In August 1547, luck smiled on Oda Nobuhide—thanks to a secret agreement, he managed to capture the five-year-old son of the head of the Matsudaira clan, the future Tokugawa Ieyasu. The boy's father, Matsudaira Hirotada, was gradually leaning towards an alliance with the Imagawa clan and, as a guarantee, was obliged to send his heir as a hostage. However, Oda Nobuhide managed to negotiate with the local commander accompanying the child, and for a reward, he handed Hirotada's son over to Nobuhide.
Having received such a valuable hostage, Nobuhide presented Hirotada with an ultimatum. But Ieyasu's father, bound by a treaty with the Imagawa, refused to accept the terms, stating that for the sake of his clan's interests, he was willing to sacrifice even the life of his own young son. Some historians suggest that Hirotada also believed that a living Ieyasu would be more useful to Oda than a dead child. The blackmail was unsuccessful, and Nobuhide decided to give the boy to one of his vassals to raise, thus saving the life of the future founder of the Tokugawa dynasty.
In October 1547, a schism broke out within the Matsudaira clan, which Nobuhide took advantage of. Joining forces with Matsudaira Tadamichi, who had opposed the clan leader, he attempted to capture Okazaki Castle, the main stronghold of the Matsudaira family. However, the defenders managed to repel the attack with great difficulty. After that, Hirotada was forced to seek help from Imagawa Yoshimoto. Receiving reinforcements under the command of the monk Taigen Sessai, Hirotada headed for Anjo Fort, which had been taken from him in 1540.
The battle began with an ambush on Oda's troops and went down in history as the Second Battle of Azukizaka. Despite fierce resistance, Nobuhide was defeated and lost Anjo Fort. Nobunaga's family chronicle, Shintō Kōki, states that in this battle, Nobuhide's poorly organized crowd of warriors clashed with the Imagawa's echeloned formation of foot soldiers, armed with long spears and lined up in seven rows, and was crushed by them.
After analyzing the outcome of the battle, Oda Nobuhide decided to stop fighting on two fronts at once. In the fall of 1548, he concluded a peace agreement with Saito Dosan and exchanged Matsudaira Motoyasu for the lost Anjo Fort.
Having closed the western front, Nobuhide was able to concentrate his forces on the eastern direction. According to one version, in February 1549, he sent a shinobi who killed the 22-year-old Matsudaira Hirotada. However, Nobuhide did not have time to take advantage of the results of this operation, as Imagawa Yoshimoto established control over key forts in the eastern and central parts of Mikawa Province.
See also
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The Siege of Shiga Castle
After the defeat of the Takato and Oi clans in the campaigns of 1544–1546, the Takeda clan had only one rival left in the Saku region: Kasahara Kiyoshige. His stronghold was Shiga Castle, located northwest of Utiyama Castle.
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The Siege of Kawagoe Castle
Kawagoe Castle was built in Musashi Province in 1457. It was constructed by Ota Doshin and his son Ota Dokan on the orders of their suzerain, Uesugi Mototomo of the Ogigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan. Later, the castle passed into the possession of another branch of the same clan, the Yamanouchi.
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First Battle of Azukizaka
In response to the Oda clan's advance into the western part of Mikawa Province, in August 1542, the combined forces of Imagawa Yoshimoto and Matsudaira Hirotada (father of the future shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu) advanced into the Ikutahara area.
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Battle of Ankokuji
As a result of the summer campaign of 1542, the Suwa clan was completely defeated. Takeda Shingen stationed his military contingent at Uehara Castle. Takeda's army general, Itagaki Nobukata, subsequently became the commandant of this castle.
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The Siege of Matsuyama Castle
In 1537, the head of the Ogigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan, Uesugi Tomooki, died. He was succeeded by his son, the thirteen-year-old Uesugi Tomosada (1525–1546). Hojo Ujitsuna (1487–1541), who had long been planning to expand his holdings in Musashi Province, decided to take advantage of the new daimyo's inexperience. He assembled an army of 7,000 soldiers and marched on Kawagoe Castle.
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The Siege of Unokuchi Castle
One of the important steps in the career of every Japanese commander was the uijin, the first military campaign in which he took part. For the legendary Takeda Shingen, according to some sources, this campaign was the siege of Unokuchi Castle.
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Battle of Arita-Nakai
By 1517, Takeda Motoshige, lord of Kanyama Castle, was probably the most influential daimyo in Aki Province. Ten years earlier, he had served as a vassal of the Ōuchi clan and participated in Ōuchi Yoshiyuki's campaign in Kyoto. This campaign was part of an effort to support the deposed shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane.
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The Siege of Arai Castle
Hojo Nagauji (Soun) (1432–1519) went down in Japanese history as one of the most notable figures of his time. He is considered a prime example of a gokoku-jo daimyo. The process of gokoku-jo literally means “the lower classes defeat the upper classes” and in Japanese history was expressed, among other things, in the elevation of minor samurai to the status of owners of entire provinces.
