Battle of Shizugatake
The Battle of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳の戦い, Shizugatake no Tatakai) took place during the Sengoku period of Japan between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Ōmi Province over a period of two days beginning on the 20th day of the fourth month of Tenshō 11 (equivalent to 10-11 June 1583 on the Gregorian calendar). Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga in a succession dispute within the Oda clan that benefitted Hideyoshi.
| Battle of Shizugatake | |||||||
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| Part of the Sengoku period | |||||||
Ukiyo-e print of the Battle of Shizugatake by Utagawa Toyonobu | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Oda Nobukatsu | Forces of Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Hashiba Hideyoshi Oda Nobukatsu Niwa Nagahide Ikeda Tsuneoki Ikoma Chikamasa Nakagawa Kiyohide † Hashiba Hidenaga Hashiba Hidekatsu Hashiba Hidetsugu Hori Hidemasa Katō Yoshiaki Fukushima Masanori Katō Kiyomasa Horio Yoshiharu Takayama Ukon Kuroda Yoshitaka Kuwayama Shigeharu Gamō Ujisato Akamatsu Norifusa |
Shibata Katsuie † Oda Nobutaka † Takigawa Kazumasu Sakuma Morimasa † Shibata Katsumasa Shibata Katsutoyo Fuwa Naomitsu Anegakōji Yoritsuna Hara Nagayori Ogawa Suketada Murai Nagayori defected: Maeda Toshiie Maeda Toshimasu Maeda Toshinaga Kanamori Nagachika | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 men | 30,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4,000-6,000 | 8,000 | ||||||
Location within Shiga Prefecture Battle of Shizugatake (Japan) | |||||||
Katsuie and Sakuma Morimasa attacked fortifications loyal to Hideyoshi at Shizugatake, defeating Nakagawa Kiyohide, but the other sieges by Toshiie and Kazumasu stalled. Katsuie ordered Sakuma to retreat but was ignored, and Hideyoshi launched a surprise counterattack that routed Sakuma and forced him to retreat. Hideyoshi pursued Sakuma and successfully besieged Kitanosho Castle which led to the suicide of Katsuie and Oichi.
The Battle of Shizugatake allowed Hideyoshi to consolidate his position as Oda Nobunaga's successor, and was one of the last challenges to his rule along with the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584. George Sansom states the Battle of Shizugatake "must be regarded as one of the decisive battles in Japanese history."