The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603)
This period was the last bloody chapter in the long road towards the
unification of Japan.
The three main characters herein are
Oda Nobunaga,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and
Tokugawa Ieyasu.
They were born within eight years of each other, and each one died having fought both
alongside and against the other two. The story of unification is really the story of these
three extraordinary men, and what an interesting story it is.
By 1550 Japan had been in a period of civil war for over 70 years. Warlords across the
country were constantly fighting each other for land and power. It is most likely that
several men harbored ambitions of emerging from the chaos to become the powerful new shogun
of a unified Japan. The problem was that the constant infighting hindered anyone from making
the march towards Kyoto, the capital. For example, if one daimyo were to lead enough troops
into Kyoto for a successful takeover, that would leave his own lands open to attack by a
neighboring daimyo.
You can trace the history of Japanese unification by following the links below:
