Original subtitles

I remember the dawn breaking over the Army of the West, our enemy.

I remember our red breastplates gleaming in the morning sun.

I remember the pungent smell of musket powder.

I remember my comrades going into battle under a hail of bullets and arrows.

My name is Kitashi.

I am a samurai.

And I fought in the Battle of the Kigahara.

Today, Sekigahara is a small, peaceful town. But its landscape still

reverberates with the echoes of a legendary battle fought here more than

centuries ago.

It was a time when the land of the rising sun was torn apart by constant

conflict.

A vital intersection between Japan's east and west, Sekigahara is where the

nation's destiny would be decided.

Sekigahara is the name of an enormous battle which occurred, which was

absolutely vital in the formation of modern Japan.

On October 21, 1600,

Sekigahara would form the backdrop for an epic battle between two titanic

forces. On one side, the Army of the West, led by Ishida Mitsunari.

They were the defenders of the existing government.

On the other, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the undisputed leader of the Eastern Army, a

who aspired to unify the entire country under his control.

So it was the climax of this whole period of samurai warfare, after which

were no more great battles like this.

Leading up to the battle, Japan had endured 150 years of strife.

The nation had become divided into several rivaling territories, their

all trying, unsuccessfully, to centralize their power.

This is remembered as the Sengoku era, the era of the warring states.

Daimyo, it was warlords who were the lords of small domains.

Battling each other, all of them trying to increase their territory, trying to

gain more land and also more men for their armies, more power.

Towards the end of the 16th century in Japan, between 260 and 300 daimyos ruled

the divided territories.

Each daimyo held power over his own domain. They built castles and towns and

sought, above all else, land.

And access to land meant access to the most precious commodity in all of Japan,

rice.

One koku is comparable to roughly 180 kilograms of rice.

It's the measure of a daimyo's wealth and power.

An established daimyo would be expected to control enough land to produce 10

,000 koku per year.

For over 150 years, civilians had been silent witnesses to the rampant greed

and constant quarreling of Japan's warlords.

Day after day, we're going to battle for our daimyo.

Battlefield after battlefield.

Our victories grant him more and more territory.

My body is exhausted by this whirlwind of blood and violence, but my soul

remains faithful to the way of the warrior.

In the year 1595, a ray of hope appeared on the horizon.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, nicknamed the Monkey, embarked on a bold undertaking

pacify and unify the nation.

A formidable military strategist, this once modest soldier rose through the

ranks of Japanese society to become one of the most influential men of his time.

For five years, Toyotomi Hideyoshi forged a series of alliances, putting an

to decades of armed conflict between the feudal lords.

Then, two years before the battle of Segigahara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died.

Japan is fracturing.

Two competing visions emerge and then clash.

Ishida Mitsunari wishes to continue the legacy of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Tokugawa Ieyasu sees this period as an opportunity to seize power for himself.

57 years old at the time of the battle, and a brilliant military and political

tactician, he leads the Eastern Army.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was a battle -hardened samurai.

He was born into a daimyo family.

It was only a low -ranked one, but he worked his way up to become one of the

most powerful daimyo in the country.

By 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu has earned his reputation.

His power is well known across the land. His holdings produce 2 .5 million koku

per year.

An unprecedented amount of wealth in medieval Japanese history.

And with this wealth, he's able to field the nation's largest army, 30 ,000

samurai.

The leader of the Western Army is Ishida Mitsunari.

known for his righteousness, honesty and strong sense of justice.

He's seen as the heir to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's political legacy, one that

peace above all else.

At the time of the Battle of Segigahara, he's 41 years old.

Ishida Mitsunari was basically the right -hand man of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who

was the previous ruler of Japan.

But he hadn't had a great deal of power himself.

When he did have power, he tended to abuse it somewhat and cause a bit of

rivalry between other samurai.

In 1600, Ishida Mitsunari is producing ten times less rice per year than his

rival. His army numbers just 7 ,000 men.

Still, conflict is inevitable.

Both men desire to control Japan, but there is only room for one supreme

Before launching into battle, both leaders rally their armies and lobby for

support of as many clans as possible.

Each of the country's daimyos will be forced to choose under which banner he

will fight.

The Sekigahara Memorial, built on the site of the historic battle, preserves

memory of this defining event.

is a curator at this museum which houses a remarkable collection of artifacts

there are archaeological relics authentic samurai letters

and narratives as well as old military maps showing troop positions and

movements

By the time the battle begins, the two opposing forces field the same number of

soldiers.

Ishida Mitsunari, leader of the Army of the West, commands some 80 ,000 men.

Roughly the same as his enemy, Togugawa Ieyasu, head of the Eastern Army.

It was also an absolute knife edge, because it was not clear who was going

win. It was not certain who was going to win. The interesting thing about

Sekigahara is that it's such a complex battle.

