Siege of Hasedō

The Siege of Hasedō (長谷堂城の戦い) was one of a series of battles fought in the far north of Japan's main island of Honshū (the Tōhoku region) contemporaneous with the famous and decisive campaigns between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari further south.

Siege of Hasedō
Part of the Sengoku period

Picture of the Siege of Hasedō
Date1600
Location
Hasedō castle, near Yamagata
Result

Eastern Army victory,

Siege fails
Belligerents
Eastern Forces loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu:
Forces of Mogami Yoshiaki
and Date Masamune		 Western Forces loyal to Ishida Mitsunari:
Forces of Uesugi Kagekatsu
Commanders and leaders
Mogami Yoshiaki
Shimura Takaharu
Sakenobe Hidetsuna
Rusu Masakage
Magoichi Saika
Nanbu Toshinao		 Naoe Kanetsugu
Suibara Chikanori
Amakasu Kagetsugu
Kasuga Mototada
Maeda Toshimasu
Kamiizumi Yasutsuna †
Honjō Shigenaga
Strength
Mogami: 7,000
Date: 3,000		 20,000
Casualties and losses
623 killed 1580 killed

Prelude

Over the course of the year 1600, Naoe Kanetsugu, a general loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, would lead a campaign in Tōhoku, which included the siege of Hasedō castle, near Yamagata, which was his ultimate goal. Hasedō was held by Mogami Yoshiaki and the castle garrison led by Shimura Takaharu and backed by a Tokugawa-loyal army of the Date clan. Twenty thousand of Uesugi Kagekatsu's men moved towards Yamagata from the north, while Naoe Kanetsugu began his siege on Hasedō.[1] Naoe Kanetsugu decided to head for the front lines, leaving the defense of the Uesugi north garrison to Kagekatsu; Having received reinforcements of 100 horsemen and 200 arquebusiers, he laid siege to Hasedō for fourteen days before Date Masamune forces arrived to relieve the castle.

Date's general Magoichi Saika decided to head for the Kagekatsu's north garrison at Yamagata Castle, as Date Masamune army under Rusu Masakage relieved his uncle in Hasedo Castle.

Battle

Sakenobe Hidetsuna joined Hasedō castle as reinforcement under the order of Mogami Yoshiaki.[2] He started a night attack upon the military camps of the Uesugi clan and damaged them.[3]

Rusu Masakage led the relief force to the castle (Date Masamune sent Rusu Masakage as his representative.[4]) and defeated Uesugi's force led by Suibara Chikanori and Amakasu Kagetsugu as they attempted to penetrate the castle's defenses.

The castle was finally relieved by Date forces, causing Naoe Kanetsugu to declare an all-out attack on Hasedō. Kasuga Mototada was the vanguard, and charged the castle, but was forced to retreat due to heavy arquebus fire. After Uesugi forces failed, Maeda Toshimasu was appointed to lead the Uesugi rear guard during the retreat. Later, an army from the castle garrison charged north and then began attacking the retreating Uesugi's forces. A small besieging force remained, and fighting continued, in which Naoe's general Kamiizumi Yasutsuna was killed.

However, in November 5, news arrived of Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, and so Naoe called a full withdrawal of all his forces back to Yonezawa, putting an end to Uesugi's campaigns in the north.[1]

References
  1. "日本の城がわかる事典「長谷堂城」の解説". kotobank. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  2. "Sakenobe Hidetsuna Page5" (in Japanese). Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum official. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  3. "最上家の武将たち" (in Japanese). 山形おきたま観光協議会. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  4. "Rusu Masakage". kotobank. Retrieved 24 October 2021.


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


38°12′45.6″N 140°16′20.76″E


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.