The beggar prince of Japan conquered God Island

exist Akira Blacksaw run (1985)the powerful Lord Ishimengi retired his territory and divided his territory into his sons. They ended up against him because the film was inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear and the real-life warlord Motonari. In the movie, Ichimonji asks his son to break the single arrow, they easily break the single arrow and then give them a set of three arrows, proving that it is more durable, a legend to Motonari, trying to teach the importance of unification to his children.

The rest of the movie is exploring if Motonari’s children don’t take this lesson to heart. But in the real world, they did, loyal to their father because of their respect for tactical genius and his power that he had almost nothing. This is his story.

Prince beggar is waiting to observe

Mori Motonari (1497–1571) was born in a middle-class samurai family in Aki province, today in the western Hiroshima Prefecture. By then, the country was swallowed up in a civil war, as the Motonari clan sat outside due to the decline of its power, which was not to say that Motonari had any say in the political decisions of his clan, as he was the second son. At that time, at best, the second son was considered a spare part in case the eldest son died. Worst of all, they are expensive burdens. After Motonari’s older brother Okimoto controlled the family, Motonari was sent to the isolated mountaintop castle of Tajihi-Sarugake in Akitakata, where his simple life and lack of political power made him the nickname of “Prince Begel”.

But Motonari didn’t cry, nor did he beg. Instead, he built a network of informants, wrote down the top dogs in the western western region, established relationships with influential fixed people, read strategies and generally devoted time, probably in the process of doing the entire finger pyramid. When Oxyro died, his major breakthrough finally came, and Motonari was appointed as the guardian of his nephew Comatumaru, the heir to the clan.

But when Okimoto’s son – Very convenient For his uncle – also passed away, Motonari found himself the main candidate for the next family leader. And, as he spent a lot of time mentally preparing for this situation, he knew exactly which factions would rebel against him, and he was ready for them. There was a massacre and some forced Seppuku here.

Utagawa Kunisada (1825) by Miyajima (Aki Province) | rijksmuseum

No friends on the battlefield

Through strategic marriages, peace treaties, diplomacy, and the occasional massacre (because why mess up the formula of victory?), Motonari quickly strengthened Mory’s power throughout the Aki. Ultimately, he felt strong enough to break his historic connection with the Amago clan to be a retainer of the powerful Ouchi family in Suo Province (part of modern Yamaguchi County).

In response, Amago on the number attacked Mori’s Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, but did not find it an easy target they expected. Motonari utilizes the landscape of mountain fortifications, which slows the enemy down and makes transporting siege engines very difficult. He also used night raids and ambushes, mainly targeting officials and standard soldiers, in order to reduce Amago’s morale.

All Motonari needs is purchase time until Ouchi reinforcements arrive. Finally, they do so, led by Ouchi’s advanced fixer Sue Harukata. Together, they promoted the Amago troops and established a bond of trust that would later benefit Motonari. In 1551, Su was preparing to compete with his Lord Ouchi Yoshitaka, and ended with Yoshitaka being forced to commit Seppuku. Motonari knew about the coup and silently supported the coup, but obviously did not know that Yoshitaka was dead. Still, it gave him an excuse that he needed to object to Sue.

Amago Haruhisa (16th century) of unknown artists | Wikimedia Commons

Pen is stronger than sword

In preparation for the battle with Su, Motonari hopes to undermine his direct enemy and Amago in case the latter has any interesting ideas when he is busy “revenge” Ouchi Yoshitaka. Legend has it that Motonari deceived Amago Haruhisa to kill his uncle Amago Kunihisa, a veteran fighter and one of Amago’s best generals, known as “God and Demon of Military Affairs.”

In some versions, Motonari is actually fake, portraying Kunihisa as a spy or a letter that suggests that he wants to control Amago. Modern scholars believe that the whole thing is more about Haruhisa’s desire to consolidate control over his clan (or perhaps about Kunihisa’s disrespect for his nephew), but Motonari was so famous at that time that Kunihisa’s death was still often attributed to him.

The same story is told about a close retention of Sue Harukata, who was sentenced to death in his letter “outing” because he was a spy or a rebel who found their master. Perhaps if the times were alive, he could have told Sue that attacking and occupying “God” was a strategic bad idea.

Battle of Miyajima by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1865)

Fighting on God Island

The decisive confrontation between Motonari and Harukata took place at the Battle of Miyajima (1555). Motonari used the moral anger of the coup around the coup to consolidate the support of former Ouchi retainers, thus gathering a large army, but opting to fight Sue directly. Instead, he exploited a patented portfolio of deception, terrain and psychological manipulation. First, he built a temporary fortification on Itsukushima Island (Miyajima), the site of the famous shrine Floating on the water During orgasm. Then, he complained openly and loudly about how impossible it is to hold the fortress for a long time…

This prompted Sue to land and occupy the island, assuming that this is strategically important for Motonari, as expected by the so-called letter. Because Miajima himself is considered the body of God, this move had a devastating effect on the morale of the Su soldiers. Once his thoughts rattle, Motonari uses a violent storm as cover to land his two sons behind the enemy’s line, while his third son places the ship in Sue’s panoramic view to distract him.

After the first retreat (another favorite Mori tactic), two armies immediately attacked the Pliers movement. Su’s troops fled, but were chased Mudimi Pirates. Sue Harukata himself ended up committing Seppuku. The battle ensured Motonari’s rule over much of western Japan, and by the time of his death he was the master of 10 provinces. Not bad for Aki’s beggar prince.

Related Articles