Bell inscription incident

The direct cause of the Winter Siege of Osaka was the incident surrounding the inscription on the bell of the Great Buddha Hall of Kyoto's Hokoji Temple. The Great Buddha built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi was destroyed in an earthquake in 1596 (Keicho 1) and was not rebuilt during Hideyoshi's lifetime. Tokugawa Ieyasu, fearing the Toyotomi clan's abundant wealth, encouraged Hideyori and his mother and son to rebuild it in order to drain it away, and construction began. Eventually, in 1614 (Keicho 19), the Great Buddha Hall was completed, and as the day of the consecration ceremony approached, Ieyasu suddenly criticized the inscription on the bell, which read "Peace and prosperity for the nation" and "Prosperity for the ruler and his subjects," and ordered the ceremonies to be stopped. The Osaka side tried to appease Ieyasu's anger, but Ieyasu, who was thinking of using this opportunity to destroy the Toyotomi clan, pushed the Osaka side into a corner by making unreasonable demands, such as Hideyori's departure from Osaka. As a result, the Osaka side finally made up their mind and raised their troops.

[Ryoichi Okamoto]

"Osaka Winter Campaign and Summer Campaign" by Ryoichi Okamoto (1972, Sogensha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大坂冬の陣の直接原因となった京都・方広寺大仏殿の鐘銘をめぐる事件。豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉がつくった大仏は1596年（慶長1）の地震で崩壊し、秀吉の生前、再興されなかった。豊臣家の豊かな財力を恐れた徳川家康は、これを消耗させるため秀頼(ひでより)母子にその再興を勧め、工事が始まった。やがて1614年（慶長19）大仏殿が完成し、その開眼供養(かいげんくよう)の日が迫ったとき、家康は突然その鐘銘に「国家安康」「君臣豊楽」の文字のあることをとがめて供養の中止を命じた。大坂側では家康の怒りを解くことに努めたが、これを機会に豊臣氏の討滅を考えていた家康は、秀頼の大坂退去など無理難題を並べて大坂側を窮地に追い詰めた。そのため大坂方はついに意を決して兵をあげた。

［岡本良一］

『岡本良一著『大坂冬の陣・夏の陣』（1972・創元社）』

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