Kyoto

Kyoto (京都 (Kyōto), 京 (Kyō), 京洛 (Kyōraku), 京の都 (Kyō no Miyako), 皇都 (Kōto), 長岡京 (Nagaoka-kyō); known as 京都市 (Kyōto-shi) for the same city in modern times) is the former established imperial capital for twelve centuries of Japan's history. Its rich history is filled with art, culture, and tradition yet is rife with hundreds of riots from the common folk and from those who had power.

During the Heian period, it is the central source for economical growth and trade. As the power of the Muromachi government became stressed as a result of the Ōnin War, Kyoto is the target for several ambitious daimyo during the Warring States period. Each daimyo struggles to gain their seat in the city to influence the residing imperial court.

When Nobunaga deposited the reigning shogun of the time, he establishes his position here and upsets other feudal lords with his outright disregard for tradition and culture. Regardless, he is able to remain in power until his death. Hideyoshi claims the seat for his family in the capital after avenging the former master and defeating his respective rivals. The Toyotomi family continue to reside here after their lord's passing yet face danger once Ieyasu realizes his own ambitions. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu helps reconstruct the city. He is named the absolute ruling shogun three years later and migrates the central political affairs to Edo.

The formal move of the capital to Tokyo occurred during the Meiji period, as power finally came back to the imperial family with the new government system. As the royal family created a history of residing closer to Edo for government rulings, the capital moved to what is now known as Tokyo. The Kyoto known to previous eras is split in two sectors and remains in effect to this day. Today, Kyoto city is the capital of Kyoto prefecture. It is a famous tourist attraction for traditional arts and crafts and features several historical landmarks.

In the games, the focus of the internal conflicts in Kyoto varies with each title. Several historical simulations from Koei involve Kyoto as the capital in some manner, either to ask a favor from the imperial court through bribery or as a prominent location for several historical events.

Samurai Warriors
In this series, Kyoto shares the same map as Honnōji until the fourth installment.

The first title has three main scenarios for this city. One is an-all out brawl in the streets spurned by Keiji against brutes. Goemon, who has designated the area as "his turf", intrudes to stop the riot with other miscreants. Whilst there, they encounter the dancing Okuni who charms the men with her performance. Keiji's scenario has him ask the Oda officers to stop following him. Okuni's story can choose to save either Keiji or Goemon to have her story split later on. Goemon can choose to become Okuni's undying fan or win Keiji's respect as a rival. The second scenario deals with the thief's execution staged by Hideyoshi. Breaking free of his boiling pot, he hunts the petrified ruler in vengeance and loots the treasure scattered by Hideyoshi. Routing any who stand against him, he may ask either Okuni or Keiji to help him open the doors where his foe is cowering. Defeating the conqueror leads to Goemon's movie ending.

The third event that happens here deals with Nobunaga and the Honganji Rioters. Failing to completely drive the conqueror away, the rebels' morale falters as they face the larger Oda army. Magoichi, hellbent on killing their opponent, leads the primary charge against their foe. After the players seal the enemy strongholds in the south, Nobunaga orders his men to burn the city. Regardless of whether the players stops the fire attack ploy, the threat is too much for Kennyo and the other rebels and they formerly begin their surrender. While the Saika appear to assist Magoichi, he can choose to snipe Nobunaga before Kennyo arrives to him. Players can do so by hopping onto the southern rooftop near Nobunaga's location and firing from the top of the second level platform. Depending on the players' previous actions during his story, he will either continue fighting Nobunaga or wander the land.

In the expansion, Yoshimoto heads towards the capital in his story, but is attacked by the Oda remnants. Routing Nobunaga with Shingen's help, he is suddenly betrayed by his relative and defeats Shingen. After the conflict, he finally succeeds in staging his own kemari tournament. There is also a scenario where Yoshimoto fights a huge competition to impress Kenshin.

