Masanobu Honda (2/2)A man who was called a friend by the people of the world

After this, Tokugawa Ieyasu became a vassal to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In order to give preferential treatment to Ieyasu Tokugawa, who had become his vassal, Hideyoshi recommended the appointment of Ieyasu's vassals to official positions. Honda Masanobu was also promoted to Jugoi (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Sado no kami) on the recommendation of Hideyoshi, and became known as Honda Sado.

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had completed the Odawara conquest, ordered Tokugawa Ieyasu to change his territory from the five provinces he had ruled, Mikawa, Suruga, Totomi, Shinano, and Kai, to the Kanto region with 2.5 million koku. With the change from the former territory of 1.5 million koku to 2.5 million koku, the area under the direct control of Tokugawa Ieyasu also increased to over 1 million koku. In order to govern this increased direct fiefdom, he selected vassals with administrative skills. Masanobu Honda was one of those selected, and he was given a fief of 10,000 koku in Tamanawa, Sagami Province, and became a daimyo. Masanobu Honda supervises the magistrates in the Kanto region when Tokugawa Ieyasu is away.

Masanobu Honda once left the Tokugawa family, but after returning to the Tokugawa family, he worked as a falconer, worked as an administrator, and then worked as a magistrate, gaining the trust of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Sekigahara's hardships

Keicho 5 (1600). Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to prominence within the Toyotomi family after Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away. Mitsunari Ishida stood up to this challenge. Ishida Mitsunari plotted with Uesugi Kagekatsu to overthrow Tokugawa Ieyasu. First, Kagekatsu Uesugi raised an army in Aizu (present-day Fukushima Prefecture) in an anti-Tokugawa campaign. Tokugawa Ieyasu assembled his army, left Osaka, and arrived at his own territory, the Kanto region. So Mitsunari Ishida raises an army in Osaka.

Upon learning of Ishida Mitsunari's raising of an army, Tokugawa Ieyasu split into two groups from the Kanto region and returned to subjugate Ishida Mitsunari. At this time, Masanobu Honda joined Hidetada Tokugawa's army and headed for Osaka via Nakasendo. On the way, he was intercepted by Masayuki Sanada in Shinshu (present-day Nagano Prefecture), and Tokugawa Hidetada moved to capture Ueda Castle. In response, Masanobu Honda advised Masayuki Sanada to abandon him and head west as soon as possible, but he was not listened to. As a result, the battle dragged on and they were late to the Battle of Sekigahara.

At this time, Honda Masanobu realized once again how great Ieyasu's leadership ability was when he saw how the Tokugawa vassals, who would have fought as one under Ieyasu Tokugawa, fought individually for credit in Ieyasu's absence. It is said that

Ministers of the early Edo Shogunate

The Tokugawa Hidetada army, to which Honda Masanobu belonged, arrived late in the Battle of Sekigahara, but the Tokugawa clan ended in victory.
It is said that after the Battle of Sekigahara ended in 1601, Honda Masanobu negotiated with the Imperial Court to have Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed as shogun. As a result of his efforts, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the Great Shogun in the 8th year of Keicho (1603). Masanobu Honda participated in the early Edo shogunate administration under Ieyasu.

One of the shogunate governments that took part in this was the issue of succession to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun, but no successor had been decided. At that time, Ieyasu's second son Hideyasu Yuki, third son Hidetada Tokugawa, and fourth son Tadayoshi Matsudaira were considered to be Ieyasu's successors.

Each of these three people was supported by an influential vassal under Ieyasu. Masanobu Honda and Masanobu's eldest son, Masazumi Honda, supported Hideyasu Yuki, who was the oldest brother, and Masanobu Masanobu's eldest son Masazumi Honda, and the reason was that the head of the family should start from the top. Hidetada Tokugawa was supported by Tadayoshi Okubo (Tadayo Okubo's eldest son), who was Hidetada's chief retainer, and Tadayoshi Matsudaira was supported by Naomasa Ii, his father-in-law (father of his wife). As a result, Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed Tokugawa Hidetada as his successor.

