History of the Ii Clan

of all the great Samurai Clans throughout history few matched their fierceness with also centuries of influential rule filled with significant figures who spanned across generations and periods in time which helped to shape the face of the nation today we discuss such a clan one which was known for some of the mightiest Warriors of the soku era as well as one of the most prominent figures of the bakumatsu a clan whose impact continues to this day and whose Legacy has been the spotlight of brilliant films such as 1962's harak cuti today we discuss the story of the E the lineage of the E family can be traced back all the way to the haon period where they had branched off from The prominent fujiwara the founding member of the E appears to be a figure known as e tomoyasu and who lived during the 11th century and hailed from toomi Province throughout their existence there appears to be two Kon or family crests we have come to associate with them these being the maruni enoji more of a cross-hatched symbol which resembles the first kanji character within the E name and that of the hikone tachibana which was meant to represent a mandarin orange judging by the name I would assume the hion tachibana Kon did not come into usage until perhaps after the year 1600 when the E were granted land in Omi where they would later construct hion Castle but returning to the early days of the family the E would soon become one of the more prominent names of totoi for several centuries and really from the late hyan period all the way through the Kamakura period not much notable seems to have happened to them that is until the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 it was here during the kinu restoration that the E are believed to have become close supporters of the restored Emperor godigo even after he was later deposed by ashikaga takuji kickstarting the rise of the ashikaga shanet As We Know godo fled South to establish his own rival Imperial Court in Nara opposed to the northern Court in Kyoto this initiated the nanoko era a turbulent time in which supporters of the northern court and the southern Court battled across Japan and this is where things for the E really start to get interesting the E of course remained pretty loyal to the southern cord whom the emperor godo had established and thus they would come into conflict with hostile neighbors who instead supported the north namely the mighty imagawa family of suruga to the east the two families would compete for a time however there was no way that the E could ever hope to truly rival the power of the imagawa and thus by the onset of the soku period the E would would eventually fall under the full influence of the imagawa this had the effect of expanding the borders of the imagawa realm deeper into totoi along the prominent tokaido road while also continuing to grow their might as one of the true dominant forces within the region and while the imagawa did benefit greatly from having the E under their thumb one cannot say that this relationship between their houses was necessarily secure the E were an ambitious family who had not forgotten their prideful days before falling under the imagawa banner and thus this relationship between the two has been categorized as a Tense one by the early 1500s we enter into the years when e Mori led the family A stalwart Commander for the imagawa na Mori was present during significant clashes between the imagawa and their hostile neighbors to the West namely the Oda whom Dao imagawa yoshimoto would March in Mass against in the year 1560 as we know this would then result in in The Great Battle of okehazama in which Not only yoshimoto was slain but also naomori as well this threw both Clans into chaos as new leaders scrambled to take their place and control the damages of this major upset the imaga would even lose their grip over mikawa as The prominent matsua family would wrestle their way free after the disaster in aadi if the E had been in a more stable place perhaps they too could have quickly followed suit as well however with the death of n Mor the position of the clan was left uncertain what ended up happening was that na Mor's cousin na chica would eventually take leadership of the family yet it would quickly be seen that even now chicao was not a desirable candidate for leadership as he would increasingly be at odds with the new head of the imagawa ujian It is believed that perhaps na CH did plan to rebel against the imagawa as well after all yet the plot was soon enough discovered and in 1562 now chica was killed on the order of uian this effectively left no male Heirs of age left within the E family to assume control however the Family itself would not collapse now Morty who had died at okehazama also had a daughter for some time now she had been living a religious life and had taken the name Juro hushi however now that the eclan was in need of a new leader she would step forth and in time come to assume the name na Tor to despite the fact that the E were facing a time of great crisis with their prominent leading figures having been killed accompanied by a loss of land as well now Tor still managed to hold the situation together and has gone on to become one of the most well-known female leaders within premodern Japan as she kept the E secure and would even adopt the son of Nao chica this was a young boy by the name of Tatu whom she would keep hidden while she raised him one day he would come to be known as none other than e naasa by the mid to late 1560s it was obvious that the imagawa were in Decline and thus na Tor began to consider switching allegiances to another more powerful Clan the Clear Choice would eventually present itself within the Matsu daa to the West who would also soon come to be known as the Tokugawa in 1568 Tokugawa easu had made an arrangement with the mighty Dao of Kai taka shinen to both split the lands of the weak imagawa thus a dual Invasion began as shinen moved to seize suruga and easu went to secure toomi it's really following this event that we can see the E fully come under the influence of the Tokugawa as the young naasa would even be sent off to serve easu it is believed that naasa became a page for easu and that the two might have engaged in an intimate relationship something which was not uncommon among Samurai and their Pages during this time for certain though the upbringing of the young naasa was fairly interesting having been imbued with the skillful nature of his adoptive mother na Tor and now learning firsthand from the man who had become one of the soku period's greatest leaders now Masa matured into a sharp-witted and talented figure himself finally we arrive at 1582 which ends up being one of the most important years in na masa's life it is the year that sadly na Tor passed away but also that now Masa fully comes of age and is wed to one of yasu's adopted daughters however this is also the chaotic year in which not only the taka were wiped out by the armies of the Oda and Tokugawa but also that Oda Nobunaga would be slain creating a power vacuum in central Japan now Masa is seen here to show his skills as a tactful Diplomat negotiating with many of the former taka vassals