Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

It is not an easy task to exile the current head of the family, especially when facing a head who is as brave and aggressive as Takeda Shingen, one needs to consider carefully.

Internally, Takeda Harunobu gained the support of most of the family's important officials, including Itagaki Nobukata, Amari Torayasu, Anayama Nobutomo, Oyamada Nobuari, and Iitomi Toramasa.

The reasons why these important officials supported Takeda Harunobu are easy to understand: First, during the reign of Takeda Shingen, after completing the unification of Kai, he was committed to "unifying the territory" and promoting the centralization of power of the Takeda family. In this process, he weakened or eliminated many local forces, causing panic and dissatisfaction among the important officials in the family.

Secondly, Takeda Shingen had been waging wars against foreign countries for years, and had little success in the first and middle stages, which almost paralyzed Kai's national strength and made the people miserable. This led to a significant drop in the support rate of his important ministers in the territory. Although he later achieved some victories, after learning that he was going to continue to use military force against Shinano, his retainers could no longer tolerate it and finally decided to support Takeda Harunobu to succeed the throne and drive the "evil tiger" out of Kai.

Therefore, rather than saying that Takeda Harunobu won over the Takeda clan's retainers and countrymen, it would be more accurate to say that these retainers and countrymen took the initiative to push him to the throne of family head. After all, if Takeda Shingen continued to do so, those retainers and countrymen would be in danger of losing their lives.

Of course, in order to exile Takeda Shingen to Suruga, the consent of the destination - Suruga's "boss", Imagawa Yoshimoto, is still needed.

Fortunately, Takeda Harunobu did not spend too much effort to persuade Imagawa Yoshimoto. After all, the new head of the Imagawa family was able to succeed to the throne through a coup d'état. In his opinion, compared with dealing with his experienced and capable father-in-law Takeda Nobutora, cooperating with Takeda Harunobu, who was of the same generation, might be a better choice.

And from another perspective, Takeda Harunobu sending his father to Suruga not only showed his sincerity to Imagawa Yoshimoto, but was also an arrangement that was beneficial to the Imagawa family.

Why? Because if Takeda Harunobu does anything that is unfavorable to the Imagawa family in the future, Imagawa Yoshimoto can use the name of supporting Takeda Nobutora to restore his throne to invade Kai at any time. Regardless of whether Takeda Nobutora will cooperate or not, the righteous cause will always be on the side of Imagawa Yoshimoto, who took in his father-in-law.

In other words, in order to win the support of the Imagawa clan, Takeda Harunobu gave the biggest trouble and biggest trump card, the hostage, to the Imagawa clan. This deal was completely in line with the interests of both families.

Therefore, one wanted to let go, the other was willing to take in, and the deal was reached. However, brothers still had to settle accounts. After all, it was the Imagawa family who helped take care of Takeda Nobutora, and Takeda Harunobu had to pay the money and bear the expenses.

Under the constant urging of Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Harunobu not only sent a large amount of gifts and treasures to Suruga as "retreat allowances" for Takeda Shingen, but also sent his "concubines" as well. Through this series of goodwill actions, he expressed his good wishes for Takeda Shingen to spend the rest of his life in Suruga in peace.

However, Takeda Shingen, who was humiliated in this way, could not swallow it, and always wanted to persuade Imagawa Yoshimoto to lend him a few hundred troops so that he could return to Kai and regain the position of governor.

But Imagawa Yoshimoto was not stupid, and he naturally did not agree to his request. This made Takeda Shingen turn his attention to Takeda Nobuharu who was far away in Wakasa, and thus the subsequent letters took place.

In addition to venting his inner resentment, the content of the letter was to hope that Takeda Nobufusa would return to Kai, recruit his retainers who still supported him, compete with Takeda Harunobu, and take the opportunity to welcome him back to Kai. The father and son would work together to drive the rebellious son Takeda Harunobu off the throne of the family head.

Not long after the letter was sent, an "acquaintance" of Takeda Shingen also came to Sunpu Castle. That person was none other than Hara Toratune, who was promoted and employed by Takeda Shingen himself.

The Hara clan was originally a vassal of the Chiba clan in Shimosa Province. In 14, after their home castle, Kobumi Castle, was captured by Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Hara Toratane and his father Hara Tomotane went to Kai to seek refuge with Takeda Shingen and became vassals of the Takeda clan.

After Hara Tomotane joined Nobutora, he made many achievements. Hara Tomotane was also given the taboo character "Tiger" by Takeda Nobutora and served as an ashigaru general.

