In 1587 the 1,000-strong garrison of tiny Tanaka Castle in Higo Province
(modern Kumamoto Prefecture) on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, held
out for 100 days against an army ten times their size sent by the great
general Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When the castle fell it was burned to the
ground, and for four centuries the epic struggle lived on only through a
handful of letters, two little-known war chronicles and in the folk
memories of the local people who continued to make offerings on the now
anonymous hillside to comfort the tormented spirits of Tanaka's dead
warriors.
In 1986 everything changed. Prompted by the approaching fourth centenary
of the battle the local council set in motion a systematic
archaeological investigation of the castle site. Many interesting finds
were made, but the greatest discovery of all came in 1989 in a distant
library when a researcher unearthed what turned out to be Japan's oldest
surviving battle map. It featured a detailed drawing of Tanaka Castle
during the siege that matched up exactly with the picture that was
emerging from the excavation. The unique document also contained so much
extra information that, when combined with the archaeological finds, the
written materials and local folklore, the almost forgotten siege of
Tanaka became one of the best documented battles in the whole of Japan's
samurai history.
Tanaka 1587 tells the complete story of the epic struggle for the
first time outside Japan by using the evidence that is available from
history, literature, folklore, archaeology and cartography. It is based
on the author's own translations of the chronicles and the
archaeological report together with his extensive fieldwork over a
period of many years. The story is presented as an exciting (and
sometimes violent) historical narrative illustrated with unique
photographs and maps. The contribution of the battle's enshrined spirits
to present-day folk religion is also assessed, while attitudes towards
the site's conservation, preservation and celebration provide a
fascinating insight into how modern Japan views and exploits its samurai
history in a society that has had to come to terms with a violent
past.
Before 1987 the siege of Tanaka Castle was virtually unknown beyond its
immediate boundaries. Just as thirty years of painstaking work and
enthusiastic publicity have transformed its status within Japan, this
unique ground-breaking book will enable Tanaka's story to be understood
and appreciated by a much wider international audience.