1581 – 74 years ago.
The fall of Koshu
Third month, eleventh day, 1582 – 73 years ago.
The Battle of Hon’noji in the province of Joshu (Kyoto)
Sixth month, second day, 1582 – 73 years ago.
The Battle of Takamatsu in the province of Bicchu
1583 – 72 years ago.
The Battle of Shizugatake in the province of Koshu
1583 – 72 years ago.
The Battle of Kaneko in the province of Iyo
1584 – 71 years ago.
The Battle of Komaki in the domain of Bishu
1585 – 70 years ago.
The Battle of Nagakute in the province of Bishu41
The Battle of Ueda in the province of Shinshu
1584 – 71 years ago.
The Battle of Sasshuujin
1587 – 68 years ago.
The Battle of Odawara in the province of Soshu
1590 – 65 years ago.
The Battle of Kunohe in the province of Oshu
Tenth month, twenty-fourth day, 1591 – 64 years ago.
The invasion of Korai (Korea)
March, 1592 – 63 years ago.
The Battle of Ueda in the province of Shinshu
Seventh month, 1600 – 55 years ago.
The Battle of Sekigahara in the province of Noshu
September, 1600 – 55 years ago.
The Siege of Osaka Castle in the province of Sesshu
Tenth month, 1614 – 41 years ago.
The fall of Osaka Castle
Fifth month, seventh day, 1615 – 40 years ago.
The Battle of Shimabara in the province of Hizen
Second month, twenty-eighth day, 1638 – 17 years ago.
Article 41
According to an old samurai story, Amago Haruhisa of Izumo domain fought a battle with Lord Mouri Motonari and was defeated. Afterwards, a defeated chief retainer of the Amago clan, Yamanaka Shika-no-suke, gave backing to a monk – a former Amago samurai – to restart the Amago clan. This monk took the name Amago Katsuhisa, and they held Kozuki Castle. However, it turned out the castle was besieged by Mouri’s massive army and was nearly taken. Katsuhisa, just before killing himself, beckoned Shika-no-suke and said, ‘My luck has run out. You should survive and surrender to follow Motonari to save the lives of our allies.’ Shika-no-suke was surprised with this and strongly insisted on dying with him. To this Katsuhisa said again, ‘All depends on you, the fate of many lives of our allies that is. I truly hope you will surrender to Motonari. If you survive, you can wash away the shame of this unendurable disgrace some other day.’ Because he strongly requested this action, Shika-no-suke agreed to surrender to Motonari in the end.
Then a messenger was sent from the Mouri side, whose name was Oka Chikuzen. He was a formidable warrior who everybody knew of, even though he was short and ugly looking.
On seeing him, Shika-no-suke said to him, ‘Hearing and seeing are very different actually. Now I see you, you do not look as I thought that you, Sir Oka Chikuzen, would look in real life, the man whom I have heard so much about.’ And then he laughed. In response to this, the messenger Oka Chikuzen said, ‘Sir Shika, you are absolutely right. People are so different when you see them closely, from those facts or judgements you gain only by rumour. I heard that you are one of the greatest warriors that ever existed. I have never imagined that you could suggest to your lord that he should kill himself and then be willing to serve our lord instead. Hearing and seeing are really different things.’
Upon this, Shika-no-suke, though he was a courageous warrior unequalled, cried a tear without saying anything. However, it turned out that soon after Shika-no-suke was killed by some men from the Mouri clan on a ferry boat in Ainowatari of Bicchu.
Article 42
According to an old samurai story, when Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu was at the inspection of the heads of the dead during the Winter Campaign of Osaka, Honda Sanya came forward and said, ‘It is a surprise, but in all these heads you, my lord, have just inspected, I see an omen for reconciliation.’ Hearing this, Lord Ieyasu spoke in a temper, ‘That is an absurd thing for a mere youngster like you to say. I have come a long way for this battle, how is it possible that I would agree with reconciliation?’ However, as Sanya predicted, the winter campaign ended with reconciliation and people rumoured that it was a strange thing. Some people say there are five kinds of heads and it might be the foundation of his prediction.
This above story reminds me of something I should tell:
Recently I had a chance to peruse a manual about head inspection. It lists the types of heads as (See Fig 18):
Right-eyed
Left-eyed
Heaven-eyed
Earth-eyed
Buddha-eyed (half closed)
Could it be that these are the aforementioned five types of heads? Also, there is another type of head, and it is said that it should not be showed to the lord. It also says that there is a way to display a head to public view. On top of that, when you are going to present a Hitotsukubi,42 or the only head taken during a battle to the lord, there are things you should be aware of.
Here is a copy of a manual for the inspection of heads:
To be prepared for a head inspection, the lord should dress in armour or Kogusoku – which is a type of informal armour. A Tachi long-sword as well as a Katana sword should be worn on the waist. He should hold a folding fan or a round fan in his hand and sit on a chair which is covered with a bear or tiger fur.
