Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 111: French Ambitions Under Mazarin and Louis XIV​

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France, chief beneficiary of the various conflicts spanning Europe in the first half of the 17th century, entered the second half mired in civil war. What would be known as the Fronde began just as the dust was settling in the Franco-Spanish War when chief minister Cardinal Mazarin arrested the leaders of the Parlement of Paris who had opposed his financial edicts and demanded constitutional reform. Protests soon broke out in the streets and over time even the nobility joined the cause against what they viewed as too much royal power, seeking to force Mazarin out of power. The situation was so perilous that king Louis XIV and his mother, Anne of Austria, fled Paris, not to return until the conclusion of the Fronde. As the war overseas had not been resolved, the royal faction in Paris was left defenseless for months before an army led by Louis, the prince of Conde, blockaded the city and Mazarin worked out a compromise after sowing distrust between the mob and the Parlement, accepting certain reforms in return for the latter laying down their arms [1].

This did not end the Fronde, for unrest aimed against Mazarin continued outside of Paris. Additionally, many of the princes of the blood renewed their intrigues against the chief minister, including the prince of Conde who felt his defeat of the first phase of the Fronde warranted recognition which was not granted by the cardinal. The intrigues forced Mazarin to arrest the prince of Conde, his brother Armand the prince of Conti, and his brother-in-law Henri the Duke of Longueville, all princes of the blood. In response, the Vicomte de Turenne raised a rebel army and demanded the release of the imprisoned princes. After a few months of fighting and interspersed rebellion, Mazarin backed down, releasing the princes and imposing self-exile to the Rhineland upon himself. The wily cardinal, however, continued communications with Anne of Austria, the king’s mother, and circulated letters that sowed distrust between the different members of the opposition. Once everything was set in motion, Mazarin returned to Paris and quickly consolidated his control over the government. The Prince of Conde gathered an army in the south but was defeated at Bleneau by an army commanded by Turenne, who had flipped to Mazarin’s faction. Accepting defeat after the battle, the prince submitted to the young king, asking and obtaining forgiveness for his actions [2]. The royal family subsequently returned to Paris and the Fronde was over.

With his political position secure, Mazarin focused on strengthening France at home and abroad for the rest of the decade. He appointed a new Superintendent of Finance named Nicolas Fouquet and tasked him with repairing the state of the kingdom’s finances. With France’s decades-long conflicts finally having come to an end with the Fronde, Fouquet was able to rein in unnecessary expenditures and dramatically improve the kingdom’s credit [3]. As a leading force behind the French East India Company, he also helped direct many of the company’s efforts to royal coffers and pushed for French commercial expansion in Asia alongside Mazarin. However, his extravagance and patronage of clients and friends, especially at his luxurious Vaux-le-Vicomte castle, aroused suspicions of disloyalty and corruption especially from the young king.

Abroad, Mazarin’s signature accomplishment was the formation of the League of the Rhine, a French-led defensive alliance of 50 German princes primarily in the Rhineland whose aim was to weaken the power of the new Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, and his Austrian Habsburg dynasty. It also swore to uphold the terms and principles of the Peace of Prague within the HRE. Other efforts to marginalize the Habsburgs and their allies saw France strengthen relations with Savoy, Portugal, Transylvania, and the Ottoman Empire [4]. However, French non-interventionism in the Second Northern War weakened ties with both Sweden and the Netherlands despite both also being members of the League [5]. Additionally, he continued to oversee the education of Louis XIV and also patronized the arts extensively, founding the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648.​

Portrait of Cardinal Mazarin​

Mazarin died in 1661, having served as France’s Chief Minister for 18 years. King Louis XIV, now 23, declared that he would be his own chief minister, signaling the beginning of his famous absolute monarchy personified by quotes like “I am the state” and “It is legal because I wish it”. Upon his ascension to the helm of state, he would also conveniently rid the government of the overtly showy and ambitious Fouquet whose wealth outshone that of the crown, still struggling despite the Superintendent’s fiscal reforms. After being induced to sell his office of procureur general and losing his legal immunity in the process, Fouquet attempted to recruit one of the king’s mistresses as a spy, the mistress in question shortly reporting the matter to Louis himself. The superintendent would subsequently be arrested and in a trial run by one of Fouquet’s enemies, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, would be found guilty for embezzlement as well as lese-majeste due to conflicts of interest and the unauthorized patronage of royal officials. With that, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment and die in 1680.

With his biggest roadblock to absolute rule out of the way, the king truly began his personal reign, appointing Jean-Baptiste Colbert as the First Minister of State and Controller-General of Finance. The duo worked to further bolster France’s financial and mercantile position, increasing the efficiency of royal taxation and attracting manufacturers and artisans from across Europe to nurture old and new industries and increase the kingdom’s exports relative to its imports. Louis XIV also began reforming the administration of the military through his Secretary of State for War Michel de Tellier, curbing the power and influence of the old aristocracy and modernizing the army.​

Painting of Louis XIV ca. 1661​

Although his personal rule strengthened the kingdom and Louis’ own authority at the expense of the nobility, it also served to prepare France for the king’s primary objective: territorial expansion through military victory and diplomatic cunning. This objective would come to define the foreign policy of Louis XIV, and it would begin to take shape only a few years after Mazarin’s passing. In 1665, Philip IV of Spain died and was succeeded by his 4 year old son Charles. Taking advantage of the new king’s youth and disabilities stemming from generations of inbreeding within the Habsburg dynasty, Louis XIV’s lawyers would begin arguing that because the dowry from the engagement of the king and the queen Maria Theresa of Spain had not been paid, her renunciation of inheritance was void and through the law of jus devolutionis the French king could claim various Spanish lands. Specifically, Louis XIV would set his sights on the Spanish Netherlands, particularly Limburg, Namur, and Namur, and Spanish Brabant. However, these claims also risked conflict with the Dutch as by now, the latter had largely acquired its desired lands and now viewed the Spanish as a useful buffer between itself and the French.

Also of concern was the Holy Roman Emperor, who would marry the late Philip IV’s daughter Margaret Theresa in 1666. However, the League of the Rhine proved to be an effective buffer against Habsburg interests and Leopold was forced to remain vigilant towards the Ottomans with whom he had recently sparred with in the Austro-Turkish War of 1663-1664. Thus on May 24th, 1666 [6], French diplomats across Europe stated French claims in the Spanish Low Countries and the War of Devolution officially began between France and Spain, with the duke of Lorraine Nicholas II [7] also joining the war on the Spanish side. The campaign began in France’s favor, with Turenne and the Prince of Conde leading French armies to easy victories in the Low Countries and Franche-Comte. The Spanish, meanwhile, provided little resistance in a hopeless situation and instead focused their energy on diplomatic overtures to the Dutch and English. They did, however, launch a counteroffensive into southern France, with the Viceroy of Catalonia the Duke of Osuna preying upon the undefended villages in Upper Cerdanya.

Eventually, a combination of the French capture of Brussels in September 1666 and successful Spanish diplomacy pushed the Dutch and English into declaring war on France in 1667. John Maurice, the old governor of Dutch Brazil, was made the field marshal of the States Army and quickly marched an army of 20,000 into French-occupied South Brabant and Namur and engaged with Turenne at the Battle of Namur. While this battle ended in a French victory, Dutch-Brabantine stadtholder Philip Francis de Ligne quickly followed up and continued the Dutch land offensive, his Flemish-Brabantine army retaking Brabant as the locals rallied around one of their own kinsmen. Additionally, Anglo-Dutch participation saw the war spread to the seas, and this was where France proved to be woefully unprepared. On June 24th, an Anglo-Dutch fleet led by Michiel de Ruyter easily defeated a French fleet off the port of Dunkirk, allowing a small army commanded by George Monck to land and quickly capture the port. As months passed, the French continued to be bested at sea, and by the end of the year only in Franche-Comte did the kingdom continue to witness uncontested success as the enemy pressed on all other fronts.​

Depiction of the naval Battle of Dunkirk​

Louis XIV had hoped that Portugal would join the war on France’s side. However, Lisbon remained hopelessly divided between pro-French and pro-English parties at court and so this would not happen. This was the last straw, and soon Le Tellier and Colbert were advocating for peace as France could not continue on financial grounds. Despite objections from Turenne and Conde, the king obliged and entered negotiations. On May 2nd, 1668, the Treaty of Aix-Chapelle was signed which saw Spain cede Franche-Comte to France while Dunkirk, still under Anglo-Dutch control, was returned back to the French. In return, Louis XIV withdrew his invocation of jus devolutionis over the Spanish Netherlands. Nevertheless, this did not mean the end of Louis’ ambitions over the region and his expansionist foreign policy would continue. The War of Devolution did, however, mark the end of the decades-long Franco-Dutch alliance and would see Sweden warm relations with France against the new Anglo-Dutch alliance.

[1]: First phase of the Fronde ends much sooner.

[2]: ITTL, because the Franco-Spanish War is already over, there’s no Spanish Fronde.

[3]: Compared to OTL, France will be in a better financial situation under Louis XIV because there is a much longer pause of conflicts.

[4]: Unlike IOTL, Franco-Ottoman relations continue to be maintained around this time.

[5]: The Dutch were not in the HRE after 1648 or the League of the Rhine IOTL

[6]: Louis XIV starts the war one year early compared to OTL as there was no Anglo-Dutch War to be preoccupied with and the marriage of Leopold and Margaret Theresa proved enough of a perceived threat.

[7]: The death of Charles IV in 1647 gives the duchy to his younger brother who only briefly served as duke in 1634 IOTL.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 112: Unity in Azuchi Only For So Long​

After the Asiatic Northern War, Japan was an exhausted realm, spent in both manpower and wealth. The Ming embargo had worsened matters, allowing European traders like the Dutch to expand their share of Sino-Japanese trade in Japanese markets despite many native merchants circumventing the embargo by operating in other foreign ports like Ayutthaya. Worse, the nature of the war’s conclusion left the path forward unclear in terms of priorities and reforms. All of these variables would lead to increased factionalism and rivalries among Azuchi’s leading generals and statesmen. At this critical moment, what Japan needed was a strong leader at the top in the daijo-daijin to quell discord and impose a clear agenda on the realm.

Unfortunately, Oda Nobuhiro was not the strong leader Japan needed. Having lost his father at a young age, the young Oda head was witness to turbulent times as his uncle Konoe Toshishige and great uncle Oda Tomoaki jostled for the regency, with the former exiling the latter and finally taking control without filling the role of chancellor. Even when a state of normalcy had been restored and another great uncle, Kanbe Tomoyoshi, had assumed the role of chancellor and begun to mentor and tutor Nobuhiro, it did little to rectify the lost time. Nobuhiro would grow up to be a quiet and timid individual, more interested in patronizing the arts and Buddhist temples than engaging with the complex politics of Azuchi. As a result, much of the governance of Japan from Azuchi fell to the Sangi-shu and the bureaucracy, with oversight from the Shinka-in also expanding as well. The increased power and importance of what would eventually evolve into Japan’s modern day bicameral legislature [1] would further incentivize the growth of factionalism in Azuchi and result in the 1670s being defined by such politics.​

Portrait of an older Oda Nobuhiro​

Yet this would not happen immediately. A sense of urgency pervasive in Azuchi minimized the growing rivalries and Kanbe Tomoyoshi’s presence, even as the retired oogosho, would even promote political unity as Japan waded through the currents of recovery over the next few years. Upon the conclusion of the war, Azuchi’s priorities were to rejuvenate foreign trade to prewar levels and reform the Japanese navy. The rejuvenation of foreign trade would itself be a twofold task involving both recovering the share of foreign trade conducted by Japanese merchants that had been lost during the war as well as reinvigorating the flow of goods in and out of the realm in general. With this in mind, Azuchi imposed limits on the presence of foreign merchants in all major ports in 1670, also temporarily suspending customs duties as it pertained to Japanese merchants. This would strengthen the hand of native merchants, though at the expense of foreign merchants, especially Europeans, whose feathers were ruffled by what they saw as unnecessary impositions. Rebuilding the Japanese presence in Ming ports, however, would take longer and be mostly in the hands of Japanese emissaries and merchants rather than the direct will of the daijo-fu. Meanwhile, Joseon-Japanese trade relations would not fully recover until the end of the century, as distrust continued to dominate the minds of the formerly warring sides and the previous attacks upon Joseonite merchants in Shimonoseki had not only driven them out but made them reluctant to come back, if ever. As a result, Shimonoseki and Yamaguchi would experience a level of commercial stagnation for the rest of the century.

Meanwhile, Tagawa Seikou pushed for naval reforms, as the war had revealed to Azuchi and the world the vulnerabilities of the Japanese navy as it currently stood and the navy itself had been battered during the conflict, necessitating the construction of new ships. The tekkousen and zentousen, now clearly outdated designs, would be phased out of future use and construction plans while the hobayasen would be deprioritized. Instead, newer Western ship designs would be adopted. Nevertheless, the concept of a front-facing cannon present in ships like the zentousen would be carried on, adapted in new Western-style and junk ships as a smaller cannon supplementing side batteries rather than as one large cannon by itself. Additionally, the construction of new shipyards were proposed as well to rebuild the navy as quickly as possible and make it easier to demolish old ships and use the materials for new ships.

These naval reforms, however, demanded new funds and therefore new taxes as Azuchi could not spare any extra funds at the moment, especially with the suspension of customs duties as it pertained to Japanese merchants. This was something that initially found strong opposition from most daimyo, and the prospect of new funds seemed unlikely. In response, Seikou proposed creating the option for daimyo to receive greater protection of their domains’ coastal waters if they gave up their fleets and directed funds previously used for maintaining their own independent fleets. As it wasn’t technically a proposal to increase taxes, this opt-in funding mechanism found less opposition and the daijo-daijin signed off on what would be known as the Coastal Protection Decree or the Kaiganhogo-rei (海岸保護令). Ultimately, nearly all coastal daimyo would choose to opt in, albeit some with a level of coercion, and only the Shimazu, Tokugawa, and the Kuki clans would retain their own navies, marking a significant centralization of Japanese naval power in Azuchi’s hands. The Azuchi navy itself would proceed to establish a new squadron based in Shimonoseki with the new ships and funds they acquired.

A by-product of the implementation of the naval reforms was that it forced Azuchi to deal with the issue of the rapid deforestation taking place throughout Japan due to increased shipbuilding, urbanization, and general population growth. Shima and Harima provinces as well as parts of the Oshu region were seeing this in particular as they had become the prime sources of timber for Japan’s naval armadas and merchant vessels. In response, Nobuhiro under the advice of Tomoyoshi would decree in 1671 that all daimyo in the home islands formulate forest management policies that regulated logging and mandated replanting efforts in deforested parts of the home islands. This decree began the scientific development of silviculture and forestry in Japan [2].​

17th century sketch of forests in Awaji province​

Beyond the realm, the Japanese continued to be active in the far northern mainland. They were involved in the joint expedition primarily involving Ming China and the Amur Khanate against Nikifor Chernigovsky in 1669 where the Russians were finally expelled from Albazin, bringing the stronghold under Amur suzerainty after 3 years of foreign occupation. Chernigovsky, however, had successfully built up a renewed Russian presence in the region and even local support, and this would not go away with one defeat. He would subsequently retreat to Nerchinsk and recover lost manpower there and in the neighboring town of Chita. It was from Chita and Nerchinsk that his Cossacks could continue to launch attacks upon the Amur Khanate whenever the opportunity arose. This kept the Japanese ever-involved with the affairs of the Amur Khanate as they assisted with the repulsion of Russian attacks. These continuous confrontations would draw Sakuma Moritora into his last military campaign, returning to the region in 1670. His army of several thousand Japanese, Ainu, and Amur Jurchen cavalry easily defeated the Cossacks that were raiding at that time, chasing them all the way to the outskirts of Nerchinsk before the onset of winter forced a retreat. Even in his 50s, he proudly led his men into battle himself.

In 1672, Sakuma Moritora passed away at the age of 55, leaving a legacy as one of the most illustrious generals in Japanese history. During his 34 year long career, he not only fought Japanese rebels but also Ainus, Russians, Jurchens, and Joseonites. Moritora’s efforts and victories were especially instrumental in establishing a permanent Japanese presence in the far northern frontier, and his style of cavalry combat would even influence the trajectory of the Japanese samurai cavalry through his utilization of shock tactics with the yari and carbine. Beyond being a talented military commander and fearless warrior, however, the Sakuma lord also proved to be a cunning political actor. At the beginning of the Furuwatari War, he secretly contemplated siding with Hojo Ujinobu out of spite against Oda Nobutomo, who had helped bring about the forced retirement of his grandfather Morimasa. Moritora’s quiet decision to remain loyal against his own personal wishes after Keizan’s failure to take Gifu Castle would prove wise, as was his timely defection from Azuchi to the rebel side under Kanbe Tomoyoshi during the Manji War. Over the years, he would employ this cunning as well as his military reputation and charisma to gain political power until he emerged as one of Japan’s foremost statesmen. Finally, he was a capable daimyo, patronizing fur trade interests and other northerly trade connections to enrich the port of Sakata and bring prosperity to his entire domain. From the child head of a clan shamed by the downfall of Saito Yoshioki’s tyranny, the Tiger of the North ended his life as one of the most powerful and celebrated men throughout the entire realm.​

Samurai armor of Sakuma Moritora​

With the deaths of both Sakuma Moritora and Kanbe Tomoyoshi in 1672, two of Japan’s leading figures in government, the unity that Azuchi briefly enjoyed in the aftermath of the Asiatic Northern War would begin to crumble as the bickering and rivalries previously beneath the surface would begin to burst and two competing factions with differing agendas would rise. The rest of the decade would be marked by this factionalism as Oda Nobuhiro looked helplessly from afar, unable and unwilling to take charge and intervene. Japan was in for a period of political turbulence and societal uncertainty.

[1]: The Sangi-shu is the prototype for TTL’s modern-day upper house and the Shinka-in is the prototype for TTL’s modern-day lower house.

[2]: All of this is basically the same IOTL, just slightly different timing.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 113: Constantinople Recovers​

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After the War of the Cretan Coalition, the Ottoman Empire was in a state of disarray, having lost a major conflict and forced to cede long-held territories for the first time in decades. This defeat had also taken place amidst the fatal depositions of the reigning padishah Ibrahim and his vizier Sofu Mehmed Pasha, politically destabilizing the realm. The state of political disarray would continue even after the war’s end, with the new padishah’s grandmother and regent Kosem Sultan rumored to be plotting the murder and replacement of padishah Mehmed IV in favor of his younger half-brother Suleiman. As a result, she was assassinated on the orders of Mehmed in 1651 and soon the padishah’s mother Turhan Sultan became the new regent. Unfortunately, Turhan’s political experience led to palace intrigue dominating the Sublime Porte, leading to a string of short-term grand viziers unable to confront the empire’s financial issues and the Celali revolts that continued to plague Anatolia.

