Takeda Daizentayū Harunobu Nyūdō Shingen

The took place from January to February 1573, between the forces of the

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

, led by the noted

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

, against the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

, led by

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 ...

. Along with the

Battle of Mikatagahara The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573. Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his cam ...

it was one of the final battles in Takeda Shingen's long career.

Background

Encouraged by his victory over the Tokugawa at the Battle of Mikatagahara in neighboring

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

, Takeda Shingen decided to push farther into

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

, hopefully opening a route to the capital,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. Leading a mixed cavalry and infantry force of 30,000 men, Shingen skirted the northern shore of

Lake Hamana is a brackish lagoon in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Formerly a true lake, it is now connected to the Pacific Ocean by a channel. As an internal body of water, it is considered Japan's tenth-largest lake (by area). It spans the boundaries of the ...

before advancing inland into Mikawa. His route was opposed by approximately 500 defenders of Noda Castle, situated on the Toyokawa river, commanded by Suganuma Sadamichi. Shingen was confident in his strength of numbers, and in his knowledge that the Tokugawa forces were overextended in various campaigns. Furthermore, his forces had taken Noda Castle with ease during a reconnaissance-in-force two years earlier.

The battle

Suganuma had extensively increased the defensive capabilities of Noda Castle over the past two years with additional earthworks and a wooden palisade. However, Shingen's ''kanabori-shū'' (

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

corps, composed of troops with mining experience) tunneled into the castle moat, draining it and depriving the defenders of their drinking water as well as their primary defense. Shingen extended an offer to spare the lives of the rank-and-file troops provided that Suganuma surrender on February 16. Though the castle's surrender was now imminent, Shingen let his guard down when he approached the castle, and a sniper shot him.

Aftermath

Following the surrender of Noda Castle, Tokugawa forces were in retreat throughout Mikawa, and even Tokugawa Ieyasu’s stronghold of

Okazaki Castle is a Japanese castle located in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Okazaki Castle was home to the Honda clan, ''daimyō'' of Okazaki Domain, but the castle is better known for its association with Tokugawa Ieyasu an ...

was threatened. However, Takeda Shingen died in May 1573 (whether from illness or from the wound sustained at the Battle of Noda Castle), and his forces were unable to maintain their momentum under his successor,

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Early life He was the son of Shingen by the daughter ...

References

*Sadler, A.L. ''The Maker of Modern Japan, the Life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu''. George Allen & Unwin (London) 1937 *Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. (1998). {{coord, 34.882043, 137.468431, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:JP_scale:10000

Noda NoDa (short for "North Davidson") is a popular arts district in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the North Charlotte neighborhood on and around North Davidson Street and 36th Street, approximately one mile northeast of Upt ...

1573 in Japan Conflicts in 1573