The Ways of the Samurai Page 7

  Oda Nobunaga

  By the time of his death in 1582, he controlled thirty of Japan’s sixty-eight provinces, was the commander of the greatest samurai army in his country’s history, and had earned the distinction of being the first of the three great unifiers of Japan. Imbued with a driving ambition he was ruthless and cruel, often to both to friends and foes alike. He displayed a genuine talent for administration and developed a reputation which caused him to be both feared and admired. Possessing a keen military mind his daring tactical innovations would ultimately alter the course of Japanese warfare.

  His name was Oda Nobunaga and he was born in 1534 in the province of Owari, near Nagoya, to a daimyo family. At the age of 23 Nobunaga demonstrated both his military ability and his burning desire to become a great daimyo by relentlessly driving his older and more popular brother from their home province. Thus he began a career which would last for the next quarter century.

  One of Nobunaga’s first and greatest tactical triumphs was at Okehazama on June 22, 1560. When his province was invaded by Yoshimoto Imagawa’s huge 25,000 man army, Nobunaga, instead of retreating or taking refuge in one of his fortresses, opted instead to attack. With only around 3,000 men at his disposal, Nobunaga was forced to rely on deception and surprise. Operating in hilly, forested terrain, Nobunaga was able to create the illusion of a large army by covering the summit, just below the reverse brow, of a carefully chosen hill with hundreds of war banners. Operating on familiar terrain, he was then able to circumvent the enemy position and approach from the north. A fortuitous thunderstorm screening his army’s final approach, Nobunaga launched a violent attack from the enemy’s rear. Although outnumbered nearly ten-to-one, Nobunaga caught the enemy completely by surprise, surrounded and killed Yoshimoto in his own headquarters, and completely routed the Imagawa army. With their commander dead, the Imagawa withdrew to their own lands, leaving Nobunaga’s province safe.

  One of the former Imagawa generals, impressed with Nobunaga’s victory, entered into an alliance with him. This was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would become one of Nobunaga’s best allies and whose family would hold the title of shogun in Japan for 265 years. Realizing the necessity of strong alliances, Nobunaga, himself married to the daughter of the Mino daimyo, a neighboring province, married his sister and daughter to other powerful daimyo, thus securing more allies and further consolidating his position.

  Nobunaga then began a series of campaigns of conquest with the design of unifying Japan under one banner. In 1567 he destroyed the Saito clan and the following year he conquered the Ise and Omi provinces. On November 9, 1568, he entered Kyoto and reestablished Yoshiaki Ashikaga to his position as shogun. Defeated while attempting to conquer Echizen Province in 1570, he nevertheless turned north and defeated a coalition of his enemies at Anegawa on July 22 of that year. Enraged by the fierce resistance of the Buddhists, Nobunaga destroyed their monastery on Mount Hiei, forever crushing their political power in Japan. Discovering that Yoshiaki was plotting with his enemies against him, Nobunaga deposed the Shogun, thus ending the dynasty of the Ashikaga Shoguns. Throughout 1573-74, Nobunaga attempted, with only partial success, in checking the Ikko-Ikki sectarians. On June 29, 1575, Nobunaga won his greatest victory at Nagashino against the Takeda clan. His imaginative and revolutionary use of peasant arquebusiers whose utilization of volley fire enabled them to defeat mounted samurai caused both a tactical and social sensation amongst the daimyo of Japan.

  In 1579 Nobunaga again campaigned against the Ikko-Ikki, this time securing their surrender in April 1580. In 1582 he finished the job he had begun at Nagashino by destroying the Takeda clan and causing the suicide of their daimyo, Katsuyori, at Temmoku San. Answering a call for assistance from one of his generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobunaga sent all available reinforcements. This move, however, left him dangerously vulnerable. On April 22, 1582, Nobunaga was ambushed by Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his own generals, while in the Honno-ji temple in Kyoto. His bodyguard surprised and slaughtered, Nobunaga fought on alone. Realizing the situation was hopeless and with the temple burning around him, Nobunaga committed suicide rather than be taken captive. Upon hearing the news of Nobunaga’s death, the townspeople looted and then burned to the ground his magnificent castle at Azuchi.

  Although unable to attain the title of shogun himself, due to his humble birth, Nobunaga’s conquests instead helped to establish the Tokugawa clan as hereditary military rulers of Japan for over two centuries, and began the process of Japanese unification. His innovative use of massed arquebusiers at Nagashino also had far reaching consequences. Worried not only over the future affects of such weapons on their long established traditions of warfare, but also over the possibility of class rebellion, the daimyos attempted to control the use and manufacture of firearms. In 1587 Lord Hideyoshi, then regent of Japan, began a policy of disarmament which would eventually lead to the abandonment of firearms altogether. For over two centuries after his death, Japan continued to feel the impact of Oda Nobunaga’s great achievements.