Realizing that her son’s realm would become more vulnerable without a course correction in Constantinople, Turhan Sultan turned to the 81 year old Koprulu Mehmed Pasha, an experienced official who had served in numerous positions, and asked him to become the new grand vizier of the empire. In return, Koprulu asked for total authority, leading to the end of Turhan Sultan’s regency over her son although he continued to involve the padishah’s mother in the governance of the Ottoman realm. He immediately began using his newly concentrated power to crack down on the palace intrigue and revive old modes of governance to the Sublime Porte, ruthlessly removing any corrupt and ineffective officials from office. Koprulu was even able to implement economic reforms and end the Celali revolts for good in 1658 [1], things his predecessors had been unable to do.​

Depiction of grand vizier Koprulu Mehmed Pasha​

One method he sought to consolidate his support in Constantinople, especially among the Janissaries, was to authorize war against the Safavids from 1659, ending 20 years of peace between the two dynasties brought about by the Treaty of Zuhab from 1639. At this point in time, Safavid Persia was experiencing financial decline and a decay in the state of its military under Shah Abbas II and his corrupt, ineffective vizier Mohammed Beg. As a result, Ottoman offensives into Transcaucasia and even western Persia saw initial, unchecked success, with key strongholds like Ganja and Tabriz falling into Turkish hands in the first 2 years of the war. However, this success would soon grind to a halt as the shah took to the field, defeating an Ottoman force at what would be known as the 2nd Battle of Nahavand [2] in 1661. Meanwhile, in the Caucuses, Vakhtang V of Kartli would resist Ottoman occupation after initially bending the knee in the face of the seemingly unstoppable Turkish offensive. The reprieve from the Ottoman offensive earned by the Safavids, however, would be short-lived for the next year Abbas would contract syphilis in 1662 due to years of self-indulgent alcoholism. He had also relieved Mohammed Beg from his post as vizier in 1661 in an attempt to pave the way towards proper financial reform in the empire, only to be replaced by the equally incompetent Mirza Mohammad Karaki who failed to enact fiscal changes.

Things looked dire for the Safavid realm as it became more likely that the Sublime Porte would be able to swipe portions of western Iran, potentially even regaining territories briefly held after 1590 in Khuzestan and Luristan. Fortunately, another war on the Ottoman’s European frontier would break out and distract Constantinople from making further progress against the Safavids. The ban of Croatia, Nikola Zrinski, had been organizing raids against the Turks since 1661 while also petitioning Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to declare war and take back occupied Hungarian lands from the Ottomans. Seeing that Constantinople’s war machine was now fully deployed on the other side of its empire, Leopold reluctantly obliged in 1663. An army of 30,000 gathered under imperial commander Raimondo Montecuccoli while Zrinski backed him with 15,000 of his own men. Zrinski began marching straight into Slavonia, capturing Virovitica immediately. Meanwhile, Montecuccoli seized the initiative and began besieging Buda before a significant enemy force could march into their Hungarian lands.

However, the Imperial army was underestimating the loyalty and prowess of the Turks’ vassals, specifically the prince of Transylvania. George II Rakoczi [3], by now a matured ruler worthy of his father’s legacy, quickly mobilized his men and headed towards Buda. Despite being outnumbered, he managed to repulse Montecuccoli. After halting the siege, Rakoczi would be joined by a proper Ottoman army led by Fazil Ahmad Pasha, who had succeeded his father as grand vizier with the latter’s passing in 1661. The combined Ottoman-Transylvanian forces would then move to simultaneously enter Austrian Hungary and enemy-occupied Slavonia. In response, Leopold would summon an Imperial Diet, asking the princes and electors of the Empire to assist. 30,000 more men would subsequently be raised primarily between Bavaria, Brandenburg, and Saxony. Even a handful of Commonwealth magnates would independently contribute after the Sejm rejected a call to aid by king John II Casimir [4].​

Depiction of Koprulu’s son and successor, grand vizier Fazil Ahmed Pasha​

As the Austro-Turkish War heated up and Constantinople’s war against the Safavids continued, Fazil Ahmed Pasha decided to pivot towards concluding the latter as soon as possible. He had already diplomats to Isfahan before he left Constantinople, and by the end of 1663 a treaty was in the works. The following year, the Treaty of Ganja would be agreed upon by both sides, which ceded all Safavid possessions in the Caucasus region to the Ottomans as well as Khuzestan, further cessions prevented by the upswing in Persian fortunes and the necessity of the Turks to pivot entirely to Europe. The kings of Kartli and Kakheti would also henceforth become vassals of the Ottoman padishah. With the Ottoman-Safavid war of 1659-1664 having concluded, the Sublime Porte fully turned its attention to the Austrian front. Even this conflict, however, would seldom last long. On August 1st, the armies of Montecuccoli and Ahmed Pasha clashed at St. Gotthard where despite being outnumbered, a surprise cavalry charge by Polish magnate John Sobieski interrupted a river crossing by the Ottomans, triggering a chaotic retreat and leading to the drowning of many Turks. 9 days later, however, Nikola Zrinski was killed while skirmishing with Ottoman-Transylvanian forces near the city of Osijek. For both sides, the prospects of war now looked less enticing, the Habsburgs now on the defensive for the most part and the Ottomans looking at heavy casualties and risking formal Polish intervention down the line. Therefore, at the end of the year, the Peace of Vasvar was signed that maintained the status quo and required the Habsburgs to pay Constantinople a large indemnity for starting the war.​

Engraving of the Battle of Saint Gotthard​

The successful conquest of Safavid lands in the territories and defense of Ottoman Hungary were not the only achievements of Constantinople’s recovery under Mehmed IV early in what would be known as the Koprulu era, after the string of viziers from Koprulu Mehmed Pasha’s family. Fazil Ahmed Pasha, even amidst the duo of conflicts, re-energized trade and diplomatic relations with Southeast Asia that had waned throughout the century. In addition to its longtime partner Aceh, strong relations would either be rekindled or newly formed with sultanates like Johor, Brunei, Mataram, and Tidore. Their importance to the Sublime Porte would be especially magnified with the absence of independent Indian sultanates like Gujarat that once formed a core part of Ottoman foreign policy and interests. A rebuilding effort of Constantinople also took place in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1660, with a grand mosque sponsored by Turhan Sultan opening in 1665. The reconstruction, however, was notable in that synagogues and churches that had burned down were mostly not rebuilt under restrictions set by the government.

The Ottoman Empire entered the 1670s recovered from its embarrassing defeat in the War of the Cretan Coalition, having experienced territorial gains and established a more robust foreign policy in Southeast Asia under the vizierships of Koprulu and Fazil Ahmed. It was at this stage that they would be witness to a continental war in Europe of a scale not yet seen up to that point. Inevitably, it would have some connection to it through its ambitious vassal, George II Rakoczi, and the complex relationships it had to its most significant participants and decision makers.

[1]: Accomplished one year earlier ITTL due to the Ottoman Empire being at peace and more able to resolve domestic matters.

[2]: Called the 2nd Battle of Nahavand as the 1st battle is the more famous one from 642 between the Rashida Caliphate and Sassanid Persia.

[3]: He wasn’t replaced by the Ottomans as he hadn’t been involved in foreign wars up to that point.

[4]: Unlike OTL, the French did not assist the emperor in the Austro-Turkish War of 1663-1664.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

明けましておめでとう!! Happy new year once again!! This year has been a big one for this TL so I wanna thank everyone for their continued support as well as helping this TL win the Early Modern TL Turtledove earlier in the year. I intend to see through writing of this story through the 18th century and into the 19th century so stay tuned for major developments in Oda Japan.

In the meantime, to help shape the story moving forward and answer any questions up to this point, I encourage anyone interested to comment what you are most interested in seeing outside of the main story especially in terms of cultural and societal developments down the line and specifics on butterflies that have occurred because of PoD and subsequent story. Once again thank you everyone!!​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 114: Hokushin or Nanshin​

The deaths of Kanbe Tomoyoshi and Sakuma Moritora, among Japan’s most senior and influential leaders, in 1672 marked the end of a brief period of postwar unity in Azuchi. With the oogosho dead and Nobuhiro too weak and ineffective to clamp down on any squabbling or disunity, previously suppressed rivalries and discord returned in full force. Soon, competing visions and economic interests amongst the daimyo lords and even some of the nobility would divide Azuchi into two loose camps by 1673: the Hokushin-ha (北進派) and the Nanshin-ha (南進派). They were named after the different directions each faction wanted to focus on in terms of economic and territorial expansion, north and south respectively.

The Hokushin faction advocated for prioritizing northern expansionist goals, including the continuation of Japan’s support of the Amur Khanate and the incorporation of further lands in the far north, especially northern Sakhalin. Its members also backed further investments and colonializations in Ezo, Karafuto, and Kuroryutsu as well as the expansion of the lucrative fur trade. This didn’t mean that they wanted to ignore opportunities in Southeast Asia and beyond to the realm’s south, though they believed that Azuchi should prioritize establishing dominion and hegemony in the north. To that end, the Hokushin faction was generally pro-Dutch and weren’t particularly interested in shaking up the political status quo in the south, especially if it threatened the fur trade. The faction saw its support base mostly concentrated in northern and eastern Japan, especially among daimyo most engaged with the northern fur trade. It was principally led by Tokugawa Noriyasu, Kaga Nagaaki, and Shimazu Norihisa, whose clan’s pro-Dutch stance brought him towards the Hokushin-ha.

The Nanshin faction, by contrast, viewed the far north as too resource-poor to preoccupy Japan’s mercantile and political interests. Instead, they backed an expanded focus in Southeast Asia through the continued support of Nihonmachi communities and enterprising Japanese merchants throughout that region. Although no territorial goals existed, there were conceptual prospects for Azuchi-run trade factories and even cities much like what the East India Companies were doing. Unlike the Hokushin faction, the Nanshin-ha supported a more heterogeneous, non-preferential foreign policy towards the various European nations operating in the area to keep them all balanced against one another, with some members even beginning to see the VOC as a threat to Azuchi’s interests. As a consequence of their advocacy for a more southerly focus, the Nanshin-ha also supported an ever larger navy in contrast to the Hokushin-ha that backed a larger land military presence in the far northern frontier. This faction was principally led by Tagawa Seikou, Kanbe Tomozane, and Mōri Tsugumoto. Much of the merchant class, especially those based to the west and south of Azuchi, also supported the Nanshin-ha.​

Leaders of the Hokushin-ha and Nanshin-ha, Top (from left to right): Tokugawa Noriyasu, Kaga Nagaaki, Shimazu Norihisa, Bottom (from left to right): Tagawa Seikou, Kanbe Tomozane, Mōri Tsugumoto​

The fierce rivalry between the Hokushin-ha and Nanshin-ha would fully rear its head in 1673 when Azuchi’s budget necessitated either more revenue or cuts in expenditures in order to continue Japan’s economic recovery from a decade of conflicts and expand the size and scope of the Japanese navy even further. No one wanted to increase taxes on the daimyo and their peasants at the risk of triggering peasant riots or discontent among the samurai class. Therefore, at a meeting of the Sangi-shu, Tsugumoto proposed downsizing the Japanese military presence in the Amur Khanate, as the late Sakuma Moritora’s earlier campaigns had rebuffed the attacks of Nikifor Chernigovsky and other Russian Cossacks successfully, and the tsardom’s focus was turning elsewhere to events in Europe. He also privately hoped that reducing active Japanese presence in that region would thaw tension between Japan and Joseon, which had persisted even after the Treaty of Shenyang and prevented trade from returning to prewar levels. This was made with immediate opposition by the Hokushin faction, especially from Kaga Nagaaki and Nanbu Shigenobu. They instead pushed for ending customs duties exemptions for Japanese merchants. Ultimately, a narrow 9-8 vote was taken in favor of freeing more funds through a military divestment from the far north. However, Nagaaki immediately appealed to the daijo-daijin in the hopes of him deciding in favor of him and the Hokushin-ha.

Enter Kudō Kanefuyu, Tomozane’s younger brother and one of Nobuhiro’s close aides who would come to play a key role in the government in the coming years. Nestled comfortably in the Nanshin-ha alongside his older sibling, he would use his access and status as a blood member of the greater Oda clan to Nobuhiro to persuade him to heed the decision of the Sangi-shu. As the daijo-daijin’s early education had been run by Konoe Toshishige’s kuge (公家) retainers, Nobuhiro tended to be soft and pacifistic, not fond of the military arts or war in general, and a partial withdraw from the Amur Khanate was therefore an easy sell to him. With that key decision, the Sangi-shu’s vote was upheld and the Japanese military presence in the Amur Khanate was scaled down, being mostly concentrated in the leased port of Kuroryutsu. Extended customs duties exemptions would also continue to allow Japanese merchants to prosper even at the expense of other traders, mostly those associated with the VOC. The Nanshin-ha’s political victory also gave them greater influence and power over the Hokushin-ha and early on decided which side held the advantage in Azuchi.​

Portrait of Kudō Kanefuyu​

The next few years would only see the decline of the Hokushin-ha’s power. In 1674, Tokugawa Tomoyasu would pass away of sudden illness, pushing Noriyasu to partially withdraw from political affairs in Azuchi as he mourned his son’s death and focused on training his second son, Hiroyasu (徳川熙康), as the new heir. This was followed by the death of the 62 year old Norihisa in 1675, leaving Kaga Nagaaki as the only active leader among the original trio. Norihisa’s seat would then be filled by a staunch member of the Nanshin-ha in Ryuzōji Tomoie, further tilting Azuchi politics in the Nanshin faction’s favor.

With the semi-retirement of Noriyasu and the death of Norihisa, Kaga Nagaaki assumed the leadership of the Hokushin-ha entirely. This quickly added an inter-Oda clan rivalry aspect to the division between the Hokushin and Nanshin factions, Nagaaki and Tomozane representing the cadet branches of the late Oda Nobutomo’s younger brothers Tomoaki and Tomoyoshi respectively. Nobuhiro being a weak leader only served to stir the competition over the de facto leadership of the greater Oda clan, and the two men began scheming against one another more directly. Nagaaki would turn out to be the weaker target, as Tomozane could operate behind the scenes through both his younger brother Kanefuyu and his son, Yoshihiro (神戸吉煕) who often acted as a proxy and representative for his father. The merchant class’ preference for the Nanshin-ha also came in handy whenever bribery became a necessary tool to push factional interests. Nagaaki, by contrast, possessed none of those, his military experience and reputation falling short in the covert arena of politics. He thus found himself at a disadvantage when it came to influencing policy and bureaucratic appointments. This included the filling of another vacancy on the Sangi-shu with the death of Urakusai Nagaie in 1676, where the pro-Tomozane Tarui Tomoyuki (垂井朝之), the governor of Bireigo province, was chosen over the pro-Nagaaki Musashino Toshikatsu of Musashi province.​

Family tree of the main line of the Oda clan from Nobunori onwards​

The political situation, despite decidedly slanted towards one side, was still a seesaw of intrigue between the Hokushin and Nanshin factions in Azuchi. Even though the Nanshin-ha dominated, many daimyo especially in the Oshu and Kanto regions favored Nagaaki and the Hokushin-ha. By the end of the 1670s, however, one would have total control and the events that would lead to that outcome were about to take place.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 115: Silesia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Intersecting​

Ever since the Peace of Prague, the dual duchies of Silesia had served as a political buffer between Poland-Lithuania, Austria, and the Protestant sphere of influence, led by the Swedish Empire in this case. Although religiously Lutheran, its rulers’ dynastic relations to historical Polish kings and the region’s previous vassalage to the Habsburgs saw it maintain relationships with all three sides. As a result, it participated in the War of the Cretan Coalition against the Ottoman Turks as a chief ally of the Commonwealth. Its influence and importance would increase further when George III, the duke of Lower Silesia, died in 1664 and his lands were inherited by his younger brother and Upper Silesian duke Christian, thus seeing the establishment of a united duchy of Silesia for the first time. The unification of the two Silesian duchies strengthened the region, with the capital of Legnica growing ever more prosperous and many religious dissidents from Bohemia immigrating as the Counter-Reformation rapidly diminished the Hussite and Lutheran churches in the kingdom.

However, political developments overseas would begin to interrupt the domestic affairs of Silesia. In 1668, John II Casimir Vasa abdicated the Polish-Lithuanian throne to a French abbey after the death of his queen and consort Marie Louise Gonzaga earlier in the year. Under the reign of this last member of the Polish Vasa lineage, the Commonwealth prospered over the gains of the War of the Cretan Coalition, now having direct territorial access to both the Baltic and Black Seas since 1526 and the increasingly unwavering allegiance of the Cossacks. This strength also enabled John Casimir to push through political reforms that addressed the unwieldy and fragile nature of the Commonwealth’s institutions [1], particularly the potential for the abuse of the “liberum veto” to shut down entire sessions of the Sejm. These reforms included the restriction of the liberum veto to individual legislation, the establishment of a general tax system, and the enactment of the principle of vivente rege, or the ability to elect a monarch’s successor before the incumbent’s death. John Casimir wasn’t able to do this, however, without initial opposition by many among the szlachta nobility that eventually resulted in a full-fledged rebellion led by Field Crown Hetman Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski after the latter was accused of treason by the king. The subsequent rebellion collapsed after being defeated by the king’s army [2] and with opposition militarily neutralized, John Casimir’s reforms were instituted [3].​

Posthumous portrait of John II Casimir Vasa from the 18th century by Marcello Bacciarelli​

This success would prove to be a hollow victory, however, for John Casimir would not sire any additional children who could potentially succeed him. Additionally, his wife’s choice to be the next monarch of the Commonwealth, Henri Jules of Conde, proved to be an impossible pick for the szlachta because of his malicious character and perceived ugliness. His father, Louis the prince of Conde, was a talented and popular commander in contrast but his heavy association with France’s wars against the Habsburgs proved perilous in potentially inflaming relations with the Austrian Habsburgs with whom the realm had maintained good relations with despite the royal court’s pro-French leanings. This set up the political crisis that followed John Casimir’s abdication as the 1669 royal election was guaranteed to be a messy situation. Initially, it looked like the prince of Conde would become the new king with the backing of the pro-French magnates over a myriad of other candidates. The Piast faction, wary of foreign influences in Warsaw, would turn to the duke of Silesia, Christian having already entered his name with the backing of several Polish nobles. Tymofiy Khmelnytsky [4], the chief leader of the Cossacks, would also support Christian as the chances of an Orthodox candidate winning seemed low. This proved decisive and in the end, Christian would be elected the new monarch of the Commonwealth. The one condition he agreed to was him converting to Catholicism in an effort to appease many opposing Catholic magnates, although he promised to not disrupt the religious status quo in his own Protestant duchy and respect the rights of Orthodox adherents in the Commonwealth.​

Engraving of Christian, duke of Silesia and later monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth​

Initially, the union of Poland, Lithuania, and Silesia under one man went smoothly. Under Christian, relations between the Commonwealth and Sweden thawed, with Poland-Lithuania no longer holding a claim on the Swedish throne and Christian taking advantage of his own cordial relations with John IV Sigismund back when he was a mere duke. However, the pro-French faction, led by Crown Hetman John Sobieski and Primate Michal Prazmowski, continued to oppose the new king and did everything they could to undermine him. Although they no longer had the ability to veto entire Sejms with the reforms of John Casimir in place, the pro-French szlachta made efforts to extend the length of Sejm sessions through overly long speeches and voted down legislation for obstructive purposes. In response, Christian curbed French influence at the royal court to strengthen his own authority and weaken the opposition. When this did little to improve the political situation, supporters of the king led by Michal Wisniowiecki demanded to bring a lawsuit against Sobieski, causing the pro-French magnates in turn to form a confederation in 1670 in support of their leader.

