|
The of 1567 was the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to defeat the Saitō clan in their mountaintop castle and conquer Mino Province, Japan. It was a short two-week siege, fought between 13 and 27 September 1567, or in the Japanese calendar: from the 1st to 15th day of the 8th month, in the 10th year of the Eiroku era, according to the ''Nobunaga Chronicle''.〔 The siege ended in a decisive battle and victory of Nobunaga's combined forces, and resulted in the subjugation of the Saitō clan, their vassals, and allies. This victory was the culmination of Nobunaga's Mino campaign, waged intermittently over the previous six years, and brought an end to a rivalry between the Oda clan of Owari province and the Saitō clan of Mino, which began over twenty years earlier between Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobuhide and Saitō Dōsan. Due to the weak leadership of the Saitō, many samurai leaders defected to Nobunaga before the battle, while others willingly submitted afterward. With this victory, Nobunaga took control of the expansive and fertile Mino Province and gained numerous supporters and resources. Nobunaga had the former Saitō castle repaired and renamed it Gifu Castle, a firm base from which to expand north into the Hokuriku region and to make his drive toward Kyoto. Gifu Castle functioned as his primary residence and military headquarters until he moved to the partially completed Azuchi Castle in 1575. Nobunaga's young retainer Kinoshita Tōkichirō (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) played an important role in attaining the victory at Inabayama. In the years leading to the battle, he negotiated for the support of local warlords, which ensured a ready-made army by the time of the attack, and built a castle on the edge of the enemy's territory to serve as a staging point for the attack. In addition to these preparations, Tōkichirō devised and led a bold plan, something of a commando raid, to break into the castle and open the gates for the attacking army. As a result of his efforts and the victory, his standing with Nobunaga rose considerably. Thus, in addition to the battle's immediate importance to Nobunaga's plans, it was also an important step in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rise to power. ==Background== In 1549 young Oda Nobunaga (1534 – 1582), who would later become a major daimyo of Owari province, Japan〔Owari province is now the modern day city of Nagoya and western Aichi prefecture, Japan.〕 and would initiate the unification of 16th century Japan,〔Jansen 2000: 11〕 was married to Nōhime, the daughter of Saitō Dōsan, leader of the rival Saitō clan of neighboring Mino Province.〔Weston 1999: 141.〕 Nobunaga was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, head of the Oda clan, who was at that time fending off opponents on the northern and eastern borders of Owari province, matters that were complicated by internal dissent.〔Berry 1982: 35.〕 Saitō Dōsan, lord of Mino, was a strong and ruthless leader, but internal strife had begun to split the Saitō into factions.〔Berry 1982: 37.〕 Both clans needed some respite to deal with more pressing problems and thus the political marriage of Nobunaga and Nōhime brought an end to the clans' rivalry and their border skirmishes.〔 In 1555 Saitō Yoshitatsu, eldest son of Dōsan, came to believe his inheritance would be taken away and murdered his two younger brothers. The following year he rallied troops loyal to him and openly rebelled against his father.〔Gifu 1969: 182-5.〕 Dōsan indeed changed his will and named his son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, his legal heir. Shortly thereafter Dōsan was killed by one of Yoshitatsu's retainers at the Battle of Nagaragawa. At the time Nobunaga was not in a position to help his father-in-law and the Saitō civil war soon ended before any active intervention could be mounted. In 1561 Yoshitatsu died of leprosy and his son, Saitō Tatsuoki, succeeded to the leadership of the clan.〔Turnbull 2010: 10.〕 At the time Tatsuoki was young but, as he attained adulthood, he was eventually considered incapable of effective leadership by his peers and retainers, viewed with contempt by his subordinates, and even despised by the local peasantry.〔Brinkley and Kikuchi 1915: 480.〕〔Dening 1904: 142-3.〕 After the Oda and Matsudaira clans allied and then defeated the Imagawa clan at the 1560 Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga was in a more secure position to focus on their northern neighbor, the Saitō clan.〔Hall 1991.〕 Nobunaga's plans for an invasion of Mino were ostensibly motivated by revenge for the death of his father-in-law, Saitō Dōsan,〔 but Yoshitatsu died before Nobunaga could attack. As a result, Nobunaga reasoned that Yoshitatsu's heir, Tatsuoki, likewise benefited from Dōsan's demise, and thus continued with his plans for invasion, using revenge as a pretext.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Inabayama Castle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|