  Toyotomi Hideyoshi was responsible for the second stage of consolidation in Japan

  A Return to Traditional Ways

  Medieval Japan’s Renouncement of Firearm Technology

  Since the appearance of the first weapon and its practical application as a tool for war, mankind in general has striven to produce better, more effective weapons for its armies. This was particularly the case after the discovery of gunpowder and the subsequent development of firearms. Firearm technology continues to proceed apace, with newer models possessing an even greater rate of fire than their predecessors and made from such diverse elements as plastics and ceramics.

  With only one particular exception, firearm development has always moved forward with the singular purpose of making a better weapon for soldiers than they one they had before. The one unique exception to this steadfast rule was Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries. Japan, having initially discovered firearms from visiting Europeans, quickly became fascinated with the capabilities of such a weapon. By employing their superb craftsman and superior metal working abilities the Japanese proceeded to develop firearm technology to a degree far surpassing that employed in Europe. After having utilized firearms for nearly a century, a series of consequential events caused the Japanese to reevaluate their attitude toward the weapon. They then began a nationwide disarmament policy, eventually resulting in the complete abandonment of firearms throughout the country. The Japanese had essentially defied the “status quo” of firearm technology and gone in the opposite direction by “giving up the gun.”

  The Japanese were first introduced to firearms, in the form of the matchlock arquebus, by three Portuguese adventurers in 1543. The timing was apropos, as the arquebus arrived in the middle of a century long power struggle in Japan and the rival warlords were extremely interested in any new weapon which might give them a decisive edge. Japanese swordsmiths were subsequently put to work reproducing the arquebus.

  Within a decade of its appearance the arquebus was being produced in the thousands by gunsmiths who had sprung up throughout the country. Furthermore, these were high quality weapons, not just simple imitations. Since Japan had been a leading manufacturer of weapons for over two hundred years—in 1483, a definite landmark year, she exported some 67,000 swords to China alone—it was a relatively easy task to include firearms to an already existing array of fine quality weapons. Not only did the Japanese demonstrate their ability to copy the arquebus, but by applying their superior metal working and craftsmanship skills to the task, they significantly improved the basic design. They developed a helical main spring and an adjustable trigger pull, increased the caliber for greater effectiveness against armor, developed a serial firing technique to increase the flow of ammunition, designed special waterproof lacquer cases for gun and ammunition, as well as a waterproof box-like cover for the matchlock to enable the weapon to be fired in the rain! But most significant was the skill displayed in the making of the barrels. Many of thes
e arquebuses, having been retired after generations of use in the 16th and 17th centuries, were brought out and converted to percussion rifles in the late 1850’s, and then converted yet again to bolt-action rifles for use in the war against Russia in 1904! Nothing could speak higher of Japanese craftsmanship than a twice re-tooled 300 year old barrel using modern gunpowder that still continued to function admirably. Such was the effectiveness of the Japanese models, that armorers would display a “proof mark” on their suits of armor by firing an arquebus at the armor at close range, the dent left by the ball proving the ability of the armor to withstand a firearm.

  Japanese skill with the arquebus did not stop with design and construction, as they also developed highly effective training manuals for its use in war. In 1560 the arquebus had its debut in a large scale battle and from that point on became a regular feature in samurai warfare. The idea of such a weapon, however, began to have an adverse affect on military leaders. Many regarded the arquebus both as an unwanted invasion of western culture—something Japan had vehemently withstood for centuries—as well as dishonorable for use by dedicated warriors such as the upper class samurai. The arquebus threatened not only the social status quo, but also the manner in which the samurai traditionally conducted warfare. Matters came to a grave head after the battle of Nagashino in 1575, where peasant soldiers armed with the arquebus slaughtered some of the finest samurai cavalry in history with rotating volley fire. At the battle of Komaki, fought in 1584, both of the opposing commanders had a high percentage of arquebusiers in their ranks and the results of Nagashino uppermost in their minds. The battle was like nothing seen before in Japan as both sides, refusing to attack, dug trenches and waited for the other to make a move. The result was an impasse, with both sides firing an occasional volley or blowing up a land mine, but with no traditional tactics or maneuvers being employed. In “Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543—1879,” -one of the only English texts on this subject—Noel Perrin stated, “In some ways it (Komaki) was like a scene from World War I, three and a half centuries ahead of schedule.”

