Saeculorium #2
Battles and Wars #1

Battle of Sekigahara

Japan has a history of great strife and feuding clans, with pseudo-military ownership of the country, a position called Shogun, being fought over near-constantly for centuries. This position would cause massive wars and battles, throwing lives away for a title. Arguably the most important battle of this magnitude occurred on October 21st, 1600, at Sekigahara, modern-day Gifu prefecture.

A power vacuum was created when Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s heir, Hideyori, a five-year-old boy, was put in power. Clans scrambled to take advantage and claim what they thought was theirs. After many events of conspiracy, Tokugawa Ieyasu was brought into battle against a loyal Toyotomi vassal, Ishida Mitsunari. The battle would be shrouded by a curtain of fog, and Mitsunari would take the defensive. Defecting factions on the side of the Toyotomi led to a decisive victory for Tokugawa Ieyasu, and a long and arduous fight would see the start of the Tokugawa shogunate, which would rule Japan for ~200 years. That is, of course, largely simplified – the battle is incredibly interesting and unique if you’d like to read about it.

After many centuries of warring states, the period this battle brought about, called the Edo period, would be seen as a time of relative peace. It would only end with the Meiji Restoration, when imperial power was returned, and Japan modernized at astonishing rates, opening trade (perhaps unwillingly) to countries like the US.

Links & Information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara
https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/battle-of-sekigahara.htm

Fun Fact:
This battle would be turned into a movie in 2017, simply called “Sekigahara.” Haven’t watched it myself, but maybe I will now.

Related Music:
Not about Sekigahara, but it’s about a Japanese event in that time period, and it matches what you might think of when imagining the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF_IbFpn-HA

Imaged Featured:
1. Artistic rendition of the battle
2. Strategic map of Japanese forces
3. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 – 1616)