FIELD REPORTS
Mataza of the Spear: The Day a Kabukimono Was Pardoned by Nobunaga
The young Maeda Toshiie was a kabukimono called 'Mataza of the spear.' He cut down a favorite of Nobunaga and fled, joined the battles of Okehazama and Moribe without leave, took heads, and was at last pardoned back into service. It was a second term of service, won by a feat of arms staked on his life.
In 1561 (Eiroku 4), at Moribe in Mino (present-day Anpachi District, Gifu Prefecture).
Maeda Toshiie appeared on the battlefield without leave, still a man disowned by his lord Oda Nobunaga (this site's id 1).
He was twenty-four. The year before, he had cut down Nobunaga's dōbōshū attendant Jūami and fled.
If he could not be pardoned back, there was nothing for it but to take heads in battle and atone.
Toshiie charged into the enemy ranks and took the head of a warrior of name. It was the life-staked move of a young man who had lost his stipend.
The Young Days of a Kabukimono
Toshiie was born the fourth son of Maeda Toshiharu, lord of Arako Castle in Owari, and was called Inuchiyo in childhood.
Tall, a master of the spear, and fond of flashy dress, he was a kabukimono. At fourteen he served Nobunaga as a page and was chosen for the Akahoro-shū.
Nobunaga's favor was deep. But his hot blood brought disaster. From a quarrel with Jūami, a tea-attendant Nobunaga doted on, Toshiie at last came to bloodshed.
The Kōgai Slaying and the Flight
Jūami is said to have stolen a kōgai (a sword fitting) precious to Toshiie. Unable to bear the insult, Toshiie cut Jūami down in a place close to Nobunaga's very presence.
To kill a lord's favorite without leave was a grave crime. Nobunaga was enraged, and though Toshiie escaped the death penalty, he was banished.
It was the stumble of a young man who had only just taken Matsu as his wife. Losing his stipend, holding only his pride as a warrior, Toshiie fell to the status of a rōnin.
Service Won with Two Heads
To the Toshiie who begged to return, Nobunaga would not pardon him in words. Then he had only to show it on the battlefield.
Following Okehazama, Toshiie joined the battle of Moribe the next year without leave and took two heads of warriors of name.
This work at last moved Nobunaga's heart, and his return to service was granted.
He atoned for the errors of youth with the valor of youth. Thereafter Toshiie changed into a man who served his lord faithfully.
The pain of this flight and return forged the kabukimono anew into a vessel of greatness.
"I lost my stipend and brought hardship on Matsu. These two heads I offer to my lord as proof of my apology."
PRIMARY SOURCES & ARCHIVES
- PRIMARY
Shinchō Kōki
Ōta Gyūichi
Primary source recording Toshiie's feat at the battle of Moribe
- SCHOLARSHIP
Maeda Toshiie
Iwasawa Yoshihiko / Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (Jinbutsu Sōsho)
Empirical examination of Toshiie's flight and return to service
- ARCHIVE
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