The took place near the

Tedori River The is a river in southern Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The river originates on Hakusan, the highest peak in the Hakusan National Park on the border between Ishikawa and Gifu Prefecture, and flows in a generally northern ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Kaga Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abb ...

in 1577, between the forces 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 ...

against

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known a ...

. Kenshin tricked Nobunaga into launching a frontal attack across the Tedorigawa and defeated him. Having suffered the loss of 1,000 men, the Oda withdrew south. This was destined to be Kenshin's last great battle. The battle site is in the modern-day

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

Background

After Oda Nobunaga's victory at Nagashino, Uesugi Kenshin broke off his alliance with

and

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 ...

, he then initiated an alliance in 1575 with the

Ishiyama Honganji The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the t ...

warrior monks (Ikko Ikki) and

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 ...

of the Takeda clan, with whom he had previously been at odds. The Tedorigawa Campaign was precipitated by an Uesugi intervention inside the domain of the

Hatakeyama clan The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle ...

Noto Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula (''Noto-hantō'') which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces to the so ...

, an Oda

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite sta ...

. A coup d'état led by the pro-Oda General Chō Shigetsura, killed Hatakeyama Yoshinori, the lord of Noto, and replaced him with Hatakeyama Yoshitaka, a puppet ruler.

, the head of the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branc ...

, mobilized an army and lead them into Noto against Shigetsura. Consequently, Nobunaga sent an army led by

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

and

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又� ...

; with some of his most experienced generals to reinforce their allies. Kenshin, taking the initiative moved to encircle Shigetsura's forces, preventing them from linking with the Oda army, and trapping Chō Shigetsura (Tsunatsura) in Nanao Castle (the main Hatakeyama stronghold in Noto Province). The subsequent breakthrough killed Shigetsura and resulted in the Hatakeyama of Noto switching allegiance to the Uesugi.

Battle

The Oda forces under the command of

, and

Sassa Narimasa , also known as Kura-no-suke (内蔵助), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama period.">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ..., where he was in the rear guard. In 1575, Narimasa fought at the Battle of Nagashino">DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">D ...

crossed the Tedori River (Minatogawa or Tedorigawa) and prepared to enter Noto Province, as they did not yet know about the fall of Nanao Castle. Due to the fall of Nanao Castle and Suemori Castle in Noto, the Oda army (now joined by Nobunaga himself) halted their march into Noto and went back across the Tedori River. Uesugi Kenshin, now bolstered in his ranks with Hatakeyama Noto troops, advanced towards the Oda position. The Oda army came up with a plan to use cannons for stand-off tactics against the Uesugi and to bombard the Uesugi from across the river. However a skillful nighttime

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

by Kenshin (suggesting he had divided his forces) led to Nobunaga ordering Katsuie to charge against the Uesugi lines and engaging the Uesugi troops on the river bank. Kenshin ordered the river's floodgates to be opened. The strong current from the river and perhaps also some rainfall prevented the

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, sever ...

from effectively using its arquebus and cannons. The Oda charge itself was repulsed due to the current and inferior close-quarter ability of the

ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various ...

making up the bulk of the Oda army; the troops of the Oda were being pushed into the river. Having lost a thousand men in combat and some more as the Oda troops attempted to escape across the Tedori river, Nobunaga ordered a retreat into

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the '' Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countr ...

.Rekishi Gunzô Shirizu , Uesugi Kenshin Japan: Gakken, 1999

Aftermath

Kenshin brought his army back into Noto province and ordered the repair of Nanao Castle as he himself went back into Echigo. The Uesugi scored a significant victory at Tedorigawa. As a result, the distribution of power in the north shifted towards Kenshin and the Uesugi were temporarily able to extend their influence as far as

. There seems to be some debate among scholars as to Kenshin's next moves, however letters written by Kenshin seem to suggest that Kenshin did not perceive the Oda as a significant threat for the time being, although it could have been that Kenshin's true intentions were hidden. In these letters to Kanto samurai, Kenshin suggested that his next moves would have been an offensive against the Hojo in Kanto and not towards Kyoto at that time. In letters written by Oda Nobunaga, Nobunaga suggested that he was willing to cede all of the northern provinces to the Uesugi in order to avoid a Uesugi advance upon Kyoto. In 1578 Kenshin however, died before any plan was initiated. Subsequently, the Uesugi's succession fell in the

Siege of Otate The 1578 took place following the sudden death of Uesugi Kenshin. Kenshin had requested that the inheritance be split between his nephew, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and his adopted son Uesugi Kagetora. This conflict happened because of neither heirs bei ...

and as a result by 1582 the Oda forces had managed to push the Uesugi clan all the way back to

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niig ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Tedorigawa 1577 in Japan Tedorigawa 1577 Conflicts in 1577