History of the Ii Clan
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- Опубліковано 22 гру 2023
- In this video we look to examine the fascinating story of the Ii clan who are famed for such members Ii Naomasa, Naotaka, Naosuke, and the fearsome Red Devils!
If you would like a say in which clan I cover next, consider supporting the channel on patreon! www.patreon.com/theshogunatey...
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Sources Used:
As with many of the less famous clans, it can be hard to find information on them, especially in English or easily translatable. Yet for this video I was able to find most info on it through articles from the Japanese Wiki Corpus, Samurai wiki/archives and translated articles from:
Hikone Castle Museum hikone-castle-museum.jp/history/
Kotobank kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BA%95%E4...
Ryotanji www.ryotanji.com/history/iina...
Some other information form this video was also found in:
"The Samurai Encyclopedia" by Constantine Nomikos Vaporis
"Sekigahara: The Final Struggle for Power" By Anthony Bryant
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Music:
"Chariots of War" by Aakash Gandhi
Artwork and Images:
The Samurai Portraits used are from the "Nobunaga's Ambition" Series and are the property of Koei Tecmo.
Classical art, which in most cases can be considered public domain.
Art from Osprey Publications.
Other modern artist renditions and photographs, if you see your work in this video please contact me so that I can give you proper credit!
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Social Media:
Facebook: / theshogunateyoutube
Twitter: / shogunatethe
#Samurai #History #Japan
Honestly I never thought the pound sign would be a samurai crest, but if the Ii made a comeback I suspect they’d be very popular these days.
As an illustrator and sculptor, the Ii is a constant source of inspiration. My first attempt at illustrating a portrait in Photoshop was that of Kimata Morikatsu, the ‘tip of the spear’ of the Ii samurai, which I posted on the old Samurai Archive Forum. Through the years I have reconstructed the heraldry of the Ii from when they served the Imagawa to the Osaka Summer Campaign. When I was first commissioned to sculpt a mounted samurai in 1997 for commercial release, I chose to sculpt a mounted Ii Aka-oni ‘Red Devil’ for the now defunct Fort Duquesne Miniatures. I was fortunate to have two copies of the kit which is no longer available. I didn’t have enough reference books when I sculpted the figure for Fort Duquesne, so I chose to do an anonymous mounted Ii warrior. Now that I have more reference I am resculpting one of the kits into an accurate depiction of Kimata Morikatsu.
For me, the fate of Ii Naosuke is both sad and infuriating. Simply because his assassination was so pointless. All the policies and strategies he had envisioned in 1860 were used by the new imperial government a decade later!
Almost the complete Bakumatzu period with all the unrest, murders and wars could have been avoided.
The sliding doors moment when all may have turned a different direction
Or it’s just politics as it was. I mean, the Satcho didn’t overthrow the Tokugawa mainly because Tokugawa held the country back from development (because their policies were the same). They did it mainly because they’re disgruntled domains who lost against Tokugawa in Sekigahara and wanted to take the throne for themselves…I mean, for the emperor.
I admire your knowledge in Japanese history. However, the circumstances surrounding Ii Naosuke's assassination is far more complicated than what you seem to make of it. Since it would take a whole thesis to deliberate on the extent of the topic, I'll just pick one most simple aspect that is relevant to your comment.
The assassination wasn't about the foreign policies that lead to his assassination, and the culprits who carried the plan out were not directly connected to the Satsuma and Chosu clans which made up most of the Meiji government a decade later.
The assassination was carried out by the ronins of the Mito clan, and their aim was basically to avenge the executions of the samurais of the Mito clan and the downfall of their beloved lord Tokugawa Nariaki during the Great Ansei Purge. The purge had roots in the disagreement among the governmental nobles concerning political policies of the time but ended up in Ii Nasuke simply massacring more than a hundred aspiring young samurais who he thought were his political foes. Of those executed, most were of the Mito clan.
The assassination was not just an assassination, it was an attempted coup d'etat, which failed mostly because of its naive planning but partly because the Satsuma clan betrayed them during the aftermath and refused to assist them,
while the Chosu clan were never into it.
Nasuke's foreign policies did not contradict the Meiji governments nor did they even conflict with the policies proposed by Tokugawa Nariaki and the Mito samurais, because it was basically the plan that Nariaki played out that was carried out by Naosuke. Naosuke did not kill the samurais in the purge because of the policies, he did so because he thought that the tactics the opposing party took showed disobedience to the Shogun hence capable of undermining the Shogunate regime. It also reflected the ongoing conflict as to which heir to choose as the next Shogun.
