Documentary 2017 Documentary 2017 Japan
the Japanese have rites and ceremonies so different from those of all other
nations the things they do are beyond imagining and it may be truly said that
Japan is a world the reverse of Europe to the first Westerners in Japan it was
a mysterious world it was the fabled Isle of zipangu that Marco Polo had only
heard about the land of reaches that Christopher Columbus set out to find
when the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 they encountered a country
embroiled in civil war out of this chaos one samurai warrior would emerge he
would create a regime so strong it endured for over 250 years witnesses to
this world both Western observers and Japanese roted these changing times
there's is a story of flowering culture a poetic ritual and of rigid power
struggles it is the saga of opening trade with Europe and then closing its
doors to the west
these are the memoirs of Japan's secret Empire
on the 25th day of the eighth month of the year out the water and hair there
appeared off our western shore a big shoe no one knew whence it had come as a
Buddhist monk later recounted samurai guards were quickly dispatched to warn
their master there were strangers on board these ships unlike anyone the
Japanese had ever seen the local warlord called a daimyo summoned these strangers
the first Europeans to ever set foot on Japanese Shores it was the year 15 43
when these Portuguese merchants arrived the daimyo was intrigued by their
peculiar unknown weapons the Japanese always liked novel things new things
fared so to speak and so they were very very interested in the Europeans
after he watched the Portuguese shoot down a duck the daimyo purchased two
guns and put his swordsmith to work making copies then he asked for shooting
lessons these first Europeans their guns and their religion would have
unforeseeable consequences
in this same year a boy was born to a daimyo family he would be known as
Tokugawa Ieyasu his destiny would be to change Japan forever as an elite member
of the samurai class the boy inherited a world of tradition a feudal realm of
samurai warriors who ruled by birthright and soared the son of a daimyo Lord
Ieyasu would soon have to give up children's games for the politics of war
when Yasir was still a child the ruling daimyo demanded that ei Osos father send
the young boy to him as a hostage insurance that all orders would be
obeyed when children were taken as hostages it did not mean prisoners this
was all part of the political negotiation in which our alliances had
to be formed because no one trusted no one else so there had to be guarantee
and therefore that hostage was used as a hostage the young samurai boy travelled
in the style befitting his daimyo rank
he could not know his destiny nor could he know that he would never see his
father again he would grow up a hostage his life captive to the turmoil of civil
war the whole of Japan was involved in Wars treachery was rampant and nobody
trusted his neighbor they would enter into league with one faction and then
deserted for another as the winds of Fortune blew
while Rodriguez and I witness to these perilous times was one of the first
Portuguese to arrive in Japan he came as a cabin boy of 15 and would soon become
a Jesuit missionary
as Portuguese merchants traversed the oceans in search of new ports for trade
Jesuit missionaries accompanied them searching for souls to save
the Jesuits were young and dedicated braving the hardships of the dangerous
two-year voyage to reach Japan a country which they considered ripe for
conversion
they sent home tantalizing reports of an alien world everything is so different
an opposite that they are like us and practically nothing
now all this would not be surprising if they were like so many barbarians but
what astonishes me is that they behaved as very prudent and cultured people in
all these matters this is something which I would not dare to affirm if I
had not had so much experience among them the missionaries thought that the
Japanese were such a remarkable race their culture was so developed that it
was worthwhile writing back to Europe about the culture which they found the
language the Japanese spoke and a very complex political system without any
influence from Christianity without any influence from Europe and so I think
this is a thing which one should bear in mind that this was the first time
Europeans dealt with Asians on equal terms and not as conquerors and
conquered people their way of writing is very different from ours because they
write from the top of the page down to the bottom I asked a Japanese why they
did not write in our way and he asked me why we did not write in their way he
explained that as a head of a man is at the top and his feet are at the bottom
so - a man should write from top to bottom during his more than 30 years in
Japan jewelle rodriguez became so fluent in Japanese he became known as the
interpreter
his work allowed him to observe all levels of society from the highest
daimyo warlords to the lowest Japanese farmer every class of person Noble or
