Every world nation has the periods of history marked by economic instability and internal conflicts. Civil wars leave countries deeply wounded after a conflict comes to its conclusion and a period of economic and political restoration is required to bring the country back to normal. Sometimes it takes decades for a country to re-establish its economic potential. Medieval Japan is no exception to this historical rule. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu were the three outstanding military commanders who contributed to the unification of Japan after a hundred-year war. While all three generals had superior leadership skills both on the battlefield and at the helm of the state, Tokugawa Ieyasu was the leader who prevailed via the use of a military stratagem that changed the course of Japanese history, establishing the Shogunate of the Tokugawa clan.
According to The Bridge Period (n.d.), Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu were the three strongmen to whom the cessation of the internal war, which spanned the entire Ashikaga period, is ascribable. Oda Nobunaga had the motto urging him to rule the empire with force. Born into the province of Owari, which is east of Tokyo, Nobunaga had claimed control of the province and leagued with the Hojo in the region called Kamakura as well as another clan holding an eastern province adjacent to Owari in their possession. This family had yet to win recognition as the Tokugawa clan (The Bridge Period n.d.). A strong leader is defined not only on the battlefield, but also on the strategic geopolitical map where certain steps are made like the conclusion of alliances. There is no better way to demonstrate the leadership skills of a commander than by citing his victories on the battlefield and subsequent conquests.
The Bridge Period (n.d.) suggested that Nobunaga entered Kyoto to the west in the year 1568 after crushing neighboring foes and securing the eastern border of the province. The internal collisions would not stop continuing since 1467 until about 1567. It was Nobunaga’s leadership genius that suggested the solution of using a competitive advantage over the rivals, such as firearms that allowed decimating enemies in a new and lethal fashion (The Bridge Period n.d.). Not only are firearms deadly to the enemy, but also they reduce human casualties of whatever army uses it to its advantage, which guarantees victory with minimal human losses. Since soldiers’ welfare and the completion of strategic objectives are military leader’s main obligations, Nobunaga acted as a true and accomplished leader by using the life-saving warfare advantage. It is worth noting that this deadly instrument of warfare, according to The Bridge Period (n.d.), entered the insular country in the early 1540s upon the arrival of the Portuguese, Christianity and Jesuit priests from Spain penetrating the island a decade thereafter.
The Buddhist establishment was the point of concern for Nobunaga, in that it posed threat to the unification of Japan riven by internal conflicts for so long. To counteract its spread, the leader encircled Mount Hiei in 1571 only to commit 3000 temples and monasteries to flames. Hays (2012) noted that the ones who offered resistance in the Kyoto region were the Buddhist monks, hostile mechanists, and rival daimyo who were lords and the vassals of the shogun. At such conjuncture, Nobunaga decided to be the first to deliver a blow, exterminating monks in thousands and beating local daimyos. According to The Bridge Period (n.d.), he went on to banish the Ashikaga shogun from Kyoto two years after the siege. It was mostly through brute force that Nobunaga gained his military successes, and it was the only way he saw it done.
Yonemoto (2010) admitted that cruel force and the use of strategic alliances helped him secure a third of the entire country. The Bridge Period (n.d.) suggested that, in order for the commander to solidify the gains, a firm civil administration was needed. The general had built castles in strategic areas of the subjugated region as administrative centers ensuring security. What he did as a political leader was give land and property to the conquered daimyo in exchange for services, attract the humbled merchants and religious communities into his military structure, and lift barriers to free trade. Beyond that, Nobunaga institutionalized various administrative practices like the collection of taxes, the systematic organization of villages, and standardized measurements.
Willing to exploit success westwards, Nobunaga issued orders to two of his finest generals Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide. Still, Mitsuhide returned to Kyoto in the summer of 1582 following what became an unconvincing campaign and took the life of unsuspecting Nobunaga (The Bridge Period n.d.). Obviously, the solution to Buddhism question, so to speak, shows him a proficient politician who could see into the future, that is to say, what political consequences internal processes like Buddhism would have in the future to the unity of Japan. While rigid, his autocratic leadership pattern and the erection of strategic strongholds serving as administrative centers and security providers speak volumes for his ability to retain what he had previously conquered. If a historical analogy is appropriate, much like his Carthaginian counterpart, Oda Nobunaga knew how to gain a victory. What he also knew, unlike Hannibal, was how to use it, which means his leadership superiority was not restricted to the battlefield. Hays (2012) claimed that Nobunaga was an untiring ruler who used to work a lot to build an economic and military superpower. It is worth noting that both Tokugawa and Hideyoshi owe their success to the hard work of Oda Nobunaga (Hays, 2012).