Samurai Warriors 2 has two main events for the capital. One of them is Mitsunari's rescue from the Tokugawa loyalists within the Toyotomi family and acts as the catalyst for Sekigahara. Hanzō's presence on the field confirms Mitsunari and Kanetsugu's suspicions that Ieyasu had a hand in the riot. Players are asked to guard both generals during the conflict as they conspire to raise troops together. People who try to protect Mitsunari also include Yukimura, Sakon, and Keiji. The player may choose to help either general to hurry the support effort. Hanzō creates doubles of himself to corner Mitsunari and his followers. Kiyomasa leads the riot on the field and sends a continuous string of assassins towards Mitsunari's position. Reinforcements from Masanori and others threaten the ally forces within the castle. Kanetsugu volunteers to act as a decoy once Mitsunari begins his retreat, making players manage the safety for both simultaneously. The stage ends once Mitsunari reaches the southern-east exit of the map. Only Yukimura and Keiji has this stage as part of their story.

The second scenario takes place prior to the Osaka Campaign. Ieyasu invites Hideyori to the capital for friendly peace talks at Nijō Castle. However, Masanobu Honda sees this as an opportunity to kill the Toyotomi leader to have his lord gain the land in one fell swoop. He hires Kojirō as his assassin and has him instruct hired men into a riot. As these men will be used to defame the Toyotomi, Kojirō will then kill Hideyori in retaliation. For his own pleasure, however, Kojirō reveals the whole plot to Musashi before it begins. During Musashi's version of the stage, Ieyasu acts offended towards Hideyori and begins his quick retreat. The swordsman decides to help Hideyori escape and hurries to defend him from the vagabonds and Tokugawa generals. When more vagabonds appear, Musashi agrees to act like Hideyori so the real one can escape. Yukimura arrives to aid Musashi's lone charge and offers to delay Tadakatsu for him. Hideyori escapes in the east and Kojirō appears afterwards to challenge his rival to a duel.

The Xtreme Legends expansion includes Kojirō's side of the same scenario. He initiates the same manhunt yet Masanobu is surprised to see an actual assassination planned for Ieyasu. A portion of the hired men are actually Toyotomi loyalists in disguise and Kojirō has to individually interrogate the vagabonds to learn Hideyori's location on the map. Although he fails to kill the real Hideyori due to Musashi and Yukimura's trickery, Kojirō is delighted to fight his rival once more. Another scenario regarding the soldiers sent to capture Gracia prior to Sekigahara also takes place on this stage. Magoichi rescues her and she encourages the Hosokawa generals to stay alive with her. She loops back to also rescue her friend before heading for her escape. Many key figures of the Western Army try to stop her.

Rescuing Mitsunari is the main objective for this stage in the third title. Unlike the previous title, the goal is to rescue the general from other Toyotomi vassals and hurry him towards Ieyasu's mansion for safe keeping. Players must first search for Mitsunari within the city's mansions and escort him safely, defeating Kiyomasa, Masanori, and other ringleaders along the way. Only Keiji, Kunoichi, Magoichi, Masamune, and Kanetsugu get this battle as part of their stage.

In Samurai Warriors 4, it covers the Oda's conquest of the Ashikaga-led coalition. Other clans and miscellaneous bandits all appear to oppose Nobunaga with their armies throughout the course of the battle.

Kessen
Kessen III has Nobunaga fight the Ashikaga shogun twice at this location. Their first battle deals with Nobunaga's first formal battle against Yoshiaki and is the climatic battle in the sixth chapter of the game. Mitsuhide has high spirits for the stage, meaning that he will be in excellent condition for the battle. Rather than listen to his general's doubts, Yoshiaki claims to have a grand scheme in mind to fight back the experienced general. His plans fail miserably as his entire army is frightened by the Oda troops. The Miyoshi Trio attempt to lure their foes into a bomb pit, only to fall into the trap themselves due to their lack of coordination. Yoshiaki himself flees around in panic when Nobunaga's troops near his location. Only Magoichi, Bokuden Tsukahara, and Tatsuoki's armies pose a serious threat to the Oda troops.

If players defeat Bokuden in a rampage during this conflict, he will gladly join Nobunaga afterwards. He is a very strong opponent and leads the best swordsmen unit in the game.

The second encounter between both parties has Yoshiaki more prepared for the eleventh chapter's climatic battle. Kicho volunteers herself for the formation and is a necessary general for the battle. Imprisoning Mitsuhide, Fujinaga Isshiki decides to use his own plan to protect the shogun and keeps his master hidden throughout the stage. Setting the capital aflame, he leads the Miyoshi, Saika, and Mōri in a well-protected formation with cannons, mines, and wooden roadblocks. With Yoshiaki hidden from Nobunaga's view and constantly on the move, the player must thoroughly search the area for his whereabouts to end the battle.