From around here, the conflict pretty much turned into pretty much a personal issue between Naosuke and Nariaki, which in turn led to the Assasination at Sakurad-mon.
Great video and great clan~ I'd love to add more context here for those interested about why Hikone Domain flipped sides during the Boshin War and Ii Naosuke's actions during the Bakumatsu period. The Ii were considered one of the preeminent Fudai Daimyo (vassal under Ieyasu prior to Sekighara and supported him in the battle), who historically held senior positions within the Tokugawa Bakufu. Alright so in the midst of the Bakumatsu period was Ii Naosuke, who was Tairō "Great Elder" of the Shogunate. The Ii clan had previously held this position five times before Naosuke. There were two policies Naosuke supported that led to his assassination, the main one being the unequal treaties signed with the foreign powers and the lesser being his choice of successor to the 13th Shogun Tokugawa Iesada. However, before Ii took powe during the early talks with Commodore Mattew Perry, the Bakufu was led by Abe Masahiro, who led the rōjū "Council of Elders" on behalf of the sickly Shogun Iesada, who succeeded Tokugawa Ieyoshi recently. Masahiro knew that the Shogunate could not expel the foreigners with military force but didn't want to make the decision based on his authority; therefore, he opened up the discussion with the rest of the Daimyo, something the Shogunate had not done before which demonstrated its weakness. The results of the poll also failed to provide Abe with an answer and were mixed (W. G. Beasley, The Meiji Restoration, pp. 90-95.). Masahiro would go on to agree for the Shogunate to sign the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854 and other subsequent treaties with foreign powers (he did not sign himself). Due to his appeasement toward the foreigners and surrender of Japanese sovereignty in the eyes of the Sonnō jōi and reformist factions (which included Tokugawa members), Abe was forced to resign and replaced by Hotta Masayoshi in 1855. Ii Naosuke helped contribute to this development with the support of the other Fudai Daimyo. Masayoshi would go on to conduct negotiations for the Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1858, however he wanted the approval of Emperor Kōmei in accepting the treaty, yet when he traveled to Kyoto, he was refused audience due to the interference of pro-imperialist and anti-western factions. Additionally, with the failing health of Shogun Iesada a dispute over the succession of the Shogun led to a factional rift within the Bakufu. With the succession crisis and the looming threat of foreign powers Masayoshi was forced out and Ii Naosuke was appointed Tairō in 1858 to resolve these issues and restore power to the Bakufu. Although he wanted imperial approval Ii kept Masayoshi's foreign policies and order them to be signed as the treaties aligned with Japan's interest. He was well aware of what happened to China in the Opium Wars after refusing foreign demands. This further fueled anti-Bakufu sentiments amongst all Daimyo, especially the Tozama and reformist Shinpan and Fudai, mainly Tokugawa Nariaki of Mito Domain. Ii Naosuke mainly struggled with the dispute over the succession of the Shogun Iesada, which is actually a pivotal reason the Ii clan eventually goes against the Shogunate in the Boshin-War. I'll briefly outline that the intricate system the Tokugawa family had established to augment the Shogunate with suitable heirs. Initially following Ieyasu, the Tokugawa established the Gosanke, "Three Houses of the Tokugawa" which were three most noble branches of the Tokugawa family: Owari, Kii (Wakayama), and Mito: named so for the powerful han (fiefs, domains) they ruled over and all were established by Ieyasu's three youngest sons. Ieyasu allowed them to provide heirs for the Shogunate should the main line go extinct. During the Edo and into the Bakumatsu period these branches of the Tokugawa were considered shinpan Daimyo so they could not hold positions within the Tokugawa Bakufu. Yet by the eighth Tokugawa Shogun: Tokugawa Yoshimune, these families were augmented by the establishment of the Gosankyō "The Three Lords." Yoshimune's two sons and one of their successors created the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi, and Shimizu branches of the Tokugawa. These additional branches of the Tokugawa were lesser in power to the Gosanke as they did not rule any han yet they did provide Shogunal heirs and held prominence within the Bakufu. This context is necessary to understand the dilemma Ii Naosuke faced when deciding the next Shogun for the Tokugawa House as his power was only less than the Shogun Iesada himself. There were two main candidates to be the 14th Shogun: the 12-year-old Tokugawa Yoshitomi of the Kii branch of the Tokugawa and ruler of