#hiei-zan

[odaclan]

In “defense” of the Enryakuji invasion

This is the clash of two military and political powers that finally came to a head, not a one-sided oppression

When people cite the invasion of Enryakuji to accuse Nobunaga of all sorts of horrible things, it’s usually because they were under the impression that an unreasonably large number of people were killed, or that it was an oppressive massacre against a community that weren’t posing a threat.

It’s very unfortunate that it’s very rarely clearly explained to the general public that Enryakuji has armed forces. In a lot of ways it’s almost functioning like a samurai lord’s castle, inhabited by both warriors and civilians alike. They also had massive political power and influence. They’re not a quiet little temple whose inhabitants were peaceful or helpless.

The warrior monks of Enryakuji themselves have committed massacres and invasions. They do not accept other sects rivalling them, either out of genuine religious zealotry and considering the other sects “heretics”, or because they  simply want to maintain their sect’s influence and authority in Kyoto. They were not politically neutral, nor were they pacifists. 

(A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism, page 178)

I emphasise the part where it says the Enryakuji warriors wrecked Kyoto so badly, it’s equal to -- or even worse than -- the destruction in Kyoto when the Onin War broke out. These monks are vicious and violent. 

They were still meddling in politics and battle in Nobunaga’s time. During Nobunaga’s battles with the Azai and Asakura, these monks joined in the forces opposing Nobunaga. They took part in besieging Usayama Castle, which resulted in the death of one of Nobunaga’s brothers and some other senior vassals. 

The killing of thousands of combatants and civilians alike regularly happens when any one lord invades another territory. There are no stipulations to spare civilians. If a lord decided to evacuate civilians first before the invasion, then it is a benevolent act. Otherwise, civilian casualties is just a fact of life in that time period.

In which case, how is Nobunaga’s invasion any different than, say, the occasion where Nobunaga invaded Mino and conquered the Saitou? That's rarely, if ever at all, cited that as an example of cruelty. That was just a battle. 

There is no reason to be especially horrified about this Enryakuji incident above any other battle or invasion. This is nothing about this battle that more morally outrageous than what every samurai commander regularly do when engaging another samurai in battle. 

I would grant that many people may think that any mass-death is automatically horrible, and perhaps no amount of reasoning and justification can make the Hieizan invasion and burning defensible. There is no denying that thousands of people were killed in Enryakuji. It’s fine if one were to still condemn this even after knowing the circumstances. Still, knowing and understanding the context matters.

The Hieizan situation only looks different than a regular castle invasion because Enryakuji has the facade and still does operate as a temple. There is something about religious sites that inherently invokes the image of sacredness after all, regardless of the faith, and the general public tends to view them differently than a regular fortress or castle.

It is true that there were contemporary Sengoku writers who severely criticised Nobunaga for his actions. However, for the Japanese at the time, Enryakuji is a holy site with immensely deep cultural and spiritual significance. Not just the temple, but the whole mountain itself. No matter how justified Nobunaga was, or even if nobody was killed, people were going to be up in arms about it simply for the fact that Hieizan was targeted.

Think of the time when the Notre Dame caught on fire. People from all over the world were horrified. Imagine how much worse would it be if, say, there’s a fire in the Vatican. That’s what it was like for the people there at the time.

On top of that, the chief priest of Enryakuji also happens to be the emperor’s brother. This invasion can be perceived to be disrespectful to the imperial court. It only worsens the uproar surrounding this situation, which then supposedly led to the dramatic letter where Nobunaga calls himself the Dairokuten Maou in a spiteful reply to Shingen’s letter rebuking him in the name of the chief priest. 

An additional point in the “defense” is the numbers. For some reason there is a claim that 20 thousand were killed in the Enryakuji invasion. I have yet to find the exact source of this information. Wikipedia and other online articles cite Stephen Turnbull’s book, but I cannot find corroboration for this claim in the original historical documents. 

