The Battle of Sekigahara

 April 16, 2025 Wednesday
Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum

We started our morning with a fun breakfast with tour members we were getting to know.

There was a fun variety of food we don't normally get to eat.

Hmmm... donuts? 

And always... there was a lot of green salad which we were enjoying.

Before we left the hotel, Art did some exploring and walked to the Nagahama Castle which was built by Toyotomi, Hideyoshi. He was a samurai and daimyo (feudal lord). 

 

Phyllis and I had our photo taken together.

And there's the photo of us in 2018. 

It was so much fun being together again on a tour.

Our first stop was Sekigahara. There was a huge museum telling the history of this terrible battle. We even had photos taken with their computer.

Wikipedia:

The Battle of Sekigahara (Sekigahara no Tatakai) was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period.

This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa, Ieyasu against a coalition loyal to the Toyotomi clan, led by Ishida Mitsunari on behalf of the young child Toyotomi, Hideyori, from which several commanders defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important.

The western army led by Ishida, Mistunari had 81,890 soldiers. 8,000 to 32,000 warriors were killed.

The Eastern army led by Tokugawa, Ieyasu had 88,888 soldiers at the time of battle. They lost  between 4,000  to 10,000 warriors.

The horrific battle lasted 6 hours. 

The result of this battle was the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan for 2 and a half centuries until 1868.

I'm noticing the guys were the ones who carefully checked out all the weapons.

Mom told us many times of the Battle of Sekigahara when we were growing up, but I guess my brother and I were studying the Civil War more than the history of Japan. However, as we wandered through the museum and saw clearly the reality of it, the battle became more real.

At these windows, important spots during the battle were pointed out. I could almost imagine the 6 hours of horror that transpired in this small area. 

And yet, 2 1/2 centuries of peace followed.

We then headed toward Komagane Heights, stopping along the way to see this weeping cherry tree. When I texted the photo on the left to my daughter, she sent this photo to me from their house.

OK, I was impressed. I do remember what those glorious 2-3 weeks of spring in Illinois was like. 😂