"Japan's Unparalleled Spear" Maeda Toshiie's military career was divided into three stages. The first stage was before Toshiie became the lord of Echizen Fuchu Castle. He was a brave and skilled young general under Oda Nobunaga. He always took the lead in battles and did not retreat even if he was injured. One of the three major surprise battles of the Warring States Period, the Battle of Okehazama. In the first volume of "Nobunaga Kōki", it is recorded that among the list of those who gained honors in the morning, Maeda Mataemon topped the list. During the siege of the Battle of Guanyin Temple Castle, the Toshi family was the first to break into the enemy city and capture the head. In the famous retreat battle in the history of the Warring States Period - the Battle of Kanazaki, Nobunaga was in danger of being cut off. When Toshiie escorted Nobunaga and fled back to Kyoto, it was said that only about 10 people were left with Nobunaga. According to research, the gun used by Toshiie is a heavy-duty horse-held gun. The handle of the gun is about nine feet, the barrel is about one foot, and the total length is more than three meters. Toshiie is skilled in using this weapon. He constantly fights and makes meritorious deeds, and is Nobunaga's confidant.
The second stage was when the Toshi family became the lord of Echizen Prefecture in the third year of Tensho (1575). They gradually became administratively independent and began to try to manage the territory on their own and conduct independent land inspections and sword hunting within the territory. However, in terms of military organization, the three members of the government have always been an inseparable whole. They jointly participated in the sieges of Settsu Itami and Harima Miki. In the past few years, there are few records of the Toshi family personally fighting in battle, and his status is similar to that of a military division commander in a large army.
In the Battle of Nagashino, iron artillery was used on a large scale as a new weapon for the first time. According to the records of "Nobunaga Koki", Toshiie served as the commander of the iron artillery unit in the Battle of Nagashino, and his subordinates There were thousands of iron cannons and the tactics were quite appropriate, which contributed greatly to the victory of the Oda Army. "The Nagashino Battle Screen" depicts Toshiie, who was at the forefront of the anti-horse fence, commanding the iron artillery team to block the Takeda Army's Sanada Nobutsuna Department. "Nobunaga Koki" records that "Gentazaemon" (Sanada Nobutsuna) was also included in the list of enemy generals requested by Toshikabu.
In the fourth year of Tensho (1576), Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle. According to the research of the Azuchi Castle Survey and Research Society, Azuchi Castle Castle faces the south, and the main traffic road underneath it is called "Ote Road" , leading directly to the south gate of the city wall. Nobunaga arranged luxurious residences for his subordinates around the castle tower. Maeda Toshi's residence was located to the east of Otate Road, and Hashiba Hideyoshi's residence, then commander of the front army, was located to the west of Otate Road. In terms of the straight-line distance to the castle tower, Maeda It's close but Yu Chai is far away. It is said that Hashiba Residence also functions as a guest house, while Maeda Residence serves as the security headquarters responsible for the security of the city.
In the twelfth year of Tensho (1584), Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa Ieyasu formed an alliance and raised the banner to overthrow Hashiba Hideyoshi. The Battle of Komaki and Nagakute was a large-scale battle between the two armies for nearly a year. In the battle of Suomori Castle, Toshiie relied on his extraordinary courage and extraordinary tactics to defeat Sasaki Narimasa, whose strength was several times larger than his own. On September 8 (October 11), Sasanagi Masaru personally led 15,000 troops to attack Suemori Castle on the border of Noto and Kaga. Suemori Castle is a strategic location located at the root of the Noto Peninsula. Controlling Suemori Castle can divide the Maeda clan's Noto and Kaga territories into two, and then control the entire Hokuriku war situation. The defenders of Suomori Castle were Toshi family retainers Okumura Nagafuku, Chiaki Norimasa, and Tohi clan veteran Dohi Iyo. The defenders totaled 1,500 people, which was greatly outnumbered by the besieging Sasa army. Sasana Narimasa set up his main camp at Tsuboi Mountain, about six kilometers south of Suemori Castle, and ordered the Jinbo family to lead 4,000 troops to guard the Maeda family's reinforcements along the coast, and launched a fierce offensive in the early morning of September 9th (October 12th). . Sasa's army quickly captured Ninomaru and captured the granary in the city. Suemori Castle's defenders suffered mostly casualties and retreated to Honmaru.