Politically and, of course, militarily, it's a very long, very protracted, drawn

-out affair.

But, in fact, the actual battle itself only lasted for six hours or so. But

six -hour battle changed the future of Japan.

This morning we received orders to join the Eastern Army.

Our daimyo had chosen to pledge allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

I put on my blood -red armour, the armour of the Red Devils, and set off.

I'm a samurai.

My life belongs to my daimyo, and if need be, I will die for him without

The samurai lived by the samurai code, which was death before dishonor. It was

loyalty to your lord, no matter what.

The samurai.

They were a class of legendary Japanese warriors who pledged themselves to a

strict code of ethics and conduct known as Bushido.

For the samurai, values and principles such as loyalty, courage, benevolence

duty meant everything.

Each daimyo had its own private army.

within which the samurai were divided into elite units, like today's special

forces.

Samurai didn't have armour as uniform as such. It was basically their own choice

as to what sort of armour they would wear. Like we buy a car these days, the

colour, the make, the style, it's what you can afford, what you prefer as well.

The whole point of the armour, of course, is to protect the wearer, but

also to terrify everybody else.

So with a moustache, you're much more terrifying than without a moustache.

The whole idea is to look as intimidating as you possibly can.

The prestigious collections in France's National Military Museum, the Musée de l

'Armée, include some rare treasures.

Olivier Renaudot, the museum's creator, is the guardian of this remarkable trove

of samurai armour.

It offers a striking view into the Battle of Segigahara.

In reality, they are immovable and are not used in combat.

You see that there are small hinges on one side and on the other of the nose.

fact, we only keep the mantle that covers the part of the face and we

remove this part there to free the face and to facilitate breathing.

It is an armor that is quite characteristic of these armors.

two very great lords at the end of the 16th century.

They are very different from Western armors, which were obviously designed in

polished metal at that time.

Here we are on lacquered metal.

There are dozens and dozens of layers of this lacquer varnish which covers the

different parts of the armor.

These plates are hollowed and through these very tight holes passes a very

silk lacing which decides here a whole polychrome decor.

So we could be surprised to finally put a textile coating that we can think of

as fragile especially for armors that are intended to receive saber blows etc.

It turns out that silk has physical characteristics, it is that in fact you

cannot cut silk.

The silk crushes but it does not cut itself, that is to say that if you want

cut a piece of silk you need scissors.

But with a blade that will rub if you want or that will violently hit these

ribbons, in fact the ribbons will crush but will not be chiseled.

In June 1600, three powerful clans, the Mori, the Uesugi, and the

Yukita, join Ishida Mitsunari's Western Alliance.

Tokugawa Ieyasu also mobilizes his allies and their troops, including the

Hosokawa, Honda and Kuroda clans.

Our leader orders us to head west.

The road is long and difficult.

The path takes us through dark forests and steep mountains.

Our bodies are in pain,

From village to village, the suffering shared by our brothers in arms makes us

stronger and more united every day.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's troops advance westward in two separate columns.

Their objective, to take the city of Osaka, the country's economic center.

The first column, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself,

follows the Tokaido route along the coast meanwhile his son, Hidetada

takes a separate route the Nakasendo through the Japanese Alps

along the way the Eastern Army

swells with new recruits faced with the lightning advance

of the Eastern Army

Ishida Mitsunari needs to react boldly.

He blocks the way of the Eastern Army and seizes Ogaki Castle.

The Western Army then digs in.

At the head of the Eastern Army, Togugawa Ieyasu devises a daring plan to

lure Ishida Mitsunari and his troops out of their stronghold.

He spreads a rumor through their spies that he plans to bypass Ogaki Castle and

head directly west.

towards the great city of Osaka.

That night, on the night of October 20, 1600, during a very heavy rain which

cloaked their movements, the western forces moved their way out of Ogaki and

made their way to block off the main highway leading out of Sekigahara to

western Japan.

Sekigahara lies in the center of a valley.

surrounded by hills and imposing mountains the town is a strategic

the city of Osaka by the

time Ishida Mitsunari and his army of the west enter the hamlet of Segigahara

segment of his army is already present erecting simple fortifications in

preparation for battle

Ishida Mitsunari is among the last to take position and he is very reassured,

can imagine it, in any case, crossing the valley and realizing that all the

positions are occupied by his allies. A priori, everything looks good for him.

Easy to defend because there were big mountains around the back. There was no

way that anybody could attack from the rear. And by placing various armies down

around the base of this mountain and having his own 6 ,000 men...

completely cover this small mountain it meant that he had a very very strong

position just a few hours later the eastern army approaches with its 80 000

soldiers most of its troops established positions in front of the village of

segigahara we have just set up a

makeshift camp

In the distance, we can hear the murmuring of the western clans.

The spirit of focus and determination fills our group.

We are ready for battle.

