The 1587 battle of Sendaigawa was part of the

Kyūshū Campaign is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

undertaken by warlord

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

towards the end of Japan's

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. The Sendai River (''Sendaigawa'') was among the final obstacles to Hideyoshi's attack on

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, the center of the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast ...

's domains. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his half-brother

Hashiba Hidenaga , formerly known as . He was a half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most powerful and significant warlords of Japan's Sengoku period and regarded as 'Hideyoshi's brain and right-arm'. He was also known by his court title, . He promot ...

met a Shimazu clan force, led by

Niiro Tadamoto was a retainer of Satsuma ''daimyō'' Shimazu Yoshihisa. He is also known as Jiroshirō. He served under Shimazu Takahisa and then under Yoshihisa. Tadamoto was a skilled samurai called ''Oni Musashi''. Tadamoto had an active role at the Batt ...

, near the river. Despite being vastly outnumbered 5,000 to 170,000, Niiro led his men in a charge against the Toyotomi force, and even engaged the famous warrior

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Biography ...

in personal combat before retreating under cover of night.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (2010). 'Toyotomi Hideyoshi'. Osprey. p49 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sendaigawa 1587 in Japan Battles involving Japan Conflicts in 1587