Shinchoukouki said "many thousands” and did not specify a number, and Luis Frois recorded that he was told around 3000 were killed (about 1500 combatants, and 1500 civilians). 

(They Came to Japan: An Anthology of European Reports on Japan, 1543-1640, page 99)

The claim of 20 thousand people killed also does not make sense as, supposedly, there weren’t even 10 thousand people inhabiting the Enryakuji complex in Hieizan at the time. How can the dead amount to more than double the actual number of inhabitants? 

Lastly, there’s also reports from on-site research that claims that, as of 1980s, they weren’t able to find “proof” of massacre or mass-burning. They have yet to find the human remains of the dead, nor expansive traces of burning in the soil. The burning traces that was discovered were very minimal, compared to the narrative of “the whole mountain was up in flames”. On top of that, there were existing textual records describing many of the buildings were already dilapidated and abandoned as of 1570, and so even if they were burnt, there were no casualty or major losses.

However, this is a decades old report and I haven’t seen any certified updates on this yet. To be able to make a definitive claim, they would have to conduct a scan of the whole mountain, which is difficult to do.

[lifeinkyoto]

Hiei-zan

See also my previous visit.

[gobureis]

My personal SW5 impressions of characters after playing the game once (plus some lol)  

note: I’m talking about all of them as characters in a video game. 

----

Nobunaga - ngl I love him. I feel his depiction might become a bit controversial among fans, but as a story it’s great imho.

Mitsuhide - I love him too lol deep down he’s pretty similar to his SW4 counterpart, but he also isn’t. He made different choices, and there are different settings (i.e. Akechi castle being burned down and his whole family dying) that made a difference, and then there’s his relationship with Nobunaga [but it isn’t just Nobunaga who influences Mitsuhide]

Hideyoshi - he’s such a fun character. It’s always a hit or miss with Hideyoshi and me in various media, and I admit i wasn’t a big fan of some parts of SW4 Hideyoshi, but this younger version who is all about making it big and becoming a powerful daimyou is refreshing and fun. There’s some rivalry between him and Mitsuhide (mostly one-sided), and respect for Ieyasu. The Hashiba group (Hideyoshi, Hanbei, Kazuuji, Kanbei) are very warm and almost family-like

Ieyasu - he’s also a nice character. I liked SW4 Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan a lot, and you can still feel the bonds here as well. He’s very, not serious, but he knows he’s not good enough and he works really hard to become a good samurai. He’s very loyal to Nobunaga, and he’s like a puppy around him. It’s cute.

Imagawa Yoshimoto - he’s pretty much there only to be a villain

Shingen - I was never particularly interested in Shingen (and Takeda clan and Sanada clan as a whole in SW4) so having Shingen as the enemy officer only is like shrug (he’s fun in the Uesugi vs Takeda stage in Mitsuhide’s chapter, but his presence isn’t strong overall, I know there’s one Ieyasu stage where Takeda are with them but I forgot what it’s about)

Kenshin - LOL this time Kenshin got some Kanetsugu’s characterization so he’s very loud, very opinionated, and all about righteousness, which isn’t GI this time but TADASHIKI. At the moment, he’s a bit annoying (but I also felt that way about SW4 Kanetsugu at the beginning, and he’s among my faves now, so...)

Mouri Motonari - he’s also there to be a villain and he does it well. He’s not a nice grandfather, he’s dark and shrewd, and it’s very different from SW4. 

Azai Nagamasa - he’s different, I’m still not sure if in a good or bad way

Matsunaga Hisahide - he’s fun lol (I mean I liked his SW4 version, and I like his SW5′s one too) He’s not really a joke character anymore, and he’s VERY interested in Mitsuhide. I’m glad he stayed as a playable character.

Nouhime - (no one calls her Nouhime lol ETA: Sena does) she is a great character but unfortunately her ‘screen time’ is way too short. Her interactions are mostly limited to Nobunaga, but I guess I just need to trigger more in battle dialogues. I like what they did with her in the IF stories.

