Siege of Takatenjin (1581)

Last updated
Second Siege of Takatenjin
Part of the Sengoku period
Date1580 - March 22, 1581
Location
Takatenjin fortress, Tōtōmi Province, Japan
34°41′54″N138°02′07″E / 34.69833°N 138.03528°E / 34.69833; 138.03528
Result Siege succeeds; Oda-Tokugawa victory
Territorial
changes
Fortress falls to Oda-Tokugawa
Belligerents
forces loyal to Takeda Katsuyori forces loyal to Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu
Commanders and leaders
Okabe Motonobu   Tokugawa Ieyasu
Honda Tadakatsu
Mizuno Tadashige
Mizuno Katsushige
Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)
Ii Naomasa
Strength
1,000 men 5,000 men
Casualties and losses
680 killed 130 killed
Shizuoka geolocalisation relief.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Shizuoka Prefecture
Japan natural location map with side map of the Ryukyu Islands.jpg
Red pog.svg
Siege of Takatenjin (1581) (Japan)

The second siege of Takatenjin came only six years after Takeda Katsuyori took the fortress. This second siege lasted from 1580 until 22 March 1581, the siege ended within four months and ended with the deaths of 680 of Okabe Motonobu/Naganori's garrison. [1]

Contents

Background

Siege of Takatenjin (1581)
Positions of the Takatenjin Castle and the six forts
1.Ogasayama Fort, 2.Nogasaka Fort, 3.Higamine Fort,4. Shishigahana Fort, 5.Nakamura Fort, 6.'Mitsuiyama Fort, 7.Takatenjin Castle

In 1580, during the conflict between Tokugawa clan against Takeda clan, Tokugawa Ieyasu built up around five fortresses in order to isolate the Takatenjin castle from external supplies and reinforcements. [2] [3] [4] Those new fortresses consisted of: [2]

In addition of those 5 new fortresses, Ieyasu renovated an old castle located 4 km north of Takatenjin castle. [2] This castle were named Ogasayama fort, which originally built by Ieyasu far before during the conquest of Tōtōmi Province against Imagawa clan to capture Kakegawa Castle. [4] As these six fortresses completed, Ieyasu assigned Ishikawa Yasumichi to garrison the Ogasayama fort, Honda Yasushige to garrison Nogasaka fort, Osuga Yasutaka to garrison Higamine fort, [2] Shishigahana Fort [5] & Nakamura Fort, [2] while Sakai Ietada was appointed to garrison Mitsuiyama fort. [3] [2]

With the completion of those cluster of castles which referred as "six fortress of Takatenjin", the Takatenjin castle which defended by Okabe Motonobu immediately suffered starvations as they deprived any sources or supply to sustain the population inside the castle, while the siege outside the castle by Oda-Tokugawa forces intensified. [2] In response, Motonobu tried to negotiate truce with Ieyasu by offering Takisakai Castle and Koyama Castle to be given for Ieyasu in exchange that Takatenjin castle spared from the siege. [6] However, Oda Nobunaga refused the plea from Motonobu. [7]

Siege

In January 3 1581, Ieyasu was informed that a force under the command of Takeda Katsuyori was approaching. Oda Nobunaga got the same information and he immediately sent reinforcements led by Mizuno Tadashige.

In March 1581, Takatenjin Castle ran out of food, and the castle's soldiers ate plants to survive hunger. [8] Motonobu decided that he should break the siege and giving a party with his remaining soldiers at night before they goes out to try launch assault against Ieyasu's blockade. Shortly after 10 pm. on March 22nd, Motonobu led his remaining soldiers in an assault on Mitsuiyama fort which defended by Ishikawa Yasumichi, as it was considered to be the weakest fortress among the six Tokugawa blockade fortress. However, as they launched the attack towards Mitsuiyama, Yasumichi immediately reinforced by Ōkubo Tadayo and Osuga Yasutaka, and resulted in a fierce battle, where Motonobu killed. Meanwhile, as the battle has phased with the army of Motonobu routed, Ōkubo Tadataka led a detachment to pursue any of fleeing enemies. [9]

Aftermath

This siege was quite an advantageous event for Oda Nobunaga, as it weakened his enemies; the battle of Tenmokuzan the following year would come to be known as Takeda Katsuyori's last stand.

According to the source “Shinchô kôki” in all 688 soldiers of various rank joined the commander of the castle in a desperate attack out onto the besiegers, and they were killed.

In Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)’s diary “Ietada nikki”, the following can be found; “among our own we lost about 130 in total, while the enemy lost more than 600”.

Appendix

Footnotes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokugawa Ieyasu</span> First Tokugawa shōgun of Japan (1543–1616)

    Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as ally, vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Akiyama Nobutomo</span>

    Akiyama Nobutomo was a samurai during the Sengoku period in Japan. He is known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". Nobutomo also served under Shingen's son, Takeda Katsuyori.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mikatagahara</span> 1573 battle in Japan

    The Battle of Mikatagahara took place during the Sengoku period of Japan between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573. Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his campaign against Oda Nobunaga while seeking a route from Kōfu to Kyoto. The Tokugawa-Oda force was almost totally annihilated by the Takeda after being encircled and many of Ieyasu's retainers were killed in the battle. Ieyasu and his surviving men were forced to retreat before launching a minor counterattack to delay Shingen's march towards Kyoto.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizuno Tadashige</span> Japanese retainer

    Mizuno Tadashige was a retainer of the Tokugawa clan following the later years of the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 16th century.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Nagashino</span> 1575 Oda-Tokugawa victory over the Takeda clan

    The Battle of Nagashino was a famous battle in Japanese history, fought in 1575 at Nagashino in Mikawa Province. The allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu (38,000) fought against Takeda Katsuyori's forces (15,000) and the allied forces won a crushing victory over the Takeda clan. As a result, Oda Nobunaga's unification of Japan was seen as certain.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Takeda Katsuyori</span> Japanese warlord (1546–1582)

    Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda Tadakatsu</span> 16th-Century AD Japanese samurai, general and daimyo

    Honda Tadakatsu, also called Honda Heihachirō was a Japanese samurai, general, and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu.

