Oriental Timeline 1582-1630 (A Darker Place)

Hatano's Meeting with Nobunaga
Hideharu reached Azuchi castle soon after having surrendered to Mitsuhide under the promise of full pardon. Nobunaga, upset by this promise, had planned to execute Hideharu at once. However, heeding the advice of his family and close advisors Nobunaga received Hideharu.

Appearing before the great general, Hideharu bowed low and begged for forgiveness. To ensure that the Hatano clan would no longer pose any opposition to him, Nobunaga made Hideharu one of his retainers keeping him in Azuchi as a hostage. The Hatano domains were placed under the custody of Nobunaga's son Oda Nobutada, securing the path to Kyoto. As a reward for his services Mitsuhide's own domains were expanded.

The Submission of Mori and the Shikoku Campaign
In 1582, Nobunaga began moving to complete the unification of Japan. Hashiba Hideyoshi invaded Bitchu the centre of power of the Mori. Though initially successful, Hideyoshi encountered fierce resistance from the Mori at Takamatsu Castle. In an attempt to curry favor with Nobunaga's other retainers, who were growing increasingly jealous of his success, he requested reinforcements. Nobunaga agreed and sent Mitsuhide to aid his comrade.

Believing that this was his chance to become the first amongst peers within Nobunaga's circles Mitsuhide agreed and arrived to aid Hideyoshi. The reinforcements helped bring about a decisive but bloody end the siege with the Mori surrendering. In exchange for continued rule over their lands the Mori. Daimyo Mori Terumoto pledged allegiance to the Oda Clan. To the outrage of Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi was giving full credit for the submission of the Mori. This would prove one of the major reasons for his later revolt.

As Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide fought to subjugate the Mori, Niwa Nagahide one of the Oda's most loyal retainers undertook the invasion of Shikoku. The troops disembarked in Tokushima and prepared to march on the Chosokabe lands as quickly as possible in an effort to break the main opponent to their master. Niwa was able to break through Chosokabe defense in early 1583 at the siege of Kochi. Soon after the city of Matsuyama was torched with most of its civilians being slaughtered by Oda forces. The savage attacks brought about a swift end to what little resistance Motochika could have provided. In the final peace settlement only Tosu remained under Chosokabe rule while the rest of the Shikoku feel to Oda's rule.

With most of Honshu and all of Shikoku largely under his control Nobunaga looked forward to taking the rest of Japan. With Shikoku and the Mori lands under his control Kyushu was ready for the taking. To the North the Late Hojo Clan looked in horror as the Oda clan secured their power over Southern Japan and slowly turned their heads north and East. With Victory nearly at hand Nobunaga began preparing to fulfill his lifelong ambition - to unite Japan and conquer the Asian Mainland.

The Akechi incident, Hojo's last Stand, and the Unification of Nippon under the Oda Mon
By 1585 most of Japan had fallen to Nobunaga. Only Hojo, Shimazu, and the divided Northern Daimyos remained independent. However, discontent was growing within the ranks of Nobunaga's retainers. Akechi Mitsuhide was at odds with his long time master and dreamed of becoming Shogun. The Mori campaign  proved the final straw. Mitsuhide, displeased by many of Nobunaga's decisions, began plotting the demise of the Fool of Owari, with other Daimyos who wished to be free of Oda domination.

In September 1585, Nobunaga decided it was time to subdue the remaining Daimyos. Under his orders troops under the command of Hideyoshi prepared to invade Southern Kyushu while Nobunaga organized a force of 80,000 troops to march on Hojo and northern Honshu. Realizing that it was now or never Mitsuhide attempting to take out the great general while he was on one of his visits to Kyoto. Amassing a sizable force Mitsuhide marched on Kyoto under the pretenses of restoring the banished Shogun (Yoshiaki Ashikaga). He would not make it to Kyoto. However, as Oda Nobunaga had been alerted of the plans previously by a scared Hideharu. Nobutada set up an ambush a little to the north of Kyoto taking the Akechi forces by surprise, breaking his flank and causing most of his forces to disperse before any real fighting began.

