Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 15 - Revolutionary War

In the 2nd year of Kōkaku (1790), the new government declared that the Emperor would embark on the capital three years later. This was essentially a declaration of relocation of the capital, and the chosen city for the destination was Hakata.

Hakata was chosen because it was an international trade port and the largest city closest to East Asia. However, many believed that this decision was the result of political maneuvering by the Mōri clan to benefit themselves.

If things had gone as expected, the well-equipped city of Osaka, which had all the facilities needed for a central government, should have been chosen. Alternatively, it was expected that a location within the territories of the Eastern Faction would be chosen as it was the majority opinion. There was also a theory that a city in an inland basin would be chosen for defense reasons. Therefore, there was a strong argument that the capital should remain in Kyoto.

However, Hakata was chosen, much to the disappointment of many.

The disappointment of the people who believed that the era of samurai holding political power would continue as usual was expected to lead to resignation in the past. However, the times were denying this.

Already, wealthy people, especially those overseas, possessed military power. It was common for immigrants overseas to possess weapons for self-defense regardless of their wealth. In particular, there was a growing belief that the samurai, who had only a rural base and could not abandon their conservative views, were no longer needed. Among these, lower-ranked samurai, foreign warriors, and Japanese mercenaries were strongly aware that they, with their knowledge and skills, could replace the higher-ranked samurai and daimyō, who had been superior by bloodlines alone.

And those who became rich were mainly armed abroad. People who emigrated overseas, regardless of wealth or poverty, generally took up arms for self-defense. At this point, there was virtually no control from the former Osaka Regency or the samurai, and it was the wealthy merchants who could procure the vast resources and supplies needed for war.

Moreover, the formation of the new government had given rise to several new powers among the populace. Among them, the creation of a militia of commoners who could wield military force as the Emperor's troops symbolized the era.

On the other hand, the samurai were deeply concerned about the rapid decline of their influence and felt that they should tighten their control once again. Additionally, the reality that the townspeople were materially richer than the samurai, who were supposed to be the ruling class, was hard to accept for some due to their pride. Of course, there were many who accepted this reality, acknowledged the facts, and sensed the changing times, but those with narrow perspectives due to their inherited privileges were in the majority. Moreover, among the samurai themselves, there were divisions between those who possessed and those who did not, between the western and eastern regions, and conflicts between the Mōri clan and the Eastern Faction. Furthermore, the Japanese mercenaries who had been at the bottom of the samurai hierarchy were already representatives of the common people due to their voluntary participation in the national army and a change in consciousness within the national army. The former mercenaries were rapidly transforming from being disliked and despised individuals to soldiers of the national army who were expected and honored.

And naturally, they also came into conflict with the samurai class that clung to their privileges.

In other words, it can be said that the new government still faced many challenges.

Nevertheless, there were no individuals willing to start another war, and they would spend their days deepening the divisions in Kyoto, the interim capital, through political struggles and power struggles.