Seated statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Many people are familiar with the Tokugawa Sixteen Gods who were enthroned by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, and they know a lot about the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa. However, in addition to the Tokugawa Shitenō, there were also the Tokugawa Twelve Divine Generals, one of whom was a bit out of place because of his special status, and this was the ninja Hattori Hanzo who was born in Iga.
Tokugawa Sixteen Divine Shoguns in the early Edo period of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Since Hattori Hanzo was able to rank among the Sixteen Tokugawa Shoguns, it meant that he must have performed outstanding feats superior to the ordinary Tokugawa courtiers. Coupled with the fact that he was neither a civilian nor a warrior, but served Tokugawa Ieyasu as a ninja, this doomed his life trajectory to be different from that of the other fifteen gods. And the reason why Hattori Hanzo was able to receive so much attention from Tokugawa Ieyasu must have meant something extraordinary to the Tokugawa family.
Hattori Hanzo Images
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > hattori left Iga and defected to the Matsudaira family, escaping the catastrophe of the Tenshō Iga Rebellion</h1>
It should be mentioned at the beginning that Hattori Hanzo is not the personal name of a person. Hattori is a surname and Hanzo is a title. The Hattori family has their own name, but the governor must take Hanzo's name. Hattori Hanzo as we know it usually refers to Hattori Masanari, who lived from the Warring States to the Edo period, so some people call him Hattori Hanzo Masanari.
After the Asuka era, ninjas gradually entered the stage of Japanese history, but for various reasons they never became a large-scale organization, but occasionally appeared as mercenaries in some key battles. By the Sengoku period, ninjas had become professionalized and became a special class that had been passed down from generation to generation. Since the ninjas of this period were mainly concentrated in Iga and Koga, the ninjas in these two places were also the most famous.
Ninja image
At the beginning of the Sengoku period, ninjas have always been neutral in the world, not because ninjas are "self-righteous", but because no daimyo is willing to incorporate them into their own hands and transform them, so ninjas in this period can only accept a few small tasks to barely make ends meet. Interestingly, although many daimyo were entrenched on the already small Island of Japan, few of them sent troops to conquer Iga and Koga. This is so because it is not only a base for ninjas who maintain a neutral attitude, but also an important place for major names to buy and exchange information. Since it has an effect on every daimyo, naturally no one wants to disturb the law and order here.
After the rise of Oda Nobunaga, he deliberately included the Koga ninja under his command. At that time, daimyōs everywhere needed to constantly collect intelligence from other forces to ensure their safety in the chaotic world. However, building your own intelligence network from scratch is bound to be time-consuming and laborious, and it is necessary to rationally use ninjas as a mature intelligence-gathering group. However, due to the feud between Koga and Iga, the Koga ninja's request was for Oda Nobunaga to send Iga.
The image of the Koga ninja
In 1581, Oda Nobunaga gathered nearly 60,000 men to attack the Iga region, and at this time Iga had less than 4,000 fighting power and could not resist it. Even so, the Iga ninja fought against the Oda Army for the peace of their homeland. Unfortunately, in the face of absolute superiority in strength, the Iga ninjas, who were not good at frontal combat, were defeated, and many of the Hao clans were devastated, and the Iga ninjas were almost extinct. Since this war took place during the Tenshō period, it was also known as the "Tenshō Iga Rebellion".
At this point, it should be mentioned that the hattori family, the Hyakuji family, and the Fujibayashi family originally managed and ruled over the Iga ninjas. Since the Hattori family left the Iga area early and submitted to the Tokugawa family, they were not attacked. In this regard, the book "World Encyclopedia" once mentioned:
"Mr. Hattori made Iga his home country, and when he was Chief of The War, he became a vassal of Tokugawa (Matsudaira) and served Ieyasu, and since his first 16-year-old appearance, he has been a goodman.
(Translation: The Hattori clan, with Iga as its native country, came to Mikawa Kingdom during the Hattori hokusō period and became a vassal of the Tokugawa (Matsudaira) clan.) During the Tokugawa Ieyasu period, Hattori Ieyasu Masanari served Tokugawa Ieyasu and had been serving as a general since the age of 16, and had made many military achievements. ）
The original Hattori Hanzo Hattori
After the devastating blow to the Iga area, the surviving ninjas split into two, some of whom chose to defect to Mitsuhide after the Honnō-ji Rebellion, and some of whom were recruited by Hattori Hanzo to submit to Tokugawa Ieyasu, which set the stage for the establishment of the Later Tokugawa Ninja Legion.
The reason why Oda Nobunaga wanted to deal a devastating blow to the Iga ninjas was that the Koga ninjas had already submitted to the Oda family at this time, so Oda Nobunaga no longer needed the Iga ninja. In order to prevent the Iga ninja from being used by other daimyōs and thus equal to themselves, it became necessary to eliminate the Iga ninja. Of course, if the Iga ninjas were willing to submit to themselves, then Oda Nobunaga would certainly not send troops to encircle and suppress them.
