The 1575 Siege of Yoshida Castle was undertaken by
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 ...
against the forces of
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 fello ...
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 ...
of
Japanese history
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventi ...
. This would be one of many battles fought by the
Tokugawa and
samurai clans during 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 ...
(1467-1603).
The siege was part of Takeda Katsuyori's raid through
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.
Mi ...
;
Yoshida Castle
is a Japanese castle located in Toyohashi, southeastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Yoshida Castle was home to the Inaba clan, ''daimyō'' of Tateyama Domain. The castle was also known as , and later as Toyohashi Cast ...
lay on the site of what is now part of
Toyohashi city in
Aichi Prefecture.
Sakai Tadatsugu
was one of the most favored and most successful military commanders serving Tokugawa Ieyasu in the late-Sengoku period. He is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa (''Tokugawa-Shitennō''). along with Honda Tadakatsu, Ii Nao ...
commanded the castle's garrison in service of
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 fello ...
. Though the garrison normally numbered 1,000 men, Ieyasu anticipated the attack and reinforced Sakai's forces with 5,000 more warriors.
The battle consisted almost exclusively of spear combat outside the castle walls. Takeda Katsuyori soon became frustrated, and realized that Sakai had no intention of sending the remainder of his force out of the gates for a full-blown battle. Takeda withdrew and turned towards
Nagashino, which would prove to be the decisive end for him and his clan.
References
{{coord, 34, 46, 12.53, N, 137, 23, 36.06, E, display=title
Yoshida
Yoshida
1575 in Japan
Conflicts in 1575
Yoshida