The political struggle between Sobieski and the king made the realm vulnerable, causing the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate to declare war on the Commonwealth in 1671, mostly to take back Yedisan and suppress the unregulated raids by the Cossacks upon the Tatars. The Commonwealth, caught by surprise amidst its infighting, could not mobilize fast enough for Turkish forces to sweep into Yedisan’s Buh valley, cutting off the realm from its Black Sea access and trade while Khmelnytsky and his Cossacks began engaging with the Crimean Tatars. At this moment, the king and Sobieski managed to set aside their differences for the time being, and the Crown Hetman began marching down towards the Turks while the king sent diplomats to Stockholm and Vienna asking for assistance. The reconciliation between the two factions in the Commonwealth proved fortuitous, for John Sobieski successfully rallied the magnates and upon his arrival in the region he began reversing any gains the Ottomans had made during the months when the Commonwealth had been militarily absent.

However, king Christian would never make it down himself, for he fell ill to dropsy and died on February 28th, 1672. He had a 12 year old son, George William, who would succeed his father as the next duke of Silesia but the Piast heir would quickly be ruled out as the next Polish-Lithuanian monarch because of his age. As a result, the Polish-Lithuanian succession became an open question, with the prince of Conde once again the choice of the pro-French magnates and Charles Leopold, the duke of Lorraine, and Michal Wisniowiecki also emerging as major contenders for the throne. The military situation, however, hastened a swift and unifying decision and many szlachta began supporting the increasingly popular John Sobieski as the next king. When the election was held later in 1672, Sobieski would be chosen to succeed his former rival Christian in absentia, as he was still on the battlefield fighting the Turks and Tatars alongside Khmelnystky’s Cossacks. With the spirit in the Commonwealth now united behind the new warrior king and the prospects of Austrian intervention ever growing, grand vizier Fazil Ahmed Pasha sued for peace rather than continue what could’ve become costly war and the Treaty of Odessa saw the Sublime Porte cede trade privileges in the Black Sea and the territorial status quo maintained.​

Portrait of John III Sobieski​

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under king John III Sobieski now stood at the height of its power and the new monarch began speculating on how to act upon his hungry ambitions for even further expansion. An opportunity would arrive in 1675 when George William suddenly died at the age of 15 from smallpox, leaving no heir to Silesia and extinguishing the last legitimate male line of descent of the Piast dynasty. Sobieski would act immediately and claim the overlordship of the duchy, citing the union of Silesia with Poland-Lithuania under his predecessor and Silesia being under the Polish crown before its incorporation into the Bohemian crown in the 14th century. A rival claimant would soon emerge in the form of Frederick William, the elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia, whose dynasty had been promised the Silesian lands in the 16th century in the event of the Silesian Piast male line dying out in the future [4]. Sweden and Transylvania, alarmed at Sobieski’s unabashed expansionism onto the Protestant sphere, backed Frederick William. Sobieski refused to withdraw his claim, resolving to determine the rightful duke of Silesia through force. On March 17th, 1676, he marched into Legnica with little opposition and forced the Silesian nobility to accept him as their next duke. In response, Sweden, Brandenburg-Prussia, and Transylvania declared war on the Commonwealth. The War of the Silesian Succession was on and would come to involve much of central and eastern Europe.

[1]: Same as OTL, just happens a bit earlier.

[2]: Opposite outcome of OTL.

[3]: Opposite outcome of OTL.

[4]: Tymofiy Khmelnytsky lives ITTL and succeeds his father instead of his younger brother Yurii.

[5]: IOTL, Frederick the Great of Prussia used this casus belli to invade and annex Silesia from the Austrian Habsburg in 1740.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 116: The Kaga Saga​

​

Frustrated by the political situation in Azuchi, Kaga Nagasaki often turned to the governance of the province of Kaga for solace and relief. He had grown into the role of a daimyo, having attained the entire province from the Shibata clan upon the conclusion of the Manji War in 1662 at the age of 18. From the beginning, he had able retainers to oversee the administration who were especially important when he was overseas fighting Jin-Joseon armies during the Asiatic Northern War. When he was present, however, Nagaaki took an active role and continued to bolster the growth of Kanazawa, indisputably Japan’s largest city after the central trio of Azuchi, Kyoto, and Sakai, and the industries that supported it, from Kutani ware (九谷焼) porcelain to the northern fur trade. He also spent time and resources on modernizing his domain’s elite musketeers much like his father had 20 years earlier, delving into the latest military developments and tactics from Europe. Nagaaki became one of the first to experiment with the incorporation of bayonets in Japan to determine whether they could supplant entirely the use of yari amongst infantry ranks. Onlookers and visitors commented on his military “projects”, remarking that his musketeers were second to none in Japan.

Nagaaki’s hobby did not go unnoticed by the Nanshin faction, particularly Kanefuyu and his nephew Yoshihiro. There was a secret fear that the Kaga lord was investing in the modernization of his personal musketeers to prepare for war against them. At the same time, though, the idea to use that fear as a false charge of treason also crossed their minds as a convenient way to get rid of a political rival and cement the supremacy of the Nanshin-ha. News of the tsar Alexei’s passing in 1676 had only arrived nearly a year later to Azuchi, and many were eager to use the opportunity to enter negotiations with Moscow and end the intermittent border skirmishes and raids between the two sides. However, others, especially those in the Hokushin-ha like Nagaaki who had fought on the mainland during the Asiatic Northern War, were steadfast in their opposition to any further compromises in Japanese anti-Russian policy and support for the Amur Khanate. Without Nagaaki, however, this opposition and the Hokushin faction would be toothless and unable to overcome the Nanshin faction’s influence and power.

Therefore, towards the end of 1677, Kanefuyu began feeding rumors of a possible rebellion against Azuchi by Nagaaki and his supporters into the ear of the daijo-daijin, potentially even against Nobuhiro himself. Although initially unconvinced and dismissive, Nobuhiro began to be persuaded when Kanefuyu began exploiting the former’s inferiority complex against Nagaaki, who possessed a solid military record and an appetite for politics unlike the chancellor of the realm. Riled up and convinced by what was in reality a conspiracy theory meant to dupe him into eliminating Nagaaki for the Nanshin-ha, Nobuhiro ordered the arrest of the Kaga lord on the charge of treason and conspiracy against the daijo-fu. Kanefuyu, carefully manipulating the process behind the scenes, orchestrated a sham trial that utilized more talking points and charges of conspiracy than actual evidence, even referencing the fact that his father Tomoaki had previously rebelled against Azuchi. Nagaaki never had a shot at making a fair case against the charges, and he quietly accepted his fate when it was decided that he would commit seppuku to atone for his “treason”. Honorable to the very end despite his bitterness over the betrayal, the Kaga lord urged his retainers not to revolt but instead do everything in their power to preserve his legacy in the province. In March of 1678, the seppuku of Kaga Nagaaki took place. He was only 34, a promising life cut short by the paranoia and rivalry of others.​

Modern day depiction of the seppuku of Kaga Nagaaki​

As Nagaaki had no sons, his domain was at risk of being dispossessed. In an effort to quell discontent, this was prevented and Nobuhiro’s 9 year old second son was chosen to succeed the Kaga line, being renamed to be Kaga Hiroaki (加賀熙昭). Nevertheless, the power of the established retainers would be reduced in their own province with central power to be in the hands of a guardian, Urakusai Hisahide (有楽斎尚秀), and it wouldn’t take long for enough angry and dissatisfied Kaga samurai to lash out against the outcome of the conspiracy. On the night of April 21st, 1678, around 500 men led by councilor Takumi Mataichiro (匠又一郎) rose up in arms in the city of Kanazawa and occupied Kanazawa Castle (金沢城) ahead of Hiroaki’s arrival. An opposing force made up of the sailors of the Kanazawa naval squadron and anti-resistance retainers soon gathered and effectively blockaded the castle on all sides, threatening to bombard them out if need be. On April 28th, fellow councilor Tsuda Takeakira (津田孟昭) managed to coax the rebels into opening up talks, where the former urged his peer to step down and allow the transition of power to occur. He even promised to appeal to Azuchi for some measure of mercy and broached Mataichiro the question, “Would our late lord want this?”, bringing tears to Mataichiro’s eyes. In the end, Mataichiro stepped down and surrendered. Before he himself left the castle, however, he asked for some time in a room. Minutes later without a response from him, Mataichiro was found to have slit his throat, unable to live with the shame and dishonor he had brought onto himself.

The attempted takeover in Kanazawa cast a long shadow on Azuchi. Despite the pleas of Tsuda Takeakira, the participants were either executed or dispossessed of their properties and banished from the province and the clan they served. Several daimyo looked on in disapproval at what had taken place between Nagaaki’s seppuku and the handling of the aftermath but said or did nothing, not willing to risk anything themselves. As a result, the Hokushin faction was cowed into submission, forced to adjust to what essentially became the new regime. Now wielding a freer hand in Azuchi, Kanbe Tomozane and his faction began negotiations with Russia to establish a recognized border between the tsardom and the Amur Khanate and sort out Russo-Japanese interests in the far north. What would result would be the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1679. The northern border of the Amur Khanate was defined at the Uda River and the Outer Khingan Mountains [1] [2] and Muscovy recognized Japanese holdings in Karafuto and Kuroryutsu as well as continued Japanese influence over the Amur Jurchens. Russia and Japan would also share fishing rights in the Sea of Okhotsk. Fur trapping rights would, however, be restricted within the recognized sovereign borders of the involved realms. However, the northern portion of Karafuto and the Kamchatka Peninsula remained unclaimed and would not be resolved in the treaty. Upon the finalization of the treaty, there were some murmurs of discontent among Oshu daimyo who didn’t want any concessions that would affect the fur trade but the Shinka-in and the Sangi-shu would nevertheless approve it with little pushback.​

Copy of the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1679​

That same year, Tokugawa Noriyasu, the last of the three leaders of the Hokushin-ha, died after leading the Tokugawa house for 29 years. With his passing came about the final decline of the faction as no person rose to take leadership. Furthermore, many sympathizers had been sufficiently satisfied with the Treaty of Nerchinsk. This achieved the complete dominance of the Nanshin-ha and its leaders, namely the Kanbe cadet branch of the Oda clan, Tagawa Seikou, and Mōri Tsugumoto, though Tagawa Seikou would also pass away in that same year. For the next 10 years, they would preside over the affairs of Azuchi, with the daijo-daijin under their influence and uninterested in breaking the mold to loosen their grip on power.

[1]: Alternate name of the Stanovoy Range.

[2]: Essentially the same borders as TTL’s 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 117: A Stir for Salvation​

​

Between 1659 and 1669, Japan experienced a civil war and fought two overseas wars, draining manpower and resources and undergoing regime change in the process. Overseas trade was disrupted and swaths of the countryside were devastated, undermining the regional economies of the realm. Resources also began to be expended on the Asiatic mainland in support of the Amur Khanate and against the opposing forces of Jurchens, Cossacks, and Russians, a practice that gradually diminished after the conclusion of the Asiatic Northern War but did not end completely even after the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk. At home, political factionalism in Azuchi and the naval buildup slowed recovery. This state of affairs managed to trickle down to the common level of society, especially in the urban areas and devastated provinces from conflict, inducing a sense of anxiety in the people of the home islands. The state of anxiety would cause a wave of increased spirituality in the 1670s as many turned to faith and superstitions to help guide their seemingly precarious lives. That wave not only saw revivals of many religions but also set the stage for the rise of a new creed.

The Yamato Church was one such beneficiary of this increased spirituality. Having been a persecuted institution under the government of the kōbu kanpaku and later one of the biggest supporters of the new regime under Kanbe Tomoyoshi, the Yamato Church saw a revival in popularity and adherence through not only the religiosity wave but also patronage from Azuchi and regional daimyo, especially in western and central Japan. Patriarchs Hojo and his successor, Shunraku (春楽), led the church during this time and brought about several reforms that expanded the scope of their reach and appeal, including a new and proper translation of the Bible in Japanese and the adoption of cremation as the standard method of the disposal of the dead. As a result, by the end of the decade, 15% of the Japanese realm could be counted as followers of the Yamato Church, a new height for the faith. Alongside the recovery of Yamato Christianity were that of the various Pure Land Buddhist sects, particularly the Takada and Hongan-ji subsects of Jodi Shinshu, the latter having long struggled after its defeat and exile in 1580. In contrast, Zen and Tendai either declined in popularity or did not benefit from the spiritual wave sweeping the home islands, their more modest doctrines not appealing sufficiently to the feelings of anxiety and search for salvation shared by the middle and lower classes of Japanese society.​

The head temple of the Takada subsect of Jodo Shinshu, Hon-ji Senju-ji (本寺専修寺)​

It was within this upswell in religious conviction and spirituality that a new gospel, distinct from both Christianity and Buddhism but influenced by both, would be preached by a wandering, self-proclaimed prophet that would birth a new faith: Kyuseikyo or Salvationism. Takemaro-no-Mikoto (武麿命), as he would later be known, was born Shima Takeshiro (島武四郎) in 1641, the son of a samurai and Yamato Christian in the service of the Takayama clan. He lived a pretty standard life as a future retainer until the outbreak of the Manji War in 1659. His master Takayama Tsugufusa chose to side with Oda Tomoaki and the rebel coalition over the kōbu kanpaku’s unfavorable treatment of Yamato Christians. However, he was quickly overwhelmed by Azuchi and in 1661, he died in battle along with much of his retinue. Among the dead were Takeshiro’s father and older brother, and Takeshiro barely survived the war himself. He left the devastated Settsu province as a ronin and escaped to Kii province, wandering the area over the next few years in his shell-shocked state. Takeshiro eventually made his way towards Hon-ji Senju-ji and became a monk there despite his upbringing as a Yamato Christian. He hoped that his spiritual questions stemming from the carnage and desolation he experienced firsthand would be answered by faith in the bodhisattva Amida (阿弥陀) and the recitation of the nenbutsu (念仏) but he only developed more questions. Takeshiro would leave the refuge of the temple in 1674 and began to travel to see the wider world and search for answers. He would mostly travel across the Chubu and Kanto regions, speaking and staying with local farmers, craftsmen, and even some samurai.

According to a story he would later retell countless times, Takeshiro was meditating on one of the slopes of Mt. Hachimori (鉢盛山) when he received a vision from God commanding him to spread the true message to the people of Japan. In this vision, God represented as the omnipotent light had presented his messenger in Crown Prince Shotoku (聖徳太子), historically the regent of Empress Suiko (推古天皇) who had helped introduce Buddhism into Japan and the Seventeen-Article Constitution (十七条憲法) during the Asuka period (飛鳥時代) of Japanese history. Shotoku as God’s messenger instructed Takeshiro to preach throughout Japan the truth and that that truth would unveil itself within his heart and mind through due time. When this legendary vision ended, Takeshiro awoke in a hot sweat, bewildered and stunned at what he had just experienced. Later, however, he would collect himself and resolve to commit to the command of God. Over the next month, he prayed and meditated daily and often called on God to guide him towards the truth. The words and images of Jesus and the Buddha would appear alongside those of the omnipotent light and Shotoku. Eventually, when he felt ready, he stepped down from Mt. Hachimori and began a new path.​

Depiction of Crown Prince Shotoku and younger princes in the Tohon Miei (唐本御影)​

Takeshiro’s new creed was based on the idea that eternal salvation could only be achieved through faith in God and faith in God alone but that salvation had numerous paths in itself. Similar to Buddhism, reincarnation was the natural cycle of life for most but that cycle could be escaped by entering heaven, the land of God without the temptations and suffering of the earthly world, through one’s faith in God. According to Takeshiro, God had also sent down 4 human messengers. Three of them were Gautama Buddha the Philosopher, Jesus the Martyr, and Prince Shotoku the Lawgiver. The fourth and final messenger was Takeshiro himself, who is the Prophet in this context. The values and morals of Takeshiro’s new creed was a hybrid of Yamato Christian and Buddhist values, with the prescriptions of the Seventeen-Article Constitution particularly incorporated. The most significant of these within the new faith was Article II, which stated the superseding of imperial authority by faith, Buddhism in Shotoku’s case and God according to Takeshiro’s interpretation. This would give Takeshiro’s new faith an anti-establishment fervor greater than that of the Yamato Church or Japan’s Buddhist schools, which at least politically gave a degree of deference to the central government. All of these tenets would be the foundation of Takeshiro’s new creed, Salvationism.

This was the creed he would first preach in Gifu in 1678. It turned out that he was preaching to a receptive audience, for the city had been on a relative decline since the conclusion of the Manji War. Having been besieged during both the Furuwatari and Manji Wars, it had endured a relative economic and political decline even after the end of the wars due to Gifu no longer host to the heir as part of the further centralization of the affairs of the main Oda line and Azuchi as a whole. As a result, Takeshiro almost immediately gathered a following as he walked the streets of Gifu and traversed the villages within the surrounding countryside, though he would face early opposition from both the local Yamato Christians and Jodo-shinshu Buddhists who saw his creed as heretical and nonsensical. After 2 years of staying in various residences, he successfully established the first Salvationist temple or Kyusei-do (救世堂) in the city. Upon the establishment of the Kyusei-do, Takeshiro declared himself to be Takemaro-no-mikoto, the first official head of his new movement. It remained to be seen how far Takemaro’s message would spread and travel and what reactions the faith would receive from all corners, but the coming history and development of Kyusei-kyo would certainly be an interesting and uniquely Japanese one.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 118: John Sobieski Attacked On All Sides​

Going into the war, John III Sobieski of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was confident. His realm had never been stronger, having defeated all of its neighbors at least once in the 17th century and regaining access to the Black Sea. Conflict with the Sublime Porte and their Crimean vassals had tethered the Cossacks tightly to Warsaw while the factional bickering that had defined the reign of Christian had largely subsided under the reign of John so far. Tymofiy Khmelnytsky and Lithuanian Field Hetman Michal Kazimierz Radziwill mobilized Cossack and Lithuanian magnates respectively in anticipation of an invasion by George II Rakoczi of Transylvania while the king’s older brother Marek Sobieski [1] guarded the capital and John’s heir Alexander [2].

Nevertheless, Sobieski’s uncompromising confidence made him underestimate his first foe on the battlefield, Brandenburg elector and rival claimant Frederick William. Frederick William had ruled Brandenburg-Prussia over the last 36 years, centralizing the administration and pushing through domestic reforms that expanded his military and strengthened his dual realms’ economies. As a result, his realm would be able to punch above its size and weight in this conflict. The elector and his son Charles [3] departed from Berlin at the head of an army numbering 15,000 shortly after declaring war on the Commonwealth and would attract the support of nobles who supported Frederick William’s claim, especially those in the more heavily German-speaking Lower Silesia. John Sobieski left Legnica amidst a struggle to neutralize dissenting nobles with an army of 25,000, leaving 10,000 throughout the rest of the duchy. The two armies clashed near the town of Glogau just north of Legnica on May 14th. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Frederick William’s infantry and artillery had superior firepower and held back the cavalry charges of the Polish and Cossack cavalry. Although John Sobieski was able to organize an orderly retreat, Polish forces had begun to lose control of Legnica in the king’s absence and Frederick William’s victory had a significant psychological effect on many Silesians. The Polish-Lithuanian army was subsequently forced to abandon Legnica and retreat into Upper Silesia.
​

Depiction of the Battle of Glogau​

As the Commonwealth’s forces were forced back in Silesia and those of Brandenburg-Prussia pushed forward, the Swedes also made their move, advancing from both western Pomerania and Livonia with king John IV Sigismund entering the Commonwealth from the former. The Swedish armies, composed of some of Europe’s most lethal infantry, breezed through the Polish-Lithuanian defenses and with the help of Prussian troops were able to quickly occupy much of Royal Prussia and Courland. Warsaw now lay within striking distance of the Swedes, thrusting John Sobieski into action. Leaving temporary command of Commonwealth-occupied Silesia in the hands of Crown Hetman Dymitr Jerzy Wisniowiecki, the king mobilized more troops from Poland in addition to his personal army from Silesia and confronted his Swedish counterpart at Klecko. At the bloody affair that followed, only through Sobieski’s personal valor at the head of the winged hussars did the Commonwealth snatch victory and halt the Swedish advance towards Warsaw. However, the heavy casualties prevented Sobieski from following up on his victory. Worse, in the absence of the king, the Brandenburgians made further gains in Silesia. By the end of the year, most of Silesia was in the hands of Frederick William and the entire Baltic coast had been lost to the anti-Commonwealth coalition.

