Author 丨 Autumn Maple
In January 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara, which determined the course of Japanese history and the future of the Toyotomi family, began.
On one side of the belligerent was the Eastern Army organized by Tokugawa Ieyasu (with Edo as the base camp, located in the east, for the Eastern Army), and on the other side was the Western Army led by Ishida Sansei (with Osaka as the base camp, in the west). for the Western Army). The Tokugawa side attempted to replace the Toyotomi regime and take control of the world. Ishida's side was on the defensive, trying to defeat Tokugawa and maintain the status quo.
Ironically, the main generals of the Toyotomi regime headquarters, such as Masanori Fukushima, Yoshiaki Kato, Takaho Fujido, Kuroda Nagamasa, and Asano Yukinaga, led their troops to appear in the Eastern Army. In the Western Army, in addition to Ishida Sansei, a small number of governors such as Governor Konishi were generals of the Toyotomi headquarters, and mainly relied on the strength of the daimyo who were attached to a part of the Toyotomi family (Japan implemented a feudal territorial system, and samurai with an annual income of more than 10,000 stones were called daimyo). And this part of the daimyo such as Hideaki Hayakawa, Maori Hidemoto and other basic first rats at both ends, swaying. As a result, in less than half a day, the Western Army suffered a crushing defeat.
In this battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu basically crushed the main opposition within the shogunate, effectively replacing the Toyotomi clan in power. The Toyotomi family grew weaker and weaker until it perished.
In this battle of destiny, why would the main generals of the Toyotomi family support the enemy? Why do some daimyo turn against each other? Why did the Toyotomi congregation rebel and be vulnerable? This begins with a series of mistakes made by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his later years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > (1) Partial listening and estranging from relatives</h1>
Toyotomi Hideyoshi took a series of measures to administer the country after ending the warring states and basically unifying Japan. Since 1585, government decrees and decrees have been issued successively, such as the Sword Hunting Order (the collection of civilian weapons), the Land Inspection Order (the unified measurement of state land and the convenience of central management), the General Decree of the World (which prohibits private fights between daimyo), and the Southern Barbarian Trade Order (encouraging commerce and increasing finance and taxation). Thus, the centralization of power was effectively strengthened, and a stable and prosperous situation appeared in Japan.
In the process of managing the construction of the country, the implementation of policies and decrees will inevitably begin to rely on the reuse of administrative civilian personnel. He had great trust in Ishida Sansei and Nagasho Masaya, who held the position of (administrative officer of the Toyotomi shogunate). Originally, credit civilian governance was a very correct measure. However, he did too much, and his trust in Sancheng and others was almost beyond reproach. To the point of partial listening and partial belief, obedience to words. For a time, 30% and other human rights fell to the opposition. There is a great deal of power to speak. And Sancheng and others are pampered and arrogant, and run amok. Except for Hideyoshi, no one pays attention to it, and no one dares to oppress it. This caused the loss and dissatisfaction of a pro-military general led by Masanori Fukushima, who had been reused in the war of unification. The contradiction between the Bunken faction, led by Sansei, and the warlord faction headed by Masanori Fukushima, Kiyomasa Kato, and others, was born.
In order to manage and consolidate the political power, Hideyoshi was very strict with the major names of the country, especially his own personal generals. Ishida and others understood and adhered to their intentions. The generals, led by Kato Kiyomasa, were severely disciplined and suppressed. For example, in terms of the increase or decrease of fiefs, Ishida Sansei and others have repeatedly suppressed Masanori Fukushima, Kiyomasa Kato and others. Another example is to restrict Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori and others from building roads and bridges, and if they violate the slightest offense, they will be reprimanded and punished.
The contradiction between the Wenchen faction and the military general faction intensified after the beginning of the war of aggression against Korea. Sansei and others repeatedly suppressed the exploits of Kiyomasa Kato, Masanori Fukushima, and others. They are often pulled on their hind legs in terms of logistics. And he will punish them for their sins. As a result, the contradictions between the civilian officials led by Sancheng and Kato and others intensified. The Martial Generals Sect hated Sancheng and the others very much, and they were eager to eat their flesh and sleep on their skins. However, it is a serious confrontation between the subordinate and the military general faction. It did not attract the attention of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It has basically adopted a resigned attitude.
Dissatisfied and resentful, Masanori Fukushima and others developed centrifugal tendencies toward the Toyotomi family. This gave the ambitionist Tokugawa Ieyasu an opportunity to take advantage of it. Shortly after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu attempted to seize power. These warlords did not hesitate to betray the Toyotomi family and defected to Ieyasu.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (ii) loses the sight and complains internally</h1>
Conquest is meritorious. The country can prosper. Labor is fruitless, and resentment is born inside.
Like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a strong continental complex. It is believed that Japan's territory is small, resources are tight, and it is difficult to become a big country. Only with North Korea as a springboard, can we enter the East Asian continent. Only in this way can Japan truly become a great power, and the country will be powerful in the four directions. Thus, in 1592, shortly after Toyotomi Hideyoshi had unified Japan, he brazenly launched a war of aggression against Korea, which was rich in war experience and strong force. They want to destroy Korea first, and then invade China.
However, he did not expect that although the Ming Dynasty of China at that time was in decline, it still had a strong strength. Soon after the beginning of the war of aggression against Korea, troops were sent to Korea to engage the Japanese army, which prevented its offensive. From 1592 to 1597, after several years of war. Due to the stubborn resistance of the Sino-Korean coalition forces. Japan suffered a defeat. In this war, Japan lost 170,000 soldiers and suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. The losses are not small. Moreover, in order to support the war, the Toyotomi government and its subordinate major financial leaders also suffered huge losses.
