Research Adventures in Japan Chapter 6: History and Fish
Konichiwa and welcome to my 6th update!
Project Update
This week we collected data from another Japanese macaque to help boost our sample size. I've redone data analysis with our new samples and results are still fitting into the literature! We're meeting with the mandrill and chimpanzee keepers to plan out data collection for this week. It will be my first time working with a great ape (I've previously worked with "lesser" apes which are gibbons).
Sekigahara Historical Battlefield
Sekigahara (Gifu province) is a small town of ~8,000 people in central Japan. It's situated in a valley surrounded by tall peaks, at least for a Midwesterner used to flat cropland. You might not be surprised that it doesn't pop up on the top tourist blogs or Google searches of "What to do in Japan." However, this valley was the site of one of the most important battles in Japanese history! Sekigahara has a museum about the battle. On your walk from the train station there's large infographics about the battle and important generals present. The museum houses documents (such as the will of Toyotomi Hideyoshi), recreations of samurai armor, and weapons recreations which you can actually touch. My favorite part was a 4D movie which put you on the field of battle -- you could feel the rumble of charges and watch generals' reactions in "real time" to how the battle was going. After the museum, I went to several key locations of the battle.
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| Left: Fresh-caught salted fish -- was nervous to try it but it was really good! Center: The 76-year old fisherman who caught and gifted the fish to me. Right: Sushi and tempura. Not pictured -- the octopus-tentacle sushi which was really tasty! Kind of tasted like...ham?! |
If you don't want a history lesson, feel free to skip to the next heading, but you will be missing one of the wildest battles in history. The Battle of Sekigahara occurred in the Fall of 1600 but our story starts about two years earlier. The second great unifier of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies, leaving his five year old heir under the tutelage of a council of five daimyo (warlords) whose power is balanced in a way so that the new ruler is protected but if any one of the five tries to overthrow him, the other four daimyo can stop the upstart. After the death of the council member responsible for young Toyotomi's upbringing, another council member, Tokugawa Ieyasu, marches to Osaka Castle and "takes responsibility" for the young heir's education. For the three remaining regents, this meant war and the rest of Japan had to pick sides. Ishida Mitsunari, who had been a top adviser to Hideyoshi, leads the Western Army against Ieyasu. After Mitsunari takes several key castles, Ieyasu raises the Eastern Army and marches to meet Mitsunari -- they meet in Sekigahara. Mitsunari has the advantage -- he had picked a prime spot and had the high ground, his forces are ~10,000 soldiers greater, and his men have a "righteous" cause -- loyalty to the Toyotomi. Additionally, Ieyasu is missing key reinforcements due to his son's troops getting caught up in another battle.
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| Left: An example of the signs lining the way to the museum; this one had a battle map with battalions' locations. Center: Couldn't take pictures in most of the museum but after the movie, projections with descriptions of the major generals were on the walls. Right: View of Sekigahara from Mitsunari's encampment. This is where he controlled the battle from. |
The morning of the battle the valley is covered in fog -- neither side can see their enemies. Approximately 150,000 soldiers wait for the fog to lift. Once it does, the Eastern Army initiates, guns firing into the Western Army. Mitsunari orchestrates the Western Army from a high perch, having a commanding view of the entire battlefield. Despite Mitsunari's commands for the daimyo, Shimazu Yoshihura, to reinforce a flank, the daimyo refuses due to his lack of respect for the unproven Mitsunari. Still, as the Eastern Army begins to fail, Ieyasu emerges from his command post at the back of his army to lead his men into battle. Unknown to Mitsunari, Ieyasu had bribed the daimyo Kobayakawa Hideaki to betray the Western Army. Hideaki, only 19, has kept his men perched on a high hill, indecisive of whose side to fight on. Ieyasu, needing Hideaki's numbers, takes a risk: Ieyasu has his guns fire into Hedeaki's ranks, hoping to stir the young daimyo to make a decision. Hideaki's men surge down the hill on horseback, crashing into...the Western Army! In less than six hours, Ieyasu and the Eastern Army have decimated the Western Army and as its remnants flee, Mitsunari's men drag him from the battle. The cantankerous, Yoshihura, refuses to flee with his "leader" so leads his ~500 troops THROUGH the Eastern Army -- he and the few survivors escape to their lands in the South. Although fighting continues for a few years, this battle is decisive. Three years later Ieyasu becomes shogun and begins the 150 year Edo (aka Tokugawa) Period. This also cements his place as the third and final great unifier of Japan, after working closely with both previous unifiers for decades.
Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium
I also went to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. It had HUGE, well-maintained tanks but not as many species of fishes and invertebrates as I've seen at aquariums in similarly large cities. There were more dolphins and whales which had much larger tank-space than what I've seen so that's great for the animals! There were also lots of learning areas that included videos talking about care and natural habitats of various species and a whole area with skeletons and information of the evolutionary history of cetaceans.
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| Left: My first orca sighting! Center: Picture of the port. Right: One of the several skulls. They had TONS side by side so you could compare cetaceans with teeth and those with baleen. |
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| Left: The deep see exhibit had preserved specimens with pictures of what these creatures would look like live. Center: Baby turtles! Right: Obligatory ray belly picture. |
Next week: Ukai cormorant fishing and collection of mandrill and chimp data
Research is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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