At noon on September 10th (October 13th), the Toshi family received news that Suemori was going to war. At that time, the military strength of Sasa and Maeda was very different. He is looking for death and advises the Lee family not to go. The brave and loyal Toshi family decided to let his eldest brother Maeda Toshihisa stay in Kanazawa Castle, and he led 2,500 people to the rescue. Toshiie learned from the villagers of Takamatsu Village that Jinboji Zhang was ambushing the Kawajiri River, and ordered the troops to march along the coast to avoid it. The fine sand on the coastline will become very strong after absorbing water, and the cavalry can pass smoothly. Toshijia's army sealed the horse's mouth with kelp, bypassed the wooden pile obstacles set by Zuozuo's army on the coast, and marched quietly along the coast.
The next morning, when the offensive and defensive battle of Suemori Castle was about to fall, Toshiie personally went into battle and led the reinforcements to launch a fierce attack on the back of the Sasa Army. The Sasa Army, which was deployed in two places, was caught off guard and was quickly captured. The Maeda army was defeated, and Toshiie, Toshinaga and his son entered the city and joined the remnants of Okumura Nagafuku's troops. Although Sasaki's army tried to counterattack again, Noto's Maeda Army Commander Renryu's troops came one after another. Sasanagi felt that the situation was over and had to withdraw to Echichu. Toshiie's bravery was brought into full play in this battle, and the guard, Okumura Nagaifuku, became famous all over the world. This battle was the fiercest battle between the Maeda and Sasa clans. Sasa's army suffered heavy losses, with 12 generals killed in the battle, and they had to shift to a strategic defensive posture.
The third stage is the Toyotomi Hideyoshi period. In the Battle of Odawara in the 18th year of Tensho (1590), Hideyoshi mobilized a total force of 220,000. The Toshi family overwhelmed the equally powerful Uesugi Kagekatsu as the Northern Commander. The commander-in-chief of the army dispatched and commanded the 50,000 troops of Uesugi Kagekatsu, Sanada Masayuki, Asano Nagamasa, Honda Tadakatsu, Hiraiwa Okayoshi, Torii Motoda and other ministries. Since the February snow in the North Country had not yet melted, Toshiie decided to take a detour from Echizen and Mino to attack Matsuida Castle, the stronghold of the Hojo Clan's Ueno Country in the Northern Kanto area.
Matsuida Castle was the first fortress of Ueno Kingdom. The guard, Daidoji Masashige, dug deep trenches and united with the satellite cities to resist. The Toshi family completely surrounded the city, cut off the water source of Matsuida Castle, and then uprooted the surrounding branch cities one by one. Daodaoji Masashige could not support it, so he stuck the letter of surrender on an arrow shaft and shot it into the Toshi family camp, and Kaicheng surrendered.
After Matsuida opened the city, Toshiie took the surrendered general Daidoji Masashige as the vanguard and almost took over the northern Kanto Minawa Castle, Amabashi Castle, Ishikura Castle, Nishimaki Castle and other cities without any blood. Toshiie paid a visit to Hideyoshi, who established his headquarters at Yumoto Sounji Temple in Hakone. Hideyoshi ordered Toshiie and Kagekatsu to set up the main formation on Mount Kasakusa opposite Sounji Temple, so the two quickly built a castle on the mountain, which was later called Ishigakiyama One-night Castle. The actual construction time was about a month. After that, Toshiie continued to eliminate the Hojo forces in the northern Kanto area, and after conquering Musashi Tamana Castle, Kawagoe Castle, Matsuyama Castle, Iwatsuki Castle, Habagata Castle and other cities, he attacked Hachioji Castle.
