Osaka Natsu No Jin: The Tabletop Battlefield

My wife recently visited for a couple of weeks, during which time we engaged in battle-playing Epoch's simulation　大阪夏の陣 (Osaka Natsu No Jin, or Siege Of Osaka in the Summer). It's a fairly accurate recreation of the Edo period conflict-the order of battle uses the actual forces of both sides, the map is highly detailed (more so than the recent GMT effort), and a playthrough helps to show why the battle unfolded as it did historically. We thought it would be fun to document the game and follow its progress turn by turn, so here it is with our comments on each phase. Randy is playing the tan Western army of Toyotomi Hideyori commanded by Sanada Yukimura, and Ayame is playing the red Eastern army of the Shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu (although Tokugawa Hidetada was Shogun and in nominal command). Osaka castle is the enclosed area to the far north with a Western army unit sitting on it. Yukimura's forces are clustered around Tenno-ji temple in the center and the Tokugawa forces are scattered to the south.

Turn 1

Randy: The initial situation is pretty balanced (unlike the actual historical situation). While I have 2 fewer units than the Tokugawa, I get to make the intial strike and I have the advantage of my powerful units being gathered into a potent strike force rather than scattered. I also have Akashi's unit lurking off to the west ready to enter on a future turn. My strategy is to take out as many exposed Tokugawa units on turn 1 as possible before Ayame has a chance to group them for a defence, and hopefully thin them out enough to go after Ieyasu (killing him all but guarantees a win-alternately, I can kill the 3 Tokugawa units under Hidetada's command to the east). Since her ultimate goal is to invade the San-no-maru and take the castle keep, I need to keep a couple of units back there in case she tries to slip a unit past my main force for an easy win-this further weakens my main force, so I need to get good results on turn 1.

Ayame: Randy is an experienced game player so I do not think I will be able to enter into the castle area unless he loses many units early. I will try to sacrifice my front line units in order to acquire time for my remaining force to gather into a strong defensive line. My powerful units such as Date and Maeda are very slow so it is important for the smaller forces to 'die gloriously in battle' and give them time to protect Ieyasu, who I will not risk in battle. I will then try try to eliminate three of his four 'Yukimura' units which will earn me a large amount of 'victory points'. I do not know which of the 4 'Sanada' units is Yukimura. Until Randy decides to reveal them and show the reverse values, I will avoid attacking them.

Turn 2

Randy: My initial assault turned out great-I took down three Tokugawa units (including powerhouse Maeda on my left) without losing any of my own or exposing Yukimura. I was fortunate in that I left my spearhead exposed but Ayame's follow-up response crapped out. I'm setting up an assault down the Western road in conjunction with Akashi's appearance as well, which should pretty much take care of any thoughts Ayame might have of advancing on the castle. With a little luck, I'll be planting my spear in Ieyasu by turn 5.

Ayame: The Gods were not with me this turn. I had hoped not to expose Hidetada's force in battle but it will now be necessary as my counterattacks achieved no result.

Turn 3

Randy: Things didn't go so well this turn. I ran into some bad exchanges which cost me three units and Ayame two. Akashi showed up but since Date has planted himself in the way, I won't risk my western road assault. I did move my unit from the far northwest to the base of the San-no-maru since if things go badly on my left flank Ayame might be able to send Hidetada's force north.

Ayame: Randy's momentum has been stopped. The middle of my line is still weak, but the menace of Hidetada on the right could keep Randy from pressing on. I still do not know where Yukimura is and have not destroyed any of his four units.

Turn 4

Randy: Yikes! A whole lot of killing went on this turn. I lost six units, including one of Yukimura's units (but not Yukimura, who is still hidden). The Tokugawa lost five, including one of Hidetada's command-while killing Ieyasu looks impossible at this point, I might be able to get Hidetada's remaining two units. I now have fewer units at the front line than Ayame, although mine are overall more powerful. However, any rash move here will thin my line to the point where she can slip through to the castle. If this were a real battle I'd fall back, bring up my reserves from the castle, hope she pursued and pick off the vanguard, and then strike for Ieyasu with everything left. But since it's a game and I'm ahead on points, I'll just pull back and avoid battle as much as possible.

Ayame: While Randy's army is now very depleted, his remaining units are mighty and he has wisely managed still to keep Yukimura hidden. I will fall back into a tough line and hope that he does something stupid.

Turn 5-Last Turn


Randy: Stupid? Moi? Not going to happen, since I'm ahead. Ayame still has some tough units in Date and Hidetada. We each lost a unit last turn. I'll fall back some more and expose one unit, which will likely lure Ayame into series of ZOC induced battles that are not to her advantage. She needs to attack and kill off at least two of my units without losing any to win.

Ayame: I will have to assault Randy's position in order to draw or emerge victorious. I will attempt to make a high odds assault against his open unit and then see what happens. If this were real life and there were more turns, I am sure I would be able to take the castle as his forward forces are depleted. But in game terms, I am in trouble.

End Game

Ayame's last assault ended in a simple attacker retreat.
Neither one of us completed the conditions that would have almost guaranteed victory. For Ayame, getting a unit into the Osaka Castle San-no-maru-10 points. Taking the castle keep OR killing three of the four Sanada units, 50 points. For Randy, killing Ieyasu OR all 3 of Hidetada's units-60 points.
Instead, we tally up the victory points for each enemy unit destroyed. Each unit has a different value according to size and the importance of the commander, ranging from 8 for Shogun Hidetada and 6 for Sanada Yukimura to 2 for scrubs like Asano (Ieyasu has no point value since you get an automatic 60 for killing him).
The final tally is-Randy 32, Ayame 26. Although the game doesn't have different levels of victory, I would put this as a Toyotomi marginal victory. In historical terms, Ieyasu would likely just wait for more of his units to reach Osaka and wipe out the Toyotomi next week instead of today.

Final Thoughts

Randy: My initial assault pretty much was the difference here. It took away any possibility of a strong counteroffensive and allowed me to survive the turn 4 bloodbath. Ayame fought well and Ieyasu was never in danger.

Ayame: My losses on turn one proved to be too much to overcome. Losing Maeda was unfortunate as it unhinged my entire right flank. Randy played a careful game after that. He kept Yukimura hidden and did not do anything foolish I could exploit. If we played again, I would make more of an assault on the castle with my forces on the right.

This replay turned out to mirror the historical outcome closely-an overwhelming early assault by the massed Sanada forces against scattered Tokugawa contigents which lost its impetus as the Tokugawa brought up their vast reinforcements. If a couple of more turns had been added, it's possible that the Toyotomi army would have disintegrated as it did in real life. For more on the battle, an easily available source for most Westerners in Japanese is 新歴史群像 #2: 真田幸村と大阪の陣:Shin Rekishi Gunzou #2: Sanada Yukimura & The Siege Of Osaka. In English, try Stephen Turnbull's Osaka 1615: The Last Battle Of The Samurai. It's one of Turnbull's better efforts and an excellent account of both the Winter and Summer campaigns, including all the small battles that ran before the primary engagements.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum’s Perry-Harris Exhibition: A Holistic Approach to Curing Insomnia

Josh Badgley and I went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum to the special exhibition on Commodore Matthew C. Perry and Townsend Harris and their roles in the opening of Japan in the 1850s. What can we say? We expected to have a rewarding experience learning about the beginning of the Bakumatsu period, but instead learned that is possible to fall asleep while standing on one's own two feet!

The Bakumatsu Nippon exhibition at the tiny Japan Tobacco and Salt Museum (in Shibuya ward, Tokyo) earlier in 2008 proved to be a giant of an exhibit compared to what the Edo-Tokyo Museum offered. The Tobacco and Salt Museum’s exhibition skillfully weaved the arrival of Perry and Harris into the tapestry of the Bakumatsu period by showing the impact the opening of Japan had on the country’s politics, society and culture. Josh and I felt that Edo-Tokyo Museum’s exhibition was disjointed and none of the main exhibits stood out and caught our attention other than a tremendous amount of portraits of Perry and other westerners that reminded us of a “study in grotesque”. Some of the Japanese portraits of Perry and Adams are famous and deserve to be shown, but perhaps this exhibit went a little overboard.

A lot of the items on display were also used in the Japan Tobacco and Salt Museum’s Bakumatsu Japan exhibit. Some of these recycled objects, however, were of interest and included original manuscripts, replicas of the Japanese sweets that were presented to the American consulate in Shimoda, a replica haori that was made for Harris that contains an American eagle mon. “Original” items on display that caught our interest was a telegraph machine that was presented to the Japanese by Perry, various things that Perry brought back from Japan that are now a part of the Smithsonian’s collection, as well as scale models of American and Japanese ships as and a model of the steam-powered miniature train that Perry gave to the Japanese.

The exhibit did touch briefly upon the plight of the hapless Okichi, Harris’s Japanese mistress, as well as the 1860 assassination of Henry Heusken, Harris’s Dutch born translator. We would have liked to have seen more on the sonnō jōi movement as a reaction to the American-led opening of Japan, but what we wanted to see and what we saw were different things! The exhibit also contains mementos, photos and copies of news reports covering the first official diplomatic embassy of Japan to the US, which may interest those who had never seen those items before, but it was “seen it, done it. Whoopee do!” As we left the exhibition, the main point of conversation between us centered on penmanship, of all things. Josh and I marveled at Perry’s beautiful copperplate handwriting. Harris also had nice penmanship, but we thought Perry’s was better. You know an exhibition was bad if all you could really marvel about is penmanship!

In summary, the Edo-Tokyo Museum could have done a lot better in terms of presenting the exhibits they had and tying Perry and Harris into the larger Bakumatsu picture. “Boring” is the one word that really comes to mind. But then again, you also know you’re in for a less than optimal experience when as soon as you walk into the exhibition’s entrance, you are approached by a sixty-something year-old Japanese woman and told that you look like Commodore Perry. Based on the portraits of him that were on display, this was most unflattering. “Gee, thanks, lady. And, oh, by the way, you look like the p*ss boy.”

“Oui Oui, monsieur?”

Fourth Annual Samurai Fiction Contest

The Fourth Annual Samurai Fiction Contest has now kicked off. This short story contest has been run annually since 2005, and has produced some gems. Details for entering can be found here.

Here are the past winners:

2005

• Stray Dogs by Nina Boal
• Sakuradamongai no Hen by Joseph Ryan (Honorable Mention)

2006

• Gaki by Jesse Workman
• The Faithful by Nina Boal (Runner Up)
• Massugu by Andy Lowe (Honorable Mention)

2007

• Intruder by Nate Ledbetter (Winner and Best Ending)
  
• magni nominus umbra by Jesse Workman (Second Place and Most Original)
• The Matsudaira Plot by Nina Boal (Third Place and Best Writing)
• The Snow-Light Warrior by Jason Kemp (Best Dialogue)

All of the past entries and winners can be found at this link.

There is no fee to enter the contest, and up to two entries per person are permitted.

Timeline:
Deadline for fiction submission: 7/15/2008
Judging starts: 7/20/2008
Judging ends: 8/01/2008 or until necessary
Winner to be announced after judging.

Timelines are subject to change.

Participants agree to have thier stories diplayed on that Samurai Archives after the contest has finished. Participants will retain all rights to thier work, and will be credited for thier work on the site.

More Turnbull: Japanese Castles AD 250-1540

Well, Stephen Turnbull is nothing if not prolific. Only a week or so after the release of his latest book (The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War), he’s hit the stands with another tome-Japanese Castles AD 250-1540. It’s published by Osprey and despite its brevity (the standard Osprey 64 pages, over half of which are diagrams and illustrations) is an excellent effort by Turnbull.

The book delves into the history of Japanese fortifications before the age of the monster castles in the sixteenth century, a subject which has received little attention in English publications (since, obviously, only ruins and reconstructions remain of them). Despite the book’s title, it examines palaces and defensive works as well as castles. The development of fortifications is traced from early Yayoi period fortified settlements through Korean style fortresses of the Yamato state and the crude early Japanese style forts of the Heian age. Castles from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods are examined, and their development is brought up to the beginning of the ‘castle town’ era of the Sengoku (as embodied in the Asakura’s Ichijodani). Turnbull also examines the day to day life within the structures as well as the roles that some played in history. There’s also a short section on castle sites from these eras that can be visited today. Although Turnbull’s bibliography only contains one Japanese source, the English works he uses are impressive, solid, scholarly efforts by well respected authors. Our pal Obenjo Kusanosuke will no doubt want to check out Matsui Akira’s “Palaeoparasitology in Japan-Discovery of Toilet Features”!

The book is also valuable for its plethora of photos and illustrations. Turnbull has taken many nice photos of buildings and structures from reconstructed fortresses, and the book works well as an informal visual reference to the architecture of the times-well worth the cheap cover price just for this. The color artwork plates have been prepared by illustrator Peter Dennis, and are very well done, crisp renditions of the structures as they would have appeared in their own time. They’re a big upgrade over some of the rather murky representations done in some of Turnbull’s other books by different artists.

Overall, Japanese Castles AD 250-1540 continues the trend Turnbull has displayed the last couple of years-that of better and more detailed research resulting in more original works, yet still suited to a general readership. Combined with his three earlier volumes on Sengoku and Edo period castles (Japanese Castles 1540-1640), Japanese Fortified Temples and Monasteries, and Japanese Castles in Korea 1592-1598, they comprise a low cost set of books that will give their readers a solid overview of pre-modern Japanese fortifications.

In more Turnbull news, it's been announced that he is releasing Real Ninja: Over 20 True Stories of Seafaring Sculduggery in September for the kids. Seemingly a combination of ninja and pirates, it looks like REAL ULTIMATE POWER is being served up for the next generation of Japanese historians.

Maeda Keiji, Stephen Hayes, and The Last Samurai: Pop Culture’s Impact On Historical Studies

One of the best features of the Samurai Archives Citadel is that it’s designed to be inclusive. Virtually anyone with an interest in pre-20th century Japanese history can fit in comfortably there. There are a lot of sites that take up positions at either end of the spectrum-ranging from hardcore academic lists such as PMJS (Pre-Modern Japanese Studies) to historically bereft video game, martial arts, and movie boards. The Citadel can accommodate the members of both. This lets the members with a greater degree of historical knowledge have a place to enjoy themselves with off-the-wall topics, while allowing ‘entry level historians’ a venue to get a firm grounding in ‘real’ history. The dual nature of the Citadel is reflected by the Samurai Wiki (an online source which is recommended to students by many University professors and high school teachers) and the 10 Common Samurai Misconceptions, a section which all new members are encouraged to read. As might be imagined, occasionally the newer members put forth arguments and positions that they support with baggage from their initial interests-be it video games, manga, anime, chambara, martial arts, or half-baked philosophy books. Usually, these musings fall into one of several pop culture categories:

1. The Modern Sammyrai-would be modern day followers of Bushido and the tenets of the Hagakure, pledging to live their lives by the way of the sword in an honorable manner.
2. Ninjer-see above, but substitute ‘ninja’ for ‘samurai’. These people believe the outrageous claims and false histories given by such ‘masters’ as Ashida Kim and Stephen Hayes.
3. Christian Sammyrai-those who place an inordinately large focus on Christian Samurai, and greatly overestimate the impact they had on Sengoku Japan.
4. Gamers-whether tabletop or video, gamers sometimes display an obsessive need to have everything neatly categorized, and show blind faith in the historical accuracy of their favorite pastimes. This can be seen most readily in the person of Maeda Keiji, a very minor samurai whose major claim to fame was being related to Maeda Toshiie-but a character that is regarded by many gamers as being one of the most significant figures of the age due to being portrayed as such in the ‘Sengoku Musou’ video game series.
5. Manga, Anime, and Other Fiction-much like video gamers, they can get too caught up in fictional worlds and believe that these works truly present things the way they were. The Shinsengumi (a group which is fascinating on its own merits) is a favorite topic for wild enhancement and crazy speculation.
6. Jidai-geki programming-a particularly virulent strain of misinformation-situations, objects, and personages glimpsed in chambara films and period dramas are quoted as facts when discussing historical events. The television miniseries ‘James Clavell’s Shogun’ and the film ‘The Last Samurai’ are likely the most notorious examples of this.

Of course, this doesn’t mean just because a person reads manga, watches samurai movies, practices Japanese martial arts, or plays video games that they can’t also have a solid base in historical knowledge-many of the most well versed Citadel members have a major interest in these fields. However, when some nonsensical thread shows up authored by a person who will defend their position to the death, it usually sprouts from one of the pop culture influences listed above-usually leaving the regular members wondering if having an inclusive site is a such a great idea after all. This begs the question-does pop culture have a valid role in aiding the study of history? Specifically, does popular entertainment bring any value to the field of pre-20th century Japanese history?
There’s a strong precedent of pop culture coloring the world of Japanese history. Many would be surprised to learn that much of what we accept as Japanese history in the West is actually pop culture. Edo period playwrights, novelists, musicians, and artists all produced fanciful works that over time became accepted as the truth. Early Western historians drew heavily on these sources and presented them as fact. Perhaps the best example of this is the story of The 47 Ronin, where virtually everything one can read on the subject in the West is based on a puppet play, kabuki drama, or novel. Only in the last five years or so have Western scholars taken a serious look at the event, disregarding secondary sources and attempting to reconstruct the event with contemporary accounts. The state of modern scholarship in the West is excellent-with copying machines, faxes, and the internet all aiding in making primary sources and rare documents readily available to scholars all over the world. However, general histories and surveys still rely primarily on decades old work. The majority of popular samurai author Stephen Turnbull’s works have been based on secondary Edo period manuscripts that discuss Sengoku and earlier events (to his credit, Turnbull’s research has become increasingly involved as better sources have become more accessible). Even in Japan, works produced for the general public such as the Rekishi Gunzou series rely heavily on Edo and Meiji period works for their information-and that information can be as misleading and false as anything found in the mythical war tales of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Here, it becomes obvious that pop culture was ingrained into Japanese history long before Western historians took an interest in it.
Moving along to modern pop culture, there are rare examples of it that actually do interject a learning element into their presentations. In the yearly NHK Taiga dramas, there are short segments at the beginning and end of the presentations giving historical background to the goings-on. A popular subgenre of video gaming that is beginning to show up in Japan involves historical quiz programs that are presented in the form of a game (there are current efforts touching on the Sengoku and Edo eras and beyond, with an emphasis on the arts, politics, and personalities). Video game publisher Koei (Sengoku Musou, Nobunaga No Yabou, Kessen, etc) is known for including extensive historical dictionaries, factual biographies, period artwork, and other features that are designed to show gamers the historical truth behind the fantasy. The video game Yoshitsune Eiyuden Shura has a huge historical section that would easily be the equal of any introductory college text. Many movie releases on DVD have extras on the discs that delve into the events or time period that the film covers (although many times these are also sensationalized and somewhat inaccurate accounts, such as the extras on The Last Samurai DVD). Animeigo’s Samurai Cinema label included historical liner notes with VHS releases, which now are included on the DVD itself. Some manga and anime releases follow these examples as well. Tabletop gaming (or computer simulations) is perhaps the most serious source of historical information among popular entertainment. Some releases are more along the lines of simulations than actual games. They feature meticulously researched maps, unit counters, and rules that cover practically every facet of period warfare. I t could be argued that playing one of these efforts would teach more about the nature of samurai warfare on a tactical level (including the importance and difficulties of command and supply) than would a book covering the same subject. Note that we’re not talking efforts such as Samurai Swords (Milton Bradley) or Shogun: Total War (Electronic Arts), both of which feature healthy doses of fantasy to make for a more exciting gameplay experience. Rather, we’re talking more about products like GMT’s RAN game, the Takeda series of PC games, and any number of Japanese tabletop simulations such as those published in Game Journal and Command Magazine Japan. One interesting facet of this historical element embedded in pop culture is that many Japanese products that are translated into English ‘lose’ this element. Koei games released in the United States routinely do not include the historical dictionaries. Taiga dramas many times drop the ending historical bumpers. This may be because it is believed that the users of these products overseas are only interested in the entertainment value and will have no real interest in Japanese history, or as a cost cutting/revenue producing measure (not having to pay for someone to translate the dictionary, or using the time gained from cutting the bumpers for extra commercials).
So it seems that there is a minimal learning value imbedded in many sources of ‘samurai pop culture’. However, I believe their real value lies in instilling a desire to learn more about Japanese history and culture. For all the misconceptions, falsehoods, and brutal misuse of the Japanese language in James Clavell’s Shogun (either the novel or miniseries), it has probably been more influential in turning Westerners towards a serious study of Japanese history than any other work. The Last Samurai, an excellent action film which is rife with historical inaccuracies, has had a similar effect. Martial arts, anime, manga, video games-at some point, most every user of these will become curious and want to learn more about the truths that lie behind them. While many don’t like the answers they find and prefer to remain with their dearly held illusions (usually martial artists that can’t believe their dojo doesn’t really have a 1000 year old history, or that the ninja techniques they use have all been invented in the last 20 years), others go on to develop a solid grounding in many areas of Japanese history-be it political, military, cultural, or economic. Films, games, and other works of fiction are also excellent jumping off points, introducing new avenues to explore and questions to be answered. The planned ‘Samurai 101’ forum on the Samurai Archives hopes to help many of the curiosity seekers and newbie historians along as they make the transition from fantasy to serious study.
There is a place for pop culture in the world of academia. Used correctly, these fonts of entertainment can not only impart rudimentary facts and information but also help guide their users to more involved and appropriate sources. Rather than incurring scorn and ridicule, they should be seen as a tool in stimulating an interest in Japanese history. Judging from the fact that there are far, far more people involved in the study of Chinese history than Japanese, this can only serve to bring some much needed fresh blood into the field. While it can be frustrating for long-time forum members to see neophytes extol the virtues of Bushido, haggle over who would win in a fight (samurai vs. ninja/knight/professional wrestler/etc), or claim to be harboring centuries old ninja secrets, just remember: we all had to start somewhere, and it was probably at a point just as ridiculous. Now you’ll have to excuse me-I’m going for Izumo Okuni’s 5th weapon in Sengoku Musou, and that fringed parasol is proving to be tough to get…

Trip to Kyoto

I am currently in Kyoto. I will have to follow up this post with pictures later, since I can't upload them from this hotel computer. I spent some time at Mibu temple, the site of Serizawa Kamo and Hirayama Goro's graves, and a large stone bust of Kondo Isami. Next door is the Yagi residence, where the Shinsengumi lived for a time. I walked through the room that Serizawa and Hirayama were sleeping in when they were attacked, and touched the desk that Serizawa fell over dead on. Didn't notice any blood stains though.

Before that, I had went to Nijo castle and walked the grounds. That was my second or third time there, but it is still interesting. For the first time I went to the grounds of the Kyoto imperial palace. I didn't actually get inside the palace itself, but the grounds are huge. They take up quite a large portion of the city center.

I also went to the Kamo river, to Sanjo bridge, the site of various events such as the Sanjo Seisatsu incident, and the location that Kondo Isami's head was displayed. I also had the misfortune to have a pizza-man (round cake thing with pizza filling) torn from my hands by a hungry hawk by the riverbank - something I was definitely not expecting. I still have a nice cut on my right hand from it. On my way back, I stumbled on the gravesite of Toyotomi Hidetsugu, and 46 of his vassals slain by Hideyoshi in 1595.

Took a trip to Higashi and Nishi Honganji, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Both temples look the same, and there isn't a lot to see.

Today I went to Kodai-ji, and visited Kitamandokoro's (One/Nene) gravesite. Also went to the Shishi graveyard nearby, and visited Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro's graves, as well as Kido Takayoshi, and four or five dozen slain Choshu and Tosa men, killed during everything from the Sakuradamon no hen to the Ikedaya Incident. The entire area around Kodai-ji has a very Kyoto-ish feel to it, with Jinrikisha men carting around Geisha, Maiko, tourists, and various Kimono-adorned women. There is also a giant fake Buddha statue thing between Kodai-ji and the Shishi graveyard. Not sure what it is, and I didn't really want to pay the money to find out.