Siege of Odawara (1561)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=First Siege of Odawara
partof=Sengoku period


caption=One corner tower of Odawara Castle today
date=1561
place=Odawara Castle, Sagami Province, Japan
casus=
territory=
result= Uesugi withdrawal, castle town burned
combatant1=Uesugi clan forces
combatant2=Hōjō clan forces
commander1=Uesugi Kenshin
commander2=Unknown
strength1=40000
strength2=15000
casualties1=
casualties2=

The 1561 siege of Odawara, a battle of Japan's Sengoku period, was the first of several sieges which would befall the home castle of the Hōjō clan.

Uesugi Kenshin was at the height of his campaign against the Hōjō clan, as he captured several of their castles. In 1561 he besieged the Hōjō's Odawara Castle. The Uesugi breached the defenses, and burned the castle town. The castle itself however, remained unconquered; Kenshin would withdraw after two months. This came as the result of a lack of adequate supplies, and the reappearance of Takeda Shingen, Kenshin's long-time rival, who was threatening his territories.

This ended the first of three sieges of the Odawara castle.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.