humble uses a fan throughout the whole kingdom people who have business matters
and other things which they wish to remember write them down on their fans
they are always carrying these fans about in their hands
opening them shutting them and looking at them nobody would go out into the
street without one
the Japanese schwa Rodriguez observed regarded the Europeans with equal
fascination they greatly wondered that our big and long noses thick beards and
red or fair hair and considered all these things as so many defects they
called them the southern barbarians which is not a very flattering term
their eating habits were rather different the Japanese were so polite
eating with chopsticks etc whereas in those days Europeans normally yet with
just a knife and with your fingers and then of course the Japanese most the
Japanese take a bath every day whereas Europeans I'm afraid in those days when
for months and months and months without taking a bath and to some extent they
deserved the epithet of barbarians but however they were regarded the
missionaries were determined to stay in Japan our only desire was to preach and
proclaim the law of the Creator even if there were only one Japanese Christian
in the whole country any missionary would spend all his life
here just for the sake of that one person
these men were very very zealous and the conditions were rather good for the
conversion of people to Christianity
when you have bloodshed revolutions fighting battles death in large numbers
obviously people's thoughts do tend to go to the next life in little more than
50 years these missionaries established over 200 Catholic churches primarily in
southern Japan and converted up to a quarter million Japanese
when a Japanese Lord or Japanese daimyo changed his religion he would bring
pressure on his people because he had absolute power of life and death on the
people below him and so you got in a relatively short short period of time a
large-scale conversions but there was another factor that some of the daimyo
when they became Christian they had certain considerations of Commerce in
the back of their mind because where the missionaries went the Portuguese
merchants went and the Portuguese merchants offered very profitable trade
feasibly Japanese
Commerce and religion intertwined some Japanese profited while others watched
with growing concern convinced of Christianity's threat to their power
merchants and missionaries these early Europeans have set a course which would
eventually run into unexpected consequences to endure the rigors of
never-ending training to remain clear minded in the face of grave danger to
face death matter-of-factly this is the art of kendo the way of the sword master
swordsmen taught young samurai the skills of sword fighting and the
traditions of a samurai code of honor
this was the education the young EARC would receive even as a hostage when you
took a hostage in a certain place they were usually treated very cordially and
they were given education just as they would be given atone
he probably had a very stoic Spartan kind of education taught military skills
martial arts and Chinese classics Japanese classics the entire life of yes
was that of patience and forbearance people say the young hostage Tokugawa
Ieyasu would learn what it meant to be a samurai adopter stands with the head
erect either hanging down nor looking up nor twisted do not roll your eyes nor
allow them to blink but slightly narrow them brace your abdomen so that you do
not bend at the hips
a legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi would preserve the way of the samurai in
a classic book the Five Rings it was a guide to strategy its philosophy
embraced in Japan even to this day in all forms of strategy it is necessary to
maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance
your combat stance at age 15 Yasu entered manhood and earned the
right to carry the two swords of the samurai Patenaude do you know ah we
don't even know shoujo the sword was the symbol of the samurai class only the
samurai were authorized to carry two swords a large one and a small one a
samurai with these two swords ruled over the farmer and the merchant you're born
into being a samurai it's a responsibility amongst the
responsibilities of being a song I was always carrying one sword to use to
enact justice if somebody were rude to you it was your duty to kill them but
still no saman it would walk around outside without a sword and if they were
caught without a sword they could be punished for not upholding their duty
while the samurai class comprised less than 10% of the population their
presents loomed larger than life even the missionaries wrote as it for samurai
with a whole of society they carry a sword and dagger both inside and outside
the house and lay them at their pillows when they sleep never in my life have I
met people who rely so much on their arms they are very warlike and are
always involved in Wars and thus the ablest man becomes their greatest Lord
it was not only the men who swore to uphold this ideal samurai women were
