The Kiyosu Conference - Sengoku Shogun Map
What happened in the 1582 The Kiyosu Conference: the background, how it unfolded, its outcome, and the sources behind each point.
1582 (27th day of the 6th month, Tenshō 10) Kiyosu Castle, Owari Province
After Oda Nobunaga and his heir Nobutada died at Honnōji, four senior retainers — Shibata Katsuie, Hashiba Hideyoshi, Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneoki — met at Kiyosu Castle in Owari to settle the Oda succession and the division of Nobunaga's lands. Nobunaga's infant grandson Sanbōshi took the headship; Nobukatsu received Owari and Nobutaka received Mino.
背景
Nobunaga was killed at Honnōji and his heir Nobutada died at much the same time, leaving open both who would head the Oda house and who would administer Nobunaga's former lands. Hideyoshi, who had beaten Akechi Mitsuhide at Yamazaki, was now strong in the capital region, but Nobunaga's sons Nobukatsu and Nobutaka and the senior retainer Shibata Katsuie each stood differently. The four senior retainers gathered at Kiyosu to fill that vacancy, settling the succession and the division of the lands.
結末
Sanbōshi took the headship of the Oda house, Nobukatsu received Owari and Nobutaka received Mino. Nobutaka was placed at Gifu Castle as Sanbōshi's guardian. Nobukatsu became lord of Kiyosu Castle and rebuilt the castle and its town on a large scale. After the conference Nobunaga's sister Oichi married Shibata Katsuie.
歴史的な位置づけ
The settlement did not hand the Oda house to a single adult head; it rearranged the relations between an infant heir and several powerful men. Afterwards Shibata Katsuie backed Oda Nobutaka against Hashiba Hideyoshi, and the quarrel led to the Battle of Shizugatake the following year.
People involved
- 羽柴秀吉 （One of the four senior retainers at the conference） — Came to the conference fresh from the victory at Yamazaki. The city of Kiyosu says he took the lead there; scholarship also reads his position as having shifted through a political process that continued after the meeting.
- 柴田勝家 （One of the four senior retainers at the conference） — A leading retainer of the Oda. After the conference he backed Oda Nobutaka against Hideyoshi, and the quarrel led to Shizugatake the following year.
- 丹羽長秀 （One of the four senior retainers at the conference） — Attended alongside Katsuie and Hideyoshi. His standing mattered in working out how the Oda house would be run around the infant Sanbōshi.
- 池田恒興 （One of the four senior retainers at the conference） — One of the four senior retainers present at the conference on the 27th day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10, with Katsuie, Hideyoshi and Nagahide.
- 三法師 （Nobunaga's grandson, who took the headship of the Oda house） — Nobutada's son. The conference made him head of the Oda house. Being an infant, real political and military initiative rested on the relations among the powerful men around him. Later known as Oda Hidenobu.
- 織田信雄 （Nobunaga's second son, who received Owari） — Received Owari and became lord of Kiyosu Castle, rebuilding the castle and its town on a large scale. In 1584 he broke with Hideyoshi and allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- 織田信孝 （Nobunaga's third son, who received Mino） — Received Mino and was placed at Gifu Castle as Sanbōshi's guardian. He later joined Shibata Katsuie against Hideyoshi, was defeated in 1583 and took his own life.