New Arrivals — Browse our catalog for the latest authentic Japanese sword arrivals. Browse →
Battles, incidents, and historical events related to Japanese swords
103 events
30 September 1571 (Genki 2, 9th month, 12th day)
In the 9th month of Genki 2 (1571), Oda Nobunaga burned Enryakuji on Mount Hiei (present-day Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture), reducing its halls, monks' quarters and the town at its foot to ashes. Nobunaga had monks and laypeople on the mountain killed regardless of sex or age, leaving the head temple of the Tendai school, with nearly eight centuries of history, in ruins. The act deeply shocked people of the time and cemented Nobunaga's image as a “demon king.” At the same time, it fundamentally reshaped the relationship between religious and secular power.
Read more →
October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 9th month, 15th day)
On October 21, 1600, the decisive battle of Japan's unification was fought at Sekigahara in Mino Province. The Eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu clashed with the Western Army under Ishida Mitsunari, determining Japan's hegemon in a single day.
April–August 1590 (3rd–7th month, Tenshō 18)
In Tenshō 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, Tenshō 14)
In the 12th month of Tenshō 14 (1586), Sengoku Hidehisa and Chōsokabe Nobuchika, serving as the vanguard of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Conquest of Kyushu, engaged the Shimazu forces at the Hetsugigawa River in Bungo Province (present-day Oita City) and suffered a great defeat. Nobuchika, the eldest son of Chōsokabe Motochika and Shikoku's fiercest general, fell in battle—his death dealt a serious blow to Motochika and the Chōsokabe clan.
6th–10th month of Tenshō 9 (1581)
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.
June 12, 1560 (Eiroku 3, 5th month, 19th day)
On June 12, 1560 (Eiroku 3/5/19), Oda Nobunaga, a minor daimyō of Owari, launched a surprise attack on the great army led by Imagawa Yoshimoto and killed Yoshimoto. The historic battle, which overturned the disparity in forces, became Nobunaga's first step toward dominion over the realm.
1553–1564 (Tenbun 22 – Eiroku 7); Fourth Battle: October 1561 (9th month, Eiroku 4)
Five engagements fought between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin over control of Shinano Province (1553–1564). The Fourth Battle of 1561 — in which the two commanders reportedly clashed in personal combat — is remembered as the most dramatic rivalry of the Sengoku era.