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Schlachten, ZwischenfÀlle und historische Ereignisse rund um japanische Schwerter
69 Ereignisse
January 1597 â December 1598
In KeichÅ 2 (1597), after four years of cease-fire following the Bunroku Campaign, Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispatched a massive army to Korea once more. Notable for the siege of Ulsan Castle (under KatÅ Kiyomasa) and Shimazu Yoshihiro's desperate breakthrough at the Battle of Noryang, this campaign documents the reality of early-modern warfare where Japanese swords and firearms coexisted. Following Hideyoshi's death from illness, the war lost its objective and the entire army withdrew, inflicting catastrophic human and cultural damage on the Korean Peninsula.
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AprilâAugust 1590 (3rdâ7th month, TenshÅ 18)
In TenshÅ 18 (1590), Toyotomi Hideyoshi led a large army to besiege the Go-Hojo clan's headquarters at Odawara Castle. After a prolonged siege lasting over three months, Ujimasa and Ujinao (father and son) of the Go-Hojo clan surrendered. Ujimasa committed suicide, and the Go-Hojo clan that had endured for 100 years perished. This was the historical event that completed Hideyoshi's unification of Japan.
January 20, 1587 (12th day, 12th month, TenshÅ 14)
In the 12th month of TenshÅ 14 (December 1586), Sengyoku Hidehisa and ChÅsokabe Nobuchika, serving as the vanguard of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Conquest of Kyushu, engaged the Shimazu forces at the Totsugigawa River in Bungo Province (present-day Oita City) and suffered a great defeat. Nobuchika, the eldest son of ChÅsokabe Motochika and Shikoku's fiercest general, fell in battleâhis death dealt a serious blow to Motochika and the ChÅsokabe clan.
November 17, 1585 (8th day, 10th month, TenshÅ 13)
In November of TenshÅ 13 (1585), Date Masamune, the great daimyo of ÅshÅ«, clashed with the allied forces of Satake, Ashina, NikaidÅ, and Shirakawa at Hitotorihashi in Mutsu Province (present-day Motomiya City, Fukushima Prefecture). Surrounded by enemies vastly outnumbering him, the 17-year-old Masamune fought fiercely and narrowly avoided defeat. This battle became a major turning point in Northeastern Sengoku history.
March 24, 1584 (24th day, 3rd month, TenshÅ 12)
In March 1584, RyÅ«zÅji Takanobu â the 'Bear of Hizen' who dominated northern Kyushu â marched against the Shimazu-Arima coalition at Okitanawate in Hizen Province. Shimazu Iehisa's brilliant tactical trap ended RyÅ«zÅji supremacy and reshaped the balance of power across Kyushu.
MarchâNovember 1584 (TenshÅ 12)
In 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi clashed with the combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu in a campaign spanning several months. Though Ieyasu won the tactical engagement at Nagakute â killing senior Toyotomi commanders â the strategic stalemate ultimately resolved through diplomacy, with Hideyoshi emerging politically dominant.
April 21, 1583 (20th day, 4th month, TenshÅ 11)
In April of Tensho 11 (1583), a struggle for hegemony between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie unfolded around Shizugatake in Omi Province (present-day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture). This was a power struggle among military commanders following the HonnÅ-ji Incident over who would be the successor to Oda Nobunaga, and it is remembered for the exploits of the seven formidable generals known as the 'Seven Spears of Shizugatake.'
JuneâOctober 1581 (TenshÅ 9)
In 1581, Hashiba Hideyoshi (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi) starved Tottori Castle into surrender through a methodical blockade that reduced its garrison and refugees to extreme famine conditions, reportedly including cannibalism. The castle's commander, Kikkawa Tsuneie, negotiated the lives of his surviving men in exchange for his own suicide. The siege stands as the most devastating application of Hideyoshi's logistical genius and one of the most harrowing episodes in Sengoku castle warfare.
September 1581 (TenshÅ 9)
In September of TenshÅ 9 (1581), Oda Nobunaga appointed his second son, Nobukatsu, as supreme commander and invaded Iga Province with an overwhelming force of over 40,000 troops. Seeking to avenge the failure of the first invasion two years prior (TenshÅ 7), this was the 'Second TenshÅ Iga Disturbance,' with Nobunaga himself directing the military campaign. Iga, known as a ninja village, attempted organized resistance but was annihilated within days before the overwhelming military superiority. This conflict represents a rare historical instance where the sword culture of samurai directly collided with the dark weapons and short blade culture of ninja.
November 12, 1578 (11th day, 11th month, TenshÅ 6)
In November 1578, the Shimazu clan of Satsuma decisively defeated the Otomo clan's large army at the Mimikawa River in Hyuga Province. This battle shattered Otomo's dominance in Kyushu and set Shimazu on the path to near-total control of the island, until halted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1587 Kyushu campaign.
