The Battle of Osaka

Japanese: 大坂の陣 - おおさかのじん

This refers to the two battles that took place in the winter of 1614 (Keicho 19) and the summer of 1615, in which the Tokugawa clan attacked and defeated the Toyotomi clan. With his victory in the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu effectively seized control of the country, but three years later, he was appointed Seii Taishogun, making him the ruler of the country in both name and reality. However, in Osaka, Toyotomi Hideyori and his son, who dreamed of the glory of the late Taiko era, maintained a hidden influence based in the famous Osaka Castle, even though they only held 650,000 koku of land in Settsu, Kawai, and Izumi after the Battle of Sekigahara. Since the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu had used his influence and skillful manipulation to win over the lords who had been loyal to the Toyotomi clan and had been vassals to the Tokugawa clan, and had them leave the Toyotomi clan. He also followed Hideyoshi's will and married his granddaughter, Senhime, to Hideyori, thereby earning favor with the Toyotomi clan. In 1605 (Keicho 10), Ieyasu retired from the position of Shogun after only two years due to old age, and handed the position over to his eldest son, Hidetada. The Toyotomi clan, who had believed in Ieyasu's good intentions and expected the return of power to them after Senhime's marriage, were greatly infuriated by their disappointment, but Ieyasu had made it clear to both inside and outside the country that the position of Shogun was hereditary to the Tokugawa clan. The Toyotomi clan was increasingly wary of Ieyasu's mixed approach, but they were unable to gauge his true intentions.

Ieyasu ordered the Toyotomi family to rebuild and restore famous temples and shrines throughout the country, claiming that it was for the purpose of praying for the soul of the late Taiko, and tried to drain their financial resources. The reconstruction of the Kyoto Great Buddha Hall was a major project that depleted the Toyotomi family's treasury. When the Great Buddha Hall was finally completed and the consecration ceremony was near, Ieyasu made unreasonable accusations about the inscription on the bell, pressuring the Toyotomi family and driving them into a corner. On the Toyotomi side, Katagiri Katsumoto, who tried to settle the situation peacefully, went to Sunpu and tried to explain, but was toyed with by Ieyasu and returned to Osaka in vain. However, the extremists within the castle expelled Katsumoto from Osaka Castle, claiming that he had connections to the Kanto region, and raised troops.

[Ryoichi Okamoto]

Winter Campaign

The Osaka side asked the daimyo who were under Toyotomi's patronage to come to their aid, but the daimyo were afraid of the power of the Tokugawa clan and not a single one responded to their request. The Osaka side could only rely on Sanada Yukimura, Chosokabe Morichika, Akashi Zento, Mori Katsunaga, Goto Mototsugu and others, as well as over 100,000 ronin (masterless samurai) who had rushed to the Osaka Castle from all over the country, and the strong defense of the famous and impregnable castle. Ieyasu, who had been waiting for the Osaka side to raise an army, mobilized almost all the daimyo from all over the country, a total of about 300,000, and surrounded Osaka Castle with the largest army since Emperor Jimmu. There were skirmishes at Shigino, Imabuku, Bakurogafuchi, Sanada Demaru, and other places, as well as fierce gun attacks by the opposing forces, but Osaka Castle was well-defended and the bitter cold made little progress in the battle. Seeing a protracted war as unfavorable, Ieyasu continued his fierce attacks, stirring up fear of war among Hideyori's mother, Yodo-dono, and others, and building up momentum within the castle for a peace agreement. Ieyasu's aim was to fill in the moat around Osaka Castle through the peace agreement, thereby reducing the defensive power of the castle. After several negotiations, a peace agreement was finally reached in December 1614. In the peace agreement, the attacking forces were only to fill the moat of the Sogamae, but Ieyasu broke that agreement and, overriding the protests of the Osaka side, filled in not only the Sogamae, but also the Ninomaru and Sannomaru moats, except for the inner moat. Konchiin Suden, a close attendant to Ieyasu and known as the Black Robe Prime Minister, said of the Osaka Castle, "The moat of Osaka Castle has been filled in, and the Honmaru has become shallow and unsightly." Osaka Castle was no longer a famous and impregnable castle.