Mitsuki - she was such a delightful surprise. She’s written well, and I really like her story, and also her involvement in Nobunaga and Mitsuhide’s story

Toshiie - he’s pretty much the same as in SW4, he’s Nobunaga’s childhood friend and just follows whatever Nobunaga orders, without questioning it much (the furthest he went was before Hiei-zan, but nothing really came from it anyway). He has bigger role during the early chapters, after Mitsuhide joins Nobunaga, Nobunaga apparently forgets he already had a BFF? idk lol 

Katsuie - he became more handsome, but at the core, he’s pretty much the same Katsuie too. But this time they decided to make Katsuie loyal primarily to Oichi and make him her bodyguard (probably to avoid any potential creepiness considering Oichi’s age this time). Toshiie and Katsuie don’t really have any familial relationship, and Hideyoshi calls him “danna” lol

Oichi - she’s a... child, basically (and I did like the mother-like figure in SW4, especially in SW4-2), but she keeps growing on me. 

Saitou Toshimitsu - he’s extremely loyal to Mitsuhide and he follows him no matter what. They have a nice lord/vassal relationship very different from all lord/vassal relationships that were in SW4, so it’s refreshing

Yamanaka Shikanosuke - he’s a great character, he’s friends with Mitsuhide, and they both swore under the moon to become stronger, so they could protect those who were important to them, and that promise made them move forward. It’s a great friendship, but tragic. (as everything in this stupid game is) Although, I admit that at this time, more than his relationship with Mitsuhide, I’m more interested in his relationship with Mori Motonari and Kobayakawa Takakage.

Hanbei - omg I love this version of Hanbei a LOT. I feel like in SW4 he wasn’t around that much, and when he was I just focused more on Kanbei, but do I love him in SW5. His characterization is basically the same, but he’s also more soft? And more on equal ground with Hideyoshi, whom he calls ‘Hideyoshi’, and while their relationship isn’t THAT different, Hideyoshi’s personality and age makes it different, and I love it. Because of his time with Dosan, he gets a lot of ‘screen time’ this time around, so that’s great too.

Kanbei - Kanbei is... young LOL He appears pretty late in the game, so I didn’t have much time to really focus on him because this time, I focused more on Hanbei. Their senpai-kohai relationship is cute though

Nakamura Kazuuji - he’s... there. He has a nice relationship with Mitsuki, but we also never really see them interact properly or hear about their past (maybe the citadel events?), and he’s very loyal to Hideyoshi, so that’s cool too. Like I said above I like the Hashiba group. 

Sena - Sena is great, different from the other girls in this game, more mature. 

Tadakatsu - he’s like a big loud puppy who follows his master Takechiyo. I didn’t focus on him much tbh I’ve always preferred Ieyasu’s relationship with Hanzou, and that didn’t really change. And this time there was also Sena, so... Tadakatsu was... just there, more like an older brother than a vassal

Hanzou - also great. The age difference this time made some changes with his relationship with Ieyasu, and there’s no ‘shadow to Ieyasu’s light’ symbolism this time, but it is still a nice relationship. 

Sandayu - he’s a character that’s very present and he goes from a nice big brother figure to ********, but I haven’t really made an opinion about him yet. He’s a good character, but I like others more, basically.

Kobayakawa Takakage - hahahahaha he’s very self-centered and at first I was like you’re so annoying, but he also started to grow on me, so we’ll see (I definitely do prefer SW4 though). Although, this Kobayakawa and this Hanbei would work quite well together. I need to replay the Hashiba VS Mouri stages.

Saika Magoichi - he’s a nicer version of his SW4 version with no weird womanizer thing thrown in (yet). Unfortunately he only serves as a villain and you don’t really get to know his story, but he’s a person with integrity

Yasuke - Yasuke only joins at the very end of the game, and he’s very cool. He definitely works better than Ranmaru for what this story is about.

Oda Nobuyuki - he was a nice character. tbh they could have made him fully playable because he was present for two whole chapters but well... 

