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[warriors clamoring]
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[screams in agony]
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[grunts]
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[screams in agony]
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[opening theme plays]
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[narrator] 1551. Japan is in chaos.
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After centuries of rule, the central
government has lost control...
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and the nation has been plunged
into a brutal civil war.
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Anarchy reigns
as heavily armed warlords called daimyo
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fight for power and territory.
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In the small province of Owari,
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in an unremarkable clan
known as the Oda,
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one unlikely samurai is about to launch
a blood-soaked campaign
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that will put thousands to the sword
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and set the course of Japanese history
for the next 300 years.
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[monk chanting]
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The big event in 1551 for the Oda family
was the death of the great Oda Nobuhide.
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[monk continues chanting]
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[in Japanese] When Nobuhide passed away,
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the Oda family came apart at once.
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You will never lead this clan!
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[in English] Death, a lord's passing,
was the ultimate moment of crisis
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in any domain, in any clan.
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[monk continues chanting]
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[Spafford] We tend to think of a clan
as a family,
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but it's not a family
the way we understand it.
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It has a central core of kin,
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brothers who may all be vying
for a position, but also,
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it has the housemen, the retainers,
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the in-laws. And so, you have factions.
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And it's the moment
in which the factions test their force.
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[Auslin] Another problem for the Oda clan
is they were relatively small,
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and they were surrounded
by much larger clans.
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So they had to be much more
strategically oriented
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and think much more carefully
about how they would survive
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if they were small fish
positioned between whales.
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[Turnbull] Because the Oda family
was in a very dangerous situation,
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Oda Nobuhide surprised a lot of his family
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by choosing as his heir
his eldest son, Oda Nobunaga...
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who, for various reasons,
was not very popular.
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There was grave dissension among
the brothers and cousins of Nobunaga,
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and there were rather a lot of them.
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They all thought that they would do
a better job than young Nobunaga.
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[in English] Nobunaga's behavior
at his father's funeral added
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to the contempt that many
of his relatives already had for him,
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because instead of adopting
a suitably mournful attitude,
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he took a handful of incense
and threw it onto the altar.
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[bowl clatters]
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[in Japanese] You fool!
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-[grunts]
-[Nobunaga growls]
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[Turnbull] Nobunaga was known
for his ability to fly into a temper.
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He was a very badly behaved,
delinquent sort of guy.
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[gasps]
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And so a lot of people,
both within the Oda clan
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and in those daimyo families
that are allied with the Oda clan,
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they see him as a fool.
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[man] Brother, please!
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[yells out]
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[in English] In Japan,
ceremony is the most important thing.
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And these clan members,
they love doing things the old way.
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He completely discards tradition.
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Nobunaga's behavior caused
so much concern
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to those that he was
now destined to lead,
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that one of them took
the most dramatic action possible.
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His name was Hirate Masahide,
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and he was destined to be
the new heir's chief councilor.
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He was so appalled by Nobunaga's behavior
and so shamed by the behavior,
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that in protest, he committed seppuku.
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In other words, he slit his belly open.
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It's a form of ritual disembowelment.
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There were some cases in which people
were said to rip their belly open
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and pull their guts out.
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It was one way of retaining control
over one's death.
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But it could also be,
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in some cases, a way to stage a protest.
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It could be a way to shock a peer
into doing something.
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[thuds]
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[Wert] Masahide might have been signaling
to other people in the Oda clan, "Look,
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if you think that Nobunaga
is such a fool and uncouth,
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and you respect me,
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my suicide should be
a sign that perhaps
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Nobunaga really wasn't the guy
that you wanted to support."
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[Darren Ashmore] From day one,
Nobunaga's life was in jeopardy.
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He recognized that he was a man alone
in dangerous territory.
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Familial territory, at that.
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[woman] In the Sengoku period, murder in
the family was extremely common.
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Fathers killed their sons.
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Sons killed their fathers.
Brothers killed each other.
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And this is all to seize power.
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[Downer] There were suspicions
that his wife, Nōhime,
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was plotting against him...
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because she was the daughter
of his deadly enemy, Saitō Dōsan,
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who was The Viper of Mino.
She was The Viper's Daughter.
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They were married as a way
of making peace between the two clans,
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so there were suspicions
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that she might have been
put in place in order to spy on him...
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in order, perhaps,
to even kill him if it were necessary.