    Tokuhime, also known as Lady Toku and Okazaki-dono was a Japanese noble lady from the Sengoku period. She was the eldest daughter of daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his concubine, Lady Kitsuno. She later married Matsudaira Nobuyasu, the first son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. She is remembered as the person most responsible for the deaths of Nobuyasu and his mother, Ieyasu's wife, Lady Tsukiyama.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Hōjō Ujinao</span> Japanese daimyō

    Hōjō Ujinao was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Later Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi–Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the Siege of Odawara (1590). Despite this, he survived, and his family carried on as small daimyo in the Edo period.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tenmokuzan</span> 1582 battle in Japan

    The 1582 Battle of Tenmokuzan in Japan, is regarded as the last stand of the Takeda clan. This was the final attempt by Takeda Katsuyori to resist the forces of Oda Nobunaga, who had been campaigning against him for some time. In his bid to hide from his pursuers, Katsuyori burned his fortress at Shinpu Castle and fled into the mountains, to another Takeda stronghold, called Iwadono, held by Oyamada Nobushige, an old Takeda retainer. Katsuyori was denied entry by Oyamada, and committed suicide with his wife, while the last remnant of his army held off their pursuers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakai Tadatsugu</span> Samurai of the Sengoku era; major Daimyo ally of the Tokugawa clan

    Sakai Tadatsugu was one of the most favored and most successful military commanders serving Tokugawa Ieyasu in the late-Sengoku period.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakakibara Yasumasa</span> Japanese daimyō

    Sakakibara Yasumasa was a Japanese daimyō of the late Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan.

    Takatenjin Castle, in the south of Japan's old Tōtōmi Province, came under siege twice in the 16th century.

    The first siege of Takatenjin occurred in 1574, when it was attacked by the forces of Takeda Katsuyori. The garrison was commanded by Ogasawara Nagatada, who held the fortress for Tokugawa Ieyasu.

    In the history of Japan, the 1582 siege of Takatō (高遠城の戦い) was one of the final battles of the Takeda clan against the forces of Oda Nobunaga. The only Takeda stronghold in Shinano province to put up any resistance to Nobunaga's final invasion of Takeda domain, the castle was taken by storm on March the 2nd 1582.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)</span>

    Matsudaira Ietada, also known as Tomomo no Suke was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the adoptive father of Matsudaira Tadayoshi, the fourth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Yokosuka Castle</span> Japanese castle located in Kakegawa city

    Yokosuka Castle is a Japanese castle located in Ōsuka in the southern part of what is now the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka, Japan. It was built in the Sengoku period and was the capital of Yokosuka Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. In 1981, the castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Takatenjin Castle</span>

    Takatenjin Castle was a Sengoku period yamashiro-style Japanese castle located in the Kamihijikata and Shimohijikata neighborhoods of the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka prefecture. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1975, with the area under protection extended in 2007.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinpu Castle</span> Sengoku period Hirayama-style castle

    Shinpu Castle was a Sengoku period hirayama-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of the city of Nirasaki, Yamanashi prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Takeda Katsuyori. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1973.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Futamata Castle</span>

    Futamata Castle was a Japanese castle located in Toyoda county of Tōtōmi Province, in what is now part of Tenryū-ku in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the Sengoku period and is noted as the site of the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu's son Matsudaira Nobuyasu in 1579. In 2018, the ruins were recognized as a National Historic Site together with adjacent Tobayama Castle.

    References

    1. Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. p. 231. ISBN   1854095234.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "高天神城と六砦" [Takatenjin Castle and Six Fortresses]. city.kakegawa.shizuoka.jp (in Japanese). Kakegawa City, Shizuoka: Kakegawa City. 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
    3. 1 2 Mizuno Shigeru (2015). "大坂砦" [Osaka Fort]. sankei.com (in Japanese). The Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
    4. 1 2 Mizuno Shigeru (2015). "小笠山砦" [Ogasayama Fort]. sankei.com (in Japanese). The Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
    5. "獅子ヶ鼻砦跡" [Shishigahana Fort Ruins]. city.kikugawa.shizuoka.jp. Kikugawa City. 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
    6. Marushima Kazuhiro (2017). 武田勝頼. 中世から近世へ. 平凡社.
    7. Okuno Takahiro (2007). 増訂 織田信長文書の研究 上巻 [Expanded study of Oda Nobunaga's documents, Volume 1] (in Japanese). 吉川弘文館. ISBN   9784642009072 . Retrieved 28 May 2024.
    8. Rekishi Gunzo Editorial Department (2007 , p. 242)
    9. Rekishi Gunzo Editorial Department (2007 , p. 242-243)

    Bibliography

    Rekishi Gunzo Editorial Department (2007). 戦国驍将・知将・奇将伝 ― 乱世を駆けた62人の生き様・死に様 [Sengoku Generals, Chishos, and Strange Shoguns: The lives and deaths of 62 people who lived through turbulent times] (in Japanese). 学習研究社. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

    See also