Ninja

Author: Chen Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: In November 1589, at the request of the Hōjō clan, Hideyoshi issued an order to Sanada Masayuki in Shinshū, demanding that he surrender Mōda Castle. This castle was the ancestral tomb of the Sanada family. Masayuki hesitated, but the Hōjō clan seized it through underhanded means. Despite this, Hideyoshi did not hold the Hōjō clan accountable and continued to press Masayuki to come to the capital. The Hōjō clan, having benefited greatly, still refused to submit and claimed that the Hōjō and Tokugawa held different ranks and were treated differently, making them incomparable. This enraged Tokugawa Ieyasu, who wrote to Hideyoshi demanding war against the Hōjō. Coincidentally, a Hōjō general, Chozaemon Tsunetomo, forcibly took the famous Kishu Castle. The castle's steward, Suzuki Jūzō, committed seppuku. After receiving the unanimous agreement of many daimyōs, Hideyoshi agreed to go to war with the Hōjō clan. When Hōjō Masatsune saw this challenge, he grew arrogant. Believing that the mountains between Kanto and Suruga made transportation difficult and that enemy food supplies would be strained, he thought prolonged warfare would be to his advantage. Moreover, his castle at Odawara was as strong as a turtle shell, so he was not concerned. However, Masatsune did not know that Ieyasu had already purchased three hundred transport ships from merchants in Ise and that Hideyoshi had ordered Kikuchi Kagekatsu and Kato Kiyomasa to transport supplies by water. Hideyoshi also established relay stations between the Tōkai and Kyoto regions to relay information such as maps of Kanto, lists of castles, and military equipment. Once everything was ready, Ieyasu led tens of thousands of cavalry as the vanguard, with Uesugi Kagekatsu commanding the navy, and they marched against the Hōjō clan. Many other daimyōs also responded by sending troops. After the Hōjō army was forced to retreat step by step, mutiny broke out. The elderly Hōjō advisor Matsuda Kenshū first defected, followed by other generals. Masatsune retreated into Odawara Castle and held out, while Hideyoshi adopted a siege strategy. After a long siege, dissent spread within Odawara Castle, with brothers suspecting each other and father and son turning against one another. On July 5, Odawara Castle fell, and Hōjō Masakuni and Masatsune committed suicide, while Masayoshi was exiled to Kōyasan. On the 13th, Hideyoshi entered the city and granted the Hōjō clan's Kanto domains to Ieyasu. After the battle of Odawara, Ieyasu was transferred to Kanto, and his subordinate Hanzō, by then commanding over two hundred members of the Iga clan, accompanied him. Later, Ieyasu ordered Masakatsu to organize the "Iga Group Unification" (similar to a modern police station), placing Masakatsu in charge of these ninjas. Masakatsu also fully utilized the group's unique abilities to assist Ieyasu in his quest to conquer the world. Unfortunately, Masakatsu died suddenly at the age of 54, and his eldest son, Hanzō Hōjō Masanari (MaSanari), inherited his position, marking the beginning of the Hōjō family's tragedy. Masakatsu had two sons, the eldest Masanari and the younger Masasige, neither of whom showed outstanding talent. The father, who possessed both literary and martial prowess, had already recognized his sons' inadequacies before his death. P172-173