War. War never changes. And this war has been going on, for, like,
a hundred frickin' years, so we would really appreciate some kind of change around here.
It’s Ancient Japan, and the country has been in a state of civil war for decades.
The feudal system has collapsed, and warlords are vying for power. Today on Nutty History,
it’s the bloody story of the Sengoku Era- the Deadliest 100 years in Japan.
The Sengoku-Jidai, or “warring States Period”, was basically an on-and-off civil war across all
of Japan that lasted more than a century. Japan had been unified under the shogunate- shoguns
were a sort of military dictator who were the true power behind the emperors. Underneath the Shogun
were a bunch of local lords, who had vast powers within their own domains. This sort of top-down
management style, with the ruler at the top, then the lords, then the lesser nobles, then peasants,
is called a feudal system. But in 15th century Japan, a series of weak shoguns led to the lords,
who were called daimyo, to war with each other for power and the chance to become the next shogun.
On top of this, the constant shifts in power led to a series of peasant uprisings and militant
religious sects. Think Game of Thrones, only it’s a hundred seasons long and it’s
much less optimistic. The era begins in 1477 with the outbreak of a conflict called the Onin War,
an 11 year succession crisis over who would become the next shogun. Then there was an uprising called
the Kaga rebellion, followed by a couple more succession wars, then China suspended all trade
with Japan because of the constant fighting… buckle up, because we’re only getting started.
Naturally during this ugly, bloody business, Europe found a way to make it worse.
Europeans arrived in Japan for the first time in 1543, bringing with them the amazing product that
does it all! It shoots, it… okay, well, it does one thing. Guns were introduced to Japan in the
form of Portuguese muskets, changing the face of warfare. One young daimyo was super impressed by
these newfangled inventions, and came up with some pretty nifty strategies to use them in blowing his
enemies into chunky bits. This innovative dude was named Oda Nobunaga. In the 1560’s,
this ambitious new daimyo began consolidating power. You might remember Oda Nobunaga from his
pop culture appearances- such as the bad guy from the Onimusha games, and also as a bad guy from
Soulcalibur. When not being a video game villain, Nobunaga was busy trying to unify Japan under
a single ruler- himself. He did this by being the most blisteringly brutal bastard in Japan,
and it worked depressingly well. The man’s personal motto was the unsubtle “rule the world
by force of arms.” Practicing what he preached, in 1571 Nobunaga wiped out a monastery that was
aiding his enemies, killing monks, women, children and hunting down anyone who tried to escape.
It was around this time that Nobunaga began to refer to himself as the “Demon King of the Sixth
Heaven.” This super badass sounding nickname is actually a reference to a figure in Buddhism, who
rules the world by manipulating people’s desires. It’s generally assumed he used this name to freak
out and sass his enemies, but he definitely killed enough dudes to deserve it. With his
magnetic personality, amazing mustache, and talent for killing people, Nobunaga began to consolidate
Japan under his rule. He was the most powerful of the warlords and might’ve taken over the whole
country if he wasn’t dramatically betrayed by one of his own generals, dying in 1582.
After Nobunaga’s death, his loyal retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over and got revenge
for his beloved leader. Toyotomi is slightly less brutal than his old boss and actually manages
to unify Japan under his rule, and so naturally decides that what the country really needs after
a century of constant war is to invade Korea. These invasions (yeah there was more than one,
they tried twice) did not go well, and ended up weakening Toyotomi’s power. When he died in 1598,
the resulting power vacuum caused yet another civil war. The two main factions in this final war
were the Toyotomi loyalists and the army loyal to one of Toyotomi’s former allies, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Tokugawa had been building up his power for years and was ready to seize control of Japan at last.
He defeated the Toyotomi armies in the Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600, establishing
the Tokugawa shogunate which would rule Japan for 250 years. In 1603, Tokugawa was declared
the Shogun by the emperor. The Sengoku period is generally considered to have ended in 1615
after the Siege of Osaka. The last of the Toyotomi loyalists were defeated, their castle burned down,
and the Toyotomi clan completely wiped out. The legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is also said
to have died in that battle, fighting on the Toyotomi side. The siege marked a bloody end
to a brutal period of history, ushering in… well, honestly another brutal period in history. There
were a few less civil wars, though. I don’t know what to tell you, man, History’s pretty gnarly.
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are collectively known as the ‘Great
Unifiers’ of Japan, and it’s true that they did bring the country together after it was
fracturing apart throughout the Sengoku period. They did it with a whole lot of bloodshed,
but it worked. Nobunaga, the Demon King, also built roads and bridges, banned monopolies, and
supported the arts. So we have to look at history with a somewhat dispassionate eye, recognizing
that although we can see how things turned out, it’d be small comfort to the thousands who died in
a century of bloody war. At least, ‘Great Unifier’ is certainly a nicer nickname than ‘Demon King.’