* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Yamana Sozen
山名宗全
Aka-Nyudo (the Red Monk) — The Great Daimyo Called the "One-Sixth Lord," Who Led the Western Army in the Onin War and Set Kyoto Aflame Despite His Advanced Age
Description
The Rise of the One-Sixth Lord
Yamana Sozen (born Yamana Mochitoyoshi) was born in 1404 (Ōei 11), the son of Yamana Tokihiro. The Yamana clan had a period when they ruled eleven of Japan's sixty-six provinces and were called the "One-Sixth Lords" (daimyo who controlled one-sixth of Japan). Though their power was greatly reduced by their conflict with the shogunate (the Meitoku Rebellion, 1391), by Sozen's time they remained a powerful clan controlling many provinces in the Sanin and Sanyo regions, including Tanba, Tajima, Inaba, Hōki, and Iwami. In his later years, Sozen took Buddhist vows and adopted the name "Sozen." He was also known by the epithet "Aka-Nyudo" (the Red Monk) due to his reddish complexion.
Intervention in Shogunate Politics and Conflict with Hosokawa Katsumoto
As a powerful guardian daimyo of the Muromachi Shogunate, Yamana Sozen wielded considerable influence over shogunate politics. His conflict with Hosokawa Katsumoto in particular had a structure of political and military opposition that transcended mere personal grievances. Both sides' intervention in succession disputes within the Shiba and Hatakeyama clans intensified the conflict, and when entangled with the question of Ashikaga Yoshimasa's successor, the situation became irresoluble. Initially in the succession dispute, Katsumoto supported Ashikaga Yoshimi, Yoshimasa's brother, while Sozen supported Yoshimasa's son Yoshihisa; but as the conflict progressed, Yoshimi switched to the Western Army (Sozen's side), transforming the lines of opposition and becoming the core of the Onin War.
The Onin War and Command of the Western Army
In the Onin War, which began in 1467 (Onin 1), Sozen commanded the Western Army in opposition to the Eastern Army led by Hosokawa Katsumoto. The Western Army, commanded by the sixty-three-year-old general, was a massive force of perhaps two hundred thousand soldiers, centered on elite troops from Tanba and the Sanin region. Sozen established his headquarters in Nishi-jin (present-day Nishi-jin, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto) and maintained a war of attrition over the following eleven years. The place-name Nishi-jin remains in Kyoto today, derived from the Western Army's encampment there. The battle became a drawn-out war of attrition centered on Kyoto's urban streets, and without either side achieving decisive victory, Kyoto's cultural treasures were reduced to ashes one after another.
Swords and the Pride of a Warrior
Yamana Sozen never lost his pride as a warrior. Despite his advanced age, he stood at the front of his forces, and Sozen's figure supporting the morale of the Western Army left a deep impression on his contemporaries. As a great daimyo who possessed many swords, Sozen was said to favor tachi made by local sword smiths of the Sanin and Sanyo regions. The tachi forged by Hōki Province smiths (later the Yasutuna school) were crafted in places near the Yamana clan's base, and it is entirely plausible that Sozen ordered local smiths to create superior blades. Moreover, as a powerful guardian daimyo, each time he traveled to Kyoto for shogunate duties, he acquired famous swords from the capital, enriching the Yamana family's treasure repository.
Strange Resonance with His Sworn Enemy Hosokawa Katsumoto
What history has transmitted as an anecdote is the record that sworn enemies Hosokawa Katsumoto and Sozen held mutual respect. As fellow custodians of Muromachi culture, the two men were cultivated individuals versed in Zen, tea ceremony, and poetry, and it is said they had a spiritual exchange that transcended political positions. There are also records that in his later years, Sozen hoped for reconciliation with Katsumoto, revealing that the parties themselves fully recognized that the Onin War had become a war of attrition benefiting no one. In 1473 (Bunmei 5), Sozen died of illness in his camp, a few months before Katsumoto. He lived to be seventy years old.
The Legacy of the Onin War and Sword Culture
Sozen's death opened the path toward the effective conclusion of the Onin War. Yet the impact of eleven years of warfare on Japanese sword culture cannot be overestimated. Many renowned swords were lost in the flames of war, and as smiths dispersed throughout the land, forging techniques spread nationwide. The sword smiths of the Sanin region that Sozen controlled also, in the midst of this upheaval, changed their places of activity, some ceased operations, and others passed on their techniques in new lands. The Onin War, sparked by (or drawing in) the elderly general known as Aka-Nyudo, should be remembered as an important turning point in the history of the katana.
Notable Swords
- Hōki-den tachi — A tachi from ancient smiths of Hōki Province in the Sanin region, seat of the Yamana clan. It is said that Sozen possessed works of the Hōki smiths tracing descent from Yasutuna, demonstrating the deep connection between the Sanin region and the sword craft.
- Commander's camp tachi of the Western Army — A large tachi said to have been worn by Sozen at his Nishi-jin headquarters during the Onin War. Evidence of how the elderly general in his sixties demonstrated the pride of a warrior to the very end on the battlefield.