Conquest of Koshu (2/2)Nobunaga and Ieyasu attack and destroy the Takeda clan

One of the military commanders who defected to the Oda side was Yoshimasa Kiso. He was a military commander who served the Takeda clan since the time of Takeda Shingen, and his legal wife was Takeda Shingen's daughter, Marihime. He is Katsuyori's younger brother-in-law.

Yoshimasa Kiso defected to the Oda side in January 1582. When Katsuyori learned of this, he became very angry and executed Yoshimasa's mother, concubine, and children, who had been kept as hostages, by crucifixion at Shinpu Castle. Furthermore, he dispatched a subjugation army led by his cousin, Nobutyo Takeda, to Kiso Valley, and he himself set out with 10,000 troops and entered Sugata-Uehara Castle (Chino City, Nagano Prefecture).

Meanwhile, Oda Nobunaga also decides to subjugate Katsuyori, organizes an army, and sends it to the front. Thus began the Koshu Conquest, which ended in February of the 10th year of Tensho, and led to the destruction of the Takeda clan.

Koshu conquest ② Oda army 30,000 VS Takeda army 3000

In the Koshu conquest, Oda Nobutada, the successor of Oda Nobunaga, was the commander-in-chief, and Nagayoshi Mori, Yoshimasa Kiso, Hidetaka Kawajiri, Nagahide Mori, Nagamasu Oda, Kazumasu Takigawa, and others participated as the main army. The total number was about 30,000 (*there are various theories). Following behind them were soldiers led by Nobunaga Oda, Mitsuhide Akechi, Tadaoki Hosokawa, Junkei Tsutsui, Nagahide Niwa, and Hidemasa Hori. The number is said to have reached 60,000.

Nobutada and Nobunaga invaded Shinpu Castle from the Ina Kaido direction. In addition, Nagachika Kanamori will aim for Shinpu Castle from the Hida direction, and his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu will head from the Suruga direction. Hojo Ujimasa also took advantage of the Koshu conquest and began an invasion.

Meanwhile, the Takeda army was attacked from various directions and some defected, and about 3,000 soldiers, mainly members of the Takeda clan such as Takeda Katsuyori, Nobutoyo, Nobukatsu, Nobunaga, and Anayama Baisetsu, set out to conquer Koshu. Yes, at this time there were still 3,000...

Conquest of Koshu ③Vases giving up on Katsuyori one after another

On February 3rd, the Oda army, led by Nagayoshi Mori, departed from Gifu Castle and entered Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture) via the Kisoguchi and Ina Kaido roads. The frightened lords of the surrounding areas surrendered to the Oda army one after another. Additionally, Mt. Asama erupted on February 14th. The eruption of Mt. Asama was originally feared as a sign of something strange or bad happening, and the morale of the Takeda clan declined, causing even more people to defect to the Oda army.

On February 16th, the Takeda army led by Imafuku Masakazu and the Oda army led by Kiso Yoshimasa clashed at Torii Pass. The Oda army is victorious. On February 18, Oda Nobutada invaded Iida (Iida City, Nagano Prefecture). At this time, Masanao Hoshina, the lord of Iida Castle, fled to Takato Castle, and Katsuyori's uncle, Nobunari Takeda, who learned of this, also set fire to Oshima Castle (Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture), which was a key point in the war, and fled. Oshima Castle fell into the hands of the Oda army. With those involved fleeing or surrendering, the Oda army was able to take control of Minami-Shinano without much of a fight.

Meanwhile, as for friendly forces on the Oda side, Tokugawa Ieyasu set out from Hamamatsu Castle on February 18th, and on the 20th captured Tanaka Castle (Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture) on the Takeda side. On February 21st, they marched on Sunpu Castle. Additionally, as a result of his tactics, he succeeded in getting Katsuyori's cousin and brother-in-law, a senior vassal, Baiyuki Anayama (Nobukimi), to defect.

There are various theories as to why the senior vassal Umeyuki betrayed Katsuyori, but one story says that one reason was that Katsuyori broke his promise to marry off his daughter to Umeyuki's eldest son and had her marry Nobutoyo Takeda's son. Apparently this marriage story was Shingen's will, so it's no wonder that Umeyuki is angry.