With his forces shattered, Mitsuhide surrendered to Nobutada who brought him before his father who was in Kyoto awaiting the traitor. In Kyoto Mitsuhide was forced to commit sepukku to keep his honor intact and to keep Nobunaga from exacting revenge on his family. The incident ended all dissent against Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga was also deeply disturbed by the event being betrayed by one of his closest advisors. The events only strengthened Nobunaga's determination to end all resistance to his rule and quickly organized his forces to march on the Late Hojo. Oda forces invaded Hojo in early March 1586. The overwhelming power of Nobunaga's forces broke through Hojo defenses and despite his best efforts Hojo Ujimasa was unable to hold onto Odawara (his base of power). In one of the bloodiest events of the Azuchi period Nobunaga pillaged and burned Odawara to the ground, wiping out the Hojo clan in the process as many as 10,000 people were slaughtered in the violence. The destruction of Hojo shocked all of Japan as Nobunaga's brutality showed the rest of the Daimyos that further resistance would lead to more acts of retribution.

The Shimazu were the first to surrender having resisted Oda for the better part of  decade. Daimyo Shimazu Yoshihiro swore his loyalty to the Oda before he could suffer the same fate. The Shimazu armies were considered a great asset to Oda as they were renowned warriors and had a fierce loyalty to those they served under. He was followed by the rest of the Kyushu Daimyos. Nobunaga granted Shimazu Yoshihiro control of most of the the Nanban (Southern Barbarians or Portuguese) trade without interference from the central government. The Northern Daimyos would soon follow.

With the remaining Daimyos falling in line, Oda Nobunaga had completed his lifelong ambition. His influence extending over the entire Archipelago. The Oda clan had reunited Japan after over a century of division. The war, however, had left deep scars throughout the Japan, with many holding grudges against the Oda for their ruthless and often brutal campaigns. Others disliked Nobunaga's merit based system and felt that he was tearing down the foundations of Japanese society.

Japan Under Oda Nobunaga
Since 1568 Oda Nobunaga's dreams to unite Japan were well under way. By 1586 He had united the Daimyos into a military confederation through bribery, marriage, ruthless slaughter and military innovation. Under this temporary mold Japanese society was exposed to a series of reforms and ideas.

Ever since his youth Oda Nobunaga had been interested in new ideas. He was innovative, calculating and quick on his toes. Thanks to these attributes he was able to secure his succession as head of the Oda clan when his brother attempted to seize power. He also managed to defeat the Imagawa numbering some 25,000 at the Battle of Okehazama with only 3,000 troops. These early feats were deemed the start of his long and brilliant road to power.

With the introduction of modern firearms to Japan by the Portuguese in 1543 the Japanese were quick to adopt the so-called Tanegashima guns (matchlocks) in an effort to gain a decisive advantage over their rivals during the Sengoku period. Oda Nobunaga would take these new weapons a step further greatly expanding their production in Sakai and Omi. By the end of his reign in 1604 Japan was the largest producer of firearms in the world.

He also developed a strong military by greatly expanding the ashigaru (foot soldiers or peasant troops). He armed his forces with muskets, and pikes, developed elaborate castle fortifications and introduced mass musket formations for volley fire which devastated his enemies and helped transform warfare in Japan and eventually in East Asia forever. His men men were promoted based on merit and not on birth which helped him create an efficient and reliable military structure which was vastly superior to that of his rivals and which would have profound effects later on.

However, he was not only a military genius. Nobunaga is also remembered for his economic and social reforms. Starting with his own Castle town Oda built the great Azuchi Castle on the road between Kyoto and the Kanto plain. Azuchi would become his centre of power and would quickly become the blueprint for other castle towns known as Jokamachis. In these towns Nobunaga created the Samurai-machi, quarters for the samurai separating them from the common folk, such as the Ashigaru, merchants, artisans, and farmers. He instituted the rakuichi rakuza (楽市楽座 ) policies which stimulated business and the overall economy through the use of free markets. These reforms broke down the monopolies previously held by an elite few. Under his rule large scale road projects were developed, castle towns became centres of commerce and production. These policies provided a major boost and stabilization to the economy. He also made great efforts to facilitate the payment and hand out of loans, this would prove crucial in the coming years as the merchant class grew in power.

