Siege of Tanabe

The 1600 siege of Tanabe was one of a number of battles which took place in parallel to the more influential series of battles known as the Sekigahara Campaign which led to the unification of Japan under Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Siege of Tanabe
Part of the Sengoku period
Date 1600 Location Tanabe castle, Tango Province, Japan Result Western army victory
Belligerents
Forces loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu	Forces loyal to Ishida Mitsunari
Commanders and leaders
Hosokawa Fujitaka Numata Jakō	Onoki Shigekatsu
Strength
500	15,000

Tanabe castle was command held of Hosokawa Tadaoki. Tadaoki father Hosokawa Fujitaka and his mother Numata Jakō defended the castle walls againts Ishida Mitsunari's western forces. It is said that, due to the respect they held for Hosokawa, the besieging army was somewhat slower and less effective than they might have been otherwise, and in the end the battle served to tie up these Western Army (anti-Tokugawa) contingents, preventing them from being present at Sekigahara.

References

• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co. p252.
• Bryant, Anthony J (1995). 'Sekigahara 1600 - The final struggle for power', London: Osprey Publishing.