There is also a theory that he originally had a bad relationship with Katsuyori. It seems that he wanted his son to be the heir to the Takeda clan, and when he betrayed him, he made it a condition that he would secure his own territory, and he also said to Ieyasu that ``Anayama would be the one to inherit Takeda.'' .

Baiyuki's betrayal had a huge impact on the remaining Takeda vassals, and the number of people who gave up on the Takeda clan suddenly increased. Furthermore, in late February, the Hojo clan attacked the eastern part of Suruga and captured the castles of the Takeda side, and the Takeda clan, which was attacked one after another from the other side, was almost doomed. In such a situation, Morinobu Nishina of Takato Castle (Ina City, Nagano Prefecture) was the only one who did not abandon the Takeda clan and stood firm.

Conquest of Koshu ④Battle of Takato Castle

Morinobu Nishina, who protected Takato Castle, was Takeda Shingen's fifth son and Katsuyori's half-brother. Morinobu and his friends barricaded themselves in Takato Castle with about 3,000 soldiers, and the Oda army led by Nobutada Oda surrounded them with about 30,000 soldiers.

With overwhelming superiority in numbers, Nobutada sent a messenger and gold to Morinobu to urge him to surrender, but Morinobu refused, cut off the messenger's ear and drove him away. On March 2nd, the two armies clashed. Morinobu made a desperate struggle against the Oda army's all-out attack, but he and about 500 of his vassals died in the battle (or committed suicide).

After learning of the fall of Takato Castle, Katsuyori abandoned Shinpu Castle on March 3rd. He set fire and fled with the remaining soldiers, relying on Nobushige Oyamada, the chief retainer of the Takeda clan. At this time, only 700 soldiers remained.

In fact, the day before this, a military council was being held at Shinpu Castle. In the military council, the next moves were (1) to fortify Shinpu Castle and die in battle with pride (2) to move to Nobushige Oyamada's Iwadono Castle (Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture) (3) to move to Iwato Castle (Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture) of Masayuki Sanada (Gunma Prefecture) Three proposals were made, including moving to Higashiazuma Town, Azuma District, Prefecture. In particular, you can expect reinforcements from the Uesugi side at Iwahashi Castle.

However, because the Sanada clan was an outsider among the Takeda clan, the plan for Iwatoro Castle was not accepted, and it was decided to rely on the Oyamada clan and go to Iwado Castle. Nobushige Oyamada was a senior vassal who had served the Takeda clan since the time of Takeda Shingen, and was one of the 24 Takeda generals. He achieved many military achievements and was trusted. This was the final turning point for Takeda.

Conquest of Koshu ⑤ Takeda clan falls in the Battle of Tenmokuyama

Katsuyori Takeda and Nobukatsu and their remaining vassals, about 200 of them, move towards Iwadono Castle. After that, we waited for about a week for Nobushige Oyamada, who had left earlier, in Tsuruse (Yamato-cho, Koshu City), but he never showed up.

According to "Koyo Gunkan", on March 9th, Nobushige suddenly blocked the road to Iwadono Castle. Pretending to invite Katsuyori in, he fired a gun at Katsuyori. Yes, Nobushige Oyamada betrayed Katsuyori at the very end! It seems that he suffered greatly as a result of defending his territory and people, but this betrayal served as a setback and led to the fall of the Takeda clan.

Katsuyori then heads to Tenmeyama Seiun-ji Temple (present-day Yamato-cho, Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture), where the graves of the Takeda clan's ancestors are located. Only 40 soldiers remained. They were followed by the Oda army led by Kazumasu Takigawa.

On March 11th, Katsuyori and his group were finally caught up by the Oda army at the foot of Mt. Tenmoku, and fought back to the end. Masatsune Tsuchiya and Tomoharu Komiyama died in the battle after a fierce battle. This was to buy time for Katsuyori and his friends to commit suicide. Then, around 11 a.m., Katsuyori committed suicide along with his eldest son, Nobukatsu, and his legal wife, Mrs. Hojo. He was 37 years old when he passed away. After being sent to Kyoto by Katsuyori and his son, he was exposed at the Rokujo Riverside. Other members of the Takeda clan also committed suicide or were executed by the Oda army.

This is how the Takeda clan fell. The former Takeda territory (Kai Province, Shinano Province, Ueno Province) was divided and ruled by Oda Nobunaga's subordinates.