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.
Tomosada was unable to hold Kawagoe, even though his father had bequeathed him to defend the castle at the cost of his own life. The young daimyo was forced to retreat and take refuge in Matsuyama Castle, which at that time was owned by one of Uesugi's chief vassals, Nambata Norishige. Here, Tomosada hoped to regroup his forces and continue the fight against Ujitsuna.
Matsuyama Castle was a typical mountain castle of the early Sengoku Jidai period. It was located on a 40-meter plateau stretching from west to east. On one side of the plateau flowed the Namegawa River, which served as a natural defensive boundary, and on the other side, at the foot of the hill, a wide moat had been dug. The fortification system included four courtyards located one after another: the main courtyard, hommaru; the second courtyard, ninomaru; the Kasugamaru courtyard; and the third courtyard, sannomaru. The castle's defenses also included dry moats, karabori; artificial slopes, kirigishi; and vertical trenches, tatebori.
Hojo's troops, pursuing the retreating Tomosada, attempted to take Matsuyama on the march. However, the combined forces of Uesugi and Nambata launched a bold counterattack and managed to win.
The siege of Matsuyama Castle also went down in history as the “elegant battle.” According to legend, during the battle, a poetic duel took place between Nambata Norishige and Yamanaka Shuzan, one of the commanders of the Hojo clan's army.
Another legend related to this event has also survived. The Uesugi clan allegedly sent a request for reinforcements to their allied clan in a very unusual way: they put a letter in the collar of the castle dog. However, there is no reliable information about how effective this method was.
After repelling the attack, Matsuyama Castle became the main base of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan for the next eight years, until their defeat in the unsuccessful siege of Kawagoe Castle in 1545.
See also
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The Third Siege of Takatenjin Castle
The history of the castle prior to the conflict between the Tokugawa and Takeda clans is rather unclear. According to one version, the castle was built in 1416, when Imagawa Sadayoshi (1325–1420) was governor of Suruga Province and half of Totomi Province. Allegedly, it was he who ordered Imagawa Norimasa (1364–1433) to build this fortification. However, no reliable evidence has been found to support this. Another version is considered more plausible, according to which the castle was built during the conquest of Totomi Province at the end of the 15th century by Imagawa Ujitsuna (1473–1526) and his general Ise Shinkuro (Hojo Soon). In this case, another of Ujitsuna's generals, Kusima Masashige (1492–1521), is considered responsible for the construction.
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Battle of Mimigawa
In 1556, the Shimazu clan launched a campaign aimed at systematically conquering the island of Kyushu. In the same year, the province of Osumi was annexed and a war began with the Ito clan for control of the province of Hyuga. In 1577, Ito Yoshisuke was defeated and fled north, where he sought help from Otomo Sorin, the Christian daimyo of Bungo Province.
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The Siege of Kozuki Castle
The battle for Kozuki Castle was a consequence of Oda Nobunaga's expansion in the Chugoku region. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was appointed to lead the campaign, which aimed to weaken the influence of the Mori clan in these lands. Under his command were famous samurai: Kuroda Kanbei, Takenaka Shigeharu, and Hachisuka Koroku. Amago Katsuhisa, who cherished the hope of one day restoring the Amago clan's lost dominance in western Japan, also joined Oda's army.
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The Siege of Nagashino Castle
Despite his reputation as a failure, created by 20th-century popular culture, especially cinema, Takeda Katsuyori (1546–1582) was in fact a brave warrior and talented commander. However, he always remained in the shadow of his great father, the legendary Takeda Shingen. After Shingen's death, Katsuyori sought to at least equal him, if not surpass him. Therefore, his actions were not always determined by pragmatic calculation. This character trait greatly influenced the subsequent events that led to the demise of the Takeda clan.
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Siege of Nagashima Fortifications
The Buddhist peasant movement Ikko-Ikki, which emerged in the 15th century, had grown considerably stronger and larger by the middle of the following century. It had effectively turned into a large feudal army used for territorial conquests. The Ikko-ikki fought fiercely not only against other branches of Buddhism, but also against the provincial daimyo and the central government.
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The Second Battle of Konodai
Hojo Ujiasu (1515–1571), one of the greatest representatives of the Hojo clan, spent almost his entire life at war. His possessions were in a difficult position: they were surrounded on all sides by aggressive neighbors ready to attack at any moment. In implementing his plans to expand the Hojo clan's influence in the Kanto region, Ujiasu was forced to confront well-known and powerful opponents—the Uesugi and Takeda clans. In the east, his main rival was the Satomi clan.
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The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima
The Kawanakajima Plain is located at the confluence of the Saigawa and Tikumagawa rivers in the Japanese Alps. Between 1553 and 1564, five battles took place on this plain between the forces of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen.
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Battle of Tonamoto (Nagahama)
At the beginning of the Sengoku Jidai period, the Teshokabe clan was one of the smaller clans in Tosa Province. Its neighbors were constantly at war with each other, engaging in endless skirmishes. Among them, Yosokabe Kunitika stood out as a military strategist of extraordinary talent. It was thanks to these abilities that he managed to defeat the neighboring clans step by step by the middle of the 16th century, expanding the influence of his clan. At that time, the clan's headquarters was Oko Castle.