In the 10th year of Keicho (1605), Tokugawa Ieyasu retired and became a great lord, and Tokugawa Hidetada became the second shogun. Masanobu Honda was in Edo and continued to rule the shogunate under Hidetada Tokugawa. Furthermore, from 1607, he became Toshiyori (roju) attached to Hidetada. In this way, Masanobu Honda consolidated his position within the Tokugawa family and came to be in charge of the early Edo shogunate.

The Utsunomiya fishing ceiling incident and what happened to the Honda family

Masanobu Honda participated in the shogunate administration as a senior citizen of the shogun Hidetada Tokugawa, but he passed away in 1616, the same year as his master, Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Now, Masanobu Honda's Honda family. Masanobu's eldest son, Honda Masazumi, was a close aide under Tokugawa Ieyasu, but when Tokugawa Ieyasu and Honda Masanobu died, he inherited Honda Masanobu's territory and became Tokugawa Hidetada's otoshiyori (later Roju). He then took part in the shogunate government. However, Masazumi Honda lost his power and gradually became shunned by Hidetada Tokugawa and his close aides.

Genna 8 (1622). Tokugawa Hidetada visits Nikko Toshogu Shrine on the 7th anniversary of Tokugawa Ieyasu's death. On my way back, I decided to stay at Utsunomiya Castle, Masazumi Honda's residence. There, Masazumi repairs the castle so that it can welcome the shogun. However, word was brought to the Shogun that there were suspicions about Utsunomiya Castle, which had undergone repairs. They said that the ceiling of the general's bedroom in Utsunomiya Castle was used as a hanging ceiling to crush him to death, and that he was secretly expanding his military arsenal.

Hidetada returned to Edo, passing by Utsunomiya Castle, where he was originally supposed to stop. I then sent a letter of inquiry to Masazumi Honda. Masazumi answered questions one after another.

However, due to additional questions he was asked, he was arrested on suspicion of treason. There were no hanging ceilings in Utsunomiya Castle, and it is thought that this was an attempt by Hidetada Tokugawa and his close aides who disliked Masazumi Honda.

At this point, the Honda family, a daimyo family that started from Masanobu Honda, came to an end. Masazumi Honda's family line continued in small parts after that, but this line became the most prosperous because his younger brother Masashige Honda left the Tokugawa family early on and ended up serving the Maeda family in Kaga as a chief retainer. .

Relationship with Tokugawa Ieyasu

It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu valued Honda Masanobu and called him ``friend.'' In the clan records, it is written that ``It is like a friend to look after the great king, Masanobu,'' and in the Kansei Choshu Shoshokafu, which was written after the clan records, it says, ``Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Honda Masanobu were very close and were like friends. It is said that they were in a relationship.

There is a story that supports this relationship. The daughter of Masanobu Honda's older brother Shigesada Aono (in other words Masanobu Honda's niece) gave birth to Jozan Ishikawa, who later became famous as a poet. Jozan Ishikawa was a close attendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu when he was young, and he tells a story from that time. ``When Masanobu Honda agreed with something Ieyasu-sama said, he praised it greatly.When he didn't agree with it or disagreed, he purposely dozed off.When Ieyasu-sama saw him doze off, he changed his mind.'' I am telling a story to that effect. I think this story probably best represents the relationship between the two men, as it was witnessed by Masanobu Honda's close relative (Jōzan Ishikawa) from the same era. Tokugawa Ieyasu must have had a lot of trust in Honda Masanobu, and he used Masanobu's reaction to tell whether his ideas were right or wrong.

Masanobu Honda is often written as a retainer or staff officer of Tokugawa Ieyasu in modern stories and dramas, but it seems that he served Ieyasu Tokugawa as an administrator and served as magistrate, etc., and gained Ieyasu's trust. From there, he began negotiating with the Imperial Court and various feudal lords, and eventually took part in the administration of the Edo Shogunate in its early years. It seems that some of the vassals of the Tokugawa family did not understand and disliked Masanobu Honda, but he ended his life as a good vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu and was involved in the administration of the early Edo shogunate.