Battle of Fujinami Nawate

The Battle of Fujinami Nawate (Japanese language: 藤波畷の戦い ふじなみなわてのたたかい[*]) was one of a series of contests fought on 13 September 1561 (Eiroku 4) between the Tojo Kira clan and Matsudaira Motoyasu over Tojo Castle, the main stronghold of the Kira clan.

Background

With the death of Imagawa Yoshimoto, Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) was freed from his bonds to the Imagawa. From the fourth month of Eiroku 4, he attacked Ushikubo Castle and Tojo Castle in an attempt to seize the Tojo Kira domain, thereby making his independence from the Imagawa clan clear.

However, Tojo Castle did not fall easily. In the sixth month of the same year, Motoyasu deployed Matsui Tadatsugu at Tsunohira (Ojitsunohira, Kira town), Honda Hirotaka at Komaki (Ojikomaki, Kira town), and Ogasawara Nagakore (Sankyuro) at Kasuzuka (Joyama, Hirahara-cho, Nishio), where each built a fortified camp, forming an encirclement of Tojo Castle. However, Tominaga Tadamoto, lord of Muro Castle and a senior retainer of the Kira family, led the Kira forces in a determined defense. In the fourth month, at the Battle of Zenmyōtsutsumi, Matsudaira Motoyasu lost Matsudaira Yoshikage, who had captured Nakajima Castle in the Tojo domain, and the Matsudaira side suffered losses, including the loss of Nakajima Castle.

Course of the Battle

Then, on 13 September of Eiroku 4, Honda Hirotaka and Matsui Tadatsugu left their camps and advanced toward Tojo Castle by way of Fujinami. At this time, as a show of resolve, Honda Hirotaka had his retainer, the samurai Hiraiwa Motoshige under Matsui Tadatsugu, cut the end of the lower cord of his armor so that it could not be retied. Hirotaka led the vanguard, and Matsui Tadatsugu's younger brother, Matsui Kojirō (Kojirō Hyōe-no-jō), followed in the advance. Seeing the Matsudaira forces leave their camps, rushed out ahead as he usually did, but he charged out alone and became isolated. The Matsudaira troops then surged forward and pursued the fleeing Tadamoto into Fujinami Nawate. and Torii Hanrokurō of the Matsudaira side caught up with him and challenged him to combat, but Ōkubo Daihachirō was killed by . However, Tadamoto's strength gave out here, and he then fell onto the spear of Honda Hirotaka, and was killed by Honda Jinjūrō, a retainer of Hirotaka.