However, 1677 would see a sort of reversal of fortunes. Firstly, the Danes entered the war on the side of the Commonwealth at the behest of the latter’s diplomats, eager to regain Jamtland, Halland, and Bohuslan from the Swedish Empire. This created a second front behind the backs of both the Swedes and Brandenburgians. Secondly, George II Rakoczi succumbed to dysentery while on campaign against his Cossack and Lithuanian foes. As his son Francis had died the previous year, this theoretically left his 1 year old grandson as the heir to the Transylvanian princedom. By now, however, Constantinople viewed the Rakoczi princes as a problem who too often risked renewed conflict between themselves and the Habsburgs or the Commonwealth and swiftly placed Francis Rakoczi and his family under house arrest, installing Michael Apafi as the new ruler of Transylvania and tightening its grip over its Balkan vassal states. This effectively took Transylvania out of the war, freeing up manpower in the south. All of this was bad news for the Swedish-Brandenburgian coalition which up until now had held the upper hand on the Silesian and Baltic fronts against Poland-Lithuania. During the second year of the war, John Sobieski pushed Frederick William’s forces out of Lower Silesia completely and retook most of Royal Prussia as John Sigismund was forced to return to Stockholm and oversee the defense of his realm from Denmark-Norway’s unexpected invasion.

The third year of the war would yet again see a major shakeup as seemingly out of nowhere, Russia invaded the Commonwealth’s eastern borders that had been relatively under-defended during the course of the war. As the previous tsar Alexei had only recently died and his son and successor Feodor III was just 17, it had been assumed that Russia would not involve itself in any foreign wars until the latter was older. However, nobles like Artamon Matveyev and Grigory Romodanovsky were eager to take advantage of the Commonwealth’s preoccupation to the west and expand Russian borders into Lithuania and Ukraine. In July, an Russian army of 30,000 led by Romodanovsky entered Lithuania and immediately began besieging Smolensk. In response, a combined force of Lithuanians and Ukrainian Cossacks led by Michal Kazimierz Radziwill advanced upon the Russian position twice at Shklow and Shepeleviche but were rebuffed due to the latter’s sheer manpower. This paved the way for the fall of Smolensk in September 1678 and Muscovy was on course to march on the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius as Orthodox magnates began to waver. However, Radziwill was able to regather his forces and incorporate Cossack reinforcements and at the battle for the capital, the Commonwealth force decisively defeated the Russians.​

Portrait of Lithuanian Field Hetman Michal Kazimierz Radziwill​

The rest of the conflict over the future of Silesia was largely marked by stalemate, with Sweden dispatching an army to its home turf against the Danes and Poland-Lithuania sending armies in all directions. Denmark’s offensives initially went well, its sizable fleet successfully blockading the Baltic Sea and defeating the Swedes at sea while Dano-Norwegian armies under king Christian V retook Halland and Jamtland with little pushback. The Swedish king, however, soon returned with his army and immediately began reversing Dano-Norwegian gains in Halland and even encroached upon Scania. John Sigismund’s land campaign culminated in the Battle of Landskrona, where his army of 13,000 decisively defeated a similarly sized force under Christian V. The Swedish king now embarked upon an invasion of Scania but was hindered by sturdy Dano-Norwegian defenses, continual enemy supremacy on the seas, and the necessary reconquest of Jamtland.

Up until now, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I had stayed out for fear of triggering a French intervention in favor of the anti-Commonwealth coalition or an opportunistic invasion of Habsburg Hungary by the Ottomans. As both sides began pondering peace amidst the relative stalemate, however, he presented himself as a neutral mediator and ended up overseeing negotiations between both sides. Through these talks, a treaty was signed in Legnica in 1680. This treaty split Silesia between Frederick William and John Sobieski, the former taking Lower Silesia and the latter taking Upper Silesia. Additionally, ducal Prussia would no longer be a vassal of the Commonwealth, meaning that Brandenburg-Prussia now stood completely sovereign. However, if the male Hohenzollern line were to become extinct, ducal Prussia would revert to Commonwealth control. Additionally, Poland-Lithuania would officially recognize Swedish domain over Riga and western Livonia, areas taken by the Swedes in the 1620s but never de jure accepted by the Commonwealth. Although the conclusion of the War of the Silesian Succession did not end in the full assimilation of Silesia into the Commonwealth, John Sobieski had conducted himself admirably even when attacked from all sides and managed to minimize the concessions he made, the Commonwealth losing no significant territory.​

Orange = Lower Silesia, Yellow = Upper Silesia​

The Commonwealth now turned its attention onto Russia. Although Russian military success had been halted at Vilnius, Muscovy had begun to turn many of Sobieski’s Orthodox subjects and magnates against the Catholic monarch, destabilizing parts of the Russo-Lithuanian border. They even covertly triggered and supported an internal Cossack rebellion led by Demian Mnohohrishny in the Ukrainian lands. This Russo-Polish conflict wouldn’t last long though, for the death of the tsar in 1682 triggered a brief but bloody power struggle between boyar factions behind co-tsars Ivan V and Peter I that saw both Matveyev and Romodanovsky murdered [4]. Regime change in Moscow, together with murmurs of military buildup in the Ottoman Empire, pushed both sides to the negotiating table and in the spring of 1683, a truce was signed in Smolensk that returned Russo-Lithuanian borders to the prewar status quo. After 7 years of conflict caused by John III’s own expansionist ambitions, Poland-Lithuania now returned to peace at least for the moment.

Amidst the raging conflicts in northern and eastern Europe, the Dutch Republic took advantage of Sweden’s diverted attention and the successful Dano-Norwegian naval blockade, invading New Sweden from its New Netherlands colony in 1679. Having always been the larger and more populated of the two colonies, New Netherlands eventually conquered the entirety of Sweden’s slice of North America. Although Stockholm did not immediately make any attempts to retake New Sweden’s former lands from the Dutch, its loss would go unrecognized, opening the door for yet more conflict as the brazen move by the Republic worried both France and England.

[1]: Marek did not die in battle in 1653 ITTL.

[2]: Jakub Louis Sobieski is known as Alexander Louis Sobieski ITTL, as Marek being the older brother gets to name his son Jakub Sobieski.

[3]: Charles was the first son of Frederick William, not Frederick, but died in 1674 of dysentery while on a military campaign IOTL.

[4]: Basically what happens IOTL.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 119: The Tenwa-Jokyo Era​

As the 1670s drew to a close and Japan entered the 1680s, the realm transitioned away from the political disunity, economic weakness, and societal anxiety that the previous decade had been defined by, paving way for a new era of prosperity and stability. Possessing the entire machinery of politics in their hands, the leadership of the Nanshin faction now pressed their own agenda. The decade between 1679 and 1689, known as the Tenwa-Jokyo era (天和貞享時代) after the era names that encompassed most of it, would be dominated by a triad of three men, known as the Nobuhiro Triumvirate (信熙三人衆) after the daijo-daijin they ruled on behalf of, in Azuchi: Luson governor Kanbe Tomozane, Inspector-General Kudō Kanefuyu, and Mōri Tsugumoto.

One of the first actions Azuchi took during this 10-year period was the organizing of a new Europe-bound embassy. Ever since the days of Oda Nobutomo, foreign embassies had been limited to Japan’s close neighbors like Ming China and Dai Viet with none coming close to the scale or scope of the previous delegations to Paris, Delhi, or Constantinople. By contrast, this upcoming embassy was set to be the most expansive one yet. This time, the Iberian powers, relations with whom were at their most positive since the Iberian-Japanese War especially with Portugal, would be visited alongside England, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Leading the embassy was noble and Sangi-shu member Nakanoin Michishige (中院通茂) whose father Michizumi had been a part of the Parisian embassy. The rest of the delegation was composed mostly of merchants and artisans and their sons, principally from Sakai and Azuchi, as well as Azuchi bureaucrat Mori Nagamoto (森長基). The embassy left Sakai in March 1681 and subsequently sailed across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope before landing in Lisbon later in the year. Over the course of their trip, they would also visit Madrid, Paris, and London, although plans to visit Amsterdam and Stockholm due to the start of the Franco-Dutch War and the French invasion of Dutch Brabant and Flanders. Like the 1635-1639 embassy, this second grand embassy captivated the interest of western Europe, particularly in Lisbon and Madrid where the Spanish and Portuguese were interested in the Asian nation that had defeated them in the far eastern reaches. In contrast to Tomoaki from decades prior, Michishige presented himself in a more reserved but equally honorable and impressive manner like the Kyoto-raised noble he was. Notably, his greater depth of knowledge in arts and culture caught the attention of the royal courts, Michishige demonstrating his mastery in tea preparation to an aristocratic audience increasingly adopting the drink as a flavor of their culture. As a representative of Azuchi and Kyoto, Michishige would also discuss ongoing trade and diplomatic arrangements through the expertise of the accompanying Nagamoto and Japanese merchants as well as the translators.​

Portrait of Nakanoin Michishige​

One of the more interesting moments of the embassy was when Michishige visited the private residence of Louis, the prince of Conde at the Chateau de Chantilly. Being one of the few people still around who had met and interacted with both Michishige’s father and Oda Tomoaki, this prince of the blood cordially welcomed Michishige, chatting about the experiences he had with Michizumi and Tomoaki. He then showed the Japanese noble the katana sword given to him as a farewell gift by Tomoaki and spoke of how it had accompanied him in all of his military campaigns. After Michishige’s visit, the prince of Conde would once more bring it to what would be his last military campaign [1] in the Low Countries as part of the Franco-Dutch War. Although Conde is remembered today largely for his illustrious military career, his relationships with the members of the Japanese embassies and casual interest in Japan marked one of the beginnings of personal interactions between the Japanese and their European counterparts beyond trade and geopolitics in Europe.

The 1681-1683 embassy would not be the only development in Japanese foreign policy and diplomacy. Through the mediation of Tsugumoto and Sou Yoshizane, Azuchi would begin its relations with Joseon over the decade after turning stone cold in the aftermath of the Asiatic Northern War. By now, king Sukjong had matured into an effective sovereign in his own right, having begun to balance the various factions at court against one another and increase his own authority in the process. This especially hurt the power of the Sinophilic Confucian bureaucrats who carried the most virulently anti-Japanese sentiments. As a result, both sides found common ground and mended affairs, meaningfully increasing Joseon-Japanese trade for the first time in years. On the other end of the spectrum, the rivalry between Siam and Japan intensified as the 1670s saw the former’s king Chaofa Chai embark upon a new mercantilist agenda while Japan was distracted with internal divisions and recovery, with Siamese maritime power beginning to encroach upon Japanese trade interests at an unprecedented level.

At home, mercantilist reforms were passed to spur economic growth, further reinvigorate overseas trade, and support the local mercantilist enterprises run by the daimyo. Previously, Azuchi had wielded a somewhat looser hand when it came to the economy and trade but with the full ascendance came a stronger desire for mercantilist intervention. To that end, the currency was debased in 1682 to increase overseas exports and the realm’s silver and copper mines were regulated to prevent too much of those metals from flowing out of Japan, a concern especially with the former as the country’s silver reserves were severely depleted from years of mass exportations into Ming China and Joseon. The base privileges of many foreign merchants in Japan were restricted by Azuchi as well.​

The newly minted, debased Tenwa koban (天和小判)​

Nowhere was Azuchi’s newfound emphasis on mercantilism felt more than in Luson province, the home turf of the Kanbe clan. Japan’s most southerly holding was already transitioning from a feudal military buffer between the home islands and the Spanish to a properly integrated province of the Japanese realm and a trade hub on its own beginning to rival Bireitō. After the conclusion of the Luzon War and the establishment of long-term peace with Manila, Tomozane began implementing domestic reforms, fully importing Azuchi’s political systems to the province and centralizing power. His administration invested resources towards agricultural drainage projects in the Cagayan Valley and embarked upon several building projects in Awari to make it the Sakai of the northern Philippines. In the economic sphere, Tomozane put sugar production and the Bigan gold mines directly under Awari’s control. However, this move would also standardize the employment of primarily indigenous and other non-Japanese laborers like Malays and Chinese under harsh, restrictive conditions and cement the sociocultural stratification in the province, with the Japanese at the top, the latter which would come to haunt Luson as a whole. In any case, the Nanshin-ha’s state focus on southerly trade further added to the prosperity as the province being on Japan’s southern periphery meant that it reaped the rewards first.

In addition to instituting mercantilist measures, the government also organized a military parade in Kyoto in 1681 (京都御馬揃え) that commemorated the one that Oda Nobunaga threw in 1581. It was of even greater scale, involving every daimyo clan in one way or another. Japanese contemporaries noted this and made many other comparisons to Nobunaga’s 1581 parade, including the technological evolution of the Japanese samurai over the past 100 years and the fact that the daijo-daijin mimicked Oda Nobunaga’s apparel in his military parade every way he could. Foreigners similarly were captivated by the grandeur of the spectacle, even demonstrating a degree of fear in the face of the impressive Japanese military machine. Many who viewed the parade also commented on the martial presence of the Oda heir, the 14 year old Nobuie, whose confidence and maturity was praised as the sign of a solid heir to Japan.​

Depiction of Oda Nobuhiro at the 1681 Kyoto military parade​

Despite Azuchi’s successes, problems old and new reared their heads during the decade. In 1684, Nobuhiro’s second son Kaga Hiroaki died at just 15, once again leaving the Kaga domain bereft of leadership. In the end, Hiroaki’s guardian Urakusai Hisahide would be given the Kaga surname and succeed Hiroaki as the next daimyo and governor of Kaga province, completely cementing the dominance of Azuchi and the Nanshin-ha in Kaga itself. This was met with rumblings of opposition from many of the late Nagaaki’s longtime vassals and retainers and the possibility of yet another insurrection loomed. Unwilling to take any chances, Hisahide conducted a purge of their ranks with the assistance of Inspector-General Kanefuyu, imprisoning suspected conspirators and confiscating the lands of untrustworthy retainers, redistributing them to his own men. This event, known as the Kaga Purge (加賀の大獄), left a mark on the domain for years to come, and its impact even drove a few senior retainers like Tsuda Takeakira into early retirement.

Outside of the quashing of political intrigue, Azuchi would also target the fledgling Salvationist faith after pressure from both the Yamato Church and Shinto-Buddhist establishment due to its perceived status as a fanatical cult. In 1685, the magistrate of Gifu, Tsumaki ordered the destruction of the city’s kyusei-do and issued a warrant for the arrest of Takemaro-no-mikoto. Although the prophet of the faith would manage to escape the hands of the law, he could not prevent his base of operations from being dismantled piece by piece, plank by plank. Many of the religion’s founding artifacts, including a beautiful tapestry crafted in Gifu itself portraying the Buddha and Jesus Christ together, were also destroyed by the magistrate’s men and several followers were also arrested. Although none of the caught were executed, they would be imprisoned and tortured, the magistrate’s men attempting forced deconversions of them. With the kyusei-do destroyed and Takemaro exiled, Salvationism’s following in Gifu quickly diminished, driven underground and hanging on for dear life. As for the prophet himself, he would go into hiding into the countryside of central Japan, focusing on regaining what had been lost amongst the peasantry and staying away from urban centers. He would pass away suddenly in 1690 while trekking the coast of Echigo, entrusting the future of his faith to his closest followers.

Under the stewardship of the Nobuhiro Triumvirate, Japan was led towards a renewed era of peace and prosperity, guided by mercantilism and bolstered by amicable foreign policy. Their regime, for all of the goodwill it earned from its constituent daimyo as well as that of the merchant class, however, also made many enemies in the process. Many former supporters of Kaga Nagaaki and the Hokushin-ha also continued to lurk on the sidelines of central politics. This would come to shape Azuchi’s politics when the Tenwa-Jokyo decade was set to end.

[1]: Due to less war happening after 1648 for France, the prince of Conde hadn’t been worn out into retirement by 1682 just yet.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 120: Survey of Daimyo in the Era of Nobuhiro​

After the torch was passed to Oda Nobuhiro at last in 1665, the fate and affairs of Japan saw ups and downs defined by war, trade, factionalism, and recovery. While Azuchi certainly felt all of these variables firsthand and determined the topline of the realm to a large extent, the feudal nature meant that daimyo lords and overseas governors wielded local control and collectively influenced the state of Japan through their own individual successes, failures, and dynamics.