also trained to protect their family the most important thing about samurais
daughters or wives was never to forget the honor and the pride as samurais
daughter in crisis there had to be prepared to kill themselves rather than
be ashamed disgraced by the enemies
the samurai defended his home and family but his true glory came on the
battlefield defending his lord against enemies the samurai dressed carefully
for combat the finely stitched fabric and leather appeared elegant even
fragile unseen were the tightly woven plates of Steel much like his protective
armor a warrior's refined appearance concealed his impenetrable inner core
this ethic preserved in writings of the samurai would prepare the warrior to
meet life and death with honor our samurai would wash himself with cold
water every morning sent the shaven top of his head in hair with incense to make
himself presentable he was ready to be killed in battle at any moment cherry
blossoms are often compared to the samurai they're a beautiful sight like
the warrior in his shiny armor but it takes only one big storm for the petals
to fall to the ground just like the warrior in battle
for Samurai as important as knowing how to kill was knowing how and when to die
in the battlefield especially your last moment of life you
have to show your control the controlling your body controlling your
destiny faith is the vindication indication of
your internal strength so it's a last moment that you have to stage your dis
seppuku or harakiri is the ritual of suicide as practiced by samurai samurai
warrior carried two swords on his hip a long one and a short one the short sword
was for cutting open his abdomen why would a somewhat I could open his
abdomen well Japanese especially samurai believed that the heart was in the belly
they believe that whether their heart was pure or impure would be revealed
when they disemboweled themselves from the death poem to the final thrust of
the dagger seppuku is a ceremonial ritual of suicide ensuring an honorable
death
jawoll rodriguez wrote of a man who committed the ritual of seppuku
the samurai dressed in the customary white kimono solemnly and with great
dignity mounted a raised platform then in a loud voice he told them to watch
him carefully as he cut himself open
he seated himself and wrote his will slowly and calmly asking his Lord to
look after his son and family for he was going to die on account of his honor
he bade farewell and then in front of them all he fearlessly cut his belly and
so he died this sort of thing often happens
there is timing in everything timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a
great deal of practice there is timing in the whole life of the warrior in his
thriving and declining in his harmony and Accord these are the enduring
principles which guided the life of the samurai warrior for Tokugawa Ieyasu
patience strategizing would become his most powerful weapon
he was now of age 18 years old and married with two children but he was
still a hostage of the ruling daimyo warlord
as time passed EOS has strengthened his skills as a warrior fighting alongside
his daimyo Master when his master was killed in battle he a ASSA was finally
free to determine his own destiny yes was put in a position to have to make a
decision at some point whether to go along with the hostess family but at all
times he never forgot his ambition to go back to his original castle and to
regain all the territory that his father's family had and to expand and to
go back to his retainers who were faithfully waiting for
Ieyasu reclaimed his title as an independent Lord a daimyo
he returned to his family estate he could now fight on his own terms for his
own people
I fought against my enemies solely in order that I might take my revenge on my
father's adversaries because I was convinced of the rightness of my
intention to help the people and bring peace to the land the years of captivity
had honed his discipline according to his samurai training he now carefully
plotted his strategy
in a crucial move Ieyasu allied himself with the man who killed his daimyo
Master Oda Nobunaga
Nobunaga had become the most powerful warlord in Japan feared and ruthless the
missionary Asia while Rodriguez documented Nobunaga's campaign to unify
Japan Nobunaga was the first to begin cutting
through the thick forest of wars and discord in Japan he subdued about half
the country and fear of him made the remaining part ready to obey Him in
anything
in the Battle of Naga Shino Nobunaga armed 3,000 of his foot soldiers three
ranks deep
as 10,000 enemy warriors charged Nobunaga's Musketeers fired in
succession decimating the opposing army
Nobunaga's innovations in the use of firearms completely changes the face of
samurai warfare the old idea was where you would have two samurai meet on the
field of battle they would shout out their names and their lineages where
they were from sometimes one would ride out in front of all these troops and and
challenge someone to come and defeat him so it was it was very manly it was
imbued with the ideal of valor
