The siege of Shiroishi, in 1600, was one of several feudal Japanese battles leading up to the decisive battle of Sekigahara which ended the period of over 100 years of war, and was immediately followed by the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Shiroishi was a castle just south of the city of Sendai, controlled by a retainer of Uesugi Kagekatsu, who in turn was one of the chief supporters of Ishida Mitsunari.
Date Masamune and Mogami Yoshiaki, daimyo of large nearby domains, laid siege to this castle, beginning the conflict in the north between the representatives of Ishida and Tokugawa. Its capture would also mark the first contribution of Date Masamune to the Sekigahara campaign.
This would be followed by two counter-sieges on the part of Uesugi Kagekatsu and Naoe Kanetsugu against the castles of Hataya, Kaminoyama and Hasedo.
References
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.