The was the first defeat suffered by

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

, and the first field battle in Japan in which firearms were used. It took place in

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, w ...

or the modern-day

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

Battle

The Battle of Uedahara was part of Shingen's attempt to control Shinano Province. Shingen's father had invaded the territory and the clan was already in control of the bulk of its southern region around Lake Suwa. Shingen's campaign began with the takeover of Shika castle, which alarmed

Murakami Yoshikiyo Murakami Yoshikiyo (村上義清, 1501–1573) was a Japanese samurai from the and retainer of the Uesugi clan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Yoshikiyo followed in fighting against both Takeda Nobutora and his son Takeda Shingen ...

due to its proximity to his territories. The latter sent an army tasked with aiding Shika but it was ambushed by Shingen's troops at Odaihara. Yoshikiyo began mobilizing his forces in March 1548 to capture Shiga and drive Shingen out of Shinano. Takeda Shingen met up with his force that had taken Shika castle, and led 7000 men north to face the threat posed by Yoshikiyo. Shingen's vanguard was led by

Itagaki Nobukata was a retainer of the Takeda family. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". His name is also seen with different ''kanji'' as 信形. Nobukata served under both Takeda Nobutora and Takeda Shingen and also was task ...

; when they charged head-on into Murakami's vanguard, the charge was absorbed, and Itagaki was killed. Murakami made use of 50 ''

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 ...

'' armed with Japanese "hand cannon"

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

es, who were meant to serve as support for archers. The army also used short-barreled Chinese handguns to counter the enemy's cavalry. Shingen, on the other hand, adhered to the traditional battle strategy and failed to use the ''

tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to Ne ...

'' first. Around 700 of Takeda's men were killed, including Itagaki, and two other generals,

Amari Torayasu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, and served the Takeda clan under Takeda Nobutora and Shingen. Amari was a ''shukurō'', or clan elder, following Shingen's accession to family headship and was one of "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda S ...

and Hajikano Den'emon. Shingen himself even suffered a spear wound to his left arm.

Aftermath

Despite Murakami's victory, his power was significantly diminished after the battle of Uedahara. This was attributed to the death of his top-ranking samurai, crippling his capability to stand up on his own. On the other hand, Shingen benefited from the conflict, expanding his power further as he gained the Kousaka, Inoue, Mennai, Suda, Takanashi, and Seba districts.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (1998). ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. Uedahara 1548 in Japan Uedahara {{Japan-battle-stub