now you have faceless ranks of samurai shooting other faceless ranks of samurai
Nobunaga continued to amass power until one night treachery within his inner
circle caught him off guard a missionary was near by some Christians came just as
I was vesting to say an early Mass and told me to wait because there was a
commotion in front of the palace with once began to hear musket shots and see
flames we learned that it had not been a brawl
but that one of his generals had turned traitor some say he cut his belly while
others believe that he set fire to the palace and perished into flames
what we do know however is that of this man who made everyone trembled not only
at the sound of his voice but at the mention of his name they did not remain
even a small hair which was not reduced to dust and ashes as the flames burned
Nobunaga's loyal general Toyotomi Hideyoshi seized the moment
Hideyoshi immediately springs into action murdering the murderer of his own
lord which then gives him the new right in essence to claim leadership of
Nobunaga's vast coalition of armies
ei arson watched from a distance would he subordinate himself to Hideo she's
command or was it time to fight for control
Nobunaga Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu these were the men who would bring an
end to the brutal civil wars they would go down in history as the unifiers
there's a story in Japanese that explains the character of the three
unifiers and Nobunaga Hideyoshi and das who are watching a cuckoo bird waiting
for it to sing but the bird doesn't sing and Nobunaga says little bird if you
don't sing I will kill you and Hideo she says little bird if you don't sing I'll
make you sing and he asked her says little bird if you don't sing I'll wait
for you to sing an da asif is a patient strategist who will wait for things to
go his way and then he'll act after Nobunaga's death
Ieyasu and Hideyoshi faced off in a measured game of strategy each in his
own way trying to outsmart the other Boojum pastino dee da silva missile Cara
same point that as a military leader Ieyasu was a courageous man who never
hesitated in battle however though he was brave he was also cautious one
famous story the acid was known as an excellent Horseman one day he and his
troops had to cross a very narrow bridge over a raging river
everyone was watching to see how the great Hiaasen would ride his horse over
this dangerous bridge to his men surprise
he also dismounted took the horses reins in his hands and carefully led the horse
over the bridge to the other side of the river
that's how vigilant he was I believe this kind of caution helped him to be
victorious in battle while ei us who practiced restraint and careful
strategizing Hideyoshi acted quickly and decisively Hideyoshi was from peasant
stock the son of a lowly foot soldier he worked his way up through the ranks
Hideyoshi became known as a brilliant general and he held the same grand
vision of himself when my mother conceived me she was given a miraculous
omen on the very night that I was born the room was suddenly aglow with
sunlight thirst changing night today finally they divined the child whose
birth was attended by these miracles was destined to become a man of unusual
attainment this prediction is fulfilled in me shortly after Hideyoshi took
control Ieyasu challenged him but EA us who soon realized there was more to be
gained as he died oh she's a lie then as his enemy
Hideyoshi rewarded Yasu for his loyalty with a vast domain of land and ordered
him to make his headquarters in the remote fishing village of Edo 300 miles
east of Hideo she's Castle in Osaka some might have thought the gift and insult
but in Edo the village that would later become Tokyo ea also busied his troops
building a massive five-story castle fortification
within the walls of the city of Osaka Hideyoshi was consumed with fortifying
his own castle reputed to be the most impregnable fortress of its time it was
also one of the most ostentatious
osaka castle had a strategic location close to the emperor's palace in nearby
kyoto for centuries the emperor had remained a ruler in name only ignored by
those who truly held power he wild away his days with court gossip calligraphy
and poetry by EI haces time the court is still powerless but it is only the court
which can appoint the children so in the ultimate symbolic sense the court is
still the arbiter of final resort that's why all the Warlord's are aiming for
Kyoto you have to get the Emperor to recognize that you're the most powerful
of all of the combatants on the field of battle
Hideyoshi curried the Emperor's favor inviting him to no plays and musical
performances but the emperor would not grant this warrior of peasant stock the
title of Shogun
Yasu never relinquished his desire for power he offered the emperor more than
invitations he arranged the marriage of one of his granddaughter's to the
Emperor's son all of the lords in Japan used family to cement political
alliances you would marry off daughters or area of sons what he a ass who did in
