mounted samurai, and as the “wheel” wound on, the pressure on Shingen’s force began to tell as unit after unit was driven back from its positions. Shingen’s “crane” was an offensive formation and not designed for the defense, but the troops executing it were well disciplined and the formation was managing to hold its own. Realizing that his well laid plans had failed, Yamamoto Kansuke accepted responsibility for the disaster in true samurai fashion. Charging alone with a spear into the midst of the enemy he fought valiantly until overcome by some eighty wounds, whereupon he retired to a grassy knoll and committed hara-kiri.

  The momentum of the “wheel” had by now brought it within reach of the Takeda headquarters where Shingen had been fervently trying to control his hard pressed army. The Uesugi samurai clashed head on with Shingen’s hatamoto and personal bodyguard, wounding his son Takeda Yoshinobu. A single mounted samurai then crashed through the maku curtains and Shingen suddenly found himself personally attacked by none other than Kenshin himself. Unable to draw his sword in time, Shingen, rising from his camp stool, was forced to parry Kenshin’s mounted sword strokes with his heavy wooden war fan. Shingen took three cuts on his body armor and a further seven on his war fan until one of his bodyguard charged forward and attacked Kenshin with a spear. The spear thrust glanced off Kenshin’s armor and struck his horse’s flank, causing the animal to rear. Several other samurai of Shingen’s guard then arrived and together they managed to drive Kenshin off. The site of this famous skirmish is now called mitachi nana tachi no ato (“three sword seven sword place”), and next to it is a fine modern statue depicting the fight between the two generals.”

  Shingen’s “crane” was slowly being driven back on the Chikumagawa River and his best samurai were falling all around, but despite the fierceness of the constantly rotating attacks the formation had not yet broken. Just as Kenshin seemed assured of victory he was suddenly surprised by a desperate attack against his rear. The Takeda “woodpecker” force, having found the enemy positions on Saijoyama deserted and hearing the noise of battle below, had moved down to the Amenomiya Ford. Here they engaged Kenshin’s rearguard in the fiercest fighting of the day, driving them back and crossing the river to assault Kenshin’s rear. Kenshin’s force was thus caught between the pincers of the Takeda attack, just as the late Yamamoto Kansuke had planned. Shingen managed to regain control of his army and by midday what had seemed an inglorious defeat had been turned into a great victory. Some of Shingen’s troops even managed to reclaim the head of Nobushige, Shingen’s brother, as well as the heads of several other leading Takeda samurai from the Uesugi warriors who had taken them as trophy’s. Shingen’s army, exhausted from the battle, did not attempt to pursue Kenshin’s retreat. The following day, under a truce, some of Kenshin’s generals burned what was left of their encampment on Saijoyama while the rest of the army moved back across the Saigawa and headed for home.

  Kawanakajima had been a costly battle for both sides. Kenshin had lost 72%, or roughly 12,960 men, while Shingen, although taking 3,117 enemy heads as trophies, had lost 62%, or 12,400 men. In one of the largest battles ever fought in Japanese history, the “crane’s wing” formation, when executed by well disciplined troops, had proven itself capable of stopping, at least temporarily, that of the “winding wheel.”

  In September 1564 the two rivals met again for the fifth and final battle at Kawanakajima. Facing each other across the Saigawa River the respective armies sat in their positions for sixty days, engaging in only minor skirmishing, before finally withdrawing.

  The battles at Kawanakajima stand as a fascinating example of both the style of clan warfare which typified the sengoku-jidai period as well as the type of highly ornate and complicated tactics employed by the armies. The ability to perform complex maneuvers by night and then assemble into such large and intricately designed tactical formations speaks volumes for the high degree of training, discipline, and weapons specialization clearly evidenced by the armies of the daimyo. (A good and fairly historic example of the battles of Kawanakajima, the rivalry between Shingen and Kenshin, and the tactics employed by the armies can be seen in the Japanese film production Heaven and Earth.)

  Takeda Shingen

  Born Harunobu Takeda in 1521, he was the eldest son of Takeda Nobutora, daimyo, or baron, of Kai province. The Takeda were an ancient family descended from Minamoto Yoshimitsu, whose son, Yoshikiyo, was the first to take the surname Takeda. During the Gempei Civil War, Yoshikiyo supported the leader of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto Yoritomo, against the Taira clan. Minamoto Yoritomo’s subsequent victory resulted in his becoming the first Shogun, or military ruler, of Japan. As a consequence of their support, the Takeda family became very powerful in their region of Japan.

  Takeda Nobutora, a very capable samurai leader, established himself as a feudal lord and began a policy of territorial expansion. In 1540 he was deposed by his son, Harunobu, in an effort to prevent the latter’s own displacement by a younger brother. Harunobu had his baptism of fire at the age of 15, when he rescued his father and won the day in an engagement at Uminokuchi fortress in 1536. This action set the stage of Harunobu’s future military prowess.

