The New Year PartyOil on canvas, 45.5 × 53.0 cm, 2013-2023, M.Tsushima
Among dozens of enemy warlords Nobunaga faced in his lifetime, the three warlords who defied Nobuaga left the story to be told in which they exposed their humiliating defeat in an exceptionally impressive manner.
Background
Nobunaga's grudge against his brother-in-law, Azai Nagamasa, stemmed from his sudden rebellion against Nobunaga in 1570, when Nobunaga was on a military campaign against the northern coastal warlord, Asakura Yoshikage. The rebel made the campaign a complete fiasco. Nobunaga managed to flee from the battleground to Kyoto, guarded only by a dozen guards. Azai Nagamasa, making alliance with Asakura Yoshikage, Takeda Shingen, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Enryakuji Temple and Honganji Temple, besieged Nobunaga's land. But Enryakuji Temple was defeated by Nobunaga in 1571, Takeda Shingen died in May 1573, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki lost his Makishima Castle near Kyoto to Nobunaga in August 1573 and lost his power as Shogun.In Septemer 1573, Nobunaga attacked Azai Nagamasa, who asked Asakura Yoshikage for reinforcement. Asakura's army of 20,000 marched in the northern Ohmi province to help Azai, but Nobunaga's quick maneuver disabled it. Asakura retreated but was caught up by Nobunaga's troops at Tonezaka where Asakura's troops were destroyed. Asakura Yoshikage managed to arrive at his home, Ichijodani castle, but there he was besieged by Nobunaga's army and was forced to commit suicide. Then Nobunaga focused his attack on Azais in Odani Castle in north Omi Province. Azai Nagamasa's father, Hisamasa was forced to commit suicide on 23 September, followed by Nagamasa three days later, on 26 September. The heads of the three warlords, Asakura Yoshikage, Azai Hisamasa and Azai Nagamasa were exhibited in Nobunaga's home Gifu Castle on the New Year's Day of the following year, 1574.
Accounts
Ota Gyuichi(1527-1613), samurai who served Nobunaga, writes[1]:On New Year's Day, military commanders in the vicinity of Kyoto came to Gifu and served Nobunaga at the castle. Each of them was called to the ceremony of three offerings of sake.
After the territorial lords left, only the Horse Guards attended the party, when an unprecedented, bizarre sideshow showed up, another drinking party was held.
They were the heads of Asakura Yoshikage, Azai Hisamasa, and Azai Nagamasa, who were killed in the northern land of Japan last year. Each was lacquered, placed on a table, and served as a sideshow for the party.
Everyone enjoyed themselves by singing and merrymaking. It was auspicious. They fully enjoyed it. They were jubilant.
Date and Venue
It was the New Year's Day of 1574 of old Japanese calendar. Ota Guichi's account suggests that New Year's Day ceremony was supposed to be held every year, though not described every year; the oldest recorded New Year's Day event was in 1571, when each vassal came to Nobunaga at Gifu Castle to serve him. Since 1578, after Nobunaga moved from Gifu to Azuchi, every year on the New Year's Day, except 1580 due to heavy snow, and 1581 due to the war in far-off lands, the vassals governing territories habitually came to the castle to greet Nobunaga.Gifu Castle was Nobunaga's base since 1567 when he took the castle which had been in the town called Inabayama and renamed the town to Gifu which was named after Mount Qi in the ancient China from where King Wen of Zhou (1112-1050 BC) began to rule the empire.
The Gifu Castle was a four-story timber building complex Nobunga built on top of the Mt.Kinka, the height of 329 meters. The castle was demolished in 1600 by the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The present castle was rebuilt in the 20th century in reinforced concrete.
The structure in Nobunaga's time was described by Luis Frois[2] who visited Gifu Castle in 1569. According to his account, the top(fourth) floor was a belvedere. The third floor was a graceful, tranquil floor with a tea ceremony room along a corridor. On the second floor were luxuriously decorated rooms for women. Meanwhile, the ground floor had around 20 rooms decorated with gilded byobus, so the ground floor, that could house a lot of visitors by removing fusuma sliding doors to make a large hall, is most likely where the new year ceremony was held.
Nobunaga's enemies, Azai and Asakura clans
The heads shown at the ceremony were of three warlords killed by Nobunaga in the previous year.Azai Hisamasa(1526-1573) was the second head of Azai clan, who ruled northern Omi Province. In his reign, Azai clan was overwhelmed by the southern Omi Province ruler, Rokkaku clan, and was forced to make matrimonial alliance with it. That was opposed by his vassals, who in 1559 made a coup against Hisamasa to make him retire and made his son, Azai Nagamasa(1545-1573), the third (and last) head of Azai clan. Azai Nagamasa then was still 14 years old, but the next year 1560, he made a war with Rokkaku clan and defeated it. That was the turning point for Azai clan to be independent of Rokkaku clan and establish himself as the ruler of northern Omi Province.
