Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

How could Takeda Motomitsu not know that what Amago Akihisa said was intended to discredit the Ouchi and Mori families and to incite his dissatisfaction with the two families as a newcomer, so as to achieve the purpose of alienating the two families.

However, Takeda Motomitsu already had an idea in his mind, and it was impossible to shake it with just a few words. However, due to the situation, he could only follow the words of Akihisa Niwa and said, "I have heard that Ouchisuke and Mori Umato have been causing trouble in Aki for many years, and their intention to destroy the Takeda clan is obvious. This time, I am leading 500 troops to Ginzan Castle to stabilize the situation and stop the two families from destroying the Takeda clan."

After that, Takeda Motomitsu picked up the wine cup and said to Akihisa Niwa: "After all, my Takeda clan is alone. If the two families attack together, I am afraid it will be difficult to hold on. At that time, I hope Your Highness will not hesitate to help me to protect my Ginzan Castle and ensure the survival of my Takeda clan."

"Of course, our family will certainly help you with all we have!" Akihisa Niwa also picked up the wine cup, nodded slightly to Motomitsu Takeda, and then drank it all in one gulp.

At that time, the Japanese were accustomed to drinking from small cups, rather than from wine glasses or even wine bowls like the Chinese.

The reason for this was that it became popular in Japan at that time to drink sake. This kind of wine, which was brewed only with water and rice, was different from turbid wine. It was clear and transparent, fragrant and pleasant, with a pure, mellow and refreshing taste, and was deeply loved by the nobility and the samurai class.

However, rice was a very precious commodity in troubled times, and sake brewed from rice was even more of a luxury. Therefore, the Japanese at that time drank from small cups and only took a sip. Even at large banquets, each person had a small pot on the table. There was no such thing as "eating meat with big mouthfuls and drinking wine with big bowls".

Not only that, this grand banquet to entertain the Takeda clan was also very different from our impression of a scene filled with delicious fish, meat and delicacies.

On each person's table, there was a small fish two fingers wide, a plate of pickled radish, a small dish of cooked vegetables, a bowl of rice, a small bowl of miso soup, and the pot of sake mentioned earlier. This was the configuration of a high-end banquet to entertain guests at that time.

As for why it is so "shabby", on the surface, Japan believes in Buddhism. After Emperor Tenmu issued the "Meat Ban", meat-eating was banned nationwide. But in fact, it was mainly due to frequent wars and the scarcity of resources in Japan. From the nobles to the common people, they all tightened their belts and were forced to form this eating habit. This "less but better" feature has also continued to this day to a certain extent.

Having said that, seeing Akihisa Amago and Motomitsu Takeda raising their glasses to drink together, Kamei Hidatsuna, who was sitting next to them, felt very pleased. Thinking that after today, the Takeda clans in Wakasa and Aki would all serve the Amago clan, he was overjoyed and picked up the wine cup to drink.

In this harmonious atmosphere, everyone was toasting and chatting happily. Who could have imagined that in the near future, the two groups of people sitting on the left and right in front of Akihisa Niwa would draw their swords against each other, go their separate ways, and go in opposite directions.

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Akihisa Niwa persuaded Takeda Motomitsu and his party to stay in Tsukiyama Tomita Castle for a few days, and he would also send two hundred troops to accompany them to ensure that Takeda Nobumasa could arrive at Ginzan Castle safely.

However, Takeda Motomitsu was worried that the night would be too long and that Niwa Akihisa had other plans with the two hundred men, so he politely declined his "good intentions" and after settling down in the castle town for one night, he set off to continue his journey.

Although Akihisa Niwa felt a little strange about Takeda Motomitsu's refusal, he did not take it too seriously. After all, he believed that the Niwa clan was the only reliance for the survival of the Aki Takeda clan, and no matter how Takeda Motomitsu struggled, he would still have to obey him in the end.