particular was have an abundance of sons that he could use he could set them up
to support his nascent government he could set them up as independent
military lords that he could then call upon for help in contrast ei haces rival
Hideyoshi failed to produce a male heir
finally he adopted a nephew and groomed him as his successor then at sixty years
of age Hideyoshi finally fathered a son of his own he called him Heda Yuri and
he was the jewel of his life Hideo she's thoughts now turned to the safety and
survival of his young son I cannot describe the endless tedium as if I were
guarding an empty house when he day Ori is not here with me
I say again strictly ordered that all be vigilant against fire each night have
someone make the rounds of the rooms two or three times as Hideyoshi obsessed
over his own son his adopted son now an adult was in peril it's clear that by
the end of his life he do she was acting more and more erratically he became
increasingly cruel if not sadistic then when he finally in his final years
produced an air of his own he ordered this adult male who had been his heir to
commit suicide
Hideyoshi then ordered his adopted sons entire family put to death a missionary
recounted they were drawn along the streets in the carts the open view of
the world 31 ladies and gentlewomen with the two sons and one daughter of his
adopted son the oldest of whom was not more than five years old
all their bodies were thrown into a pit before which was built a little chapel
with a two-minute with this inscription the tomb of the traitors soon after he
died Oh sheez health began to fail he wrote his death poem as the do I fall
has the zhuhai vanish even Osaka fortress is a dream within a dream
Hideyoshi then called Yasu and four of the most powerful
daimyo to his deathbed he appointed them legal protectors of his five-year-old
son he died Orie his heir and the future ruler of Japan
dar su pledged to protect the boy with his own life a pledge that would become
very difficult to keep
it is said that war is a curse it is resorted to only when it is inevitable
however in time of peace do not forget the possibility of disturbances Ieyasu
was on guard those daimyo who feared his growing power began to plot against him
ei haces territory now extended throughout most of Japan he was
determined to maintain his holdings and expand his base of power one of the
asses nicknames is the old badger and it reflects his craftiness as well as his
famed ability to wait and he waits until after Hideo she is dead until he has a
clear preponderance of power and then makes his move to become the dominant
military leader in Japan
ei us who mobilized his troops he sent one division to ogaki castle where his
enemies were gathering when the battle began women and children rushed to
safety EAS is sent a large force to lay siege to the castle and they fought day
and night one of the young girls at the castle later told her family of the
terrifying experience those concubines and daughters all stayed in the tower
and cast bullets on the spot it was a cruel sight indeed it was we felt as if
we should die there was nothing but fear and horror left as the battle wore on
heads of slain warriors were brought to the castle to be prepared for the ritual
presentation to the victor it was believed that even in death the samurai
should be viewed as a worthy opponent those people who are in the castle would
watch the heads and they'll put some cosmetics on the face of the dead
corpses because they were proof of having killed someone important that was
part of them there is no part of what they did which is inconceivable to you
know as modern people know more than women all the decapitated heads were
brought into the tower we weren't a bit afraid of the heads and used to sleep in
the midst of the nasty smell of bloody heads
victorious that ogaki castle ei haces troops now pursued the rebellious daimyo
and their armies
they faced off in a narrow Valley just west of the village of Sekigahara this
would be the battle that changed the course of Japanese history yay us who
set up his command post atop a hill overlooking the valley waiting through
the night for the rest of his armies to arrive at dawn ei haces attendant
physician hastily noted in his journal slight rain dense fog in the mountain
valley can't see barely made out enemy banners on horseback Lord Ieyasu made
out their positions estimate distance at two and a half miles ei ASSA was
outnumbered with only 50,000 troops challenging his enemies 80,000 he waited
for his son to arrive with reinforcements
but at 8:00 in the morning the fog suddenly lifted and the two opposing
armies found themselves within striking distance
Yasu could wait no more rallying his troops it was said he sent them forward
with his famous battle cry there are only two ways to come back from the
battlefield with the head of an enemy or without your own
ei arson watched as his troops faced what seemed insurmountable odds
then suddenly the tide turned several enemy daimyo and their armies convinced
of he asses ultimate victory defected and joined EAS whose forces by 2 p.m.
