The was a battle in August 1600 that led to the destruction of

Gifu Castle is a Japanese castle located in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Along with Mount Kinka and the Nagara River, it is one of the main symbols of the city. The castle is also known as . It was designated a National Historic Site in 2011 ...

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

(modern-day

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The battle served as a prelude to the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

the following month. It pitted

Oda Hidenobu , the son of Oda Nobutada, was a samurai who lived during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the late-16th century. He was a convert to Catholicism. His other name was Sanbōshi (三法師). Succession dispute When Oda Nobutada and Oda Nobunaga, Hid ...

of the

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...

western forces against

Ikeda Terumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. His court title was '' Musashi no Kami''. Terumasa was also known by the nickname ''saigoku no shōgun'', or, "The ''Shōgun'' of Western Japan". Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the ...

Ikeda Sen Ikeda Sen (池田せん) or Annyo-in (若御前) was a late-Sengoku period onna-musha. She was the daughter of Ikeda Tsuneoki and the older sister of Ikeda Terumasa. Mori Nagayoshi (older brother of Mori Ranmaru) was her first husband. She was a wo ...

and

Fukushima Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears ...

of the eastern forces and loyal to

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan 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 ...

. The castle was destroyed as a result of the battle.Gifu Castle Official Page
. Gifu City Hall. Accessed June 12, 2008.

History of Castle

Gifu castle is located in Gifu Park in Gifu city, on the top of the 300m-high

Mount Kinki Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

and was formally known as

Inabayama Castle is a Japanese castle located in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Along with Mount Kinka and the Nagara River, it is one of the main symbols of the city. The castle is also known as . It was designated a National Historic Site in 20 ...

. This castle was earlier built in the 13th century. During the year (1494- 1556) Saito Dosan, who was a ruthless adventurer lived in the Gifu Castle. Then in the 1567 a warlord by the name

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

overtook the castle from the grandson of Saito, Saito Tatsuoki. Oda clan remained in the castle before the battle in 1600

Prelude

As the eastern forces progressed up the Tōkaidō,

was not able to predict where the eastern forces would cross the

Kiso River The is a river in the Chubu region of Japan roughly long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005) ...

and continue their westward march. To defend against all possibilities, Hidenobu set up fortifications throughout the area, with Gifu Castle at the center, dividing his forces and weakening their total strength.

Terumasa's forces

Early in the morning of August 22, the combined eastern forces moved from Haguri District's Kōda (present-day city of

Ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

) in

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

to the neighboring Haguri District's Kōdajima (present-day city of

Kakamigahara is a city located in southern Gifu Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,225, and a population density of 1700 persons per km2, in 59,736 households. The total area of the city was . Situated in the northern part o ...

, Gifu Prefecture) in

. (The two Haguri Districts had previously been one district in Owari Province, hence their same names and proximity.) During their march, they crossed the Kiso River. While crossing the river, a contingent of Hidenobu's musketeers fought their advance in the

Battle of Kōda Kisogawa Tokō A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(河田木曽川渡河の戦い ''Kōda Kisogawa Tokō no Tatakai'') against

forces. After defeating the Hidenobu's musketeers, Terumasa's forces continued their march. On the afternoon of August 22, they arrived in the village of Komeno (present-day town of Kasamatsu) and fought a force of 3,000 men under Dodo Tsunaie (百々綱家) at the

Battle of Komeno A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(米野の戦い ''Komeno no Tatakai'') and defeated them.Ruins from the Battle of Komeno
. Kasamatsu Town Cultural Education Division. Accessed June 10, 2008. At the time of the defeat, Hidenobu was in the nearby village of Injiki (present-day Ginan) and decided to remove his forces to Gifu Castle, instead of attacking the eastern forces where they were.