Okabe - idk you fight against him

Katsuyori - I like that Shingen calls him ‘Jirou’ LOL otherwise it didn’t really matter to me if he had a special design or not (but like I said I’m not interested in Takeda clan) - he’s voiced by the same guy who’s voicing Kobayakawa so when I don’t particularly pay attention I’m like why is Ieyasu fighting Kobayakawa? lol

Kikkawa Motoharu - ??? he’s there. he’s the muscles to Kobayakawa’s brain, I guess

Mouri Terumoto - he’s young, he feels the burden, but he doesn’t have much presence

Dousan - well, Dousan is Dousan

Saitou Yoshitatsu - at one moment he’s laughing like a cartoon villain

Asakura Yoshikage - he’s so good. He has a bigger presence that Nagamasa, and it’s a shame he wasn’t made fully playable. But he also never joined Nobunaga... he’s a really nice lord who cares about his territory and people, and does everything to protect them

Ashikaga Yoshiaki - your usual incompetent shogun, I guess

Mitsubushi Fujihide - I love him! He’s very loyal to the shogunate and Yoshiaki and does everything to protect him. (even though the shogun is the way he is)

aaaand done. Future me, how did your opinions change?

TOP 5 characters: Mitsuhide, Nobunaga, Hanbei, Hideyoshi, Toshimitsu

[meyer-sensei]

Tsurezuregusa in Action

Kenkō wird fast immer an seinem Schreibtisch sitzend dargestellt. Und auch wenn ich nicht leugne, daß er manchmal an seinem Schreibtisch gesessen hat – und sei es nur um ihn aufzuräumen – so ist mein Bild von Kenkō doch das eines Mannes, der ständig draußen ist und der nie müde wird, anderen Menschen Fragen zu stellen.

Kenkō ist in und um die Hauptstadt anzutreffen, er fühlt sich im Kaiserpalast genauso zuhause wie in den Straßen der Stadt; geht unter dem geringsten Vorwand in anderer Leute Gärten rein; kann an keinem Shintō-Schrein achtlos vorüber gehen; hört sich Predigten in verschiedenen buddhistischen Tempeln an; zieht sich manchmal auf den Hiei-zan zurück; unternimmt am liebsten Spaziergänge in der freien Natur; geht gerne in Mondscheinnächten durch den Wald; geht zur Kirschblütenschau, zum Pferderennen am Kamigamo-Schrein und auf Biwa-Konzerte; verbringt den ganzen Tag über beim Aoi-Matsuri und mitunter die ganze Nacht auf Trinkgelagen; schaut Leuten bei der Arbeit zu; reist mehrfach nach Nara, Ise, Ōsaka, Kamakura und Kanezawa (heute Teil von Yokohama).

Kenkō spricht mit Hof- und Schwertadeligen, Shintō-Priestern und buddhistischen Mönchen, Einsiedlern, Hofdamen und Polizisten; kein Meister seines Faches (Sugoroku-Spieler, Reiter oder Gärtner) ist vor seinen Fragen sicher und wenn es um Hofetikette geht, dann ruht er nicht eher, bis er ganz genau weiß, wie man einen Fasan an einen Pflaumenblütenzweig bindet.

[fujiwara57]

Triptyque - “Ushiwaka-maru 牛若丸  training with the tengu",1859, de

Utagawa Kuniteru 歌川国輝 (1808 - 1876) ;

également connu sous les noms de  Kunitsuna II ou Ichiransai.

