Samurai Fun Facts

We Have facts, even...dare I say it...FUN.FACTS!

[samuraifacts]

Old Kyoto is Gone

While Kyoto is an ancient city almost none of the buildings are. During the Onin war around 1400-1550 Kyoto was destroyed several times. The population was reduced to about 7%. Most of the land that wasn't burnt rubble was used for farming. So while a lot of people came back later and many businesses in Kyoto are, technically, family run businesses from all the way back in the Heian period (around 1100) the buildings, are not. It is said that around 1450 even the imperial palace in Kyoto was surrounded by farms. Because Kyoto had been pretty much abandoned.

[samuraifacts]

Shingen and Katsuyori

Takeda Katsuyori was both Shingen's son, and his nephew. Shingen took his sister's daughter (his niece) as a concubine. That niece then gave birth to his son, Katsuyori.

[samuraifacts]

Sword Maintenance

The way we oil and polish swords to take care of their maintenance is now believed to have come about in the late Edo or early Meiji period. This is due to swords being used less and often stored for long periods of time seeing little real use. This was because long term storage with no use or maintenance in less than ideal conditions would cause swords to rust. It is now believed that during previous eras samurai either used a simple cloth to clean their weaponry, or had it re-forged due to often chipping or breaking from frequent use. This frequent use made it so no widespread need existed for long term rust prevention.

[samuraifacts]

Edo Era Police Weaponry

Some Edo Era police weaponry looks scarier than it actually was. This looks intimidating due to the spikey appearance but actually the "thorns" on the two prongs existed so people would catch their clothing on them, thus making it harder to escape police custody. The spikes on the shaft exist to prevent grabbing it to try and manipulate the weapon away from yourself.

[samuraifacts]

Yukimura and Shakespeare

So, because time is hard to imagine across continents, I want you all to remember something. Shakespeare, and Sanada Yukimura were contemporaries. Shakespeare died in 1616, one year AFTER the fall of Osaka castle and 16 years after Sekigahara.

[samuraifacts]

 This evening I want to present you all a theory that I am now willing to believe could be fact. Above is the can crest of Toki and Akechi. This includes the famous Oda general Akechi mitsuhide.    It is often said that the flower in the crest is the Japanese bellflower. Pictured in the second image. Yet, what if I told you this wasn’t right? Some theories suggest that due to the wideness of the petals it is not actually a bell flower but a morning glory instead!     I have put a Japanese morning glory in picture three and after looking at them I feel inclined to agree!

[samuraifacts]

An Interesting Marriage

 Few rivalries are as famous as that of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. The war between the Uesugi and Takeda clans has been dramatized across every kind of media you can imagine throughout the centuries.    But, here is a fun fact you probably didn’t know. After the deaths of these two titans of the warring states period a marriage was carried out between their clans! The year after Kenshin’s death, which is six years after Shingen’s death, his successor Uesugi Kagekatsu was married to Shingen’s daughter Kiku-hime!   The marriage was agreed too and arranged by Shingen’s successor, his son Takeda Katsuyori.

[samuraifacts]

Retirement to Sunpu

  At the end of his life the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, controlled nearly all of Japan. As Shogun he could spend his final days virtually anywhere he wanted. Interestingly he didn’t choose his homeland of Mikawa, nor the vast and fortified Edo Castle, nor the flatland castle in Kyoto.    In his final years he retired to Sunpu Castle. Sunpu was the castle Ieyasu had been held at as a child by the famous daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto. Though no one is completely sure why. Was it because an old man was nostalgic? Was it because Sunpu was located between Edo and Kyoto and close enough to Edo that he could still be contacted but was letting the new Shogun bloom? Was it simply that Sunpu was a castle who’s architecture he enjoyed? We may never know.

[samuraifacts]

The Chosokabe are Chinese?

 On an interesting note. Most Sengoku Era clans claim to be descendants or branch families of either the Minamoto/Genji, the Taira/Heike, or the Fujiwara. The Chosokabe, however, do not. Interestingly the Chosokabe clan claimed it’s lineage back to the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty in China.

[samuraifacts]

This is the only known portrait of Akechi Mitsuhide. A bit strange that we only have one we know of. 