[Ryoichi Okamoto]

Summer Battle

With the moat being filled in, even though it had not been promised, the Osaka side's distrust of Ieyasu grew even stronger. Seeing a rematch as inevitable, they hurriedly began preparing for war by stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and military supplies. For Ieyasu, this was a good excuse for a rematch. Ieyasu presented conditions that the Osaka side could not possibly accept, such as Hideyori's transfer to Yamato (Nara Prefecture) or Ise (Mie Prefecture) and the expulsion of ronin (prisoners), and made it difficult for them to accept these conditions, saying that if they did not accept them, he would not consider them to be loyal. The Osaka side once again took up Ieyasu's provocation and raised their troops. Ieyasu, who had been waiting, arrived in Kyoto on April 18, 1615, and Hidetada arrived on the 21st of the same year, and held a military council. On May 5th, the main force led by Ieyasu and Hidetada left Kyoto and advanced along the Kyoto Highway, while the detached force that had gathered in the Nara area advanced along the Yamato Road, both heading for Osaka Castle. In response, the Osaka side, which had lost its moat, decided to march out, and on this day, Goto Mototsugu, Sanada Yukimura, and others advanced to Kokubu and Domyouji to meet and attack the Yamato forces, while Kimura Shigenari and Chosokabe Morichika advanced from the Kyoto Highway to Yao and Wakae to challenge Ieyasu and Hidetada's main camp, which was advancing along the Higashi-Kouya Highway, and a fierce battle broke out on both fronts at dawn on the following day, the 6th. However, the battle was not in Osaka's favor, and both generals Goto and Kimura were killed in battle. The final battle took place on the 7th, mainly on the fronts of Tennoji and Okayama to the south of the castle, but here too the Osaka side was defeated despite fighting well. The castle also caught fire and fell that same day. Ono Harunaga, who was with Hideyori until the end, managed to get Senhime to escape the castle so that she could plead for the lives of Hideyori and his mother and son, but it was in vain, and Hideyori and his men committed suicide in the burnt tower the following day, the 8th, and the Toyotomi clan was destroyed.

[Ryoichi Okamoto]

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

[Reference] | Zhongming Incident

Osaka Winter Campaign: Arrangements of both armies
©Shogakukan ">

Osaka Winter Campaign: Arrangements of both armies

Arrangements of the two armies in the Summer Campaign of Osaka
©Shogakukan ">

Arrangements of the two armies in the Summer Campaign of Osaka

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

1614年（慶長19）の冬および翌1615年の夏、徳川氏が豊臣(とよとみ)氏を攻め滅ぼした両度の戦いをいう。関ヶ原の戦いの勝利によって、徳川家康は事実上、天下の覇権を握ったが、それから3年後、征夷大将軍(せいいたいしょうぐん)に任ぜられたことにより名実ともに天下の覇者となった。しかし大坂には、関ヶ原の戦い以後、摂河泉で65万石を領すにすぎなくなったとはいえ、ひたすら故太閤(たいこう)時代の栄光を夢みる豊臣秀頼(ひでより)母子が、名城大坂城に拠(よ)って隠然たる勢力を保持していた。家康は関ヶ原以来、徳川家に臣従した旧豊臣恩顧の大名らを、恩威ならび行う巧みな操縦策によって懐柔し、彼らの豊臣離れを図るとともに、秀吉の遺言を守って、孫娘の千姫(せんひめ)を秀頼に嫁せしめるなどして豊臣家に恩を売った。1605年（慶長10）家康は老齢を理由にわずか2年で将軍職を退き、その跡を嫡子秀忠(ひでただ)に譲った。千姫の輿入(こしい)れで家康の善意を信じ、政権の返還を期待していた豊臣側は、その期待を裏切られて大いに憤激したが、家康はこれによって将軍職は徳川家の世襲であることを内外に示したわけである。このような硬軟取り混ぜた家康の出方に、豊臣側は警戒の念を深めながらも、その真意のほどを測りかねていた。

　家康はそのような豊臣家に対して、故太閤の菩提(ぼだい)を弔うためとの理由で、全国各地の著名な諸社寺の復興、修復を次々に行わせ、その財力を消耗させることに努めた。なかでも京都大仏殿の再建は、さしもの豊臣家の府庫を乏しくさせるほどの大工事であった。しかもこの大仏殿がようやく完成し開眼供養(かいげんくよう)が間近に迫った段階で、家康はその鐘銘(しょうめい)に理不尽な言いがかりをつけて豊臣家を圧迫、窮地に追い詰めた。豊臣側では事態を穏便に処理せんとした片桐且元(かたぎりかつもと)が駿府(すんぷ)に赴き、弁解これ努めたが、家康に翻弄(ほんろう)されてむなしく帰坂した。しかし城内の過激派は、このような且元を関東に通ずるものとして大坂城から追放するとともに兵をあげた。