Yonemoto (2010) noted that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the most able of Nobunaga’s generals, taking over his position in the wake of the assassination. Hideyoshi is believed to have been a splendid political and military master tactician. Interestingly, his modest peasant background did not prevent him from rising to power by using his ambitions and talent. Relying on the achievements of his precursor, Hideyoshi succeeded in uniting Japan under his control by circa 1590. Two major issues eclipsed Hideyoshi’s later years. On the one hand, his megalomaniac and delusion attempts of incursion into China and Korea came to no good while; on the other hand, he had problems with producing a male heir to his position (Yonemoto, 2010). It seems obvious that Toyotomi, obsessed with surreal expansionist plans of Napoleonic proportions, was losing his touch with reality. Hays (2012) noted that Hideyoshi is considered the Napoleon and George Washington of Japan, and rightfully so. US ambassador and Japan scholar, Edwin Reischauer asserted that Japan had seen no leader who would have done more than Hideyoshi did in his time.
The general did the unthinkable by restoring and unifying the country torn by a century of the civil unrest and bloodshed. The year 1590 was a turning point, with Hideyoshi gaining victory in an illustrious battle at the Ara River in Yorii fought by 50.000 soldiers and laying siege to Hachigata castle. The leader as instrumental in establishing a highly effective and splendid social order that appeared to master anything, to which its collective will was applicable. As amazing as it may sound, Toyotomi also made his way to the top as the son of a farmer. His leadership and organizational abilities became manifest when he mobilized masses on various occasions. On one of such, he got 100.000 men to build the massive defensive walls of Osaka castle finished in three years’ time. Though short of stature and thinly proportioned, Hideyoshi gained the title of one of the most outstanding men in the history of Japan as a ruler and a general. The ability to read other men and the inborn sense for manipulation facilitated his rise (Hays, 2012). Clearly, if it had not been for his leadership genius, Hideyoshi would have never had such accomplishments. Nor would he enjoy the aforementioned titles these days. His short stature cannot but remind of Napoleon or Alexander the Great who made outstanding generals, as Hideyoshi certainly did.
According to Hays (2012), while on his deathbed in the year 1598, Toyotomi was poised to leave power to his five-year-old son Hideyori. To do so, he had five principal leaders pledge allegiance to his heir. Of the five men, Tokugawa Ieyasu had most power concentrated in his hands as the leader of the Eastern Army. Ishida Mitsunari was the second most powerful to Tokugawa, the commander of the Western Army and Hideyori’s loyalist. Mitsunari soon grew suspicious of Tokugawa’s power ambitions and pursued a preemptive tactics by inciting a rebellion on his territory to make Ieyasu leave Fushimi castle with the better part of his army to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The only garrison under the command of Torii Mototada did not exceed 1800 men who had no choice but to withhold the onslaught of a forty-thousand army led by Mitsunari. After two weeks of siege, Ishida used guile to penetrate into the castle and surround the remaining 380 samurai warriors who had nothing left to do other than commit seppuku, or ritual suicides.
Fushimi fall reasoned other leaders into joining the forces of Mitsunari. On October 21, 1600, the battle of Sekigahara took place to become the single most important in the history of Japan. The collision resulted in the Eastern army of Tokugawa stampeding that of Mitsunari, which eventually laid the foundations for Ieyasu who proceeded to claim Shogunate three years after the battle. Tokugawa managed to tilt the balance in his favor by applying a covert stratagem. He convinced a general from the Western army of the rationale to side with him at the very last minute. Samurai who were under the general’s command struck the Western Army from behind, leading it to break into fragments that were easy to attack by the Eastern Army (Hays, 2012). It was very smart of Tokugawa to use underhand tactics is a situation, in which all odds were firmly stacked against him. Though at a great disadvantage by virtue of intrigues plotted by the coalition of rivals, he managed to make a rival general defect to his military camp.
