Battle of Shizugatake
Battle of Shizugatake | |||||||
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Part of the Sengoku period | |||||||
Ukiyo-e print of the Battle of Shizugatake by Utagawa Toyonobu | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Oda Nobukatsu | Forces of Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Shibata Katsuie † Oda Nobutaka † Takigawa Kazumasu Sakuma Morimasa † Shibata Katsumasa Shibata Katsutoyo Fuwa Naomitsu Anegakōji Yoritsuna Hara Nagayori Ogawa Suketada Murai Nagayori defected: Maeda Toshiie Maeda Toshimasu Maeda Toshinaga Kanamori Nagachika | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
50,000 men | 30,000 men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4,000-6,000 | 8,000 | ||||||
The Battle of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳の戦い, Shizugatake no Tatakai) took place during the Sengoku period of Japan between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Ōmi Province over a period of two days beginning on the 20th day of the fourth month of Tenshō 11 (equivalent to 10-11 June 1583 on the Gregorian calendar).[1] Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga in a succession dispute within the Oda clan that benefitted Hideyoshi.
Katsuie and Sakuma Morimasa attacked fortifications loyal to Hideyoshi at Shizugatake, defeating Nakagawa Kiyohide, but the other sieges by Toshiie and Kazumasu stalled. Katsuie ordered Sakuma to retreat but was ignored, and Hideyoshi launched a surprise counterattack that routed Sakuma and forced him to retreat. Hideyoshi pursued Sakuma and successfully besieged Kitanosho Castle which led to the suicide of Katsuie and Oichi.
The Battle of Shizugatake allowed Hideyoshi to consolidate his position as Oda Nobunaga's successor, and was one of the last challenges to his rule along with the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584. George Sansom states the Battle of Shizugatake "must be regarded as one of the decisive battles in Japanese history."[2]
Background
Kiyosu conference
In June 1582,
Battle
In May 1583, Katsuie coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks on Shizugatake, a series of forts in northern
After the armies of
Aftermath
As a result of the battle, Oichi's young daughters with Azai Nagamasa (Katsuie's step-daughters) were allowed to leave Kitanosho Castle unscathed and became Hideyoshi's adoptive daughters. In June 1583, Oda Nobutaka was soon pressured by both Hideyoshi and Nobukatsu into committing suicide, eliminating him from the competition. Nobutaka wrote a death poem cursing Hideyoshi and implying that he had been involved in his father Oda Nobunaga's death.
Hideyoshi had now consolidated his position and most of his influence over the Oda clan, but would continue to face competition from Nobukatsu, who had allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu, until the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584.
Seven Spears of Shizugatake
Hideyoshi's chief seven generals in the battle at Shizugatake earned a great degree of fame and honor, and came to be known as the shichi-hon yari or "Seven Spears of Shizugatake". Among these generals were men who would later become some of Hideyoshi's closest retainers, such as Katō Kiyomasa.[3]
The Seven Spears of Shizugatake were the following Samurai:
- Wakizaka Yasuharu(1554–1626)
- Katagiri Katsumoto (1556–1615)
- Hirano Nagayasu (1559–1628)
- Fukushima Masanori (1561–1624)
- Kasuya Takenori (1562–1607)
- Katō Kiyomasa (1562–1611)
- Katō Yoshiaki (1563–1631)
Notable warriors
- Menjō Katsuteru (? –1583), swordsman killed in the Battle of Shizugatake[5]
- Ishida Mitsunari (1559–1600)
According to the "Hitotsuyanagi Kaki," Ishida Mitsunari was in charge of a mission to spy on Shibata Katsuie's army and also performed a great feat of Ichiban-yari, being the first to thrust a spear at an enemy soldier, as one of the warriors on the front line.
- Otani Yoshitsugu(1558–1600)
Yoshitsugu was said to have taken part within the Toyotomi ranks. One account states that Otani Yoshitsugu was the one who used his wits to convince Shibata Katsutoyo to surrender prior to the battle.
References
- ^ "Battle of Shizugatake-Hideyoshi VS Katsuie's mortal struggle to gain supremacy" Gakken Kenkyusha <History Gunzo Series 15>, December 1989. ISBN 4051051528
- ^ ISBN 0804705259.
- ^ ISBN 9781854095237.
- ISBN 0026205408.
- ^ Menju Sosuke Iyeteru, Menju Katsusuke.
- Black, Jeremy (2008). Great Military Leaders and their Campaigns Thamsen & Hudson Ltd, London
- De Lange, William. Samurai Battles: The Long Road to Unification. Toyp Press (2020) ISBN 978-949-2722-232