［岡本良一］

冬の陣

大坂側は豊臣恩顧の大名たちに来援を求めたが、大名たちは徳川氏の勢威を恐れ、ただの1人もこれに応ずる者はいなかった。大坂方が頼むのは真田幸村(さなだゆきむら)、長宗我部盛親(ちょうそがべもりちか)、明石全登(あかしぜんと)、毛利勝永(もうりかつなが)、後藤基次(ごとうもとつぐ)らをはじめとし、全国各地から馳(は)せ参じた10万余の牢人(ろうにん)と、難攻不落の名城の堅い守りのみであった。大坂方の挙兵を待ち望んでいた家康は、ほとんど全国の大名を動員して総勢およそ30万、神武以来といわれた大軍勢を指揮して大坂城を包囲した。鴫野(しぎの)、今福、伯労ヶ淵(ばくろうがふち)、真田の出丸(でまる)などでの小競(こぜ)り合いや、寄せ手のすさまじい鉄砲攻撃などがあったが、大坂城の守りは堅く、厳寒のもとに戦局はほとんど進展しなかった。長期戦を不利とみた家康は、引き続き苛烈(かれつ)な攻撃を繰り返して、秀頼の母淀殿(よどどの)らの戦争恐怖心をあおり、城中に和議締結の気運を高めさせた。家康のねらいは和議により大坂城の堀を埋め、この城の防御力を減殺することにあった。幾度かの折衝のすえ1614年12月、ついに和議は成立した。和議では、寄せ手は総構(そうがまえ)の堀をつぶすだけとなっていたのであるが、家康はその約を破り、大坂方の抗議を押し切って、総構ばかりでなく、内堀を除く二の丸、三の丸の堀まですべて埋めてしまった。家康に近侍し黒衣の宰相といわれた金地院崇伝(こんちいんすうでん)は、このような大坂城を「大坂の城堀埋まり、本丸ばかりにて浅間しくなり、見苦しき体にて御座候」といっている。大坂城はもはや難攻不落の名城ではなくなったのである。

［岡本良一］

夏の陣

約束外の堀まで埋められ、改めて家康不信の念を強くした大坂方は、再戦必至とみて、武器、弾薬、兵糧(ひょうろう)の集積など、あわてて戦争準備を始めた。家康にとってこれは再戦のよい口実になった。家康は秀頼の大和(やまと)（奈良県）あるいは伊勢(いせ)（三重県）への国替(くにがえ)や牢人の追放など、大坂側がとうてい受諾できない条件を示して、もし承知せねば恭順の意ありとは認めがたいと難題を吹きかけた。大坂方はまたもやこの家康の挑発にのって兵をあげた。待ち設けていた家康は1615年4月18日、秀忠は同21日ともに京都に到着して軍議をこらした。そして5月5日、家康、秀忠に率いられる本隊は京都を発して京街道を進み、奈良方面に集結していた別働隊は大和路を進んで、ともに大坂城を目ざした。これに対し、濠をなくした大坂方は全員出撃に決し、この日、後藤基次、真田幸村らは大和方面軍を迎え討つべく国分(こくぶ)、道明寺(どうみょうじ)へ、木村重成(きむらしげなり)、長宗我部盛親らは京街道から東高野街道(ひがしこうやかいどう)を進む家康、秀忠の本陣に決戦を挑むべく八尾(やお)、若江(わかえ)へ進出、翌6日の払暁(ふつぎょう)からこの両方面で激戦が行われた。しかし戦いは大坂方に利あらず、後藤、木村の両将は討ち死に。翌7日、最後の決戦が城南の天王寺(てんのうじ)、岡山の両正面を中心に行われたが、ここでも大坂方は善戦のすえことごとく敗北。城も火を発してこの日のうちに落ちた。最後まで秀頼とともにあった大野治長(おおのはるなが)は、秀頼母子の助命を嘆願させるため千姫を城外に脱出させたが、それも空しく、秀頼らは翌8日、焼け残りの櫓(やぐら)の中で自殺し、豊臣氏は滅亡した。

［岡本良一］

『岡本良一著『大坂冬の陣・夏の陣』（1972・創元社）』

[参照項目] | 鐘銘事件

大坂冬の陣両軍布陣図

大坂夏の陣両軍布陣図

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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