Finally, with the help of Yoshikawa Okisuke, Takeda Motomitsu and his party successfully entered the Takeda territory in Aki and entered Sadō Ginzan Castle on August 3.

Here I would like to introduce Yoshikawa Okisuke. He was a native of Aki Province. His father was Yoshikawa Mototsune and his mother was the half-sister of Mori Motonari.

As his father died early, he inherited the throne with the assistance of his grandfather Yoshikawa Kunishige. After he succeeded to the throne, he actively expanded the Yoshikawa family's sphere of influence in the northern part of Aki Province and the southern part of Iwami Province, becoming the target of both Ouchi Yoshitaka and Amago Nobunaga's efforts to win over.

However, due to the geographical proximity to the Amago clan and the fact that his grandfather Yoshikawa Kunimitsu's sister was the principal wife of Amago Nobunaga, the Yoshikawa family has long been close to the Amago clan and, like the Aki Takeda clan, became an important fulcrum of the Amago clan in Aki Province.

In fact, the Mori clan was also subordinate to the Amago clan for a period of time. However, the Amago clan planned a rebellion to support Aiga Mototsuna and split the Mori clan, which led to the split between the two families. As a result, Mori Motonari severed his subordinate relationship with the Amago clan and turned to the Ouchi clan.

In particular, in 1537, Mori Motonari sent his legitimate son Mori Takamoto to the Ouchi clan as a hostage in order to gain further support from Ouchi Yoshitaka. Since then, the Mori and Yoshikawa families, who had been related by marriage for generations, became enemies due to their different positions.

After talking about the current situation of Yoshikawa and Mori, we have to talk about another powerful countryman in Aki, the Numata Kobayakawa clan. As the direct descendant of the Kobayakawa clan, the Numata Kobayakawa clan was originally subordinate to the Ouchi clan, just like the branch family of the Takehara Kobayakawa clan.

However, in 8, the head of the Numata Kobayakawa clan, Kobayakawa Masahira, was betrayed by the Amago clan and was about to leave the Ouchi clan. However, Ouchi Yoshitaka knew about this in advance and immediately sent troops to occupy his home castle, Takayama Castle. Masahira was also monitored by the castle guards sent by the Ouchi clan, and the Amago clan's plan failed.

After all, although both families were trying their best to win over each other, looking at the entire Aki, the people belonging to the Ouchi clan still accounted for the majority. Under this circumstance, the existence of the Aki Takeda clan was very important to the expansion of the Amago Aki clan into Aki.

Sadō Ginzan Castle was built in 1221 by Takeda Nobumune, the ninth head of the Kai Genji clan and the sixth head of the Takeda clan, as the residence of the Aki Takeda clan.

This castle, built on the 400-plus-zhang (-meter) high Takeda Mountain, has been expanded and renovated by successive heads of the Takeda clan in Aki. With more than curved ramparts and a large number of Horikiri, it has become one of the few strong castles in Aki. It has also become a thorn in the side of the Ouchi clan, who have repeatedly wanted to take it down.

When Takeda Motomitsu led an army of 500 to the foot of Ginzan Castle, many elders, powerful families and local people under the Aki Takeda clan had been waiting for a long time.

Looking at the "Shiwari" fluttering in the wind and the rolling yellow sand not far away, Shinagawa Nobumasa, the elder of the Takeda clan in Aki, was filled with emotion: "This army that has come all the way from Wakasa is like a timely help to our family."

"What do you mean by this, Sakyo Ryo?" Naoyuki Kibi, who is also a family elder, felt that there was something else behind Shinagawa Nobumasa's words, so he asked him for advice.

"Don't think too much, Bungo-no-kami. I just think that with such a powerful army and the support of the Amago family, our family can gain a firm foothold in Aki without having to worry anymore." Shinagawa Nobumasa replied.

"Fearful?" Naoyuki Kifaki sneered and responded, "My lord, do you mean that our family no longer needs to be afraid of the Ouchisuke?"