Note : Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 (1159-1189) naît un peu avant la rébellion de Heiji (Heiji no ran 平治の乱) en 1159 où son père et la plupart des membres du clan Minamoto 源氏 connaissent la mort, vaincus par Taira no Kiyomori 平清盛 (1118-1181) qui contrôle désormais le pays. Yoshitsune qui n'est alors qu'un nouveau-né est placé au temple de Kurama 鞍馬寺, situé dans les Monts Hiei-zan 比睿山 au nord de Kyōto 京都 où il est élevé par les moines sous le nom d'Ushiwakamaru 牛若丸,

[kanpaijapon]

Entsu-ji - Le jardin shakkei avec le Mont Hiei à Kyoto

Entsu-ji un temple de l'école Myoshin-ji, qui appartient à la branche Rinzai du bouddhisme Zen japonais, situé au nord de Kyoto. Peu facile d'accès et perdu au milieu des habitations japonaises, il abrite pourtant un sublime petit jardin sec, dont la vue se prolonge jusqu'au mont sacré Hiei-zan situé à plusieurs kilomètres. Sa visite est particulièrement re…

Lire la suite sur Kanpai.fr

https://www.kanpai.fr/kyoto/entsu-ji

[jibuyo]

There was also a Honnoji incident episodes, so I decided to watch those too. The Sekigahara one is based on primary sources, this one... I have no idea. Actually, if you’re interested in Honnoji, it might be old news for you.

There’s like more than 20 various versions of why, apparently :D

1st episode: Why did Mitsuhide kill Nobunaga?

1. “to make the world better again”

Nobunaga wanted to be above the Emperor.

According to Luis Frois Nobunaga said that wants to become god-like

Nobunaga’s cruel behaviour - ordering Hiei-zan to be put on fire and everyone, including women and children to be killed (3 000 people were killed) - Mitsuhide was the one who was ordered to do it

killing some other monks - one of the higher one was actually connected to Mitsuhide via Genji/Minamoto blood

2. to prevent Nobunaga from attacking Shikoku

Mitsuhide and Chosokabe Motochika were connected by marriage; Motokika’s wife was from the same Toki clan like Mitsuhide

in 2014 they discovered 3 letters showing exchange between Mitsuhide and Chosokabe Motochika.

After Nobunaga was done with Honganji, he wanted to get some of Motochika’s lands. At first, Motochika didn’t want to surrender them and prepared to fight, but 10 days before the Honnoji incident, he wrote a letter to Mitsuhide that he decided to surrender Awa. This letter wasn’t delivered. (because it took like 10 days from Shikoku lmao What would happen if the letter was delivered?)

June 2 Oda Nobutaka was supposed to start the attack on Shikoku - this is the same date as Honnoji incident. 

3. to stop Nobunaga invading the mainland China

Frois says that after Mori, he would attack China, giving Japan to his sons

Mitsuhide would be ordered to do it, but he was like wtf I’m too old for this shit; it’s said he was 55 in 1582, but there’s also a high possibility he was 67

there were also some accounts saying that Spain would attack China with Nobunaga

2nd episode: Who was the real betrayer? Who was behind Mitsuhide?

The beginning is funny. What were people doing before Honnoji: Shibata Katsuie is fighting Uesugi Kenshin, Hashiba Hideyoshi is fighting Mori Terumoto, Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka are preparing to go to Shikoku, Mitsuhide is preparing to go to Chugoku to help Hideyoshi, Ieyasu is just sightseeing in Sakai lmao 

1. Hideyoshi also wanted to kill Nobunaga

coming back from Chugoku was a miracle

Tradition says: June 2, Hideyoshi was in Bitchu-Takamatsu fighting Terumoto, June 3 he learned about Nobunaga’s death, June 6 he was on his way to Kyoto (peace made). Moved in 7 days over 200 km with 20 000 men. There was also some heavy rain during those days and he was supposed to move 80 km during that day.

But it seems pretty difficult. They did a simulation and it took 10 days to Yamazaki. So he would have to leave on the 3rd to make it to Yamazaki.

2. Nobunaga wanted to kill Ieyasu (definitely my favourite :D)

Mitsuhide’s retainers apparently thought that they’re going to kill Ieyasu, not Nobunaga

Even Frois wrote that Mitsuhide was ordered by Nobunaga to kill Ieyasu

But Mitsuhide decided to turn on Nobunaga. In some Spanish documents from that time this line said by Nobunaga is left: “I invited the death myself, huh.”

