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So, what's on the docket toda—wait, I recognize this music!
Ahahah, yes, Sengoku BASARA!
Now here's a series that certainly takes me back.
Seeing as I've been revisiting series that I haven't talked about in a while, I should
prrrrobably say that this was at the very top of the list, and I'm excited to have
a new opportunity to talk about it.
Sengoku BASARA is quite the fascinating case study.
It prides itself in its visual flair, especially its cast of eccentric and animated characters
designed with varying degrees of anachronism, on a scale of "okay, that's not too bad"
to "whatever the bloody heck this is."
But as over-the-top as Sengoku BASARA likes to be, its characters still draw from the
historical Japanese figures they're based on, often in subtle and clever ways that might
not always be obvious.
Honestly, I'm surprised this is only the second episode I've done on a BASARA character,
because there's all sorts of fun history and heroic folklore to talk about as far as
this series is concerned.
And for today's episode, I wanted to toss out a curveball of sorts, an unexpected choice.
Originally, I made plans to do a video on Sengoku BASARA's portrayals of Oda Nobunaga
or Date Masamune, since both are quite popular on their own merits and are based on well-documented
Japanese historical figures, but then I thought about some of the figures I first learned
about from playing Sengoku BASARA 3, which led me to Otani Yoshitsugu.
Yoshitsugu's a character that took me by surprise when I originally played Sengoku
BASARA 3; throughout much of the game, he's presented as a cruel and calculating strategist
eager to inflict misery upon all of Japan, but from his own perspective, he's a slightly
more tragic character, risking to go against his grim fate and exact revenge on those who
ridiculed him and his friend in Mitsunari.
With a description like that, it really makes you wonder how many layers his historical
inspiration is wrapped under, but as it turns out, history gets just as strange here.
I'm the Kitsune Hawk, and today, we'll be discussing Sengoku BASARA's bringer of
misery and tactician for the Western Army, Otani Yoshitsugu, and seeing where the symbolism
of his role and design connect to the real-life figure!
So get out your pencils, trivia enthusiasts, because this is Character Development!
I made it obvious from the preface to today's episode that familiarity with the actual history
of Japan during the Sengoku Jidai period is necessary for better understanding some of
the nuances in Sengoku BASARA's character design, so let's start with a focused overview.
The real-life Otani Yoshitsugu is, quite frankly, just as much of an odd character as his Sengoku
BASARA counterpart, in that his early life is murky and not entirely agreed upon, while
his later life was posthumously romanticized in the literature of the Edo Period.
As a result, what can be said for certain is fairly limited, so things might be a bit
short and/or vague today, but I'll try my hardest to make do with what I could find.
Otani Yoshitugu is speculated to have been born some time as early as 1558 or as late
as 1565, and just as his own birthdate is contested, so too is his family background.
Some theories posit that the Otani family was, at one point, loyal to the Rokkaku Clan
of Omi Province, located close to Kyoto, the political centre of Japan at the time.
But there are also similar theories which instead say that the Otani had been retainers
to the Otomo Clan in Bungo Province, located on the island of Kyushu, and if that's the
case, Yoshitsugu's father might have possibly served under Otomo Sorin.
(Yes, that Otomo Sorin.)
Around 1574, Yoshitsugu, aged somewhere between 9 and 16, was recommended to Hashiba Hideyoshi,
a retainer and general serving under the ambitious daimyo Oda Nobunaga, who was well into his
quest to re-unite Japan.
Traditional (and romanticized) accounts state that it was a young Ishida Mitsunari who personally
convinced Hideyoshi to enlist Yoshitsugu, as a way to set up their eventual friendship
and cooperation at Sekigahara.
More on that in just a few.
Yoshitsugu served under the Hashiba Clan during the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 and the
Komaki-Nagakute Campaigns of 1584.
His role in each of these, however, is vague and contested by conflicting sources.
Some paint him as a cunning negotiator who helped Hideyoshi win with his wits, while
other accounts present him as a brave young soldier who might've even been in the Hashiba
Army vanguard.
This pattern of historical ambiguity begins to cease in 1585, when Yoshitsugu was given
the title of "Gyobu-shoyu" or "Minister of Justice;" although it was a minor title,
this position gave him the opportunity to become accepted amongst Hideyoshi's closest
companions, and soon, Hideyoshi himself.
