Full transcript
0:01in the last episode hashiba hidayoshi
0:04further consolidated his power
0:06cleaning up conflicts on the main island
0:08of honshu while also
0:09launching a successful campaign to
0:11subjugate the chosokabe clan of
0:13shikoku eventually receiving the title
0:16of kampaku
0:17and his new official family name
0:20toyotomi
0:22now in this very same year we turn to
0:24the east
0:25to witness a clash that is set to erupt
0:27between tokugawa
0:29and his vessel masayuki
0:44[Music]
1:04following the death of oda nobunaga in
1:071582
1:08we saw the eastern provinces burst into
1:11a chaotic period of contention
1:13as the balance of power shifted and the
1:15tokugawa
1:16hojo and uesugi fought over the former
1:19oda-controlled territory
1:21as i have previously discussed this
1:24period was to be remembered as the
1:26tensho jingo conflict and although it
1:28was a climactic alteration of the
1:30situation east of the capital
1:32it surprisingly came to an end without
1:35any major war
1:36breaking out in order to usher in
1:40and maintain a new age of stability
1:43tokugawa iyasu arguably the strongest
1:45lord of the east
1:47had reinforced his relations with the
1:49mighty hojo clan of kanto
1:52establishing bonds largely fortified
1:54through political marriage and
1:56territorial exchange yes
1:59by 1585 peace was coming to reign
2:02throughout the region
2:03a stark contrast to how the east had
2:05appeared just
2:06five years prior when the takeda still
2:09existed
2:10let alone 25 years prior when four
2:12powerful clans had all been working to
2:15assert their dominance
2:17for now only two great powers remained
2:20and iyasu was set to ensure a steadfast
2:24coexistence
2:26prior to his bout with toyotomi
2:28hideyoshi the year before
2:30had komaki and nagakute there was still
2:32some question yet regarding the future
2:34of the land
2:35and who would be the man to lead it into
2:37peace yet
2:38now with the ending of the clash in
2:40hawari tokugawa ieyasu had come out in a
2:44great position
2:45although it was not a decisive victory
2:47that may have paved the way to his
2:49acquisition
2:50of the central regime it was still a
2:52triumph that showcased his prowess
2:55ieyasu now fully accepted hideyoshi as
2:58the great power he was
3:00and even though in time he would even
3:02swear allegiance to the toyotomi
3:04by 1585 it was clear that the two had
3:07come to an
3:07understanding of each other although
3:09they did not necessarily trust each
3:11other
3:12they both understood the capabilities of
3:14one another
3:15and had come to a series of agreements
3:17to strengthen the bonds between their
3:19clans
3:20an obvious attempt to ensure future
3:22peace and stability
3:24thus with his relationship with the hojo
3:27and the toyotomi secure
3:28iayasu was set to focus solely on the
3:31well-being
3:32and growth of his domain which actually
3:34was soon to face
3:35some internal conflict
3:40sanada masayuki is one of the most
3:42fascinating figures of the
3:43sengokuchi dai that we have touched on
3:45from time to time in the past
3:48previously we witnessed after his
3:50brothers were slain
3:51at the battle of nagashino ten years
3:53prior he became
3:55the head of the sanada family as a
3:58vassal of the ailing takeda clan
4:00masayuki had desperately attempted to
4:02save the takeda by requesting to shelter
4:05his lord
4:05takera katsuyori in 1582
4:08but it would all end up being in vain as
4:11katsuyori would let pride take the
4:13better of him
4:14and allow betrayal to lead to his death
4:18the once legendary takeda family had
4:20fallen to the overwhelming might of the
4:23oda and tokugawa
4:24as their forces poured across the border
4:27briefly we saw the oda establish
4:29dominance over the former takeda
4:31provinces
4:33and seeing no alternative masayuki would
4:36pledge himself to the oda as well
4:38quickly after katsuyori's passing this
4:41had caused him to lose ownership
