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You can simply enjoy the picture and skip the lengthy history post below if that’s not your cup of tea (but it’s relevant, I promise).

I was flipping through pose references the other day when the thought occurred to me that I’ve been meaning to write about Yagyu Shinjiro Toshikatsu, who always only gets to be a small footnote in history as “Sekishusai’s eldest son” or “Munenori’s older brother”, and who really deserves better.

Poor Toshikatsu doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry of his own, and Japanese Google only turned up scant information, which seems largely based on the signboards at Hotoku-ji, the Yagyu clan’s family temple. I’m assuming the information at Hotoku-ji is likely based on Yagyu family records. If any of this should happen to be inaccurate, please share your sources and I’ll be happy to make corrections.

…

Toshikatsu was born in 1551, in the middle of the Sengoku (or warring states) period, that part of Japanese history where everyone tried killing everyone else before finally entering those centuries of peace that constitute the Edo period. Toshikatsu’s father, Munetoshi (Yagyu Sekishusai Taira-no-Munetoshi) was 22 years old when his son was born and, like his own father Ietoshi, served the Tsutsui clan with great distinction as a military commander.

The Yagyu’s service to the Tsutsui is relevant for a couple of reasons:

First, the Yagyu had originally come to serve the Tsutsui after being forced to surrender to them to end the siege of Koyagyu Castle in 1544, which caused the Yagyu to lose their titles and lands - something that would always leave Munetoshi fiercly protective of the peace of his village and valley later in life.

Second, the uncomfortable service to the Tsutsui lasted only until 1559 when Matsunaga Hisahide convinced the Yagyu to join him in fighting against the Tsutsui with the promise of returning their lands and titles in return.

Unfortunately for Toshikatsu, the Yagyu took Matsunaga’s offer.

Following in the footsteps of his father Munetoshi, who had led his first troops on the battlefield at age 15, young Toshikatsu saw his first battle at age 16 in 1567. This would have been the battle at Todai-ji temple in Nara, during which Matsunaga’s troops set fire to the hall housing the great Buddha statue - something that definitely did not help Matsunaga’s popularity,

This first battlefield experience did not go well for young Toshikatsu. He was badly wounded in the hip, and although the injury healed and he resumed service under Matsunaga, it did leave him with a limp.

Four years later, in 1571, Toshikatsu once again found himself on the battlefield. This time, Matsunaga made another attempt to secure control over Yamato province and he sent his Yagyu troops to attack the Tsutsui at Tatsuichi in Nara. The attack failed miserably and Toshikatsu did not fare any better - at only 20 years old, he was again injured and this time, there was no chance of resuming service after his wounds healed: his legs were paralyzed.

Having no other options, Toshikatsu was forced to return to the family home in the Yagyu village. He likely would have considered himself lucky to have this option because in his time period, no provisions existed for samurai who became disabled in the course of their service. They would lose not only their position, but also their stipend (save for a small annual amount of rice) and would have to rely on a willing relative to take them in as a dependent.

Linguistics note - The Japanese word used for dependent in this context is 厄介 (yakkai), which can also mean staying with, caring for, or supporting someone. However, yakkai also has the connotation of being a burden or a nuisance, which is likely how many relatives viewed the idea of having to support a disabled family member in this time period. (Yamada Yoji’s movie Bushi no Ichibun gives us a good idea of what that kind of family discussion might have looked like when Kayo goes to her relatives for help after finding out they might be losing her husband’s stipend and their home after he loses his eyesight due to being poisoned.)

However, the return to Yagyu village isn’t where Toshikatsu’s story ends.

Yagyu family genealogy tells us that Toshikatsu had at least two sons: his eldest was Yagyu Sumitoshi, who was killed in 1599 in Korea, though I don't know when he was born. His second child was Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi, who was born in 1579, eight years after Toshikatsu returns home.

Hyogo, of course, would later become the head of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu style of swordsmanship, which he was taught by his grandfather, Munetoshi, from the time he was old enough to hold a sword. However, Munetoshi’s choice to pass the school on to his grandson, Hyogonosuke, rather than his own son, Munenori, who was serving as the sword instructor for the Tokugawa in Edo, opened a whole different can of worms, which split the Yagyu clan in two - the Edo branch (Munenori’s) and the Owari branch (Hyogo’s).

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu is still taught, by the way. The current head is Yagyu Koichi Taira Toshinobu, who is also the 16th head of the Owari Yagyu branch established by Hyogonosuke.

More importantly to Toshikatsu in his own time, he also opened a terakoya in Yagyu village, according to the information displayed at Hotoku-ji.

Although the word terakoya literally means temple school - this goes back to the earliest ones being opened at Buddhist temples - instruction usually took place in private residences. Terakoya were taught by bushi (samurai) or ronin, monks or priests, and sometimes doctors or calligraphers - individuals who themselves were educated and could therefore teach children how to read and write, and do basic calculations using an abacus. Depending on who was doing the teaching, a terakoya might also have had a more comprehensive curriculum that could include history, geography, literature, or even preparing formal letters or composing haiku, and the teachers also often became life-long mentors to their students. It would not have been an unusual career choice for a former samurai like Toshikatsu, and I rather like the idea that he might have found something he really enjoyed doing.

Toshikatsu died in 1616, aged 65, and he is buried at Hotoku-ji.

…

The picture at the beginning of the post would historically fit into 1671, very shortly after his return to Yagyu village. Still healing. Still trying to figure things out.

And while we don’t know what Toshikatsu looked like, I was trying for slight family resemblance with Samon (another Yagyu footnote in history featured in my gallery) who would have been his nephew in real life.