In 1521, he won the battle of Kai Iida River and killed Fukushima Masashige (rumored to be the real father of Hojo Tsunari) of the Imagawa army. After that, under the promotion of Takeda Shingen, Hara Toratane gradually became a senior official who could be on par with the "Nisho" and "Niyama".

Since everything he has now is given by Takeda Nobutora, Haratane is very loyal to Takeda Nobutora. If Haratane was not at the front line of Shinano when the exile occurred, with his strength and force, Takeda Harunobu's coup might not have succeeded.

Hara Toratune, who had lost his mentor, was promised a higher title by Takeda Harunobu afterwards. However, he missed Takeda Nobutora who had left his hometown, so he resolutely gave up everything in Kai and went to Suruga.

Upon learning that Hara Toratune had followed him to Sunpu, Takeda Shingen, who had been depressed, became a little more cheerful and immediately met this loyal minister.

The moment he saw Takeda Shingen, Hara Toratune couldn't help but be a little surprised. The once vigorous Kai Tiger seemed to have aged more than ten years in just a few days. Not only was he thin, but he also had many more white hairs on his temples.

"My lord!" Hara Torajune saw it all and felt pain in his heart. He knelt in front of Takeda Nobutora for a long time and couldn't calm down.

"Okay, why don't I just sit here? It's no big deal." Although he had not yet recovered from the sadness and disappointment of the past few days, in front of Hara Toratune, Takeda Shingen could only pretend to be calm and comfort him in as calm a tone as possible.

"Those guys are so despicable that they actually instigated the young master to do such a treasonous thing. Please rest assured, my lord, there must be retainers and people in Kai who support you. As long as you return to Kai and raise your arms, those traitors will surrender." Hara Toratune suggested to Takeda Shingen indignantly.

"Going back to Kai? That's easier said than done." Takeda Shingen was angry, but he still had a clearer view of the current situation. "It's not something Taro can do alone to drive me to Suruga. I think he must have the support of most of the important officials in the family. If that's the case, how can I go back with my current followers?"

"It is indeed as the lord has inferred. Many important officials, such as Itagaki Suruga-no-kami, Amari Bizen-no-kami, Anayama Izu-no-kami, Oyamada Dewa-no-kami, etc., have participated in the rebellion." Hara Toratune said bluntly, "However, we can borrow troops from the Imagawa family. After all, you are Imagawa Osamu's father-in-law. As long as you ask, he should not refuse, right?"

"If it's really as you thought, why would I be trapped here?" Takeda Shintora said with a helpless smile, "Why did you take advantage of my visit to Suruga to attack me? Isn't it obvious enough? I have also considered the trick you mentioned, but it's a pity that it can't succeed."

After hearing this, Yuan Huyin collapsed like a deflated ball. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any other plan.

However, Takeda Shingen's words soon interrupted his train of thought: "I have already written to Jiro. As long as he is willing to come back, I will have the opportunity to gather more forces to support me. Then, I will coordinate internal and external forces to recapture Kai. After the success, I will pass the position of family head to Jiro to reassure everyone."

"That's a good idea." Yuan Huyin nodded in agreement, but soon fell into doubt: "What if the stable master refuses to come back?" "Not coming back? Humph." Takeda Shingen sneered disdainfully: "Such a big thing happened at home, can he still continue to enjoy the beautiful scenery and ignore the fight between his father and brother?"

"My lord, please forgive me for speaking frankly." Hara Toratune carefully speculated in front of Takeda Shingen, "I'm afraid the stable manager has already known about this or has noticed something. Otherwise, even if the scenery was more beautiful, he wouldn't have stayed in Wakasa until now and refused to come back, right?"

"I will ask him about this matter in person." Takeda Shingen replied, "The most urgent thing is to let Jiro come to Sunpu to meet me as soon as possible. As for you, just stay with me for the next period of time. When Jiro comes, we will discuss the next plan together."

At this time, the news of Takeda Shingen's exile had spread not only in Koshin, but also in Oshu in the east and Tsukushi in the west. However, since it had nothing to do with them, most daimyo did not pay much attention to it except for a few forces that were closely related to them.

Among the relevant forces, apart from Imagawa Yoshimoto, one of the parties involved, the one who was most affected was Hojo Ujiyasu, who was far away in Odawara Castle.

When he heard the news, the second head of the Hojo clan was already on his deathbed. As the leader who expanded the territory of the later Hojo clan from Izu and Sagami to half of Musashi, Kazusa, Shimosa, and Awa, he took the exile of Takeda Shingen very seriously.