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And this was one of the great dangers
of this kind of marriage alliance,
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that you have in your very bed,
the daughter of your worst enemy.
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She could have
maybe killed him by poison.
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[man speaks Japanese] If he dies,
it is good for us.
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He is selfish.
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He thinks only of himself.
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[Downer] There were suspicions
she was conspiring
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with his younger brother,
Nobuyuki.
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Nobuyuki was quite admired in the family,
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being of a sober disposition
in great contrast to Nobunaga.
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[Ashmore] He was the good son,
if you will.
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The one who had maintained dignity
throughout his father's life.
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Fortunately for Nobunaga,
one of his most loyal retainers
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tipped him off that
Nobuyuki was planning a coup.
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[in Japanese] Please forgive me!
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Older brother...
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You are no brother of mine.
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[grunts]
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[Ashmore speaking English] This displays
an aspect of his character which is...
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profoundly brutal.
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Rooted in a desire to survive,
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rooted in a desire to succeed,
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this was Nobunaga's way of announcing
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that he would take all
or die in the process.
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The defeat of this individual
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marked Nobunaga
as a force to be reckoned with.
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With the elimination of the threats
in his immediate family,
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Nobunaga turns his attention
to the last and largest remaining threat,
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uh, for his control over Owari Province...
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who is his cousin Nobukata.
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[men marching]
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Nobukata controls Northern Owari.
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[warriors clamoring]
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He's got 3,000 men at his command.
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[screams in pain]
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[Lange] Nobukata is a fierce opponent.
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So, at this point we've got
two up-and-coming warriors.
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Competition between them
was essentially inevitable,
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as each owned approximately
half of Owari Province at this time
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and wanted to expand.
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They were not only competing over the land
and the territory,
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but competing over
who was the head of the Oda household.
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And to this end, I think Nobunaga
was looking for one decisive battle
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that would either make him or break him.
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In order for Oda Nobunaga to fight a war,
he needed an army filled with samurai.
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[Turnbull] Eight hundred years
before Nobunaga was active,
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no one wanted to be called a samurai
because it meant "a servant."
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[screams in pain]
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But gradually it acquired the meaning
that we now understand
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of the man who was equivalent
to the mounted knights of old Japan.
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[in Japanese] Eventually "samurai" took on
the meaning of "bushi," warrior class.
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[blade slices]
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[in English] Of course, the samurai's
most iconic weapon was the katana,
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the Japanese sword.
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Widely regarded as probably the finest
sword ever made in world history,
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it had a very sharp, resilient blade,
which was curved.
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It enabled a samurai to deliver
a devastating stroke from the scabbard.
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And also gave a mounted samurai
a huge advantage,
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because any stroke aimed downwards
at an attacking foot soldier...
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would slice into him with all the momentum
of the horse going forward.
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[Auslin] These are amazing
athletic warriors.
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They have known nothing but battle
for a century.
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They are born into it.
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These are probably the greatest warriors
history has ever known.
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[groans in pain]
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[Ashmore] Nobunaga still held
to ancient traditions of the samurai.
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But he realized that warfare in Japan
was moving away from the old style.
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Instead, warfare was becoming industrial.
You needed a large army.
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You can think of Oda Nobunaga
as the Alexander the Great of Japan.
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He's probably the most innovative
military leader of the time
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because he was incredibly open
to all sorts of new ideas.
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[Spafford] Until the time of Nobunaga,
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armies and battles
had been fairly small affairs.
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As the armies grow larger
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under the pressure of surviving
against your rivals,
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Nobunaga started trying to recruit
more and more commoners.
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They were known as ashigaru.
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[Auslin] Those were peasants
conscripted to fight.
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They were foot soldiers.
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These are people who have lived
under the heel of the samurai
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for the better part of 400 years.
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They were the chattel,
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they were the slaves of great lords,
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who spent them as people
might spend pocket change.
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But there is a very great difference
between Nobunaga's ashigaru,
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compared to the traditional ashigaru,
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who's little more
than a peasant with a stick.
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Nobunaga would equip them properly
and train them.
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He recognized that with a little loyalty,
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they become so effective
and so dangerous.
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[grunting]
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[Ashmore] These troops were worth more
than any number of samurai.
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They go from... a rabble to an army.
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[grunts, yells]
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[narrator] 1558, a year
after killing his brother,
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and joined by his new army of roughly
3,000 mostly peasant soldiers,
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Nobunaga leaves
his stronghold in Southern Owari
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and marches north to engage his rival,
Nobukata.