and winning them over to join with the Tokugawa for this now Masa be rewarded Ed by yasu with an increase in income for his landholdings also coming into his own as a warrior now Masa was quick to distinguish himself in battle and soon enough he was Rising through the ranks of the Tokugawa leadership fighting alongside many other notable Tokugawa commanders such as Honda tatatu sakakibara yasumasa and Sakai tarugu by 1584 naasa had become a respected commander and leader of what would become one of the finest Samurai cores in the entire country the Yakaz or the Red Devils a group of fearsome Warriors under the E Banner clad in Blazing Red armor and always following the charge of naasa stories say that naasa may have chosen the red armor of his unit specifically to honor the famed taka General Yamagata masakage who too had a tradition of red armor red armor not only served as a symbol of ferocity making it perhaps also an intimidation Factor but also it was chosen because it stood out very well not only making his Warriors distinguishable on the battlefield but also memorable by their enemies the Red Devils would see some of their earliest service at the Battle of Kaki nagakute in that same year when Tokugawa yasu faced off in an epic Clash against the rising power of hashiba hioshi it was here his prowess was on display for all as his unit won the great achievement of slaying the famed enemy General Ikat tuni during the heated Clash at nagakute 6 years later he and his Red Devils would also bring further Fame to themselves during one of the intense moments of fighting at the otherwise unorthodox Siege of odada as he is believed to have been the only Commander to have breached the Castle's walls yet Perhaps his most legendary moment was at the great battle of SE gahara in 1600 when he decided to disobey orders and charge the enemy line ahead of Fukushima masanori who had been designated as the Vanguard and his ferocity would not end there as later once the battle was nearly won he pushed on to destroy the shimazu contingent however as he smashed his way through their ranks it was here now Masa would be shot by a shimazu gunner this hit took him out of the battle but it did not immediately kill him at least not yet following the Battle with his Lord easu the great Victor and essentially in control of the entire country naasa and the E were to enjoy prominent status for their loyalty under the Tokugawa Banner the E would be granted the area around saama Castle in Omi Province the same place that his former enemy from SEI gahara Ishida mitsunari had once ruled over yet sadly he would not have long to enjoy the new peace that had been established as he would die shortly after in 16002 from what many believe to be the result of the bullet wound he suffered at Sahara Nam Masa was succeeded by his son Ena katsu who would later complete the construction of the New hicone Castle in Omi from which the E would rule their domain the construction of a mighty New Castle during the Edo period was somewhat of a Rarity as the shogunate was more focused on actually removing powerful fortifications across the country than building them even more rare was the fact that the new bakufu ordered other domains to be the ones to actually construct hikone for the E yet the purpose of hikone was once seen as extremely significant as it was meant to safeguard Kyoto and Osaka naatu however had struggles with with his health and thus was unable to later serve during the sieges of Osaka in 1614 and 1615 instead sending his younger brother naaka na taka and the Red Devils would see some of the thickest fighting during the Osaka conflict and following the end of The Siege would shortly after go on to take over leadership of the clan from his sickly brother the E would press on into the Ado period as one of the most prominent of the foodi inner Lord Dao Clans within the new toku gawa regime seen as one of the most significant cogs in the greater structure of the idob bakufu and it is here that I think it is really important to also just mention their fictional appearance in one of the greatest Samurai films and critiques of edop period Society harak Kitt it is in this film that the E are portrayed rightfully so as a significant power within the Tokugawa government however being now into the 1630s with the age of War having passed the E have tried desperate to cling to their outdated Valiant Warrior identity the same nature once characterized by their famed red armor it is this facade that is torn down by a lone veteran Samurai of the soku period whose quest for Revenge leads him down a path of exposing the hypocrisy of the E and the unsavory nature of what the samurai have become in the new age of peace I highly recommend that you watch this film it is seriously a masterpiece I've also made a whole video on it if you want to check check that out too but what this film of course does is indeed showcase the changing nature of the Samurai into the Ido period as many tried desperately to cling to outdated Warrior ways despite the sariz changing identity as bureaucrats and administrators The Fearsome e would not be exempt from this eventually we reached the bakumatsu era where we find one of the most significant members within the government to be e na after the arrival of us Commodore Matthew Perry in 18 53 enow much to the displeasure of many Dao would authorize the signing of the Treaty of Amity and commerce opening much of Japan's ports to the outside world at a time when anti- shogen sentiment was already rising and with ena's opposition to the Imperial cause he was made into a prime target in 1860 he would be assassinated by samurai from Mito and Satsuma right in front of the Edo Castle Gates while he was on his way to meet with the Shogun later during the bin War the E would initially support the shogunate but would quickly realize the changing tide of things and would transition to support the Imperial cause for this they' be rewarded by the new government into the Magi era the E would become part of the new Imperial Japanese aristocracy known as the kazoku and by 1944 with hikone Castle having long since been considered of any real strategic significance the E family would gift the castle over to hion City who still own and operate it and to this day the E still live on the story of the e is a long and illustrious one having risen out of totoi and nearly being dissolved in the aftermath of the disastrous defeat of their imagawa Overlord at okehazama the E would still endure and fate would even see fit to grant them a second chance for Glory under the rule of the Tokugawa one which their famed leader IA Masa would rightfully claim leading the family and the Red Devils into Legend as always this was just an overview of the story of the E not an overly in-depth analysis of them and their many leaders but if you would like a say in which clan I should cover next in my clan history videos please consider supporting the channel on patreon where you can suggest and vote for which clan I cover next and with that said thank you for watching and don't forget to like subscribe and ring that notification Bell if you enjoyed this video and found it to be most informative