The death of Sakuma Moritora after 1672 left a hole not only in the ranks of the Japanese military apparatus but also amongst the daimyo of the Kanto and Oshu regions. In his own domain, he was succeeded by his son Moritsuna (佐久間盛綱) who had very little military experience but proved to be a competent steward of his father’s domestic legacy, continuing to grow Sakata as a growing city and a primary outpost for the northern fur trade. However, he died only 7 years later at the age of 33, leaving his 7 year old son Morichiyo (盛千代) [1] at the head of the clan and his senior retainers to govern the domain on behalf of the new child lord. Outside the borders of the Sakuma domain in southern Dewa province, Nanbu Shigenobu established himself as the most senior and influential lord in the Oshu region, although no one could truly fill the shoes the Tiger of the North left empty. Nevertheless, Shigenobu’s prestige as a secondary leader of the Hokushin-ha and his brother’s high position in the Japanese navy was more than enough for him to attain Moritora’s old position of Chinjufu-shogun. As the new chinjufu shogun, the Nanbu lord provided the shogunal cavalry with horses from his domain, which were reputed to be some of the fastest in the entire realm. As a daimyo lord, Shigenobu pursued a high-export economic strategy for his domain due to the frequency of local famines exacerbated by the frigid climate in the region. Although this initially involved supporting merchants in making Hachinohe (八戸) a key port in the fur trade and fishermen in expanding their catches and exports, a ji-shoukai centered around shipbuilding and timber would be established after the naval reforms of Tagawa Seikou with the support of Shigenobu’s younger brother and naval commander Naofusa.​

Portrait of Nanbu Shigenobu​

Just north was Ezo where the Kakizaki clan contended and interacted with the indigenous Ainu tribes while also gradually growing . For most of the 17th century, the main line was plagued by relatively weak heads, including Takahiro and Norihiro, due to their short lifespans. As a result, the cadet branches of the clan that had begun ruling autonomous fiefs under the arrangements Kakizaki Kinhiro had set in the 1630s had relative free reign. They ran their domestic affairs and relationships with the Ainu, working together when necessary for the clan at large but also often squabbling with one another. The autonomous fiefs also strived to attract settlers from Honshu either interested in starting a new life or profiting from the fur trade. However, the decentralized nature of the Kakizaki clan, the harsh climate, and the strength of the remaining independent Ainu hindered growth, with only the western part of the island truly witnessing de facto Japanese control despite Azuchi’s claims over the entire island. This would be further complicated by the formation of a united Menashir Ainu polity in the late 17th century by the chieftain Shakushain [2] that sought to contain Japanese expansion through deterrence and diplomacy while also maintaining friendly trade relations with fur traders, even those affiliated with Oshu daimyo. In short, Ezo remained a contentious landscape lacking unity for one power to achieve dominance

The Kanto plain, meanwhile, thrived, its landscape largely spared the devastation of the Manji War and its daimyo only narrowly escaping deployments to the mainland against the Lesser Jin and Joseon. The vast flat landscape was perfect for agriculture and over time the entire region would become one of the chief breadbaskets of the realm, Kanto agricultural products being transported overland and by sea across the home islands and even beyond. The agricultural boom of the region led to a population boom as well, dotting the Kanto plain with prosperous farming towns and coastal ports. No part of the Kanto plain symbolized this more than the province of Hitachi, ruled by the prominent Satake clan and the smaller Minagawa clan and agriculturally the most productive province in all of Japan. In addition to rice, buckwheat, lotus roots, and soybeans were chief crops grown in the province The larger of the two domains in Hitachi province, ruled by Satake Yoshizumi (佐竹義処) in 1682, had risen in power and prominence ever since the Oda Kamakura-fu was dismantled and the Hojo clan lost its regional preeminence in the aftermath of the Furuwatari War. As a result, the domain capital of Mito (水戸) grew into a regional urban center of its own.​

Retroactive depiction of Azuchi period Mito and Mito Castle (水戸城)​

Further in the center was Musashi province, home to the Musashino clan, formerly the Oda cadet branch that ruled the entirety of the plain as Kamakura tandai. Similar to Hitachi province, Musashi province had flowered into an agricultural heartland, being at the heart of the Kanto plain and sharing a coast with the Uchiumi (内海) [3]. The already fertile landscape was further expanded through a series of drainage projects directed by Toshinao and Toshikatsu aimed at converting marshland into farmland. The domain capital, Musashino, was the second largest city on the Kanto plain, only behind Kamakura, and was also at the crossroads of several major land routes. Beyond Musashino, the clan also attempted to build up Edo (江戸) as a major port, although their efforts proved mostly unsuccessful and Shimoda and Kamakura continued to be the major ports of the Kanto region. Part of what was instrumental behind the prosperity and stability of Musashi province was the clan’s successful fusion of hereditary retainers with ex-Hojo ones who were left behind when others moved to Izu province or became minor lords in Shimousa province. The successful integration of those who once fought each other helped forge a new future for the centerpiece of the Kanto plain.

The main Oda lands of Owari, Mino, Yamashiro, southern Oumi, and Izumi provinces also underwent major changes in governance throughout the 17th century. Out of them, Mino, Owari, and southern Oumi were traditionally ruled by the Oda heir from Gifu, with Yamashiro and Izumi provinces being governed by a mix of magistrates and nobles owing to them being host to Kyoto and Sakai respectively. However, when Nobutsugu died in 1653 and left the clan to the 5 year old Nobuhiro, the subsequent regencies appointed governors to take over the responsibility the heir usually took up. This change would be permanent, for even after the birth of Nobuie this arrangement continued and the heir now lived in Azuchi alongside his father, the daijo-daijin. Although the new status quo was yet another factor behind the stagnation of Gifu with the absence of the heir, it also enabled the political and economic re-emergence of Kiyosu, the minor lords of Owari visiting and patronizing the latter city as an administrative and commercial center more than before. These changes also did not alter the bureaucratic pipeline that had allowed samurai from the core Oda lands to make up a disproportionate portion of the Azuchi bureaucracy.

Finally, in the latter half of the 17th century, a new generation of Christian daimyo emerged, making their presence felt in a fashion not seen since the suppression of Catholicism during the Iberian-Japanese War. These Christian lords, however, were part of the ever-flourishing Yamato Church and also stuck to Azuchi’s principles of religious tolerance, preventing the suppression of Shinto-Buddhism. Nevertheless, the religious identification of the lord did increase the presence of the faith in the most prominent of these Christian lords, Ukita Nobumasa of Bizen and Mimasaka provinces. Nobumasa had converted to Christianity in 1667, becoming the first member of the Ukita clan to do so. Under the rule of his grandfather, the famous Nobuie, the Yamato Church had already established a firm presence in the Ukita domain, owning tracts of vineyard for wine production, and the conversion of Nobumasa only added on. In addition to cultivating and patronizing Yamato Christianity, Nobumasa continued to bolster his domain a proto-industrial powerhouse, operating ji-shoukai centered around Bizen ware (備前焼) production and tatara steel smelting (たたら製鉄).​

Depiction of the working of the bellows of a tatara furnace​

In contrast to the recent interactions between the Ukita clan and the Yamato church, the Otomo clan had maintained a relationship with Christianity for over 100 years, the entire clan being part of the Yamato Church by this point. Nevertheless, the 17th century had been a bumpy century for the Otomo clan, as the main line of the clan had died out with the death of Yoshinori (大友義乗) in 1612 and the fate of the clan lay with his heirless uncle Tahara Chikamori. It was during this time that northern Kyushu dealt with the transition from Catholicism to Yamato Christianity, the Otomo clan itself forced to convert to the new non-Roman church and eradicate dissident Kirishitans amongst the populace. After this rather gloomy era accompanied by some level of destruction, Chikamori died in 1643, succeeded by a distant descendant of Otomo Yoshimune to attain the adult name Yoshitaka. As he grew up, Yoshitaka guided his clan through the Manji War, strategically siding with Kanbe Tomoyoshi when the latter landed in Kagoshima in opposition to Azuchi. He would come to rule over a rejuvenated domain at its most cohesive and prosperous in decades, trade flowing through the Kanmon Straits and the Yamao Church at a historical peak.

[1]: Child name, adult name would be Sakuma Morimochi (佐久間盛茂).

[2]: The same Shakushain that led a 1669 uprising IOTL.

[3]: Old name of OTL’s Tokyo Bay, name doesn’t change ITTL.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 121: Mainland Asia after the Asiatic Northern War​

Coming out of the Asiatic Northern War, Emperor Yongwu was riding high, having asserted dominance despite not participating in the conflict. Once a child emperor controlled by a regency, he contained within him an overriding ambition to hold absolute power as well as a distrust of the Confucian scholar bureaucracy. In time, this personality trait would prove to be a double-edged sword but for the time being, Yongwu would combine this with his cunning and intelligence to impress upon Ming China, Beijing, and beyond his prowess with much success, especially upon neighboring realms.

After the Treaty of Shenyang, China wrapped up its military campaigns against the Dzungar-Yuan onslaught that had been taking place since 1665, forcing both Abunai of the Northern Yuan and Sengge of the Dzungar Khanate to submit and become tributaries in 1671. Both rulers would subsequently never take up arms against Yongwu again, the former passing away in 1675 and the latter succumbing to battle wounds mere months after his submission. With that, the emperor now exerted influence over the eastern and northern frontiers like no other Ming sovereign had for centuries. This success coincided with Beijing’s assistance of the 1669 recapture of Albazin from Nikifor Chernvigovsky and his Russo-Cossack force, also solidifying Ming authority up there. The end of conflict affecting China’s hinterlands and surroundings would bring about an era of peace that allowed previously pillaged tracts of countryside inside the empire to recover and provide Beijing with tax revenue once again. Internally, to navigate around any intrusions by the Confucian bureaucracy, he established a particular “memorial system” where locked boxes containing letters and documents were exchanged between trusted officials in the provinces, its content forbidden to be read by anyone else. This communication system enabled Yongwu to control what those deemed untrustworthy or usurpative could access, further consolidating his absolute rule. Finally, the prestige and strength gained from the emperor’s aggressive rule allowed Yongwu to replicate his predecessor Hongguang’s grand ceremony in 1674, where he symbolically accepted the tribute of all tributaries as well as the various East India companies. Beyond formal state occasions and decrees, Chinese merchants also flourished in Southeast Asia the 1670s, taking advantage of Japan’s mercantile dip that took place during the decade.​

Depiction of the Forbidden Palace where the extravagant tribute ceremonies of Emperors Hongguang and Yongwu took place in front of​

One of the realms significantly impacted by Ming China’s rising authority was the Lesser Jin. After the war, Gutai increasingly distanced himself from Joseon’s sphere of influence, choosing to accept Ming influence instead. Reflecting on the factors that had led to his ultimate failure to subjugate his northerly rival, the khan would further Sinicize Hetu Ala’s central government, importing Chinese writing as the main form of written communication and and replacing many Joseonite advisors with Han Chinese ones. The bureaucracy would also be expanded as power was centralized away from tribal chieftains and generals, and the professionalization and bureaucratization of the Eight Banners military system would begin in earnest in preparation for a future invasion of the Amur Khanate particularly with the further development of the khanate’s own gunpowder infantry units. The energetic Gutai, however, would die in 1677 before getting a chance to do so and was succeeded by his son Baichali, who was more cautious than his father and delayed plans for an invasion of the Amur Khanate. Instead, he would continue his father’s reforms, consolidating the power of the central government and keeping the realm in Beijing’s orbit.

Speaking of the Amur Khanate, it also embarked on a new path after the Treaty of Shenyang was signed under Bahai, son and heir to the slain Sahaliyan. Unlike the Lesser Jin khanate, the Amur Khanate was primarily populated by Haixi and Wild Jurchens as opposed to the predominantly Jianzhou Jurchen Lesser Jin, albeit with a ruling class of both Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchen bloodlines. As a result, its population was less based on sedentary agricultural lifestyles compared to the Lesser Jin. This made the task of centralizing the government a more difficult task especially with the official incorporation of its northernmost tundra territories. Although Bahai would pay lip service to the Ming and bring in certain Chinese influences like the Lesser Jin, the Han Chinese model would not be the one to be followed. Instead, Bahai would look towards Japan for inspiration in reforming his more decentralized political model. He brought in Japanese advisors, especially in the adaptation of efficient agricultural practices to help transition many of the peoples living on the northern frontier towards a more sedentary lifestyle. This would bring about a style of centralized feudal governance that fused both Japanese shogunal methods of governance with traditional Jurchen practices and systems, including the banner system of Jurchen militaries. The Amur Khanate also began to levy and train a professional core of gunpowder infantrymen to supplement the horse archers and heavy cavalry that encompassed the vast majority of the Amur military. Meanwhile, in its foreign policy, the Amur Khanate was colored by its ties to more advanced and powerful neighbors similar to how its domestic policies were. With Ming-Japanese support, it was able to recapture Albazin and later settle permanent borders with Russia at the Treaty of Nerchinsk after years of raids and counterraids. Even after Azuchi downsized its presence in the Amur Khanate, Japan continued to be the realm’s closest and most reliable ally.​

Depiction of the Nanai people, a descendant ethnic group of the Wild Jurchens​

Nowhere was Bahai’s effort towards a more centralized and sedentary khanate more obvious than the early years of Nurgan as the new capital of the Amur Khanate, a decision made due to its distance from the realm’s borders and its status as a temporary capital during the war. Previously a 15th century Ming outpost established with the purpose of collecting tribute from the Jurchen tribes, Nurgan had evolved into a small urban settlement like the late 17th century. Its new status, however, saw a flurry of construction take place and by the 1680s, it had become a shiny new urban city beginning to attract permanent settlers and enterprising merchants. Sections of the new city were divided to separate the steppe warrior and townsfolk from one another while the center was occupied by the khan’s palace and various Buddhist temples and Shamanist shrines. Overall, it presented itself as the capital of a sedentary khanate striving to modernize and catch up with the rest of Asia and that alone encouraged many attracted to the capital to abandon their old lifestyles and embark upon new lives of their own.

Whereas Ming China and the Jurchen khanates thrived in the aftermath of the Asiatic Northern War and confidently strode towards promising destinies, Joseon would plunge into a period of decline and turbulence. Its influence over the Lesser Jin khanate mostly evaporated while the court fell into disarray as neo-Confucian scholars took over the government only to begin feuding with each other. Two factions quickly arose, a more conservative one led by Song Si-yeol and the other, more moderate faction, led by Yun Jeung. The latter specifically adhered to the Sirhak school of thought which supported reforms that responded to the plight of the people even if it meant breaking the rigid norms of neo-Confucian thought. Initially, however, the older and more experienced Song Si-yeol held the reins of power for the child king Sukjong, meaning a reversion to reactionary and conservative governance. While this saw Hanseong engage more deeply into Beijing’s orbit, Si-yeol’s politics also stalled a recovery of Joseon-Japanese relations and allowed trade with the outside world to drop. Worst of all for the kingdom, its veteran military that had valiantly protected Joseon from the Japanese was left out to dry. Because of this, the officer corps came to despise Si-yeol and his faction.​

Portrait of Song Si-yeol​

Tensions finally boiled over in 1680, when a group of young officers stalked the Confucian state councilor while he was taking an evening walk in the city and attempted to assassinate him. Only the presence of Si-yeol’s guards prevented his seemingly inevitable murder as the 73 year old politician managed to escape his enemies while his guards fended the officers off. Although he had survived the attempt and the officers responsible would later be rounded up and arrested, the incident was a stain on his reputation. The next year, unable to shake off the shame and still traumatized from the attempt, he resigned his post and lived 13 more years as a Buddhist monk before passing away at the age of 87. His faction, now leaderless, quickly lost power to the competing faction led by Yun Jeung and a new political agenda would be implemented. Relations with Japan would be restored while the military was fully reconciled with a government that had ignored its needs and underappreciated its contributions to the earlier war effort. By now, the king had grown up and would enthusiastically begin to preside over a new era of reforms inspired by Sirhak principles.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

PoD Centennial Glossary of Alternate East Asian Rulers​

Emperors of Japan:

Emperor Oogimachi (正親町天皇): 1557-1586 (l. 1517-1593)
Emperor Go-Yozei (後陽成天皇): 1586-1611 (l. 1571-1627)
Emperor Go-Mizunoo (後水尾天皇): 1611-1643 (l. 1588-1672)
Emperor Tensho (天正天皇): 1643-1646 (l. 1625-1646)
Emperor Hachijo (八条天皇): 1646-1657 (l. 1630-1677)
Emperor Go-Komyo (後光明天皇): 1657-1662 (l. 1646-1724)
Emperor Takamatsu (高松天皇): 1662-1667 (l. 1647-1667)
Emperor Gosai (後西天皇): 1667- (l. 1648-present)

Daijo-daijin/Chancellors (太政大臣) of the Azuchi Daijo-fu/Chancellorate (安土太政府):

Oda Nobunaga (織田信長): 1583-1593 (l. 1534-1601)
Oda Nobutada (織田信忠): 1593-1609 (l. 1557-1609)
Oda Nobunori (織田信則): 1609-1630 (l. 1580-1630)
Oda Nobutomo (織田信朝): 1630-1649 (l. 1601-1649)
Oda Nobutsugu (織田信嗣): 1649-1653 (l. 1622-1653)
(Interregnum): 1653-1662
Kanbe Tomoyoshi (神戸朝吉): 1662-1665 (l. 1605-1672)
Oda Nobuhiro (織田信熙): 1665- (l. 1648-present)

Emperors of Ming China:

Wanli: 1572-1620 (l. 1563-1620)
Zhenchun: 1620-1641 (l. 1586-1641)
Hongguang: 1641-1651 (l. 1607-1651)
Titian: 1651-1657 (l. 1611-1657)
Yongwu: 1657- (l. 1644-present)

Kings of Joseon:

Seonjo: 1567-1608 (l. 1552-1608)
Gwanghaegun: 1608-1641 (l. 1575-1641)
Hyeonjo: 1641-1651 (1598-1651)
Sohjong: 1651-1652 (l. 1615-1652)
Gyeongseon: 1652-1668 (l. 1639-1668)
Sukjong: 1668- (l. 1659-present)

Khans of the Later Jin/Lesser Jin:

Nurhaci: 1616-1626 (1559-1626)
Abahai: 1626-1643 (1592-1643)
Hooge: 1643-1653 (1609-1653)
Gutai: 1653-1677 (1634-1677)
Baichali: 1677- (1650-present)

Khans of the Amur Khanate:

Sahaliyan: 1643-1666 (1613-1666).
Bahai: 1666- (1638-present)

Khagans of the Northern Yuan:

Zasagt Khan: 1558-1592 (l. 1539-1592)
Sechen Khan: 1592-1603 (l. 1556-1603)
Ligdan Khan: 1603-1634 (l. 1588-1634)
Ejei Khan: 1634-1641 (l. 1620-1641)
Abunai Khan: 1641-1675 (l. 1635-1675)
Borni Khan: 1675- (l. 1654-present)​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 122: State of Affairs in Bireitō​

In 1590, an expedition led by Oda Nobunaga’s son Nobuhide the Younger landed on what would become known as the island of Bireitō and began a century-long political agenda of overseas expansionism through flourishing trade, maritime growth, and territorial acquisition. Almost 100 years forward, the island that had jumpstarted Japanese’s ascendance beyond the home islands continued to be the realm’s most desirable overseas possession, brimming with prosperity and being among Japan’s most ethnically diverse areas between both the provinces Bireizen and Bireigo. The two halves of the island were governed by Wakamatsu Hirohide (若松煕秀) in the northern Bireizen and Tarui Tomoyuki (垂井朝之) in the southern Bireigo, with the Shimazu clan holding many coastal possessions on the northeastern side of the island which were governed independently of the Wakamatsu clan. In total, the population on the island sat around 350,000 aboriginal natives and immigrants.​

Green = Kingdom of Tatuturo​

Signifying Bireitō’s commerce and diversity most brilliantly was Iriebashi, the largest city on the island and one of the major urban centers of the entire Japanese realm. By the 1680s, the city’s population was around 50,000, around a seventh of the entire island’s population. It functioned as a fusion of Azuchi and Sakai, being the capital of Bireizen province and the stronghold of the Wakamatsu cadet branch of the Oda clan as well as the island’s most important sea port. Its mercantile importance stood out in particular due to its close proximity to Ming China and its initial role as the gateway between Japan and the Nanban trade, even being host to a squadron of the Azuchi navy. This status was further bolstered in the 1670s as the economic and political malaise that hung over the home islands was nonexistent in Bireitō, allowing Iriebashi and other Bireitoan ports to pick up trade activity lost by the rest of Japan. Finally, Iriebashi was a major hub for rice and other agricultural imports from China and Japan as the city made up such a large proportion of the island’s population that it proved difficult for Bireitō’s countryside to sufficiently provide for the city’s appetite. All of these factors attracted Japanese and foreign merchants alike in droves, especially rice shippers. Alongside these merchants were samurai retainers, craftsmen from the home islands, Fujianese immigrants working as artisans and laborers, and even a handful of aboriginal Bireitoans, making the city more cosmopolitan than anywhere else in the wider Japanese realm. This ethnocultural diversity manifested in the different languages and dialects spoken in the streets and the variety in places of worship, Iriebashi being one of the few large cities in Japan to be home to a small mosque. It even manifested in the architecture, Japanese-style structures with clear Chinese influences. Other urban centers on the island like the Shimazu-controlled Mamezaki, the southern Bireigo capital of Momoyama, and the former Spanish coastal fort of Nanbanmachi could not match the cosmopolitan hustle and splendor of Iriebashi.