Trade increased greatly due to his efforts to trade beyond China, and Korea, the Europeans to the south and Indochina would eventually be added to Japan's regular trade routes. In an effort to protect this growing trade network Nobunaga would begin expanding the Japanese navy following the submission of Kyushu. Greatly interested in the weapons of the westerners, he began developing ships with Portuguese and western components though retaining Japanese esthetics. He hired several Portuguese to help build a few carracks and galleons (the Tokugawa actually did this prior to the start of their isolation). The main reason for this was Oda's observations in the inferior designs of the Japanese Atakebune, and his wish to outfit his ships with larger numbers of cannons.

Nobunaga was also a great patron of the arts. Having amassed a massive wealth through his conquests. Sponsoring several artists and cultural activities such as the tea ceremonies under tea master Sen no Rikyu. He commissioned immense gardens and palaces as well to show off the beauty of Japan and to promote his own image. Under his rule Japanese arts and literature began to blossom as peace was slowly being restored to the country.

He greatly admired western art and philosophy, which was still very new to Japan. Oda Nobunaga collected a large number of western paintings, as well as weapons and armour for his private collection. He was the first documented Japanese to dress in European attire. Nobunaga become a patron of the Jesuits in an effort to diminish the strength of the Buddhists that had resisted his rise to power. In the final years of his reign, however, the relationship between him and the Christians would cool as Oda complained over the slave trade that was growing amongst Christians in Southern Japan and over the growth of Christian influences. Throughout his life the missionaries had tried and failed to convert him to Catholicism which deeply upset them as they realized that Nobunaga only used them as a tool to further his unification of Japan.

Japan was starting to enjoying economic and cultural development not seen in years. It was ruled under a military confederation held together by Nobunaga's strong will, military might, and ruthless reputation. Oda Nobunaga refused to adopt any formal titles as he disliked the old system greatly. Oda control over Japan would, however, eventually be legitimized under Nobunaga's son, Nobutada. Large scale administrative reforms were also implemented redistributing the lands based on rice output instead of the size of the land. This mixed with the destruction of trade barriers within Japan would eventually lead to a massive increase in food production and economic efficiency. To ensure that no peasant revolts broke out, a sword hunt was carried out on Oda Nobunaga's orders in 1588.

Japan would start to undergo profound social changes during this time. Oda Nobunaga's reforms would have a profound impact on the economic growth of Japan over the upcoming centuries. However, it would further entrench the divide between the Samurai, and the other social classes, creating an odd contrast between economic development and rigid social hierarchy that emphasized order and stability. Furthermore the rise of the ashigaru as a military force would prove a major development in the future.

Foreign Policy of Oda Nobunaga
Following the final conquest or submission of the remaining Daimyos, Nobunaga would start to look abroad. His lifelong fascination with the Nanban trade and with the Europeans and their technology. He would greatly expand Japan's presence on the waves across East Asia through the creation and expansion of a navy that resembled to an extent that of the Europeans and he created the red seal system as a way to control and expand Japanese trade and influence, it also reduced piracy in the region though many of the former pirates became sailors in the new Japanese navy which was then used to exert Japanese control over the sea lanes to both protect western traders and control them.

