The New Tokugawa Ieyasu ~Total Defeat! The Battle of Mikatagahara~

"My Lord, Sakai-dono and Ishikawa-dono have both been completely routed! Quickly to the castle, to the castle!"
"What is this nonsense! Attack! Do not falter!"
In the midst of the chaotic retreat, Ieyasu tried to hold his ground out of sheer stubbornness.

His cheeks were sunken, his chin sharp, and his gaze was not the usual Ieyasu.

"My Lord, let me be your decoy!" shouted
Natsume Jirozaemon Yoshinobu."Jiroza, how could I leave you behind alone? The battle is just beginning...!"
"Shut up! Are you not the Lord of Totomi? You cannot lose your life here. My life is more than enough. Give me your helmet!"
No sooner had he said this than Natsume Yoshinobu stood directly in front of the pursuing Takeda forces and roared,
"I am Tokugawa Sakyo-no-Daibu Ieyasu! Whoever thinks they can, come and take your prize...!"

Somehow or other, Ieyasu managed to return to his main base at Hamamatsu amidst the chaos of the defeat.
"I... I have lost..."

With the relief of having returned to the castle, the tension snapped, and Ieyasu was in a daze.

"To have lost my precious retainers and men like that... I am now a defeated general. Oh, what shall I do!"
Hearing this, whether he was meant to or not,

Honda Sakuzaemon Shigetsugu

, walked straight up and slapped Ieyasu across the cheek with a loud smack.

"You fool! When did we ever say we were afraid of battle? When did we ever say we valued our lives? If you are a defeated general, why are you not talking to your soldiers first! It is true we did not win the battle. But that does not mean we have lost. As you can see, my Lord, you are still perfectly fine...!"

Hot tears flowed endlessly from the eyes of Honda Sakuza, who was spitting with rage...

"Sakuza, you are right. A defeated general must indeed speak with his soldiers. As you can see, I still have my life..." Ieyasu replied with a smile back at Honda Sakuza.
"Please forgive my many rudenesses."
Honda Sakuzaemon Shigetsugu also wiped his tears and bowed low.
"Sakuza, do not let the torches at the back gate go out! I have commanded it!" "Yes, sir, I understand."
"That was a pointless battle. I am going to lie down for a while!"
No sooner had he said this than Ieyasu began to snore loudly. Honda Sakuza covered Ieyasu with a quilt and immediately went outside the castle.

"Oni-dono, how is the Lord doing?" asked Honda Heihachiro.
"He said, 'That was a pointless battle!' and ate three bowls of rice in hot water while standing, and now he is snoring loudly, Heihachiro."
"As expected of our Lord, he is not even shaken by such a defeat!"
"Is that so, Oni-dono? Snoring loudly, ha ha!"
........................................
【
The Battle of Mikatagahara】 I think this was a valuable "defeat" for Tokugawa Ieyasu as well. It is said, "
If you only know how to win and do not know how to lose, harm will come to you" Tokugawa Ieyasu was 30 years old at this time. It is an age when one wants to take risks and, above all, wants to know one's true ability. The Tokugawa forces had 2,000 dead; it was a crushing defeat.

Baba Mino-no-Kami Nobuharu, a senior vassal of the Takeda family who fought at Mikatagahara, said,"Except for Kenshin-ko of Echigo and Ieyasu of Mikawa, there are likely no other great generals in the world..."Such was the ferocity of their fighting. In fact, Tokugawa Ieyasu and his army had greatly saved face. However, so as not to forget this humiliation for the rest of his life, Ieyasu had the scene at the time captured in a portrait and used it as a warning to himself.

The portrait of the Battle of Mikatagahara, the "Shikami-zo (Portrait of a Frowning Ieyasu)", refers to this event.

"Hikaru's reputation 1",
thank you for staying with me until the end.
Please look forward to the next one!
— Hikaru