There was also some weird/baffling movement between Nobunaga and Ieyasu two weeks before Honnoji. Nobunaga called Ieyasu back to Azuchi, despite Ieyasu being in charge of destroying Takeda, Ieyasu came with only 40 men, Nobunaga hosted him by himself, a week later proposed to him to sightsee in Sakai and Kyoto with Oda Nobutada (who was already given the family headship?) as a guide, they received an amazing hospitality from some tea master in Sakai - so it made Ieyasu terribly wary of Nobunaga.

(whenever I hear “Tokugawa Ieyasu assassination plan” I’m just like, Ieyasu was one lucky man to survive so many assassinations - not that all of them happened)

3. Ieyasu wanted to kill Nobunaga

there’s a theory that Ieyasu supported Mitsuhide’s rebellion

Ieyasu held a grudge against Nobunaga for killing his family

[scoobydoojedi]

Akechi Clan

The Akechi were related to the Toki family, whom they served until the latter fell to the Saitô; in the 1540's. The Akechi later served Oda Nobunaga and became well-known thanks to Akechi Mitsuhide, the capable Oda general who destroyed his master, Nobunaga, in June 1582. After Mitsuhide was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Akechi largely disappeared from history.

*Prominent People*

*Akechi Mitsuyasu*(????-1552) He held Akechi castle in Mino province and served the Toki clan. His daughter was married to Saitô Dôsan.

*Akechi Mitsukuni* also called Akechi Mitsutsuna(1497-1538) Mitsukuni was a son of Akechi Mitsutsugu. and father of Akechi Mitsuhide. He served the Toki family and resided at Akechi castle.

*Akechi Mitsuhide* ( 1528 –1582) Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he became famous for his rebellion against Nobunaga in 1582, which led to Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji.

In 1582, Mitsuhide was ordered to march west and assist Hashiba Hideyoshi who was currently fighting the Môri clan. Ignoring his orders, Mitsuhide assembled an army of 13,000 soldiers and moved against Nobunaga's position at Honnoji. On June 21, Mitsuhide was quoted as saying, "The enemy is at Honnō-ji!". His army surrounded the temple and eventually set it on fire. Oda Nobunaga was killed either during the fighting, or by his own hand. Nobunaga's son, Oda Hidetada, fled the scene, but was surrounded at Nijo and killed.Despite not killing Nobunaga personally, Mitsuhide claimed responsibility for his death.

Mitsuhide's betrayal of the Oda shocked the capital, and he moved quickly to secure his position. Mitsuhide, claiming lineage from the Toki and thus the Minamoto clan, declared himself Shogun, and looted Azuchi castle so as to reward his men and maintain their loyalty.

Mitsuhide attempted to make gestures of friendship to a panicked Imperial Court; he also made many attempts to win over the other clans, but to no avail. Hosokawa Fujitaka, to whom he was related through marriage, quickly cut ties with him; Tsutsui Junkei, who previously had a rocky relationship with the Oda, sided against him.

Mitsuhide had been counting on Toyotomi Hideyoshi to be detained fighting with the Mori, and unable to respond to his coup d'etat. However, having learned of the assassination of his lord, Hideyoshi quickly signed a peace treaty with the Mori, and alongside Tokugawa Ieyasu rushed to be the first to avenge Nobunaga and take his place.

Hideyoshi force-marched his army to Settsu in four days, and caught Mitsuhide off guard. Mitsuhide had been unable to garner support for his cause, and his army had dwindled down to 10,000 men. Hideyoshi, however, had won over former Oda retainers, including Niwa Nagahide and Takayama Ukon, and had a strength of 20,000 men. The two forces met at the Battle of Yamazaki.

