The 1573 was the

last stand A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tacti ...

of the

Azai clan The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period. History The Azai was a line of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern Ōmi Province, located within present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture ...

, one of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese '' daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unif ...

's chief opponents. and the first battle of Oda Nobutada.

Prelude

In September, 1573,

defeated the Asakura clan at the Siege of Ichijodani Castle. Later, the Oda forces returned to northern Ōmi, and on October, 1573, Nobunaga begin attacked Odani Castle, devastating the

Siege

Nobunaga took Odani Castle from

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering ...

, who, left with no other option, committed suicide along with his father. Azai knew from the beginning that he would lose the battle, so he gave his wife Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), and their three daughters back to Nobunaga, saving them from death. Two of Nagamasa's daughters would later marry into powerful families. Their escape from the besieged castle became a fairly common sentimental scene in traditional

Japanese art Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, '' ukiyo-e'' paintings and woodblock prints, ceramics, origami, and more recently manga and anime ...

Aftermath

Before Azai Nagamasa committed ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese peop ...

'' he decided to make one last attack on Nobunaga's main camp; in the end, however, he failed and was instead captured. Nagamasa suffered much the same fate as his comrade-in-arms Asakura Yoshikage, whose castle at

's Siege of Ichijodani Castle was set aflame and destroyed.

In popular culture

The battle has been featured in the game Samurai Warriors 2. In the game, however, both the Azai and Asakura clans are destroyed during the Odani siege. Historically, the Asakura clan was destroyed before the Azai at the Battle of Ichijodani.

References

{{coord missing, Japan 1573 in Japan Odani 1573 Odani 1573 Conflicts in 1573 Odani Castle Odani Castle Azai clan

Prelude

Siege

Aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References