Nobunaga and the Shimazu carried out a joint expedition under the leadership of Oda Nobutaka carried out a fleet that subjugated the Ryukyu Kingdom making them a tributary state of the Japanese. Furthermore a Japanese trading post was established on the Island of Formosa (Taiwan) near Keelung. They would have to follow this up with building a castle nearby because of the hostility of the natives and a permanent garrison was established, As a consequence of this extension of Japanese presence in the South East China Sea trade and traffic of the sea lanes increased greatly with Japanese Red Seal ships extending southward in search of the Naban traders and of the riches of Continental Asia. To the north a joint expedition of Eastern Daimyo's pushed farther into Ezo (Hokkiado) receiving the submission of of the Ainu. Nobunaga haven learned from his dealings with Mitsuhide that he needed to keep his retainers and and the other daimyo's occupied so as not to have time to plot against his rule. Japan's naval expansion and trade did not go unnoticed by the continent and the Japanese would quickly come to the attention of Beijing after multiple requests by Japanese traders, and official envoys from Nobunaga requesting equal trade with Ming and with The Joseon dynasty in Choson. These exchanges quickly went south as return envoys to Japan expressed the Ming Courts request for Nobunaga to become a tributary of the Ming and be recognized by the Emperor as king of Japan. Nobunaga while infuriated sent the Ming envoys home with a simple refusal from Nobunaga. The Joseon envoy suffered a different fate though in 1595 as the Korean envoys who publicly insulted Nobunaga was executed by him this sparked a major crisis as King Seonjo enraged at the murder of his envoy demanded reparations and sent an envoy to Beijing to request Chinese permission and assistance in teaching the Japanese a lesson. Neither the Ming nor Joseon thought much of the Japanese power haven more or less ignored the developments of Japanese warfare and thought them little more then disorganized pirates and savages, and it was agreed upon that a fleet of Ming and Joseon ships would carry out a formal demand for Japanese submission to the tributary system and to demand reparations. Nobunaga would find out of the developments thanks to news from traders and his own ships of an amassing fleet and he would act swiftly sending a fleet of Japanese ships that succeeded in surprising the Korean Fleet in the port of Busan before it could be joined by the Ming fleet. This would start the Imjin War or the First Sino-Japanese war.

The Imjin War
Nobunaga had long realized that at some point he might come into conflict with Ming but had laid out plans for a potential war, his main focus was to secure control of the sea lanes and carry out a land invasion of the Korean peninsula, and push as quickly inland as possible before an organized Ming response could come. Following the destruction of the Korean fleet, a Japanese invasion force is lead by Nobunaga invaded using the Pusan as the first entry point and rapidly descending upon the Korean Peninsula while his fleet then engaged the Chinese fleet west of the Korean peninsula destroying a large part of the ships fleet forcing the remaining fleet to scatter. His forces advanced on Hanseong quickly shattering Korean defences with his shock and awe tactics perfected over decades of fighting to unite Japan.

The Joseon military was woefully ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with the tactics employed by Nobunaga and morale was shattered by the loud firearm volleys that killed a lot of their men before samurai charges shattered their lines. The employment of cannons and experiences that Japanese soldiers had in besieging and storming castles overwhelmed the ill-equipped Korean fortifications. King Seonjo and most of his court fled first to Pyongyang and then to Ming while Prince Gwanghae stayed to try to organize a defence against the Japanese though he would eventually surrender at the siege of Hamhung on the border with Ming in November just before the Winter as a joint Ming-Joseon force was trying to assemble to allow for the Japanese to secure the border with Ming before the winter set in. Gwanghae surrendered and was spared alongside his men by Nobunaga who admired the young prince greatly. He also spared all Koreans who lay down arms, though resistance continued in pockets in the south, Gwanghae returned to Hanseong which had been sacked by the Japanese and was proclaimed King of Joseon by the newly created Southern faction or Japanese faction made up of collaborators and defectors who had surrendered early on to the Japanese. Oda Nobutada had remained in Japan having been granted the title of Shogun by his father and the new Emperor Go-Yozei prior to Nobunaga's leaving for the continent. realizing that he had to secure his legacy at home before he could carry out what he hoped would be his greatest accomplishment had his son become the First Oda Shogun and had him marry a cousin of the Emperor. Furthermore, he took many hostages along with him on his campaign to keep in line the daimyos that he did not trust during his absence.

