The took place in 1600, concurrent with 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 ...

Kyōgoku Takatsugu was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Ōmi Province and Wakasa Province during the late Sengoku period of Japan's history. Papinot, Edmond. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> Biography His childhood name was Koboshi (小法師). Tak ...

held

Ōtsu castle 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is ...

for the Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison.

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overco ...

and

Tachibana Muneshige The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts. People * – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185) * – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...

laid siege. The sides negotiated and Takatsugu surrendered. However, in the meantime

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 ...

had won the battle of Sekigahara, assuring his control of all Japan, and so the loss of Ōtsu was ultimately insignificant. Some records of the time indicate that the local inhabitants brought picnic boxes and gathered at

Mii-dera , formally called , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Jimon sect ...

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by S ...

to observe the battle.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co. 1600 in Japan Otsu 1600 Otsu 1600 Conflicts in 1600 {{Japan-battle-stub