(Voice actor) Mr.Akira Daniel Duncan

The current Imperial Palace used to be the Edo castle. During the Tokugawa regime, successive Tokugawa shoguns lived in the castle. It was Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first Tokugawa shogun, who built the Edo castle. Ieyasu put an end to the turbulent age of continuous wars, established the Tokugawa regime, and built a peaceful world. After the death of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who seemingly ended the turbulent ages once before, Ieyasu seized power. Therefore, Ieyasu is often thought to be a calculating person. However, many efforts and sacrifices were necessary for Ieyasu to actually seize power. Ieyasu was one of the more influential figures in Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s regime. But when Hideyoshi died in 1598, power was concentrated to Ieyasu because Hideyoshi’s son, Hideyori, was still young. However, Ieyasu was regarded as the enemy by Mitsunari Ishida and other vassals of Hideyoshi who thought that at this rate, Hideyori will be destroyed by Ieyasu. In 1600, Ieyasu was determined to face off against Mitsunari Ishida who deemed them their enemy. But just waiting would not work. So, Ieyasu thought that if they departed from Osaka, where Hideyori was, Mitsunari would wage a war to attack the Tokugawa clan. Therefore, Ieyasu himself led a huge army with the guise to attack the Uesugi family in Aizu, Oshu, and left his absence in Osaka. By doing so, he thought that the anti-Tokugawa samurais such as Mitsunari would start a war to kill Ieyasu. Bur there was one problem. If Ieyasu led all of the army, there was a possibility that Mitsunari and others would simply seize Kamigata (a term at the time to describe the now-Kinki region), disabling Ieyasu from returning to Kamigata. Therefore, he had to leave behind soldiers who could stand against Mitsunari. So, Ieyasu left some soldiers in Fushimi castle, which was the hub of Kamigata at the time. Among those who remained in Fushimi castle was a vassal named Mototada Torii leading 1800 soldiers. Mototada was a vassal who had followed Ieyasu since he was a child. A vassal who shared hardships since the Tokugawa clan was a small feudal lord family in Mikawa (now a part of Aichi prefecture). Ieyasu had Mototada defend Fushimi castle. It was anticipated that the anti-Tokugawa army would attack Fushimi castle first thing. That was precisely the reason Ieyasu left Fushimi castle in the hands of Mototada, his most trusted vassal. What was the fate of Mototada? Also, what is the relationship with Fushimiyagura, which can be seen from Nijubashi bridge in the Imperial Palace? What remains as a sign of Ieyasu’s true feelings?