The 1587 Battle of Takajō, also known as the Battle of Takashiro, was the first battle in

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

's campaigns to seize control of Kyūshū during Japan's

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

History

Hideyoshi's half-brother Hashiba Hidenaga led 90,000 men, landing near Takajō (Taka Castle). Within the previous several years, the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contr ...

Satsuma province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation was . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Dur ...

had spread across the island, seizing the

Ōtomo clan The was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), ...

capital of Funai ( Funai Castle). In doing so, they had become a significant power in the region, and threatened Hideyoshi's supremacy over Japan. Hidenaga's forces pursued the Shimazu beyond Takajō who garrisoned by

Yamada Arinobu was a retainer of the Shimazu clan during the Edo period. He served under Shimazu Yoshihisa. On 1568, he became a Karō for his services. He was known as a skilled commander in battle. On 1578, Ōtomo Yoshishige attacked the Shimazu clan and ...

, and began to besiege the fortress. Shimazu Iehisa then turned his force of 20,000 around, clashing with a detachment of 15,000 Toyotomi warriors. Three thousand Shimazu warriors dismantled the fortifications of the besiegers, and distracted them long enough to effect a cavalry attack. However, they then found themselves flanked by 1500 Toyotomi warriors, who made every effort to give the appearance of a larger force in the Shimazus' rear, cutting off their escape. Fighting their way through the Toyotomi forces, the Shimazu effected a retreat, leaving Takajō and the surrounding area to Hidenaga.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takajo 1587 Sieges of the Sengoku period 1587 in Japan Conflicts in 1587 Hyūga Province Military history of Miyazaki Prefecture Attacks on military installations in Japan