Battle of Kōnodai (1564)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Kōnodai
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1564
Location Kōnodai, Shimosa province
Result Hōjō victory
Belligerents
Hōjō clan forces of Satomi Yoshihiro
Commanders
Hōjō Ujiyasu Satomi Yoshihiro
Strength
20,000 8,000
 
Campaigns of the Hōjō

In the second battle of Kōnodai, fought in 1564, Hōjō Ujiyasu led his men to victory against Satomi Yoshihiro. Interestingly, 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.

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 him. In the ensuing battle, Satomi saw his son Chokuro killed by Matsuda Yasuyoshi, a Hōjō retainer; after the battle, feeling remorse at killing such a young boy, Matsuda entered the clergy.

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

[edit] References

  • Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
  • Turnbull, Stephen (2002). 'War in Japan: 1467-1615'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
  This article about a historical Japanese battle is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.