The siege of Tottori Castle occurred in 1581 and was part of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

's campaign to consolidate his power in western Honshu in an effort to unite Japan during the late 16th century. The siege was fought between

Hashiba Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Co ...

, an

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

general, against a garrison under an ally of the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

. It is a case in which

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

tactics were successfully used in a

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 ...

siege. The siege lasted up to 200 days, when Kikkawa Tsuneie committed suicide to save his men from

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

Background

was key to the

's defense of their inner provinces against the encroachment of

. In late 1580, as part of his campaign to extend Nobunaga's domain to the west,

moved north from his new base in

Harima or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

and by 1581 entered

Inaba province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Inaba bordered on Harima, Hōki, Mimasaka, and Tajima Provinces. The ancient capital, and the castle town, were at Tott ...

on the Sea of Japan wherein his forces encountered

Tottori castle was a Japanese castle located in Tottori, Tottori Prefecture. History Tottori Castle was constructed in Inaba Province during the Sengoku period as a ''yamashiro'' ("mountain castle") built into the mountain itself, using natural obstacles and ...

. The ''yamashiro'' (mountain) castle, built into the mountain itself, was owned by the

Yamana clan The was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period (1336-1467); at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable (''shugo'') over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke Province, and late ...

under

Yamana Toyokuni was a Japanese samurai and commander of the Sengoku period. He was the head of the '' Inaba Yamana clan'' and Shugo of the Inaba. In 1574, Toyokuni allied with Amago Katsuhisa for attempt an invasion to captured Tajima and Inaba provinces ...

, but had passed to the Mori and was guarded by their retainer, Kikkawa Tsuneie. Hideyoshi made efforts to negotiate with Tsuneie, but the Mori retainer was resolved to hold onto the castle and keep it from falling into Oda hands.

Siege

The siege began when Hideyoshi opted to cut off the castle's supplies and starve the garrison out. To this end, Hideyoshi drove the local villagers within the walls of the castle and all the approaches to Tottori were covered by erecting towers every 500 meters around the perimeter. Hideyoshi even went as far as purchasing all the available rice in Inaba province at several times the market price to aid in the process of breaking the resolve of the garrison. Though the defenders held out for some time, their food stores began to run low and they were reduced to consuming all of the horses they had on hand. When these were gone, the defenders resorted to eating grass and rumored to be on the verge of cannibalism. Any emaciated defenders who attempted to flee the castle were picked off by arquebusiers. After enduring 200 days, the siege ended when the lord of the castle, Kikkawa Tsuneie, surrendered and agreed to commit suicide. In spite of the garrison surviving the siege, many perished from

overeating Overeating occurs when an individual consumes more calories in relation to the energy that is expended via physical activity or expelled via excretion, leading to weight gain and often obesity. Overeating is the defining characteristic of binge e ...

when they gorged on the food provided to them when released into Hideyoshi's care.

Aftermath

would return to his base at

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

and continue westward along the

San'yōdō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The San'yōdō corresponds for the most part with the modern conception of the San'yō region. This name derives from the id ...

through Bizen and into Mori-controlled Bitchu province, where in 1582 he would besiege the castle of

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (2010). 'Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Command)'. Osprey Publishing. Tottori 1581 1581 in Japan Tottori Mōri clan Toyotomi clan Tottori Incidents of cannibalism {{Japan-battle-stub