The island outside of the coastal villages and urban centers could generally be divided between rural regions predominantly inhabited either by Japanese or Chinese immigrants or the aborigines. Japanese and Chinese immigrants were concentrated in the lowlands while the aboriginal population predominantly lay in the highlands, lowland tribes having either been forced off their ancestral territory or assimilated by the Japanese with the exception of the Kingdom of Tatuturo. Furthermore, while Japanese immigrants were evenly distributed across the lowlands albeit with a higher concentration in Bireizen, the Fujianese immigrants on the island disproportionately settled in Bireigo due to geographical proximity to the Chinese mainland. In these predominantly Fujianese farming villages, Japanese samurai landowners and their personal retinue were nevertheless often the ruling class. Throughout the 17th century, however, some of the daughters of these Fujianese villages would marry and have children with the lower-ranking samurai and magistrates. Overtime, repeated intermarriages would build a small but significant multiethnic class of lower and middle-ranking samurai that served as a midpoint between the Fujianese farmers and the Tarui clan in Momoyama. They would come to be loosely known as the Minwa (明倭) [1] in later centuries.

The aboriginal tribes on the island, on the other hand, continued to maintain a more distant relationship with their nominal overlords, with many natives in the mountainous region continuing to live and self-govern with little to no contact with Iriebashi or Momoyama. Those that did, however, progressively orbited closer into the Japanese sphere of influence. A large part of that were many of the tribal chiefs’ inclusion in the Kunishu-ins, the equivalents to Azuchi’s Shinka-in, on the island and their resulting involvement in the central governance of the island to some extent. These involved tribes acted as vassals to the Wakamatsu and Tarui Oda lords, with the kings of Tatuturo even acting as a tributary to Azuchi. This status gave them access to Japanese goods and technology while preserving a degree of independence, the tribes operating their own farmland and running their own land tax systems parallel to those more directly controlled by the Japanese. At the same time, they gradually adopted elements of their overlord’s culture, male warriors adopting equestrian combat and picking up gunpowder weapons and women showcasing expensive kimonos to native men. A few even utilized the Japanese language on a regular basis, especially when dealing with the Japanese. All of these developments meant that although the Japanese dealt with aboriginal raids and revolts, these had largely ceased by the Tenwa-Jokyo era.​

Aboriginal Bireitoans hunting deer​

Despite the emergence of the Minwa and the greater inclusion of the aborigines as well as the success of Zheng Zhilong and his son Tagawa Seikou, the Japanese remained the predominant ruling class on the island, though they weren’t as oppressive as the Japanese samurai class were in Luson. In Bireitō, samurai clans like the Ikeda, Aguro, and the Yamada made up the upper echelon of administrators, councilors, and commanders while minor families and individuals formed the bureaucratic and landowning core on the island. Samurai were not the only Japanese immigrants on the island, for Bireitō was host to merchants, artisans, and farmers who had come southwards from their original homes hoping to take advantage of the new opportunities the island provided. While they certainly didn’t live lives devoid of suffering, these immigrants were generally able to establish themselves and on average Japanese farmers on Bireitō lived more comfortable lives than their counterparts back in the home islands. These immigrants predominantly came from western and central Japan, resulting in a variety of dialects not only coexisting but also fusing together into what would become a unique Bireitoan dialect of the Japanese language.​

Ikeda Tadamasa, one of the most influential and powerful retainers of the Wakamatsu clan​

Although Bireitō was an island where no ethnic group made up a majority of the population, the three main groups were mostly segregated politically and culturally, and ethnic tension did exist, a unified culture was beginning to show its first signs of sprouting. Obata Zen, the Buddhist sect that had quickly spread throughout the island, was increasingly a faith supported and held across cultural and ethnic lines. Gradual trends of increasing cultural admixture were also bringing the peoples on the island together. Economics and agriculture also played a significant role, for the island was thoroughly interconnected internally with crops like rice, sugarcane, fruits, and sweet potatoes flowing from the countryside and handicrafts and foreign goods interspersing from urban centers. Although Bireitō had often been outside of the political drama or geopolitical machinations taking place in Azuchi and even Luson through proximity with the Spanish, in many ways it was Japan’s most interesting region 100 years after the beginning of unified Oda rule of the realm due to this very diversity slowly evolving towards a more cohesive socio-cultural foundation.

[1]: Combination of the kanji for Ming China (明国) and ancient Japan (倭国)​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 123: Education and Mass Literacy in 17th Century Japan​

​

At the dawn of unified Oda rule of Japan, few commoners could read or write, literacy mostly restricted to the upper classes and wealthy merchants. Over the course of a century, this situation would quickly change as education became more valued through a combination of peacetime stability and Japan’s trade expansionism necessitating greater literacy especially from commoners in urban areas. Among the general populace in urban centers, terakoya (寺子屋) sprung up to not only provide lessons on writing, reading, and arithmetic but also teach higher level subjects including history and geography. Originally centered around private Buddhist institutions, they would come to be hosted in the homes of samurai, merchants, or even the commoners themselves. In addition to the terakoya, some Yamato Christian churches ran schools themselves that taught a similar curriculum to the terakoya with the addition of bible studies and other religious matters on Sundays. Certain merchant and artisan families with money also hired personal tutors for their children, who often were taught philosophy, science, medicine, and language skills through this avenue of learning. All of this combined led to a rapid rise in the literacy rate among the middle classes of the Japanese realm. This development was not restricted to the home islands, terakoya springing up in Lusonese and Bireitoan cities like Iriebashi, Awari, and Momoyama, albeit the rise in literacy would be limited beyond the Japanese populations in those cities.​

Depiction of a terakoya​

Beyond the commoner classes, education also saw advancements among the samurai and other upper classes. At the beginning of the Azuchi period, many samurai boys received much formal education beyond what would be taught on the basic level of a terakoya, instead focusing on martial arts and loyalty towards their master. Those who did mainly hired tutors or delegated such duties to lower-ranking retainers. As time went on and the samurai class increasingly bureaucratized, the needs of the samurai domains and that of peacetime demanded a shift in approach. Although a few clans would set up specialty educational institutions or support private juku (塾) schools for the sons of high-ranking samurai and those of lower-ranking samurai found to be gifted, the Shimazu clan would be the first to establish a formal shigakko (士学校) [1] in 1641 to keep up with its own colonial and mercantile expansion and increased interactions with Dutch merchants in the. In fact, Shimazu Norihisa would even hire a Dutch merchant to teach the European language for what would be one of the more advanced classes at the Zojikan (造士館), as this first shigakko would be called.

Other clans would slowly begin to follow in the Shimazu clan’s footsteps in the late 17th century, especially those engaged ever increasingly in commerce with access to the sea. This included the Miyoshi, Mori, and Tokugawa clans. Interior domains in the east and north would lag behind due to continued militarization of these clans in response to the Furuwatari and Manji Civil Wars and greater economic isolation from the rest of the realm. Students at these shigakko studied a variety of subjects beyond basic literary skills, ranging from Chinese classics and martial arts to mathematics and history. Certain schools also incorporated more advanced classes on various sciences, wagaku (和学), and yogaku (洋学) [2], including the teaching of foreign languages like Dutch, Chinese, and even French in some cases. Although neo-Confucianism failed to gain a foothold in 17th century Japan, vestiges of the philosophy continued to be an important fabric of Japanese society and Chinese writings, especially the Four Books and Five Classics as well as Sun Tzu’s Art of War. They were considered integral in shaping the students as loyal retainers and devoted warriors for the clan. Other subjects would prepare said students for the various civil, military, and even business responsibilities they would have in their eventual roles.

There were material and intellectual developments that both benefited from the rising literacy and increasing importance of education in the Japanese realm and drove it further in a symbiotic cycle. The former was exemplified by the increased mass production of books and other prints and the adoption of newer printing mechanisms. Even before the Azuchi Period, woodblock printing had been on the rise from facilities at Buddhist temples. Woodblock printing, however, would see an unprecedented expansion in the late 16th and early 17th centuries in response to the greater demand. Unfortunately for that particular technology, both Western and Chinese movable type printing presses had made their way into Japan around the same time. The two different types of the printing press would eventually come together through the invention of a domestic variation of the movable type, based on wood rather than metal to better express the semi-cursive and cursive styles characteristic of Japanese writing. This Japanese wooden movable type would come to become the predominant method of printing by the middle of the 17th century [3], although the particular tastes of artisans would preserve a niche for woodblock printing as the preferred way to reproduce higher quality prints. It would be through woodblock that ukiyo-e (浮世絵) art would be mass-produced down the line as well.​

Prints of the Saga Book (嵯峨本), printed via wooden movable type in 1608, one of the first examples of that particular technology’s usage​

In terms of intellectual developments symbiotically connected with the rise in education and mass literacy in Japan, they manifested in wagaku and yogaku, two new schools of intellectual and academic study. Wagaku arose from the waning of cultural and economic attachment to Ming China and the search for a more distinct “Japanese” cultural identity through Japan’s own cultural distinctions and accomplishments. This was represented by a renewed appreciation and study of ancient Japanese classics like the Kojiki (古事記) and the Genji Monogatari (源氏物語) and the hope of discovering the original pure character of Japan through such works.. Three men would come to define this philosophy and interest: Tokugawa retainer Watanabe Mosui (渡辺茂睡) [4], courtly retainer Shimokobe Choryu (下河辺長流), and Shingon Buddhist priest Keichu (契沖). The rise of this philosophy helped influence the incorporation of ancient Japanese texts into the curriculums of shigakko and even terakoya in some cases. In turn, wagaku was aided in its appeal and popularity as more pupils were greatly exposed to such Japanese classics.

If wagaku represented a renewed self-reflection of Japan’s cultural heart and soul, yogaku represented a new desire to look outwards in line with Azuchi’s maritime and commercial expansionism. 17th century Europe was marked by the Scientific Revolution and it wasn’t long before some of these breakthroughs and developments made their way towards Japan via imported books, mainly in Dutch but also in French and Portuguese, and their subsequent study and application by scholars, merchants, patron samurai, and urban artisans developed into its own academic field affecting multiple topics including mathematics and medicine. The ease of this development was due to Japan’s well-established interest in military technology and luxury goods first introduced by Portuguese merchants and Jesuit missionaries that had clearly led to positive developments for the Japanese realm. Once yogaku firmly established itself as an academic field, the incorporation and study of Western sciences, medicine, and ideas was in full swing due to both intellectual curiosity and practical application. European doctors and scientists would also be in demand, including the Dutch surgeon Caspar Schamberger who notably opened a medical school and study named after himself in Azuchi [5], one accessible to all classes rather than just the samurai.​

Portrait of Caspar Schamberger​

Finally, the rise in education and mass literacy triggered a literary blossoming in the 17th century, leading to the writing and printing of the first commercial literature aimed towards the increasingly literate and educated urban middle class. These initially came in the form of the kanazoshi (仮名草子), printed books written either entirely of or predominantly in hiragana characters. They covered a range of genres, from short stories and essays to travel guides and even the Bibles printed and distributed by the Yamato Church. Although initially scarce outside of the the three main cities of Azuchi, Kyoto, and Sakai, the increased adoption of wooden movable type allowed them to spread throughout the entire realm from the 1640s onwards. Notable kanazoshi authors include Jodo Shinshu priest Asai Ryoi (浅井了意), who wrote the famous travel guide Tokaido Meishoki (東海道名所記), and ex-ronin Honda Danzo (本多団蔵) who wrote the Furuwatari Taiheiki (古渡太平記), an account of the Furuwatari War. In an interesting turn of events that demonstrated increasing Western influence on Japanese culture, Aesop’s Fables would even be translated into Japanese as kanazoshi and widely circulated among the masses. Towards the end of the 1660s [6], however, a new literary genre would emerge from kanzoshi books, the ukiyo-zoshi (浮世草子). They would become Japan’s first outing in vernacular fiction, defined by themes and writing styles appealing more strongly to the senses and life experiences of lower-class samurai and commoners rather than that of the elites. Ukiyo-zoshi would be pioneered by Ihara Saikaku (井原西鶴), who wrote a variety of erotic and folk prose stories in the 1670s and 1680s that captured the relatability to townsfolk and samurai the genre would be known for. He would even write a rebuttal to Aesop’s Fables called the Isopo Hanron (伊曾保反論) that satirized many of the fables through stories of his own authorship.

Haikai (俳諧) poetry would be the other major form of popular literature that would come about in the 17th century, once again representing the greater literacy of the Japanese population and an appetite for more earthly themes unwelcome in elite circles. It encompassed a host of less conventional styles, including hokku (発句) [7] and renku (連句) in contrast to the older and more aristocratic waka (和歌) and renka (連歌) poetic styles. Matsunaga Teitoku (松永貞徳) would help establish the literary genre, with succeeding poets like Nishiyama Soin (西山宗因) and the famous Matsuo Basho (松尾芭蕉) applying more depth to the haikai form. In particular, Basho would come to be defined by the natural and more serious aesthetic of his works influenced by his many travels.​

Depiction of Matsuo Basho​

The Japanese language itself even evolved upon the unification of Japan. It was around this time that Late Middle Japanese gave way to Early Modern Japanese. Although there wouldn’t be a standard dialect until the 19th century, the Kansai dialect would continue to be the most important variation of the language, used by the merchants of Sakai, the nobles of Kyoto, and many samurai who spent at least part of their time in Azuchi. A particular version of the dialect with significant influences from the Owari-Mino dialect would predominate in Azuchi and surrounding provinces and slowly spread among the daimyo families. The latter influence came from the Oda clan being that many Azuchi bureaucrats were from the main Oda holdings in Owari, Mino, and Oumi and from the old tradition of the heir training to be the next daijo-daijin at the helm of these core hereditary lands.

[1]: Called hanko (藩校) IOTL

[2]: Rangaku (蘭学) is called yogaku ITTL because of the greater presence of non-Dutch Europeans throughout the 17th century and emerge much earlier due to Japan’s trade expansionism.

[3]: IOTL, wooden movable type declined in usage because of the demands of the same artisans that would preserve woodblock usage ITTL, leading to woodblock printing remaining the dominant form of printing press in the Edo period IOTL.

[4]: Watanabe is his original last name and was changed because his father’s master IOTL, Tokugawa Tadanaga, had his lands confiscated by Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu. ITTL, he keeps his last name as that doesn’t happen.

[5]: IOTL, Schamberger returns to the Netherlands due to the restrictions of sakoku and publishes accounts on his observations while in Japan and in the East Indies.

[6]: This development happens around 10-15 years earlier than OTL.

[7]: Pre-modern name of haiku (俳句)​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 124: Louis XIV Tries Again​

The Dutch invasion and conquest of New Sweden, a side effect of the larger War of the Silesian Succession, would be just one more reason behind the Franco-Dutch War in the 1680s, the Swedes committed to regain their North American possession through force if necessary. Louis XIV himself had been busy attempting to shift political conditions towards him to enable a successful conquest of the Spanish Low Countries and an effective defense against both the Spanish Crown and the Dutch Republic, the latter which now saw a buffer between itself and France as essential to national security. To do so, the French king had targeted Charles II of England and Scotland and Brabantine stadtholder Philip Francis as potential defectors. The former could use French money as a counterbalance against parliamentary power and authority at home while the latter was a Catholic in a majority Calvinist state, reliant on the good graces of the Prince of Orange William III. Neither, however, proved malleable to Louis XIV’s promises of subsidies and political support. This situation would not change after the death of Philip Francis in 1674, with his brother and successor Charles Eugene equally uninterested in separating from the Dutch Republic.

However, the Dutch conquest of New Sweden would begin to alter this stalemate. England had been caught by surprise by Amsterdam’s bold move, the Anglo-Dutch alliance wavering as the former began to worry for the security of its own North American colonies. In this context, Charles II finally acceded to the Sun King’s promises, agreeing to be neutral in a Franco-Dutch conflict in return for subsidies that would allow the Stuart monarch to be less reliant on Westminster and more politically independent. Meanwhile, the Franco-Swedish alliance was renewed, Paris secretly promising to one day help Stockholm regain New Sweden from the Netherlands. At home, Louis XIV quietly began a military buildup. Then, in 1681, he finally found his opportunity when Charles Eugene died, succeeded by his 18 year old son and heir Philip Charles. Sensing weakness on the Franco-Dutch border, Louis seized his opportunity and declared war on the Dutch Republic in early 1682 on the basis of occupying the country until the Republic withdrew from New Sweden. John IV Sigismund of Sweden soon declared war followed by other French allies like the Electorate of Cologne and the Prince-Bishopric of Munster. As promised, Charles II and his kingdom stayed out, refusing to aid their historical ally.

In what would be his last war, the 61 year old Louis, Prince of Conde, would join the Sun King himself in leading France’s land forces, planning a swift march through Dutch Flanders and Brabant, its defenses now overseen by a teenager, and into the heart of the Republic. They also hoped to gather Brabantine Catholic support in the process against the Calvinist Dutch. Indeed, the Brabantine army was caught off guard, hopelessly disorganized without the direction of a strong stadtholder. The Dutch army led by the Prince of Orange himself would quickly march southwards. However, that army would be defeated at the Battle of Turnhout, William himself narrowly escaping death and retreating back across the Meuse River. Louis XIV and the main army would pursue the Prince of Orange and his army while smaller contingents in the Brabantine lands besieged its cities and fortresses. Antwerp fell within the year, forcing Philip Charles and his court to flee to Utrecht. While the main French forces swept through Dutch Brabant, a smaller force led by general Francois de Croquy was busy coordinating an offensive from the Republic’s eastern borders with Cologne and Munster’s armies, with a small Swedish force led by John Vasa, the second son of the Swedish king, also marching towards de Croquy’s position.​

Depiction of Louis XIV and his army crossing the Meuse​

This was the high point of the war for the French and their allies, however, for Dutch naval power quickly demonstrated its might. Although England was not in the picture in this war, Dutch naval power still exceeded that of the French and Swedes even with the latter two combined. Therefore even as Louis XIV chased the Prince of Orange north across the River Meuse, Dutch fleets easily defeated Franco-Swedish ones off the Dutch coast at Schooneveld and Texel. This prevented the French from establishing a naval blockade that could isolate the Republic from its overseas possessions and vessels. Having staved off such a potentially disastrous outcome, the Republic’s navy now went on the offensive. Dutch ships began prowling the coasts of France, preying upon its coastal batteries and launching numerous amphibious landings upon fortifications. They even went after French overseas possessions in the Caribbean and India, although those attempts were less successful. Dutch naval success slowed the French advance in general, allowing the Prince of Orange to reunite the Republic’s scattered forces and slow further French offensives from occupied Brabant. Frisian stadtholder Henry Casimir II [1], meanwhile, successfully held off the Franco-German forces attempting to pierce through the eastern border, defeating the latter at Tolhuis and Bonn throughout 1682 and 1683 despite being outnumbered.

