The siege of Uto was a battle during the final years of the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...

(17th century) of Japan. Katō Kiyomasa besieged Uto castle. Uto castle at the time had belonged to his old rival,

Konishi Yukinaga Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...

who joined western forces under Mōri Terumoto's side.

History

During this part of the Sekigahara campaign, Katō Kiyomasa helped the cause of the Tokugawa under Tokugawa Ieyasu in

Kyūshū 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 ...

. As

was fighting with

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 ...

, he left Uto Castle to his brother,

Konishi Yukikage , also known as Konishi Hayato, was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period. He was the younger brother of the Christian daimyo, Konishi Yukinaga. He fought bravely against Kato Kiyomasa in the Siege of Udo, killing Kato's senior retaine ...

(Hayato). Yukikage sent a messenger to ask for reinforcement from

Konishi Yukishige Konishi (written: 小西) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese ice hockey player *, Japanese physicist *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese ukiyo-e artist *, Japanese gymnast * Hokuto Konishi (born 1984), Jap ...

and the Shimazu clan in Mugishima Castle. However, the messenger was captured by Kiyomasa and a fake messenger was sent. The defender in Mugishima castle believed it and sent a reinforcement, which was defeated by Kato Kiyomasa. As the result, the defenders of Uto failed to get reinforcement. However, they fought bravely and Yukikage managed to kill Kato senior vassal, Kajiwara Kagetoshi (梶原景俊). A month had passed since 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 ...

and the castle still didn't fall. Kiyomasa sent two missionaries to persuade Yukikage to surrender, but Yukikage said "religion and military affairs are unrelated". Unfortunately, for the defenders, the Western Army had been defeated. Hearing the tragic news, Yukikage agreed to surrender and commit seppuku in exchange that Kiyomasa would spare the life of Konishi vassals and hired them with the same salary they got under Konishi. Kiyomasa agreed and sent some sake and appetizers as a thank you. The castle was surrendered and Yukikage committed seppuku.

References

''The Samurai Sourcebook'' 1600 in Japan Udo Conflicts in 1600 {{Japan-battle-stub