Autumn 1576 â September 1577 (TenshÅ 4â5)
A siege of Nanao Castle, the stronghold of Noto Province, conducted by Uesugi Kenshin from autumn of TenshÅ 4 (1576) to September of TenshÅ 5 (1577). After nearly a year of siege, Kenshin brought down Nanao Castle through epidemic outbreaks within the castle and the betrayal of an insider, thereby pacifying Noto Province. The news of Nanao Castle's fall came just before Kenshin defeated the forces of Oda Nobunaga at the Battle of Tetori River, marking the apex of Kenshin's domination of the Hokuriku region.
May 21, 1575 (21st day, 5th month, TenshÅ 3)
On May 21, 1575, the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu crushed Takeda Katsuyori's cavalry at Nagashino in Mikawa Province. Nobunaga's coordinated volley firing â reportedly organized in rotating three-rank sequence â shattered the Takeda's vaunted mounted warriors and transformed Sengoku battlefield tactics.
August 17â20, 1573 (TenshÅ 1, 8th month)
In August of Tensho 1 (1573), pursued relentlessly by Oda Nobunaga, Asakura Yoshikage abandoned his castle at Ichijodani and fled. The Asakura clan, which had boasted a century of prosperity, collapsed in mere days, and Echizen sword culture suffered a devastating blow.
December 1572 â January 1573 (Genki 3â4)
From December of Genki 3 (1572) to February of Genki 4 (1573), Takeda Shingen besieged and conquered Noda Castle (present-day Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture), a branch fortress of Tokugawa Ieyasu. After his decisive victory over Ieyasu at the Battle of Mikatagahara, Shingen reduced Noda Castle, but it is reported that during the siege he was struck by gunfire, or alternatively that his illness worsened shortly after the castle fell. He subsequently died on his way back to Kai Province. The Battle of Noda Castle represented the final phase of Shingen's western campaign and is recorded in history as his last battle.
December 22, 1572 (Genki 3, 12th month, 22nd day)
In December of Genki 3 (1572), the Takeda army led by Takeda Shingen decisively defeated the Tokugawa Ieyasu army at Mikatagahara in TÅtÅmi Province. It was Shingen's final campaign of his lifetime and the battle in which Ieyasu suffered his greatest defeat. Ieyasu's humiliation, exemplified by the Shikami-zÅ, and Shingen's strategic genius have been passed down through the ages.
September 16 â December 13, 1570 (Genki 1, 9thâ11th months)
The Siege of Shiga (SeptemberâDecember 1570, the first year of Genki), in which the combined forces of the Asai and Asakura clans and the warrior monks of Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei surrounded Nobunaga. Though forced into a humiliating truce brokered by the imperial court, it became a turning point that steeled his resolve for the burning of Mt. Hiei the following year.
August 20, 1570 (Genki 1, 8th month, 20th day)
In August 1570, as Otomo Sorin's vast army besieged Saga Castle, Ryuzoji retainer Nabeshima Nobushige led a daring night raid that killed the Otomo commander Otomo Chikasada. The victory opened Ryuzoji Takanobu's path to domination of Hizen Province and marked a pivotal moment in Kyushu's Sengoku history.
August 1567 (Eiroku 10, 8th month)
In August of the 10th year of Eiroku (1567), Oda Nobunaga captured Inabayama Castle (present-day Gifu Castle) from SaitÅ Tatsuoki in Mino Province through a siege. Internal support from Kinoshita TÅkichirÅ (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi) and a surprise attack by elite forces proved effective, enabling Nobunaga to finally achieve his long-coveted conquest of Mino. Nobunaga renamed the castle "Gifu Castle" and established it as the base for unifying the realm under the banner of Tenka Fubu.
June 12, 1560 (Eiroku 3, 5th month, 19th day)
On May 19, 1560 (Eiroku 3), Oda Nobunaga, a minor daimyo of Owari, launched a surprise attack on the massive army led by Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was advancing toward Kyoto. Nobunaga defeated and killed Yoshimoto, overturning the overwhelming disparity in military forces. This historically miraculous victory became Nobunaga's first step toward his eventual unification of the realm.
October 1, 1555 (30th day, 9th month, Tenbun 24)
In October 1555, Mori Motonari lured the massive army of Sue Harukata to the sacred island of Itsukushima in the Seto Inland Sea, then crushed them with a daring night amphibious assault. This victory, won with far fewer troops through superior strategy and naval power, established Mori as the dominant warlord of western Honshu.
1553â1564 (Tenbun 22 â Eiroku 7); Fourth Battle: October 1561 (9th month, Eiroku 4)
Five engagements fought between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin over control of Shinano Province (1553â1564). The Fourth Battle of 1561 â in which the two commanders reportedly clashed in personal combat â is remembered as the most dramatic rivalry of the Sengoku era.