4:43over numata castle a stronghold he had
4:46secured in kotsuke province
4:48yet it also allowed him to keep his
4:50lands in shinano
4:51and more importantly his head and
4:54although the east was looking to be
4:56falling into a new era of peace
4:59eventually things would fall apart only
5:01a few short months later
5:03when ora nobunaga would be assassinated
5:05at honoji
5:07following this the oda clan nearly
5:09shattered into pieces
5:10causing the situation in the east to
5:12deteriorate into the period of chaos
5:15that was known as the tensho jingo
5:17conflict
5:18immediately masayuki had moved to retake
5:21numata castle in kotsuke
5:23while also allying himself to the uesugi
5:26however when the hojo were on the verge
5:29of bearing down
5:30upon him he would switch sides to join
5:32them instead
5:33finally as the tokugawa had begun to
5:36push up into shinano masayuki flips
5:38sides for the final time
5:40and pledged himself to ieyasu masayuki
5:43had
5:44masterfully executed a series of
5:46diplomatic and military maneuvers that
5:48not only saw him retake his former
5:50holdings but also
5:52survive in the face of much larger
5:54powers
5:55being one of the stronger of the minor
5:58families in the east
5:59he sat in a stable position under the
6:02tokugawa
6:03all looked bright for the sanada with
6:06sons nobuyuki and
6:07nobushige soon coming of age
6:09strong-willed boys who would no doubt
6:11ensure the future of their family
6:15in 1583 with the assistance of the
6:18tokugawa
6:19masayuki was allowed to bolster his
6:21position in
6:22shinano with the construction of his new
6:24castle at uweda
6:26a strong position that benefited from
6:28ideal
6:29defensive terrain implementing many of
6:32the newer
6:32modern castle features that had been
6:34influenced by azuchi
6:36ueda would boast large stone walls
6:39an impressive gate with robust
6:41overlooking towers
6:42and a fine array of watchtowers and
6:45satellite forts that cover the
6:46surrounding area
6:48this indeed was to be one of the
6:50greatest castles in shinano province for
6:53its time
6:57by 1585 we have already begun to see how
7:01tokugawa ieyasu had established a new
7:03period of stability in the east
7:06throughout a series of agreements this
7:08piece was to be
7:09maintained yet sometimes
7:12things slipped through the cracks one
7:15agreement that was yet to be honored
7:17was that numata castle was to be handed
7:19over to the hojo
7:22yet by 1585 numara had yet to be given
7:26in fact the sanada and hojo for the past
7:28three years had been skirmishing
7:30all along their borders as it was clear
7:33masayuki was uninterested in letting the
7:35hojo claim
7:36any of his territory finally by the
7:39summer of that year
7:41ieyasu officially ordered masayuki to
7:44relinquish control
7:45of the stronghold in aims to maintain a
7:48good relationship between himself
7:49and the hojo having fought so hard for
7:53so long just to survive in this warring
7:56age
7:56one might expect masayuki to simply fall
7:59in line with his lord's command
8:02certainly if it had been an order given
8:04by takeda shingen
8:05or takeda katsuyori masayuki would have
8:08done so
8:09however he did not view ieyasu with the
8:11same level of respect
8:14so no masayuki was not about to hand
8:17over numara
8:18and refused yayasu's wishes his argument
8:21in the matter was that numata was not
8:23awarded to the sanneda by the tokugawa
8:26as it was a castle he had claimed while
8:28he was under the rule of the takeda
8:30thus the tokugawa had no grounds in
8:33ordering it to be handed over to the
8:35hojo
8:36this in all honesty is a very legitimate
8:39argument
8:40his defiance came as a complete shock to
8:43iayasu who now viewed the
8:45sanada as hostile rebels
8:48knowing he would soon be besieged by the
8:50tokugawa and hojo
8:51masayuki needed to act fast to guarantee
8:54any chance of
8:55survival his largest hope laid in the
8:58hands of