October the 21st, 1600.

A thick fog envelops the Segigahara valley.

In this dense mist, the two warlords stare each other down.

Each leads tens of thousands of armed samurai, ashigaru, and horsemen.

Each is ready for battle.

When the fog lifted at about 8 o 'clock in the morning, they could finally see

how close they were to each other. That was a huge shock.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's clan hanged back, while other units from his eastern army

deployed to the front.

With the army of the West dominating the valley, they're in a difficult

situation

Wherever

one looks on the battlefield, he sees banners fluttering in the wind Each

proudly displays the coat of arms of a Daimyo and his clan

Each clan has its own camon, a Japanese family crest that

symbolizes a clan's identity, history and values.

The camon of the Togigawa clan shows three hollyhock leaves representing the

three virtues of the family sincerity courage and benevolence

Ishida Mitsunari's clan flies banners displaying the Japanese characters

for loyalty wisdom strength authority and justice

Even on the battlefield, they would have flags with the symbol of the clan

because you have to know who belongs to who.

So each soldier might have a small banner so that you make sure that you're

going to fight the enemy and not fight your friends.

At 8am, Ishida Mitsunari's western troops launch the first assault.

The spearmen then would have come rushing forward with their spears raised

upright, not forwards.

but upright.

The archers would then come through, and while the matchlock gunners were then

reloading, would then keep up a volley of fire.

Nishiwaki Tetsuro is a historic re -enactor.

His speciality, demonstrating early firearms.

like the arquebus, and interpreting the combat strategies used at the Battle of

Sekigahara.

In fact, we put black -colored gunpowder in it, and then we put lead balls in

it. We stick it with a stick about three times.

This is how we harden the gunpowder.

Then we put the workpiece back.

After that, we put the additives in it.

Put the gunpowder gunpowder gunpowder

gunpowder

gunpowder

Hibuta kirebu.

Kamaetebu.

Hanatebu.

There is a hikigari at the base of the hand, so the karakuri falls down.

This is where the hinawa is attached.

In Japan, the way to cut the hibuta of a battle is

Reloading an arquebus typically takes between 20 and 30 seconds.

To maintain continuous fire, one strategy the armies used was to divide

gunners into three groups.

who would then fire one group at a time.

We set off to attack.

The heavy steps of the horses driven by the archers shake the ground as they

approach.

Around me, my comrades fall one after the other.

Behind us, the arquebusiers fire salvos, their bullets whistling in our ears.

Yabusame were mounted warriors who specialized in archery.

They played an invaluable role at Segigahara, providing vital support for

samurai engaged in close combat.

For nearly 850 years, the Ogasawara Ryu School has been teaching the art of

archery in the suburbs of Tokyo.

Like the samurai of yesteryear, students today train themselves in the

movements, posture, and breathing techniques of past masters.

The horse rides from the right side.

In the west, the horse rides from the left side.

In Japan, the way to attach a sword is to attach it straight.

In the west, you attach it diagonally.

So you can ride from either side.

In Japan, the sword is attached straight, so if you don't attach it from

right side,

you won't be able to ride. You'll bump into each other.

In Japan, the way to attach a sword is to attach it from the right side.

The rest of the fingers are on the outside.

This is because only the heels are touching the horse.

The knees are open and not touching the horse, and the hips are not touching the

horse. First, you have to hold the horse firmly.

From there, you have to adjust your posture and take out the horse.

This is

a

mat,

but if you're an enemy, you can't just look away.

On the battlefield of Segigahara, both armies use large numbers of mounted

archers they sow confusion and inflict considerable damage

by this stage of the battle however no one has

been able to gain the upper hand Tokugawa Ieyasu and his men brave the

chaos engulfing Segigahara they enter the heart of the battle

hoping to confront Ishida Mitsunari and his men directly.

And at around about 10 o 'clock in the morning, Ieyasu was feeling a little bit

frustrated. So what he did was he upped his team, 30 ,000 samurai, and marched

them into the very center of the Sekigahara battlefield.

Now for Ishida Mitsunari and the Western team, they would have thought, what's

he doing?

It was a pretty brave move. It was obviously a very big risk.

Moving into the very center of this basin, Ieyasu was literally surrounded.

The Tsukai Banashi had to be fast, skillful and reliable.

Not only would they be needed to transmit orders, they would also be used

gather information on enemy movements, helping commanders make better strategic

decisions.

You can imagine this incredible melee.

of these huge numbers of men trampling around in the mud the battlefield strewn

with blood covered in blood covered in corpses covered in bits of chopped off

arms really a scene out of a you know medieval painting really terrible scene

i'm on the front line and i could feel that despite our fighting spirit the

troops in the west were gaining the upper hand But in the confusion, I saw

Tokugawa Ieyasu and his men take action.

They overtook us and threw themselves into the fray.

