The took place in 1600, concurrent with the

battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

Kyōgoku Takatsugu was a ''daimyō'' (military feudal lord) of Ōmi Province and Wakasa Province during the late Sengoku period of History of Japan, Japan's history.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Edmond. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> Biography His chi ...

held

Ōtsu castle 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153,458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . History Ōtsu is p ...

for the Tokugawa, and commanded the garrison.

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overc ...

Tachibana Muneshige , was a Japanese ''samurai'', known in his youth as Senkumamaru (千熊丸) and alternatively called Tachibana Munetora (立花宗虎 or 立花統虎), during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and an Edo-period ''daimyō''. He was the eldest biol ...

, and roughly 15,000 troops laid siege. The sides negotiated and Takatsugu surrendered. However, in the meantime

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

had won the battle of Sekigahara, assuring his control of all Japan, and so the loss of Ōtsu was ultimately insignificant. Some records of the time indicate that the local inhabitants brought picnic boxes and gathered at

Mii-dera , also known as just Onjo-ji, or , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of t ...

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by ...

to observe the battle.

Historicity

According to the records from "History of Yamaguchi Prefecture", and 56 documents from the "Documents of the Asa Mori Family, Sanyo Town Asa Library", Mōri Terumoto dispatched Kobayakawa Hidekane and Tachibana Muneshige from Hekiteikan as reinforcements for Mōri Motoyasu's army to capture Ōtsu Castle, which surrounded by a double moat and defended by Kyogoku Takatsugu, Tokugawa Hidetada's brother-in-law. On the 12 September, when Hidetsugu and Muneshige's reinforcements arrived, they held a military council and decided to launch an all-out attack on the 13 September. At dawn, they began a moat-crossing operation to fill in the outer moat on three sides of the castle. According to Hidetsugu's records, "the castle fell in the evening," and Takatsugu surrendered in that day. The "Otsu Castle Memorial Monument" at Koyasan Okunoin is engraved which supported that the castle were fallen on 13 September. However, according to the official history records of

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the Kyōgoku Takatsugu forces had fought well to defend the for Castle, and only fallen in 14 September. Judging by this contradiction of the records, the history researchers society from Bingo suspected there is an attempt to downplay the achievements of Muneshige and Motoyasu achievement in capturing the castle, to cover the disgraceful fact that Takatsugu, a figure close to the second shogun of Tokugawa clan, beaten easily in the siege. Further indication was stated by the research team representative that despite victory of Muneshige and Motoyasu were nullified as the overall

Sekigahara Campaign The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked by a ...

was won by the Tokugawa side, Takatsugu were transferred somewhere in July 1619 by Hidetada and the governorship of Kannabe was replaced with Mizuno Katsunari. Katsunari was considered by Hidetada as the best person to control the region as he has reputation as strong military general who could help stabilize the Shogunate presence in

Bingo Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, comprising what is today the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes grouped together with Bizen and Bitchu Provinces as . The 備 ''bi'' in the names of these ...

and keeping 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 ...

in check.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co. 1600 in Japan Sekigahara campaign Sieges of the Sengoku period Conflicts in 1600 Attacks on castles in Japan Ōtsu Military history of Shiga Prefecture Ōmi Province {{Japan-battle-stub