INTERACTIVE BATTLE

Battle of Yamazaki

Name: Battle of Yamazaki
Start: 1582-07-02
Location: Yamazaki and Mount Tenno, Yamashiro Province

2 July 1582 · Yamazaki and Mount Tenno, Yamashiro Province

Eleven days after the Honnoji Incident, Hashiba Hideyoshi returned from Bitchu and defeated Akechi Mitsuhide at Yamazaki. Mitsuhide’s regime collapsed after little more than ten days, and Hideyoshi rose above his peers in the Oda house.

Background

When Oda Nobunaga was killed in the Honnō-ji Incident, Hideyoshi was conducting a water siege of Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū. After making peace with the Mōri and obtaining the castle's surrender through Shimizu Muneharu's seppuku, he rushed back across the Sanyōdō toward the Kinai region. Although Mitsuhide controlled Ōmi, he found it difficult to gather allies.

Outcome

The Akechi forces collapsed. Mitsuhide retreated to Shōryūji Castle and escaped during the night. He is said to have been killed while making his way toward Sakamoto Castle. Sakamoto Castle was also surrounded, and Akechi Hidemitsu and others set fire to the keep and took their own lives, ending the Akechi clan.

Battle of Yamazaki — Yamazaki and Mount Tenno, Yamashiro Province

Course of the battle

1　June 23

Hideyoshi learns of Nobunaga's death; peace is made with the Mōri, and Shimizu Muneharu commits seppuku

While Hideyoshi's forces were conducting a water siege of Takamatsu Castle in Bitchū, word reached his camp that Nobunaga had died unexpectedly in Kyoto. Hideyoshi concealed Nobunaga's death and hastened to make peace with the Mōri. On June 4, the castle lord Shimizu Muneharu committed seppuku in exchange for the garrison's lives, and the castle surrendered.

Points of debate

Primary sources differ on the exact date Hideyoshi learned of Nobunaga's death, with some suggesting the 3rd day of the sixth month and others the 4th. Here, we center on June 4 (June 23 in the Gregorian calendar), when the peace was established and Muneharu committed seppuku, without confirming when Hideyoshi received the news itself.

羽柴秀吉

Learns of the incident at the Takamatsu camp

黒田孝高

Negotiates peace with the Mōri

Sources7810·Certainty: Disputed

2　June 26

Returns to Himeji Castle

Leaving Takamatsu, Hideyoshi advanced eastward along the Sanyōdō road and entered Himeji Castle on June 7. From here, he prepared to advance toward the Kinai region.

Points of debate

While Hideyoshi boasted in a dispatch to Nobutaka that he had ridden 27 ri in a single day and night, historical analysis of primary sources suggests that an advance party took three days from Takamatsu to Himeji, and Hideyoshi himself arrived after three days of travel.

羽柴秀吉

Rushes back to Himeji on the great return from China

Sources10111213·Certainty: Medium

3　June 30

Arrives at Amagasaki

Advancing from Himeji via Akashi, Hideyoshi arrived at Amagasaki in Settsu on the 11th day of the sixth month, at the hour of the dragon (approximately 7–9 a.m.).

Points of debate

The meeting point with the Settsu forces may well have been at Tonda on the following day (the 12th), rather than at Amagasaki (see the next scene).

Sources10111214·Certainty: Medium

4　July 1

Rendezvous with Settsu forces, Nobutaka, and Nagahide at Tonda

On the 12th day of the sixth month, Hideyoshi reached Tonda in Settsu (modern Takatsuki, Ōsaka Prefecture). There he was joined by the Settsu forces under Ikeda Tsuneoki, Nakagawa Kiyohide, and Takayama Ukon, as well as the armies of Oda Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide advancing from Izumi. The combined force now numbered over thirty thousand, more than double the Akechi forces.

Points of debate

The rendezvous at Tonda is supported by official documents from the town of Oyamazaki and academic journals, though official sources from Amagasaki and works on the "great return from China" such as Hattori's paper do not specify the meeting point.

丹羽長秀

Rendezvous with Hideyoshi at Tonda

織田信孝

Joins as nominal commander-in-chief

Sources11015·Certainty: Medium

5　July 1

The two armies face off at Yamashiro

On the same 12th day, Akechi Mitsuhide deployed his direct forces of sixteen thousand in a fan-shaped formation east of Tennōzan. The narrows between Tennōzan and the Yodo River limited room for maneuver regardless of numerical advantage.

