Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: 関ヶ原の戦い; Kyūjitai: 關ヶ原の戰い, Hepburn romanization: Sekigahara no Tatakai), was a historical battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period.
"Sekigahara" redirects here. For other uses, see Sekigahara (disambiguation).
This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition led by Ishida Mitsunari, from which several commanders defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important.
Mitsunari's defeat in the battle of Sekigahara is generally considered to be the beginning point of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries until 1868.[8]
As soon as the news of the Eastern Army's victory at Sekigahara reached Ogaki Castle, which at the time was still besieged by Mizuno Katsunari, Western Army-affiliated garrison commander Akizuki Tanenaga immediately surrendered and opened the castle for Katsunari.[56] In response, Katsunari immediately wrote to Ii Naomasa asking that Ieyasu pardon Tanenaga, which Ieyasu accepted.[57]
The most prominent political effect of the Eastern Army victory in Sekigahara was the shifting authority to assign military ranks[58] and redistribute lands from the Toyotomi clan to Tokugawa Ieyasu.[59] Immediately following the battle, Ieyasu redistributed domains worth 6.8 million koku,[60] primarily as recompense for the allies instrumental in his victory:[61][62]
Notably, Kobayakawa Hideaki, whose defection from the Western Army contributed greatly to Ieyasu's victory, was bestowed a domain which covered parts of Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province and which was worth 520,000 koku.[66] Perhaps surprisingly, Ieyasu bestowed only meager domain increases to the three remaining Shitennō (Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu, and Sakakibara Yasumasa), his closest high-ranking generals, as compared to those he offered to newer commanders and vassals.[67][63] However, it is possible this perceived disparity was the result of those generals choosing to decline Ieyasu's offers of extensive compensation.[68][69][70]
As for the generals of the defeated Western Army, roughly 87 daimyō had their domains confiscated and their power stripped due to their support of Mitsunari in the battle.[71] The long-standing Chōsokabe clan, headed by Chōsokabe Morichika, was stripped of its title and domain of Tosa Province, which was consequently given to Yamauchi Kazutoyo in recognition of his service to the Tokugawa.[72] Several former Chōsokabe retainers resisted the forcible takeover by the Tokugawa and Yamauchi; in response, Ii Naomasa sent military reinforcements to assist Kazutoyo in suppressing the rebellion of Chōsokabe vassals in Tosa.[73] Suzuki Hyōe, vassal of Naomasa, relieved Kazutoyo with an army transported by 8 ships, ultimately pacifying the region in 5 weeks after killing about 273 enemies.[74][75]
On September 17, Ieyasu dispatched his army, led by Kobayakawa Hideaki, to attack Sawayama Castle in Ōmi Province, the home base of Mitsunari. Most of the castle's troops had been sent to Sekigahara, leaving the castle's garrison with only 2,800 men. Despite Mitsunari's absence, the defense of the castle was initially successful under the leadership of Mitsunari's father Ishida Masatsugu and brother Masazumi. Following the defection of retainer Moritomo Hasegawa and other defenders, the castle was opened to the besieging army; most of Mitsunari's relatives, including Masatsugu, Masazumi, and Mitsunari's wife Kagetsuin, were killed in battle or committed suicide.[76][f]
In response to Shimazu Yoshihiro's support of the Western Army, Ieyasu prepared a massive punitive expedition to Kyushu, to be led by his son Tokugawa Hidetada. This force was to be composed of Eastern Army forces thereupon engaged in the West, including the armies of Katō Kiyomasa, Kuroda Yoshitaka, Nabeshima Naoshige, and the Tachibana clan. However, this operation was aborted once Shimazu Yoshihisa, the head of the Shimazu clan, entered negotiations with Ieyasu. Shimazu-Tokugawa deliberations continued until 1602 and were aided by the intercession of Kiyomasa, Yoshitaka, and Tachibana Muneshige; ultimately, the Shimazu clan avoided punishment, becoming the only Western Army-aligned clan to avoid losing territory after the defeat at Sekigahara.[79]
On November 6, Ishida Mitsunari, Konishi Yukinaga and Ankokuji Ekei were captured and executed.[80]
In 1603, Ieyasu was officially appointed as shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei;[81][80][9] as such, the conclusion of the Battle of Sekigahara has served as the de facto beginning of the Edo period, and more generally, of the return of stability to Japan. In 1664, Hayashi Gahō, Tokugawa historian and rector of Yushima Seidō, wrote:
In 1931, the location of the battle was registered as a Monument of Japan. The positions of Ieyasu and Mitsunari's armies, and that of the death of Ōtani Yoshitsugu, are commemorated therein.[83]
The participants of the Battle of Sekigahara are listed below, with corresponding troop count estimates (in tens of thousands):
○ = Main daimyō who participated in the Battle of Sekigahara
● = Daimyō who defected
Below is a chronology of the events leading up to and shortly following the Battle of Sekigahara:
Owing to its pivotal status as the climax of the Sengoku period, the Battle of Sekigahara is a common subject of modern depictions and retellings: