Tensho Iga Rebellion (1/2)What is the outcome of the fierce battle between the Oda army and the Iga ninja?

Ninjas lurk in enemy camps to gather information, set traps, and sometimes assassinate their enemies in the darkness. The Tensho Iga Rebellion was the time when these ninjas, who usually don't appear in public, clashed with the Oda army. It was the only large-scale battle in the Sengoku period where samurai and ninjas faced off directly, and the novel "Ninja no Kuni" written by Ryu Wada based on the Tensho Iga Rebellion was made into a movie starring Satoshi Ohno in 2017. This time, we will explain the Tensho Iga Rebellion in an easy-to-understand way.

What is the Tensho Iga Rebellion?

The Tensho Iga War is the collective name for two battles fought in Iga Province (northern Mie Prefecture) between the Oda clan and the Iga-shu, a group of Iga ninjas and local samurai. The battle from 1578 to 1579 is known as the First Tensho Iga War, in which Oda Nobunaga's son Nobukatsu, who attempted to pacify Iga, was defeated by the Iga-shu. The Second Tensho Iga War then broke out in 1581, when Oda Nobunaga led a large army and attacked the Iga-shu, leaving Iga in a state of ruin.

What kind of place is Iga?

Iga Province, where the rebellion took place, corresponds to present-day Iga City and Nabari City in Mie Prefecture. It is a basin surrounded by steep mountains, and has been valued as a transportation hub connecting Ise with Nara and Kyoto since ancient times.

The history of ninjas is long, and from ancient times to the Middle Ages, they were manors (territories) such as Todaiji Temple in Nara, but gradually the power of local feudal lords and local samurai (powerful village headmen) grew stronger, and small forces sprang up all over the country. It was difficult for a large force to unify them, and as skirmishes became increasingly sophisticated, it seems that ninjas, skilled in information gathering and guerilla warfare, were developed.

Also, because it was surrounded by mountains, it seems that it functioned as a hidden village, and ninjutsu was learned from information brought by samurai and court nobles who had been driven away by the central government, and from interactions with Shugenja who practiced in the mountains. Unique technologies such as these were born.

After the Muromachi period, the Iga Niki clan served as the Iga Shugo, but they did not have very strong control and the local samurai continued to maintain autonomy.

Autonomy through the Iga Sokoku Uprising

During the Sengoku period, the Iga clan banded together to establish an organization called the "Iga Sokoku Ikki" to protect their own rights, such as autonomous water rights. They unified Iga Province as a self-governing community with a strong consensus system consisting of 12 representatives from each village. Incidentally, while the word "ikki" brings to mind the image of an armed uprising by peasants, its original meaning was to come together in unity to solve a problem, and it referred to the group formed for that purpose and the struggle that ensued.

The Iga Sokoku Uprising had 11 rules. The main commandments are as follows.

• Everyone working together to defend against invasions from other countries
• When there is a report of an invasion, ring the village bell and participate in the war by bringing troops, arrows, and shields.
• Those between the ages of 17 and 50 are required to participate in the battle, and if they are going to fight for a long period of time, they must form a team and take turns.
• To make the people of each village write a petition and swear obedience.
• Loyal people can become samurai even if they are peasants.
• Subjugate traitors and confiscate their territory.
• Do not divide your group and do not be violent with each other inside the camp.
• We will be joining forces with Koga, so we will have a meeting with Koga soon.

Looking at this, it seems that it functioned as a military rule in times of emergency. We also learn that he had interactions with the ninjas of neighboring Koga District (Shiga Prefecture), who are often treated as Iga's enemy forces in novels.

By the way, the way ninjas serve in Iga and Koka is different. The ninjas of Iga were like mercenaries who served various warlords, and it is said that they sometimes split up and fought against each other. Meanwhile, the ninjas of Koga used to serve the Rokkaku clan, but when the Rokkaku clan was destroyed by Nobunaga, they began to serve Nobunaga.

