Sekigahara

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Sakigahara　関が原 / 関ケ原 / 関ヶ原

The village of Sekigahara 関ケ原町 Sekigahara-cho is located in the Fuwa District of Gifu.
In 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara took place here.

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The Battle of Sekigahara
(関ヶ原の戦い/ 關ヶ原の戰い Sekigahara no Tatakai)
was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
took three more years to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, but Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa bakufu, the last shogunate to control Japan. Japan had a long period of peace after the battle.
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- - - - - Seeds of dissent from Sekigahara
While most clans were content with their new status, there were many clans, especially those on the western side, who became bitter about their displacement or what they saw as a dishonorable defeat or punishment. Three clans in particular did not take the aftermath of Sekigahara lightly:
The Mōri clan,
headed by Mōri Terumoto (Mori Terumoto), remained angry toward the Tokugawa shogunate for being displaced from their fief, Aki, and being relocated to the Chōshū Domain, even though the clan did not take part in the battle at all.
The Shimazu clan,
headed by Shimazu Yoshihiro, blamed the defeat on its poor intelligence-gathering, and while they were not displaced from their home province of Satsuma, they did not become completely loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate either. Taking advantage of its large distance between Edo and the island of Kyūshū as well as its improved espionage, the Shimazu clan demonstrated that it was virtually an autonomous kingdom independent from the Tokugawa shogunate during its last days.
The Chōsokabe clan,
headed by Chōsokabe Morichika, was stripped of its title and domain of Tosa and sent into exile. Former Chōsokabe retainers never quite came to terms with the new ruling family, the Yamauchi clan, which made a distinction between its own retainers and former Chōsokabe retainers, giving them lesser status as well as discriminatory treatment. This class distinction continued even generations after the fall of the Chōsokabe clan.
The descendants of these three clans would in two centuries collaborate to bring down the Tokugawa shogunate, leading to the Meiji Restoration.
- - - More details in the WIKIPEDIA !




Sekigahara Kassen Byōbu (『関ヶ原合戦屏風』),
Japanese screen depicting the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い).
This 1854 replica recreates the original Hikone-jō Bon Sekigahara Kassen Byōbu (彦根城本『関ヶ原合戦屏風』 by Sadanobu Kanō (狩野貞信) from the 1620s and was a treasure of the Lord Ii of Hikone (彦根藩井伊家) thereinafter.
However, it is not a faithful rendition of the original, with some noticeable omissions and design alterations throughout the layout. Collection of The Town of Sekigahara Archive of History and Cultural Anthropology (関ヶ原町歴史民俗資料館所蔵), found in a private collection of a long-term resident of Ōgaki, near Sekigahara.
- source : commons.wikimedia.org -


. Mori Terumoto about winning a battle .
"The Mori Clan should never be involved in a battle!".

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. Nakasendoo　中山道 Nakasendo Road .

58. Sekigahara-juku 関ヶ原宿


Hiroshige print

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Sekigahara-juku is convenient because it is located at the intersection of many roads. In addition to being part of the Nakasendō, it also is connected to the Hokkoku Kaidō and the Ise Kaidō. However, its location has also been the site of many battles, including the Jinshin War and the Battle of Sekigahara.
In 1843,
the post station had 1,389 residents and 269 buildings. Among the buildings, there was one honjin, one sub-honjin, and 33 hatago.
As the area around the former Sekigahara-juku remains a convenient and popular transportation hub, there are no ruins of the former post town to be found. However, because of all the battles in their area, there are many other ruins that can be seen.
- source : wikipedia -

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- quote - Japan Times -
Battle of Sekigahara: a war set in stone
by Stephen Mansfield
They were selling steamed buns and mugwort ice cream to a handful of history buffs when I arrived at the entrance to War Land, or to use its full name, The Immersion Museum — Sekigahara War Land.
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The open valley basins of Gifu Prefecture at the very center of Honshu, where the town of Sekigahara lies, were easily co-opted as theaters of war. It’s no coincidence, given the martial history of the region, that the prefectural town of Seki, sitting on the Nakasendo trunk road connecting Tokyo (then Edo) and Kyoto, was once known as the premier sword-making spot in the country.


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Sekigahara was second only to the Battle of Okinawa in being the largest armed conflict between two opposing armies to take place on Japanese soil. It was unquestionably the foremost confrontation between two Japanese forces. In terms of Japanese history, the battle altering the future course of the nation might be compared to Gettysburg.
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- source : japantimes.co.jp/life/2016/03/19-

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In 1600, Sekigahara, the dividing point between eastern and western Japan, was the scene of a decisive battle fought between the Eastern Army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu who aimed to unite Japan under his rule, and the Western Army formed to fight the Tokugawa forces under the command of Ishida Mitsunari.
Although the Western Army had a slight upper hand at first, the situation reversed when Kobayakawa Hideaki defected to the Eastern Army resulting in its victory.



The Battle of Sekigahara, regarded as one of the largest pivotal conflicts in Japanese history, lasted only six hours. Three years later, Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate at Edo (present-day Tokyo) and took over the rule of Japan. The town of Sekigahara which served as the battlefield of this massive battle abounds today with historic battle-related landmarks. We invite you to come and explore the army base camps and historic landmarks of the Battle of Sekigahara which will take you back to the time of this historic battle. You can also enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings as you stroll around the town of Sekigahara.
- source : kanko-sekigahara.jp -



- further reference -

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やぎ乳アイス Ice cream from Goat's milk
笹尾山麓で関ヶ原名物 - speciality from Sekigahara


. aisukuriimu アイスクリーム ice cream .