  The consequence was that military leaders began to call for a regulation of firearms, the specific purpose of which was to deny their use to the peasants out of a fear of social rebellion. The armies could keep their guns, of course, but the weapon had to be taken away from civilians. Around 1587 the regent of Japan, Lord Hideyoshi, began the first, albeit surreptitious, step toward gun control. Declaring that he was going to build a magnificent statue of Buddha which was to be fashioned of wood and braced with iron bands, Hideyoshi required all civilians to contribute both their guns and swords toward the construction. Although gun production continued to rise for another two decades, the ground work for gun disarmament had been laid. The next step was centralization of firearm manufacture under government control. This was initiated in 1607 by Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu. As the gunsmiths could now only make weapons under approval or order by the government, the number of guns began to drop and many of the gunsmiths, reduced almost to starvation, returned to making swords. By 1625, with the government’s monopoly firmly established, the orders for guns was again reduced and by 1673 less than 400 guns were being made every two years. In 1703, this number was reduced to only 35 large guns in even numbered years and 250 small guns in odd years. This level was maintained for the next 80 years, with further research and development of guns stopping completely in 1725.

  The Shimbara Rebellion in 1637 witnessed the last use of guns in Japan for over two hundred years. When Commodore Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with the “Great White Fleet” in 1853 to try and force the “opening” of Japan to the western world, he was met by samurai armed with only their traditional weapons—swords, spears and bows. Although there were eight-pound artillery pieces positioned to defend Tokyo harbor, these guns had been made in the 1650’s and the Japanese had almost completely forgotten how to fire them.

  It was only after the arrival of Perry and the impressive western technology he brought with him that the Japanese once again began to actively use firearms. Unable to reply to the superior technological might of the west, Japan was reluctantly forced to abandon the old ways and adopt the new to insure its continued survival as a nation.

  A modern photo of Nagoya Castle

  GLOSSARY

  AIKIDO

  Japanese martial art. “the Way of Harmony with ki.” (Seeki.)

  ASHIGARU

  Foot soldiers.

  BUJUTSU

  “Bu,” war; “jutsu,” art. The art of war.

  BUSHIDO

  “Bushi,” warrior; “do,” way. The way of the warrior.

  DAIMYO

  A samurai landowner and warlord.

  Archer Spearman Ashigaru

  DOJO

  “Do,” way; “jo,” place. Place to study the way: a martial arts school.

  GI

  Two-piece pajamalike uniform worn to practice martial arts.

  HAKAMA

  Wide, skirtlike trousers worn by samurai and martial arts students.

  HARA-KIRI

  Ritual suicide by opening the abdomen.

  JUDO

  Martial art based on flexibility and wrestling.

  JUJITSU

  Another style of judo.

  KAMIKAZE

  “Divine winds.” Name taken by Japanese suicide pilots in World War II.

  KARATE

  Japanese martial art.

  KATA

  Set sequences of martial arts movements.

  Formers and nobles

  KATANA

  Long, single-edged sword worn by samurai.

  KENDO

  A martial art, “the Way of the Sword.”

  KI

  Inner life force or energy.

  KIAI

  Powerful shout used by martial artists.

  KYUDO

  A martial art, “the Way of the Bow.” Archery.

  MON

  Clan or family crest.

  NAGINATA

  A spear with a curved blade.

  NINJA

  Secretive warriors used by the samurai as spies and assassins.

  NINJITSU

  The art of the ninja.

  RONIN

  Masterless samurai.

  SAMURAI

  Member of the warrior class of Japan.

  Cavalryman

  SASHIMONO

  Flag worn by samurai on the battlefield, bearing clan crest, or mon.

  SENSEI

  Teacher or master, term of respect.

  SEPPUKU

  Formal name for hara-kiri.

  SHINTO

  Ancient religion of Japan.

  SHOGUN

  Military dictator of Japan.

  TATAMI

  Straw floor mat.

  WAKIZASHI

  The shorter of two swords worn by samurai. (See k at an a.)

  YARI

  Spear with a straight blade.

  ZEN

  Form of the Buddhist religion practiced by many samurai.

  RECOMMENDED WEBSITE

  Samurai Archives

  www.samurai-archives.com

  An indepth research site on samurai history with information and illustrations on the samurai and their culture, famous battles, timelines, and links.

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  Copyright © 1990 and 2003 by Byron Preiss Visual Publications.

  “A Return to Traditional Ways” “The Battle of Nagashima,” “Oda Nobunaga,” and “Takeda Shingen” © 2003 by Vince Hawkins

  “The Fourth Battle of Kawan
akajima” © 2003 by Sovereign Media and is used with permission

  Illustrations for the frontispiece and pages

  vi, 34, 39, 48, 66, 94, 100, 122, 134, 142

  © 2003 Instructional Resources Corporation