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Batailles, incidents et événements historiques liés aux sabres japonais
84 événements
May – July, Tenshō 18 (June – August 1590 CE)
The Siege of Oshi Castle (1590) was a subsidiary operation of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Odawara campaign, in which Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take the Narita clan's castle in Musashi Province by flooding it with a massive earthwork dam. The garrison of roughly 500, led by Masaki Toshihide and the legendary Kai-hime, held out against a force many times larger and was never taken — making Oshi one of the few castles to remain undefeated in the entire Odawara campaign.
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June 5, Tenshō 17 (July 17, 1589)
In June 1589, Date Masamune destroyed the Ashina clan at Suriagehara (present-day Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture), effectively ending the Ashina domain and seizing control of Aizu and most of Mutsu Province. The battle marked Masamune's emergence as the dominant power in the Tōhoku region and is often considered the final major Sengoku battle of northeastern Japan.
August 29, 1588 (8th day, 7th month, Tenshō 16)
The purpose of the Sword Hunt Edict (Katanagari) was to confiscate weapons from farmers and temples, prevent uprisings, and institutionally separate the warrior and farming classes. Issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in July 1588, it was the greatest social transformation in Japanese sword history: the collected swords were ostensibly melted down for the Great Buddha at Hōkōji — and the early modern class system was born.
Seventh month (14th–27th), Tenshō 14 (1586)
In the seventh month of Tenshō 14 (1586), a Shimazu army of 50,000, on the verge of unifying Kyushu, besieged Iwaya Castle in Chikuzen, held for the Ōtomo by Takahashi Jōun. With only 763 defenders, Jōun refused every demand to surrender and, after half a month of desperate fighting, died with his entire garrison on the 27th. This heroic stand exhausted the Shimazu and bought time until Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyushu expedition arrived—ultimately thwarting Shimazu unification of the island.
August 1585 (Tenshō 13) and September 1600 (Keichō 5)
Fought in 1585 and again in 1600, the Battle of Ueda saw Sanada Masayuki and his son Yukimura repel far larger Tokugawa forces twice at Ueda Castle. A masterpiece of defensive warfare showcasing Masayuki's reputation as the Sengoku era's supreme strategist.
Third–fourth month, Tenshō 13 (1585)
In Tenshō 13 (1585), during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's subjugation of Kii Province, Hideyoshi's army subjected Ōta Castle—the last stronghold of the Saiga and Negoro leagues—to a flooding siege. Unable to storm the fortress, Hideyoshi built an embankment some 7 km long in only a few days to submerge it, and after about a month forced its surrender in exchange for the seppuku of ringleader Ōta Sakon and 52 others. It is counted, with Bitchū-Takamatsu and Oshi, among Japan's "three great flooding sieges."
29th day of the 11th month, Tenshō 13 (January 18, 1586)
The Tenshō Great Earthquake, which occurred on November 29, 1585 (lunar calendar) in the 13th year of Tenshō, was a massive seismic event with an estimated magnitude of 7.8–8.1, causing catastrophic damage across a wide swath of the Hokuriku, Tōkai, and Kinki regions. Castles and settlements in Hida, Etchu, Ōmi, and surrounding areas collapsed, with estimated casualties ranging from several thousand to over ten thousand. This earthquake, occurring on the eve of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's unification of Japan, profoundly affected the dispersal of renowned castles and famous blades and the fates of military commanders.
Ninth month (9th–11th), Tenshō 12 (October 12–14, 1584)
In the ninth month of Tenshō 12 (1584), Sassa Narimasa of Etchū—who had turned against Hashiba in concert with the Komaki-Nagakute campaign—besieged the strategic Suemori Castle in Noto with an army of 15,000. As the castle commander Okumura Nagatomi and some 300 defenders held on to the brink of collapse, Maeda Toshiie rushed through the night with 2,500 men and struck the Sassa army from behind, driving it off. The battle, which decided the fate of the Maeda house, is called "the Okehazama of Kaga."
July 2, 1582 (13th day, 6th month, Tenshō 10)
On June 13, Tenshō 10 (1582), eleven days after the Honnō-ji Incident, the culmination of the 'Great March from China' unfolded. Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide at Yamazaki in Yamashiro Province (present-day Mishima County, Osaka Prefecture) and seized hegemony following Nobunaga's death. This battle gave birth to the phrase 'the battle that decided the fate of the realm,' arising from the struggle over Tennō Mountain.
April–June 2, Tenshō 10 (May–June 21, 1582)
From April to June 1582 (Tensho 10), a siege took place at Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu Province (present-day Takamatsu, Kita Ward, Okayama City), where Hashiba Hideyoshi subjected the castle held by Shimizu Muneharu to a water siege. The water siege in which Hideyoshi dammed the Ashimori River to inundate Takamatsu Castle is said to have been the largest engineering project in Japanese history. This historic battle became the catalyst for Hideyoshi's retreat to Kyoto via the Great Retreat through Chugoku after receiving news of the Honnoji Incident.
March 11, Tenshō 10 (April 3, 1582)
In March 1582, Takeda Katsuyori was cornered at Tenmokuzan in Kai Province by the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and committed ritual suicide with his wife and remaining retainers. This final stand marked the extinction of the Takeda clan, once celebrated as the Sengoku era's most feared military power.
8th month, Tensho 10 (August 1582)
In August 1582 (Tenshō 10), Chosokabe Motochika crushed the Miyoshi-Sogo coalition at the Nakatomigawa River in Awa Province. Seizing the chaos that erupted after the Honnoji Incident, Motochika's resolve and the lightning campaign mounted by elite 'ichiryo gusoku' troops became the decisive move in Shikoku's unification.