Description

You can simply enjoy the picture and skip the lengthy history post below if that’s not your cup of tea (but it’s relevant, I promise).

I was flipping through pose references the other day when the thought occurred to me that I’ve been meaning to write about Yagyu Shinjiro Toshikatsu, who always only gets to be a small footnote in history as “Sekishusai’s eldest son” or “Munenori’s older brother”, and who really deserves better.

Poor Toshikatsu doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry of his own, and Japanese Google only turned up scant information, which seems largely based on the signboards at Hotoku-ji, the Yagyu clan’s family temple. I’m assuming the information at Hotoku-ji is likely based on Yagyu family records. If any of this should happen to be inaccurate, please share your sources and I’ll be happy to make corrections.

…

Toshikatsu was born in 1551, in the middle of the Sengoku (or warring states) period, that part of Japanese history where everyone tried killing everyone else before finally entering those centuries of peace that constitute the Edo period. Toshikatsu’s father, Munetoshi (Yagyu Sekishusai Taira-no-Munetoshi) was 22 years old when his son was born and, like his own father Ietoshi, served the Tsutsui clan with great distinction as a military commander.

The Yagyu’s service to the Tsutsui is relevant for a couple of reasons:

First, the Yagyu had originally come to serve the Tsutsui after being forced to surrender to them to end the siege of Koyagyu Castle in 1544, which caused the Yagyu to lose their titles and lands - something that would always leave Munetoshi fiercly protective of the peace of his village and valley later in life.

Second, the uncomfortable service to the Tsutsui lasted only until 1559 when Matsunaga Hisahide convinced the Yagyu to join him in fighting against the Tsutsui with the promise of returning their lands and titles in return.

Unfortunately for Toshikatsu, the Yagyu took Matsunaga’s offer.

Following in the footsteps of his father Munetoshi, who had led his first troops on the battlefield at age 15, young Toshikatsu saw his first battle at age 16 in 1567. This would have been the battle at Todai-ji temple in Nara, during which Matsunaga’s troops set fire to the hall housing the great Buddha statue - something that definitely did not help Matsunaga’s popularity,

This first battlefield experience did not go well for young Toshikatsu. He was badly wounded in the hip, and although the injury healed and he resumed service under Matsunaga, it did leave him with a limp.

Four years later, in 1571, Toshikatsu once again found himself on the battlefield. This time, Matsunaga made another attempt to secure control over Yamato province and he sent his Yagyu troops to attack the Tsutsui at Tatsuichi in Nara. The attack failed miserably and Toshikatsu did not fare any better - at only 20 years old, he was again injured and this time, there was no chance of resuming service after his wounds healed: his legs were paralyzed.

Having no other options, Toshikatsu was forced to return to the family home in the Yagyu village. He likely would have considered himself lucky to have this option because in his time period, no provisions existed for samurai who became disabled in the course of their service. They would lose not only their position, but also their stipend (save for a small annual amount of rice) and would have to rely on a willing relative to take them in as a dependent.

Linguistics note - The Japanese word used for dependent in this context is 厄介 (yakkai), which can also mean staying with, caring for, or supporting someone. However, yakkai also has the connotation of being a burden or a nuisance, which is likely how many relatives viewed the idea of having to support a disabled family member in this time period. (Yamada Yoji’s movie Bushi no Ichibun gives us a good idea of what that kind of family discussion might have looked like when Kayo goes to her relatives for help after finding out they might be losing her husband’s stipend and their home after he loses his eyesight due to being poisoned.)

However, the return to Yagyu village isn’t where Toshikatsu’s story ends.

Yagyu family genealogy tells us that Toshikatsu had at least two sons: his eldest was Yagyu Sumitoshi, who was killed in 1599 in Korea, though I don't know when he was born. His second child was Yagyu Hyogonosuke Toshitoshi, who was born in 1579, eight years after Toshikatsu returns home.

Hyogo, of course, would later become the head of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu style of swordsmanship, which he was taught by his grandfather, Munetoshi, from the time he was old enough to hold a sword. However, Munetoshi’s choice to pass the school on to his grandson, Hyogonosuke, rather than his own son, Munenori, who was serving as the sword instructor for the Tokugawa in Edo, opened a whole different can of worms, which split the Yagyu clan in two - the Edo branch (Munenori’s) and the Owari branch (Hyogo’s).

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu is still taught, by the way. The current head is Yagyu Koichi Taira Toshinobu, who is also the 16th head of the Owari Yagyu branch established by Hyogonosuke.

More importantly to Toshikatsu in his own time, he also opened a terakoya in Yagyu village, according to the information displayed at Hotoku-ji.

Although the word terakoya literally means temple school - this goes back to the earliest ones being opened at Buddhist temples - instruction usually took place in private residences. Terakoya were taught by bushi (samurai) or ronin, monks or priests, and sometimes doctors or calligraphers - individuals who themselves were educated and could therefore teach children how to read and write, and do basic calculations using an abacus. Depending on who was doing the teaching, a terakoya might also have had a more comprehensive curriculum that could include history, geography, literature, or even preparing formal letters or composing haiku, and the teachers also often became life-long mentors to their students. It would not have been an unusual career choice for a former samurai like Toshikatsu, and I rather like the idea that he might have found something he really enjoyed doing.

Toshikatsu died in 1616, aged 65, and he is buried at Hotoku-ji.

…

The picture at the beginning of the post would historically fit into 1671, very shortly after his return to Yagyu village. Still healing. Still trying to figure things out.

And while we don’t know what Toshikatsu looked like, I was trying for slight family resemblance with Samon (another Yagyu footnote in history featured in my gallery) who would have been his nephew in real life.