Saihai no Yukue
After losing Sakon, Yoshitsugu, Ukita, and Konishi, the Eastern army nears Mitsunari's main camp in Saihai no Yukue. Moments before they are overrun, an enemy kunoichi confronts Mitsunari and Tamaki. Begging her pardon, she quickly knocks them out and states that she won't let Mitsunari die. He feels nostalgic upon hearing her voice before he loses consciousness and remembers the Kyoto incident as a dream.

In the past, he and his maid, Hatsu, prepare to visit the manor of the newly departed Lord Maeda during the night. Sakon is worried about Ieyasu's ambitions and Mitsunari carelessly leaving his mansion in spite of his position. While expressing his belief that Ieyasu could threaten his lord's life, Hatsu runs in to inform them of suspicious men demanding Mitsunari to show himself. As the trio run out the back entrance to avoid a fight, they try to head towards the Maeda manor using stealth. Mitsunari is asked to listen for any person in sight and then direct Sakon to report a safe passage. Just as they come close to the Maeda manor they run into Fukushima, who has barricaded the manor entrance with armed soldiers. Sakon cuts an escape path and the trio take a break to think of another safe location to rest. Sakon suggests heading towards Yoshinobu Satake's residence as the politician is likely to support Mitsunari.

Walking through the streets once more, Mitsunari spots two ninja working under Tōdō and Sakon takes care of them. They retrieve a hairpin which confirms the spies' ties to Tōdō and two ripped sections of a scroll. The group sneaks through two alleyways on the way towards Satake's mansion before they run into Kuroda. Sakon deflects the assailant's blade against his lord and the trio run before they are surrounded by Kuroda's troops. By now, the trio are aware of Ieyasu's involvement with the generals. Realizing that their roads are blocked at each turn, Mitsunari makes the bold decision to head towards Ieyasu's residence for safety. Aware of the danger, he asserts that resting with the ringleader is safer than heading towards armed soldiers in the road. While Mitsunari and Sakon rests for a time, Hatsu dons her kunoichi outfit to quickly steal a document from Tōdō.

The next morning the trio arrive at the entrance of Ieyasu's mansion when Masanobu agrees to talk with them. Through their conversation, Mitsunari reveals that the elder schemed to have him killed the night before and won't let them inside. Feigning ignorance, Masanobu counters that the youth has no solid proof of his involvement based on the two lone ripped sections. Hatsu hands Mitsunari the missing piece that clearly spells Masanobu's name. Defeated, the elder begrudgingly leads them inside where Ieyasu greets them. Ieyasu is amused by Mitsunari's behavior and the youth's ability to use the "Heaven's Eye". As thanks, he agrees to keep Mitsunari safe from the other Toyotomi officers until the dust settles.

When Mitsunari awakens, he realizes that the mysterious kunoichi is actually Hatsu and she unmasks herself before him.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de

 * See also Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2/Kyou

In the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series, the capital acts as the main setting for the first two titles. The first game features the area for the first half of the year, while the second game features autumn and winter. It is often called "Kyou" (京) in these games and acts as a prominent location for nearly every title.

Historical Information
Kyoto began as the capital city for Japan in 784, when emperor Kanmu chose the location to build a new capital, calling what would become Kyoto Heian-kyo at that time. The exact motivation for this move is uncertain, but one of the older, commonly accepted theories was Kanmu was trying to separate his authority from the many religious sects that had sprung up around the previous capital (a theory fed by the original prohibition gainst new temples being built at Kyoto outside of the two first built, Toji Temple and Saiji Temple). Regardless of the motivation, the location and layout of Kyoto was inspired by Chinese Feng Shui and Chang'an's own layout. The nearby Katsura river also played a role in where the city was built. The original grand plan for the city had it stretching 2.7 miles (4.5 km) to the east and west and 3.2 miles (5.2 km) to the north and south. These grand designs, however, went unfinished, as the official in charge of construction was forced to stop due to hard times coming upon the people. Thus the city intended to be divided evenly by the river with a Ukyo Ward on one side and Heian-Kyo on the other, ended formal construction with only the Heian-Kyo finished. The rest of the city continued to spring up, but in a much more haphazardly way.