More bad news came as 1683 went on, when Spain entered the war on the Dutch side, its possessions in the Low Countries increasingly precarious in the face of Louis XIV’s success in the war. Quickly joined by the forces of the duchy of Lorraine, Spain looked to cut off French armies in the Low Countries, the Spanish governor in the Low Countries Ottone Enrico del Caretto marching into French Flanders at the head of a large army. Realizing that he could be isolated from Paris completely, the French king ordered a complete withdrawal north of the Meuse River and sent the Prince of Conde to deal with the Spanish. The Prince of Conde managed to break a Spanish siege on Ghent but at the cost of his life when Spanish musketeers fired multiple bullets into him as he personally led a cavalry charge against the besiegers. French morale began to drop as the Dutch began making gains in Brabant, forcing Louis XIV to conduct a campaign of attrition in the region while other French armies were ordered to invade the Spanish Netherlands and Lorraine. The king even had to reinforce French military presence in the Pyrenees as a Spanish force led by the Duke of Escalona unsuccessfully besieged Roussillon. The war quickly descended into a bloody stalemate, with the Prince of Orange and the Dutch gradually making progress in Brabant and the French holding back Spanish-Lorrainian incursions into the French Low Countries and the Rhine region.​

Depiction of the Battle of Ghent, the last battle fought by the Louis, the Prince of Conde​

Meanwhile, the Swedes coalesced an invasion fleet with the recapture of Fort Christina and the rest of New Sweden in mind. This fleet, led by veteran admiral Henrik Horn, dodged the enemy on the ocean, sailing into the mouth of the Vasa River on September 10th, 1682 and commencing a land invasion of Dutch-controlled Fort Christina, renamed Fort Marja after the Mary, the Princess of Orange and a niece of the English king. After a week, Horn’s men retook the fort, renaming it to its original name. They subsequently took control of the surrounding area and fortified their position while they sent out one of their ships to request further reinforcements. It didn’t take long for news of this covert Swedish landing to reach Anthony Colve, the governor-general of New Netherlands, and he began to prepare efforts to drive out the Swedes. While he gathered a small colonial force to march from the north by land, Commodore Jacob Binckes would be sent by the Republic to box in the Swedish fleet from the sea. Both coordinated attacks would take place in the spring of 1683 with mixed success. Horn, now the governor general of the reconstituted colony of New Sweden, would meet and defeat the Dutch land force at the Battle of the Vasa River, utilizing some of the ships sailing from the bay to bombard the Dutch position and force Colve’s force to retreat. The opposite outcome took place when Binckes trapped the rest of the Swedish fleet in the rest of the bay before sinking most of its ships. Binckes’ men then landed and launched a night assault on Fort Christina, taking it from the Swedes once again. Expelled from their former colonial capital, the Swedes would retreat and construct a fort on the Vasa River called Sigmundborg where they resisted Dutch offensives for the rest of the war with the support of the local Lenape tribe.

By 1685, both sides were becoming more exhausted day by day when Charles II of England died. The childless king was succeeded by his brother James, Duke of York, who would help bring about the end of the Franco-Dutch War. Although he was even more determined to break parliamentary authority than his late brother, James was hardly committed to the neutrality agreed upon with France. After all, the Prince of Orange was his son-in-law while his second daughter, Anne, had married a Danish prince, someone naturally oriented against Sweden. He therefore stepped forward and offered to mediate between the two sides. Louis XIV, although naturally stubborn, saw the writing on the wall and agreed to James’ offer along with the sovereigns of the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. After many months, the Treaty of Calais was signed in October 1686. The former colony of New Sweden would be returned to Sweden, although the new borders between New Sweden and New Netherlands would remain unresolved and disputed for years to come. In the Low Countries, France would annex the prince-bishopric of Cambresis while the Dutch acquired the right to install garrisons in select fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands and the prince-bishoprics of Liege and Stavelot-Malmedy.​

Portrait of King James II/VII of England and Scotland by Peter Lely​

The war proved that the Dutch Republic was as strong of a land power as it was as a naval power, having fought off Europe’s largest army on multiple fronts while crushing French and Swedish fleets at sea. At the same time, however, the war had financially cost the Dutch. Similarly, the French had financially expended greatly themselves for this war only to have been rebuffed for the most part. The Franco-Dutch rivalry did not yet see a clear winner and it would take a much bigger conflict for that to happen.

[1]: This Henry Casimir II is the son and successor of Henry Casimir I, who lived to 1666 ITTL.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 125: Artistic Developments in 17th Century Japan​

With peace and prosperity reigning over 17th century Japan much more comprehensively compared to the times of the previous century, arts in the realm flourished with unprecedented creativity and fashion, patronage showered upon artists by samurai, court nobility, and wealthy merchants alike. This resulted in a variety of new art styles inspired by old and new influences alike. One of these was the Rinpa school (琳派) which flourished as one of the primary art styles of the century, displaying itself on various mediums like folding screens, decorative fans, and lacquerware. First patronized by the court nobility and merchants in Kyoto, Rinpa art derived its style from the classical yamato-e (大和絵) tradition while also being influenced by Chinese ink brush paintings. The school’s progenitor, Honami Koetsu (本阿弥光悦), attained a land grant in Takagamine (鷹峯 in Kyoto from daijo-daijin Oda Nobunori [1] in 1615 from where he would develop the art school through a community of artists that developed overtime. This Takagamine community would close after Koetsu’s death in 1637 when Koetsu’s grandson Koho (本阿弥光浦) returned this land grant back to Azuchi, only to be given a land grant near the Azuchi exurb of Ootsu (大津) in 1641 where the Rinpa school would continue to develop and flourish. The Ootsu community’s closer proximity to the administrative capital of Japan would only increase the influence and spread of Rinpa art, enterprising artists and other visitors coming to the community overtime. Prolific artists within the Rinpa school over the course of the century included Tawaraya Sosetsu (俵屋宗雪) and the Ogata brothers, Kourin (尾形光琳) and Kenzan (尾形乾山).

Art styles predating the Azuchi period like the Hasegawa (長谷川派) and Tosa schools (土佐派) also continued to flourish and receive patronage in the 17th century. The most prominent of these older art schools was the Kano school (狩野派), defined by the artistry of the Kano clan (狩野氏) practitioners it was named after. This school of art originated at the end of the 15th century with the rise of Kano Masanobu (狩野正信) as the Muromachi bakufu’s court artist whose ink wash paintings displayed renewed Chinese influence. His successors, however, increasingly would apply firmer outlines and brighter colors to their illustrations while continuing to follow Chinese conventions. The Kano school’s influence and prominence would reach its height with the proliferation of castle decorations produced by painters like Kano Eitoku (狩野永徳), Mitsunobu (狩野光信) [2], and Koui (狩野興以), and their work can still be seen in Nijo and Azuchi Castles even today. It was around the beginning of the 17th century that the Kano school would begin to disperse to other urban centers like Sunpu and Kamakura at the invitation of major daimyo lords, and as a result their work and its collective influence spread beyond the confines of the three big cities of Japan (Sakai, Azuchi, Kyoto). From the mid-17th century onwards, however, the Kano school’s influence and patronage would begin to decline as the growing merchant and artisan classes, interested in newer art styles, put their attention towards other forms of art. However, Kano artists would continue to see patronage and support from the samurai and court nobility and in time their greater geographic distribution would result in the development of different branches of the Kano school like the Kyo-kano (京狩野) and the Tokai-kano (東海狩野) [3].​

Works by Kano Koui​

Among the emerging urban merchant and artisan classes as well as middle and lower-ranking samurai families, two new schools of art arose in the latter half of the 17th century. The first to emerge was yōga (洋画) [4]. Yōga came about as a result of Japan’s greater interactions with the West and subsequent exposure to European art styles, especially to the medium of oil painting. The earliest example of yōga art was the Baroque oil painting of Oda Tomoaki in colorful samurai attire with European aristocratic elements in the background [5]. Subsequent forms of yōga, however, would focus on two primary subjects. The first and more common of the two was traditional depictions of Japanese nature, transformed by European influences and the medium of oil painting. A pioneer of this yōga variation was Nabeshima Naoyoshi (鍋島直能), a retainer to the Ryuzoji clan. Patronized by Ryuzoji lords Noriie and Tomoie, Naoyoshi would illustrate native Japanese plants in his yōga paintings throughout his artistic career, especially in the form of illustrated flower arrangements. and these types of yōga would find an early foothold in the port cities of Japan, especially those in Kyushu and in Sakai. The second subject matter yoga depicted early on was Christianity, especially after the fall of the Jesuit-heavy Catholic apparatus and the rise of the Yamato Church. Although the first few decades of the Yamato Church’s existence saw it primarily utilize imported Christian iconography, this would change in the 1660s and 1670s as yōga became more popular and the church itself experienced an increase in popularity, patronage, and influence. Amakusa Geronimo (天草ジェロニモ) [6], a church leader and Azuchi patriarch from 1676 to 1681, would pioneer this development, being both a painter and patronizer of Christian yōga through his position as a significant church leader. Geronimo himself would become most famous for an intricate folding screen depicting the biblical parting of the Red Sea by Moses, the Jews following the Hebrew prophet depicted in everyday Japanese attire.

The other was ukiyo-e (浮世絵), meaning “pictures of the floating world”. Unlike more traditional schools of art like the Rinpa and Kano that found their home in cities like Kyoto, Sunpu, and Kamakura rich with traditional Japanese culture by the upper classes, ukiyo-e would initially emerge from the more merchant-heavy, lower class cities like Sakai, Azuchi, and Kanazawa. These cities were culturally less rigid, more accepting of hedonism and other more everyday, light-hearted topics that ukiyo-e would come to illustrate and represent. Ukiyo-e began emerging in these cities in the 1660s through hanging scrolls and other painting mediums. However, they only began to really take off when they began to be applied via woodblock printing, keeping that printing process alive despite the greater efficiency and increasing usage of wooden movable type for writing purposes. One of the first ukiyo-e artists was Yodo Shigehiko (淀重彦) [7], the younger brother of prominent rice merchant Yodoya Shigemasa (淀屋重當). Shigehiko is credited with consolidating various brooding art styles and topics into what would become a more unified ukiyo-e genre and popularizing the art through his commercial and political connections as a younger son of one of Sakai’s major merchant families. His most famous works revolved around the depictions of courtesans and his artistic contributions in the pages of early ukiyo-zoshi by authors like Ihara Saikaku. Shigehiko’s style of ukiyo-e would come to form its own school within the genre, the Yodo school (淀派), one that would come to influence and nurture ukiyo-e artists for generations to come.​

One of Yodo Shigehiko’s early ukiyo-e​

Paintings were not the only artistic outlets that saw a boom in the 17th century, for lacquerware and porcelain all increased in creative variation and production. Both experienced this partially due to many samurai clans either subsidizing or taking control of local production and craftsmanship to stimulate their domains’ economies and the clan’s own coffers in some cases through ji-shoukai. Lacquer tree cultivation and kiln construction expanded and both lacquerware and porcelain wares would become major exports for many regions, though Japanese porcelain would noticeably be limited in appeal in foreign markets compared to their lacquer counterparts due to merciless competition from Joseonite and Chinese potters [8]. Japan itself continued to import Chinese and Joseonite wares throughout the early Azuchi period, incorporating continental influences into its wares especially for its porcelain. A major native development across both mediums, however, would be the increasingly common adaptation of popularized Rinpa art designs onto many wares, distinguishing these wares from their foreign contemporaries.​

Sake ewer lacquerware from the 17th century​

[1]: Granted by Tokugawa Ieyasu IOTL.

[2]: Mitsunobu is Eitoku’s main successor ITTL unlike IOTL where due to the urging or potentially an order by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Eitoku adopts Kimura Sanraku (木村山楽) as his main successor.

[3]: Centered in Sunpu, named after the Tokaido road that runs through the Tokugawa domain including Sunpu.

[4]: Called yofuga (洋風画) or ranga (蘭画) IOTL.

[5]: TTL’s painting of Hasekura Tsunenaga (支倉常長). Can be found in Chapter 78 within TTL.

[6]: OTL’s Amakusa Shiro (天草四郎).

[7]: Hishikawa Moronobu (菱川師宣) is a nobody ITTL because Edo is not a big city ITTL for obvious reasons.

[8]: Japanese porcelain IOTL really came into its own during the Edo period as a consequence of Korean potters kidnapped during the Imjin War and Ming refugees fleeing the Qing invasions of the 1640s providing expertise and injecting creativity. A glut in Chinese porcelain exports during that decade also allowed Japanese porcelain to take up a now-vacant market share. Because none of that happens ITTL, Japanese porcelain is more on the back foot compared to its more established and well-known competitors.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 126: Oda Nobuie and his Ezo Campaign​

Although the Genroku era (元禄) officially began in 1688, the broader Tenwa-Jokyo era is viewed to have ended in 1689 with the death of Mōri Tsugumoto, one of the three members of the Nobuhiro Triumvirate and the most influential daimyo up to that point. Without a co-equal in power unable to exude and exert influence over the daimyo lords, the Kanbe brothers saw their power weaken as daimyo lords on the Sangi-shu like Nanbu Shigenobu and Inaba Kagemichi (稲葉景通) began to flex their opinions independent of the preeminent Azuchi regime. Shigenobu would especially prove to be formidable, exhibiting much confidence and energy even at 73 in his calls for greater attention to the far northern frontier and the fur trade as well as to the great many swaths of the rural interior that lagged behind in economic prosperity compared to the cities and western Japan in general. Additionally, the dominance of the two brothers was increasingly alienating many of the other Oda clan members including Musashino Toshikatsu and Miyoshi Yasutsugu. Within a year of Tsugumoto’s death, a new opposition had already begun to crystallize.

It was in this environment that the man destined to steer Japan into the 18th century began to firmly establish his footprint. The Oda heir Oda Nobuie had been born in 1667 to daijo-daijin Nobuhiro and Takatsukasa Nobuko (鷹司信子), a daughter of imperial regent Takatsukasa Norihira. He had grown up under a daijo-daijin weak and helpless before the factionalism of the 1670s, unable to effectively take charge of the helm of state. With the governance of the realm largely out of his hands, Nobuhiro would preoccupy himself with arts and luxuries alongside his court noble friends. Nobuie, however, would be very different, displaying signs of martial talent early on and showing promise to be a politically involved and authoritative chancellor. Among those who would train and tutor him was Tsuda Takeakira, a former councilor of the Kaga clan who had retired and committed himself to self-exile. However, an interested Nobuie would invite Takeakira to his personal residence located outside of Azuchi Castle where he would learn much from a former retainer of his late little brother Kaga Hiroaki. By the early years of the post-Tenwa-Jokyo era, the Oda heir had matured into a confident young man who easily exceeded his old man in political savvy and martial prowess. He even had a son born to him in 1687 named Hatsuomaru (初王丸), the future Oda Nobuhisa (織田信久). It was in this time period when he would unexpectedly be thrust to the forefront.​

Later portrait of Oda Nobuie as daijo-daijin​

In 1690, Kakizaki Norihiro requested aid against the Ainu-Menashir polity occupying most of eastern and northern Ezo that it had engaged in several border skirmishes with. Azuchi would use this opportunity to authorize its full conquest and Nobuie would be given command of the campaign through the direct order of the daijo-daijin who saw more potential in his son than in himself. In the late spring, Nobuie departed Sakai with a core of 5,000 men gathered from the main Oda lands and other provinces in central Japan, mostly consisting of musketeer infantry. His army would be transported by the navy to Hakodate where it would be joined by men sent by the various Oshu lords, particularly the Sakuma and Nanbu clans, as well as the retinue of the Ezo Kakizaki clan. Not including frontier garrisons or any potential Ainu allies and mercenaries in Ezo’s interior, Nobuie would be overseeing a total force of 12,000 men. His close advisor Tsuda Takeakira had accompanied him, as had Nanbu Shigenobu’s son and heir Yukinobu (南部行信) and Kakizaki Norihiro himself.

Facing off the Japanese would be Shakushain’s grandson Kamokutain, a formidable leader who had built up a core of arquebusiers and had begun conducting other centralization and modernization reforms in the Menashir polity, even taking some inspiration from the Japanese. These noticeable changes alarmed the Kakizaki samurai colonies and in response they began beefing up their garrisons and defenses. Fearing that they were preparing an invasion of his chiefdom, Kamokutain countered with his own military buildup. The dual escalation eventually led to the series of small skirmishes that turned into Azuchi’s casus belli against Menashir. Once he heard news of the impending invasion, he began a full mobilization and gathered a sizable force from among his warriors. Kamokutain would even send messengers from independent Ainu tribes in Ezo and even north of Karafuto province. The results of this outreach would be mixed, with some joining his side and others either staying out or firmly allying with the Japanese.​

Statue of Kamokutain​

On paper, the Japanese were destined for an easy victory, holding a numerical and technological advantage against Menashir. However, the Ainu were more familiar with the terrain and better fit to melt back into the vast forests and engage with the Japanese in guerrilla warfare. Additionally, winter came early in Ezo, something most of Nobuie’s army would not be prepared for. Although Nobuie initially wanted to march straight into Menashir and face off Kamokutain in a pitched battle that would likely be a sweeping victory for the Japanese, many of the Kakizaki clan members advised against such a strategy, arguing the Ainu would immediately resort to hit and run tactics that would overtime bleed the army. The Kakizaki retinue suggested instead to split the army, a larger and a smaller contingent. The larger, the main army led by Nobuie himself, would gradually march towards the Menashir capital of Kusru [1] while the smaller contingent, composed of the bulk of the Kakizaki men as well as a good portion of the Oshu cavalry would split off and target many of the outlying villages in the northern interior within the polity as well as allied villages nearby. This latter group inflicted devastation upon these villages, torching the settlements and massacring even the women and children in what would be chronicled later as a brutal campaign of terror. This distracted the Ainu chieftain from the main army, forcing him to divert reinforcements to counter this force of destruction.

By the time Kamokutain realized that he had been tricked, Nobuie had managed to occupy and encamp in Akan (阿寒), a sizable village only a stone’s throw away from Kusru. The Ainu chieftain quickly gathered what men he could and prepared to directly confront the Japanese from the north. This set the stage for what would be the Battle of Oniyoppu, which would occur in the western vicinity of Akan on November 11th, 1690. Nobuie left 500 men to hold down Akan and mobilized the remainder of 7,500 men onto the battlefield. His force was unusually lacking in cavalry for a 17th century Japanese army, composed of only 1,000 samurai cavalry with the rest being musketeer and spear infantry along with a handful of artillery pieces. Opposing them was a similarly sized force with more cavalry, which consisted of Ainu warriors trained in a similar style as Sakuma Moritora’s legendary Ainu bodyguard cavalry, but had no cannons to speak of. Kamokutain’s force was also unique in having 2,000 archers to make up for the numerical advantage the chief had in infantry trained to use arquebusiers, Kamokutain betting on arcs of arrow storms to immobilize the Japanese center. The commanders of both sides placed themselves in the mix of their men as a sign of strength and honor. The Japanese cavalry, despite being outnumbered 2 to 1, positioned themselves on the wings, Nanbu Yukinobu leading the right and Mōri Sukekatsu (毛利介勝) [2], son of Dewa daimyo Mōri Tomokatsu, leading the left.​

Battle of Oniyoppu, blue = Ainu-Menashir, salmon = Japanese​

The battle began with the cavalry wings of both sides rushing at one another, sword blades and harpoon points clashing against one another. Although the samurai were better equipped, the Ainu horsemen’s numerical advantage and ferocity immediately halted any momentum the Japanese had. In the center, as Kamokutain hoped, the Ainu arrow showers slowed the Japanese advance, only interrupted by volley exchanges which the Japanese got the better of by a little bit. Half an hour into the battle, however, the samurai cavalry suddenly retreated, the Ainu cavalry immediately giving chase. This was a trap, though, for as soon as they were in range, the Ainu were bombarded by cannonfire which had perfectly been pre-positioned. In fact, this maneuver had been planned by Nobuie in advance. As the Ainu cavalry broke formation, the Japanese center received a morale boost and noticing this, Nobuie yelled for a full-frontal assault. This charge, further supported by the samurai cavalry, enveloped the Ainu infantry formation. Despite this, they provided fierce resistance and remained steadfastly committed to the end. Finally, Nobuie himself managed to track down the Ainu chieftain and slew him personally, conclusively shattering Ainu morale and the discipline of their ranks. The battle was a definitive victory for the Japanese, though not without heavy losses. Among the casualties was Sukekatsu, who was pulling up the rear of the left wing when he was stabbed through with a harpoon.