By the start of 1596, Ming's opinion of the Japanese threat had changed considerably. With Seonjo and his court staying Beijing, and with the japanese now posing a legitimate threat to not juast the Tributary system, but to Ming itself an army of 400,000 troops was dispatched to retake the Korean peninsula. The army was placed under the command of Li Rusong, an accomplished Ming General who had successfully put down a revolt in the south east and had recently carried out a campaign against the Mongols and Manchu tribes. He marched on Japanese holdings just as the snow was melting marched on Pyongyang pushing the Japanese out  before taking Kaesong. Nobunaga who had been carrying out a raid on Manchu settlements to test their resolve to fight, quickly turned around and managed to retake Pyongyang forcing Li into a decisive confrontation at the lower mouth of the Imjin river where 130,000 Ming troops faced 90,000 troops who managed to encircle the Ming forces leading to a slaughter. Here Nobunaga's forces managed to shatter the Chinese forces taking some 50,000 captive and slaughtered the rest including Li Rusong. In the aftermath of the battle the Japanese would rapidly retake the land that had been lost earlier in the year. By June Nobunaga proceeded to march on Liaodong. The court of Ming Emperor Wanli was in an uproar and the Ming forces now under the nominal control of Song Yingchang managed to prevent a complete collapse of the Ming defences. However rebellions in Southern Ming due to mass conscription, poor harvests, and news the destruction of Li's forces forced Song to act with limited reinforcements. The Nobunaga's tactics and exprienced troops once more proved decisive forcing Ming forces out of Liaodong however at a huge cost as the Ming were a lot more prepared then before.

Things changed in 1597 when Nurhaci the leader of the Jiangzhou Jurchen got involved in the war. Nurhaci was furious at the Japanese for having carruied out raids into his domains, and offered his services to Court.Nurhaci brought with him some 40,000 horsemen who threatened to cut off the already overstretched Japanese supply lines and forced Nobunaga to withdraw back to the Korean peninsula where his forces had completely stamped out resistance. Nurhaci was provided with extensive weaponry and funds by Beijing who in the face of Nobunaga's retreat began moving troops and supplies to the south to crush the rebels who remained a major threat. Nurhaci quickly began acting independently of ming control harrassing Japanese positions, plundering the north of Joseon twice and even raiding Ming villages in an effort to procure more resources bringing him into direct conflict with Song whose complaints went unnoticed in Beijing. Furthermore Nurhaci would use the funds to increase his forces which he then used against the other Jurchen tribes.

The war had lead to a massive increase in taxes though the Japanese suffered far less from taxation problems then Ming did, thanks to Nobutada's refining of the taxation system set up by his father and expanded the red seal system which now traded as far south as Siam and the east indies making contact for the first time with Dutch and English merchants. Furthermore, Gwanghae's government was forced to share the pay of the Japanese war effort and some Koreans actually fought under the Japanese as mercenaries with these troops gaining the respect of their Japanese counterparts though the Koreans overall were looked upon as weak by the Japanese. Japanese piracy started up again along the Chinese coast aided by the Japanese navy and sometimes aided by European mercenaries and sailors.