Meanwhile, in the east Nobunaga establish himself as the ruler of Owari Province and expanded his territory to Mino Province. Azai Nagamasa allied with Nobunaga by marring Nobunaga's sister, Ichi. The alliance enabled Nobunaga march his army through the northern Omi Province on the way to Kyoto. In 1568, Nobunaga led the army of 60,000, joined by Azai Nagamasa, marched toward Kyoto. On the way, Nobunaga attacked Rokkaku clan in the southern Omi Province and expelled it. The campaign ended with a success when in Kyoto Nobunaga helped Ashikaga Yoshiaki enthroned as Shogun.
But the issue was his relationship with Azais' ally, Asakura Yoshikage(1533-1573) who ruled northern coastal provinces. Nobunaga had demanded Asakura to come to Kyoto to serve the Shogun, but Asakura did not obey the demand. After the Kyoto Campaign, in May 1570, Nobunaga with his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, led the army of 30,000 to attack Asakura Yoshikage. At Kanegasaki where Nobunaga took an Asakura's castle, Nobunaga was given a report that Azai Nagamasa rebelled against Nobunaga. Nobunaga saw it as misinformation, but the same reports coming in one after another, he decided to retreat. He was in danger of Azai's attack from behind. He managed to extricate himself from the battlefield and escaped to Kyoto, guarded by an entourage of only around 10 soldiers.
Nobunaga returned to Gifu on 24 June to rebuild the army to attack Azai. Joined by his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga led the army of 13,000 to Anegawa, 8 km southeast of Azai's home Odani Castle, where he faced Azai's and Asakura's army of 13,000. On 30 July 1570, Battle of Anegawa was fought. It was a hard-fought, bloody, battle. Nobunaga managed to win the battle but lost major generals including his brother, Oda Nobuharu. He could not attack the Azai's home Odani Castle. Azai and Asakura too lost many vassals who had played military role, and they could not rebuild the army to stop Nobunaga's invasion three years later.
In September 1573, Nobunaga's army of 30,000 attacked Azai Nagamasa at Odani Castle. Azai asked Asakura Yoshikage for reinforcement. Asakura's army of 20,000 marched in the northern Ohmi Province to help Azai but Nobunaga's quick maneuver disabled it. Asakura retreated while he was caught up by Nobunaga's troops at Tonezaka where Asakura's troops were destroyed. Asakura Yoshikage managed to escape to his home, Ichijodani Castle, but was besieged by Nobunaga's troops and committed suicide on 16 September. Then Nobunaga returned his army to Northern Omi Province and focused his attack on Azais in Odani Castle. Azai Nagamasa's father, Hisamasa was forced to commit suicide on 23 September, followed by Nagamasa three days later, on 26 September. Thus both Azai and Asakura clans ruined.
The heads of the three warlords, Asakura Yoshikage, Azai Hisamasa and Azai Nagamasa were exhibited in Gifu Castle on the New Year's Day of 1574.
Ceremony
The new year ceremony in 1574 began with Nobunaga's vassals coming from the provinces under Nobunaga's rule, including around Kyoto. Each vassal was offered a cup of sake in the traditional formal manner called sankon. It was after the vassals were gone and there were only Horse Guards when the party began with the three sculls brought in.A head of a killed samurai worrier in a battlefield was put on a small table called kugyo for identification and assessment of military performance. Likewise, in the new year party, the three skulls were put on kugyos.
But what is different from an assessment in a battlefield is that in the new year party, the heads had been dead already for four months. Therefore, it must have been difficult to show them as they were alive. So, what was the appropriate way to show the skulls at a party?
Ota Guichi's document reads that the skulls were decorated in hakudami.
So, what is hakudami?
Hakudami is lacquerware coated with gold paint.
Lacquerware technique developed in Japan since ancient era was used in the 16th century to decorate utensils, kitchinware, weapons, and Buddhist and Shinto religious goods. But lacquered skulls, as Ota Guichi writes, were unprecedented. So, why did Nobunaga have the skulls lacquered?
The northern coastal province, Echizen, which Nobunaga took by ruining Asakura clan, was a production center of lacquerware. The excavation of Ichijodani, Asakura's home, in the 1970s discovered more than 1,500 lacquerwares that were used in Asakura's era.
The umprecedented lacquered skulls, in a sense, symbolized Nobunaga's achievement; his territory had expanded to include northern coastal provinces. It was a milestone in Nobunaga's carrier; it took good three years since the war on Azai and Asakura started. In the new year party, Nobunaga shared the jubilation with his Horse Guards, including Ota Guichi, who had contributed to the achievement.
References
[1] 信長公記, 太田牛一[2] History of Japan, Luis Frois
[3] 瑞泉寺絵縁起