The was a siege in 1561 of the castle of
Moji in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The castle belonged to the
Mōri clan
The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power in Aki Province. Durin ...
, whose capital was the city of
Yamaguchi.
Background
The original castle was built by
Ōuchi Yoshinaga (Sorin's younger brother), who was forced to kill himself in 1557 with the advance of Mōri forces.
Mōri Motonari
was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...
captured the fort in 1558.
Otomo Sorin recaptured the castle in September 1559, but later the Mōri, led by
Kobayakawa Takakage and
Ura Munekatsu, quickly recaptured the castle.
Battle
In 1561, forces under
Ōtomo Sōrin
, also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原 義鎮) or Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友 義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Catholicism. The eldest son of , he inherited the Funa ...
attacked the castle in alliance with the
Portuguese, who provided three ships between 500 and 600 tons, each with a crew of about 300 and 17 or 18 cannons. This is thought to be the first bombardment by foreign ships on Japan.
The bombardment permitted the Ōtomo troops to establish themselves around Moji castle. After expending their ammunition, however, the Portuguese withdrew.
The castle's defenders nevertheless managed to break the siege lines and reinforce the castle. Ōtomo led an all-out assault on the castle on 10 October 1561, but the assault failed, and the castle finally remained in Mōri possession.
''Samurai - The World of the Warrior'' Stephen Turnbull, p.105
/ref>
See also
* Battle of Fukuda Bay (1565) – A Japanese flotilla attacks a Portuguese carrack and fails to capture it in the first naval clash between Japan and the West.
* Battle of Manila (1574) – A Chinese and Japanese pirate fleet attacked Manila intending to capture the city.
* Battle of Cagayan (1582) – A fleet of Asian pirates led by Japanese attack and are defeated by a Spanish flotilla.
* Red Seal ship incident (1608/1609) – A Japanese crew was displaying an unruly behavior in Macau, but the Portuguese authorities were able to suppress the disturbance.
* Nossa Senhora da Graça incident (1610) – A Japanese flotilla attacks a Portuguese carrack that ends in the latter's sinking.
* Second attack on Kamishi (9 August 1945) – last direct naval bombardment of the Japanese home islands in World War II.
Notes
1561 in Japan
Conflicts in 1561
Mōri clan
Sieges of the Sengoku period
Sieges involving Portugal
History of Kitakyushu
Military history of Fukuoka Prefecture
Japan–Portugal relations
1560s in the Portuguese Empire
Attacks on castles in Japan
Naval battles involving Portugal
Naval battles of the Sengoku period
16th-century military history of Japan
Naval bombing operations and battles
16th-century explosions
Residential building bombings in Asia
Building bombings in Japan
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