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Battles, incidents, and historical events related to Japanese swords
12 events
15th day of the 10th month, Eiroku 8 (1565) — the date traditionally given for Obu Toramasa's death; Yoshinobu was confined at Tōkō-ji and died in 1567
In 1565 (Eiroku 8), Takeda Shingen's heir Yoshinobu was confined at Tōkō-ji over an alleged plot, and his guardian Obu Toramasa took his own life. The affair is understood against the shift in Takeda diplomacy after Okehazama and the changing relationship with the Imagawa. Yoshinobu died two years later.
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Eiroku 11 (1568), 9th month 7th day to 10th month 18th day (old calendar)
How Oda Nobunaga set out from Gifu in 1568 with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, drove the Rokkaku out of southern Omi, pushed the Miyoshi forces out of the home provinces and saw Yoshiaki installed as the 15th Muromachi shogun. The article follows the dates from their July meeting through the September march to the shogunal appointment on the 18th day of the 10th month.
Meiō 2 (1493)
In 1493, the kanrei Hosokawa Masamoto deposed Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiki and installed a puppet in his place. This coup effectively ended the authority of the Muromachi shogunate and is considered the moment the Sengoku period truly began.
15th day of 7th month, Bunroku 4 (August 20, 1595)
Toyotomi Hidetsugu, nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Kampaku, was accused of plotting rebellion and ordered to commit seppuku. His wives, concubines, and children, 39 people in all, were executed at Sanjō riverbank. The tragedy symbolized the power struggle that foreshadowed Sekigahara.
c. 1596 (Keichō 1)
Around Keichō 1 (1596), Toyotomi Hideyoshi appointed Honami Kōtoku as “touken kiwamedokoro” (sword authentication office) and officially sanctioned a system of sword appraisal and valuation by origami (folded appraisal certificates). Origami issued by the Honami family served as official appraisal documents recording the smith’s inscription, dimensions and appraised value (daitsuke). They laid the foundation for the later compilation of the Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō and for modern sword authentication systems.
25th day of the 7th month, Keichō 5 (1600)
In the 7th month of 1600, on the eve of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu convened a war council at Oyama in Shimotsuke Province. Securing the loyalty of eastern lords including Fukushima Masanori, he pivoted from the Aizu campaign to confronting the Western Army — a turning point that determined the fate of Japan.
April 19, 1578 (Tenshō 6, 3rd month, 13th day)
In 1578, just before departing on a planned campaign into the Kantō region, the celebrated Echigo commander Uesugi Kenshin died suddenly at his stronghold of Kasugayama Castle at age 49. Having never designated an heir, his death triggered the Otate no Ran succession war between his adopted sons Kagekatsu and Kagetora, severely weakening Echigo’s regional power.
7th–8th month, Tenshō 18 (1590)
In the 7th and 8th months of Tenshō 18 (1590), immediately after the fall of Odawara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi reorganized the domains of the Ōshū (Tōhoku) daimyō. Date Masamune, who had arrived late to Odawara, was heavily reduced, while the dispossessed former territories of the Ōsaki and Kasai clans erupted into a major uprising, marking the final stage of Hideyoshi's unification of Japan.
11th day of the 7th month, Tenshō 13 (1585)
On the 11th day of the 7th month of Tenshō 13 (1585), Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the first person from the warrior class to be appointed Kanpaku (Imperial Regent). After the subjugation of Kyushu in Tenshō 15 (1587), and the Odawara campaign and Ōshū Shioki in Tenshō 18, he completed the unification of the realm. By the Sword Hunt Edict of Tenshō 16 (1588), he banned peasants from possessing weapons and pushed forward the separation of warriors and farmers.
The 27th day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10 (July 16, 1582)
In 1582, after Oda Nobunaga and his son Nobutada died in the Honnō-ji Incident, senior Oda retainers met at Kiyosu Castle in Owari to decide the clan's successor and divide its territories. Led by Hashiba Hideyoshi, the conference settled on Nobunaga's infant grandson Sanbōshi as heir, and the resulting rift with Shibata Katsuie led to the following year's Battle of Shizugatake.
Tenbun 18 (1549)
Miyoshi Nagayoshi defeated Hosokawa Harumoto at the Battle of Eguchi and gained mastery of the Kinai. Establishing a power that surpassed the Muromachi shogun, he became the first Sengoku hegemon to realize the status of tenkabito (ruler of the realm), before Nobunaga.
May 13, 1573 (Genki 4, 4th month, 12th day)
In 1573, Takeda Shingen, the daimyo of Kai who was advancing toward Kyoto in the Saikō Campaign after crushing Tokugawa Ieyasu at Mikatagahara, fell fatally ill during the siege of Noda Castle and died at Komaba in Shinano Province at age 53 while retreating to Kai. His death collapsed the anti-Oda coalition and set the stage for the Takeda clan's later defeat at Nagashino and eventual destruction.