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In response,
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Nobukata calls on his own force
of 3,000 battle-hardened samurai
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00:17:43,395 --> 00:17:45,895
to intercept and destroy the invaders.
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Nobunaga has little experience
with battlefield command
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00:17:50,944 --> 00:17:53,664
and he faces overwhelming odds,
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00:17:53,739 --> 00:17:55,239
but he has one advantage,
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a gift from the outside world
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that will forever change
the face of Japanese warfare.
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In 1543, a Portuguese ship
coming from Macau
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00:18:19,264 --> 00:18:21,484
was blown off course in a storm
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00:18:21,558 --> 00:18:24,898
and shipwrecked on the little island
of Tanegashima,
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off the southern coast of Japan.
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Presumably, it was trying to reach, uh,
the Chinese mainland.
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00:18:30,651 --> 00:18:34,951
And, as is often the case in Japanese
history, something happened by mistake.
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Somebody who didn't mean to come to Japan
ended up in Japan.
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And they have this weapon, the arquebus.
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[Benesch] For many daimyo,
adopting firearms
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did not seem to necessarily bring
immediate benefits.
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00:19:02,474 --> 00:19:06,524
They were quite slow to load,
they were noisy, they were smelly,
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00:19:06,603 --> 00:19:09,443
and if it rained,
then they might not function.
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00:19:09,523 --> 00:19:13,283
So, there was a lot of hesitation
on the part of daimyo
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to fully adopt the arquebus...
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but Oda Nobunaga is less concerned.
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He's from a smaller domain,
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so he knew that he had to take
any advantage he could
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in order to defeat larger enemies.
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So, he was much more willing
to introduce the arquebus early on.
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[Garrett] He's one of the first
to recognize their military potential,
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and he was able to finance the purchase
of large numbers of guns,
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which is what transformed them
from being a part of battlefields
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to the dominating force.
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[Ledbetter] As Nobukata and Nobunaga
moved towards conflict,
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Nobunaga decided to take the offensive.
He left Kiyosu Castle,
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and moved his forces towards Iwakura,
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where Nobukata's forces were.
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Nobunaga had approximately 3,000 troops
at this time.
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And he might have had somewhere around
400 or 500 guns.
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Facing him, Nobukata also had
approximately 3,000 troops.
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00:20:43,659 --> 00:20:46,449
They were probably
a little bit better equipped.
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[in Japanese] You must be ready to die.
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00:20:55,170 --> 00:20:56,510
Go!
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[in English] For both Nobukata
and Nobunaga, individually,
238
00:21:02,344 --> 00:21:03,474
this is life or death.
239
00:21:03,553 --> 00:21:07,353
While they may not wipe out
the other's forces completely,
240
00:21:07,432 --> 00:21:09,022
chances are, whoever loses,
241
00:21:09,101 --> 00:21:11,231
the subordinates would go
to the other side
242
00:21:11,311 --> 00:21:13,231
and the loser would be eliminated.
243
00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:19,033
[in Japanese] Hold.
244
00:21:25,409 --> 00:21:30,039
[in English] Nobunaga had to
fool his enemy into advancing
245
00:21:30,122 --> 00:21:32,792
into the killing zone
at about 100 meters.
246
00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:35,342
[Nobunaga speaking Japanese] Hold.
247
00:21:43,343 --> 00:21:44,223
Fire!
248
00:21:46,013 --> 00:21:47,603
[warriors clamoring]
249
00:21:48,181 --> 00:21:49,101
[grunts]
250
00:21:52,436 --> 00:21:53,266
[grunts]
251
00:21:54,313 --> 00:21:58,073
[in English] Volley fire from rank
after rank of musketeers
252
00:21:58,734 --> 00:22:03,574
would have withered even
the greatest of opponents, armored or not.
253
00:22:10,370 --> 00:22:14,170
But musket reloading times are very long.
254
00:22:21,882 --> 00:22:25,182
[Ashmore] And so,
the battle did eventually...
255
00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:29,772
wear down to a melee.
256
00:22:37,689 --> 00:22:38,859
[yells]
257
00:22:38,940 --> 00:22:40,110
[groans]
258
00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:44,112
[Ashmore] In this battle, you are dealing
with a largely peasant force
259
00:22:44,196 --> 00:22:48,326
against a largely elite force
that looks down upon these people.