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shigure hamaguri 時雨蛤 clamshells in sweet syrup
This refers back to the famous battle of Sekigahara (1600), near Ogaki castle, where the fishermen of Kuwana gave some clams to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The clams are harvested out of the sand and then left for a while in a bucket of plain water to spit out the sand they still have in their body. They are then boiled in this water with shredded ginger roots and then cooled. Next they are simmered in special soy sauce from Ise (tamari shoyu たまり醤油) and flavored with sweet mizuame syrup.

. WASHOKU - clamshell, hamaguri 蛤 (はまぐり) .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

Yamabushi 山伏 mountain priest
During the Battle of Sekigahara, a Samurai cut off the legs of a mountain priest and took away all his food. The Yamabushi cursed him until the seventh generation and then died.
Since then, if a Head of this Samurai family inherits the name, he will suffer from heavy pain in his legs. If he passes on the Headship, he will be healed.

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Ehime 愛媛県 砥部町 Tobe

mekura hebi メクラヘビ the blind snake
Once upon a time
in the 芳賀家 Haga famili, which served as village head, there was a very special woman. She had been to the Battle of Sekigahara and came back. But the family thought of her as a shame and killed her.
Since then there roamed a blind snake in 猿谷 Saruya and got killed, but was later venerated in a Shinto shrine.
She became the deity 芳賀大明神 Haga Daimyojin.

and not related another legend from Matsuyama
八股榎お袖大明神（やつまたえのきおそでだいみょうじん）
Yatsumata Enoki O-Sode Daimyojin
- source : wikipedia -

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Gifu 岐阜県

Nagaragawa no kajika 長良川の河鹿 the Kajika frogs of Nagaragawa
The he lost the battle, female attendants of Oda Hidenobu 織田秀信 (1580 - 1605) threw themselves in the river Nagaragawa and died. Their souls became the Kajika frogs.

. kajikagaeru　河鹿蛙 Polypedates buergeri, river frog .


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Mie 三重県 松坂市 Matsuzaka

Kawakami Hachimangu 川上八幡宮　Shrine
At the battle of Sekigaraha, the head of 大谷刑部 Otani Gyobu (Otani Yoshitsugu, 1559 - 1600) was burried at the roots of some 菖蒲 Japanese Iris by a vassal. A wandering priest observed this, and told Tokugawa Ieyasu that he had cut off the head. Later he became the first Lord of the Todo Clan of Ise 伊勢の藤堂家.
The head of Gyobu was burried at the Shrine Kawakami Hachimangu, but it brought a curse with it.
So the Head of the Todo clan cound never visit this shrine.

川上八幡宮　-　三重県津市美杉町川上3498
3498 Misugicho Kawakami, Tsu, Mie - - - HP of the shrine S
- reference : wakamiya.info-


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Shiga 滋賀県

At the battle of Sekigahara, the leader of the loosing Western Army pleaded for its soldiers not to be beheaded,
but the Eastern Army, in its frenzy of victory, beheaded them all. A serpent living in the weeds there was all washed in blood and became blind and all white.
The souls of the dead slipped into its body and to our day a white serpent lingers on the mountain roads of the region.

When Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 lost the battle of Sekigahara, his wife and her attendants threw themselves into the ponds 千貫池 Senkan-Ike and 万貫池 Mankan-Ike. Their curse stayed with the ponds and during a great rainfall at night people hear their crying and sniffing voices to our day.

. Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 (1560 - 1600) .


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Shizuoka 静岡県

Otoragitsune, O-Tora-Gitsune お寅狐 the Fox named Tora (Tiger)
In this area, there are many stories about people being bewitched by a special fox, the
Toragitsune.
When he heard the sound of guns during the Battle of Sekigahara, he run away and became lame on one leg. People who are bewitched by this fox become lame, but also begin to talk about war strategy.

関が原の戦いで鉄砲の音がしてから逃げたらビッコになったという。
. Otoragitsune, O-Tora-Gitsune お寅狐 The Fox named Tora (Tiger) .
and the Battle of Nagashino (長篠の戦い).


- LINK to many ema 絵馬 votive tablets with O-Toragitsune:
- source : youkaiodaie.blog.fc2.com -

This seems a mix-up with the name of the battle of Nagashino,
Nagashino Shitaragahara　長篠設楽原　(ながしの したらがはら).


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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -

関ヶ原畦一筋の野火走る
Sekigahara aze hitosuji no nobi hashiru

Sekigahara -
burning the small paths
between the withered fields
Tr. Gabi Greve

山本悦子 Yamamoto Etsuko

. WKD : nobi 野火（のび）fire of the withered fields .
noyaki 野焼 (のやき) burning the withered fields
- - kigo for spring - -



source : momotaro.naganoblog.jp


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蚊柱のさまよい歩く関が原
岩下四十雀

あらたまの虹かかりゐる関ケ原
鈴木恵美子

胴赤き蟻のさまよふ関ケ原
荒島禾生

古藁塚は伏兵霧の関ヶ原
柴田奈美

- source : haikureiku database -
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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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