Battle of Suemori Castle (1/2)Toshiie Maeda is in a big pinch! Confronted Narimasa Sassa in Hokuriku

Toshiie Maeda was a close aide to Oda Nobunaga, ran the government as one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's five elders, and built Kaga Hyakumangoku. The battle in which Toshiie found himself in a serious crisis was the ``Battle of Suemori Castle,'' which took place on September 9, 1584, at Suemori Castle in Noto Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture). Suemori Castle was an important base for the Maeda family, but it was in danger of falling due to a surprise attack by Toshiie's rival, Narimasa Sassa. Will Toshiie be rescued in time? This time, I would like to focus on the Battle of Hokuriku, which took place behind the scenes of the "Battle of Komaki and Nagakute."

Toshiie Maeda and Narimasa Sassa, the main characters of the Battle of Suemori Castle

The Battle of Suemori Castle, which occurred on September 9, 1584, was a battle fought between Maeda Toshiie and Sasa Narimasa for control of Hokuriku. In fact, these two were originally Oda family retainers and colleagues. Toshiie was born in the 6th year of Tenbun (1537), and Narimasa is said to have been born in the 5th year of Tenbun (1536) or the 8th year of Tenbun (1539), but the two were roughly the same age and were active as vassals of Oda Nobunaga. Did.

Nobunaga selected the members of the ``Horoshu'', an elite unit under his direct command, from among the Umamaishū and pages. The mother's robe was originally a wide cloak-like cloth worn behind a helmet or armor to protect oneself from arrows, stones, etc. during battle. During the Sengoku period, they were decorated with skeletons such as whale whiskers and strung up like balloons to increase their defensive power and make them stand out. Only the elite can wear the mother's robe. You'll want to brag about it.

Nobunaga's Hakoro people were divided into the ``Akahakoro people'' and the ``Kuromoro people'', of which Toshiie was the leader of the Akahakoro people, and Narimasa was the leader of the Kuromo people. (However, there was a time when a different person was in charge.) The two, who are close in age, seem to have had a rivalry.

Then, in 1575, when Katsuie Shibata was given eight districts of Echizen, the three of them, along with Mitsuharu Fuwa, acquired two districts of Fuchu. After that, the three of them were in charge of Katsuie's eyes and worked hard to govern the Hokuriku region as Katsuie's support. They came to be known as the "Fuchu Sanninshu." So Toshiie and Narimasa were like colleagues in the same department.

The turning point was the “Battle of Shizugatake”

After Oda Nobunaga died in the Honnoji Incident in June 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie fought over who would be his successor at the Kiyosu Conference. After that, Hideyoshi and Katsuie continued to struggle for power, but at this point both Toshiie and Narimasa were on Katsuie's side and were in conflict with Hideyoshi.

However, in the ``Battle of Shizugatake'' fought between Katsuie and Hideyoshi in December of the same year, Toshiie betrayed Katsuie while Narimasa continued to fight as a military commander on Katsuie's side. Initially, Toshiie was entrusted with supporting Katsuie's army at the forefront of the battle, but in the middle of the battle, he suddenly withdrew without permission and left the front. As a result, Katsuie's army collapsed and was defeated by Hideyoshi's army. Although reluctant, Toshiie betrayed Katsuie and joined Hideyoshi's side.After the war, Hideyoshi granted him control of Noto Province (northern Ishikawa Prefecture), and he also gained two new districts, Kaga Province (southern Ishikawa Prefecture). .

On the other hand, Narimasa, who had been on Katsuie's side until the end, reluctantly submitted to Hideyoshi after the war. In fact, Narimasa did not directly participate in the Battle of Shizugatake. At that time, Echigo Province (Niigata Prefecture) had withstood the invasion of Uesugi Kagekatsu and was stationed at Toyama Castle, and his uncle Sasahirazaemon participated in the Battle of Shizugatake with 600 soldiers. . After the war, Narimasa gave his daughter to Hideyoshi as a hostage, shaved his head and surrendered, and Etchuchu (Toyama Prefecture) was relieved.

This Battle of Shizugatake resulted in a major change in the positions of Toshiie and Narimasa. Toshiie continued to advance his career under Hideyoshi. Narimasa, on the other hand, became closer to Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobuo, who were engaged in a cold war with Hideyoshi over a succession dispute, and became increasingly anti-Hideyoshi.

The cause of the “Battle of Suemori Castle” and the “Battle of Komaki and Nagakute”

As the relationship between Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Oda Nobukatsu gradually deteriorated, the ``Battle of Komaki and Nagakute,'' which lasted approximately nine months, finally began in March 1584, and the two sides clashed. To do. First, Nobuo killed the three chief retainers of the Oda family who were cooperating with Hideyoshi, and declared war on Hideyoshi. In response, Hideyoshi led a large army said to be around 100,000 men and marched into battle.

The center of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute was in the northern part of Owari Province (Aichi Prefecture), but related battles also occurred in Hokuriku, Kanto, and Shikoku, and this battle in Hokuriku was the ``Suemori'' battle in which Maeda Toshiie and Sassa Narimasa were involved. "Battle of the Castle". At the beginning of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, both Toshiie and Narimasa were on the side of Hideyoshi's army, but during the battle, Narimasa joined Ieyasu's army and became an enemy of Hideyoshi. Therefore, in Hokuriku, there was a battle between Toshiie on Hideyoshi's side and Narimasa on Ieyasu's side.

The first battle between the two was the Battle of Asahiyama Castle.

In July, Narimasa Sassa approached Toshiie Maeda about marriage between his second son, Toshimasa Maeda, and his own daughter. In reality, this was a ploy by Narimasa to catch Toshiie off guard. Realizing this, Toshiie built and renovated a mountain castle on the border road between Kaga Province and Viet China, and increased his vigilance. "Asahiyama Castle" is one of them, and was built by Toshiie's vassal Nagayoritatsu Murai.

In August, Narimasa sent his subordinates Sasa Heizaemon, Maeno Kobei, and others to attack Asahiyama Castle, which was under construction. This is the "Battle of Asahiyama Castle". During the battle, Seimei's army came close to occupying the castle for a time, but the castle was recaptured by reinforcements sent by Toshiie. Toshiie's army continued to advance and captured Narimasa's Matsune Castle.

Battle of Suemori Castle ① Narimasa Sasa attacks Suemori Castle

Then, on September 9th, Sassa Narimasa suddenly led a large army of 15,000 men and set out to attack Suemori Castle. They set up their headquarters at Tsuboyama Fort, besieged Suemori Castle, and began their attack on the following day, the 10th (*There are various theories as to the date). In response, 1,500 soldiers (some say 500), including Eifuku Okumura and Noriaki Chiaki, senior vassals of the Maeda family who protected Suemori Castle, holed up in the castle and desperately resisted. At this time, Tsugumo Doi, the castle lord, and others who went out to attack the castle were killed in the battle. Afterwards, the Ninomaru and Sannomaru were felled by the fierce attack of the Seisei army, but the Honmaru managed to hold on.