Siege of Hiuchi

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Siege of Hiuchi
Part of the Genpei War
Date April-May 1183 Location Hiuchiyama, Echizen Province Result Siege succeeds; fortress falls, but Minamoto survive and escape
Belligerents
Minamoto clan	Taira clan
Commanders
Minamoto no Yoshinaka	Taira no Koremori

Genpei War 1st Uji – Nara – Ishibashiyama – Fujigawa – Sunomatagawa – Yahagigawa – Hiuchi – Kurikara – Shinohara – Mizushima – Fukuryūji – Muroyama – Hōjūjidono – 2nd Uji – Awazu – Ichi-no-Tani – Kojima – Yashima –Dan-no-ura

Hiuchiyama (火打ち山) was one of Minamoto no Yoshinaka's fortresses in Echizen Province, Japan. In April and May of 1183, a Taira force led by Taira no Koremori attacked the fortress. It was built on rocky crags, and well defended; the Minamoto had even built a dam to create a moat. However, a traitor within the fortress tied a message to an arrow, firing it into the Taira camp, and revealing a way to breach the dam and drain the water. The castle soon fell to the Taira, but Yoshinaka and much of his forces survived and escaped.

[edit] References

• Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.