He took this incident as a lesson, and before his death, he held on to his body and left five instructions to his successor, Hojo Ujiyasu:

First, everyone in the family, from the generals to the ordinary warriors, should put "righteousness" first. If they violate this, even if they gain a country, they will be humiliated by future generations;

Second, as a ruler, you must be compassionate and treat both warriors and civilians equally;
Third, avoid doing anything presumptuous or arrogant;
Fourth, we should practice frugality;
Fifth, victory is valuable, but it is even more valuable to guard against arrogance and impatience, and not underestimate the enemy or be negligent after winning.

The fifth rule is what Hojo Ujiyasu often said: "After winning the battle, you must fasten the strap of your helmet tightly (胜って兜の緒を締めよ)", which later became popular in Japan.

It can be said that Takeda Shingen's exile was a lesson he taught the Hojo clan in person. It was this lesson that became an important reference for the Hojo clan's overall prosperity during the Hojo Ujiyasu period.

As Takeda Harunobu stepped onto the historical stage, the situation of the three-way struggle between Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Nobutora and Hojo Ujiyasu in the Kanto Koshin area was completely over. They were replaced by a group of young people such as Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Harunobu and Hojo Ujiyasu. Their struggle history shines with brilliance that is no less than that of their fathers.

Apart from the above three families, the one most affected by this incident was the Wakasa Takeda clan.

Since Takeda Nobuharu traveled everywhere and had no fixed place to live, the handwritten letters from Takeda Shingen and Takeda Harunobu were first delivered to Atagoyama Castle, and then handed over to Takeda Nobuharu by Takeda's hikyaku or ninja.

That's why Yoshishige got the news of Kai's incident earlier than Takeda Nobushige. And the moment he got the news, he set his sights on Takeda Nobushige.

"Where is the stable manager now?" Yoshishige asked Yamamoto Shigeyuki.

"I'm currently in Tajima. A few days ago, Gennai wrote to say that Tenya and others were passing through Kosumiyama Castle and were preparing to go south to travel around the Ikuno area." Yamamoto Shigeyuki replied.

"I'm afraid he has visited all of my land." Yoshishige said helplessly, "Send a letter to him and tell him to come back to Atagoyama Castle first. I want to meet him."

"Ha!" Yamamoto Shigeyuki nodded in agreement.

Within a few days, the letter was delivered to Takeda Nobuharu. Holding the handwritten letters from his father and brother, he fell into great hesitation and couldn't extricate himself.

There is no need to say much about Takeda Nobutora's letter, but Takeda Harunobu's letter made Takeda Nobuharu hesitate.

The letter roughly describes the ins and outs of the exile of Takeda Nobutora. Unlike Takeda Nobutora's letter, which was full of resentment and anger, Takeda Harunobu's letter revealed more helplessness and a sense of necessity. He expressed his shame towards Takeda Nobutora, but also emphasized the necessity and justice of his own uprising.

Although their expressions and tones were very different, their goals were the same, which was to hope that Takeda Nobushige would come back as soon as possible to help them accomplish their great cause.

On one side is his father who dotes on him, and on the other side is his brother with whom he has a deep relationship. At this moment, Takeda Nobushige doesn't know what to do.

In fact, when he was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Wakasa, he was able to sense undercurrents in the family from clues, and he had already realized that the relationship between Takeda Nobutora and Takeda Harunobu had entered the silence before the eruption, like a volcano.

Because of this, he was reluctant to return to Kai and didn't want to get involved in this dispute. But the more you fear something, the more it will come. Even if he hid far away, the ashes from the volcanic eruption still floated onto him. As a member of the Kai Takeda clan, he seemed to have to make a choice, even if this choice was bound to hurt some people.

"Your Highness the Stable Manager, my lord asks you to come back to Atagoyama Castle for a chat after receiving this letter." Just as Takeda Nobuyuki fell into deep thought, Toranosuke interrupted his thoughts.

"Wu Wei-dono wants to see me?" Takeda Nobushige suddenly had an idea and thought, "Why not take this opportunity to listen to his opinion."

So, Takeda Nobufusa turned his horse around and returned to Atagoyama Castle with his entourage, and was received by Yoshishige on July 10.

After the two met, they exchanged a few pleasantries and talked about what Takeda Nobuyuki had seen, heard, felt, and gained in the past few days, but soon the topic shifted to the matter in Kai. (End of this chapter)