However, Yoshitsugu's sudden rise into authority coincided with an unfortunate development:
he started to become gravely ill with a disease that would cripple him for the remainder of
his life.
The disease itself is unspecified in traditional accounts, but based on Yoshitsugu's attributed
symptoms and stories of what he was doing before showing strong, visible signs of ailment,
historians have surmised it was either leprosy or syphilis, typically the former.
Too weak to fight as a foot soldier or cavalier, Yoshitsugu served the newly-renamed Toyotomi
Hideyoshi as a strategist, aiding his lord during the Invasion of Kyushu in 1587, the
Siege of Odawara Castle in 1590, and the failed Invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598.
It was during this stage of his career that Otani Yoshitsugu was said to have cultivated
a close friendship with one of his fellow strategists, the aforementioned Ishida Mitsunari.
And while their relationship was largely romanticized after their deaths, via popular literature
and similar outlets, these stories are still worth mentioning, given that they continue
to affect portrayals of both figures in popular media, with Sengoku BASARA as one of many
good examples.
Whatever the historical Yoshitsugu and Mitsunari's relationship actually was, it would not be
long before it would face a major test.
In September 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died before his son Hideyori was old enough to
become the new Shogun of Japan, an event which quickly changed the political landscape of
Japan.
Prior to his death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi named five of his most loyal retainers to form a
council of regents that would manage the country until Hideyori was old enough to accept the
title of Shogun.
The council was short-lived, however, as one regent, Maeda Toshiie, died within a year
of formation, while another, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was being raised as a rival contender to the
throne.
Japan became divided between those who supported Ieyasu as Shogun, primarily based out of the
eastern half of Japan, and those who sought to defend Hideyori's birthright, initiated
by Ishida Mitsunari and supported by the western half of Japan.
Initially, Otani Yoshitsugu expressed an interest in supporting Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Eastern
Army, but he was convinced (or possibly coerced) by Ishida Mitsunari to instead lend his talents
as a strategist to the Western Army.
Both sides continued to seek allies and support for their cause, and in October 1600, the
Eastern and Western Armies met for a decisive battle at Sekigahara.
Despite being blind and within the final years of his life due to the growing severity of
his illness, Yoshitsugu still chose to participate directly, though he needed to be carried into
his regiment's position via a palanquin.
He was put in command of a regiment of about 600 soldiers near the Western Army's vanguard.
Sekigahara began as somewhat of a stalemate, but the tide of the battle shifted when the
forces of Kobayakawa Hideaki were coerced to defect from the Western Army to the Eastern
Army.
This act set off a chain of similar defections which fostered the internal collapse of the
Western Army.
Otani Yoshitsugu's forces, which were the closest to Hideaki's, were soon severely
outnumbered and forced to retreat.
Faced with the great shame of his loss at Sekigahara, as well as the possibility of
enemy capture, Yoshitsugu chose to commit ritual suicide to preserve his honour.
Seeing as the plot of Sengoku BASARA 3 focuses on the buildup to Ieyasu and Mitsunari's
confrontation at Sekigahara, that extra bit of detail in today's history lesson should
make Yoshitsugu's role in the story easy to recognize.
Within his and other characters' stories, it's established that—similar to history—Yoshitsugu
was seemingly healthy until Hideyoshi's siege of Odawara Castle, when his disease
progressed to a state that robbed him of his livelihood.
Having become an object of ridicule and disgust, Yoshitsugu made it his personal goal to inflict
upon Japan the same amount of misery it had inflicted upon him.
To this end, he joined the Western Army, led by Ishida Mitsunari, but has since become
attached to his old ally in his quest for vengeance, and, depending on the way Yoshitsugu's
story progresses, the relationship challenges his goal of using the chaos to spread misery.
Yoshitsugu's design centres on references to his historical counterpart's sickly disposition;
his entire body, aside from his eyes, is covered in gauze, and the armour he chooses to wear
is minimal, to lessen the amount of weight being put on his body, as well as skeletal,
to reinforce his physical fragility.
The gauze might also be a way to reference Yoshitsugu's attributed pallor, or perhaps
his "White Face" nickname, without actually showing his diseased skin.
Dipping into a mix of gameplay and further design, Yoshitsugu is reliant on a floating
platform for movement, as a way of referencing the story of his personal palanquin at the
Battle of Sekigahara.
