A look at the past

October 21 , 1600 Sekigahara, Mino Province

The battle of Sekigahara is ongoing.

Tokugawa Leyasu's loyal Eastern Army overwhelms the Western Army led by Ishida Mitsunari, who was accompanied by his 11-year-old son, Shigenari.

"Retreat! To Mount Nangu where reinforcements await us!" Ishida said as she waved her sword in the direction of the mountain.

Those words of their commander encouraged the soldiers to reach Mount Nangu.

"Kikkawa is here! Come on now! Together we'll crush Tokugawa!" Ishida said with a confident look on her face.

With an ironic look on his face, Kikkawa says:

"Attack!"

His soldiers attacked, but not Tokugawa's army.

"What does that mean, Kikkawa Hiroie mountain commander? Didn't we swear to defeat Tokugawa together?"

"You've always been a weak man, Ishida. While you were loyal to the leadership, I allied myself with the really strong!" Kikkawa replied with a superior, cruel look on his face.

"Betrayal! Betrayal! Kikkawa betrayed us!"

Now Ishida was surrounded by Tokugawa and Kikkawa.

"Shimazu, take my son and run! I'll try to hold them back!"

"But Commander, I want to be with you to the end!"

"Shimazu Yoshihiro! I'm your commander, and you'll do what I tell you!"

"Of course Commander!"

"Dad !!! Don't die!"

"Listen here, son. I'm giving you the sword that bears my name to remind you that your father was a great samurai." As he said this, he handed her the sword with Shigenari's scabbard, which almost dropped her due to the weight.

"Shigenari for your safety forget the name Ishida and change in Sugiyama, and the name Shigenari change in Gengo. Because even if you have another name the sword will remind you of your origins."

"Dad !!! Don't leave me!" Shigenari said as he cried.

"Let me finish speaking Shigenari! I never told you, but before I enlisted in the army and became a commander I was a Buddhist priest and there I had a vision that looks to me like over a millennium a descendant of who will bear my name and my sword will do great things! "

"Father!!!"

"That's it! Shimazu! Take Shigenari and run!"

"I get it, sir!" Shimazu said as he mounted Shigenari on horseback.

As Shimazu and Shigenari walked away, Ishida began to shout.

"One more son! My sword has a great power that ..." Only Shigenari did not hear his father's last words.

Ishida was soon defeated and captured.

"Commander Tokugawa! Excuse me for the inconvenience, but I have some new news for you."

"Say!"

"I saw a child and a man riding a horse as they walked away from the battlefield. Shall we follow them?"

"Hmmm ... No. What could they do in the end?"

"But sir ..."

"Do you doubt my decision ?!"

"Of course not, sir. It will be as you wish."

At that moment, Tokugawa did not know how important that decision was for the future.

The battle soon ended with the victory of the Eastern Army, and this victory led to Tokugawa's control of Japan.

Ishida was executed a month later, but his son, Shigenari, was able to continue his life under another name.