EAS whose troops had defeated the rebellious army
so stick sticking out amigo kagura's victory at Sega Hara brought an end to
the warring States and signaled the beginning of a new era that's the
significance of the Battle of Sekigahara
in recognition of Ieyasu's power the Emperor awarded him the title of Shogun
the Barbarian subduing Generalissimo Tokugawa Ieyasu now had the authority to
rule Japan in all military matters
he ruled unchallenged but always there was the specter of Hideyoshi's young son
he de re growing up in Osaka Castle Ieyasu had sworn with his life to
protect the boy the boy who could someday lay claim to
all Ieyasu had won as the young boy he died or II approached manhood a daimyo
warned although he is neither Yoshi's heir
yes who will never let him ruin pen sooner or later some ambitious character
will foment rebellion in his name and even if he already knows nothing about
it he will be blamed have forced to commit suicide to the grief of
Hideyoshi's ghost now the tofu gods had no divine right to rule Japan they ruled
Japan because they were the most powerful they had the most money they
had the most soldiers but they had no divine right and there were many other
powerful daimyo especially in the West the Christian daimyo and so if there
were any philosophy and a political movement that would bring these Dino
together as a coalition against the Tokugawa family that was very dangerous
Tokugawa Ieyasu tolerated no dissent he expelled many of the foreign
missionaries including schwow Rodriguez
yes who wanted to clear the board of all these foreign influences which were just
maddening the waters making life more complicated he even ordered all
Christian activity among the Japanese halted but still he faced the only true
threat to his power the young-hee day Orie
by the time he reaches adulthood he D or e can no longer be ignored by yeah so
he's a threat simply because he exists he is the legitimate heir of Hideyoshi
yay ah sue is supposed to be supporting him until he until he becomes an adult
and he poses an intrinsic threat to the legitimacy of the tokugawa shogunate ei
us who came to but one conclusion he could no longer honor his pledge to a
dead ally to protect his son he I also decided to go into battle once more it
was obviously going to be another showdown and the many many many samurai
in their thousands and these were hard bitten warriors they still owed loyalty
to Hideyoshi's family and of course they owed just as much loyalty to his son so
they gathered in Osaka Castle and also Castle was a very very very strong
castle it was considered impregnable
in the winter of 1614 ei ah so accused he de re of subversion and ordered his
troops to advance against Osaka Castle
he D re supporters nearly 100,000 held strong
dar su retaliated with a devious plan he sent a woman samurai to negotiated
truce with he diores mother
Ieyasu offered a safe haven for he de horas
garrison if in return he agreed not to mount further rebellion against EA haces
rule to prove his intentions EA us who signed the pledge in blood he de auras
mother convinced her son to accept the offer var Sue's ploy had worked as soon
as the fighting stopped Ieyasu began to fill in the mouths of
obstacle course of the deep moves and the people in the osaka castle protested
a lot that was not in the agreement but that didn't matter they filled in the
moats and once the moats were filled in then ieyasu's troops would storm into
the castle and there was a dreadful slaughter
thousands of defeated soldiers women and children fled the casstle compound
a European merchants recorded the event in his journal we had news today that de
Yasu hath taken the fortress of Osaka and overthrown the forces of Hideyori
they say the taking of this fortress has cost about 100,000 lives and that no
dead man of account is found with his head on but all cut off
yeaaaah Sue's army set the castle on fire
as the flames raged around him he de re refused to surrender and was left with
no other option he committed seppuku
there's one big problem with killing udre however and that's that
eyassa was supposed to be his supporter and it's a very realistic cold-blooded
strategy but he wanted to establish a dynasty that would last through the ages
there is reason to believe that yay ah so genuinely regretted having to kill
the son of his former Lord Yasuo is said to have paid penance by writing the name
of the Buddha 10,000 times on Scrolls of parchment
tokugawa ieyasu had wiped out the last threats to his power or so it seemed but
not everyone was under his control there were the Western traders who he valued
but mistrusted and the Christians who he considered a threat Tokugawa Ieyasu had
won the wars his struggle to control the future of Japan had just begun
you
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