JAPAN, 1767-1821
The peace that the Emperor had once successfully maintained between the Daimyos of Japan was a distant memory by the late 18th century. No one was recognized as Shogun and the four great families constantly struggled for supremacy, always seeking to exploit any signs of weakness.
The declaration of war by Michinori Minamoto on Sadayoshi Kan’in of Tachibana was typical of this pattern. Tachibana had been at war with Taira for ten years, and was facing a major rebellion in its possessions on Honshu that Michinori hoped to use to his advantage.
However, Michinori had seriously miscalculated. His attack convinced Sadayoshi to accept a peace offer from Taira, leaving him free to defend against Minamoto Even with the help of the rebels in Iwami, Michinori’s incompetent military leadership resulted in a disaster at the Battle of Nagato. In 1772, Michinori was forced to return Iwami to its rightful owners and cede Hoki as well. The loss of Hoki had grave strategic implications as it left Minamoto’s northern provinces isolated from the remainder of the country. Enraged by his failure, Michinori’s vassals rose up against him in support of the pretender Isamo Nakobozu, and the Minamotan family that had dominated southwestern Honshu for centuries was pushed out of power I in 1775.
Japan enjoyed peace only briefly, as the following year, the ambitious young Daimyo of Fujiwara, Yoshiyuki Asaka, decided to attack Taira. He had little difficulty in persuading his cousin Tadamori IV Kan’in of Tachibana to join him in war on his father’s old enemies. The new ruler of Minamoto saw an opportunity to make his mark and also attacked the beleaguered Daimyo of Taira.
Yorinobu III Katsura of Taira bought off Tachibana with gold, but by 1779, his situation was hopeless. He was forced to surrender Omi to Fujiwara and Harima to Minamoto in return for peace. Now it was Taira that found its lands separated by the holdings of its enemies. And with the northerners and the southerners allied once again as they had been early in the century, the middle powers seemed in danger of being crushed.
Japan in 1781:
But it seems that Yoshiyuki saw Tachibana as his principal rival in the long run. When the Tachibanan Daimo died and was replaced by his son, Tadamori V, Yoshiyuki declined to renew the alliance. Instead, he guaranteed Minamoto’s independence, and was true to his word when Tadamori V declared war in 1782. But even with Fujiwara’s assistance, Minamoto proved incapable of defending against Tachibana’s onslaught. Three years later, he ceded the province of Bitchu to Tachibana and his nation was split in two once again. Unwilling to accept defeat, Yoshiyuki fought Tachibana on his own until 1788, but was finally forced to concede defeat and make reparation payments to the southerners.
One of the reasons that he had become desperate for peace was a growing religious conflict. During the 1780’s Catholic missionaries supported by the English crown had begun trying to convert the Japanese to the true faith. They soon succeeded in turning many in central Honshu against the traditional Shinto beliefs.
A religious map of Japan, 1796:
But Yoshiyuki would not be left in peace by his neighbors to deal with the Catholic zealots that had begun to rebel against the Daimyo. In 1789, Shigehira II Nashimoto of Taira declared war upon him, hoping to take revenge for his humiliation of ten years earlier. Unable to fight both the rebels and Taira successfully, Yoshiyuki was compelled to return Owari to its prior owners. Further humiliation came in 1794 when peasant rebels captured Yoshiyuki and forced him to give them greater freedom. By now isolated from the remainder of his lands, it was no surprise when rebel forces in Omi defected to Taira in 1800.
The 1790’s proved even more difficult for Tachibana than for Fujiwara. Sadayoshi II was far less competent than his father and found himself unable to hang onto Bitchu, where the rebellious nobles switched their allegiance back to Minamoto in 1795. The catholic faith was spreading in the south as well, where rebels in Satsuma started the “Japanese Kazakh” movement. Inspired by the stories of the Mongol revival in central Asia, the Japanese catholics began calling themselves “Kazakhs” after their religious brethren on the distant steppes.
As with Yoshiyuki, the other Daimyos were not about to let Sadayoshi focus on his internal problems. Shimadamaro of Minamoto was convinced by the nobles of Bitchu that the time was right to strike against their old enemies. In a tremendous reversal of its gains over the past thirty years, Sadayoshi was forced to concede most of his lands on the island of Honshu to the Minamotans in 1797, and many of his nobles even in the south decided to side with the Minamotans After an uprising placed Sansetomo Morotada on the throne of Taira in 1798, he too sought a piece of the suddenly vulnerable Tachibana. His troops decimated by the previous war, Sadayoshi was unable to put up much resistance and gained a foothold in Shikoku. Unhappy that their island was apparently deemed unimportant by the court in Oita, the nobles of Shikoku rallied behind a pretender, Muchimato Hiromichi, who seized control of Tachibana in 1810.
The Japanese Kazakh movement continued to grow in strength throughout Japan in the early part of the 19th century, even as the Daimyos sought to suppress the advance of the foreign religion. By 1817, much of Japan was loyal to the rebels.
Japan in 1819:
But when not fighting each other, the Daimyos had far more troops at their disposal than the Catholics, and their samurai soon occupied all the Kazakh lands. Gradually, they began to reassert their authority, with Minamoto regaining full control of Bitchu in 1820, and Fujiwara recapturing Minot in 1821. Still, the Catholic Japanese ‘Kazakhs’ seemed poised to remain a problem for the Japanese Daimyos for years to come.
