The fall of Osaka Castle and a hero

Osaka Castle and its main tower, which were built by Hideyoshi, fell in two battles by the force of Tokugawa in 1615. It means the complete end of the warring states period and the transition to a long period in peace, the Tokugawa era. And the Tokugawa Bakufu built a new Osaka Castle with its main tower on the site of the old Osaka Castle. We can see the heritage in the castle which has some turrets, which are called “yagura” in Japanese.

These were built for guard against an enemy, so the structure of a turret was strong but simple, almost an empty box. A foreign woman asked me whether it was a warehouse. I answered, “this was a turret, a house for a battle. In here were a lot of samurais and weapons during a battle. However in peace time, this would have been a warehouse as you point out.” A lot of foreign travelers saw the insides of the turrets, but to enjoy them it is necessary to imagine a battle-scene of that time.

The death agony of the fall

We can look at two big pictures (each, 3.6meters wide, 1.5meters high) depicting the unprecedented fall of Osaka Castle with multilingual announcement inside of the current main tower. One (the upper picture) shows the battle scene and the other (the lower picture) shows the death agony after the fall.


The turret which was thought to be a warehouse by the foreign woman was a significant battle point. From the turret surrounding a wide ground like the size of a tennis-court next to the big main gate, a countless number of bullets and arrows killed hundreds of soldiers and samurais of the Tokugawa force on the ground, which was closed in by the stone walls and the gate. However finally, the difference of power between both forces couldn’t be reversed.

The hero of the two battles who is etched into Japanese people’s minds

In the two fierce battles was a hero, who was Yukimura Sanada, and he consecutively fought against Ieyasu Tokugawa. His life-history was clear but his detailed characteristics and his deep thoughts weren’t noted. Nonetheless, his deeds and behavior in the battles have knocked the Japanese people’s emotions, then he must have been brave, clever, cool and with strong leadership like the drawing above in Japanese minds.

On the contrary, Ieyasu Tokugawa was a heel in the battles. He is called a “tanuki-oyaji” in Japanese which means an old man like a raccoon dog. He tried to hold secret communications with a high-post samurai in the Toyotomi force in Osaka Castle. The hundreds soldiers killed under the turret was the result of a failure in his secret communications. His attempt leaked out, and yet Ieyasu, who believed that the secret communications were going on, commanded his force to attack, and as a result they were killed by soldiers of the Toyotomi force who were placed in advance.


The most renowned battle event in the first battle in winter was a battle around a fort which was built outside of Osaka Castle, which is said that Yukimura Sanada constructed it which was called “Sanada-Maru”. The total number of all the Tokugawa force which surrounded Osaka Castle was approximately five hundred thousand soldiers, and approximately some ten-thousand soldiers attacked it. On the contrary, the number of the force in Sanada-Maru was approximately six thousand. Nonetheless, the Yukimura force fought better against the opponent and killed thousands of soldiers.

The spirit of the way of the samurai


Ieyasu feared to Yukimura, and Ieyasu who liked deceptive methods tried to hold secret communications with Yukimura by a man who was related to him by blood. At that time a mood of reconciliation between the two forces heated up, then Yukimura might have met him. Ieyasu proposed that he would give Yukimura a funeral lord post with an upper-level if Yukimura would become a supporter. That was a huge proposal. Yukimura said to the missionary; “I had dwelled in bad luck in the mountain of Koya-san for fifteen years after the loss of the war of Sekigahara, but I was called by the boss of the Toyotomi force, Hideyori Toyotomi. And that I was given a fort by his command honored me. As the debt of gratitude Ieyasu’s proposal confuses me. If the reconciliation would be successful, and despite the fact that I was an enemy of Ieyasu, if he proposes to me to be a supporter, I will become a supporter even as a normal level samurai.”


Ieyasu who received Yukimura’s answer thought that the former proposal was so small for Yukimura that it was necessary to propose a larger post. And in the second secret communication Ieyasu proposed the highest feudal lord post. Yukimura must have thought that the first proposal was the evaluation of him but he felt no sincerity in the second proposal. As soon as he heard the proposal Yukimura was angered by the proposal, refused it and he never met other missionaries. However, as it turns out, after the peace of the reconciliation had continued for half a year, he died during another battle.


In the end of the second battle in the next summer, Yukimura with his samurai troops and his allies attacked the troop headquarters of Ieyasu, and by a marvelous power they bent the form of the headquarters and got a miracle chance to win. Yukimura requested Hideyori Toyotomi, the supreme commander, in the castle to fight in order to cut off the head of Ieyasu, however Hideyori failed to come to the battle field. Then the momentum of the Toyotomi force with Yukimura less than the Toyotomi force stopped and they were devastated. Finally, Yukimura was killed in the battle field.


In a war or a battle a deceptive method should be suitable to be, especially in China which has “The Art of War” by Sun Tsu. In fact Ieyasu created peace in Japan by using deceptive methods. However, the sentiments in Japanese people’s hearts put great respect on do-or-die sincerity. That includes fortitude and a pledge to do everything in sincerity in his name and in his life, especially in the Kamakura period. Yukimura, who lived in the warring states period when changing a boss wasn’t criticized, had a more rational thinking than Kamakura samurai, but yet he had respectful do-or-die sincerity. To say it in other words, his death was praiseworthy because the way of the samurai filled his spirit not his body.