The lord of Hachioji Castle is the most courageous and proficient Hojo Uteru in the Hojo family. He has long been prepared for a thorough resistance war. He has recruited all men over the age of 15 and under the age of 70 into the army for military training and strict orders. All the residents outside the city entered the city, and the families of the lords of the various countries were sent to Odawara as hostages. Ujiteru was in Odawara Castle at this time, and the one who stayed behind was the castle's Yokoji supervisor and retainer Kano Ichian. Knowing that the defenders in the city were extremely stubborn and had no chance of surrender, Toshiie launched a general attack on June 23 (July 24), starting the most intense battle of Hachioji Castle in the Odawara expedition. At two o'clock in the morning, the attacking troops began to set fire under the city. After dawn, the soldiers broke in in separate groups and started fierce fighting throughout the city.
According to historical excavations, the Hachioji Castle castle tower was completely burned down. A large number of iron cannon jade (bullets), swords and armor fragments were dug out on the road leading to the castle tower, which shows the fierceness of the battle. At Komiya Kurun near the top of the mountain, the battle between the two sides became fierce, and 30 horse warriors including Nobuteru Aoki, an important minister of the Maeda family, died in the battle. The battle continued until evening, when Hachioji Castle was completely defeated. The wives and children of the defenders, led by Oishi Hisa, the principal wife of the Hojo clan Teru, threw themselves into the river next to the castle tower. The river was dyed red with blood for three days and three nights, and finally Hojo was killed. The number of dead is over 3,000. After the war, there were 1,283 bodies of Toyotomi soldiers who died in the war and were sent to the nearby Sokichi Temple for worship, including many retainers of the Maeda family. To this day, there are still many condolence letters written by Toshiie and Toshinaga to their bereaved families.
On July 5th (August 4th), the Hojo clan surrendered from Odawara Kaicheng. Hideyoshi ordered Hojo Ushimasa, Hojo Uteru, and Matsuda Kenhide to commit seppuku. The Hojo clan was spared because he was the son-in-law of Tokugawa Ieyasu. , exiled to Mount Koya. Shigetomi Daidoji Masashige and Matsuda Kenhide who surrendered to the Toyotomi side were also ordered to commit seppuku on charges of disloyalty. The Hojo clan that had dominated Kanto for a long time was destroyed, and the Odawara conquest ended.
Maeda Toshiie, who has been fighting in the north and south all year round, is not only highly regarded as a brave and good warrior, but also has excellent judgment of the situation. He is also responsible for the increase and decrease of soldiers, the collection and distribution of military rations, and the deployment and use of military funds. etc., also have strong computing power and outstanding economic acumen. He was also very strategic in building the city. It is said that the Toshi family was an expert in using guns. When the Toshi family built Kanazawa Castle, they built many defensive facilities to resist gun attacks. There are many "iron cannon holes" left on the inside of the "Tsurunomaru Earthen Wall" in Kanazawa Castle. From Sanmaru's perspective, the wall is just a simple sea rat wall. In an emergency, the tiles can be broken to reveal holes for gun attacks. The gun hole is therefore called "invisible gun hole". The early retainers of the Toshi family were generally divided into two categories, one was the Arashi clan who started serving in the Owari Arako Castle era, and the other was the Fuchu clan who served during the Fuchu San clan era. Both types of retainers later became the lineage of the Maeda family. The one with the deepest relationship with the Toshi family is called the "main seat", and the new retainers who join later are called "new seats" to show the difference. The earliest Arako clan was formed long before Toshiie succeeded the family governor. The so-called "Seven Arako clan" were Yamamori Iori, Okumura Nagafuku, Yoshida Sunbei, Anezaki Shirozaemon, Miwa Sakuzo, and Yamamori Kuji. , Kanegan and Tsunosuke are the retainers group inherited by the Toshi family from their father and brother. The Toshi family recruited its first retainer, Murai Choyori, after the Inao War in 1556 (the second year of Koji). Other Arashi clan also included Harada Mataemon, Hisada Sonemon, Shinoda Sonsuke, Tomita Keimasa, and Kawahara. Hyogo, Okumura Sonsuke, Okumura Yazaemon, Handa Hanbei, Nozaki Genzaemon, Okamoto Sukebei, Takahata Shigesuke, Hashizume Suidensuke, Kotsuka Niemon and others. The Arako clan followed Toshiie and participated in many major military operations of Oda Nobunaga. In 1573 (the first year of Tensho), during the battle of Echizen Toneyama in pursuit of Asakura Shi, three retainers of the Toshi family, Murai Nagayori, Kozuka Toemon, and Okumura Nagaifuku, made great contributions and were personally commended by Nobunaga. The Toshi family's retainers group was formally formed during the Echizen Fuchu era. The earliest extant document about the composition of the Toshi family's retainers is the "Tensho three-year Echizen Fuchu court account" written in the third year of the Tensho period (1575), which lists the so-called "twenty-one people in the Echizen mansion". There is a list of 21 retainers, whose salaries range from 70 dan to 1,000 dan, and there is also a list of 10 people headed by Maeda Sunzaemon whose salary figures are missing.
