The Council of Regents is a governing body of high-ranking bushos put in place to rule equally until the late Lord Taikō’s heir Nakamura comes of age. In Shōgun, the Council of Regents is headquartered in Osaka, and originally consists of five lords, namely Toranaga, Ishido, Kiyama, Ohno and Sugiyama.
However, Toranaga eventually resigns from the Council due to the political rivalry with Ishido, who conspires with Lady Ochiba, Taikō's widow consort, to replace Toranaga with the latter's treacherous half-brother Saeki. Ishido also has Sugiyama assassinated after the latter defies him. Lady Ochiba, however, also tries to dominate the Council using her status as Lord Nakamura's mother. As a result, the Council secretly fractures, with Ishido shakily maintaining the facade of stability and authority by holding the other lords' family as de facto political hostages.
Members[]
- Yoshii Toranaga (resigned)
- Ishido Kazunari
- Kiyama ukon Sadanaga
- Ohno Harunobu
- Sugiyama Josui (assassinated)
- Saeki Nobutatsu (replacing Toranaga)
Historical background[]
The Council of Regends is a reference to the Council of Five Elders (五大老 Go-Tairō), a regent council established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (whom Taikō is based upon) shortly before his death in 1598, to support his five-year-old heir Toyotomi Hideyori (whom Nakamura is based upon) until the boy's coming-of-age. Consisting of Tokugawa Ieyasu (whom Yoshii Toranaga is based upon), Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Mōri Terumoto (replacing his uncle Kobayakawa Takakage, who died before Hideyoshi), the Five Elders essentially ruled all the general affairs of Japan as supervising advisers for the Five Commissioners (五奉行 Go-Bugyō), who were executive administrators.
However, friction soon happened between the council members after the death of Hideyoshi, with two rivalling factions: the Bunchiha (文治派, who wished for a civil service-ruled governance), and the Bundanha (武断派, those in favor of a strong military authority, which Ieyasu was part of). Ieyasu had engaged political marriages for his children, which became a cause of disagreement between the Elders and Commissioners, and the Commissioners called for Ieyasu's resignation on the grounds of violating conventions. One of Hideyori's retainers, Ishida Mitsunari (whom Ishido Kazunari is based upon), complained about this matter to Maeda Toshiie, who was the only lord powerful enough to counter Ieyasu, but the issue was mediated and resolved by Ieyasu's ally Horio Yoshiharu.
However, Maeda Toshiie died a year later in 1599, and Ieyasu saw his chance to take control the following year. Rumors circulated of assassination attempts towards Ieyasu, while a son of the late Toshiie was accused of being involved in such conspiracies, and Ieyasu used it as a pretext to subdue the Maeda clan. Uesugi Kagekatsu then stood against Ieyasu by building up his army at Aizu, which Ieyasu officially complained and demanded answers. One of Kagekatsu's retainers, Naoe Kanetsugu, responded with a mocking letter criticizing Ieyasu, who was infuriated and responded by attacking Aizu. However, news soon arrived that Mitsunari had raised an anti-Tokugawa coalition commanded by Mōri Terumoto, so Ieyasu redirected his Tokugawa main force to march upon Osaka. The forces of Tokugawa (Eastern Army) and anti-Tokugawa alliance (Western Army) eventually met in the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い Sekigahara no Tatakai) on October 21, 1600, which resulted in a decisive victory for Ieyasu. After the battle, Ieyasu was given the title of Great Shogun (征夷大将軍, sei-i taishōgun) and established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (now Tokyo). With the Maeda clan already submitted, the Ukita clan destroyed, and the Uesugi and Mōri clans surrendering, the Council of Five Elders became defunct.