These are the 3 Samurai Who Unite Japan

The history of Japan cannot be separated from the story of the greatness of the samurai in the past. There are 3 central figures who played a major role in the process of unification (unification) of Japan which was previously divided into many clans. The term "Nobunaga who buys noodles, Hideyoshi who cooks, and Ieyasu who eats" is a description of their respective roles in the effort to unify Japan.

1. Oda Nobunaga

Why is Nobunaga called the one who bought the noodles? Because basically he was the one who started the Japanese unification effort. Oda Nobunaga is the leader (daimy) of a province called Owari. The effort to unify Japan began with the conquest of Mino province from Saito's hands at the battle of Inabayama.

Nobunaga was also the first to use firearms purchased from the Portuguese as weapons for war. With this rifle, he managed to defeat Katsuyori who was the son of Takeda Shingen in the battle in Nagashino. The peak of Nobunaga's success was when he succeeded in occupying Kyoto which was the imperial capital.

But his dream to unite Japan must end with the betrayal of one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. Akechi Mitsuhide, who was supposed to attack Mori with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, turned around and attacked Nobunaga at Honno-ji Temple.

2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi is one of Nobunaga's generals. He began his military career as the daimyo's sandal-bearer. Because of his intelligence and intelligence, he began to be recognized by Nobunaga so that he became one of his military generals. It was Hideyoshi who continued Nobunaga's determination to unite Japan. Therefore in history he played the role of the person who "Cooks".

After Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi rose and attacked Mitsuhide to avenge his master's death. He managed to defeat mitsuhide who fled to Sakamoto fortress at the battle of Yamazaki. Hideyoshi quickly took over the leadership by establishing a headquarters in Osaka. Who would have thought that a farmer's son could become such a great daimyo and was now trying to unify Japan.

Hideyoshi's power grew after defeating the Shimizu and Chosokabe clans. He was also able to defeat the Hojo clan and bring down the famous Odawara fortress because it was very difficult to conquer. However, because he is the son of a peasant with a low caste, he cannot become Emperor and can only become a Kampaku (premier level). But in fact on the ground, he was the one who held full power over the entire military in feudal Japan.

3. Tokugawa Leyasu

Ieyasu was one of Oda Nobunaga's subordinates, but his position was still under Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi's death, Japan was again in turmoil, marked by Ieyasu who moved to become Hideyoshi's heir and tried to take power. Ishida Mitsunari who is Hideyoshi's loyal general did not accept Ieyasu's actions because at first Hideyoshi handed over his power to Hideyori (his son) and asked Ishida Mitsunari to help Hideyori.

Finally, in 1600, Hideyoshi's sympathizers led by Ishida Mitsunari declared resistance to Ieyasu through the battle at Sekigahara. There were approximately 200,000 soldiers involved in this war. This battle was won by Ieyasu's side with the defeat of Ishida Mitsunari. The remains of Hideyoshi's sympathizers in Osaka were also eliminated. The war in Sekigahara was recorded as a war that marked the beginning of the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa Ieyasu shogunate.

After the elimination of the Toyotomi clan, Ieyasu also distributed territory to each clan leader according to his contribution to the war in Sekigahara. The unification of Japan finally really materialized with Tokugawa Ieyasu being the culmination. No wonder Ieyasu is said to be the one who "eats", because the efforts of the two previous great generals who have made a way to unify Japan, so Ieyasu easily passed.