260
00:22:49,785 --> 00:22:53,495
Once these tired samurai get into range,
261
00:22:53,580 --> 00:22:57,790
they are fighting against men who have
nothing to lose and everything to gain.
262
00:23:02,839 --> 00:23:04,549
[screams]
263
00:23:05,592 --> 00:23:10,142
[Ashmore] Melee combat is more brutal
than anyone can imagine.
264
00:23:10,472 --> 00:23:11,602
[grunts]
265
00:23:11,723 --> 00:23:14,733
You're close enough to smell
what your opponent had to eat.
266
00:23:14,810 --> 00:23:17,100
-[grunts]
-[groans]
267
00:23:17,187 --> 00:23:19,187
[grunts]
268
00:23:19,481 --> 00:23:22,571
You are close enough to see
the death light in their eyes
269
00:23:22,651 --> 00:23:25,861
as you ram a sword through their guts.
270
00:23:27,989 --> 00:23:31,199
Meanwhile, you have projectiles
flying through the air.
271
00:23:31,743 --> 00:23:33,253
[screams in agony]
272
00:23:33,328 --> 00:23:35,868
There would be
the sounds of people screaming,
273
00:23:35,956 --> 00:23:39,456
both battle cries
and also from being wounded.
274
00:23:39,543 --> 00:23:42,713
[men screaming, groaning]
275
00:23:44,297 --> 00:23:46,507
It must have been like fighting in hell.
276
00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:53,010
[Ledbetter] After three hours...
Nobunaga's men get the upper hand.
277
00:23:56,143 --> 00:23:59,773
They break through Nobukata's forces
and rout them.
278
00:23:59,855 --> 00:24:01,975
[men screaming in agony]
279
00:24:10,323 --> 00:24:13,083
[Ashmore] By the end of the battle,
the butcher's bill
280
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,080
is said to have exceeded 1,200 heads.
281
00:24:16,997 --> 00:24:22,287
This is an incredible casualty rate
for such a small battle.
282
00:24:32,804 --> 00:24:35,064
[Ledbetter]
The Iwakura forces under Nobukata
283
00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:37,180
retreat back to Iwakura Castle...
284
00:24:43,857 --> 00:24:48,067
which holds out against a siege
for three months, but eventually falls.
285
00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:52,202
Nobukata is killed...
286
00:24:56,036 --> 00:25:01,076
and Nobunaga is left as the lone standing
lord of the Owari Province.
287
00:25:06,254 --> 00:25:09,424
In the aftermath of the Battle of Ukino,
288
00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:15,930
Nobunaga had finally put the capstone
on his control of Owari.
289
00:25:16,014 --> 00:25:19,064
He was the Lord of the Oda.
290
00:25:22,354 --> 00:25:28,994
Nobunaga, for all his youth, is developing
into a very capable tactical commander.
291
00:25:32,572 --> 00:25:35,622
He was no longer "the fool of Owari."
292
00:25:37,619 --> 00:25:41,159
He had recognized, within his own armies,
293
00:25:41,248 --> 00:25:45,918
the strengths and weaknesses
of the traditional samurai...
294
00:25:46,002 --> 00:25:47,302
[grunts]
295
00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:50,169
...the benefits of a peasant soldiery,
296
00:25:51,716 --> 00:25:54,296
and the importance of technology.
297
00:25:55,011 --> 00:25:56,391
[grunts]
298
00:25:57,514 --> 00:26:02,604
This was, I think,
the turning point in his ambition.
299
00:26:04,437 --> 00:26:06,437
[Turnbull] Nobunaga's military might
300
00:26:06,523 --> 00:26:09,653
that he had shown
in his own conquest of Owari
301
00:26:09,734 --> 00:26:12,574
was now going to be unleashed elsewhere.
302
00:26:18,118 --> 00:26:21,198
[narrator] Nine bloody years
after the death of his father,
303
00:26:21,288 --> 00:26:24,958
Nobunaga is now the undisputed
leader of Owari Province.
304
00:26:25,625 --> 00:26:29,915
But his reign has scarcely begun
when a new threat rises from the east.
305
00:26:30,630 --> 00:26:36,010
Imagawa Yoshimoto, one of Japan's
most feared daimyo, or warlords,
306
00:26:36,094 --> 00:26:39,014
is on the move
with a massive army behind him.
307
00:26:39,639 --> 00:26:44,979
His target is Kyoto, the nation's capital
and traditional center of military power.
