The path toward mercantilism
The key term explaining the riddle of centralization (shĆ«kenka) is mercantilism (jĆ«shĆshugi). The large-scale war economy demanded certain economic structures for the unprecedented large-scale production and consumption, rare in world history, that accompanied the economic revitalization born in the Japanese archipelago corridor, the Pan-Ise Sea region. I will focus on the long spear corps and the rifle corps, which were the principal units of Nobunagaâs army, as the factor that gave rise to mercantilism. While Nobunaga was in Owari, the long spear corps was the core of his army and the rifle corps bore supplementary roles. After his time in Gifu, the rifle corps was organized into units of 1,000 rifles, became autonomous, and filled more important roles.
The long spears used by Nobunagaâs forces were among the longest used by the Sengoku daimyo, being approximately 6.3 meters (approx. 18 feet) long (see ShinchĆ-kĆ ki). These spears, affixed with sword tips, were utilized primarily for striking. Thus, the longer they were, the more effective they were. Even when attacked by select cavalry units, if the spear lines remained well organized and did not fall into disorder, then, in theory, they were never defeated.
However, in achieving this, the foot soldiers (ashigaru) who belonged to the long spear corps were made to reside in row houses (nagaya) outside the castle. They were loaned spears of equal length, but the long spear corps could not fight if they did not engage in intensive group training during normal times. Accordingly, if elites did not recruit tough men as professional soldiers from among peasants and townspeople, these invincible long spear corps would not have appeared. Their long spears clearly expressed the distinction between soldier and farmer (heinĆ bunri) in the military system, and the length of their long spears expressed the wealth of their daimyo.
Even before guns (teppĆ) became widely used on the battlefield, firearms specialists within the military system spread knowledge about how to handle guns and gunpowder. Meanwhile, guns became mass produced in Japanâprofessional gun manufacturers emerged, such as the famous gunsmiths of Sakai in Izumi Province and of Tomomura in Ćmi Province. However, the buyers and the manufacturers would never have met without the weapons merchants who delivered the guns, as well as the ammunition necessary for themâblack-colored gunpowder made by mixing coal, saltpeter, and sulfur, and lead, the basic component in bullets.
Moreover, because saltpeter and lead were not produced in Japan, trade in those goods could not have occurred if merchants with links to other East Asian countries had not served as intermediaries in this exchange. The system for the mass production of guns included local lords (ryĆshu; purchasers), merchants (suppliers), and craftsmen (producers). If close relationships had not formed among them, the mass production system would not have emerged.
The daily, large-scale training of the long spear corps and the organization of the rifle corps at a size of 1,000 guns required an immense quantity of coin. The concentration of population in towns near castles (jĆkamachi) accelerated the productionâconsumption cycle of daily necessities. One reason why Nobunaga and Hideyoshi each pushed forward with enlarging their territories, it may be thought, wasâabove all elseâto acquire gold and silver for coinage, to support and enlarge their war economies.
In particular, we must emphasize that Hideyoshiâs rapid relocations of his base to Komaki Castle, then to Gifu Castle, and then to Azuchi Castleâall after having captured Nobunagaâs Kiyosu Castleâwere to establish peaceful urban markets at distribution nodes and to promote a stable investment climate for private capital. Thus, the large-scale expansion of the long spear corps and the rifle corps advanced the centralization of Japan.
The Pan-Ise Sea government
Nobunaga traveled back and forth between Gifu and Kyoto from 1568, when he entered Kyoto, installed Ashikaga Yoshiaki as shogun, and restored the bakufu, until 1576, when he moved his base to Azuchi. Here, it should again be noted that the principal provinces held by Nobunaga were Owari, Mino, and Ise, the three provinces of the Pan-Ise Sea.
If the Hosokawa and Miyoshi governments, both of which preceded Nobunaga, may be called Pan-Osaka Gulf governments (Pan-Ćsaka wan seiken) due to their economic bases, the subsequent Oda government could then be called the Pan-Ise Sea government. Nobunaga, who subjugated the Owari and Mino provinces and then entered Kyoto, the capital, in 1568, subsequently defeated the Kitabatake in the ninth month of 1569. He then arranged the adoption of his second son Nobukatsu by Kitabatake (Tomofusa), and unified the province of Ise. He, thus, established the Pan-Ise Sea government, and suddenly the base of the samurai government that had installed the shogun in Kyoto relocated from the Osaka Bay area to the Ise Bay area.
Regarding conditions in Gifu at this time, Luis FrĂłis, a Jesuit missionary who had visited the castle town wrote, âAccording to what people say, there are 8,000 to 10,000 people here.â That is, Gifu had become a large city for the time. Moreover,
[i]n this city, there are a very large number of people who come for trade and for work, which makes one recall the congestion in Babylon. And merchants leading many horses bearing loads of salt, rolls of cloth, and other goods gather from various provinces.
FrĂłis reported in detail how merchants were prospering (see FrĂłis, Nihonshi). This incipient government bore the qualities of a maritime state with mercantilist policies that fundamentally depended upon shipping power. In this respect, Nobunaga differed significantly from most other Sengoku daimyo.
The maritime state that Nobunaga envisioned was one that collected taxes in return for guaranteeing the circulation of goods and providing security for port cities. The essence of that state was in organizing powerful military units through the superior power of capital and in further widening the commercial sphere. In order to be victorious in war, large-scale military units expanded production of long spears and guns, and through them gained control over cities, resulting in more territorial expansion. Thus, the expansion of territory became cyclical and self-perpetuating.
Of the three provinces of the Pan-Ise Sea, it was particularly important to control Ise. This not only meant controlling the great TĆkaidĆ Road, which linked the eastern provinces with Kyoto, but also meant controlling the maritime transport in the Pacific Ocean, the foothold of which was in the KantĆ region. This was because the powerful port cities of Kuwana (today Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture), Yokkaichi (today Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture), AnĆtsu (today Tsu City, Mie Prefecture), and Ćminato (today Ise City, Mie Prefecture), which linked Pacific Ocean transport to the KantĆ area, were all interspersed in these provinces. The extent of warfare in this area had reached a critical point, and various strata of the local society earnestly desired peace. It was quite likely that a powerful local lord (ryĆshu) would emerge here in the Pan-Ise Sea area and try to assert authority. Thus, Japanâs early modern period emerged from a region that may be called a boundary area within a boundary area.
The power of Nobunaga and of Hideyoshi, unprecedented in Japan, was born from several provinces in the Pan-Ise Sea area that marked the boundary between the eastern provinces (TĆgoku) and the western provinces (Saigoku). This indicates that the contradictions and the tensions between the Muromachi bakufu system, which maintained a tenacious vitality in the Kinai region especially, and the Sengoku daimyo system, which had developed in the eastern provinces, had intensified significantly in this region. While rulers of local areas tended to see Nobunagaâs military activities as positive state-building, Nobunagaâs treatment of Yoshiaki (greeting him in exile, installing him as shogun, attempting to restore the Muromachi bakufu) struck other Sengoku daimyo as very unusual.
Nobunaga appointed Yoshiaki as shogun in 1568, constructed a shogunal headquarters (Gosho), promoted retainers, and supported the bakufu. This administrative structure was supposed to have been used actively in stabilizing the governance of the domains (ryĆgoku). The Pan-Ise Sea government was a local one (chihĆ seiken) that installed the shogun Yoshiaki and that supported the Muromachi bakufu. However, Nobunagaâs frightening territorial expansion into nearby provinces eroded Yoshiakiâs traditional rule.