Battle of Imizu

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Imizu
partof=the Sengoku period


caption=
date=Third month of 1554
place=Near Oshima village in Imizu district, Etchu province, Japan
result=Shiina victory
combatant1=Jinbo clan
combatant2=Shiina clan
commander1=Jinbo Nagamoto, Jinbo Kiyoshige
commander2=Shiina Yasutane
strength1=8200
strength2=6500
casualties1=
casualties2=

The nihongo|Battle of Imizu|射水の戦い|Imizu no tatakai was fought during Japan's Sengoku Period between two rival daimyo, Jinbo Nagamoto and Shiina Yasutane, in Etchū province during the third month of 1554. The battle of Imizu is best known for one of the few documented cases of hand-to-hand combat between two daimyo on the field of battle during the Sengoku period. According to the "Etchu Ranki", Nagamoto rode into the Shiina camp disguised with the helmet of a dead Shiina soldier, and attacked Yasutane. Yasutane was struck across the jaw, but was pulled to safety by vassals before Nagamoto could deliver the killing blow. ["Sengoku Jidai no Eiyu" - Morisaki, Rokurou] Nagamoto's page, Chiba Kazusa, who had followed his lord into the enemy camp, spirited him away on horseback before the Shiina generals could capture him. Despite being both outnumbered and their leader incapacitated, the Shiina forces were able to overwhelm and drive the Jinbo forces from the field. The Jinbo general, Jinbo Kiyoshige, Nagamoto's friend and advisor, was killed while covering the Jinbo retreat. This defeat weakened the Jinbo and helped in striking a temporary peace between the two clans later that year, which was cemented with the return of the slain Kiyoshige's distinctive blue armor.

References

* Abe, Yoshichiro "Sengoku no Kassen Zenroku" (戦国の合戦全録) Japan, 1973
* Morisaki, Rokurou "Sengoku Jidai no Eiyu" (戦国時代の英雄) Japan, 1982