Wakayama Domain or Hitotsubashi Keiki, who was the son of Tokugawa Nariaki of Mito Domain, but was adopted into the Hitotsubashi House in 1848 to elevate his chances at becoming Shogun. Hitotsubashi Keiki was viewed as a stronger leader with more experience but had reformist policies and favored pro-imperial sentiment akin to his father Tokugawa Nariaki; therefore, Ii Naosuke supported the young Yoshitomi as he wanted to restore Bakufu authority and could easily control the younger future Shogun without the influence of other Shinpan Daimyo meddling in Bakufu affairs. Also he wanted the Bakufu and Imperial court to become closer so he arranged a marriage between the Shogun and a princess of the Imperial family to strengthen ties between them as restoring Bakufu legitimacy and authority would be easier with the Imperial family supporting the Shogunate. Therefore, Ii settled the succession dispute by claiming that the Shinpan, Emperor, or anyone outside the Bakufu had no authority to interfere in this matter for the Tokugawa House. So Ii, with the support of the Fudai Daimyo, selected Yoshitomi to be the 14th Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi, against the wishes of the Daimyo supporting Keiki. This made Naosuke extremely unpopular with the Mito samurai and Tokugawa Nariaki tried to get the emperor to denounce Ii. Naosuke responded with the Shogunal decree that enabled him to enact the Ansei Purge (1858-60). This purge led to the execution, imprisonment, exile, and forced retirement of all political opponents towards Ii and the Bakufu. Over 100 individuals were affected and the likes of Nariaki and Keiki were placed under house arrest along with other members of the Shinpan Daimyo. This purge would end when Ii was assassinated by Mito and Satsuma samurai who were pro-imperialists, you can see how Ii actions in the purge along with his successor choice also contributed to his death. Now the aftermath of the Sakuradamon Incident led to the rise of the Hitotsubashi faction dominating the Bakufu as Ii political opponents were allowed to resurface following his demise and Keiki would become the guardian of Shogun Iemochi in 1862. Hikone domain would be punished for Naosuke's action by being stripped of 100,000 koku which was worth about 1/3 of the domain's total. The Ii clan would recover some of this amount by supporting the Bakufu in Kinmon Incident in Kyoto fighting alongside Keiki against the Chōshū along with quelling a rebellion in Mito and also participating in the Chōshū expeditions. By 1866 it was clear the Tokugawa Shogunate military had failed to modernize, and its prestige was weakened with the 2nd Chōshū expedition resulting in failure. The Ii also still were resentful over how the Bakufu treated them following Naosuke's death. With the outbreak of the Boshin War at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi the Ii did not participate and instead kept their troops in Osaka Castle. Following the battle, they marched home and joined the Imperial side. One of the staunchest and most ardent pro-Shogunate Fudai Daimyo now betrayed their overlords and helped end the Tokugawa regime. The Ii clan had quite the impact on Japanese history.
Here are some sources if you want to read further.
Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten, Tokugawa Gosanke, Tokugawa Owari-ke, Tokugawa Kii-ke, and Tokugawa Mito-ke
Hall, John Whitney. (1956). "The Motivation of Political Leadership in the Meiji Restoration, Yoshio Sakata", The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 41.
Lamberti, Matthew. (1972). "Tokugawa Nariaki and The Japanese Imperial Institution: 1853-1858", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 32, p. 109
Good
Hey Shogunate, you should do a video on the History of the Ainu or do a video on the Yamato wars with the Emishi. Would be cool
Ii Naomasa was in charge of negotiating a truce between Tokugawa and Shimazu at Shimazu's request, despite being seriously wounded by Shimazu's forces in the Battle of Sekigahara.
Two years later, he died of an infection caused by his battle wounds.
Hell yeah Hashtag Naomasa
Love to see you cover the Tadai clan and Naoe clans in the future.
As for the Ii, it feels like they were able to survive like the Sanadas. I don't know who is the current line for the current Ii clan but I think the kins were already spread out since from various cities in Japan.
In Sengoku Basara, Ii Naotora is depicted as a strong-willed warrior wanting to discipline men in the game to become an ideal suitor to match her high standard.
In Koei's Samurai Warriors, Ii Naotora is an overly apologetic but well-endowed Neko-Mimi girl. 😺
She didn't have cat ears. She had a flower pin in her headband.
Depiction in anime has nothing to do with history mate. She never fought or lead armys just like any other woman in japanese history.
