Battle of Tennōji (1576)

On the 7th day of the 5th month of Tenshō 4 (1576) — June 3 by the new calendar — in Settsu Province at Tennōji (near present-day Tennōji Ward, Osaka City), Oda Nobunaga intercepted with a force of only a few thousand men the great army of Miyoshi Yasunaga and the Honganji arquebusier corps, which had advanced to relieve the besieged Ishiyama Honganji where Honganji Kennyo was sheltered. Although Nobunaga himself was struck by a musket ball and wounded, he refused to withdraw and remained steadfast on the battlefield, ultimately achieving a decisive counter-attack and victory. The Battle of Tennōji is known as one of the most intense engagements of the Ishiyama War (1570–1580) and is transmitted through history as an event symbolizing both Nobunaga's valor as a military commander and the intersection of samurai sword culture with the firearms revolution of the late Sengoku period.

**Background — The Ishiyama War**

The Ishiyama War was a large-scale religious conflict fought intermittently from Genki 1 (1570) to Tenshō 8 (1580) between Oda Nobunaga and the headquarters of the Ikkō-shū (Jōdo Shinshū) sect, the Ishiyama Honganji (present-day Osaka Castle). The chief priest of the Honganji, Kennyo, coordinated with Ikkō ikki (one-sect uprising) forces throughout Kaga, Echizen, Settsu, and Kawachi, forming a powerful opposition bloc against Nobunaga's control of the Kinai region. The Honganji's stronghold at Ishiyama (near present-day Osaka Castle) was geographically well-suited for defense and possessed a maritime supply route from the Seto Inland Sea, making it one of the most formidable bases Nobunaga faced.

**The Situation in Tenshō 4 (1576)**

At the Battle of Nagashino in Tenshō 3 (1575), Nobunaga achieved a great victory over Takeda Katsuyori's cavalry through the three-tiered volley technique of musket fire (while questions remain about the established account, the fact of organized, large-scale deployment of firearms is certain), opening a new chapter in the military history of the Sengoku period. Entering Tenshō 4 (1576), Nobunaga was engaged in tightening the encirclement of the Ishiyama Honganji while simultaneously being forced to respond on multiple fronts against anti-Nobunaga forces (the Mōri, Uesugi, and Honganji coalition) who sought to reinstate the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

During this period, the Honganji successfully coordinated with the Mōri naval forces (Murakami Takeyoshi and the Murakami clan of Innoshima under Mōri command) to transport provisions and weapons to Ishiyama by sea, and Nobunaga's encirclement network was breached from the maritime side (a situation connected to the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi in the 7th month of 1576).

**The Course of the Battle of Tennōji**

In the 5th month of Tenshō 4, Miyoshi Yasunaga (alternate name: Shōgan) invaded Settsu in coordination with the Honganji and took position near Tennōji to the south of the Ishiyama Honganji. His force numbered, by some accounts, 15,000 men—a large army positioned to strike at Nobunaga's encirclement line from without, coordinating with the Honganji arquebusier corps within.

Nobunaga had initially dispatched Sakuma Nobumori and other commanders to defend Tennōji, but they found themselves in dire straits facing the enemy's overwhelming numbers. On the 7th day of the 5th month, Nobunaga himself rushed from Kyoto to Settsu, leading a force of some 3,000 men into Tennōji. This decision both manifested Nobunaga's strategic boldness and embodied the image of a Sengoku commander—a general who leads from the front to inspire the morale of his soldiers.

During the battle, Nobunaga was struck by a musket ball (bullet) fired by the Honganji arquebusier corps and sustained a wound to his arm or leg. This fact is recorded in the writings of the missionary Luís Fróis and is widely accepted as historical truth. Yet despite his wound, Nobunaga did not leave the battlefield and continued to direct the fighting from the front. This presence elevated the spirits of his men, enabling them to launch a fierce counter-attack that overcame their numerical disadvantage.

**Outcome and Significance**

Before Nobunaga's fierce counter-attack, led by the commander himself from the front, the Miyoshi-Honganji alliance collapsed. The Battle of Tennōji ended in an Oda victory. Miyoshi Yasunaga withdrew from Settsu, and external reinforcements to the Ishiyama Honganji were severed. Through this victory, Nobunaga temporarily succeeded in re-consolidating the encirclement of the Ishiyama Honganji.

However, the Ishiyama War continued beyond this point. Through the activities of the Mōri naval forces (in the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi in the 7th month of 1576, the Honganji side prevailed) and the resistance of Ikkō ikki forces throughout the country, the Honganji held firm until Tenshō 8 (1580). It would take another four years before Nobunaga finally brought the Ishiyama Honganji to submission.

**Sword and Weapons Culture**

The Battle of Tennōji holds significant meaning as an event symbolizing the transformation of Japanese weapons culture in the late Sengoku period. Both Nobunaga's forces and the Honganji arquebusier corps actively deployed the musket (fire-lance gun) as one of their primary weapons at this time, and the fact that Nobunaga himself was struck by musket fire demonstrates that firearms possessed decisive power on the battlefield in the late Sengoku period.

On the other hand, the samurai of this era still habitually wore the long and short swords (daisho)—Japanese swords—and in close-quarters combat, swords and spears remained the primary weapons. In field battles such as at Tennōji, it was customary for long-range musket fire to be followed by close-range combat with spears and swords. The fact that Nobunaga himself advanced to the front line and fought, reportedly without hesitation, embodies the image of a Sengoku commander—a general who did not shrink from standing on the battlefield with sword in hand.

Furthermore, the existence of the Honganji arquebusier corps demonstrates the reality that not only samurai but also adherents of the Ikkō-shū (including peasants and townspeople) organized musket squads capable of fighting warrior bands on equal or superior terms. This testifies to the extent to which the status-based and cultural order of "samurai and sword" had been profoundly shaken in the late Sengoku period.

The battle in which Nobunaga was struck by gunfire at Tennōji yet achieved victory occupies a special place in the history of the Japanese sword—the intersection where the spirit of the Sengoku era—"to advance without fear of death, to fight for one's conviction"—and the military transformation that would shape early modern Japan converge.