Masanori's forces

Around the same time, Masanori's forces tried to cross the Kiso River near Owari Province's Nakashima District (present-day Ichinomiya), but they found western forces deeply entrenched on the opposite banks and decided to head further south to cross the river. They eventually crossed at Higashikaganoi and traveled by Kaganoi Castle (加賀野井城 ''Kaganoi-jō'') (in present-day Hashima, Gifu Prefecture) before they turned north and surrounded Takegahana Castle. Sugiura Shigekatsu (杉浦重勝) initially resisted Masanori's forces, but Mōri Hiromori (毛利広盛), the leader of his supporting forces, capitulated to Masanori's, and Shigekatsu had no choice but to do the same and Takegahana Castle fell. After the victories by Terumasa and Masanori, the two forces joined together at the

Arata River The is a river in Japan which flows through the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture. It originates in the eastern part of the city and flows westward before joining with the Nagara River. It is part of the Kiso River The is a river in the Chubu r ...

(荒田川 ''Arata-gawa'') south of Gifu Castle to begin their final advance.

Battle

On the evening of August 22, the combined eastern forces continued their pursuit of Hidenobu. To strengthen his own forces, Hidenobu sent out requests for help to nearby

Ōgaki Ōgaki Castle is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 161,539, and a population density of 782 persons per km2 in 65,931 households. The total area of the city was . Ōgaki was the final destination for the h ...

and Inuyama castles. While waiting for the forces to arrive, Hidenobu stayed in Gifu Castle thinking that they would be able to trap the opposing forces between his castle and the supporting forces from Ōgaki and Inuyama. The

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary un ...

also sent some forces to Gifu Castle to help with the defense. Even though Hidenobu thought that Gifu Castle could withstand any attack, he still put forces at mountain passes around the castle, protecting each route to it. Hidenobu and his brother Oda Hidenori (織田秀則) were put in charge of the men at Gifu Castle, with Tsuda Tōsaburō (津田藤三郎), Kozukuri Tomoyasu (木造具康), and Dodo Tsunaie in charge of the remaining men, again dividing and weakening Hidenobu's forces. At daybreak on August 23, the eastern forces received warning of the buildup of forces from Ōgaki and Inuyama castles. To prepare for battle by placing the forces of

Yamauchi Kazutoyo , also spelled Yamanouchi (1545/1546? – November 1, 1605). He was retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato, a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan (op ...

Arima Toyōji Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

(有馬豊氏),

Togawa Tatsuyasu Togawa (written: 戸川) is a Japanese surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be pla ...

(戸川達安), and

Horio Tadauji Horio Tadauji (堀尾忠氏; 1578 – August 8, 1604) was a ''tozama daimyō'' in the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo period. His father was Horio Yoshiharu. In 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara, acting as a substitute for Yoshiharu who had been inj ...

in villages to the southeast of Gifu Castle and the forces of

Tanaka Yoshimasa is the fourth most common Japanese surname. It is typically written with the kanji for . Less common variants include , , , , and . People with the surname *, Japanese musician formerly known as Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi *, Japanese voice actres ...

(田中吉政),

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. Biography During his lifetime he changed his feudal m ...

, and

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography His childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577, when Nagamasa was a ...

to the southwest. Later in the morning, Hidenobu forces began to move towards Zuiryū-ji, where they encountered

Asano Yoshinaga was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. His father served as one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' in the late Azuchi–Momoyama period. Asano Yoshinaga was born at Odani, in the Asai district of Ōmi Province, in ...

and the fighting began. As

Ii Naomasa was a general under the Sengoku period ''daimyō'', and later ''shōgun'', Tokugawa Ieyasu.Ishikawa Sadakiyo (石川貞清), remained in his castle with other leaders after he made an agreement with Naomasa not to join in the battle. Ōgaki Castle did send supporting forces; however, they were too late to help with the battle. All of Gifu Castle, other than the

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, fell to the eastern forces. Hidenobu kept fighting until the end, but his army was reduced to just tens of men. Hidenobu was prepared to fight until his death, but was convinced to surrender to the eastern forces. In the end, Gifu Castle fell in just one day.

Aftermath

Hidenobu continued fighting in support of Hideyori; however, after Hideyori's forces lost the Battle of Sekigahara the following month, Hidenobu moved to

Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the south of Osaka. In the strictest sense, ''Mount Kōya'' is the mountain name ( sangō) of Kongōbu-ji Temple, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Kōyasan sect of Shingon Budd ...

and became a monk. He died there five years later.

References

{{Reflist 1600 in Japan

Gifu Castle 1600 Gifu