According to Wikipedia
It is disputed that id Naotora really a female or not. As modern historians started doubting it and even Lo al historians and modern Ii clan descendant reject Naotora as adoptive mother of Naomasa
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii_Naotora
Even so
It is even doubted that Naotora is even a woman
According to Wikipedia
It is disputed that id Naotora really a female or not. As modern historians started doubting it and even Lo al historians and modern Ii clan descendant reject Naotora as adoptive mother of Naomasa
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii_Naotora
Your work is the best! I love all your samurai lore videos and especially the clan ones these are amazing thanks so much for these! Love the channel keep up the great work!
To tell the truth, I know nothing about any of those people, but I have a special fondness for Naotora, because of the NHK Taiga Drama "Naotora: The Lady Warlord".
By the way, I recommend, as a bonus the soundtrack is by Yoko Kanno.
According to Wikipedia
It is disputed that id Naotora really a female or not. As modern historians started doubting it and even Lo al historians and modern Ii clan descendant reject Naotora as adoptive mother of Naomasa
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii_Naotora
Holy Samurai
The Goat has uploaded another clan video🔥🔥🔥
I really thought you forgot bout this legendary playlist💯
Ii who keep appearing in popular culture. His armor might as well be as famous as Honda Tadatakstu maybe due to his armor is still perfectly preserved to this day. Not to mention associated with the cute Maneki Neko. Ii armor plays an important part in the deconstruction of Samurai movie Harakiri.
Also he was pretty kickass in Kessen, Drifter and Nioh who is said to be horribly scared all over his body compared to Honda who never received a single wound or scar thru his life.
Love seeing these red armored warriors.
Shingen, Naomasa, Yukimura. All badasses.
Awesome vid glad we go Naomasa's clan finally out there Naomasa was a great General and even administrator it seems, it's a shame Naomasa took a bullet at Sekigahara, at least his 2nd Son Naotaka continued the line and the Red Devils of Ii lived on, nice to know there still around to this day, great Vid who would I like Clan wise next, Well he Yamagata maybe.
I love these videos. I look foward to more!
Arrived just in time! Glad to see you’re still at it man! Keep up the great work💯
Thanks, this was has been my favourite clan since I was conceived 25 years ago
Great video. I love learning about japanese history.
The Ii clan is a Rlly cool clan one of my favorites thank you
Still waiting for Nabeshima, Nanbu clans :)
You know so much love. Your videos can you tellme plzz any specefic books you recomend on japanese samurai history
I have been a fan of Ii Naomasa since Kessen 1 and was so happy when he finally became playable in the Samurai Warriors series just need the Segoku Basara series to add him if that will happen I don't know.
The clans you should do a video on are the Tokugawa(徳川氏) Clan, Minamoto(源) Clan, and Toyotomi(豊臣氏) Clan.
Ii Naotoras story is similar and probably an inspiration of, Mara of the Acoma from the fictional book Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts.
As far as I know, aeems the Not In that Ii Naotora being female is heavily kontroversial among scholarship, as recent historians seems opined that Ii naotora was a male ex officer of Imagawa Yoshimoto
Can you do a Video about the Akechi Clan?
Outstanding vid!
Really cool clan story!! naomasa li is always reliable in any game he is in...
Hold up its two ii? I always thought it was Li clan. Dont tell me I was reading it the whole time incorectly ! XD
Yes it is two ii. It's a common enough thing to mistake haha
@@TheShogunate so its like the Hungarian Í (pronounced as ii)
@@leventekingvevo72 its just the capital i (I) that throws off people.
I always thought it was cslled the Li clan ... Lol thabks for the enlighting video
Me too
Until I realized Japanese didnt have "L" in their vocabulary
No pun intended
Another true gem of a vid from a very underated chan💪👺
Thank you for another good clan review video. I hope you, your family and friends all have a good holiday 🥃 Sláinte
Can you please do the Nanbu Clan?
Can you do the Ikeda family
Do you have any plans on doing a video on the Watanabe clan?
May we have something on Nabeshima clan?
