Battle of Kōnodai (1564)
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In the second Battle of Kōnodai, fought in 1564, Hōjō Ujiyasu led his men to victory against Satomi Yoshihiro. Both Ujiyasu and Yoshihiro were the sons of the commanders at the first battle of Kōnodai, in which Hōjō Ujitsuna defeated the combined forces of Satomi Yoshitaka and Ashikaga Yoshiaki (Oyumi).[1]
Battle
Outnumbered 20,000 to 8,000, Satomi fell back when the Hōjō vanguard advanced. But this was a feint, and an attempt to draw his enemy into a trap. However, Hōjō Ujiyasu expected a trap of this sort, and had sent his son, Ujimasa, with a small force to attack the Satomi rear, surrounding, and later Ujiyasu defeated Yoshihiro. In the ensuing battle, Satomi Yoshihiro saw his son, Chokuro, killed by Matsuda Yasuyoshi, a Hōjō retainer.
Aftermath
Hōjō Ujiyasu celebrated his victory with a poem:
- Conquering the foe
- As I wished at Kōnodai
- Now do I behold
- The evening sunshine of Katsuura
After the battle, Matsuda Yasuyoshi who had killed Yoshihiro's son, entered a life of monkhood, feeling remorse for the death of the young boy.
Notes
References
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
- Turnbull, Stephen (2002). 'War in Japan: 1467-1615'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.