8:59daimyo uisugi kagekatsu of ichigo
9:02a lord whom masayuki had previously
9:04pledged himself to
9:06sending word to kagekatsu masayuki
9:09offered his son nobushige
9:11as a political hostage in exchange for
9:13military assistance
9:15kagekatsu would agree thus nobushige
9:18a boy who would later be remembered as
9:20yukimura would be sent
9:22north while uesugi armies departed to
9:25aid the sanada
9:27masayuki himself along with his eldest
9:30son nobuyuki would stay to defend uweda
9:33while masayuki's uncle the prominent
9:35sauna retainer
9:36yazawa yoritsuna would be positioned at
9:39numara
9:39to hold off the hojo in july
9:42ieyasu would finally dispatch an army of
9:457000
9:46under the command of tori mototara and a
9:48number of other prominent lords to march
9:51up to subjugate masayuki who was only
9:53estimated to possess
9:54around 1200 men by august and into
9:58september the tokugawa army had amassed
10:00and begun
10:01their siege of ueda and its surrounding
10:03satellite fortifications
10:05and finally by september 25th we can see
10:08the tokugawa forces begin to launch
10:10their first
10:11focused assault as their massive force
10:14pushed past the satellite fort of ueno
10:17and in towards uweda's second bailey
10:19it looked as if the castle would fall
10:21easy prey to the tokugawa
10:23however as they stormed the position
10:25they were soon met with a surprise
10:27sanada counter-attack but even then with
10:30the smaller sauna de force pitted
10:31against the much larger tokugawa army
10:34it still appeared like an easy victory
10:36although
10:37this was all part of masayuki's plan
10:40the smaller sanada force would draw the
10:43tokugawa army deeper into the castle
10:45complex
10:46allowing matchlock fire to begin
10:48inflicting heavy damage upon the
10:50attacking soldiers
10:51yet what really caught the tokugawa
10:53forces off guard more so than the
10:55counter-attack
10:56was when masayuki signaled for nobuyuki
10:59to unleash another attack
11:00from his position at the satellite fort
11:02of toishi
11:04faced with not only stiff resistance
11:06from the castle but now
11:08also an attack in the flank from forces
11:10under the command of nobuyuki
11:12the tokugawa contingent quickly devolved
11:14into confusion and chaos
11:16prompting them to begin a full retreat
11:19yet as they fled
11:20sanada forces chased after them and kept
11:22the pressure on
11:23managing to whittle down a large portion
11:25of the attacking army
11:27it is said that on this day around 1300
11:30tokugawa soldiers were slain compared to
11:33only
11:3340 that fell from the sanada
11:37ueno showcased the stiff resistance the
11:39tokugawa forces would face
11:41should they storm any other part of the
11:43ueda defensive network
11:45all round the tokugawa were seemingly
11:47set to fall into a long
11:49hard period of sieges in order to uproot
11:52the sanada
11:53a position no leader would want
11:56and when news began to spread of even
11:59more uesugi reinforcements marching
12:01south
12:02iayasu knew he needed to lay on the
12:04pressure more so than ever before
12:07as he would send ee naomasa at the head
12:09of an additional
12:105 000 men to aid in finishing the fight
12:14on the numara front the hojo were also
12:16facing difficulties
12:18as yoritsuna's defensive measures were
12:20managing to hold the armies of kanto at
12:23bay as well
12:24it was becoming apparent that masayuki's
12:27gamble was paying off
12:29as his forces aided by the uesugi were
12:31proving successful against their much
12:33larger adversaries by october as
12:37drew near uweda with reinforcements a
12:40general withdrawal was called for the
12:41tokugawa in aims to reorganize their
12:43offensive
12:45yet as tokugawa forces began to pull
12:48back
12:48something would happen that would
12:50completely shatter their efforts
12:53ishikawa kazumasa an integral part of
12:56the tokugawa army
12:58deserted ieyasu kazumasa had
