The battle of Nagakute (長久手の戦い, Nagakute no tatakai^?), along with the preceding battle of Komaki, represents the climax of the conflict between two of Japan's greatest warlords, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Sengoku period (Japanese: 戦国時代, Sengoku-jidai) or Warring States period, is a period of civil war in the history of Japan that spans from the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Casus belli is a Latin expression from the international law theory of Jus ad bellum. ... Hideyoshi in old age. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... Hori Hidemasa (1553-1590) Hori Hidemasa, a notable confidante of Oda Nobunaga. ... Mizuno Tadashige (1541 - 1600) was the son of Mizuno Tadamasa and the brother of Mizuno Nobumoto. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... Hideyoshi in old age. ... The siege of Kozuki occurred in 1578, when the army of Mōri Terumoto attacked and captured the castle of Kozuki in Harima province. ... This second siege of Itami castle occurred five years after it was seized by Oda Nobunaga from a lord named Itami, and entrusted to Araki Murashige. ... Siege of Miki lasted from 1578 to 1580. ... The siege of Tottori castle in 1581 is one of the few in which starvation tactics were used to a successful completion of the siege. ... The Siege of Takamatsu took place in 1582 in Japan. ... The Battle of Yamazaki was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan. ... The battle of Uchide-hama took place in 1582, following the battle of Yamazaki. ... The Battle of Shizugatake took place in 1583 in Japan. ... The battle of Komaki, along with the battle of Nagakute which followed, was the climax of the conflict between the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, two warlords who sought to conquer Japan at the end of the Sengoku period. ... Combatants forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi forces of Oda clan Commanders Toyotomi Hideyoshi Oda Nobuo Strength Casualties The 1584 siege of Kaganoi was one of the final battles fought by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his bid to gain the lands and power of Oda Nobunaga, who died two years earlier. ... The Invasion of Shikoku occurred in 1585. ... Combatants Negoro-gumi, the warrior monks of Negoro-ji forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi Commanders Unknown Toyotomi Hideyoshi Strength 30,000-50,000 6,000 Casualties The siege of Negoroji was one of many sieges that Oda Nobunagas forces undertook in the 1580s, against the many fortresses of warrior monks. ... The third siege of Odawara (小田原征伐, odawaraseibatsu) occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshis campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. ... The siege of Shimoda was a naval siege conducted against a coastal Hōjō fortress in Izu Province. ... The battle of Komaki, along with the battle of Nagakute which followed, was the climax of the conflict between the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, two warlords who sought to conquer Japan at the end of the Sengoku period. ... Hideyoshi in old age. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ...

Background

Following the battle of Komaki, Tokugawa fortified Komakiyama, creating a stalemate there. Thus, Ikeda Nobuteru, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief commanders, decided to begin raids through neighboring Mikawa Province with an army numbering 20,000. Tokugawa expected this, and led a force to follow Hideyoshi's. Mizuno Tadashige led Tokugawa's rearguard against Ikeda's force, and the noise of the battle alerted Hori Hidemasa, the head of one of Hideyoshi's divisions. Mikawa (三河国, Mikawa no kuni) is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. ... Mizuno Tadashige (1541 - 1600) was the son of Mizuno Tadamasa and the brother of Mizuno Nobumoto. ... Hori Hidemasa (1553-1590) Hori Hidemasa, a notable confidante of Oda Nobunaga. ...

Hori Hidemasa led his men to the defense of his comrades, taking up position in the village of Nagakute. He held off the initial Tokugawa attacks, but was forced to withdraw as the main body of the Tokugawa army, numbering some 9000 warriors, arrived.

The Battle

The battle proper began as Ikeda's men opened fire with their arquebuses at the Ii family divisions of the Tokugawa force, and then charged at them. Mori Nagayoshi, another of Hideyoshi's commanders, waited until Tokugawa moved in to support the Ii, so that he could flank them. Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo) The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus or hackbut) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... Mori Nagayoshi (1558-1584) Mori Nagayoshi, an officer under the Oda clan, and the older brother of Mori Ranmaru. ... A flank is the side of either a horse or a military unit. ...

However, Tokugawa charged forward, rather than swinging around, and so avoided the flanking maneuver. Mori Nagayoshi was shot off his horse, demoralizing Ikeda's force. Ikeda's head was taken soon afterwards, and despite Hideyoshi's arrival with reinforcements, both armies withdrew, unwilling to risk further casualties.

Reference

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