Battle of Nagashino Japanese history [1575] Actions Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Nagashino Give Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Nagashino Feedback Written by Stephen Turnbull Stephen Turnbull is Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan and Lecturer in Japanese Religious Studies at the University of Leeds. He also specializes in premodern... Stephen Turnbull Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Jul 11, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Date: June 28, 1575 (Show more) Location: Japan (Show more) See all related content →

　　Memorial to Oda NobunagaStatue of Oda Nobunaga at Gifu station, Japan. He was a powerful Daimyo of Japan in the late 16th century and the victor of the Battle of Nagashino, a famous battle in Japanese history, fought in 1575 at Nagashino in Mikawa Province. © Mrnovel/Dreamstime.com(more)In Japan’s Age of Warring States, a series of feudal wars with contending samurai armies, Nagashino castle, in present Mikawa Province, held out against the Takeda in a classic siege. The besiegers tried attacks by river, mining, and through fierce hand-to-hand assaults. Eventually a relieving army arrived and defeated the Takeda on June 28, 1575, using an innovative combination of firearms and simple defenses, revolutionizing Japanese warfare.

　　The Takeda army that laid siege to Nagashino castle consisted of 15,000 men, of whom 12,000 took part in the subsequent battle. The siege had lasted for a week when a junior samurai within the castle, Torii Suneemon, volunteered to slip out and travel the 20 miles (35 km) to Okazaki, where the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s army was encamped. Captured on attempting to reenter the castle, Torii defied orders to call on his comrades to surrender, inside shouting, before being slain, “Ieyasu’s men are on the way! Hold on a little longer!”

　　Britannica Quiz A History of War A Tokugawa force indeed entered the field soon afterward, along with allies commanded by the famed daimyo, or warlord, Oda Nobunaga. The combined force numbered 38,000 men, vastly outnumbering the Takeda army. Oda also commanded a unit of 3,000 matchlock musketeers. He ordered a palisade built to protect them between the forested edge of the hills and the river fronting the castle. This was a loose fence of stakes, staggered over three layers, and with many gaps to allow a counterattack. The total front stretched for about 6,890 feet (2,100 m).

　　The palisade was meant to impede the vaunted Takeda samurai cavalry, which had soundly defeated the Tokugawa at the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573. Oda ordered his musketeers to fire volleys as the Takeda cavalry approached. This tactic broke the cavalry charge, but the Takeda force fought on until mid-afternoon, when they began to retreat and were pursued.

　　The Battle of Nagashino, considered the first modern Japanese battle because of Oda’s use of firearms, signaled the last days of the Ashikaga shogunate, which would be supplanted by the victorious Tokugawa shogunate. Today the Nagashino battlefield, with a much-visited museum, is the site of an annual reenactment featuring replica muskets and elaborate samurai dress.

　　Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Losses: Takeda, 10,000 dead, including 54 of 97 samurai leaders and 8 of the “Twenty-Four Generals”; Oda-Toguhawa, comparatively few.