Hara Joken

Hara Joken (died June 1582), also known as Joken Hokkyō (lit. "High Priest Joken") and under the cryptonym of The Wise, was the Buddhist abbot and caretaker of Tōdai-ji, and a former sōhei active during the late Sengoku period.

During Oda Nobunaga's campaign to unify Japan, Joken fought for his homeland against Matsunaga Hisahide and was promised that the monks would rule the land. After leading his monks to victory against Matsunaga in the Siege of Shigisan, however, the abbot was passed over in favor of Tsutsui Junkei, whom Nobunaga appointed as Yamato's daimyō.

Following his rise as Tōdai-ji's ranking priest, Joken joined the Shinbakufu, a secret organization conspiring to bring former shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki back to power. In exchange for his allegiance, he was granted the manpower to instigate turmoil between the Tsutsui and Akiyama clans, with the ultimate goal of undermining both Nobunaga and Junkei. However, shortly after Nobunaga's death, the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke investigated the tensions between the two clans and discovered the abbot's role in instigating the conflict. Exposed, Joken made a last stand against both clans but was defeated and killed.

Biography

Life as a sōhei

During Oda Nobunaga's unification campaign in 1577, he promised Joken and his fellow monks that they would rule Yamato if they joined him against Matsunaga Hisahide's forces. During the Siege of Shigisan, the abbot personally fought against Hisehide's son Kojiro and defeated him in combat. When Matsunaga fell, however, Nobunaga gifted the land to Tsutsui Junkei, much to Joken's ire. Within a matter of years, he rose in status to become the province's abbot, but still harbored resentment towards Nobunaga.

Joining the Shinbakufu

Joken's anger at Nobunaga eventually led him to join the Shinbakufu, who in return aided his efforts to create conflict between Junkei and Akiyama Ayako. As one of the group's leaders, Joken took on the alias of "The Wise" and participated in the hunt for the Imperial Regalia protected by the Kakushiba ikki.

In September 1581, Joken joined his fellow Shinbakufu members during Nobunaga's invasion of Iga to find the regalia's jewel, the Yasakani no Magatama. Using the invasion to mask their efforts, the group rendezvoused at Katano Castle, where their member Ido Yoshihiro took the box containing the jewel after stealing it from the Mihata Kofun. However, the kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe arrived at the castle before the Shinbakufu, assassinated Yoshihiro, and recovered the box.

Naoe attempted to escape with it, only to be ambushed and crippled by Yaita Wakasa and Wada Koretake, who reclaimed the box for the Shinbakufu. Just as Naoe's father Nagato came and pushed back the pair, the remaining Shinbakufu members, including a masked Joken, arrived. Ordered by their mounted leader to kill Nagato and secure the box, the group mortally wounded him and departed with their prize, leaving the Fujibayashi for dead.

Conflict in Yamato

In late June 1582, following Nobunaga's death during the Honnō-ji incident, Joken resumed working on his plan to stir turmoil between Junkei and Ayako in Yamato. Pretending to be an ally to Junkei, he influenced his lord by sowing distrust between him and Ayako. Meanwhile, he also worked covertly with a group of agents, the Kurai Eikyou, to stir up fear and chaos across the province.

While at Junkei's behest, Joken witnessed the arrival of Naoe, who had survived the events in Iga, and her fellow Kakushiba ikki member Yasuke. The two posed as a samurai and his servant visiting the province and offered to help Junkei escort the Tsutsui clan's envoys. Junkei accepted their help and dismissed Joken, who, before leaving, invited Naoe and Yasuke to visit Tōdai-ji so he could show them around the temple.

Arriving at Tōdai-ji, the pair met with Joken, who escorted them around the temple. Talking about his role as abbot, he explained that he hoped to be a spiritual guide and resolve tensions, especially with the use of the temple's sacred texts. He then excused himself as he went to attend to some private matters, leaving Naoe and Yasuke to explore the temple on their own. When he returned, he found them looking among the temple's set of oddities, and proceeded to tell them about his own history with the Matsunaga clan and his near-death at the hands of Hisehide's son.

The conversation was interrupted by an attack by Akiyama soldiers on the temple. Joken went to speak with the soldiers and offered his life in exchange for sparing his fellow monks, though Naoe and Yasuke soon managed to push off the attackers. After Joken noted that a sacred scroll had been taken, he accused the retreating Akiyama forces of the theft and stated that he deserved death for not being more watchful. Naoe and Yasuke persuaded him to wait for them to investigate the matter, and the abbot agreed before leaving for Koriyama Castle to inform Junkei of the attack and face the consequences.

When Junkei learned of the Akiyama clan's actions, he was ready to declare war. Joken asked the lord to reconsider his decision, suggesting that they find a middle ground, but a furious Junkei refused. At that moment, Naoe and Yasuke arrived with the scroll and expressed their doubt that the Akiyama were responsible for its theft. They then promised to investigate the matter further while Joken and Junkei prepared for the peace talks at Kōfuku-ji.

After their investigation at Katsuragi and Takatori Castle Ruins, Naoe and Yasuke determined that an agent called "The Messenger" had sent orders from his secret superior for bandits to attack and loot shrines across Yamato, in order to provoke the local spirits' wrath. They later found themselves meeting Ayako and discovered that Tsutsui envoys were attacked by traitorous Akiyama soldiers paid by a masked warrior. After saving the remaining envoy, they recovered an invitation to Uda Matsuyama Castle, handed it to Ayako at Kasuga-taisha, and convinced her to attend the peace talks with Junkei.

Death

At Kōfuku-ji, Joken supervised Junkei and Ayako's meeting and called for an intermission right when Yasuke entered. Meanwhile, Joken's soldiers readied themselves to interrupt the negotiations by having a hidden Akiyama soldier shoot at Junkei in order to start a war between the two clans. Fortunately, Naoe intervened and killed the shooter. However, Junkei and Ayako each blamed the other for the attempted assassination. When the abbot tried to accuse each leader, Yasuke threw his tantō at Joken, who caught it and revealed his true nature.

His cover exposed, Joken's men rallied behind him as he ordered them to kill everyone, starting with Yasuke. However, the soldiers only succeeded in buying Joken enough time to escape before they were eliminated. Following the abbot's trail, Naoe and Yasuke soon found him kneeling at a small shrine. As the two approached, Joken readied his katana and engaged them in a duel, exclaiming that Nobunaga had betrayed him by denying his rightful rule of Yamato.

Eventually, Joken was bested by his opponents and mortally wounded. Naoe then attempted to interrogate him about the box stolen from Iga, but the abbot deflected the question, stating that he would like to die. In his final moments, he experienced an auditory hallucination of wooden clappers and believed it was a sign from Kojiro to hasten him to the afterlife. After Joken succumbed to his wounds, Naoe and Yasuke recovered the kusarigama Winds of War and a full tea set from his personal effects.

Gallery

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  Hara Joken

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Shadows