Book Review: "The Spear of A Lucky Fellow" By Jun Ito

The characters in this blog post are real, whereas conversations are from the target novel by Ito [1] translated by the author of this blog.

 

 Fig. Nobunaga (left) and Yoshimoto (right)

at Okehazama Old Battlefield.

Movie: Okehazama Old Battlefield

桶狭間古戦場.MP4

0030: Nobunaga left, Yoshimoto right

00:52 Toumb of Yoshimoto

Characters:

Oda Nobunaga (1534 -1582): Lord of Owari clan in the present-day Nagoya prefecture

Mohri Shinsuke (birth year unknown -1582): A retainer of Nobunaga

 

Who was Shinsuke?

 

Battle of Okehazama

Fig. Okehazama

Source: goolge earth modified by the author

 

Date: June 12, 1560

Location: Okehazama (near present-day Nagoya)

Event: The Oda clan forces were much smaller thatn that of the Imagawa clan. At the time, the Oda clan was relatively obscure.

When the Oda army arrived at Okehazama, the location where the Imagawa army was, suddenly the sky became overcast and a fierce storm ensued. Visibility was extremely poor, and the Imagawa forces couldn’t assess the situation well. When the dark clouds cleared, Nobunaga identified the group of body guards of Yoshimoto and said,

 “That’s where Yoshimoto’s palanquin is. Attack!” 

The first to leap at Yoshimoto was Hattori Koheita. However, Yoshimoto swiftly countered, cutting Koheita’s knee and incapacitating him. Yoshioto was one of the best spear fighters of the time. Mohri Shinsuke then stepped forward, engaging Yoshimoto in a fierce struggle. Ultimately, Shinsuke emerged victorious, slaying Yoshimoto. [2]

 Legend has it that Yoshimoto bit off one of Shinsuke’s fingers, and even after his head was severed, it still held Shinsuke’s finger.

Consequence:

Even during the Sengoku period (warring period), when every clan was fighting with each other, it was rare that a lord himself was killed in the battle field instead of his soldiers killed. Thus, the decisive death of Yoshimoto himself was something unusual.

The victory of Oda clan holds immense significance in Japanese history as it served as a crucial turning point. 

This pivotal battle eventually led to the unification of Japan, which had been in a state of chaos for nearly a century, ultimately transforming the nation into a formidable force.

Why Shinsuke interests me?

In typical circumstances, a samurai who achieves such a significant feat would ascend the ranks and becomes a Daimyo, a lord with his own clan. Surprisingly, Shinsuke remained fiercely loyal as Nobunaga's bodyguard for an extended period and ultimately met his demise during the Honnoji incident, which coincided with Nobunaga's death in 1582. It is not known if he was lacking the ability to go up or he intended not to aspire to go up.

Jun Ito, the author of this short novel, appears to take the second view and writes this target short story.

The following is a further conversation:

[1] Ito, J., "Kaho mono no yari”, Bungei Shunju, Tokyo, 2013

[2] Ohta, G., "Shincho Koki" , (modern translation by Nakata, T.) Shin Jinbutsu Bunko, Tokyo, 2015, tenth printing

Ota Gyūichi (1527-1613) was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, and his extensive materials and detailed explanations make his book a relatively reliable source. English translation:

  "Chronicles of Lord Nobunaga",  https://brill.com/display/title/19759