List of the twenty-one families in Echizen Prefecture: 1,000 stones: Gorobe Maeda, Ukon Maeda, Aoyama Yosan, 800 stones: Sonjuro Takahata, 250: Nagayori Ishimura, Fujiemon Kotsuka: 200: Zenemon Kondo: 180: Ishikimura Sanzo 150 stones Tomita Yoro, Yoshida Nagazo 130 Ishi Shinohara Kanrokuichi Taka 120 Ishihara Mataemon 100 stones Okumura Nagafuku, Tomita Yorokuro, Yamamori Iori, Yoshida Sonhei, Okajima Kisaburo 80 stone tablets Yamauchi Zen 70 Ishioka Tabagaemon, Kimura Kyutaro, Yamada Tauchi
"Etsutoga Sanshu Chronicle" records 77 retainers. During the Echizen Fuchu period, Miwa Yoshimune, Yamazaki Nagatori and his son, Yokoyama Shitaka, A large number of former Asakura family retainers, including Qianqiu Fanchang and his son, joined the Toshi family's retainers group. In the ninth year of Tensho (1581), after the Toshi family was granted the title of Noto Ikoku, the size of their retainer group greatly expanded. The foundation of the later huge Kaga domain retainer group was laid during this Fuchu era. The eight names of the Kaga clan include the Hondo family, the ancestral family of the Roku family. The 50,000-stone Honda Masashige is the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Honda Masanobu, and the son-in-law and adopted son of Naoe Kanetsugu. Later, the Honda surname was restored. Changed to serve the Maeda family. Nagaie (Lord of Anamizu Castle → Lord of Fukusui Castle) 33,000 koku Nagaren Ryū, formerly a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, became a retainer of Maeda Toshiie after the Honnoji Rebellion in the Tenth Year of Tensho (1582). In the same year, he made meritorious service in the battle of Shi Dongshan and led to 31,000 stones in the country. The eldest son grew up and married Fu Ji, the eighth daughter of the Lee family. The 30,000-koku Yokoyama family (Toyama Castle Dai, the elder of the Kaga Hondo clan) Yokoyama Chozhi (the second son of Yokoyama Chotaka), Yokoyama Chotaka served as a retainer during the period of Echizen Fuchu. In the eleventh year of Tensho (1583), the base brother Yuehe Zhan Sui, the queen of Lijia Palace, died in battle. Yokoyama's 15-year-old official came to Maeda Toshiya. Maeda family (long lineage) (Moriyama Castle generation) 18,000 koku Maeda Nagase, the former retainer of Oda Nobunaga, served as an official to Oda Nobuo after the Honnoji Temple incident. Later, he became a retainer of the Maeda Toshi family and guarded Nanao Castle, and married Yukihime, the daughter of the Toshi family. The Murai family (Matsune Castle) has 16,500 stones. Murai Choji (the eldest son of Murai head Nori). Murai head Nori was the first retainer recruited by the Toshi family in the second year of Hongji (1556). He followed the Toshi family to fight in various places and shared the joys and sorrows with them. A minister of Guge, he once saved the lives of the Toshi family in the battle of Nagashino. Murai Nagaji married Chiseki, the seventh daughter of the Toshi family. Okumura clan (Suemori Castle) 13,000 stones Okumura Nagaifuku, the lineage retainer of the Maeda family, when the Toshi family was granted the title of Kaga Kingdom, he appointed Okumura as the lord of the military stronghold Suemori Castle. In the twelfth year of Tensho (1584), in the Battle of Suemori Castle, Sasanagi Masa's army was several times stronger than Maeda's army. Okumura resisted until Toshiie's rescue and successfully repelled the enemy. After Toshiya's death, Okumura became a monk in seclusion. Later, his descendants were passed down from generation to generation as the head of the Kaga Domain. The