Nobunaga was growing old and at this point dreamed of taking Beijing, However, he fell ill in 1599 following his return from the less then successful second Liaodong campaign. Showing little of the strategic and tactical brialliance shown in the past, Nobunaga's forces avoided destruction thanks to the efforts of Mori Hidemoto and Hashiba Hidekatsu (Nobunaga's son adopted by Hashiba Hideyoshi) who carried out rear action to prevent a collapse of japanese lines inflicting horid casualties on Nurhaci's forces in the process. This marked the end of Nobunaga's direct leadership, Nobutada realizing that the various daimyos were getting restless at the depletion of manpower and lack of compensation made an agreement with with them to end the war. With his father ill, Nobuntada could finally take over full control of the Japanese war effort as he had been relegated to managing the supply lines for his father and he sent out feelers to Nurhaci as the Wanli emperor refused to hear of anything other then the complete withdrawal of the Japanese from the continent and reparations with the Emperor becoming increasingly delusional and detached from the realities of the war as he left control of the country in the hands of the Eunuchs who began to fear the growing independence of the Jurchen warlord. Nurhaci himself tired of  fighting in a war with little compensation and sensing the growing weakness of the Ming court agreed to meet with the Japanese. Nobutada, Gwanghae and Nurhaci agreed to a truce and to begin formal negotiations in Hanseong. When news of the end of hostilities reached Beijing the Emperor and his court threw into a fit and demanded Nurhaci come to Beijing and answer to the Emperor. While Nobunaga was enraged at the peace he had already lost control of the government to his son who was the Shogun and of the army as his commanders had already switched alliegance to his son. Nobunaga would be forced to commit seppuku shortly afterward to preserve his honor in 1600. Nurhaci refused to go to Beijing and acting on his own accord proclaimed himself Khan of the late Jin, having secured the loyalty of several tribes though most remained hostile to him. Wanli  infuriated by this demanded that another army be sent to crush both the Jurchen and the Japanese The Chinese  scrapped together an army of 150,000 troops but this force was soundly defeated by Nurhaci's forces and took many defectors who had grown tired of the incompetance of Beijing sensing that Nurhaci was on the rise, bringing his forces to 100,000 strong. The eunuchs, knowing full well that Nurhaci would likely march south on Beijing instead, began amassing troops to defend against Ming's now rebellious vassal. Nurhaci signed the Treaty of Pyongyang in which Oda Nobutada, Prince Gwanghae and Nurhaci negotiated an end of hostilities between the Jurchen and the Japanese and recognized Gwanghae as the new King of Joseon which was now a tributary of the Japanese. Nobutada furthermore signed a trade agreement with Nurhaci and recognized his interest in Northern China as long as the Jurchen recognized Japanese interests in Korea. Gwanghae agreed to send thousands of artisans and craftsmen to Japan leading to a major rise in the quality of Japanese goods porcelain and silk in particular, as well as cede the Island of Jeju and the port of Busan to Japan.

Nobuaga's body was returned home and hailed as the great conqueror though the circumstances of his death were never disclosed fully disclosed. The influx of revenue from Korea helped offset the postwar costs of the new government as did profits from raids carried out on Chinese towns and and a daring inroad invasion of the Yangtze river were Japanese forces pushed inland raiding and pillaging the region before withdrawing. This would be the final major engagement of the First Sino-Japanese war as the Japanese lost interest in continuing the fight against the Chinese but would continue to raid the Chinese coastline for years to come. Nurhaci for his part would go on to conquer the rest of Manchuria over the next few years though he avoided marching against Beijing at the moment feeling the moment not quite right.

Challenges to and Consolidation of the Oda Shogunate: The Kirishitan Dilemma, and  War with Tokugawa
Following the death of Oda Nobunaga and the end of the Imjin war, Oda Nobutada had secured his hold over both the military and the government, along with having secured trade relations with the Manchu and a loyal vassal in King Gwanghae who depended on Japanese Support to retain power in Hanseong. The war had cost a lot and despite a rise in revenue from trade, tribute, and plunder, Nobutada was forced to increase taxation in order to cover the massive expenses incurred by the war started by his father. Several peasant uprisings and a revolt by some of the less than cooperative daimyos were brutally put down by Nobutada's ashigaru. Furthermore relations between Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Oda Nobutada soured immediately after their return to Japan. Ieyasu demanded greater influence and rewards in return for his service in Japan. Realizing that Tokugawa posed a major threat to his rule but also realizing that he needed to keep Tokugawa on his side brokered a deal with him granting Tokugawa control over the Kanto region which had been largely left to rot after the collapse of the Late Hojo while allowing him to retain control over his traditional base of power in Mikawa. This made Ieyasu the second most powerful man in Japan, as he set about moving his base of operations to the new region while his retainers continued to administer his lands to west.

For the next five years, there was peace allowing both Ieyasu, and Nobutada to build up their respective power bases. Nobutada continued many of his father's policies expanding the economy and reducing the autonomy of most of the Western Daimyos as well as tightening his grip on provinces his father had added to the Oda holdings. Much like his father, Nobutada was ruthless in dealing with insubordination, including forcing his own brother Nobukatsu who made a play for power to commit suicide in 1602. Furthermore Nobutada reduced his reliance on the samurai by expanding his usage of ashigaru through conscription all the while he carried efficient sword hunts. Nobutada made it increasingly hard for commoners to obtain weapons, specially firearms which had proven devastating in the wars of unification, and during the war on the continent which devastated the the forces of the Ming and Joseon.