308
00:26:45,645 --> 00:26:48,975
And to get there,
he will march straight through Owari.
309
00:26:49,065 --> 00:26:50,355
If he succeeds,
310
00:26:50,442 --> 00:26:54,532
Nobunaga's own growing ambitions
will be dealt a devastating blow.
311
00:26:56,906 --> 00:27:00,076
[Bender] There were probably
half a dozen, maybe eight,
312
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,950
uh, really powerful daimyo
313
00:27:02,037 --> 00:27:06,537
who could have made a push
for what we consider national unification.
314
00:27:06,625 --> 00:27:11,125
And that means, um,
claiming the capital, Kyoto.
315
00:27:12,547 --> 00:27:13,877
The Imagawa were one.
316
00:27:14,841 --> 00:27:18,391
[Turnbull] Imagawa Yoshimoto's intentions
were to take Kyoto.
317
00:27:19,095 --> 00:27:21,965
To do this,
he had to march on the capital.
318
00:27:22,057 --> 00:27:26,977
And to march on the capital,
he had to first cross Owari Province.
319
00:27:29,105 --> 00:27:32,815
But Nobunaga wasn't going
to allow Imagawa through.
320
00:27:33,568 --> 00:27:38,818
Nobunaga determined to resist
Imagawa's advance at his own border.
321
00:27:41,284 --> 00:27:47,294
[in Japanese] As a result, they had no
other choice but settling it by fighting.
322
00:27:53,505 --> 00:27:55,585
[in English] In a conflict with the Oda,
323
00:27:55,674 --> 00:27:57,844
Imagawa Yoshimoto held all the advantages.
324
00:27:57,926 --> 00:28:02,136
Imagawa Yoshimoto
was the master of a very large,
325
00:28:02,222 --> 00:28:04,562
very wealthy, very powerful domain.
326
00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:09,349
[Ledbetter] His army is listed
in some chronicles
327
00:28:09,437 --> 00:28:11,267
as being as large as 45,000 troops.
328
00:28:11,356 --> 00:28:13,976
A more reasonable estimate is 25,000.
329
00:28:14,067 --> 00:28:17,697
But still, vastly superior
to what Nobunaga was able to field.
330
00:28:18,196 --> 00:28:22,236
He outnumbered Nobunaga's army
by 12 to one.
331
00:28:23,910 --> 00:28:27,660
[Ledbetter] So, with Imagawa's
vastly superior force,
332
00:28:27,747 --> 00:28:32,127
he anticipated that he would just be
able to move in, eliminate Nobunaga,
333
00:28:32,210 --> 00:28:35,260
and continue on his way to Kyoto.
334
00:28:38,925 --> 00:28:43,555
So, he began by attacking a number
of Nobunaga's border fortresses
335
00:28:43,638 --> 00:28:46,018
and capturing them quite easily.
336
00:28:50,228 --> 00:28:54,728
[Ledbetter] The samurai he sends to lead
this mission is named Tokugawa Ieyasu.
337
00:28:57,110 --> 00:28:58,190
[thrusts blade]
338
00:28:58,278 --> 00:29:01,318
[Auslin] Ieyasu's young,
but he's a brilliant tactician.
339
00:29:01,906 --> 00:29:03,276
He serves Yoshimoto.
340
00:29:06,369 --> 00:29:07,869
He's also extremely ambitious
341
00:29:07,954 --> 00:29:11,214
and sees that the future
could be much larger for him.
342
00:29:13,793 --> 00:29:15,593
[blade slices]
343
00:29:22,135 --> 00:29:26,005
Nobunaga's generals understand well
that the odds are against them
344
00:29:26,097 --> 00:29:28,847
and that the numbers are against them,
so they urge him
345
00:29:28,933 --> 00:29:32,523
to do what is conventional,
which is to hole up in a siege
346
00:29:32,604 --> 00:29:35,194
in the best defended position they can
347
00:29:35,273 --> 00:29:38,903
and try to ride it out,
and maybe luck will turn their way.
348
00:29:40,945 --> 00:29:43,065
Nobunaga has
a very different view of this.
349
00:29:46,242 --> 00:29:49,872
He's going to try to pull out
something unexpected, unusual,
350
00:29:49,996 --> 00:29:52,166
something that'll catch
the enemy unprepared
351
00:29:52,791 --> 00:29:55,591
and hope that that gamble is enough
352
00:29:55,668 --> 00:29:59,548
to change the situation
in a way that is favorable to him.