Okumura branch family (left-behind resident? Kanazawa Castle) 12,000 stone Okumura Yiying (the second son of Okumura Nagafuku), serving the 4th generation of the Kaga Maeda family (Toshie, Toshinaga, Toshimune, Mitsutaka), (Keicho 20 He became the elder of the family in one year (1616). The 11,000-koku Maeda Naoyuki was the second son of the Tosa family and the second generation head of the Maeda Tosa Mori family. He was born in the troubled times of the Warring States Period in Japan. Although he lacked a rough temperament, he often lacked finesse. Maeda Toshiie, who had outstanding military qualifications, was also a master of abacus. It is said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi always kept an abacus in Maeda Toshiie's armor cabinet. When the territories of the various forces in the Northeast were being reshuffled and the Oshu government was implemented, Toshiie served as the commander-in-chief of the Oshu Land Survey and was responsible for inspecting the Northeast region. It is said that at that time, he stood on a high place and pointed with his finger: "This is fifty thousand koku. There were 40,000 stones there and 100,000 stones from this mountain to that mountain. After actual survey afterwards, they were almost the same. Everyone marveled at his ability.
In the ninth year of Tianzheng (1581), Li Jiashou Titled Lord of Noto Kingdom and Lord of Nanao Castle. Nanao Castle was originally built by Noto guardian Hatakeyama Mitsuki in the early 15th century. It is known as "the famous city in the world", but it is difficult to defend and difficult to attack, so it is not suitable as a ruling center. In the first month of the following year, the Toshi family built a new castle in Komaruyama, a strategic location for sea and land transportation. In the eleventh year of Tensho (1583), after the Battle of Kaigakure, the Toshi family was granted the title of Ishikawa and Hebei counties of Kaga country, and the Toshi family moved the castle to Kagami. Kaoyama Castle (Kanazawa Castle), Kaoyama Castle served as the capital of the Maeda clan throughout the Edo period. Kaga Country was a region dominated by farmers. It had always been extremely powerful and the Toshi family was completely pacified by cruel and high-pressure methods. In addition to the rebellion within the territory, the government strengthened rural governance, established land reclamation incentives and land rent collection systems in various places in Noto, and entrusted Takashimaya, a shipping operator in Tsuruga, with transportation to ensure that a large amount of annual tribute rice was sold through Kyoto's market channels. Commerce and handicrafts were developed, minerals were mined, utensils were smelted and cast, and industries such as food, furniture, dyeing, fabrics, papermaking, and brewing were also developed. Toshiya established a fish trading franchise in Nanao Town and promoted "Jouraku" in Wajima. Tokai dialect, meaning freedom) policy encourages free trade, exempts merchants from some commercial taxes, and promotes commercial prosperity.
According to the remaining letters of Maeda Toshiie, it has been verified that his character is very serious and meticulous, and he treats letters. The formatting and wording are very careful. Such a person who has both coarse and fine details and excellent economic acumen left an extremely rich legacy. When the Toshi family passed away, he left the property to Toshinaga, Toshimasa, and Yoshiharuin. There are as many as 2,275 pieces of gold, 216 pieces of silver, 280 pieces of silk, and 2,850 pieces of cotton.
