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A Shocking Incident Mostly Hidden from History...
A shocking incident that has mostly been hidden from history occurred during the Siege of Osaka in 1615.
Jinbo Sukeshige served under Tokugawa Ieyasu’s cousin, Mizuno Katsunari, lord of Mikawa Province’s Kariya Domain, and was in charge of a 300-member unit at Osaka. Jinbo’s troops were positioned directly ahead of the forces of the Date clan led by the warlord known as the One-Eyed Dragon of the North, Lord Date Masamune himself.
Most history books mention Jinbo and his men being killed in action, which to a degree is true. But that’s not the full truth.
The Jinbo clan had lived for generations in Ishigaki Toriya Castle in Arida County of Kii Province, (Wakayama Prefecture) and served as vassals of the Oshu branch of the Hatakeyama clan. After the fall of the Hatakeyama clan, Jinbo Sukeshige’s father, Harushige served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was given 6,000 koku and lands in Takaichi County, Yamato Province (Nara). Jinbo Sukeshige had also served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and had been stationed in Fushimi for some time.
At the time of the Summer Siege of Osaka, he fought bravely as part of Mizuno Katsunari's troops, despite being a small force of just 300 men. At the Battle of Domyou-ji, he took 9 heads in battle. The following day, the Jinbo troops showed their prowess by taking another 13 heads, but at Senbaguchi, the Toyotomi allied Akashi Zento's troops had attacked and defeated the left wing of the Eastern allied Echizen forces, throwing Mizuno Katsunari's troops into confusion, and in the midst of the fierce battle, 32 cavalry samurai and 293 of the Jinbo troops were suddenly wiped out. The Edo Shogunate's official record, Tokugawa Taitokuin-den Go Jikki, states that Jinbo and his retainers were killed during the fierce battle with the Akashi troops.
However according to other contemporary reports, during the battle, the Tokugawa allied Date Masamune is said to have sent his front-line matchlock gunnery troops to a position immediately behind those of the Jinbo — and fired! Most of Jinbo’s men were killed outright, shot in the back from behind! The Date troops then stepped over the fallen bodies of the slain Jinbo samurai and entered the battle proper.
Date Masamune (September 5, 1567 – June 27, 1636) was an outstanding tactician, a brilliant leader, a fearless warrior, a most able administrator, and an aggressive and ambitious daimyo and the lord of Sendai. Without doubt, he was one of the most intelligent daimyo of his time, once respected amongst the samurai as being loyal, ethical, but totally merciless, and one of the most ruthless.
According to a report from the Satsuma clan's Kamigata Rusuiyaku to his home province, and recorded in the Satsuma clan historical documents Satsuma Kyuuki Zatsuroku, during the Battle of Tennoji on June 3, 1615, Date Masamune advanced to the Senbaguchi area and killed over 270 members of Mizuno Katsunari's ally, Jinbo Sukeshige’s troops, who were fighting against the Toyotomi allied Akashi Zento's troops. Jinbo Sukeshige, aged 34, was also killed in the slaughter, and only seven of Jinbo's troops survived.
This rumor immediately generated great interest and wild speculations, with one record, the Naniwa Senki stating that the Jinbo troops, who were possibly resting at the time, were shot without having been challenged or asked for identification, and that the Date troops simply killed their allies out of jealousy of the Jinbo forces successes. The report concludes with the statement, "Date has now killed his allies. Even so, although he is well-behaved in front of the shogun, he is now shunned and abhorred among the daimyo and is said to be a coward."
There had been no prior conflict between the Jinbo clan and the Date.
According to the Osaka Natsujin Susatsuki chronicles, the surviving seven retainers of Jinbo protested the actions of the Date clan through the channels of the Mizuno clan and Honda Masazumi. An inquest of sorts was held after the battle, and Date Masamune was asked why he had shot and killed Jinbo and his men, samurai who were supposed to have been allies. Masamune, instead of refuting the accusations, or apologizing for any mistake in his actions, defiantly claimed the Jinbo troops “Weren’t doing well, and were getting in the way”, and so to allow his units to be able to fight, he got rid of them. Masamune is recorded as saying “In battle, according to the Date Military Code, there is no distinction between the enemy and the ally.”
Despite the inquest, there is no record of Masamune being reprimanded for this incident. Jinbo was, after all, a warrior with an income of 7,000 koku, Date Masamune was a 620,000 koku ranked daimyo, and so the incident was kept quiet, and Masamune went without blame or punishment.It goes to show just how ruthless a man Date Masamune was. A man who is claimed to have had his own father killed during a rescue attempt in which he ordered his men to fire on the perpetrators killing his father in the process, ….and shot his allies in the back, clearing the way for his own troops to fight. An often quoted aphorism regarding Masamune reads, "Rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness; benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness." Masamune was viewed with caution by Shoguns Ieyasu and Hidetada,…and many of his other former allies too no doubt.
wow that's wicked. More stories like this please :). Throws that whole "bushido" thing out the window !
Disappointed to read that he may have killed these allies. You describe it as a rumour but believe there’s enough to substantiate it, yes? I’ve read conflicting accounts of the father’s death, contending those who kidnapped him, killed him, not the Date troops.