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Battle of Kawagoe
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The 1545 battle of Kawagoe (川越の戦い, Kawagoe no tatakai?) was part of a failed attempt by Ogigayatsu Tomosada to regain Edo Castle from the Hōjō clan. Ogigayatsu, a member of a branch of the Uesugi family, was joined by his relative Uesugi Norimasa, and by Ashikaga Haruuji.
Despite an overwhelming attacking force, numbering around 85,000, the 3,000 men in Kawagoe Castle's garrison, led by Hōjō Tsunanari, held off the siege until the relief force arrived. That relief force, numbering only 8,000, was led by Tsunanari's brother, Hōjō Ujiyasu, and a single warrior was sent to sneak past the Uesugi siege lines to inform the garrison of the relief's arrival. Though still strongly outnumbered, ninja spies informed the Hōjō forces that the attackers, Ashikaga Haruuji in particular, had relaxed their vigilance due to their overconfidence in victory.
The Hōjō tried a risky tactic, coordinating a night attack between the garrison and the relieving force. Going against battlefield custom, the samurai were ordered to leave behind any heavy armor, which would slow them down and perhaps reveal their position, and to not bother taking the heads of their defeated enemies. This would deny the warriors much honor, as their triumphs would not be known or recorded, but the intense loyalty of the Hōjō samurai caused them to follow these orders.
The tactic succeeded, and the Hōjō foiled the siege. This defeat for the Uesugi would lead to the near-extinction of the family.
References
- Turnbull, Stephen (2002). 'War in Japan: 1467-1615'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