The Nanban trade and red seal ships greatly expanded during this period thanks to Japan's overwhelming control of sea lanes in the Orient, though some issues started to arise with the kirishitan (Christian) communities that had developed in southern Japan, and with the missionaries who increasingly acted outside of the authority of Azuchi. During the 1590s Oda Nobutada had begun to distrust the Catholic priests his father had so eagerly supported to disrupt the power of the Buddhist orders. These fears were further exasperated by the stories of Spanish expansion in the name of God, and by Dutch, and British envoys who promised that they would limit their activities to trade and not to conduct missionary activities within Japan. Furthermore, the enslavement of Japanese people by Portuguese and Spanish slavers was frowned upon by Nobutada, and in 1603 a decree that restricted Nanban activites within Japan was issued including a ban on the enslavement of Japanese people, and limitations on the liberties of Catholic missionaries, and the Kirishitan community as a whole. Resistance was contemplated on the part of the Catholics but after Nobutada's violent show of force broke up an early gathering of rebels, the resistance to Oda control dissapated for the time being with the Kirishitan daimyos refusing to back the priests, and many within their own ranks realizing that open resistance to Oda would provoke a persecution that would prove devastating to Catholicism in Japan.

In 1605, after almost six years of peace between Tokugawa and Oda, things came to a head when Oda Nobutada demanded Ieyasu and his son come to Azuchi and apologize for perceived slights committed by his son Hidetada. Ieyasu refused realizing that things couldn't go on as they had, and that Nobutada was trying to completely eradicate anyone who could pose a threat to his rule. Tokugawa enlisting the help of many of the Eastern Daimyo who had grown tired Nobutada's heavy handed centralization of power. They openly declared Ieyasu Shogun on his clan's claimed ties to the old Minamoto clan, after Nobutada invaded Mikawa following Ieyasu's refusal to travel to Azuchi castle. this spark the Oda-Tokugawa war that would last until 1611 devastating much of Central and Eastern Japan. Tokugawa would succeed in scoring a number of victories early on taking Owari - the traditional homeland of the Oda clan - and killing Nobutada's heir Hidenobu, though Nobutada had other sons preventing a succession crisis. Tokugawa's fortunes would soon change however after Nobutada, assisted by Shimazu Yoshihiro,  and by Hashiba Yoshio a nephew of Nobutada, and the adopted grandson of Hishiba Hideyoshi one of the loyalist retainers of the Oda clan who repelled a Tokugawa siege of Azuchi in 1608. This was followed up by the Komaki campaign that saw the death of Ieyasu Tokugawa after his forces were encircled and destroyed by Nobutada's forces. following this turn of events leadership of the Tokugawa armies splintered after several daimyos defected to the Oda banner while Tokugawa Hidetada took command. The momentum gained during the first one-half of the conflict would never be regained however as Oda forces rapidly retook Owari followed by Mikawa, and all of central Japan. By 1610 all of the Tokugawa holdings except for Edo had falling to Oda forces while Nobutada's retainers, in particular Yoshiro, led the push north to pick off the remaining daimyos who one-by-one either capitulated or were wiped out by Oda forces.

Hidetada would eventually surrender to Nobutada in exchange for his family's survival and he commited sepukku ending the Tokugawa revolt, and utterly shattering the power of the Eastern Daimyos. Despite Nobutada's reservations he followed the advice of his retainers and spared the Tokugawa clan stripping them of their holdings and those of most of their allies and redestributing them amongst the Oda loyalists and amongst several of Tokugawa defectors such as Date Masamune. In the aftermath of the Tokugawa rebellion there wasn't anyone strong enough to resist the Oda Shogunate. Mikawa and the Kanto region were directly annexed to the Oda domain, while retainers who his father had displaced but proven loyalty had their domains restored such as the Chosubuke regained their domains. Nobutada furthermore restricted the amount of troops and castles each Daimyo was allowed to maintain. Many of the retainers of the defeated daimyo became ronin (lordless samurai) many of whom would go on to form the first bulk of a large wave of Japanese mercenaries, and communities that would flood East and South East Asia. To prevent any further unrest he greatly expanded the Jokamachi, including the construction of Osaka Castle to the protect the approach to Kyoto, and placed Edo under the control of Hashiba Yoshio to keep the northern daimyos in line as well as keep the Kanto region from becoming a threat to Kyoto's power again.