Nobuie had both literally and figuratively decapitated the leadership of the Ainu-Menashir polity, leaving it disorganized and shattered. It seemed initially that the entire affair would wrap up quickly. However, the seasons were changing fast and so Japanese forces quickly entered winter quarters. This gave the Ainu some time to recover and even reverse some of the Japanese gains. As a result, Nobuie’s campaign would last for several more months into 1691 suppressing any further resistance and forcing claimant successors to Kamokutain to submit to him. This campaign, which would known as the Menashir War (メナシリの乱), not only eliminated the most cohesive Ainu polity in existence but accelerated the Japanese annexation of Ezo and the lands of the Ainu people that had been more gradual up until now. By the end of the century, every Ainu settlement and tribe had either a subservient military or economic relationship with the Japanese, especially the Kakizaki clan.

Two men would benefit significantly from this war. The first was the Kakizaki lord Norihiro, whose power and authority over his relatives and retainers had already been growing. The long decentralized nature of his domain was coming to an end, and Norihiro would come to take advantage of this and centralize Ezo politically and economically. His status in the realm would also go up and he would go on to be an important future ally for Oda Nobuie. Nobuie himself would see his popularity and influence skyrocket from before his campaign, being met with cheering crowds when he returned to Azuchi in the fall of 1691. This was unwelcome news, however, to Kanbe Tomozane and Kudō Kanefuyu, who wished to continue their grip on power and feared that Nobuie would become a rallying point for their foes. Only time would tell if the ascendant heir would realize those fears, intentionally or unintentionally.

[1]: OTL’s modern day Kushiro (釧路)

[2]: Confusing, but not the Mōri clan of the Chugoku region but the Mōri lineage descended from the famous Mōri Shinsuke.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 127: Siam and Dai Viet in the Late 17th Century​

​

The latter half of Siamese king Chaofa Chai’s reign was much more active than the former half in its foreign policy and other overseas activities. Like the Ming merchants did in the 1670s, Chaofa Chai took advantage of the weakening of Japanese mercantile and trade projection in the greater region and sought to expand Siam’s own maritime reach and influence. He accomplished this by supporting the native merchant class in Ayutthaya and other ports in his kingdom through the expansion of their privileges. As a result, Siamese merchants began to spread their reach beyond the immediate vicinity of their home realm like never before, especially into the Indian Ocean. The king would also grant these same privileges to many foreign merchants and groups, notably excluding the Dutch and Japanese from this particular development completely.

Chaofa Chai would also engage in a flurry of embassies and other diplomatic contacts with overseas powers. The most important of these were the one to Safavid Persia and France. Safavid Persia was a trade power of high interest for the newly enterprising Siamese merchant class, leading to an embassy to Isfahan in 1680 [1]. 1669 and 1680 respectively to spark interest in expanded trade relations. The latter proved to be more fruitful and led to the Persian embassy to Ayutthaya in 1685, led by Mohammed Rabi ibn Mohammed Ebrahim. This embassy would cement an increasingly strong relationship between the two countries, making the Siamese the favorite trading partner of the Safavid court east of the Indian subcontinent and thus a primary source for Persian goods in East and Southeast Asia.

The embassies to France, meanwhile, would establish the fledgling colonial trade power as the most important of Siam’s European trading partners. Formal contact between the two powers would originate when the Paris Foreign Missions Society landed in Ayutthaya in 1662, having chosen Siam as its first target country to convert due to Ayutthaya’s pre-existing Catholic minority. Chaofa Chai cordially accepted their presence, providing them with land to construct a church and a hospital. To further curry favor with the Siamese king, bishop Francois Pallu managed to obtain letters from both Louis XIV and Pope Alexander VII in 1666-1667 after sailing back to Europe, presenting them before Chaofa Chai in 1670 [2]. By then, the French East India Company had arrived onto the scene and were on the way to acquiring Phuket as a major trading depot especially over the tin trade, and Franco-Siamese relations were on the upswing. This culminated in the exchange of embassies between Paris and Ayuthhaya coinciding with Chaofa Chai’s big trade expansionism in the late 1670s. 1677 saw a first embassy by Siam to Paris, followed by one by Paris to Ayutthaya led by the Chevalier de Chaumont in 1678. Although the French ambassador was unsuccessful in his bid to convert the king to Catholicism, Chaumont managed to secure favorable trade agreements that also formally acknowledged French presence in Phuket and its tin monopoly. Additionally, Chaofa Chai would persuade Count Claude de Forbin to enter into his military service as the governor and commander-in-chief of Bangkok and hired the engineer Lamarre to help construct fortifications for the kingdom.​

Depiction of the Chevalier de Chaumont paying his respects to king Chaofa Chai​

The third and final embassy of this exchange was the 1680 Siamese embassy to Paris whose scale exceeded that of the first embassy in 1677. Led by diplomat and bureaucrat Kosa Pan, it became a sensation across Europe on the same level that the Azuchi embassy in 45 years earlier had been, the embassy’s journey to Versailles attracting crowds of onlookers. Kosa Pan brought many gifts to Louis XIV, including 1,500 pieces of porcelain, carpets, and tortoise shells, and in turn would order French products like telescopes, cannons, and other pieces of rare technology as well as 4,264 mirrors that were to decorate the Siamese royal palace. On a diplomatic level, the embassy would confirm the ratification of the trade agreements made by the Chevalier de Claumont. While in Versailles, the embassy would receive invitations from Sweden and Portugal. Lacking time, Kosa Pan would only manage to visit Lisbon for a few days on their way home before departing for Siam. Nevertheless, they would be back as this was only the beginning of Siam’s direct diplomacy with Europe.

Chaofa Chai’s interest in a more interconnected kingdom was even reflected in his territorial ambitions. In 1674 [3], he invaded the sultanate of Singora, which had broken away from Siam in 1642 under the directive of Sulaiman Shah. Until the new sultan, Singora had been modernized, its defenses strengthened through the construction of city walls and moats and its overseas trade expanded with European merchants. Prasat Thong had attempted to reincorporate Singora thrice but the wily sultan successfully warded off Siam each time. Sulaiman’s son and successor Mustapha, however, proved less capable and would ultimately fail in protecting his sultanate from the clutches of Chaofa Chai, who sought to extinguish what he perceived as competition, after a siege that lasted for 6 months. It would subsequently be razed to the ground although the former sultan’s family would be pardoned and integrated into the Siamese nobility.

For his many accomplishments on the domestic and overseas fronts that strengthened the kingdom and its already significant presence within the region, Chaofa Chai would be remembered as a great king, one of a few to earn the epithet “the Great”. However, the king’s death in 1686 and the ascendance of his stepson Phra Pi as the new king would provide an opening for the dissatisfied and opportunistic within the realm. The latter came in the form of a revolt by a Makassar prince who had fled to the court of Chaofa Chai after driven from his homeland by the VOC, with the prince hoping to install one of his brother as the new Siamese king and establish Islam as the new state religion. Before a serious attempt could be made, however, the plot was uncovered and the new king Phra Pi crushed it with ease. The dissatisfied, meanwhile, came in the form of councilor and commander Phetracha who led a faction of conservative nobles and Buddhist clergy opposed to further foreign influence and engagement by the king. They particularly hated the appointment of Greek adventurer and interpreter Constantine Phaulkon to the post of foreign minister in the Ayutthayan court [4]. Phetracha would attempt to take advantage of this festering opposition and launch a coup in 1688, only for it to be suppressed relatively quickly by the king [5]. He, along with his son Luang Prasak who happened to be a biological son of Chaofa Chai with a concubine given to Phetracha as an infant, would be executed. Phra Pi would subsequently weaken the power of the Buddhist clergy and even begin to toy with the idea of converting to Catholicism. Under him, Chaofa Chai’s policies would be continued and progressed which saw Siam continue on its path of trade expansionism and diplomatic engagement.​

Statue of Chaofa Chai “the Great”​

Changes were also occurring in the Trinh-dominated Dai Viet kingdom in the late 17th century. After the final defeat of the Mac dynasty in 1667, Trinh Tac turned to domestic affairs, reviving the civil bureaucratic apparatus set up by the Dai Viet king Le Thanh Tong in the 15th century [6] and reinstituting Confucianism within the government. As a result, power would shift from the military to the literati within Dai Viet. This conservative turn also affected the regime’s outlook on foreigners with European traders increasingly viewed with suspicion and Jesuits and other missionaries expelled from the kingdom in 1663. Nevertheless, Trinh Tac continued Hanoi’s relatively cordial relationship with the Dutch particularly, with the English even managing to open a factory in Tonkin in 1672. The Portuguese continued to be marginalized in comparison while the French would prove unsuccessful in establishing a foothold as both European powers had too friendly of relations with rival powers like the Nguyen lords and Siam. On the other hand, Chinese and Japanese merchants would increase their activity with the Trinh-controlled north, with relations with the latter improving as Siamese-Japanese political and economic rivalries became ever more entrenched. Trinh Tac died in 1682 and was succeeded by his son Trinh Can who would continue his father’s reforms and policies.​

Sketch of Trinh Tac​

The Nguyen-controlled Vietnamese south was also making its own strides. Having been thoroughly humbled by the Trinh lords and come down extensive Siamese economic and political influence, this autonomous piece of the Dai Viet kingdom under Phuc Tan nevertheless sought to strengthen itself and prepare for any future confrontations with the Trinh lords, Siam, or Cambodia if the latter ever managed to break free from Siamese vassalage. Thus, Nguyen Phuc Tan would first embark upon the invasion and annexation of the Champa principalities of Panduranga and Kauthara between 1660 and 1670. This campaign not only expanded the coastal territorial extent of the Nguyen realm but also removed potential Trinh allies that could pincer the Nguyen from behind. Phuc Tan would also focus his energy on building up his new capital of Quy Nhon [7] which had been founded not far from the battlefield of Vijaya after the Nguyen-Trinh war. Quy Nhon would quickly grow and attract trade as the Trinh lords’ greater hostility towards merchants drove longtime traders to the new home of their old collaborators, especially the Portuguese. The English and French would also come to be important trading partners, and they along with the Portuguese would also being crucial to Phuc Tran’s military reforms in terms of knowledge and technology.

[1]: No Siamese embassy to Isfahan in 1669 ITTL.

[2]: Happens in 1670 and 1673 respectively IOTL.

[3]: Happens in 1679 ITTL.

[4]: He doesn’t rise up the ranks as quickly due to time and Siam having greater foreign exposure compared to OTL, making the kingdom less willing to appoint foreigners to important government posts (with exceptions obviously). This also is the reason why the Anglo-Siamese War doesn’t happen IOTL.

[5]: The opposite happens IOTL ie the Siamese Revolution of 1688.

[6]: Happens a few years earlier IOTL.

[7]: This city was not founded for at least another century IOTL.​

 

[Ambassador Huntsman]

Chapter 128: A Poisonous Plot​

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Oda Nobuie, heir to the Azuchi daijo-fu, came home a war hero with strong support than ever from the daimyo lords on the Sangi-shu and Shinka-in bodies, especially those dissatisfied with the politics of the old Nanshin faction and the Kanbe brothers. Riding this momentum, Nobuie directly went to his father and asked permission to lead a second military expedition, this time to subjugate the northern half of the Karafuto island which remained uncontrolled by Japan. He proposed it to the daijo-daijin on the grounds of security against Russia, expansion of the fur trade, and a need to strengthen the hold on the southern half which since Sakuma Moritora’s death had stagnated. Initially able to sway Nobuhiro, he was ultimately unsuccessful when Kudō Kanefuyu and his faction in the Sangi-shu voiced opposition due to the campaign’s inevitable expenses and Nobuie’s perceived disrespect of the councilors by not proposing it to them first. The weak daijo-daijin caved and the Oda heir was given a reality check in the politics of Azuchi. However, Azuchi would subsequently strengthen Japanese presence in the southern half partially thanks to Nobuie’s proposal.

The perceived aggressiveness of Nobuie, however, did serve to justify the fears Kanbe Tomozane, Kudō Kanefuyu, and their supporters had of the Oda heir secretly plotting to undermine their longstanding but increasingly shaky power with opposing daimyo lords. Sooner or later, Nobuhiro would either die or retire and Nobuie would become the new daijo-daijin and inevitably the power balance would shift, possibly to their faction’s detriment and towards a renewed centralization of power around the chancellery. Beyond the potential political ramifications affecting their faction, many in Azuchi in general had grown accustomed to more oligarchic and bureaucratic governance under the “gogisei” principle (合議制) where the daijo-daijin was the chief minister and leading figure of the government with the cooperation and even consent of Azuchi’s political institutions. This was in contrast to its polar opposite called the “dokusaisei” principle (独裁制), a more autocratic system defined by the politics and governance of Oda Nobunaga and to a lesser extent Nobutomo and Nobutsugu. Ever since the sudden death of Nobutsugu in 1653, the realm had been governed via gogisei even under the rule of figures like the kōbu kanpaku Konoe Toshishige and the caretaker daijo-daijin Kanbe Tomoyoshi. This was also how the Nanshin faction and the Nobuhiro Triumvirate had run politics in Azuchi in the 1670s and 1680s.

In reality, while Nobuie may have resented the lack of power his father had and the people who used Nobuhiro as a rubber stamp and even puppet, he was more ambitious than power-hungry. This distinction, however, would ultimately not matter in the eyes of his critics and foes, leading to a plot on Nobuie’s life. The intent was to covertly poison the Oda heir and kill him, making his 5 year old Hachiomaru the new heir. This would not only remove a political rival but alter the succession in their favor towards a child that could be molded into a Nobuhiro 2.0. The conspirators surprisingly did not include any significant daimyo lords but rather was an effort by inspector-general and longtime Kudo clan retainer Wakebe Yoshitaka (分部嘉高) [1], who had been appointed after Kanefuyu became a member of the Sangi-shu in 1689, and his circle of followers and loyalists. The province the Kudō clan governed, Iga, was famous for its historical large concentration of shinobi so it was no surprise when Yoshitaka would hire a shinobi to infiltrate Nobuie’s personal residence, disguise themselves as a guard, and intercept a vase of sake to be drunk that night by Nobuie and his mistress Nasu (那須の方), dropping pinches of poison powder made from wolfsbane into the sake. Upon his death, the plan would be to direct a half-hearted investigation intended to ensure the innocence of the true perpetrators.​

Portrait of Wakebe Yoshitaka​

The plan would not go exactly as planned. On the night of April 21st, 1692, after sitting down with Nasu, as predicted he would order his ordered sake to be taken out and then have his mistress pour his first serving. Right before he drank, however, he suddenly felt a need to use the restroom and excused himself. Slyly, Nasu drank the sake that had already been poured, intending to pour a second serving. Sadly, this would be the last thing she would ever do before succumbing almost immediately to the effects of the poison. By the time Nobuie had rushed back upon hearing a commotion, Nasu was dead. In shock and barely holding back his tears, the Oda heir swiftly ordered his men to lock down his residence and search every room and verify every person in the vicinity. The shinobi found himself trapped inside the residence and so hid himself inside a cabinet before sneaking out into the ceiling space and attempting to slip out of Nobuie’s grasp. This shinobi, known as Nakaoka Seizo (中岡政蔵), underestimated the security of the residence, however, and was soon surrounded by Nobuie’s guards once he had escaped outside. Although a smoke bomb briefly masked his presence, Seizo was struck by a stray bullet in the chest fired by retainer Inoue Toranoshin (井上寅之進) and died within minutes.

Although the shinobi now couldn’t be interrogated and no letters or identification were on him, his pocket case of wolfsbane poison powder was found, and Nobuie immediately ordered his men to track down its source. The Oda heir, suspecting correctly that he and not his mistress was the intended target, delayed in alerting the inspector general, whom he already saw as political opposition, until the following afternoon while he conducted his own investigation. When Yoshitaka finally found out about what had happened, he continued with his plan of a half-hearted investigation intending to cover up his own involvement despite the plan not going completely as intended. He would attempt to send a messenger to the shop in Iga where Seizo had acquired the wolfsbane powder before his cover was blown. Nobuie’s loyal retainers were ahead of him, however, and had successfully tracked down the source of the powder. The shopkeeper and his associates would be arrested on April 25th and taken back to Azuchi along with Yoshitaka’s messenger when the latter finally arrived, too late to cover up for his master. What followed was a series of interrogations that would ultimately lead to the public execution of those who had been arrested that day. Further arrests were only prevented by the actions of the inspector general, who would write a letter that placed the responsibility of the plot entirely onto himself before committing seppuku on May 2nd, 1692. The Wakebe clan would also subsequently be dissolved as a result of the plot. The entire plot and assassination attempt would collectively be known as Yoshitaka’s Incident (嘉高の変).​

Depiction of Wakebe Yoshitaka penning his letter and preparing to commit seppuku​

Although none of the other prominent members of the Kanbe brothers’ faction had been involved and hardly harbored any traitorous feelings, the plot proved scandalous to them collectively. In the aftermath, Kudō Kanefuyu resigned from the Sangi-shu and retired completely from politics due to Wakebe Yoshitaka originally being a retainer of his. Many bureaucrats in the government would follow, weakening the faction’s influence even more. Although Luson governor Kanbe Tomozane would be unaffected, he often was absent from Azuchi in the first place and thus had always been reliant on his younger brother, the late Mōri Tsugumoto, and others to bolster his influence and interests. His son Yoshihiro would continue to serve as a proxy and handle the Kanbe clan’s affairs in Azuchi but things would never be the same without Kanefuyu and his crafty skills.

Taking Kanefuyu’s place on the Sangi-shu would be Nobuie himself and his ascension to the political body marked the end of an era. For 3 decades after the conclusion of the Manji War, the victors had largely been in charge of the Japanese realm and only now would a new cadre rise. The next couple years would see no one faction predominate as a sort of balance would be established in Azuchi. It was in this environment that the Oda heir would navigate politics, needing to prove to the world that he was more than just a martial leader but one adept in administrative affairs and the internal collaboration and diplomacy necessary to succeed in the Oda capital.

[1]: A daimyo IOTL, his family originally being retainers to the Kudō clan and remaining so ITTL.​