Mitsuhide took up a position south of Shoryuji Castle, securing his right flank by the Yodo river, and his left at the foot of the 270-metre Tennozan. Hideyoshi immediately seized the advantage by securing the heights of Tennozan; his vanguard then maneuvered to face the Akechi forces along the Emmoyji river. Mitsuhide's forces made a failed attempt to force Hideyoshi from Tennozan. Hideyoshi's general, Ikeda Nobuteru moved to reinforce Hideyoshi's right flank, which soon crossed Emmoyoji and turned the Akechi flank. Simultaneously, Hideyoshi's forces marched against the Akechi front; this started a rout, only two hours after the battle had begun.

Mitsuhide's reign as shogun lasted only 13 days. Upon fleeing Yamazaki, Mitsuhide died en route to Sakamoto.

He is rumoured to have been killed by a peasant warrior by the name of Nakamura with a bamboo spear; however, there were also rumors that he was not killed, but rather started a new life as a priest called Tenkai.

*Reasons for betrayal*

No one knows the specific reason that Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga, but there are several theories:

1) Personal ambition - Mitsuhide had grown tired of waiting for promotion under Nobunaga or had grown tired of being under another's authority.

2) A personal grudge:During the battle at Yagami Castle, 1575, Mitsuhide's mother died for Nobunaga's cause.

3) Nobunaga accused Mitsuhide of superficially praising his allies after their victory over the Takeda and physically kicked him.

4) While staying at Azuchi Castle, Ieyasu Tokugawa complained about the food he was served. Nobunaga responded by throwing Mitsuhide's priceless dinnerware into the garden pond.

5) Nobunaga asked him to - a legend states that Nobunaga asked Mitsuhide to strike him down if he were ever to become too ruthless, and the Incident at Honnō-ji is Mitsuhide fulfilling this promise.

6) Tricked by Hosokawa Fujitaka - Fujitaka, his son-in-law, was said to have promised aid to Mitsuhide but in actuality was reporting the plot to Hideyoshi.

7) He was asked to - one theory is that he was asked or influenced to betray Nobunaga byMori Terumoto, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Nohime, the Shimazu clan or Emperor Ogimachi.

8) Protecting the Imperial Court. One theory supposed Nobunaga may have abolished the Imperial Court in Kyoto, when he no longer needed it. Akechi Mitsuhide, who was before his treason seen as an honorable samurai, and had been a retainer to both Nobunaga and the Ashikaga Shogunate, asked his lord to guarantee the safety and honorific position of the Court, or at least for the Emperor. Nobunaga who was a fearless daredevil and had the habit of not expressing himself very clearly (because of spies and other traitors, he acted this way because his generals knew him the best and were thus able to understand his will) may have allowed uncertainty to persist regarding his project for the Court. Then Mitsuhide doubted Nobunaga, and slayed him to protect the Emperor and Japan's History.

9) Dairokuten Mao'ō (Demon King of the Six Heavens) was a title bestowed by the shocked people of Japan over Nobunaga's many abuses and tyrannical rule, and he himself used it to mock his opponents. In Buddhist interpretations of Shuten Dōji's tale, the Oni overlord Shuten Dōji was also regarded as the incarnation of Dairokuten Maō, while Emperor Ichijō was considered an avatar of Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya) and the demon slaying hero Minamoto no Yorimitsuas an avatar of Daiitoku Myōō (Yamantaka). In the fourth generation, a descendant of Raikō, Minamoto-no-Mitsunobu, came to the district of Mino where he took the name of Toki. The Toki clan was his descendant, and Mitsuhide through them, or so he may have believed himself. Thus, combined with various reasons (protecting the Imperial Court, protecting Buddhism, seeking glory and wealth, personal discontent...), Mitsuhide decided to slay the demon king Nobunaga. Coincidentally, Nobunaga burned Hiei-zan the sacred mountain of Buddhism, which was previously the lair of Shuten Dōji, which he fled for Ōe-yama out of his hatred for Buddhism and the monk Saichō who just built his temple there.

*Hosokawa Gracia*(1563 – 25 August 1600) She is known for being the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide, the wife of Hosokawa Tadaoki, and a Christian convert. She was named Tama at birth; Garasha, the name by which she is known in history, is based upon her Catholic baptismal name,Gracia.