[samuraifacts]

Have you ever heard of Sugatani Onsen? Supposedly its where Nobunaga's younger sister, Oichi, healed herself.  It was a secret onsen at the base of Odani Castle. Supposedly Nagamasa also frequented the hot springs to relax as well. I love the photos from it in modern times. (photo credit: https://twitter.com/mk_travel)

[samuraifacts]

Probably Not Flint and Steel

Flint is actually extremely uncommon in japan and what flint does exist in Japan usually isn't suitable for fire making. More often than that not what fire starting kits, lighters, etc. are seen in Japan either don’t contain real flint or the flint is imported.  Instead what is often thought to be "flint" in Japanese stories is usually either agate or quartz, hard rocks often used as firestones since ancient times. Some people don’t know what while flint is the common choice any hard stone similar to flint can be used for fire making.

[sekigahara-seigun]

The missionaries once called Mi-chan a Christian enemy, jealous, ambitious, arrogant, a vicious person. 😂🤣😂

They used to be more savage than Tokugawa regime... 😂🤣😂

[samuraifacts]

Referring to Ishida Mitsunari.

[samuraifacts]

These samurai devotees bring a cherished culture back to life

A photographer’s search for his Japanese identity leads him to rediscover the past in the present.

 This is not Samurai Facts per. say but this article is amazing. I was so moved by it I felt compelled to share it with you all here. Please check it out and enjoy it.

[samuraifacts]

 Hey everyone! Today I want to talk about the most famous bird that you probably don’t know the name of! Pictures in this message of the famous crests of three clans. The Shibata, The Date, and the Uesugi. Now right away it is clear the focus of these clan crests is a type of bird. Yet what bird is it?   I introduce you to the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. These cute little community birds are pretty easy to distinguish. They are known for having a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek!    Not only are they features in the crest of these three famous clans but you will also find them in the clan crests (”mon”) or lesser clans related to the three but this particular sparrow is also featured in traditional art all through out Japanese history!

[samuraifacts]

Hey Everyone. Today I have a very special treat that I wanted to give a permanent home here on this blog.  A contact from one of the samurai related Discord servers I’m on put a lot of work into creating a family tree for the 2nd and 3rd daughters of one of my favorite samurai Ishida Mitsunari! For those of you who, like me, are interested in Mitsunari I’m sure you will find that not a lot of translated information exists on the Sekigahara commander.   I was very excited when PinkRabbit gave me their permission to post this and I hope you all enjoy! For larger images to zoom in on please look here! PinkRabbit‘s Twitter can be found here! The original tree they translated can be found here!

[samuraifacts]

Hideyoshi Banned Christianity Because of Slavery in Portugal

 So before anyone asks, yes the title is purposefully eye catching by mentioning Slavery and Hideyoshi but I promise what I’m about to tell you has everything to do with that title.   Everyone who studies Japanese history around the time of the Sengoku Jidai likely knows that Hideyoshi was not a fan of Christians in Japan. Famously under Hideyoshi the samurai Kato Kiyomasa destroyed a Christian village in Kyushu and it is said that he beheaded everyone in the village, even the unborn babies. Portuguese and Spanish missionaries would also be kicked out of most provinces save for a few chosen ones in Kyushu. Though, why is this?   Well, actually it may have something to do with slavery and Portugal. For those that may not know Portugal played a leading role in the African slave trade. Portuguese merchants would take kidnapped Africans and attempt to sell them and the rest of their ship’s inventory all over the world, Japanese included. Slavery and slave trading didn’t find much success in Japan but word of this did reach the ear of one Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, at the time, had just finished conquering the very foreign and Christian friendly island of Kyushu (circa 1587) and was starting to learn a lot more about the Portuguese, their merchants, the ports they frequented in Kyushu, and their practices.   It is believed that upon learning about their slave trading practices Hideyoshi started to become paranoid. “If the Portuguese got a lot of their business through slave trading of one country to another, who was to say they weren’t taking Japanese to other lands?”   Some people say Hideyoshi then began putting the merchants under fierce scrutiny about their practices. Though, other rumors of the time period tell us that a fear began to arise in hideyoshi’s camp of Japanese in Kyushu being converted to Christianity and offered to go with the Portuguese back to their own country only to wind up being traded as slaves in another land. As far as I know, no proof exists of Japanese being kidnapped and sold by anyone from Portugal. However, in Hideyoshi’s mind it was a real concern.    So with this paranoia creeping in, as well as  the fear of a foreign religion taking hold of the minds of the Japanese citizenry and becoming a way for foreign powers in Spain, Portugal, or even Rome, to conquer japan, Hideyoshi would soon issue a fierce edict banning all missionary work and Christians from Japan. Following Hideyoshi’s death the Portuguese would briefly be allowed back to Japan to do missionary work and merchant trading but ultimately they would be banned from Japan altogether under the Tokugawa Shogunate.   I hope you all found that interesting and hope you are well. Take care.