Tokugawa put his political leadership skills on display after the historical battle. Tokugawa Ieyasu (2014) stated that Emperor Go-Yozei, the paper ruler of Japan, bestowed the title of shogun, or military governor, upon Ieyasu. He worked a lot to re-establish stability in the country and boost overseas commerce, which is observable in the exchange of gifts between Tokugawa and James 1st of England. After his death, Japan entered the period of foreign isolation. According to Tokugawa Ieyasu – Japanese Ruler (n.d.), Tokugawa got centralizing Japan to exert control over vassal domains using the system established by his precursors. He showed administrative skills matching his military abilities. After sequestrating the land possessions of his enemies, he distributed them among his loyal vassals, his family staying in possession of a quarter of the seized domains. The re-allotment of 265 land domains solidified the loyalty of vassals and the rule of the clan. Tokugawa imposed the code of behavior, or Ordinances for the Military Houses, which allowed restricting the power of feudatories in economic, personal, and civic aspects, which means all essential activities required the permission of shogun (Tokugawa Ieyasu – Japanese Ruler n.d.).
The Bridge Period (n.d.) suggested that no military lord was allowed to move the army beyond his frontiers, shape any alliances, marry without the approval of the shogun, and maintain more than one castle. Tokugawa managed to establish a regulatory control over the military houses and even the court at Kyoto, let alone temple regulation. Apart from rigid class divisions, the country entered a 250-year period of non-interaction with the outside world (The Bridge Period n.d.). The way Ieyasu treated his vassals shows the depth of his civil leadership talents and the understanding of administrative processes. Taking freedoms away from military lords only strengthened Japan, preventing the slightest possibility of unrest.
Hays (2012) stated that Tokugawa finally defeated Hideyoshi followers, his final rivals for power in 1615. His leadership supremacy helped him establish a political regime that had remained at the helm of the state for the following 250 years until the institute of emperor was restored who had what is de facto power. According to Tokugawa Ieyasu (2014), Tokugawa was honored with deification upon his demise on April 17, 1616, with his mausoleum erected at Nikko, becoming one of the most essential shrines in the country. Needless to say, his leadership successes on the battlefield and a wise political management made him a cultic hero. Tokugawa completed the restoration of national unity though the mixture of civilian and military talents that were equal to genius (Tokugawa Ieyasu – Japanese Ruler n.d.).
Hideyoshi took over his position after Nobunaga’s assassination. While his later years might have seen his leadership and strategic planning skills rust, he was considered a splendid political and military tactician and the greatest leaders of all times. Though from a poor family, the man of a short stature rose to power as builder and a general capable of mobilizing people. When his health failed him, he had five influential leaders pledge the oath of loyalty to his five-year-old son. Tokugawa was one of the five generals; yet he enjoyed the biggest power. Being loyal to Hideyoshi’s son, Ishida Mitsunari incited unrest at Ieyasu’s province to lure him out of the castle later besieged by his numerically superior army. The final battle took place in 1600. One of generals from the Western army was convinced to take Tokugawa’s side, which he did, striking his former allies from behind and giving Tokugawa his strategic advantage. The battle ended in a brutal massacre that changed the course of the Japanese history. Granted the tile of shogun, Tokugawa limited the freedoms of warlord, established a rigid class system, and took control of the imperial court. Overall, he showed superior administrative skills that matched his leadership talents. By and large, Japan owes its peaceful development and restoration after the civil war to Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, great leaders, who have contributed greatly to the unification of the Land of the Rising Sun.
References
Hays, Jeffrey. “Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Oda Nobunaga and the Momoyama Period.” Facts and Details. Last updated April 2012. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub106/item490.html
“The Bridge Period of the Three Strongmen.” Elon University. Accessed September 30, 2014. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://facstaff.elon.edu/sullivan/big3&3zt.htm
“Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).” BBC History. 2014. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ieyasu_tokugawa.shtml
“Tokugawa Ieyasu – Japanese Ruler,” Epic World History (blog). Accessed September 30, 2014. http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/tokugawa-ieyasu-japanese-ruler.html
Yonemoto, Marcia. “Tokugawa Japan: an Introductory Essay.” Colorado University. 2010. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.colorado.edu/cas/TEA/curriculum/imaging-japanese-history/tokugawa/essay.html