353
00:30:03,718 --> 00:30:10,348
One of Nobunaga's greatest abilities
is indeed his organizational capacity.
354
00:30:11,309 --> 00:30:13,019
He was outnumbered,
355
00:30:13,937 --> 00:30:16,767
but he has better intelligence.
356
00:30:21,569 --> 00:30:25,069
[Lange] And this is another wonderful
example of Nobunaga's brilliance.
357
00:30:25,156 --> 00:30:27,906
He has scouts all over the province
358
00:30:27,992 --> 00:30:31,412
giving him information on a daily,
if not hourly, basis.
359
00:30:33,456 --> 00:30:35,206
Enemy movement, their strength,
360
00:30:35,291 --> 00:30:38,211
where they're encamped,
what they're doing.
361
00:30:38,294 --> 00:30:39,464
He knows it all.
362
00:30:47,929 --> 00:30:50,969
[in Japanese]
Nobunaga's scout found Yoshimoto's camp
363
00:30:51,057 --> 00:30:53,347
on top of a mountain
called Mount Okehazama.
364
00:30:56,229 --> 00:31:00,779
[in English] Imagawa Yoshimoto is encamped
at Okehazama with 5,000 men.
365
00:31:00,859 --> 00:31:03,649
That means that the rest of his army
is elsewhere.
366
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,620
So, all in all,
the picture is developing that,
367
00:31:11,703 --> 00:31:14,623
yes, Imagawa Yoshimoto
has this large force,
368
00:31:15,999 --> 00:31:17,419
but it's very fractured.
369
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:18,590
It's very divided.
370
00:31:21,296 --> 00:31:25,796
And so, Nobunaga deduced that if he can
kill the leader of the enemy army,
371
00:31:25,884 --> 00:31:29,014
the army should collapse.
Nothing else is keeping it together.
372
00:31:29,095 --> 00:31:31,135
So, he doesn't have to beat them.
373
00:31:31,222 --> 00:31:34,352
All he has to do
is kill Imagawa Yoshimoto.
374
00:31:43,234 --> 00:31:46,154
[Auslin] He decides he's going to launch
a surprise attack.
375
00:31:46,779 --> 00:31:51,579
In this period of the civil wars, most of
the battles are fought conventionally.
376
00:31:51,659 --> 00:31:55,579
They're fought in open spaces.
They'll invest in sieges.
377
00:31:57,874 --> 00:32:01,134
No one's ever tried to pull off
a surprise attack like this.
378
00:32:03,671 --> 00:32:08,131
But Nobunaga was willing to attack with
small numbers against much larger armies,
379
00:32:08,217 --> 00:32:11,097
against great odds,
to take the advantage when he saw it.
380
00:32:11,179 --> 00:32:14,599
To attack at night
or attack through surprise.
381
00:32:19,562 --> 00:32:22,862
It's a really early sign
of just how clever, inventive,
382
00:32:22,941 --> 00:32:25,281
willing to think outside the box,
Nobunaga is.
383
00:32:30,365 --> 00:32:32,775
[Ledbetter] By this point,
Nobunaga and his army
384
00:32:32,867 --> 00:32:36,367
had taken position
around Yoshimoto's camp.
385
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:50,130
[Spafford] Imagawa Yoshimoto
was conducting a head inspection ceremony.
386
00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:54,428
And this was an event in which a warlord,
a commander,
387
00:32:54,514 --> 00:33:00,314
would be presented with the heads
of defeated enemies.
388
00:33:06,359 --> 00:33:11,489
They would be groomed, they would be
washed, makeup would be applied.
389
00:33:11,572 --> 00:33:12,822
In a strange way,
390
00:33:12,907 --> 00:33:15,827
the ceremony is both a gruesome act
391
00:33:15,910 --> 00:33:18,540
of vengeance and humiliation
over the opponent,
392
00:33:18,621 --> 00:33:21,001
whose head is being paraded
as just an object,
393
00:33:21,582 --> 00:33:24,542
but also, there is a sort of respect
inherent in it.
394
00:33:24,627 --> 00:33:27,087
That these heads must be viewed,
395
00:33:27,171 --> 00:33:30,931
in a way, with due honor
accorded to their former owners.
396
00:33:48,401 --> 00:33:52,861
Imagawa Yoshimoto is in what
we would call a noncombat posture.
