 | |
| Battle of Shizugatake | |
| Date | May 1583 |
| Location | Shizugatake, Omi Province, near Lake Biwa |
| Result | Toyotomi victorious |
| Toyotomi army | Shibata army |
| Hideyoshi Toyotomi | Katsuie Shibata |
| Kiyomasa Kato Masanori Fukushima Kiyohide Nakagawa Hidenaga Toyotomi Yoshiaki Kato Nagayasu Hirano Takenori Kasuya Katsumoto Katagiri Yasuharu Wakisaka Yoshitsugu Otani |
Toshiie Maeda Morimasa Sakuma Katsuhisa Shibata Katsutoyo Shibata Katsumasa Shibata Toshinaga Maeda |
The Battle of Shizugatake was a decisive battle between Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Katsuie Shibata.
Before the Battle[]
This is Hideyoshi's second battle after Nobunaga's assasination by Mitsuhide Akechi.
Battle[]
In May, 1583, Katsuie Shibata coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks on Shizugatake, a series of forts held by Hideyoshi's generals among whom was Kiyohide Nakagawa. Morimasa Sakuma attacked on orders from Katsuie, and Nakagawa was killed, but the fortress' defenses held. On hearing this Katsuie immediately ordered Sakuma Morimasa to withdraw his troops as they were dangerously over extended and isolated from Katsuie's own force. Morimasa, however did not heed his lord's orders and made camp, planning to launch another offensive.
It was understood that Hideyoshi was at least 4 days' march away during Sakuma's attack. However, as soon as Hideyoshi learned of Sakuma's actions he led his men on a forced march through the night and reached Shizugatake within a day and a half. Hearing that Hideyoshi was coming with reinforcements, Morimasa ordered his men to break the siege lines and prepare to defend themselves. By this time it was too late and Hideyoshi's forces easily smashed through the defenses.
Hideyoshi's army pushed Morimasa's forces into a rout and pursued them back to Katsuie's fortress at Kitanosho Castle in Echizen province. They seized the castle but not before Katsuie set the keep on fire, killed his family and committed suicide.
Aftermath[]
Hideyoshi's chief seven generals in this battle 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 Kiyomasa Kato.
Notes[]
- Oichi died alongside Katsuie Shibata after the battle.
Sources[]
- Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
- Black, Jeremy (2008) . "Great Military Leaders and their Campaigns" Thamsen & Hudson Ltd , London