"Isn't it?" Shinagawa Nobumasa asked, "The Amago family has now conquered three countries, and its power is far greater than before. It is fully capable of guaranteeing the safety of the main family. Now that Wakasa's Wueden has sent such an elite force, does the main family still need to be afraid of Ouchisuke?"

After hearing this, Ji Feizhi felt quite disdainful:
"You old man, you are able to occupy a place in Ginzan Castle only because you have the support of the Amago family. Now Ouchisuke has the upper hand in Aki. Can these 500 troops turn the situation around? Besides, who knows why the Wakasa Takeda family sent troops here? It's too early to jump to conclusions now."

However, as a fellow patriarch of the Takeda clan in Aki, Naoyuki Kifi did not want to be aggressive, so he followed Shinagawa Nobumasa's lead and said, "What Sakyo Ryo said makes sense. With the support of the Wakasa Takeda clan, our family can indeed maintain its foothold in Aki."

"Bungo-no-Kami, have you considered what I said last time? Time waits for no one." Shinagawa Nobumasa suddenly changed the subject and asked. "Do you mean to go to Tsukiyama Tomita Castle?" Kifaki Naoyuki asked back.

Shinagawa Nobumasa nodded and said, "You know, Kagawa Goro (Kagawa Mitsuki) wants to negotiate with the Ouchi family and be the dog of the Ouchi family. He can't be stopped. Of course, he doesn't want to follow me to visit Lord Nagakuni and His Highness Akikuni. But you are different. You should still remember who killed your father, right? If you want to avenge your father, the Amago family is your only hope."

Naoyuki Kiki's father, Munemitsu Kiki, was one of the important retainers of the Takeda clan who died in the Battle of Aritanakaide along with Motonao Kumagai and Gyokage Kagawa.

From Shinagawa Nobumasa's perspective, Naoyuki Kiki and Mitsuki Kagawa are different. The latter inherited the family business because his uncle died in the war, and in a sense he should thank the Mori clan; while the former's father died in the war, and the hatred of his father's murder was irreconcilable. Naoyuki Kiki would never reach peace with the Ouchi and the Mori clans no matter what.

Therefore, Shinagawa Nobumasa felt that Kiki Naoyuki should stand with him and express submission to the Amago clan in exchange for their support.

But Naoyuki Kiki didn't think so. On the one hand, he saw that Kumagai Motonao, who also had a grudge against his father, had already sided with the Ouchi and Mori families, so he had no psychological burden. On the other hand, Kiki Castle was right under the nose of Ouchi Yoshitaka. As the saying goes, "distant water cannot quench near thirst", once the Ouchi clan attacked, the Amago clan would probably be still mobilizing and the castle would be breached.

After careful consideration, Naoyuki Kifi decided to secretly submit to Yoshitaka Ouchi through the relationship with Kagawa Mitsuki. At the same time, in order not to arouse the vigilance and fierce reaction of the pro-Niango faction such as Shinagawa Nobumasa, Naoyuki Kifi pretended to be neutral on the surface, maintaining a friendly and certain distance with both factions, thereby paralyzing the pro-Niango faction in his family.

Therefore, in response to Shinagawa Nobumasa's request to accompany him to visit Akihisa Niwa, Kifi Naoyuki still evaded the question by saying "This is a serious matter, please let me think it over", which made Shinagawa Nobumasa secretly unhappy.

However, in the eyes of Akihisa Niwa, Kifaki Castle was a sharp knife pointing at Ouchi Yoshitaka. Its geographical location was very important, which made Kifaki Naoyuki a target that he had to win over at all costs.

Therefore, in order to successfully complete the task assigned by Akihisa Niwa, Shinagawa Nobumasa could only suppress his displeasure and smiled as he suggested to Naoyuki Kiki that he should think it over as soon as possible and give him an answer.

After hearing this, Naoyuki Kifaki just nodded to indicate "I understand" and did not continue talking about this topic.