Not only that, but the war also exacerbated the contradictions between the Toyotomi regime and its subordinate major names. Originally, the major names were only intimidated by the strength of the Toyotomi clan and temporarily submitted to themselves. In this war, they actively participated. Just want to get some benefits. But unexpectedly, Japan was defeated. The daimyo not only did not reap any benefits, but almost lost their homes due to excessive grain conscription in the territory. Their resentment can be imagined. In addition, in this war, due to the problems of rewards and supply, the Toyotomi family's military general faction was repeatedly suppressed, and the contradictions with the civilian official faction were fierce, and they had reached an irreconcilable point. The war itself and the consequences of the defeat seriously shook the foundation of the Toyotomi family.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (3) Mutilation of nephews, family infighting</h1>
In his early years, Hideyoshi was very wise, knowledgeable and generous. But in his old age, he seemed to have changed into a man, becoming absurd, sinister and cruel. And narrow-minded and extremely selfish. The reason is that the main reason is that he is complacent and complacent after the success of his career, and he has no scruples and can act willfully. And it has to do with his physical condition. According to records, he suffered from a variety of diseases: First, beriberi, which was not the same as tinea pedis. It is a vitamin deficiency caused by eating only polished rice. The main symptoms are reacted to edema in the feet, accompanied by irritability, depression. Very scary. The illness went up and down, leaving him incontinent and bedridden from time to time. One is venereal disease, and his life is extremely chaotic. He is documented to have been in long-term relationships with more than two hundred women. Irregularities in his private life led to his syphilis. The virus invades his nerves, bones, cardiovascular. He was often irritable and miserable.
The change in temperament caused by the above reasons made him more and more noisy and disorderly in his handling of things. Eventually, his career was led to disaster.
In 1588, just because his confidant Chiritsuki had his own wooden statue at Theodok-ji Temple Yamamon tree (Hideyoshi had to walk under the wooden statue to worship the Buddha on the mountain, he suspected disrespect for himself), so he was furious and ordered him to commit suicide by cutting his abdomen. After this incident, the government and the public were greatly shaken. People exclaimed, the approachable, very graceful man was gone. The current Guan Bai is too scary.
Soon after, something even more terrible happened. He ordered the mutilation of his nephew Toyotomi Hideji's family. The origin of the event is like this. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was infertile for a long time after marriage. In order to have a successor, he adopted the child of his sister's family, Shuji, and planned to be determined as the heir. However, in his later years, Toyotomi unexpectedly gave birth to two sons. A man named Tsurumatsu (Hideyoshi's first child, who was unfortunate at the age of three. Later, Hideji was officially established as heir in 1591), a man named Hideyoshi. As Hideyoshi grew older, Hideyoshi changed his mind. Hideyoshi believed that his hard-earned jiangshan should never be passed on to his nephew, but to his son. Therefore, driven by extreme selfishness, he was tormented by illness and made up his mind to kill Hideji in the name of rebellion.
The incident was widely publicized, and dozens of daimyo who were closely related to Xiuji were either killed, or removed from the seal, or exiled. For a time, the government and the public were greatly dissatisfied with Hideyoshi, and they were greatly disappointed. Hidetsuki Hideaki, Hideji's brother-in-law, Hideji's father-in-law, Yoshimitsu Hatami, and his friend Date Masamune, among others, either chose to defect in the later Battle of Sekigahara or directly defected to the Eastern Army.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > (IV) The big old political balance failed</h1>
Hideyoshi fought to reduce resistance in the war to unify Japan. The means of co-opting and striking together have been adopted. To the affiliation or to the fiefdom or to retain the fief. Opponents will either have their fiefs cut down or they will be wiped out by force. Thus quickly establishing his own rule. For more than 200 daimyo who belong to themselves. He chose the five most powerful daimyōs and appointed him as his own boss to help him rule Japan. It's for the big old politics.
The five big men were Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose fiefdom was 2.5 million stones. Maeda Toshiya with a fief of 1 million stones, Ukita Hideya with a fief of 570,000 stones, Takakei Kohayakawa with a fief of 360,000 stones (after his death, the daimyo position was replaced by Uesugi Keisatsu, who had a fief of 1.2 million stones), and Mori Keigen of the fief of 1.2 million stones. Hideyoshi asked them to form a large old group to assist in politics. To maintain political balance by containing each other.
Some people say that Hideyoshi should have seen Tokugawa's ambitions to get rid of it, and the Toyotomi family would be safe. In fact, during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lifetime, Tokugawa Ieyasu was his right-hand man and contributed to it. He participated in Hideyoshi's Odawara Expedition and the Invasion of Korea. At that time, the Satsuma clan in Kyushu, the Go-Hojo clan in the Kanto region, and the Nagamasa Ibu clan in Shikoku were the roles that really caused major trouble to Toyogi. The main thing to maintain the politics of the elders is that those in power cannot have problems. Once the Toyotomi regime was divided and showed signs of decay, it would be difficult for the great old government to continue. Hideyoshi did not know how to strengthen itself, and his high expectations for the elder Masaya were an important reason for the subsequent destruction of his regime. In 1600, less than two years after Hideyoshi's death, the five elders split into Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshinaga's faction, and the other three under ishida Sansei's leadership as another faction, and went to the Sekigahara Battlefield.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi worked hard in the process of unifying Japan and established great achievements. But after the success, it was oblivious and willful. I don't know how to hold Yingbaotai. A series of mistakes in his later years. Serious damage to the foundation of the Toyotomi family. As a result, shortly after his death, his regime fell into a divided civil war. In the end, it was destroyed by the rebellion of the people.
Bibliography for this article:
《History of Japan》
A Brief History of Japan
"The People of the Toyotomi Family"
History of Japanese Society