397
00:33:53,573 --> 00:33:56,703
They are eating, drinking,
398
00:33:56,784 --> 00:33:59,834
celebrating the fact that things
have gone so well so far.
399
00:34:05,793 --> 00:34:08,713
[Lange] This is the moment
Nobunaga has been waiting for.
400
00:34:15,219 --> 00:34:18,309
[Auslin] But it's risky.
It's a do-or-die moment for Nobunaga.
401
00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:23,850
[Lange] But he has no options.
402
00:34:24,353 --> 00:34:26,403
He has to kill Yoshimoto.
403
00:34:26,814 --> 00:34:29,074
He has to cut off the head of the serpent.
404
00:34:29,150 --> 00:34:30,110
[warriors clamoring]
405
00:34:30,693 --> 00:34:34,283
[Ledbetter] His forces rush forward
and just start killing
406
00:34:34,363 --> 00:34:37,203
every Imagawa soldier
that they can get their hands on.
407
00:34:39,952 --> 00:34:43,082
The Imagawa are confused,
have no idea what's going on.
408
00:34:43,164 --> 00:34:47,294
Imagawa Yoshimoto actually thinks
that there's a brawl that has broken out
409
00:34:47,376 --> 00:34:51,836
because his soldiers had been drinking
and gotten into a fight.
410
00:34:51,923 --> 00:34:55,133
It takes them a while to figure out
that they're under attack.
411
00:34:57,887 --> 00:34:59,677
[yells]
412
00:35:00,848 --> 00:35:03,888
[Ledbetter] Meanwhile,
the Oda forces are rushing forward.
413
00:35:04,477 --> 00:35:08,857
Imagawa soldiers are panicking.
They're throwing down their weapons.
414
00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:11,780
They're running for the hills
as quickly as they can.
415
00:35:13,903 --> 00:35:15,863
It's just mass chaos.
416
00:35:17,740 --> 00:35:19,280
[groans]
417
00:35:20,201 --> 00:35:22,501
-[Ledbetter] And very quickly...
-[groans]
418
00:35:24,288 --> 00:35:28,578
Yoshimoto is left with about 300 troops.
So, now the tables have turned.
419
00:35:28,668 --> 00:35:31,168
[men yelling, screaming]
420
00:35:31,254 --> 00:35:32,924
This is very desperate fighting.
421
00:35:36,801 --> 00:35:42,641
And one of the Oda soldiers
is able to attack Yoshimoto himself.
422
00:35:56,404 --> 00:35:57,824
The enemy general is dead.
423
00:35:59,448 --> 00:36:02,698
The remaining Imagawa forces
break down and flee.
424
00:36:04,495 --> 00:36:07,205
All the other Imagawa forces
located elsewhere
425
00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:09,330
hear what happens and decide to retreat.
426
00:36:11,961 --> 00:36:15,461
Nobunaga has completed
an amazing victory.
427
00:36:20,136 --> 00:36:24,466
The Battle of Okehazama effectively
lasted for only 15 minutes,
428
00:36:24,557 --> 00:36:28,897
and yet it was one of the most
decisive battles in Japanese history.
429
00:36:31,189 --> 00:36:36,489
[Auslin] His successful surprise attack
really shows that he is a strategic genius
430
00:36:36,569 --> 00:36:39,409
that is very rare in this age.
431
00:36:39,488 --> 00:36:43,948
Most of the smaller clans never would
have dared take on such a larger opponent.
432
00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:49,790
Uh, but the very behavior that so worried
some of Nobunaga's own retainers
433
00:36:49,874 --> 00:36:51,674
back at his father's funeral...
434
00:36:53,002 --> 00:36:54,502
is asserting itself here.
435
00:36:54,587 --> 00:36:56,667
It's showing that he is reckless,
436
00:36:56,756 --> 00:37:00,506
he is risky, but he has also
very carefully thought out...
437
00:37:01,510 --> 00:37:05,010
what are the best possibilities
for him to survive and conquer.
438
00:37:07,350 --> 00:37:10,480
Quite apart from destroying
one of the major power blocks
439
00:37:10,561 --> 00:37:11,981
of Central Japan,
440
00:37:12,688 --> 00:37:16,278
it thrust Oda Nobunaga into the limelight.
441
00:37:16,359 --> 00:37:18,949
And it also served as the springboard
442
00:37:19,028 --> 00:37:23,908
for him to begin what would be
the reunification of Japan.
