Chapter 31: Nobunori’s New and Proper Governance, The Calm Before the Storm
Nobutomo’s coup in 1619 not only swept Saito Yoshioki out of power but reduced the power of hereditary Oda retainers in Azuchi, with Nobunori taking more direct control of the government and Oda clan members and regional daimyo gaining greater influence over political affairs. Trade expansionist-minded Oda retainers were also promoted to an extent, most notably Mori Naritoshi who was appointed to the Sangi-shu and became one of the leading figures of the new administration. The position of inspector-general, while still important, would see its powers and influence considerably reduced to prevent another political usurpation from happening again. Additionally, under Yoshioki’s tyranny, while the realm had continued prospering and expanding economically, control over its peripheries and foreign policy needed much reinvigorating due to neglect and lack of interest. The next few years would see an effort to make up for the lost years.
Firstly, Nobunori promoted Ikeda Masatora (池田政虎), the 29 year old second son of the late Ikeda Terumasa, to the foreign affairs magistracy from his old position as Iriebashi urban magistrate. Being a full-time resident of Bireitou from a young age and fluent in Chinese, Masatora was naturally well-informed on the political and economic dynamics of east and southeast Asia and set a new course in Azuchi diplomacy. Under the advice of the shrewd magistrate, Nobunori sent embassies to Batavia, Manila, Ayutthaya, Dong Kinh, and Banda Aceh in the 1620s to establish firmer relations with European and Southeast Asian powers, and Azuchi even managed to organize a mission to Goa in 1626, marking Japan’s first serious interaction with the Indian subcontinent. The realm was also able to navigate difficult crises overseas, such as the Dutch-Ming war over the Pescadores between 1622 and 1624, damages caused by roaming samurai mercenaries in various conflicts, and tensions between Japan and Siam after the murder of Si Saowaphak in 1624 by anti-Japanese nobles in favor of his 13 year old son Athittayawong. Referring to Nobuhide the Younger’s writings, the various Nihonmachis throughout Southeast Asia were recognized politically as autonomous outposts of the realm and began to receive financial support, although arrangements differed by city based on size and relations with the on-site foreign government. Nobunori’s new foreign policy improved relations with the Iberian powers and especially Dai Viet, although in the long run the former never fully trusted the Japanese again and the Netherlands began to displace them as the pre-eminent European presence in the realm.
Portrait of Ikeda Masatora
The Sangi-shu was also permanently expanded in size from 13-14 to a firm 15 members with the appointments of Kamakura Tandai Oda Toshimasa and Bireitou governor Oda Tadataka, both strengthening both the power of the Oda clan in political affairs and prestige and reasserting Azuchi influence over the Kanto region and Bireitou respectively. Closer to home, Nobunori also arranged a marriage between his eldest daughter Takahime (尊姫) and the emperor, strengthening Oda power in the imperial court on top of his second son Tomoshige becoming the heir of the Konoe family.
The change in governance also benefited the operations of the Azuchi navy, now headed by naval magistrate Kuki Moritaka (九鬼守隆). Saito Yoshioki’s lack of interest in trade resulted in temporary stagnation in naval expansion and activity, but this was quickly reversed after 1619. Organizationally, the Azuchi navy integrated the Kanto navy as its 5th sub-branch based from Shimoda (下田) alongside those in Iriebashi, Nagasaki, Kanazawa (金沢), and Hakodate as well as the central fleet in Hyogo (兵庫).
Drawing of Shimoda from the early 1600s
Despite incidents and diplomatic tension with the Iberian powers, the Kirishitan population grew to around 10% in the 1620s, with the heaviest concentrations in northern Kyushu, and the Kinki region. Native Japanese priests, particularly outside of Kyushu, progressively began to distance themselves from the authority of European Jesuits and Franciscans due to the latter’s damaged reputation over the preceding decades, although no break on doctrine occurred. Knowledge of other non-Japanese religions began to spread in the realm, particularly through the various embassies in the 1620s. In one instance, Theravada Buddhist monks accompanied the Ayutthaya embassy on their journey back to Japan and subsequently took a tour of Kyoto’s temples and shrines and conversed with various Buddhist priests on their differing interpretations and applications of Gautama Buddha’s teachings. These interactions along with the successful embassy to Goa led to a new Japanese tradition of Buddhist pilgrimage to sites in India and Southeast Asia.
A Siamese statue of the Buddha gifted to Myoushin-ji Temple (妙心寺) in 1622
The aftermath of the 1619 coup was marked by political revitalization on the domestic and international fronts. However, nothing could prevent one particular incident. On November 1626, while the Goa embassy was sailing back to Sakai, Tadataka’s adopted son Tadahide (織田忠秀) [1], who was in Iriebashi, received an urgent messenger with shocking and troubling news: a Spanish expedition had begun construction of a coastal fortress in southwestern Bireitou.
Crisis loomed large in the distance.
[1]: Tadahide is actually Oda Nobuhide’s biological son who was only 6 when his father died and was thus deemed too young to be appointed governor of the island. He is, however, Tadataka’s heir as Tadataka has no sons.
