What kind of military commander was Ishida Mitsunari? Historical critic Toshi Kohara said, “He was an excellent man who was skilled in practical matters and possessed courage.However, because he continued to be faithful to the will of his master Hideyoshi, he came into conflict with other warlords, leading to the collapse of the Toyotomi government.” “I created an opportunity for this,” he said.
Silk coloring by Ishida San (model) (Photo = Uji Shumizu/CC-PD-Mark/Wikimedia Commons) Why the division began under the Toyotomi administration
On Leap March 4, 1599, Ishida Mitsunari was attacked by seven powerful military commanders under the patronage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Kiyomasa Kato, Yukinaga Asano, Iemasa Hachisuka, Masanori Fukushima, Takatora Todo, Nagamasa Kuroda, and Tadaoki Hosokawa. . That day was the day after the death of Toshiie Maeda, who had been trying to reconcile with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had become increasingly independent. However, Ieyasu seemed to be receiving backlash, but the Toyotomi-affiliated military commanders attacked Mitsunari, not Ieyasu.
The incident was eventually reconciled through Ieyasu’s intercession, and Mitsunari retired from political affairs and retired to his castle, Sawayama (Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture).
In the 40th episode of the NHK taiga drama “What’s Ieyasu to do?” (broadcast on October 22nd), Mitsunari, who is now retiring, greets Ieyasu and says, “I have not done anything wrong. “I am proud that I have been more faithful to His Imperial Highness (Hideyoshi)’s will than anyone else,” he asserted his legitimacy. I think these words certainly symbolize the cause of the attack, and by extension Mitsunari as a person.
The Mitsunari attack occurred as a result of contradictions within the Toyotomi government, and could be called the beginning of the Battle of Sekigahara. This was caused by Mitsunari’s attempt to be “loyal to His Imperial Highness’s will more than anyone else,” and it can be said that the more “loyal” Mitsunari was, the deeper the division within the Toyotomi government became.