443
00:37:24,992 --> 00:37:26,702
[man groans]
444
00:37:28,246 --> 00:37:30,576
[Turnbull] The aftermath of Okehazama
445
00:37:30,665 --> 00:37:35,205
was to give Nobunaga
two very important alliances
446
00:37:35,294 --> 00:37:40,844
that would sustain him for many years
and help him in his future triumphs.
447
00:37:40,925 --> 00:37:46,055
It was at Okehazama that Nobunaga
first appreciated the talents
448
00:37:46,138 --> 00:37:48,558
of a young samurai in his army
449
00:37:48,641 --> 00:37:51,731
-who had joined as an ashigaru.
-[in Japanese] Drink.
450
00:37:52,103 --> 00:37:55,613
-[Turnbull] He was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
-[Nobunaga chuckles]
451
00:37:57,024 --> 00:38:01,034
Hideyoshi began his career
as a foot soldier in Nobunaga's army,
452
00:38:01,112 --> 00:38:05,282
but he really impressed Nobunaga
by his fighting skills.
453
00:38:10,496 --> 00:38:12,326
[grunts]
454
00:38:12,415 --> 00:38:15,875
And these were not just confined
to hand-to-hand combat.
455
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:19,340
He also seemed to have the ability
to organize others.
456
00:38:19,422 --> 00:38:22,802
In other words,
he was showing leadership potential.
457
00:38:24,135 --> 00:38:25,885
[yells]
458
00:38:29,515 --> 00:38:30,385
[blade slices]
459
00:38:32,226 --> 00:38:34,896
And as a result,
Hideyoshi rose through the ranks
460
00:38:34,979 --> 00:38:38,189
to become one of his
most devoted and loyal generals,
461
00:38:38,899 --> 00:38:42,899
and someone who would
greatly influence the history of Japan.
462
00:38:51,787 --> 00:38:57,497
There was also another important alliance
forged in the aftermath of the battle.
463
00:38:57,585 --> 00:38:59,495
And it was a very different one
464
00:38:59,587 --> 00:39:02,757
from the relationship
between Nobunaga and Hideyoshi.
465
00:39:04,383 --> 00:39:08,853
The man we are talking about
is called Tokugawa Ieyasu.
466
00:39:10,723 --> 00:39:14,773
As a young man, he'd been given
as a hostage by his own father
467
00:39:14,852 --> 00:39:16,652
into the Imagawa family.
468
00:39:16,729 --> 00:39:17,899
[thrusts blade]
469
00:39:19,982 --> 00:39:25,242
And young Ieyasu was brought up and
expected to serve in the Imagawa army.
470
00:39:27,740 --> 00:39:31,040
But the leader of the Imagawa family
was now dead.
471
00:39:32,495 --> 00:39:35,405
So, Ieyasu decided to throw in his lot
472
00:39:35,998 --> 00:39:40,128
with the man who had defeated his master,
Oda Nobunaga.
473
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[soldiers fighting]
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[Auslin] The fact that Ieyasu
switched his allegiances so quickly
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showed that allegiances were really
up for grabs in the Sengoku period.
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There were no more rules.
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This was all-out battle for control
of Japan.
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And so those who were willing
to take risks
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were much more likely to attach themselves
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to those who seemed more powerful
or who seemed on the rise.
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The importance of the Battle of Okehazama
is that, all of a sudden,
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you have the three men who will shape
the destiny of Japan, coming together,
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Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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[narrator] With Ieyasu and Hideyoshi
by his side,
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Nobunaga launches a series
of bloody campaigns against his rivals.
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More lands fall under his banner.
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Then, he boldly marches on Kyoto,
the nation's capital.
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From here, Nobunaga now plans
to launch his boldest move yet,
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the reunification of all Japan.
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[Auslin] But he's not out of the woods.
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There are other daimyo that still existed
in the west and the north
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who threatened Nobunaga's power
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because they weren't willing
to submit to him.
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And those who would not admit
subordination to him
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would taste his anger,
would taste his sword,
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because he brooked no dissent of any kind.
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It was only that kind of man
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who was going to start Japan
on the process towards unification.
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[Turnbull] This scenario inevitably
enraged Nobunaga's rivals.
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They knew that Nobunaga
wanted the power for himself.
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So, the real battle for Japan
was about to begin.
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[warriors clamoring]
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[closing theme plays]