By the time of the Sengoku Jidai, Kyoto was under the firm control of the Ashikaga Shogunate, who flaunted their power with the magnificent Muromachi Palace as a symbol of their control. The Shogunate's power, soon proved false, however, when Kyoto turned into ground zero for the Warring States era to begin. Powerful families quickly turned the cultural and trade capital of their land into a warzone, cordoning off their mansions and leading strikes against one another as they vied for control of the Shogunate. Kyoto was where the heart of the Onin War waged, which by the end of the conflict, left most of Kyoto, especially the northern half that had been mostly finished hundreds of years ago, burnt to the ground. The Emperor was homeless, Muromachi Palace a pile of ashes, the Shogun a puppet.

Things looked grim for Kyoto and her residents, until Oda Nobunaga arrived in 1568 with Ashikaga Yoshiaki in tow. The Oda lord quickly established Yoshiaki as the new Shogun and set about some efforts to rebuild Kyoto. His efforts over the next decade were often interrupted by conflict with other clans, but Nobunaga made progress in restoring the capital back to its glory. When Nobunaga was slain and Toyotomi Hideyoshi took charge, the former peasant poured even more effort and resources into rebuilding Kyoto, this time to heights greater then it had seen before. To this end he built the Odai wall (an earthen wall) to give Kyoto its first properly enclosed defenses. Hideyoshi also build the Jurakudai and established a Samurai Ward to allow Samurai to live in the city proper. He also build Fushimi Castle as his retirement castle, just outside of the city proper.

When Hideyoshi passed away, Tokugawa Ieyasu took over control of Fushimi Castle and its responsibilities. He tried to strengthen his position among the other Daimyo through political marriages, but Maeda Toshiie and Ishida Mitsunari put an end to those schemes. Unrest around Ōsaka and Kyoto continued to mount as shortly afterwards, at least seven warlords under the Toyotomi sought to avenge themselves against Mitsunari. They claimed to still resent a perceived slight from Mitsunari during Korean invasion at Ulson Castle, where Mitsunari had evaluated their labors and accused them of poor effort, causing them loss of land and reward. These warlords, thought to have been led by Hosokawa Tadaoki, tried to take Mitsunari at his house in Ōsaka, but the Toyotomi administrator got word of the scheme and fled to Satake Yoshinobu's residence. When Yoshinobu learned the conspirators were now coming to his home, sent Mitsunari to Fushimi Castle for safety.

What happened afterwards is a subject of much debate. Some documents, like Iwabuchi Yawawa by Daidoji Tomozan, claim Mitsunari entered into Ieyasu's manor to personally plead for sanctuary. However, other contemporary documents, like Keicho Kenmonsho and Itasaka Bokusai Memorandum, do not mention such a dramatic entrance. Sekigahara-yaku claims that Satake Yoshinobu oversaw Mitsuhide's protection, not fully trusting Ieyasu, while writer Tokutomi Soho claims that Sekigahara-yaku's statement should be taken as Satake realizing he needed to trust Ieyasu with Mitsunari's protection.

While the exact chain of events may never be certain, it is known that Mitsunari made his way to Fushimi, perused by those other samurai. When the warriors arrived, they demanded that Ieyasu turn Mitsunari over, but Ieyasu refused, negotiating a peaceful end to the conflict. He achieved this by promising to review the report on Ulson Castle (and conveniently find they had been condemned too harshly). The level of conflict between Ieyasu and Mitsunari at that time is uncertain, which makes understanding why exactly Ieyasu protected his rival less then a year before their showdown at Sekigahara remains a mystery.

In 1611, Ieyasu met with Toyotomi Hideyori for the first time since he was a small babe. The meeting was between equals, as Ieyasu had never claimed Hideyori as a vassal and permitted him to manage the Toyotomi as he pleased (while watching his every more to make sure it wasn't openly against the Tokugawa). Historians debate to this day if this meeting elevated or lowered Hideyori in comparison to Ieyasu. It was, however, not long afterwards that the two leaders began to prepare for the final showdown at Ōsaka Castle.