Battle of Shizugatake

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


caption=
date=May 1583
place=Shizugatake, Ōmi Province, near Lake Biwa
casus=
territory=
result=Toyotomi Hideyoshi victory
combatant1=forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
combatant2=forces loyal to Oda Nobutaka
commander1=Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori
commander2=Shibata Katsuie, Sakuma Morimasa
strength1=20,000 men
strength2=8,000 men
casualties1=
casualties2=

The nihongo|Battle of Shizugatake|賤ヶ岳の戦い|Shizugatake no Tatakai was a battle in Sengoku period Japan between supporters of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobutaka. In May, 1583, a former general of Nobunaga's named Shibata Katsuie coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks on Shizugatake was held by Hideyoshi's general Nakagawa Kiyohide. Sakuma Morimasa attacked on orders from Shibata Katsuie, and Nakagawa was killed, but the fortress' defenses held. Hearing that Hideyoshi was coming with reinforcements, Sakuma ordered his men to break the siege lines and prepare to defend themselves.

Hideyoshi's army pushed Sakuma's forces into a rout and pursued them back to Shibata Katsuie's fortress at Kitanosho Castle (Fukui) in Echizen province. They seized the castle but not before Shibata set the keep on fire, killed his family and committed "seppuku".

Hideyoshi's chief seven generals in this battle earned a great degree of fame and honor, and came to be known as the "shichi-hon yari" or 'Seven Spears' of Shizugatake.

References

* Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford: Stanford University Press.
* Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.