Wakae Hachinin-shu (eight elite retainers of Hidetsugu TOYOTOMI) (若江八人衆)
Wakae Hachinin-shu is a popular term for the group of elite retainers of Hidetsugu TOYOTOMI.
Many of those who belonged to Wakae Hachinin-shu later served Mitsunari ISHIDA, and they pledged their loyalty to their master and fought in the Battle of Sekigahara, as a result of which most of them died.
Origin
Although most of members of Wakae Hachinin-shu were originally military commanders who served Yasunaga MIYOSHI as his retainers, they came to serve Hidetsugu TOYOTOMI, who was a prospective successor of Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, personally chosen by Hideyoshi himself. Wakae Hachinin-shu supported Hidetsugu with professionalism, and they fought in many places and distinguished themselves as military commanders.
A turning point
However the situation changed completely as a result of the birth of Hideyoshi's son, Hideyori in 1593, and the status of Hidetsugu as Kanpaku (the chief adviser to the Emperor) became insecure. Hidetsugu, who was frightened for his own future, caused incidents of tsujikiri (killing ordinary people in the street to test a new sword; it is said that he killed a blind person without a reason) in Kyoto and other places, and the incidents labeled him as 'Sessho Kanpaku' (Killer-Kanpaku). The truth of the fact, however, is not known as there were various conspiracy theories (refer to the section on Hidetsugu TOYOTOMI). It is thought that Hideyoshi started to consider punishment for Hidetsugu around this time, and the rumor about Hidetsugu as a rebel started to spread after this. Nagayasu MAENO, who was given a role as an assistant of Hidetsugu, worked hard in order to save Hidetsugu. Mitsunari ISHIDA, in particular, tried everything to save the life of Hidetsugu, and pleaded the 'innocence of the lord Hidetsugu' (according to "Buso-ki") directly to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, however, had already decided on the ultimate retribution for Hidetsugu, and he expelled Hidetsugu to Mt. Koya, and forced him to commit seppuku (suicide by disembowelment).
Return to the fore
As the Hidetsugu's family line of the Toyotomi family became extinct, many military commanders, including Wakae Hachinin-shu became ronin (masterless samurai). Mitsunari ISHIDA, who felt the need to prevent the social instability that may result from the increasing number of ronin, took pity on the former vassals of Hidetsugu and accepted them into the Ishida clan. The members of Wakae Hachinin-shu were also grateful for Mitsunari who tried his best to save Hidetsugu's life, and in return, they fought to protect the army headquarters of Mitsunari ISHIDA during the Battle of Sekigahara, which started in 1600 (However, not all the members served Mitsunari, as there were exceptions such as Yoshimasa TODO who served his cousin Takatora TODO and Kinai YASUI who served Yoshinaga ASANO).
War careers during the battle of Sekigahara
Tosa OBA (he protected and fought for the right wing of the Ishida squad.)
(He survived the Battle of Sekigahara, after which he served Yoshishige HACHISUKA.)
Hoki OYAMA (He fought for the spearhead convoy of the Ishida squad, and died during the battle.)
Ecchu TAKANO (He fought for the Ishida squad and survived the Battle, and later served Yukinaga ASANO.)
Yoshimasa TODO (He fought for the east army, and the spearhead convoy of the Todo squad, and died during the battle.)
Tadayasu MAENO (He fought for the spearhead convoy of the Ishida squad, and died during the battle, together with his son.)
Shigesato MAKINO (He protected and fought as the rearguard of the Ishida squad, and survived the Battle, after which he became hatamoto (direct retainer) of the Tokugawa clan.)
Kuhee MORI (He fought for the spearhead convoy of the Ishida squad and protected the front line and exalted, but died during the battle.)
Kinai YASUI (After the death of Hidetsugu, he served Yukinaga ASANO, and at the Siege of Osaka, he joined the army of Tokugawa.)
Heresy
There is a difference of opinion that it was in fact Wakae Shichinin-shu (seven elite retainers of Wakae), and not Hachinin-shu (eight elite retainers). In another case, Takasada TOMITA, who served Hidetsugu closely, later served Toshinaga MAEDA and died during the Battle of Sekigahara, was included as a member, and depending upon the historical documents, the number of the members were seven, and not eight, and there was a case in which even the members themselves were different.