Nearing the end of his years Nobutada had his second son Oda Hidenori proclaimed Shogun by the Emperor in 1616 while he assumed the role of Ogosho (retired Shogun), which allowed for a smooth and uncontested succession while allowing for him to retain almost complete control over the government. He would pass away of health complications in 1618, and in his final years he would turn his eyes toward the Kirishitan after an emmisary of the king of Spain requested that Spain be allowed to build forts in Japan, greatly influencing Nobunori. Oda Nobunaga had unified Japan and opened up the doors of Japan to the outside world but it was his son who managed to weed out dissidence and bring about an end to the large scale fighting although he, like his father, employed brutal methods to do so.

Nurhaci's Ambitions and War with Ming
Nurhaci had rising from relative obscurity during the early 1590's had managed to amass a large army of Jurchen and Mongolian tribes during the war with Japan. In the Aftermatch of his defiance against the Ming court Nurhaci set about rapidly consolidating his rule over the rest of Jin (Manchuria) and Mongolia from his original base of power in Jiangzhou defeating a large coalition of tribes. Using his battle hardened men Nurhaci moved against the Yehe and Ula who had refused to submit to him. This was followed up by his rapid advances into eastern Mongolia  and Northern Manchuria between 1600-1612, forcing many of the defiant Mongol tribes to submity to his rule. This growth was watched with great concern by Berijing but little could be done as they were still busy dealing with revolts in Southern China that grew worse as time passed.

As his conquests grew so to did the size of his forces as Nurhaci for pragmatic reasons emphasized the common heritage of the Manchu and Mongolian people integrating the different tribes into a vast military and social structure. Nurhaci set about creating a new alphabet based on Mongolian Scripture. he also started building a new capital in the newly aquired territory of Liaoning building a palace for himself at Mukden (Shenyang). He greatly expanded agriculture mostly by kidnapping people from across the borders though he trated them better them well auiding in assimilation. Through trade with the Japanese and Europeans who were coming north in increasing number by the early 1610's The Jiangzhou and indeed all of Manchuria was exposed to the growing Nanban Trade. Unlike the japanese who had taken to the Nanban trade with great zeal Nurhaci continued to look south for ideas though he embraced foreign guns in large amounts specifically Japanese Tageshima guns after having seen the devastating effects of japanese volleys firsthand against his troops. ius reliance on firearms was also a great deal less then the Japanese due to the overwhelming number of cavalry under his command. Most of the forces who used guns were Chinese he conscripted or who defected from the crumbling Ming Dynasty. In 1613 he declared invaded Ming starting off the Jin conquest of China following the rebel successes against Ming forces in Southern China.

Following the end of hosilities between Ming and Japan in all but name in 1600, Beijing would continue to suffer setback to its rule as wokou pirates, and the japanese navy continued to plunder the Chinese coastline reducing much of the once rich areas to poverty and increasing the number of rebels in Southern China who became more organized as deserters returned home from the north and brought with them experience and weapons fropm the war with Japan. The rebels in the south were largely disorganized but do to heavy

Joseon under Gwanghae: Reconstruction and Hostilities with Nurhaci
Gwanghae was put in power by the his Japanese overlords and following the Treaty of Pyongyang he was formally recognized as king legally though his father and brothers continued to claim the throne from exile in Ming. He set about rebuilding the wartorn country placed under his leadership. Having been forced by the demands of the Japanese to help fund their war effort against the Chinese, Gwanghae had strweamlined and improved the tax system within his kingdom. Upon the finalization of the war he used this same system to fund the reconstruction of Joseon and to create a new royal army built on the painful lessons learbned during the Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation. The biggest obstacle Gwanghae faced during the immediate aftermath of the war was balancing the interests of the Japanese with the factional politics of his court.