Sixth month (16th–19th), Tenshō 10 (July 5–8, 1582)
In the sixth month of Tenshō 10 (1582), immediately after Oda Nobunaga was killed at Honnō-ji, Takigawa Kazumasu—the Oda retainer governing Kōzuke—clashed with the Hōjō forces led by Hōjō Ujinao at the Kanna River on the Musashi–Kōzuke border. Regarded as the largest field battle in the Kantō during the Sengoku period, Kazumasu's roughly 18,000 men were routed by the Hōjō's roughly 56,000, and he fled all the way back to his home at Nagashima in Ise.
August 1532 CE (Tenbun 1)
In August of Tenbun 1 (1532), the allied forces of Hosokawa Harumoto, Rokkaku Sadayori, and the Hokke Ikki (Lotus Sutra league) burned and destroyed Yamashina Hongan-ji, the headquarters of the Ikko Ikki, in a decisive engagement of the Eishoku-Tenbun Disturbance (1531–1535). This event paved the way for the Hongan-ji's relocation to Osaka and the subsequent Ishiyama Conflict.
Autumn, Tenbun 9 (1540)
In autumn 1540, at Kōriyama Castle in Aki Province (present-day Akitakata City, Hiroshima Prefecture), Mōri Motonari repulsed a massive invasion by Amako Haruhisa of Izumi Province. Vastly outnumbered, Mōri's defense and counterattacks forced the Amako withdrawal, marking the turning point in Mōri's rise to dominate the Chūgoku region.
July 1536 (Tenbun 5)
In July 1536, warrior-monks of Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei, backed by Rokkaku Sadayori's forces, burned all twenty-one Hokke (Nichiren) temple compounds in Kyoto. The resulting destruction surpassed even the Ōnin War, and the Hokke faithful were expelled from the capital for six years — a vivid example of the interplay between religion, armed force, and daimyo power in the Sengoku age.
A series of incidents from 1535 (Tenbun 4) to c. 1579 (Tenshō 7)
Blades by the Muramasa school of Ise-Kuwana became associated with a chain of wounds and deaths said to have befallen four generations of the Tokugawa house—Kiyoyasu, Hirotada, Ieyasu, and Nobuyasu—giving rise during the Edo period to the legend of the "sword that curses the Tokugawa." The blades’ genuine reputation for sharpness and their wide circulation in the Tōkai region likely underlie the legend’s formation.
9th month, 1st day, Tenbun 20 (September 30, 1551)
In 1551, Ouchi retainer Sue Harukata overthrew his lord Ouchi Yoshitaka, forcing the great patron of western Japan's sword culture to commit suicide at Daineiji temple. The Ouchi clan's fall ended the organized Japan–Ming sword trade and scattered its patronized swordsmiths across western Japan.
Tenbun 18 (1549)
Miyoshi Nagayoshi defeated Hosokawa Harumoto at the Battle of Eguchi and came to dominate the Kinai region. He established authority surpassing even the Muromachi shogun, realizing the position of 'tenka-hito' (ruler of all Japan) before Oda Nobunaga. He also contributed significantly to the expansion of sword culture's distribution and demand.
March 19, 1548 (Tenbun 17)
On March 19, 1548 (Tenbun 17), the forces of Oda Nobuhide of Owari clashed with the allied Imagawa–Matsudaira army—commanded by the Imagawa strategist-monk Taigen Sessai—at Azukizaka in Mikawa Province (present-day Okayama-chō, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture). The battle arose from the contest between the Oda and Imagawa clans for control of Mikawa Province, centered on guardianship of the young Matsudaira Hirotada, lord of Okazaki Castle. The Imagawa victory secured their dominance over Mikawa and set the stage for the young Tokugawa Ieyasu's years as an Imagawa hostage.
February, Tenbun 17 (1548)
In February 1548, Takeda Shingen suffered one of his most severe defeats at the hands of Murakami Yoshikiyo at Udahara in Shinano Province. Shingen was wounded in the right thigh by an arrow and forced to withdraw, while two of his most trusted generals—Itagaki Nobukata and Amari Torayasu—were killed in the battle.
May 19, 1546 (20th day, 4th month, Tenbun 15)
In 1546, Hōjō Ujiyasu launched a daring night assault with only 8,000 men against an 80,000-strong besieging coalition — the greatest surprise battle in the Kantō region. Crushing the combined forces of Uesugi Tomosada and Ashikaga Haruuji, Ujiyasu established Hōjō supremacy over the Kantō plain and cemented his reputation as one of the era's greatest commanders.
August 25, Tenbun 12 (September 23, 1543 CE)
In 1543, Portuguese traders aboard a Chinese junk were shipwrecked on Tanegashima island (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture), bringing the first matchlock firearms to Japan. Lord Tanegashima Tokitaka purchased two guns, and local metalworker Yaitabe Kinbee successfully reproduced them within months. The rapid spread of firearms fundamentally transformed Sengoku-era warfare, culminating in Oda Nobunaga's organized deployment of arquebusiers at the Battle of Nagashino (1575). The arrival of firearms marked a turning point from the age of individual sword-wielding valor to massed infantry and ranged weaponry.
June 1542 (Tenbun 11) – September 1548 (Tenbun 17)
From 1542 to 1548, Date clan head Date Tanemune and his son and heir Harumune clashed over succession and foreign alliance policy, escalating into a six-year war that split the daimyo of the Ōu region into two camps. Mediation by shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru brought peace; Harumune relocated the clan's base to Yonezawa Castle and reorganized its rule, laying the groundwork for Date Masamune's later unification of Ōshū.