13:01long been a loyal retainer of the
13:03tokugawa and had served iayasu since his
13:06youth
13:07but over time he had become outraged at
13:10iyasu's leadership
13:12from taking great risks at battles such
13:14as mikatakahara and
13:16komaki nagakute to now being defied and
13:19held back
13:20at uweda kazumasa had begun to view
13:23iayasu as
13:24senseless this eventually caused
13:26kazumasa to leave
13:27iayasu's service in exchange for the
13:30toyotomi
13:32with kazumasa's departure the tokugawa
13:34war effort fell into a state of disarray
13:38all the time masayuki needed to bring an
13:40end to the conflict
13:42by december with the tokugawa and hojo
13:44firmly held back by the sanada
13:47masayuki began making petitions to
13:49hideyoshi
13:50which would lead to him too becoming
13:52directly involved in the conflict
13:54as he would respond swiftly to
13:55masayuki's pleas
13:57immediately military action was to cease
14:00as the sanada would be brought under the
14:02wing of the toyotomi clan
14:04the tokugawa and hojo would have no
14:07other choice
14:08than to back off
14:11had essentially won and although this
14:14defeat was a great embarrassment to
14:16iayasu
14:17it is also said that he would commend
14:20masayuki for his
14:21skill in the strategic defense of ueda
14:24the hojo too would be scorned for they
14:27would not receive pneumata
14:28a castle they strongly believed was
14:30theirs this would be the start of an
14:33uneasy tension
14:34that was set to rise between them and
14:36the toyotomi
14:37with the sanada now formally in service
14:39to hideyoshi
14:41nobushige would be allowed to leave
14:43ichiko
14:44however he would soon be sent to osaka
14:46where he would be made to
14:48more directly serve the toyotomi as in
14:50time
14:51he would be wedded to jikurinin the
14:53daughter of the prominent toyotomi
14:55retainer otani yoshitsugu
14:57in terms of his brother nobuyuki he too
15:00would be used for a political marriage
15:03in aims to strengthen the ties between
15:05the sanada and tokugawa following the
15:07siege of uweda
15:08nobuyuki would be wed to komatsuhime the
15:11daughter of
15:12honda tarakatsu and adopted daughter of
15:14ieyasu
15:16these marriages would go far to elevate
15:18the position of
15:19masayuki and the sanada family as now
15:22both of his sons were wed into two of
15:25the most powerful
15:26clans in the entire country and thus it
15:29is easy to see
15:30at this very moment that in time their
15:33paths would come to play
15:34a major role in the outcome of the
15:37period
15:38so what can we learn in 1585
15:42tokugawa ieyasu had established a period
15:45of stability in the east
15:47cemented by alliances between himself
15:49the toyotomi
15:50and the hojo however these alliances
15:53came with
15:54agreements agreements that ieyasu had to
15:57maintain
15:58one such pact was the handing over of
16:00numata castle in kotsuke province
16:02a stronghold held by sanada masayuki a
16:05skilled strategist and former takeda
16:07retainer
16:08in the summer of 1585 iayasu would order
16:11masayuki to relinquish numara to the
16:13hojo
16:14yet he would refuse and immediately seek
16:17aid from the uesugi
16:18this prompted a siege on both numata and
16:21the newly constructed castle of ueda
16:23yet even though masayuki was vastly
16:26outnumbered he was still able to hold
16:28the tokugawa and hojo
16:30at bay long enough to secure support
16:32from toyotomi hideyoshi
16:34who would bring an end to the conflict
16:36in the aftermath
16:37masayuki's sons nobuyuki and nobushige
16:40would be wed into both the tokugawa and
16:42toyotomi clans
16:44placing masayuki atop a very important
16:47dynasty
16:49in the next episode hideyoshi will begin
16:52his conquest of the island
16:53of kyushu where toyotomi forces will
16:56face
16:57fierce resistance from the mighty
16:59shimazu clan
17:01thank you for watching and don't forget
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