  In 1547, Harunobu, continuing hi
s father’s program of expansion, invaded Shinano province. Significant resistance to Takeda incursions was offered by Murakami Yoshikiyo, who had once fought against Harunobu’s father. Harunobu defeated Murakami at Ueda-hara in 1548, and the latter, realizing that he could not withstand the advances of the son as he had the father, enlisted the aid of Uesugi Kenshin, the young and powerful lord of Echigo province. For the next 17 years Harunobu and Kenshin, both of relatively equal military skill, would be in a state of almost constant war with one another. In 1551 Harunobu became a Buddhist monk and took the name of “Shingen,” by which he was generally known thereafter.

  In 1553 Shingen fought the first of five battles against Uesugi Kenshin at Kawanakajima. The first three of these battles were little more than skirmishes in which the two opponents matched the developing skills of themselves and their armies against one another. The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima in October 1561 was a large scale engagement in which Shingen, although wounded and initially in a bad position, eventually emerged as the victor after a fierce and bloody struggle. Following the fifth and final battle of Kawanakajima in 1564, Kenshin had ceased to be a serious threat to Shingen’s power.

  Their long standing rivalry, however, had almost become legend, adding to the fame of both their names. Due to their constant interaction through warfare, both men had developed a great deal of respect for one another. “The respect in which Kenshin and Shingen held each other is best illustrated by the famous ‘salt incident.’ As Shingen’s provinces lay in the mountains he was consequently dependent upon the good offices of the Hojo (clan) for the supply of salt. During one of the Kawanakajima campaigns the current Hojo cut off Shingen’s salt supply. Kenshin, hearing of Shingen’s dilemma, commented that Hojo had performed a very mean act, and sent Shingen some salt from his own province, which bordered on the Sea of Japan. He added, ‘I do not fight with salt, but with the sword.’”

  In 1568 Shingen attacked and drove the weaker Imagawa clan from Suruga province, but was unable to maintain his hold against the attacks of the Hojo clan from the east. Becoming ever more concerned with the growing power and military accomplishments of Oda Nobunaga, leader of Owari province, Shingen realized that he would soon have to confront this new rival.

  In 1571 Nobunaga attacked and destroyed the Buddhist monastery at Mount Hiei, thus giving Shingen, a Buddhist monk, just the excuse he needed. In October 1572 Shingen attacked Nobunaga’s ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu at Mikata-ga-hara. Shingen soundly defeated Ieyasu’s numerically inferior force, but failed to follow up his victory. In early 1573 Shingen, now resolved to destroy Ieyasu, attacked the latter in his castle at Noda. According to legend, the defenders of Noda Castle, knowing that their end was near, decided to dispose of their stocks of sake (rice wine) by drinking them. The noises of their celebration were noted by the besiegers, as was the excellent flute playing of one of the castle’s garrison. Shingen, approaching the ramparts to listen to the music, was shot in the head and killed by a vigilant castle guard. The Takeda clan kept the news of Shingen’s death secret for as long as they could (reputedly for more than a year) in an effort to deceive Nobunaga and his allies. Eventually, the news leaked out and Shingen’s son, Katsuyori, took his father’s place in the ongoing struggle with Nobunaga. But Katsuyori was not the military commander his father was. At Nagashino in June 1575, Katsuyori impetuously launched the cream of the Takeda army against the prepared positions of their enemy. They were wiped out by Nobunaga’s massed arquebusiers, thus crushing Takeda power forever.

  Shingen stands as one of the greatest as well as one of the most terrible personalities during the “Age of the Country at War” (Sengoku-jidai) period of Japanese history. A skillful and competent ruler, Shingen was renown for both his military prowess and his personal magnetism. Possessing great energy and intelligence he was both shrewd and ruthless, cruel and magnanimous. Famous for his ability to rally people to his banners, he increased the power and standing of the Takeda clan to its greatest heights, only to die prematurely. Although he had the talents necessary to unify Japan, his long rivalry with Uesugi Kenshin diverted much of his energy and efforts from this cause. Without the wisdom and skill of his leadership the power of the Takeda clan was eventually destroyed under his son.

  Oda Nobunaga

  The Battle of Nagashino

  June 29, 1575

  Throughout the course of military history, the introduction of new or improved technology on the battlefield has resulted not only in a necessary change in tactics, but often in a dramatic change in the nature and conduct of warfare itself. The Battle of Nagashino serves as a dramatic and fascinating example of the affects of technology on both warfare and on a society steeped in a warrior-based culture.

  The Battle of Nagashino, which took place on June 29 1575, was fought toward the end of that period of Japanese history known as Sengoku-jidai, or the “Age of the Country at War,” which lasted from 1477 to 1576. It is disturbingly ironic, especially considering the resulting consequences, that this battle, purely from a strategic perspective, was really quite unnecessary.