Points of debate

Regarding the site of Mitsuhide's main camp: official sources from Oyamazaki identify Saikano Mound No. 1 (in Oyamazaki) as a likely location (called "Gōbōzuka"), while official sources from Nagaoka City propose Esai Mound (in Nagaoka City) as a candidate. These sites are approximately 1.5 km apart, and no conclusive basis was found to confirm one or the other.

明智光秀

Faces Hideyoshi's forces at Yamashiro

Sources12310·Certainty: Disputed

6　July 2

Battle begins at the east foot of Tennōzan and along the Yodo River

On the 13th day of the sixth month, at the hour of the monkey (approximately 4:30 p.m.), the Toyotomi vanguard under Nakagawa Kiyohide, Takayama Ukon, and Toyotomi Hideaki advanced past the narrows and deployed east of Tennōzan. The Akechi forces under Saito Toshimitsu, Namikawa Kamon, and Matsuda Tarōzaemon attacked vigorously but could not break their lines. Meanwhile, Ikeda Tsuneoki, Katō Mitsuyasu, and Kimura Hayato, advancing along the Yodo River, landed east of the Enmeiji River and broke through the lightly held Akechi positions.

Points of debate

Official sources from Oyamazaki explicitly contradict the popular belief that the side controlling Tennōzan won the battle. They state: "The actual fighting took place in the wetlands east of Tennōzan, and the battle was decided by the combat along the Yodo River." Among the official sources from Oyamazaki and Nagaoka City that we consulted, none identify the struggle for Tennōzan's summit as the deciding factor in the battle.

中川清秀

Stands in the vanguard on the front lines

高山右近

Stands in the vanguard on the front lines

池田恒興

Crosses the Enmeiji River and strikes the flank

Sources11016·Certainty: Disputed

7　July 2

The Akechi forces collapse; Mitsuhide retreats to Shōryūji Castle

After nightfall, the Akechi forces collapsed and Mitsuhide retreated to Shōryūji Castle to spend his final night. He is said to have escaped through the north gate during the night and made for Sakamoto in Ōmi.

Points of debate

Official sources from Nagaoka City also note the time and route of escape only cautiously, stating "during the night" and "is said." On his way back to Sakamoto, Mitsuhide is said to have been attacked and killed by loose samurai (Ōtsu official sources cite the Kenmei Kyōki as a reference). A stone marker in Kyoto identifies the location of the attack as Ogursu, but the details of his death remain qualified as "according to some accounts" or "is said to be."

明智光秀

Retreats to Shōryūji Castle; is said to have been killed while making for Sakamoto

斎藤利三

Unable to support the Akechi forces, flees in defeat

Sources6101718·Certainty: Traditional account

8　July

Sakamoto Castle falls and the Akechi clan is destroyed

At Sakamoto Castle, surrounded by Hideyoshi's forces, Akechi Hidemitsu and others set fire to the keep and took their own lives. The castle fell with the Akechi clan. The date of the castle's fall is not specified beyond the month even in the chronology of official Ōtsu sources.

Points of debate

Many sources date the fall to "June 14," but Ōtsu official sources give only "June 1582" without specifying the day. The story that Hidemitsu killed Mitsuhide's wife and children does not appear in Ōtsu official sources and is not included here. As for the "Lake Crossing" (Kosui Watari), the tradition that Hidemitsu rode his horse across Lake Biwa to return to Sakamoto Castle, the Shiga Prefecture Cultural Properties Protection Association explicitly states: "Whether Hidemitsu actually rode across Lake Biwa on horseback cannot be confirmed in contemporary sources." Therefore, this cannot be accepted as historical fact.

明智秀満

Perishes at Sakamoto Castle with his clan

Sources61019·Certainty: Disputed

Historical significance

The battle marked the turning point when leadership over Nobunaga's succession passed to Hideyoshi. The traditional narrative that "the side controlling Tennōzan won" was formulated in later times. Official sources from Oyamazaki state that the actual fighting took place east of Tennōzan, and that the battle was decided by the combat along the Yodo River.

Key figures

羽柴氏