The person who is going to show the head should be dressed in full armour with a Yugote,43 an archer’s arm bracer, however they should not don their helmet. The head should be put on a board and it should be held with your thumbs in both ears, holding both the head and the board together, this is to be done crouching but not with your knees on the ground, then show the right side of the head to the lord.
The lord should see it, sitting on his chair, with his right hand on the hilt of the Tachi sword and drawing it just a little, this is done with the spirit of confrontation. Also, this should all be done while looking sideways with the left eye. On top of that, he should have a stance with the left leg forward, as if you were shooting an arrow. Then he should take the fan with the right hand and use it.
The presenter should then withdraw in an anticlockwise direction, holding the board with the head upon it. During the course of the inspection of heads, the lord should wave the fan two or three times.
It goes without saying that if the lord was born in a year of Horse [all will be well, however, if not] put someone who is born in the year of Horse between the lord and the head with a bow of Murashigedo.44
On both sides of the head, two Kaburaya45 arrows, which have the feathers of small birds as fletchings, should be put vertically in the ground. Also, put a strung bow at a distance of 4 shaku from the head, then the lord, in turn, should be 10 shaku away from the bow – making the distance between them 14 shaku.
The warriors attending at both sides and at the rear of the lord should be dressed in armour, with a Tachi drawn and at hand, or they may hold a spear. Their hair should be in the style of Owarawa,46 just as if you were ready for a battle.
No matter how many heads there are, the lord should inspect no more than seven or eight heads.
About raising a shout of victory:
The one who serves sake should tie up his hair with a twisted paper string. The cup of sake should be filled by pouring the sake into it in four47 separate gushes, the lord should drink it four times, which makes up sixteen pours in total. The side dishes that go with the sake should be Awabi abalone, chestnuts and Konbu seaweed.48 The lord should take up each [of the four] cups for the ceremony and he pours [sake] into them four times in each cup, which adds up to sixteen pours in all and he does not drink from them. Then a shout of victory should be raised three times by the aide. After that, the third in command49 should recite the last words to the soul of the head.
It is said that Hit
otsukubi,50 or single heads, are not to be shown to the lord. However, if the lord would like to see it, he can see it by following the proper procedures.
The five types of the heads are: right-eyed, left-eyed, heaven-eyed, earth-eyed and Bhudda-eyed heads. Another type is the head of hatred, that is, those heads which are distorted and set grimacing, left-eyed and with a clenching of the teeth. In this case the ‘Kubimatsuri’, or mass, for the repose of the soul of the head, should be held.
The ritual spell to be chanted at the inspection of heads:
‘Shoaku honmatsu mumyourai jikken chokugi kashoyu nanboku’
If it is chanted, the dead will immediately attain Buddha-hood and enlightenment, this is done so that you will not be cursed or given over to divine punishment.
Only one person in the clan should read the descriptions of heads. He should read at the right side of the lord. Generally, the enemy heads should not be brought within the castle.
The board for a head should be 8 sun square. It should have a nail to fix the head in place and the corners should be rounded off, one tradition says it should be made of Chinaberry wood.
When the inspection is finished, the side dishes and sake should be offered to the lord. One of the ‘head presenters’ should be chosen and given a cup of sake. (See Fig 19.) The way to arrange the side dishes is the same as that for the return of the lord. A shout should be given only once.
For immediate and informal occasions, you (or the lord) can see the heads while standing, but with the right hand on the hilt of your sword and with the left foot remaining down, then you should put your right foot ahead of the left, and you are to have only a glimpse at the head sideways and only using the left eye. The spell to be chanted is the same as above.
The inscription for the enemy head:
The head container should have a lid. Write an inscription on the lid. The inscription should have his name, title and other things. The ideograms should be in Kaishyo, that is, block style writing.
The heads of those of a high position should be put in containers, with the names written on the lid, not with a tag on the head itself. Also around the container a sutra, or invocation, should be written.
The container should be 1 shaku, 5 sun high, 8 sun in diameter and have a swastika drawn on the cover. Sew two pieces of fabric together and wrap the container and secure it at the top. When the container is sent, put a Kibo arrow across under the knot of the box.
The tag to be put on the head:
It should be made of cedar wood and be 4 sun long, 7 bu wide, with the tip angled like a playing piece in Shogi Japanese chess. Put a string to it and put it through the left earlobe. Write the name they are commonly known by and also their personal name on it.
Washing the heads:
Wash from the lower people’s heads first. Then attend to the hair. If it is a head of position, comb the hair and tie it with a paper twisted string. If a head of lower ranking, just tie it with a left-handed rope51 of 1 shaku, 4 sun. Tie it in a tight knot without making any loops.
To send the head to the enemy, join two pieces of silk, 2 shaku long, and place the head at the centre and then tie the four corners of the cloth. Then put it into a container.
Before sending it back, you should have your men fall into rank behind the head at a distance of 5 jo [15m]. Then, the men raise only one shout of victory. With this cry the head can be sent out. This is also done at the end of any head inspection.
The enemy heads should be thrown away in the direction of Shikan .52
On the days of Rat, Horse, Hare, and Cockerel the ninth direction from Hare is to be used.