However, due to the constant discord between the Iga ninja and the Koga ninja, it was doomed that the two sides would not be able to work for the Oda family together. If this is the case, then there is only one road in front of Oda Nobunaga, and that is encirclement and suppression. However, after the end of the Iga Rebellion and the heavy blows of the Iga ninjas, Oda Nobunaga still recruited a group of Iga ninjas, which is enough to confirm this conclusion. The Iga ninja, who was already at the end of his rope, could not care about the relationship with the Koga ninja at this time, and could only choose to surrender.
Oda Nobunaga, who initiated the Tenshō Iga Rebellion
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > honnoji Temple to escort Tokugawa Ieyasu back to the domain</h1>
As early as 1569 AD, Hattori Hanzo was already involved in many wars of the Tokugawa family. However, due to the special nature of Hattori Hanzo's status as a ninja, he himself is generally located at the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and basically does not go to the battlefield on horseback, but manipulates the ninjas under the tent behind the scenes to complete some secret missions. In other words, Hattori Hanzo and his Iga ninjas were usually only able to play an auxiliary role, and rarely were able to decide the victory of a war on their own. Therefore, the status of Hattori Hanzo in this period was still relatively low, at least not as high as that of the tokugawa family military generals of the same rank, and it was not until 1582 that a major turn occurred.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was given the protection of the Iga ninja
This year, an unexpected event occurred that surprised all the daimyōs, and this was the change of Honnoji Temple. On 21 June, Oda Nobunaga led his general Mitsuhide Anderson and his troops to support Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was fighting on the front line. When the soldiers arrived at Honnoji Temple, Oda Nobunaga decided to spend the night here and set off again the next day. However, shortly after he fell asleep, Mitsuhide led his army into the Honnō-ji Temple. Since the number of guards around Oda Nobunaga was too small, there was no chance or possibility of breaking through. After some fighting, Oda Nobunaga chose to kill himself by cutting his abdomen and setting fire to Honnō-ji Temple.
The unprepared Oda Nobunaga was simply unable to resist Mitsuhide's attack
The sudden change in Honnoji-ji disrupted the situation in the world and almost plunged Tokugawa Ieyasu into a place of perdition. Previously, Tokugawa Ieyasu had accepted Oda Nobunaga's invitation to go to Azuchi Castle to share a dinner. After the banquet, Tokugawa Ieyasu left Azuchi Castle and traveled around to experience the customs and customs of the Mikawa region.
When the news of honnoji's change reached Tokugawa Ieyasu, he was still in a place in the Osaka area called Sakai City. He stayed here because Oda Nobunaga had asked him not to return to the Mikawa region for the time being, but to return to Azuchi Castle after a trip to continue receiving hospitality.
Sakai City, central Osaka
As Oda Nobunaga's most loyal ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu was bound to become the next target of Mitsuhide Mitsuhide after the Honnoji Rebellion, and he was in a critical position. Moreover, he did not have many guards around him, only a few courtiers accompanied him, and he was unable to face the army of wise Guangxiu at all.
The news of Oda Nobunaga's death was first brought by Honda Tadatsukatsu, and then the ninjas under Hattori Hanzo's tent sent the same information, which verified the authenticity of the Honnoji Change. Tokugawa Ieyasu, realizing his situation, immediately committed suicide by cutting his stomach, but was dissuaded by his courtiers. Hattori Hanzo devised a relatively safe route for Tokugawa Ieyasu, that is, to enter the Ujigawa area first, then enter Iga's land, and finally escape by boat from Iga's Shirako Port.
Today's Ujigawa area
In order to ensure the safety of this trip, Honda Tadatsu was the pioneer. At the same time, Hattori Hanzo secretly summoned Iga ninjas from all over the world to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. Even though the Hattori family had been out of the Iga region for many years, the Iga ninjas were willing to obey his orders, and at this time, the other two major families of the Iga had been destroyed, and the Hattori family was undoubtedly the last reliance of the Iga ninjas. Soon, Tokugawa Ieyasu finally returned safely to his domain, hattori Hanzo was also richly rewarded for his patronage, and the Tokugawa family's courtiers gradually paid attention to the special group of ninjas. In this regard, it is mentioned in the book "Chronicles of the History of Asahi Japan":
"At this time, the lord Ieyasu was sightseeing in Sakai, Izumi, but the hanzo was also included in a few hands, and it passed the road between Iga by the hand of hanzo, and it was delivered safely to Mikawa.。
(Translation: At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu was touring Sakai City, but hanzo was also included in the only forces he had, and under Hanzo's guidance, he successfully passed through the IgaMami Road and returned to Mikawa safely.) After that, it got the territory of 8,000 stones in the Far River area. ）
Honda Tadatsukatsu, who opened the way for Tokugawa Ieyasu
Interestingly, during this "strategic retreat", the Koga ninjas also joined in the action to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. In my opinion, there are two main reasons why Koga ninjas spontaneously make such moves:
First, after Oda Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji Temple, the Koga ninja lost the patron he could rely on. His son Oda Nobuo had always hated ninjas, so koga ninjas no longer had the luxury of continuing to be attached to the Oda family. At the same time, they also noticed Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been sheltering the Hattori family and the Iga ninja, and thought that attaching themselves to him was at least not a mistake, so they joined the escort operation. In other words, this is an "investment event" for koga ninjas in order to make Tokugawa Ieyasu remember his kindness in exchange for the future development and peace of the Koga ninja.