Ninjas of Iga

Among the 12 representatives of the Iga Sokoku Ikki, the most famous Iga ninjas are the Hattori family, the Momochi family, and the Fujibayashi family, known as the ``three Jonin families.'' From the Hattori family, Hattori Masashige (Hattori Hanzo) serves Tokugawa Ieyasu. Although he was actually more of a warlord than a ninja, he is known for commanding many ninjas under Ieyasu. Masanari Hattori is sometimes called the ``Iga's three top ninja'' along with Momochi Tanba of the Momochi family and Fujibayashi Nagato no kami of the Fujibayashi family.

First Tensho Iga Rebellion ~Oda Nobuo attacks Iga on his own initiative~

The introduction has become long, but I will finally explain the First Tensho Iga Rebellion.

The First Tensho Iga War was a battle in which Oda Nobunaga's second son, Oda Nobukatsu, attacked Iga Province. At the time, Nobukatsu was the adopted son of Kitabatake Tomofusa (more precisely, Kitabatake Nobukatsu). This was because in 1567, Nobunaga attacked the Kitabatake clan, which controlled southern Ise, in order to gain control of Ise, and adopted his second son as a condition for peace. By adopting him, the aim was to bring the Kitabatake clan under the control of the Oda clan from within. In fact, Nobukatsu later married Kitabatake Tomofusa's daughter, succeeded the Kitabatake clan, and assassinated other members of the Kitabatake clan to gain control of Ise.

After Ise, Iga was next, but in 1578, Heibei Shimoyama, the lord of Hinachi Castle in Iga Province, betrayed the Iga clan and offered guidance to Iga Province. Upon receiving this, Nobuo ordered his subordinate Yutoshi Takigawa to plan an attack on Iga, using Maruyama Castle as a base. To that end, they began rebuilding Maruyama Castle, but when the Iga clan led by Momochi Tamba and Ueda Mitsutsugu learned of this, they immediately held a council meeting to devise countermeasures. Using Muryojufukuji as their base, soldiers led by Tobei Momota of the Iga Twelve members launched a surprise attack on the castle and burned it down. As a result, Yutoshi Takigawa and his friends abandoned the castle and fled back to Ise.

Recovering honor? Dispatched troops without Nobunaga's permission

In September of the following year, 1579 (Tensho 7), Nobukatsu led about 10,000 soldiers and invaded Iga. He attacked Iga from three sides, including the Ise entrance. He carried out this battle on his own initiative without reporting it to Nobunaga, but once again, the Iga clan ended up victorious. The reason for Nobukatsu's defeat was that he was unable to keep up with the Iga clan's specialty of guerilla warfare. Nobukatsu's forces were defeated and fled, helpless against the night attacks, distraction tactics, and surprise attacks by the Iga clan, who knew the land inside and out. Furthermore, Nobukatsu lost his senior vassal Tsuge Yasushige at the hands of Ueda Mitsutsugu of the Iga clan.

When Nobunaga heard this, he was furious! According to "Nobunaga Koki," a record of Nobunaga's life written by Ota Ushiichi, he severely reprimanded Nobukatsu, calling it "unspeakable," and sent him a letter informing him that he was cutting off all ties with his father. For Nobunaga, who aimed to unify the country, the loss of his vassal, especially his second son, would have meant a loss of prestige, so it's no wonder he was angry.

Although it was his son's own decision, Nobunaga was defeated by Iga. I would like to take revenge immediately, but from 1986 to 1970, we were in the middle of the third siege of Nobunaga, and we were in the middle of a battle with the Mori clan and Ishiyama Honganji Temple. It seems like they can't afford to mess with Iga, so they leave Iga alone for a while.

Second Tensho Iga Rebellion ~Nobunaga's Retaliation Battle~

With the fall of Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple in 1580, the siege of Nobunaga was almost completely broken. The following year, in 1581, Oda Nobunaga finally began his attack on Iga. It all started with the collusion of Iga-shu members Fukuchi Isumunetaka and Mimisu Tomoe, who offered to guide Nobunaga in his attack on Iga.