She married Hosokawa Tadaoki at the age of sixteen; the couple had five or six children. In the Sixth Month of 1582, her father Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed and killed his lord, Oda Nobunaga, making the teenage Tama a traitor's daughter. Not wishing to divorce her, Tadaoki sent her to the hamlet of Midono in the mountains of the Tango Peninsula, where she remained hidden until 1584. Tadaoki then took Tama to the Hosokawa mansion in Osaka, where she remained in confinement.

Tama's maid was from a Catholic family, and her husband repeated to her conversations with his Christian friend Takayama Ukon. In the spring of 1587 Tama managed to secretly visit the Osaka church; a few months later, when she heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had issued a proclamation against Christianity, she was determined to be baptized immediately. As she could not leave the house, she was baptized by her maid and received the Christian name "Gracia".

In 1595 Tadaoki's life was in danger because of his friendship with Toyotomi Hidetsugu, and he told Gracia that if he should die she must kill herself. When she wrote asking the priests about the plan, they informed her that suicide was a grave sin. However, the danger passed.

The death of Hideyoshi in 1598 left a power vacuum with two rival factions forming:Tokugawa Ieyasu in the east and Ishida Mitsunari in the west. When Ieyasu went to the east in 1600 leading a large army, including Tadaoki, his rival Ishida took over the impregnable castle in Osaka, the city where the families of many of Hideyoshi's generals resided. Ishida devised a plan to take the family members hostage, thus forcing the rival generals either to ally with him or at least not to attack him.

However, when Ishida attempted to take Gracia hostage, the family retainer Ogasawara Shōsai killed her; he and the rest of the household then committed seppuku and burned the mansion down. The outrage over her death was so great that Ishida was forced to abandon his plans. Most Japanese accounts state that it was Gracia's idea to order Ogasawara to kill her. But according to the Jesuit account written right after her death, whenever Tadaoki left the mansion he would tell his retainers that if his wife's honor were ever in danger, they should kill her and then themselves. They decided that this was such a situation; Gracia had anticipated her death and accepted it.

[kamogawasanjo]

In der Tat lässt sich in der Bildersammlung Miyako Meisho Hyakkei, entstanden um 1860, eine Ansicht des Hiei-zan, betrachtet von der Sanjō Ōhashi aus, finden. Hier ebenso ist der Hiei-zan imposant und übergroß gezeichnet, um die Aussicht deutlicher zur Wirkung kommen zu lassen. Auf dem gleichen Farbholzschnitt sieht man einige Männer, die auf den Steinbänken im Fluss Stoffe bleichen; ein Anblick, den man so heutzutage natürlich nicht mehr zu Gesicht bekommt.

[nihonkamoshika]

日没（比叡山）。 Sunset (Mt. Hiei-zan). 日落。#日落 # #山 # #イマソラ #thelove_of_sunsets #比叡山 #夕日 #mountain #montaña #montanha #гора #산 # #夕焼け #sunset #coucherdusoleil #sonnenuntergang #tramonto #puestadelsol #zonsondergang #закат #일몰 #lúcmặttrờilặn #พ��ะอาทิตย์ตกดิน #matahariterbenam #ηλιοβασίλεμα #günbatımı #solnedgång #solnedgang #auringonlasku #غروب# #שקיעה# 2/19/2017, Japan time 5:31 pm this image is shot. (近江八幡市総合福祉センター ひまわり館)

[tarakubokikkan]

快晴！　朝の比叡山。KYOTO Hiei-zan Have a nice day.

[1512px]

By : HanWen Chen (Do not remove credits)

[lifeinkyoto]

Hiei-zan

[yadawara]

[joakimenglander]

Fog on Hiei-zan by Joakim Englander on Flickr.

[populuxecowboy]

Abandoned Ski Lodge, Hiei-zan, Kyoto

#kingcamera #camera+ #psexpress

© Kent Kangley 2011