Brother can you have I Biography of mitsunari ishida
I really hope someone who can afford it asks him to do one on the Nanbu clan
Honda clan next
Was it the Ii that was featured in AOE3s Asian Dynasties - the one with the red armor on a horse?
mom get the popcorn our shogun has once returned to our humble home with some of his knowledge 🗣️
Thank you so much. Sensei I learn so much from you. I enjoy history. I know you speak English but you speak softly, like the Japanese do. I did notice that. I grew up watching WW 2 movies. I know now that was only propaganda. Thank you so much for being Sensei. < greatest of all time, goat
We need more clan
Tokugawa
Toyotomi
Shibata
Tachibana
Hattori
Hachisuka
Ikeda
Kyogoku
Kato
Ishida
Kobayakawa
Naoe
Honda
Takigawa
Kuroda
Saito
Todo
Matsunaga
Asakura
Ikoma
Asano
Taira
Minamoto
Fujiwara
Yamato
Honganji was bad ass. Shimotsuma (the head of the militant wing of the buddhist denomination) once suggested Ikko-Ikki should kill off all Samurai Daimyos and establish a theocracy in japan.
Talk about a medieval revolutionary!
Tokugawa
Oda
Toyotomi(Hideyoshr's elder sister)
Akechi
Ishida
Maeda
Hosokawa
Hachisuka
Azai
Shimazu
Saito
Niwa
Sassa
Ikeda
Satake
The most famous descendants of these Daimyo and samurais are the current Japanese royal family
The Ii armor is the one I use most in the first Nioh game
Do you know how Hokkaido was seen during the Sengoku era? Did they see them similar to Game of Thrones and the wildlings in the North?
#IiClanHasTheBestInterestForTokugawa
Do Yamaguchi no gumi
🔥🔥🔥🔥
I’m not sure if you’ve done a video on this, but can you tell us if there was any Christian samurai? I know Christianity spread to Japan and in my kenjustsu class someone has a sword with a cross on his tsuba. Is a historically accurate piece?
oh the hashtag clan
My family’s crest is the cross hatch inside a circle. I wonder if my family’s clan was related?
Shimazu?
History of # hashtag clan
According to Wikipedia
It is disputed that id Naotora really a female or not. As modern historians started doubting it and even Lo al historians and modern Ii clan descendant reject Naotora as adoptive mother of Naomasa
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii_Naotora
من فضلكم أرغب في وضع الترجمة العربية للفيديو وشكرا
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👍🏻👍🏻
I wonder why didn't naomasa remove the bullet from his body after sekigahara?
He probably was not able to, it might have been too dangerous to go digging around for it. It might have also been that the bullet was removed but that the wound never healed properly.
Can you react to the game "great conqeurer 2: shogun"?
I'm very surprised that the Ii clan was allowed to be part of the new Meiji government considering the actions of Ii Naosuke. I am curious if the clan had to really distance themselves from him politically.
Well they did change sides in the middle of the war lol. Plus, the clan still had massive clout and holdings. It would be a bad look for the Meiji to just start confiscating Ii lands and ostracize a powerful clan that changed sides for them. The Ii could also form a good counterweight against the western clans in the new government.
Is pronounced "Ee," or "Ee-eye," like the martial art Iiado?
Ee. Also it is Iaido, that's why it is pronounced E-aye-do.
Hi
Saw your complete saga on the Shogunate and Sengoku Jidai. Very interesting. Some items you should consider in those vids are the ones discussed here ua-cam.com/video/fMN1VALIb5A/v-deo.html.
Seems as if bad weather was not a winning factor during the 1st Mongol invasion.
My dumbass always thought his name was Naomasa Li.😭😭😭 ii
A certain group of Romanians will also like this symbol
Lemme guess. Favorite game tic tac toe? 😂
If they character based writing system, why don't they pronounce ii as i-i?
They do, it's just that there's no glottal stop between the two so it sounds continuous.
@@zenrythebard5587 it can be pronounced as ih-ih
First xD
Naotora was such a chad of her time.
The Ii is badass.
Shame samurai warriors made her into a clumsy sex object
Yeah I never liked that about the character
Chad lmao? She was just head of the clan as last ditch efford to preserve clans name as there were no males to lead. She did not ever fought/lead armys as she was really just land lord to keep the clan working until male can be put into her position.
Actually recent researchs challenged Naotora being a woman..
There is recent theory from academic communities that Ii Naotora actually eas not a woman, but instead a man of former Imagawa Samurai who take the Ii clan temporarily before Naomada grow up
Recent research that foster mother of Ii naomasa were not Ii Naotora, and she never takes the mantle of Ii clan leader.. Ii Naotora actually was an Imagawa Samurai named Sekiguchi Ujitsune
The founders of Iinstagram #samurai
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