I gripped my katana tightly.

This blade is an extension of my body and soul. It gives me the strength to

return to battle.

Fujiwara Kanapusa is a blacksmith, renowned for his expertise in the art of

forging traditional Japanese swords, known as katanas.

He comes from a long line of blacksmiths. Every motion, every strike

anvil is informed by his family's ancestral secrets.

Each katana was one of a kind, tailor -made for the samurai who commissioned

taking into account his personal preferences and fighting style.

To create a blade of exceptional quality could take months, even years.

For the warrior, the katana was far more than just a weapon.

It was seen as an extension of his soul.

I stand tall, my feet firmly planted on the ground.

My gaze remains fixed on my opponent.

My katana springs from its scabbard with ease. My blade and my body become one.

My weight, my momentum, my agility make my attacks sharp and deadly.

But to master the katana takes more than just learning offensive techniques.

A samurai must also use it to parry opposing attacks with skill and speed.

In this way, the katana can become a protective shield as well, an

barrier against the opponent.

The taking of a samurai's head was deemed as a very brave thing to do. The

average samurai would enter the battle, they would engage an opponent, take

their head.

The head would then be taken back to their base camp, then they would, if

had time, return to the battle.

Inside the Army of the West, a clan on the side of Ishida Michinari...

The Kobayakawa remain still.

They are led by Kobayakawa Hideaki.

At just 23 years old, he's the youngest of the daimyos at Segigahara.

From the summit of Mount Matsuo, he and his men wait for their moment to strike.

Kobayakawa Hideaki will be the man who turns the tide of battle. But how?

In the heat of the conflict, no one yet knows that Kobayakawa Hideaki has sealed

a pact with the enemy, Togugawa Ieyasu.

He's made him a deadly promise.

When the time is right, he will betray the Army of the West and its leader,

Ishida Mitsunari.

But as the hours pass, the young daimyo seems hesitant.

The leader of the Eastern Army calls him to order.

And Yasu sent a small detachment of arquebusiers who went to the foot of the

hill and started to open fire on the first line of the Kobayakawa contingent.

was really the electroshock that pulled Hideaki out of his fear and forced him

to make his decision.

Kobayakawa Hideaki, the traitor, and his force of 15 ,000 men finally enter the

battle.

The army of the West is under assault from all sides and breaking under the

stress.

Ishide Mitsunari and his men are on the verge of total annihilation.

Our assault was heroic, and the Eastern Army won.

But I will not celebrate this victory.

I gaze up at the sky above me.

I feel my eyelids closing.

I'm going to join my ancestors, without shame.

I have fulfilled my duty as a samurai, and I know that my spirit will remain

eternal.

By early afternoon, the guns are silent.

The battlefield is completely devastated.

The rice paddies.

It would have been a huge, churned -up, muddy mess, littered with bodies, blood,

armour, weapons, dead horses, people trying to help their fellow samurai back

their encampments.

It would have been horrific.

Something like 30 ,000 men on Ishida's side had been killed, and between 4 ,000

and 10 ,000 on Tokugawa's side. So again, you have to picture that number

bodies lying around on the plain.

After six hours of hard fighting, the army of the West is finished.

But for Ishida Mitsunari and his men, the horror of the day was not over.

In the Sekigahara Valley, Tokugawa

Ieyasu celebrates his victory by organizing a traditional head viewing

A samurai custom on the very site of the battle.

The heads were mostly the top ranking samurai were displayed directly before

Tokugawa Ieyasu.

One samurai had his bow and arrow half notched and ready to shoot.

The other samurai had their swords drawn and were standing ready to cut at any

second. The reason being, samurai believed that heads could fly and that

possible that the head could suddenly jump up and attack Ieyasu.

For his betrayal, Kobayakawa Hideaki was rewarded by Tokugawa Ieyasu with

additional land.

He was able to retain, if not increase, his status as a powerful daimyo.

With his victory at Segigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu has consolidated his power.

In 1603, three years after this victory, he will obtain the supreme title of

Shogun.

And that completely changed the whole kind of situation, that once he was

Shogun, then everybody had to declare loyalty to him.

The Battle of Segigahara marked the end of the Sengoku era and the beginning of

the Edo period, a time of prosperity.

The Tokugawa dynasty, Japan's most renowned and powerful, would go on to

the nation, unchallenged, for 260 years.

Japan was closed off to the rest of the world and its influences.

Japan was able to develop its own culture.

to a degree that when Japan finally opened 260 years later, Japan's culture,

kabuki, the tea ceremony, Japanese swordsmanship, the art, things like

the woodblock prints, had reached a peak of elegance and beauty.

And that left the modern -day Japan rich with those traditions, history and

culture.

Today, fittingly, the Battle of Segigahara is remembered as Tenka Wakame

Kassen, the battle that decided the future of the nation.