The siege of Osaka (大坂の役, Ōsaka no Eki; or, more commonly, 大坂の陣 Ōsaka no Jin) was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages, the winter campaign and the summer campaign, it lasted from 1614 to 1615. The siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. The end of the conflict is sometimes called the Genna Armistice (元和偃武, Genna Enbu), because the era name was changed from Keichō to Genna immediately following the siege.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier
Siege of Osaka in the context of Edo period
The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period, is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional daimyo, or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by prolonged peace and stability, urbanization and economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture.
In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu prevailed at the Battle of Sekigahara and established hegemony over most of Japan, and in 1603 was given the title shogun by Emperor Go-Yōzei. Ieyasu resigned two years later in favor of his son Hidetada, but maintained power, and defeated the primary rival to his authority, Toyotomi Hideyori, at the Siege of Osaka in 1615 before his death the next year. Peace generally prevailed from this point on, making samurai largely redundant. Tokugawa shoguns continued Ieyasu's policies of conformity, including a formalization of social classes in a strict hierarchy. By 1639, all foreigners were expelled under the policy of sakoku, with the exception of Dutch traders on the island of Dejima in Nagasaki, beginning a period of isolation. From 1635, daimyō had to spend alternating years in the capital Edo, where their family was required to reside permanently, in a system of "alternate attendance" in order to keep them in check.
Siege of Osaka in the context of Yodo-dono
Yodo-dono (淀殿) or Yodo-gimi (淀君; [jo.do(ꜜ).ɡʲi.mʲi, -ŋʲi.mʲi], 1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々; [tɕaꜜ.tɕa]), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor Hideyori, she acted as Hideyori's guardian in the restoration of the Toyotomi clan after the fall of the Council of Five Elders, and alongside her son, led the last anti-Tokugawa shogunate resistance in the siege of Osaka.
She was the daughter of Oichi and sister of Ohatsu and Oeyo. When her two younger sisters became prominent members linked to the Tokugawa clan, she and her sisters became vital to maintaining the diplomatic relations between the two most powerful clans of the time, Toyotomi and Tokugawa. Her sister, Oeyo, was the wife of the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, and matriarch of the successive shoguns' lineage, thus receiving the political title Omidaidokoro.
Siege of Osaka in the context of Koriki clan
The Kōriki clan (高力氏, Kōriki-shi) was a fudai samurai clan which briefly came to prominence during the Sengoku and early Edo period Japan. Kōriki Kiyonaga (1530-1608) was a hereditary retainer of the Tokugawa clan, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu as bugyō of Sunpu and was made daimyō of Iwatsuki Domain (20,000 koku) in Musashi Province in 1590 after the Tokugawa were transferred to the Kantō region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
His son, Kōriki Tadafusa (1583–1655) distinguished himself in combat during the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka and was transferred to Hamamatsu Domain (35,000 koku) in Tōtōmi Province in 1619.
Siege of Osaka in the context of Ohatsu
Ohatsu (お初) or Ohatsu-no-kata (お初の方) (1570 – September 30, 1633) was a prominently placed figure in the late Sengoku period. She was daughter of Oichi and Nagamasa Azai, and the sister of Yodo-dono and Oeyo. Alongside her sisters, she was active in the political intrigues of her day. Ohatsu's close family ties to both the Toyotomi clan and the Tokugawa clan uniquely positioned her to serve as a conduit between the rivals. She acted as a liaison until 1615 in the siege of Osaka, when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi.
Siege of Osaka in the context of 1614
1614 (MDCXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1614th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 614th year of the 2nd millennium, the 14th year of the 17th century, and the 5th year of the 1610s decade. As of the start of 1614, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.