Siege of Shimabara
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The Siege of Shimabara was officially the last battle in which ninja fought. This took place during the Shimabara rebellion, where Christians, some ronin, and angered farmers revolted due to mistreatment and unreasonably high taxes. All attempts by local daimyo to destroy the rebellion failed and the rebellers took Hara castle in Shimabara as their fortress.
Ninja at Shimabara
Seeing a major disruption, the shogun was forced to take action. Even with major armies the losses were still great and the rebellion was not destroyed. At this point Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shogun, decided to use ninja to boost the strength of their attack and weaken the enemy. The ninja that participated in the Siege of Shimabara were mostly of the Koga region. Before the final attack there came many raids by the ninja. These were mostly provisions raids and espionage missions. The commander of the shogun's armies, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, sent several provisions raids by ninja. Over time the provisions dwindled inside Hara castle and the rebels were forced to eat seaweed from the shore and barley, which was shone by a failed raid the rebels had carried out on the army. This was proved when Nobutsuna ordered that the dead rebels that led the unsuccessful raid be autopsied. Days later Nobutsuna launched an espionage mission. He was concerned and needed to know the condition of the rebels inside the castle. This was a very dangerous mission, so volenteers from the ninja sect were necessary. They were told that not many would return alive. The volunteers were Mochizuki Yo'emen, Arakawa Shichirobei, Natsume Shikanosuke, Yamanka Jabaiyu, and Tomo Gohei. This was not a very successful mission and some of the ninja were caught in the moat and killed. Others were found in the castle, and the men that did survive suffered great wounds. The two most recognized of the volunteers were Mochizuki Yo'emen and Arakawa. They were dressed like peasents so it was easier for them to move around. Also the team was able to get inside the castle due to a diversion set off from an arquebus squad. This technique gave the men enough time to climb the walls of the castle.
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