Many famous names at that time, such as Hori Hideharu, Hosokawa Tadayaki, Date Masamune, etc., all borrowed money from Toshiie, which shows that the Kaga Domain's economy was prosperous under his careful management. Maeda Toshiie Mining Mineral Information Mining Time and Location Mining Tensho 1st Year (1573) Echizenfu Chubusha Mine Iron Mine Tensho 11th Year (1583) Kagazawa Murayama Gold Mine Tensho 12th Year (1584) Noto Hodazan Gold Under Toshiie's careful management, the Miningaga Domain's commodity economy grew rapidly, and its prosperity brought with it the corresponding development of culture and art. Toshiie has a deep interest in tea ceremony culture. He is a disciple of the Japanese tea ceremony master Sen no Rikyu and calls himself a "tea person". In addition to the tea ceremony, the Lee family also fully supports performing arts such as Noh music, traditional music, and dance, and formulates cultural reward policies to provide knowledge and official status to capable performers, thereby protecting the performance abilities of artists. As a protector but also a strict supervisor, actors are required to practice their acting skills and inherit traditional skills.
Toshiya's official confectionery shop, "Dogoya Sanroemon Confectionery Shop" is said to be the originator of confectionery shops. Kanazawa is one of the three famous confectionery cities along with Kyoto and Matsue. The oldest existing abacus in Japan is a small abacus with a length of 7 cm and a width of 13 cm owned by Maeda Toshiie. The beam is made of copper wire and the beads are animal bones. It is now in the Zunsukekaku Bunko.
On June 19, the 15th year of Tensho (July 24, 1587), Toyotomi Hideyoshi promulgated the "Bantenren Expulsion Order" to expel foreign missionaries, and judged that Catholicism was illegal and accepted it. Catholics are all sinners. A church was established in Yamatozawa Castle. Takayama Ukon, who was called the pillar of local missionary work in Japan in Freus's "History of Japan", served in battles such as the Battle of Yamazaki and the Battle of Hidake. Hideyoshi granted Harima Akashi a 60,000-koku territory. . After the promulgation of the ban on Christianity, all Catholic daimyo had to choose between their territory and their faith. Among them, such as Kamoujigo and Kuroda Yomizu, etc., announced their renunciation of Christianity, but Takayama Ukon resolutely chose faith and therefore became a ronin with nothing. . Takayama Ukon was hiding in Shodoshima, the territory of Konishi Yukinaga. Toshiie said to him: "Come to Kanazawa, I will give you 30,000 koku." Takayama Ukon replied: "Salary is not a big deal, I just want to re-establish the church in Kaga." After obtaining Hideyoshi's consent, Toshiie obtained the guest general Takayama Ukon. Toshiie and his wife were quite understanding and tolerant of Catholicism. After Takayama Ukon arrived in Kaga, he rebuilt the Catholic Church and developed hundreds of believers. Later, the fourth daughter of the Toshi family, Gouki, who returned to Kaga in frustration, also formed a small high-level religious group, and held a grand Christmas celebration in Kanazawa in the 13th year of Keicho (1608). Maps of Japan published in Western Europe during the same period also clearly marked some place names within the Kaga Domain, which may be due to Takayama Ukon's missionary activities.
Today, the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art still preserves the portraits of his parents that the Toshi family presented when the Choryōji Temple was built. They are both important cultural properties of Ishikawa Prefecture. Among them, the portrait of Maeda Toshiharu is about 80 by 40 centimeters. It is colored on silk and depicts Toshiharu after becoming a monk. The servant in front of him is ordering tea from the Tenme tea bowl brought from China. The whole work is rich in imagination and color. Gorgeous, it is said that the author was Hasegawa Obo who lived in Noto at that time. It is a rare work of art.