Aichi,home of the Military Leaders Who Unified the Nation
From 1467 to 1568,medieval Japan went through a turbulent period of perpetual
civil
war.The period,later called the Sengoku or Warring States Period,was the time of
Gekokujo(the overturning of those on top by those below):Powerful local
lords
displaced the military governors appointed by the Muromachi Shogunate and
fought
each other for hegemony.It was this period that was depicted in such classic
Japanese
films as Mizoguchi's Ugetsu Monogatari,Kurosawa's The seven Samurai and
Kagemusya:
TheShadow Warrior,and many others.After 100 years of strife,the country was
reunified by three hegemons.
Oda Nobunaga,Toyotomi Hideyoshi,and Tokugawa Ieyasu-All three were born
in present
day Aichi Prefecture.They were born either as a minor local chieftain or son of a
peasant. The work for the reunification of the country,started by Nobunaga,was
carried on by Hideyoshi and completed by Ieyasu,who founded the Tokugawa
Shogunate that led to Japan's early modern times.
Following their master's struggle for hegemony,retainers and descendants of the
three built castles and beautiful castle towns across the country. You
will find names
of generals and daimyos who had connection with our prefecture Aichi.
