Battle of Fushimi Castle

The Battle of Fushimi Castle — The Last Stand of Torii Mototada, Ieyasu's Loyal General, on the Eve of Sekigahara

From July 19 to August 1 of Keichō 5 (1600), the Battle of Fushimi Castle, fought at Fushimi Castle in Yamashiro Province (present-day Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City), unfolded as the prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara in September of the same year, and stands as one of the most dramatic sieges in Japanese history. Torii Mototada, the trusted subordinate of Tokugawa Ieyasu, defended the castle with fewer than 1,800 men against the Western Army of approximately 40,000 led by Ishida Mitsunari, holding out for more than ten days before falling with the castle. This battle transcended mere military tactics, becoming an event symbolizing the samurai spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice, passed down through successive generations.

Torii Mototada — Ieyasu's Childhood Companion and Final Shield

Torii Mototada (Tenbun 8 / 1539 – Keichō 5 / 1600) was a hereditary senior retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, serving him since the time of Ieyasu's father, Matsudaira Hirotada. When Ieyasu was sent as a hostage to Sunpu under the Imagawa clan, Mototada accompanied him, and thereafter served as Ieyasu's closest confidant for more than fifty years. After the Kantō transfer in Tenshō 18 (1590), he became lord of 40,000 koku in Shimōsa Yaji and also participated in the Bunroku and Keichō campaigns.

In June of Keichō 5 (1600), as Ieyasu prepared to move eastward to subjugate Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mototada volunteered, saying: "Leave the defense of Fushimi Castle to me." Ieyasu is said to have replied: "You may have to give your life," to which Mototada answered: "That is a warrior's highest aspiration." This parting was their last meeting. The cup of water they shared became legendary as proof of "a final parting in awareness of death," and is said to have moved Ieyasu to tears.

Fushimi Castle — Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Legacy and Strategic Stronghold

Fushimi Castle was a fortress expanded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his later years and the place where Hideyoshi died in Keichō 3 (1598). After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who held actual power, made Fushimi Castle the center of politics. When Ieyasu moved eastward in Keichō 5 (1600) to subjugate the Uesugi, he entrusted the defense of Fushimi Castle to Mototada. Fushimi Castle was a strategic strongpoint controlling the south of Kyoto and also a symbolic fortress of the Toyotomi regime.

More Than Ten Days of Combat — A Handful Facing the Massive Western Army

On July 17 of Keichō 5, Ishida Mitsunari and others raised their banners, opening the prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara. Mitsunari prioritized the capture of Fushimi Castle. Fushimi Castle was a key position controlling the Tōkaidō and Sanyō roads toward Sekigahara and, as a Tokugawa stronghold, posed a threat to the Western Army's rear.

On July 19, the Western Army of approximately 40,000 launched its attack on Fushimi Castle. Mototada, commanding fewer than 1,800 men, withdrew into the castle and fought fiercely despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage. Close-quarters combat raged at every point of the castle; the defenders sustained heavy casualties but continued to hold their ground. The samurai of Fushimi Castle, with swords and spears in hand, endured the Western Army's fierce assault for more than ten days.

On August 1, fire was set inside the castle through the treachery of those who had turned to the Western cause, and at last the main keep fell. Mototada retreated to the secondary enclosure and died by disembowelment. He was sixty-two years old. Approximately 370 samurai, including Naitō Ienaga, followed Mototada in ritual suicide or died in battle.

Blood Ceilings — Sword Marks and Bloodstains Testifying to Fushimi Castle's Tragedy

After Fushimi Castle's fall, the countless bloodstains and sword marks left on the castle's corridors were preserved as evidence of the battle's ferocity. During the era of Tokugawa Iemitsu (early seventeenth century), these blood-soaked floorboards were transferred to temples and shrines around Kyoto as "blood ceilings" (chiten'jō). At present, blood ceilings from Fushimi Castle are preserved at Yōgen'in (Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City), Genkōan (Kita Ward, Kyoto City), Shōden-ji (Kita Ward, Kyoto City), and Hōsen'in (Ōhara).

The blood ceilings bear traces—sword marks, handprints, footprints, impressions of skulls—that attest to the ferocity of the siege warfare, transmitting to the present day the final moments of Fushimi Castle's samurai. These blood ceilings hold the meaning of "requiem" conducted as part of post-battle administration, having been offered to temples to console the spirits of the fallen samurai.

Swords and the Battle of Fushimi Castle — The Place Where the Samurai Spirit Shone for the Last Time

In the Battle of Fushimi Castle, swords played an important role as a final means of defense. The approximately 1,800 samurai in the garrison, armed with swords, spears, and bows, took up positions in the defense of the castle. While the Western Army conducted modern siege warfare centered on firearms, the samurai of Fushimi Castle responded in close-quarters combat with swords in hand.

There are no detailed records of the sword used by Mototada himself, but his family line, as Mikawa samurai, had traditionally upheld the culture of bearing swords. Most of the swords of the samurai who fell in the siege were likely distributed to officers of the Western Army after the castle's fall, or were consumed in the flames along with their owners.

After the Battle of Fushimi Castle, Ieyasu is said to have expressed gratitude for Mototada's loyalty, saying: "The loyalty of Torii Mototada is as pure and sharp as the blade of a Japanese sword." This metaphor succinctly illustrates that the Japanese sword is a symbol of samurai loyalty.

The Chain to Sekigahara — Mototada's Death Opens the Path to Tokugawa Rule of the Realm

The fall of Fushimi Castle brought great shock and anger to the commanders of the Eastern Army (the Ieyasu faction). The fact that Torii Mototada, a high-ranking retainer of the Tokugawa house, fell with his castle profoundly strengthened the morale of the Eastern Army and provided powerful emotional motivation — "to avenge Mototada."

On September 15 of Keichō 5, at the Battle of Sekigahara, the Eastern Army defeated the Western Army, and Tokugawa Ieyasu gained actual control of the realm. This occurred some forty-five days after the fierce combat at Fushimi Castle. While historians debate whether Mototada's self-sacrifice directly contributed to the Eastern Army's victory at Sekigahara, it is certain that it strengthened the emotional bonds of the Eastern Army and elevated their will to fight.

The Battle of Fushimi Castle and the self-sacrifice of Torii Mototada became an event symbolizing the essence of Japanese bushidō, transmitted through the Edo period and becoming the subject of military chronicles, woodblock prints, and oral storytelling. In the present day, through the blood ceilings, the vivid memory of Fushimi Castle endures, reminding visitors of samurai loyalty and the end of the age of the Japanese sword.