His weapon of choice is non-physical, as well, since Yoshitsugu utilizes a set of psychic
orbs to function as tools of combat, as well as extensions of his hands.
These orbs might also have an extra layer of significance to Yoshitsugu's ongoing
theme of misery, in that there's a bit of possible Buddhist inspiration to them.
They're similar in shape to a set of prayer beads, and there are exactly eight of them,
too.
Eight is a special number in Buddhism, because it is associated with the Noble Eightfold
Path, the only way to end suffering, though it is a bit ironic that Yoshitsugu is using
his weapon to spread misery instead of relieve it, which leads me to doubt this assumption.
More reliably connected to religion, though, are the names of Yoshitsugu's techniques.
Rather than Buddhism, these carry references to Hindu astrology, known as the Navagraha,
which already lends itself to the name of one of Yoshitsugu's specials, Navagraha Strikes
This astrological system, at its most basic, worked by tracking the movements of 7 celestial
bodies, plus two "shadow planets:" Rahu, the rising lunar node, and Ketu, the falling
lunar node.
Of these 9 beings and their accompanying celestial bodies, Yoshitsugu's specials only name
Rahu, Ketu, and Shani in particular, and I think that's because of their associated
traits.
Rahu, the rising lunar node, is associated with chaos, often seen as the head of a snake
that swallows the sun during an eclipse, while Ketu, the descending lunar node, is understood
as the snake's tail, while also being linked with material loss and spiritual growth.
And Shani, the embodiment of Saturn, is associated with revenge and bad luck.
So, in using these names, it emphasizes three main elements to Yoshitsugu's character
and story themes: chaos, loss, and revenge.
Again, that ties into his gameplay: Yoshitsugu's attacks can place special tags called "Curse
Marks" on his enemies.
Enemies with Curse Marks are made even more vulnerable to Yoshitsugu's further attacks,
which we've established are named after beings associated with suffering of some degree.
And on top of that, Yoshitsugu's elemental affinity is darkness, meaning that he has
a chance to heal himself from every successful hit he deals.
He really does benefit from all the misery he spreads!
All of this might also help to explain Yoshitsugu's habit of stargazing in several of his cutscenes,
as well as his two other space-named techniques, Galaxy Splits and Comet Races.
But I feel like it would make a little more sense if Yoshitsugu had 9 orbs instead of
8, so that there'd be one orb for each of the Navagraha… or maybe Yoshitsugu himself
is supposed to be the ninth body, since his character title is "The Rampant Lone Star"?
Eh, pardon the rambling.
Just felt like throwing that out before I moved on.
Lastly, I want to go over another crucial element of Yoshitsugu's design: his recurring
butterfly motif, visible on his helmet, family crest, and the Curse Marks he leaves on enemies.
This brings us to a bit of animal symbolism, oh boy, oh boy.
As far as Japanese folklore is concerned, butterflies are seen as symbols of human souls.
White butterflies in particular are further associated with the recently departed, and
for someone like Otani Yoshitsugu, who lived on the verge of death for much of his life,
that symbolism couldn't be any better for his counterpart in Sengoku BASARA, pale from
leprosy and white from the gauze concealing it.
It's also worth a final mention that large swarms of butterflies can be interpreted as
an ill omen, which I… kind of want to connect with Yoshitsugu's whole Curse Mark mechanic,
but that's probably a bit of a stretch.
Otani Yoshitsugu really is a curveball through and through.
Just as I didn't expect him to be as compelling of a character as I did when I first played
Sengoku BASARA 3 in 2013, I didn't expect a deeper look into his actual—y'know—character
would be this dynamic.
Sengoku BASARA certainly takes its creative and, at the same time, clever liberties with
the historical figures in its cast, but Yoshitsugu is already based on a historical figure with
quite a degree of murkiness to him.
The way they fill in this hazy void, through the recurring themes of revenge and suffering,
the animal motif of butterflies, and even Hindu astrology hand-picked to reinforce said
personal themes all makes for fascinating food for thought.
Sure, he may not have been as famous as other figures of his time, like his ally Ishida
Mitsunari or Sanada Yukimura, but even 400 years after his death, popular media is still
trying to make sense of Otani Yoshitsugu, and this kind of informed creativity is absolutely
what I love to see.
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