Why did Hideyoshi emerge as the sole winner of the Kiyosu Conference? - The reason why the achievements of the warlords who fought in the Battle of Yamazaki were not fully recognized

The Honno-ji Incident (June 2, 1582) is known as one of the greatest political upheavals in Japanese history.

When Oda Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, Oda clan retainers across the country began to move in unison. Among them, it is widely known that Hashiba Hideyoshi, who would later become the ruler of the nation, succeeded in the "Great Chugoku Retreat" and defeated Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki.

However, there is one question here.

It was not only Hideyoshi's army that actually fought in the Battle of Yamazaki.

Many warlords, including the forces of Oda Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide, as well as Ikeda Tsuneoki, Takayama Ukon, Nakagawa Kiyohide, and the Settsu faction, had joined Hideyoshi's army. Without them, it would have been difficult to defeat Mitsuhide in such a short period.

Nevertheless, at the subsequent Kiyosu Conference, Hideyoshi ended up gaining overwhelming benefits as a result.

So, why did this happen?

"Who led it" rather than "who fought"

In history, it is not uncommon for the person who actually achieved military merit and the person who politically utilized those results to be different.

The Battle of Yamazaki was a typical example of this.

Certainly, Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide played a role in suppressing internal chaos within the Oda clan by killing Oda Nobuzumi (Tsuda Nobuzumi), who was Akechi Mitsuhide's son-in-law, immediately after the Honno-ji Incident.

Furthermore, they joined Hideyoshi's army at Yamazaki and contributed significantly to the defeat of the Akechi army.

However, it was Hideyoshi who commanded the entire battle.

In history, there is a tendency for the "commander-in-chief" to be evaluated more highly than the "participants."

In post-war politics, it was a natural progression for the "representative of the victorious army" to hold the power of negotiation.

The overwhelming political impact of the Great Chugoku Retreat

Hideyoshi's greatest military achievement was actually not the Battle of Yamazaki itself.

It was the "Great Chugoku Retreat," in which he returned his army from Bitchu Takamatsu Castle to the vicinity of Kyoto in just about ten days.

Because of this astonishing march,

"The person who first avenged Nobunaga"

He acquired a political brand.

In the samurai society of that time, loyalty to one's lord was considered more important than anything else.

The fact that he 'avenged Nobunaga' became a massive political asset that other warlords could not easily overturn.

It was not about who killed the most enemies in the Battle of Yamazaki,

but rather the impression of being the 'central figure who successfully carried out the memorial battle for Nobunaga'

that was decisive.

Nobutaka was a successor, but he could not seize the initiative.

On the other hand, it is not as if Oda Nobutaka had no standing at all.

He was Nobunaga's third son, led an army immediately after the Honno-ji Incident, and also participated in the Battle of Yamazaki.

However, the problem was political power.

Immediately after the battle, Hideyoshi proceeded one after another with

• relations with the Imperial Court

• communication with daimyo

• post-war processing

• management of Nobunaga's former territories

he proceeded with these one after another.

In other words, he led not only the military but also the administration.

In contrast, although Nobutaka was an excellent warlord, he did not yet have a sufficient foundation to coordinate the entire political situation.

Niwa Nagahide was a 'coordinator'.