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Siege of Odawara (1590)

 

 
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Siege of Odawara (1590)
 
 
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The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
's campaign to eliminate the Hojo clan
Late Hojo clan

The was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kanto region.The clan began when Ise Shinkuro, a high ranking officer in the shogunate, began to conquer lands and build up his power at the beginning of the 16th century....
 as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear. Thus, despite the overwhelming force brought to bear by Hideyoshi, the siege saw little actual fighting.

The massive army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded the castle in what has been called "the most unconventional siege lines in samurai history." The samurai were entertained by everything: from concubines, prostitutes and musicians to acrobats, fire-eaters, and jugglers.






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The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
's campaign to eliminate the Hojo clan
Late Hojo clan

The was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kanto region.The clan began when Ise Shinkuro, a high ranking officer in the shogunate, began to conquer lands and build up his power at the beginning of the 16th century....
 as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear. Thus, despite the overwhelming force brought to bear by Hideyoshi, the siege saw little actual fighting.

The massive army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded the castle in what has been called "the most unconventional siege lines in samurai history." The samurai were entertained by everything: from concubines, prostitutes and musicians to acrobats, fire-eaters, and jugglers. The defenders slept on the ramparts with their arquebuses and armor; despite their smaller numbers, they discouraged Hideyoshi from attacking. So, for the most part, this siege consisted of traditional starvation tactics. Only a few small skirmishes erupted around the castle, as when a group of miners from Kai Province
Kai Province

is an old provinces of Japan in Japan that corresponds to Yamanashi Prefecture today. It lies in central Honshu, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....
 dug under the castle walls, allowing men under Ii Naomasa
Ii Naomasa

was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. His family, like Tokugawa's, had originally been retainers of the once-powerful Imagawa clan, and Naomasa, then a very small child, was personally lucky to escape death in the confusion and general chaos which followed the death of the clan's leader, Imagawa Y...
 to enter.

After three months, the Hojo surrendered, facing overwhelming numbers and, presumably, an impending shortage of food and supplies. Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
, one of Hideyoshi's top generals, was given the Hojo lands. Though Hideyoshi could not have guessed it at the time, this would turn out to be a great stepping-stone towards Tokugawa's attempts at conquest and the office of Shogun.

In addition to taking Odawara Castle
Odawara Castle

is a landmark in the Municipality of Japan of Odawara, Kanagawa in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. It was the stronghold of various daimyo during the Muromachi period of History of Japan....
, Hideyoshi also defeated the Hojo at their outposts at Hachioji
Hachioji, Tokyo

is a cities of Japan located in Tokyo, Japan, about 40 kilometers west of the center of the special wards of Tokyo.As of 2007, the city has an estimated population of 542,712 and the population density of 2,912.95/km?....
, Yorii
Yorii, Saitama

is a towns of Japan located in Osato District, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 37,548 and a population density of 585.13 persons per square kilometer....
, and Shizuoka
Nirayama, Shizuoka

was a towns of Japan located in Tagata District, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. On April 1, 2005 Nirayama merged into the city of Izunokuni, Shizuoka....
 in and near the southwestern part of the Kanto region
Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region encompasses seven Prefectures of Japan which overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture, and Kanagawa Prefecture....
. The Chiba
Chiba clan

The was a branch family of the Taira clan descended from Chiba no Suke, son of Taira no Tadatsune. Historically, they controlled the city of Chiba, Chiba, outside Tokyo, and also an area called Soma, Fukushima which included the Grand Shrine of Ise....
, allies of the Hojo in Shimosa, also saw their castle of Sakura fall to Honda Tadakatsu
Honda Tadakatsu

, also called 'Honda Heihachiro' , was a Japanese general of the late Sengoku Period through early Edo period, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu....
 and Sakai Ietsugu of the Tokugawa army during the campaign. Chiba Shigetane, daimyo of the Chiba, surrendered the castle to the besieging forces on the condition that his clan would not be abolished. While the Chiba were consequently divested of all of their holdings, many of their senior members were taken into service by Tokugawa retainer Ii Naomasa
Ii Naomasa

was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. His family, like Tokugawa's, had originally been retainers of the once-powerful Imagawa clan, and Naomasa, then a very small child, was personally lucky to escape death in the confusion and general chaos which followed the death of the clan's leader, Imagawa Y...
, thanks to aid he had received many years earlier from the clan during the occupation of Takeda Katsuyori's
Takeda Katsuyori

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen....
 Tsutsujigasaki castle.

In popular culture

The Siege of Odawara is the climax of Hideyoshi's story in the video game Samurai Warriors 2
Samurai Warriors 2

Samurai Warriors 2 is a sequel to the original Samurai Warriors, created by Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and received a port to Microsoft Windows in 2008....
. Due to the sheer size of Odawara Castle in the game, it is divided in two stages, the eastern side sieged by the Tokugawa, Chosokabe (in Xtreme Legends only), Shimazu, and Date armies, and the western side sieged by the Toyotomi main army.