Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu

The great warlords Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu had a long and complicated alliance with each other until Nobunaga's assassination in 1582. Although Nobunaga was the senior and more powerful warlord during that time, their relationship was unique in that Ieyasu did not appear to act as a subordinate vassal to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga made peace with Ieyasu who was the new power in Mikawa province. It was a far-sighted alliance that secured Nobunaga's eastern flank which allowed him to concentrate on his conquests Mino, Nagashima, and Ise provinces and eventually his march on Kyoto. The alliance between Nobunaga and Ieyasu helped them in their efforts against other powerful warlords during that time such as Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin.

Although they both benefited from their relationship of cooperation, there was a dark side to the coalition between Nobunaga and Ieyasu. The most famous and shocking is that of the forced suicide of Ieyasu's first and formal wife, Lady Tsukiyama, together with their oldest son, Matsudaira Nobuyasu. Nobuyasu had married Nobunaga's eldest daughter Tokuhime in 1567. Initially, the marriage appears to have been a happy one, and the couple had two daughters.

However, tension between Nobuyasu and Tokuhime slowly mounted as years went by, apparently due to the intrigues of Nobuyasu's mother, Tsukiyama. The couple eventually ended up living in complete disharmony. In 1579, Tokuhime sent her father a letter accusing her husband and his mother of conspiring with the Takeda against the interests of the house of Oda. Nobunaga took the accusation very seriously, and drew a drastic but logical conclusion:

Ieyasu had to restore order to the house--which meant that Nobuyasu and Lady Tsukiyama had to die.

Ieyasu now faced an agonizing dilemma: either he sacrificed his wife and son, or, if he was not prepared to do so, put his partnership with Nobunaga on the line. The first option would be a great personal tragedy, but to take the latter course would jeopardize the further existence of the entire house of Tokugawa, and might undo everything he had achieved over the past two decades.

At the end of what must have been long and painful deliberations, Ieyasu condemned his eldest son and his first wife to death. Ieyasu, it seems, was prepared to pay a high price for his alliance with Nobunaga.

Japonius Tyrannus by Jeroen Lamers

Oda Nobunaga

I have just started reading a book about Oda Nobunaga. The book is called Japonius Tyrannus and is by Jeroen Lamers. So far through the first 40 pages, the book is pretty interesting. If you are not familiar with Oda Nobunaga, he was one of the most powerful warlords in Japanese history. He lived near the end of the sengoku era, the Warring States period (1467-1568) in Japan. Nobunaga is often called the first of the three great unifiers of Japan, the other two being Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga (1534-82), one of the best-known figures in Japanese history, dominated the political scene in Japan between 1568 and 1582 as he gradually conquered the country's central region and initiated a process of military and political unification. The book is a chronological narrative and provides a thorough analysis of his political and military career. Nobunaga is often considered to be a tyrant and a dictator. It appears that the book is attempting to reveal Nobunaga in a different light. However, there is little doubt that Nobunaga was a ruthless warlord.

Nobunaga laid the groundwork for national unification by conquering much of central Japan and by overthrowing the Ashikaga Shogun after Nobunaga marched his large army into Kyoto. Nobunaga was murdered by one of his generals in 1582 before he could complete his dream of unifying the nation. One of Nobunaga's other generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, avenged his lord by hunting down and killing his assassin. Hideyoshi then proceeded to take control and eventually achieved Nobunaga's goal of unifying all of Japan under his rule. Upon Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu assumed power by defeating all other rivals and declaring himself shogun in 1603.

The end of the sengoku period is a very interesting time in Japanese history, maybe one of the most significant time periods. The end of over 100 years of civil wars led to 250 years of peace under the Tokugawa shoguns. Much of Japanese culture and ideas we see today were shaped by these events and the ensuing years of peace. Unfortunately I have not found many books on the three great unifiers, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi of Ieyasu. There are a few books and I plan on reading them next.

Shodo Shonin: Founder of the Temples of Nikko

Statue of Shodo Shonin in Nikko

Shodo Shonin, a Buddhist monk, is the founder of the temples of Nikko. Legend has it that Shonin was unable to cross the raging Daiya river in Nikko. So Shonin prayed to the gods and and gods answered by throwing two snakes across the river. The snakes turned into a bridge, what is now the famous Shinkyo (snake) bridge.

Shinkyo bridge over the Daiya River in Nikko

Shodo Shonin crossed the Daiya river in 766. He founded the Shihon-ryu-ji Temple (the former name of Rinno-ji Temple). Later he exoplored the summit of the sacred Mount Nantai above Nikko and Lake Chuzenji. Shonin founded Chuzenji Temple in 782.

Shodo Shonin passed away in the year 817 and was buried in Kaizan-do Temple.

Japanese GDP falls at biggest rate since 1955

This is not good. This is not good at all.

From MSNBC

Annual drop of 15.2 in first quarter as exports plunged, companies pull back

The Associated Press

updated 5:16 p.m. PT, Tues., May 19, 2009

TOKYO - Japan's economy contracted at the fastest pace since 1955 as exports plunged and companies slashed production.

Japan's real gross domestic product, or the total value of the nation's goods and services, shrank at an annual pace of 15.2 percent in the January-March period, the government said Wednesday.

The result represents the steepest decline since Japan began compiling GDP statistics more than five decades ago. It also marks the fourth straight quarter of decline after the GDP fell 12.1 percent in the October-December period.

On a quarterly basis, GDP fell 4.0 percent from the previous three-month period, according to the Cabinet Office's preliminary data.

Japan's first quarter results were markedly worse than other major economies, outpacing the euro zone's 2.5 percent quarterly decline and a 1.6 percent contraction in the U.S.

The world's second-biggest economy relied heavily on the rest of the world to buy its cars and gadgets to drive economic growth. Like the rest of Asia, it has been pummeled by the unprecedented collapse in global demand triggered last year by the U.S. financial crisis.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30833967/

Japan's special melons 'only' $5,200 a pair

Now it's official, the global recession has really hit Japan. The famous Yubari melons sold for 'only' $5,200 in the first auction of the year. MSNBC.com reports that last year, the seasons first Yubari melons sold for $26,000 and for $20,000 the year before.

The melons are grown in Yubari, Hokkaido and are known for their taste and proportions and are often given as gifts. The pricy melons were sold at the initial harvest auction at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market.

Although the price is substantially lower then previous years, a Yubari official was actually pleased that they sold for less. "I think last year was unusual," the official said. "Such a high price gave the melons a bit of an image problem."

Japanese Bra Counts Down to Wedding Day

May 13 from MSNBC: A Japanese bra maker has created a new garment that runs a digital timer, literally putting women seeking spouses on the clock.

I think this will have completely the opposite effect. Once a Japanese guy sees this bra, he will probably run the other way.

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