  The battle was the end result of an unsuccessful siege of Nagashino Castle, a frontier castle which, with others, formed a defensive net against invasion through the Takeda Mountains. The castle was defended by 500 Tokugawa retainers, allies of Oda Nobunaga, one of the strongest and most able daimyos of this period. The besieging force was some 15,000 strong and led by Takeda Katsuyori, the brave but headstrong son of Takeda Shingen, the recently deceased head of the Takeda clan and long time enemy of Nobunaga. Katsuyori, in a continuation of his father’s forward policy against the Takeda clan’s enemies, planned to take Nagashino Castle and invade further into Tokugawa territory, thus gaining more provinces and strengthening his military position. Originally, the castle was supposed to fall by betrayal from within, but when the plan was discovered Katsuyori found himself on facing a major siege operation. Although the castle’s defenders were inferior in numbers, the castle itself was strongly built and well situated for prolonged defense. Their one weak point was food. A messenger managed to reach Nobunaga to request help or witness the castle’s fall.

  Nobunaga, fearing that failure to aid his new allies might drive them back into the arms of the Takeda, immediately began marching to the castle’s aid with an army of 38,000 men, 10,000 of whom were his teppo-shu, or arquebus corps. By the time Katsuyori reached Nagashino Castle on June 16, he had already conducted a successful campaign and, on hearing of Nobunaga’s approach, could have simply retired and consolidated his new conquests. Although many explanations have been set forth attempting to explain Katsuyori’s decision to remain—that the father had once taken the castle with ease and the son desired to outdo him, or that Katsuyori wished to display his ability by also defeating his father’s old enemy—there is no doubt that the capture of Nagashino had become an obsession for him. Regardless of the reasons, Katsuyori moved to meet Nobunaga on the hilly Shitarabara Plain below Nagashino Castle.

  Nobunaga, having previously experienced to his regret the devastating effect of a Takeda cavalry charge, devised his battle plan with the express purpose of negating such a thrust. First, he positioned his army so that the Takeda would have to cross two streams to reach his front. He then erected loose palisades along his front behind which he positioned 3,000 handpicked men from his arquebus corps arranged in three 1,000-man lines. Further, Nobunaga placed a small detachment outside the palisades on his right to draw the Takeda toward him. Nobunaga’s plan was to break the charge of the Takeda cavalry and then, once they were stopped by the fire from the arquebusiers, he would launch his samurai through the gaps in the palisades and descend on the remnants of the enemy and destroy them. On the evening of June 28, Sakai Tadatsuga led 3,000 men in a disruption raid on the Takeda camp in which Katsuyori’s uncle, Takeda Nobuzane, one of the army’s section commanders, was killed.

  At 5 A.M. on June 29, the Takeda took the bait and launched a series of cavalry charges against Nobunaga’s l
ines. A feigned retreat by Sakuma Morimasa’s men on Nobunaga’s left flank further enticed the Takeda to attack. The arquebusiers began a sustained volley fire by ranks which shattered the Takeda charge. Nobunaga’s samurai then counterattacked from behind the palisades, falling on the Takeda and driving them back. Again the Takeda charged, and again the arquebusiers stopped them and the Oda samurai counterattacked and drove them back. By about midday even the headstrong Katsuyori realized that the battle was irrevocably lost and he ordered a retreat. Scattered across Shitarabara Plain lay over 10,000 dead, the flower of the Takeda cavalry. Furthermore, seven of the Takeda’s twenty-four generals were killed, seriously damaging the magnificent command staff established by Takeda Shingen. Nobunaga’s losses were roughly 6,000 men.

  Nagashino sounded the death knell of the once great Takeda clan. Although they were able to forestall the inevitable for another seven years, Takeda power was broken and no longer a match for the combined forces of the Oda and Tokugawa clans. In 1582 Katsuyori, his army reduced to only 300 men, fought his last battle at Torii-bata Pass, preferring suicide to capture by his family’s arch enemy.

  In Battles of the Samurai, author Stephen Turnbull states, “…If Nagashino had been Oda Nobunaga’s only victory his reputation would have been secured. Instead it is the culmination of a brilliant career, and a milestone in Japanese history.” Nobunaga’s innovative use of field fortifications and massed, volley fire changed forever the course of warfare in feudal Japan. Most significant, was the fact that Nobunaga’s arquebus corps was composed entirely of ashigaru, or peasant soldiers, the samurai refusing to lower themselves by using such a weapon. This caused a sensation amongst the samurai class because now any peasant with a modicum of firearm training could effectively kill a samurai long before the latter could get close enough to retaliate, thereby neutralizing a lifetime dedicated to military training. While Nobunaga gained both military fame and censure for the quality of training he gave his ashigaru, he also unknowingly set in motion events which would lead to the general disarmament of the country in 1587, and finally culminate in Japan “giving up the gun” about 1637. The Japanese would experience another major disruption of their society due to technological influence from the west on August 6 1945, at Hiroshima. In this case, the result was more than “giving up the gun,” it was the wholesale renouncement of war itself.