On the days of the Ox, Ram, Dragon and Dog the ninth direction from Dragon is to be used.
On the days of Tiger, Monkey, Snake and Boar the ninth direction from Snake is to be used.
Take the heads in these directions above and gibbet them, this will make the heads call their fellows53 and kill them, for they want company [in death]. These gibbeted heads should be avoided at all costs.
If there are evil people in the direction of Shikan, you should kill them and their heads should be thrown away in the ninth direction from Hare, Dragon or Snake.
Concerning the wood to be used for a gibbet:
The heads of aristocrats and generals should be gibbeted on chestnut wood while the lower rank heads should be on pear tree wood. When a number of heads are gibbeted, put up a chestnut wood post on the right and a pear wood on the left, then put silk tree wood across them. The head of the general [or Lord] should be wrapped in a Horo arrow cape when gibbeted. This is called Buddha-gake.
The stands where the heads should be put:
If it is a noble man’s head, the stand should be a Kugyo, that is a board with a brim and footed. The lower rank should have an Ashi-no-Uchi, or footed stand, and even lower ranks should have a Kan’nakake board without feet.
Kubikakenawa rope is used to hold the head, this can be made from the cord of a quiver. If not a quiver, a Hachimaki head band or a sash from armour will be fine. How to hold it is to be orally transmitted.
The heads of lower ranking people should be made in the Tabusa54 hairstyle with a left-handed rope and also they should be tied up [to the gibbet] with this rope. This way is called Hiroikake.
According to the degree of their crime, some heads should be paraded around the streets, and/or gibbeted. There are traditions to be kept for each case. In the case where you are in a battlefield and present a head to the lord while carrying a bow: first hide the head and put your bow on the ground with the string toward the lord to make it a threshold. Then show the head to the lord. After that, hide it on the other side and withdraw with your bow.
How to carry heads on horseback:
Put them on the left horn of the Shiode55 by dividing the topknot and tying it there. If you get two heads, put the second onto the right saddle-horn.
How to record the heads; an example:
From the Battle of ‘Tensho seven’ (1579) Tsuchinoto U (year of the Hare), on the fifth day of the seventh month in the hour of Snake (9-11 a.m.)
Descriptions of the decapitated heads:
‘Oumamawari56 – the lord’s mounted guard’
Put a space between the two parts below. The lower57 part58 should be written in fine line and thin colour, while the upper part in fine line but thick colour.59
One head, Watabe Hyozaemon [insert a space here] killed with a Tachi by Yamada Jibuzaemon.
One head, [insert name & position] [insert a space here] killed with a spear by [insert name & position]
Yamashita Sukezaemon [insert a space here] captured alive by Morita Sasuke.
One head [insert name & position] [insert a space here] killed with Tachi together by [name & position] & [name & position].
One head [name & position] [insert a space here] killed with a Tachi by [name & position] with the help of [name & position].
[An example recording a group of heads]:
Heads taken by the troop led by Akimoto Yemon
The heads should be written in the same style as above.
More than 2,100 heads were taken, including more than 100 people caught alive. On top of that, a countless number were killed in pursuit.
Write as above on Sugihara paper or some other form of proper paper. Folded styles of paper will also be fine. Only the first, second and third heads should be recorded as well as the generals’ heads. The fourth and fifth heads should be [socially] less important. However, it all depends on the situation.
How to write the names of the dead when you send their heads back to the enemy:
Insert date [at the top right]
From Ikeda Juzaemon [under the date]
[Sent to] Sir Kondo Hanzaemon [top left but below the date]
Put a space between your name and the enemy name just like the space between the head that has been cut off.60
If you get a letter like this from the enemy, you have to write something in the space just after the date.
This is a very important secret to be passed down.
This is the end of the writing on the inspection of heads.
Article 43
According to an old samurai story, the twenty-fifth generation from Prince Taira-no-Masakado, who was named Soma Daizen-no-kami Toshitane, had a retainer named Kanazawa Bicchu. His family had served the Soma clan generation after generation. By the time of Kanazawa Bicchu, as many as eleven generations of his family had been killed in battle in front of their lord’s horse. Bicchu had a son, Kanazawa Chubyoe. When the twenty-sixth inheritor of the Soma clan, Lord Daizen-no-kami Yoshitane, was dying because of illness, he said, ‘Eleven generations including my father have died for faith in front of the lord’s horse. However, I have done nothing to serve this lord in such a manner; no need has arisen during my generation in the service of our lord Daizen. If there is one thing I can do, it would be to follow the lord on the journey to the other world.’
Then he killed himself. Indeed, it is said that there are few samurai families who have died in the service of a lord for twelve generations.
Article 44
According to an old samurai story, there was a place named Yamazato in the area within Ota Dokan’s castle. Once, a huge mushroom with an umbrella sprouted out. Everyone said it was a kind of evil spirit and told Dokan. On hearing this, Dokan said, ‘It is not an evil spirit or such, if it sprouted out upside down, then it might be so. However, it is just bigger than the usual ones.’ He then paid it no more attention.
Samurai War Stories Page 10