The Izu Suigun (Japanese: 伊豆水軍, ''Izu suigun'') was a regional

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...

(''suigun'') based in the

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The peninsul ...

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 ...

. Owing to its later incorporation into the

later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the ...

, it was also known as the Hojo suigun. The Izu suigun fought many battles with the

Takeda is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files

suigun in

Suruga Bay Suruga Bay (駿河湾, ''Suruga-wan'') is a bay on the Pacific coast of Honshū in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is situated north of a straight line from Omaezaki Point to Irōzaki Point at the tip of the Izu Peninsula and surrounded by Honshū ...

before being defeated by the

Toyotomi The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese people, 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 a ...

navy during the Siege of Odowara in 1590 and subsequently disbanded.

Description

The main composition of the Izu suigun were local lords during the time of

Hōjō Sōun , also known as was Japanese ''daimyo'' and the first head of the Later Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Although he only belonged to a side branch of the main, more prestigious Ise family, he fought his way up, gain ...

's invasion of the Izu peninsula, including the Suzuki Clan, the Matsushita Clan, the Tominaga Clan, and more, as well as additional naval power offered by the Miura and Kajiwara clans of Kumano. Based at

Nagahama Castle is a ''hirashiro'' (castle on a plain) located in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. History Nagahama Castle was built in 1575-1576 by Hashiba Hideyoshi (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in the village then called Imahama, renaming the area ...

, the Izu suigun often confronted the Takeda and

Imagawa was a Japanese people, Japanese samurai Japanese clans, clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yosh ...

suiguns. At the Battle of Suruga Bay on March 15, 1580, the Izu navy deployed large ''

atakebune or were large Japanese warships of the 16th and 17th century used during the internecine Japanese wars for political control and unity of all Japan. History Japan undertook major naval building efforts in the mid to late 16th century, during t ...

'' with

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s. The Takeda responded by deploying smaller warships and used the sandbanks as

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

, bombarding the Izu ships from both land and water, before both were forced to withdraw at nightfall. Izu ship captains Kajiwara Kagemune and Yasuhide Shimizu each successfully defended Nagahama and

Shimoda castle Shimoda may refer to: Places in Japan * Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture ** Shimoda Ropeway, an aerial tramway which climbs Mount Nesugata *Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture *Shimoda Station, a railway station in Oirase, ...

by 1590. However, when the Toyotomi suigun threatened to invade, the Shimizu occupied Shimoda castle. Kajiwara Kagemune attempted and failed to launch a naval attack, and Shimoda Castle was handed over after a siege of 50 days. Most of the Izu suigun disbanded shortly afterward, and most sailors returned to land, though Kajiwara Kagemune fled 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 ...

Affiliated clans

* Kajiwara Clan (Lord of Nagahama Castle) * Shimizu Clan (Lord of Shimoda Castle) * Suzuki Clan of Izu (Lord of Eri Castle) * Tominaga Clan * Matsushita Clan

References

{{Reflist Izu Province Naval history of Japan

Description

Affiliated clans

See also

References