The Battle of Torisaka (鳥坂峠の戦い) took place during the

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 ...

(16th century) of Japan.

Kōno Michinao Kōno, Kono or Kouno (written: 河野, 幸野, 高野 or 甲野) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Kōno Bairei (1844–1895), Japanese painter, book illustrator and art teacher * Kōno Hironaka (1849–1923), Japane ...

asked for the assistance of the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

in his struggle against

Utsunomiya Toyotsuna is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza ...

. The Mōri agreed to the alliance, and sent

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Koba ...

. Kōno and Kobayakawa brought their combined forces against Utsunomiya Toyotsuna at the Battle of Torisaka and were victorious. However, the Kōno region was retained by Toyotsuna after his defeat in this battle.

References

''The Samurai Sourcebook'' 1568 in Japan Torisaka Torisaka {{Japan-battle-stub