Siege of Futamata Castle (1572, Genki 3)
Genki 3, 10th month, 16th day – 12th month, 19th day (the surrender is dated to the 30th of the 11th month by one account)
Futamata Castle, Tōtōmi Province (present-day Futamata, Tenryū Ward, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)
- Date
- Genki 3, 10th month, 16th day – 12th month, 19th day (the surrender is dated to the 30th of the 11th month by one account)
- Location
- Futamata Castle, Tōtōmi Province (present-day Futamata, Tenryū Ward, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)
- Result
- The Tokugawa side surrendered the castle, and Nakane Masateru withdrew to Hamamatsu Castle. Many wavering local samurai followed Shingen, which led to the Battle of Mikatagahara on the 22nd of the 12th month.
Forces
Takeda army
Tokugawa army
About 3 min read
Overview
From the 16th day of the 10th month to the 19th day of the 12th month of Genki 3 (1572), the army of Takeda Shingen attacked the Tokugawa-held Futamata Castle in Tōtōmi Province. Sources differ on the day of the surrender; Honda Takashige's Tokugawa Ieyasu no Ketsudan dates it to the 30th of the 11th month, and there is a view that the castle surrendered on that day.
The Castle and the Two Sides
Futamata Castle stood on a hill at the confluence of the Tenryū and Futamata rivers. The only approach was the steep main-gate route, and the Takeda army could make no progress. The Takeda side was led by Shingen and Katsuyori; the armies of Baba Nobuharu and Shingen joined to number about 27,000, and Yamagata Masakage joined in the 11th month. On the Tokugawa side the castle commander was Nakane Masateru and his deputy was Aoki Sadaharu, with about 1,200 men in the castle. Matsudaira Yasuyasu is also listed among the participating commanders.
The Well Tower
Masateru rejected a call to surrender, hoping for relief from Ieyasu and Nobunaga. The Takeda attack began on the 18th day of the 10th month. The castle had no well; water was drawn by bucket from a well tower built on the cliff along the Tenryū River. The Takeda army gave up on a direct assault, floated a large number of rafts down from upstream, and had them strike the tower's pillars, destroying it.
Surrender and Aftermath
Masateru tried to get by on rainwater collected in tubs, but the defense could not be kept up, and he surrendered the castle and withdrew to Hamamatsu Castle (Mikawa Monogatari). Many of the wavering local samurai followed Shingen, which led to the Battle of Mikatagahara on the 22nd day of the 12th month.