Yamakuni Hyōbu
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Yamakuni Hyōbu | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1793 Mito Domain, Hitachi Province, Japan |
Died | March 1, 1865 Tsuruga Domain, Echizen Province, Japan | (aged 71–72)
Cause of death | Decapitation |
Yamakuni Hyōbu Tomoaki (
Biography
[edit]He was born the eldest son of Yamakuni Yazaemon Tomofusa (
In 1809, Yamakuni succeeded as head of the Yamakuni family and was assigned to the Mito guard division. Thereafter, he served as a strategist within the great guard (
In 1830, he was recognized by Tokugawa Nariaki and became a metsuke. At that time Yamakuni was involved in the military reform of the Mito Domain. In 1838, Yamakuni was placed under house arrest for unclear reasons, but was quickly released and reappointed as a military officer in 1840.
In 1846, when Nariaki was sentenced to house arrest by the central government, Yamakuni too was arrested due to his political affiliation with him. In 1849, he was pardoned.
In 1853, in the aftermath of the arrival of the United States, Nariaki was summoned by the shogunate to Edo in order to serve as an advisor on matters of naval defense.[2] Yamakuni accompanied him to the capital as a military attaché, and became well known for his outspoken advocacy for a network of coastal fortifications to deter a European or American invasion. He also advocated a strategy of luring future Western invasion forces into the mountainous interior of Honshū, the topography of which the Western powers were mostly unfamiliar with at that time, where they would become surrounded and could be overwhelmed by smaller Japanese domainal armies.
Emperor Kōmei was outraged by the Shogunate's acquiescence to the United States' demands, and in 1858 issued a secret missive to the Mito authorities to "reorganize" the Shogunate. This became known as the Secret Command of Bogo . However, the Shogunate detected this and its conspirators, including Yamakuni, were arrested. Yamakuni was released after Nariaki's death in 1860.
By 1862, Yamakuni had returned to his post as metsuke. The following year, he accompanied the return of Tokugawa Yoshiatsu to the capital.
In 1864, during the Mito Rebellion, he was ordered to pacify the Tengutō encamped on Mount Taiheizan under the command of Takeda Kōunsai. Yamakuni sympathized with the rebels, and advised them to relocate to a more defensible position on Mount Tsukuba.[3] Upon his return, he was imprisoned once again for his disobedience. However, when Yamakuni became aware that Matsudaira Yorinori, lord of the Shishido Domain, joined Takeda's force in the rebellion, he broke himself out of prison and joined Yorinori's division. After Yorinori committed seppuku, Yamakuni was incorporated into the Tengutō remnants led by Takeda. Yamakuni's tactical guidance was responsible for several of the Tengutō's rapid victories against more numerous Shogunal forces, including at the Battle of Wada Pass (
The jisei of Yamakuni Hyōbu is recorded as follows,
I will go to fight demons in the land of the dead
行 くさきは冥土 の鬼 と一 勝負 [5]
References
[edit]- ^
鈴木 Suzuki, 暎一 Eiichi.国史 大 辞典 Kokushi daijiten.吉川弘文館 Yoshikawa Kōbunkan. - ^ デジタル
版 日本人 名 大 辞典 Digital-ban Nihonjin meidai jiten.講談社 Kōdansha. 2015. - ^ Hillsborough, Romulus (April 4, 2017). Samurai Assassins: "Dark Murder" and the Meiji Restoration, 1853-1868 (1st ed.). United States: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1476668802.
- ^ Koschmann, Victor (May 28, 2021). The Mito Ideology: Discourse, Reform, and Insurrection in Late Tokugawa Japan, 1790-1864 (2nd ed.). United States: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520367029.
- ^
山田 Yamada,風 太郎 Fūtarō (2011).魔 群 の通過 ―天狗 党 叙事詩 . Japan:筑摩書房 Chikuma Shobō. ISBN 978-4480428127.