The peace that the Emperor had once successfully maintained between the Daimyos of Japan was a distant memory by the late 18th century. No one was recognized as Shogun and the four great families constantly struggled for supremacy, always seeking to exploit any signs of weakness.
The declaration of war by Michinori Minamoto on Sadayoshi Kan’in of Tachibana was typical of this pattern. Tachibana had been at war with Taira for ten years, and was facing a major rebellion in its possessions on Honshu that Michinori hoped to use to his advantage.
However, Michinori had seriously miscalculated. His attack convinced Sadayoshi to accept a peace offer from Taira, leaving him free to defend against Minamoto Even with the help of the rebels in Iwami, Michinori’s incompetent military leadership resulted in a disaster at the Battle of Nagato. In 1772, Michinori was forced to return Iwami to its rightful owners and cede Hoki as well. The loss of Hoki had grave strategic implications as it left Minamoto’s northern provinces isolated from the remainder of the country. Enraged by his failure, Michinori’s vassals rose up against him in support of the pretender Isamo Nakobozu, and the Minamotan family that had dominated southwestern Honshu for centuries was pushed out of power I in 1775.
Japan enjoyed peace only briefly, as the following year, the ambitious young Daimyo of Fujiwara, Yoshiyuki Asaka, decided to attack Taira. He had little difficulty in persuading his cousin Tadamori IV Kan’in of Tachibana to join him in war on his father’s old enemies. The new ruler of Minamoto saw an opportunity to make his mark and also attacked the beleaguered Daimyo of Taira.
Yorinobu III Katsura of Taira bought off Tachibana with gold, but by 1779, his situation was hopeless. He was forced to surrender Omi to Fujiwara and Harima to Minamoto in return for peace. Now it was Taira that found its lands separated by the holdings of its enemies. And with the northerners and the southerners allied once again as they had been early in the century, the middle powers seemed in danger of being crushed.
Japan in 1781:
But it seems that Yoshiyuki saw Tachibana as his principal rival in the long run. When the Tachibanan Daimo died and was replaced by his son, Tadamori V, Yoshiyuki declined to renew the alliance. Instead, he guaranteed Minamoto’s independence, and was true to his word when Tadamori V declared war in 1782. But even with Fujiwara’s assistance, Minamoto proved incapable of defending against Tachibana’s onslaught. Three years later, he ceded the province of Bitchu to Tachibana and his nation was split in two once again. Unwilling to accept defeat, Yoshiyuki fought Tachibana on his own until 1788, but was finally forced to concede defeat and make reparation payments to the southerners.
One of the reasons that he had become desperate for peace was a growing religious conflict. During the 1780’s Catholic missionaries supported by the English crown had begun trying to convert the Japanese to the true faith. They soon succeeded in turning many in central Honshu against the traditional Shinto beliefs.
A religious map of Japan, 1796:
But Yoshiyuki would not be left in peace by his neighbors to deal with the Catholic zealots that had begun to rebel against the Daimyo. In 1789, Shigehira II Nashimoto of Taira declared war upon him, hoping to take revenge for his humiliation of ten years earlier. Unable to fight both the rebels and Taira successfully, Yoshiyuki was compelled to return Owari to its prior owners. Further humiliation came in 1794 when peasant rebels captured Yoshiyuki and forced him to give them greater freedom. By now isolated from the remainder of his lands, it was no surprise when rebel forces in Omi defected to Taira in 1800.
The 1790’s proved even more difficult for Tachibana than for Fujiwara. Sadayoshi II was far less competent than his father and found himself unable to hang onto Bitchu, where the rebellious nobles switched their allegiance back to Minamoto in 1795. The catholic faith was spreading in the south as well, where rebels in Satsuma started the “Japanese Kazakh” movement. Inspired by the stories of the Mongol revival in central Asia, the Japanese catholics began calling themselves “Kazakhs” after their religious brethren on the distant steppes.
As with Yoshiyuki, the other Daimyos were not about to let Sadayoshi focus on his internal problems. Shimadamaro of Minamoto was convinced by the nobles of Bitchu that the time was right to strike against their old enemies. In a tremendous reversal of its gains over the past thirty years, Sadayoshi was forced to concede most of his lands on the island of Honshu to the Minamotans in 1797, and many of his nobles even in the south decided to side with the Minamotans After an uprising placed Sansetomo Morotada on the throne of Taira in 1798, he too sought a piece of the suddenly vulnerable Tachibana. His troops decimated by the previous war, Sadayoshi was unable to put up much resistance and gained a foothold in Shikoku. Unhappy that their island was apparently deemed unimportant by the court in Oita, the nobles of Shikoku rallied behind a pretender, Muchimato Hiromichi, who seized control of Tachibana in 1810.
The Japanese Kazakh movement continued to grow in strength throughout Japan in the early part of the 19th century, even as the Daimyos sought to suppress the advance of the foreign religion. By 1817, much of Japan was loyal to the rebels.
Japan in 1819:
But when not fighting each other, the Daimyos had far more troops at their disposal than the Catholics, and their samurai soon occupied all the Kazakh lands. Gradually, they began to reassert their authority, with Minamoto regaining full control of Bitchu in 1820, and Fujiwara recapturing Minot in 1821. Still, the Catholic Japanese ‘Kazakhs’ seemed poised to remain a problem for the Japanese Daimyos for years to come.