Second, the Koga ninjas belonged to Oda Nobunaga, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was Oda Nobunaga's most loyal ally. Therefore, after Oda Nobunaga's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu became a key figure in being able to take revenge on Mitsuhide. Of course, the Koga ninjas could also choose to attach themselves to Toyotomi Hideyoshi or other Oda clan courtiers, but after all, Tokugawa Ieyasu needed their support more at this time.
Ninjas tend to move in groups
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > spy on tokugawa Ieyasu during peacetime and daimyo in various places</h1>
After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan officially entered the relatively peaceful Edo period. Since then, the functions of ninjas have changed, after all, the reduction of war has no longer required ninjas to sabotage behind enemy lines, so ninjas have gradually made spying on intelligence as their main function.
Hattori Hanzo was in charge of security in Edo Castle and Tokugawa Ieyasu at the same time, and sent ninjas to monitor the daimyo of various places, especially those who were undecided in the Sekigahara Battle and even joined the Western Army (Ishida Mitsunari side). Once these daimyōs showed clear signs of rebellion, Hattori Hanzo could obtain information as quickly as possible to inform Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The assassination function of ninjas in the Edo period was already very weak
If it is simply understood as a scout, it seems a little inappropriate, but the ninjas of this period can be simply understood as secret service agencies similar to the Ming Dynasty Jinyi Guards and the Qing Dynasty Sticky Pole Division.
During the Battle of Osaka in 1615, Hattori Hanzo's eldest son, Hattori, was killed in the course of a mission. Secondly, Hattori Masashige also gave up his status as a ninja for other reasons and went into other trades, and since then hattori has been "the queen". However, during hattori's lifetime, hattori hanzo trained a group of elite ninjas for the Tokugawa family, who formed the Tokugawa ninja legion, which was widely known to later generations, and continued to serve the Tokugawa family. In this regard, it is mentioned in the book "Chronicles of the History of Asahi Japan":
"After Ieyasu's relocation to The Kanto region in 1918, 30 riding powers were entrusted and 200 Iga concentrics were ruled."
(Translation: In 18 years, after Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Kanto, he was given command of hattori Hanzo and Riku 30 horses.) At the same time, 200 people were also allocated to him Iga Tongxin to dispatch at will. ）
Hattori is half hidden in the image of the game
In my opinion, in the special context of that time, only Hattori Hanzo and his Iga ninjas could be tasked with monitoring the people and local daimyo. At that time, there were only two types of people who could be entrusted, one was a samurai and the other was a ninja. Although the samurai of the Warring States period had no moral bottom line, they attached great importance to the spirit of the samurai. The samurai pursued the special task of dying in bloody battles on the battlefield and could not accept surveillance and voyeurism.
Ninjas, on the other hand, have been tasked with special tasks since the emergence of ninjas in Japan. Tasks such as assassination, theft of intelligence, sabotage in the rear of the enemy, etc. Even in ancient China at the same time, these tasks undertaken by ninjas could not be brought to the table, so it was most appropriate for ninjas to take on the task of monitoring the people and daimyo.
The image of a Japanese samurai
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
At this point, it is not difficult to find that Hattori Hanzo was able to do only after the change of Honnoji Temple, escorting Tokugawa Ieyasu back to the domain. Although he was accompanied by honda tadatsu, the role played by Hattori Hanzo in this incident cannot be underestimated. Moreover, if Tokugawa Ieyasu had fallen on his way home, it would not have been the Tokugawa family that would have taken over the world, but a descendant of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Even in times of peace, Hattori Hanzo and his Iga ninjas still had the opportunity to play an important role. It is precisely because of the special nature of his ninja identity that many special tasks that are not disclosed fall on Hattori Hanzo. It is precisely because of this that Hattori Hanzo will be able to be used by the Tokugawa family from beginning to end.
In general, hattori Hanzo and the entire Hattori family were of great significance to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Entire Tokugawa family. Hattori was not only a loyal vassal of several generations of matsudaira (Tokugawa clan), but also saved the life of the lord more than once. Today, it may be difficult for us to understand what role Hattori Hanzo played at that time, but judging by Tokugawa Ieyasu's attitude toward him and the entire Iga ninja, Hattori Hanzo at that time must have been an indispensable presence and one of the most powerful courtiers under Tokugawa Ieyasu.
bibliography:
1. World Encyclopedia
2. Asahi-Japanese History Person's Dictionary
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