After a while, Takeda Motomitsu, Takeda Nobumitsu, Shirai Kiyotane, Kagawa Mitsukage and others rode their horses and arrived at the castle town ahead of the main force.

When they came to the retainers, Takeda Motomitsu dismounted quickly and saluted everyone, while Takeda Nobumitsu, with the help of Shirai Kiyotane, carefully got off the horse. This scene made the retainers of the Takeda clan in Aki frown.

"Is this the new head of our family? He has fair and tender skin and a thin and weak body. He doesn't look like a samurai at all." A retainer whispered softly to the retainer next to him.

"That's right. Look at the way he dismounted from the horse. I doubt whether he has ever learned horse riding before. How can such a guy be the head of our family?" said another retainer disdainfully.

"Hush, keep your voice down." At this time, another retainer reminded: "He brought 500 elite soldiers with him. If we offend him, neither you nor I will have a good ending."

After hearing this, everyone immediately shut up, fearing that they would be regarded as the "first to stick their heads out" and be beaten.

"Your Highness Nobumasa, thank you for your hard work on the journey to Hoshinji Temple." Shinagawa Nobumasa walked up to the two of them and bowed.

"That's not true," Takeda Motomitsu said politely while returning the greeting, "It's so hot, and I'm ashamed to have you all wait here."

"Your Highness, you are joking. Your Highness Nobumasa will soon be the head of our family. As his subjects, it is our duty to wait here." Shinagawa Nobumasa responded modestly.

"Sakyo Ryo, long time no see." At this time, Kagawa Mitsuki also came over and greeted Shinagawa Nobumasa.

"It's been a long time since we last met, Master Mitsuki." Shinagawa Nobumasa changed his friendly demeanor and responded in a cold tone. Before Kagawa Mitsuki could react, he came to Takeda Nobumasa and introduced the Takeda retainers who came to greet him, leaving Kagawa Mitsuki standing there awkwardly.

"Sakyo Ryo, just wait, you will suffer in the future." Kagawa Mitsuki said viciously in his heart.

Seeing this scene, Takeda Motomitsu truly felt the rift within the Aki Takeda clan, which also made him a little worried about promoting peace with the Ouchi clan in the future.

At this time, under the guidance of Shinagawa Nobumasa, Takeda Nobumasa was like a little chick, nodding frequently at the unfamiliar faces in front of him like a chick pecking at rice.

Looking at Takeda Nobumasa's dull expression and panicky behavior, some of the retainers of the Aki Takeda clan shook their heads helplessly, some were secretly delighted, some frowned, and some sighed. In a word, they had no hope for the new head.

After a round of greetings, everyone entered the castle town under the guidance of Shinagawa Mitsuki. Except for Takeda Motomitsu and Takeda Nobumitsu who rested in the castle lord's residence, most of the accompanying retainers were temporarily arranged to live in the samurai residences in the town.

Due to the fatigue from the long journey and a slight case of acclimatization, Takeda Nobumitsu asked Takeda Motomitsu to attend the welcoming dinner on that day, while he himself fell into a deep sleep with his pillow in his arms.

At the dinner, retainers of the Takeda clan in Aki toasted to Takeda Motomitsu and Shirai Kiyotane. Although the two sides had not had much contact before, with the blessing of alcohol, they became old friends reunited. As they toasted each other, there was harmony and joy in the hall.

"Hoshinji Temple, it should be relatively smooth walking all the way from Wakasa, right?" Shinagawa Nobumasa asked with a smile.

Takeda Motomitsu nodded: "Although the journey is long, fortunately most of the journey is within the territory of the Amago family. Thanks to the care of His Highness Akihisa, the journey was relatively smooth."

"That's good, that's good." Shinagawa Nobumasa heard from Takeda Motomitsu's words that he was grateful to the Amago family. This seemed to indicate that Takeda Motomitsu was pro-Amago family, or at the very least had a good impression of the Amago family.

However, the shrewd Takeda Motomitsu was about to disappoint him. (End of this chapter)