The Battle of Ikoma (Japanese: 生駒の戦い, Hepburn: Ikoma no tatakai) was a battle fought between the forces of Yusa Naganori and Hosokawa Ujitsuna on August 6, 1549. Naganori attacked Ujitsuna's forces, acting against orders from his liege lord, Hatakeyama Yoshikuni but nonetheless emerged victorious. Having resoundly defeated the Hosokawa, Naganori pushed on to Owada and Koriyama castles. However, the Hosokawa were saved from destruction by Yoshikuni who ordered Naganori to return to Kawachi. By attacking the Hosokawa, a vassal of the Miyoshi, Naganori initiated a largescale war between the Miyoshi and the Hatakeyama. This conflict would result in the decline of both clans to the benefit of the emerging Ikeda Clan.
Following the battle, Naganori would continue to increase his standing in central Kansai, eventually overthrowing Yoshikuni as the most powerful daimyō of the region. This is seen as a classic example of Gekokujō, or "the weak overcoming the strong" as it saw a small samurai clan overthrow a far more powerful one through the ingenuity and skill of its leader.
Background[]
The Yusa Clan of northern Kawachi had served as a Kokujin ryoshu (jizamurai lord) for the Hatakeyama for many years, primarily serving as a buffer against the Hosokawa Clan to the east. The Hosokawa themselves had once been a mighty clan, ascending to the rank of Kanrei during the reign of Hosokawa Katsumoto. However, despite their nominal victory during the Ōnin War, the clan nonetheless began to see a decline as a result of the waning authority of the Ashikaga Shogunate. The Hosokawa were shugo-daimyō, and so drew their authority from the Ashikaga, but with the Ōnin War serving as the primary indicator of the latter's failure to maintain control of the country, the Hosokawa saw themselves sidelined by emerging Sengoku clans.
A bitter family rivalry between Hosokawa Takakuni and his nephew, Hosokawa Harumoto was ended after the former's expulsion from Kyoto in 1527 but as a result, the victorious Harumoto began increasingly reliant on the support of his ally, Miyoshi Nagayoshi who had aided in the conflict. Nagayoshi would then betray Harumoto in favour of his cousin, Ujitsuna at the battle of Eguchi leaving the Hosokawa daimyō with essentially no choice but to pledge himself to the vastly more powerful Shikoku-based Miyoshi.
Meanwhile, the Miyoshi and Hatakeyama were engaged in an increasingly violent dispute over control of western Kansai. Whilst actual engagements were scarce, mostly due to the positioning of Ishiyama Hongan-ji along the crucial border between the two clans, this did not prevent violence between clans that owed allegiance to them. However, Hatakeyama Yoshikuni felt confident that the Miyoshi would be unable to engage his northern flank and so looked elsewhere for expansion. With most avenues blocked, either by the Ashikaga Shogunate or powerful warrior monk sects, Yoshikuni eventually settled upon an attempt to overthrow Tsutsui Junshō of Yamato Province. He managed to draw over a large number of smaller samurai clans to his side and set about dismantling Junshō's hold on the province, eventually forcing the Tsutsui daimyō out of Yamato. However, he would be defeated by Junshō's ally, Kitabatake Harumoto at the battle of Uchimi, checking his southern ambitions.
Prelude[]
Yusa Naganori, head of the Yusa Clan, had not been one of the Kokujin present at the disastrous Yamato campaign. Whilst militarily this left him at an advantage compared to the other vassals of Yoshikuni, it hinted towards political estrangement, or even distrust on Yoshikuni's part. Not one to let his clan lose favour, Naganori began involving himself extensively in the politics of the Hatakeyama court. A devious political figure, Naganori was not shy about using assassinations and bribery to his advantage, earning himself the moniker of the "Snake of Kawachi". He was also a feared military leader, amongst the first in the region to make use of Portuguese firearms, which he especially liked to use in small, lightly armoured ambush groups.
Yoshikuni was still concerned by the escalating tensions with the Miyoshi Clan, yet despite the warnings of Naganori, did not choose to strike first, fearing retribution from the Ashikaga or even other neighbouring clans. Finally, sensing the imminent initiation of conflict, Naganori chose to attack the Hosokawa to the east hoping to spark the inevitable war on favourable terms for the Hatakeyama.
Battle[]
Ujitsuna was not expecting such an early attack but nonetheless was confident in his numerical superiority. Arriving at the town of Ikoma on August 5, he set up camp near the Tatsuta River. Naganori arrived later that evening and encamped on Mount Ikoma, overlooking the Hosokawa positions. Knowing that he was at a disadvantage, being both outnumbered and on the offensive against a defensively entrenched foe, he rearranged his troops so that although they appeared uniform, his left flank was denser.
The next day, Naganori sent forth a few skirmishers to harass Hosokawa foraging parties along the river. As Hosokawa troops began to respond, Naganori sent more forces down to reinforce. By midday a large number of casualties forced Ujitsuna to engage his whole army along the river. Yusa skirmishers, using firearms and forest cover were able to force the Hosokawa to advance up Mount Ikoma. Naganori sent his left flank ahead of his right, after rapid arquebus volleys. Although outnumbered overall, Naganori's left flank quickly gained the upper hand due to its positioning and local superiority both in numbers and training. However, his right flank was suffering. The relentless push of the Hosokawa was steadily tiring the Yusa forces and so he sent his arquebus skirmishers around the edge of the battle-line to fire into the flanks of the Hosokawa.
As their numbers thinned, the Hosokawa on the right began to believe they were surrounded and desperately tried to flee the battlefield. This left the centre exposed on both flanks and the Yusa began to wrap around Ujitsuna's hatamoto. Ujistuna was injured by an arquebus shot and ordered a steady, fighting retreat. However, the damage had already been done and although the Hosokawa elite was able to retreat in good order, a large proportion of Ujitsuna's army began to mass rout across the river.
Aftermath[]
Ujitsuna's forces were left reeling from the defeat and retreated back to Koriyama castle. Naganori would pursue but eventually, Hatakeyama Yoshikuni heard of his actions and demanded his return. Although he reprimanded him for disobeying orders, Naganori's impassioned speech regarding his reasons swayed the daimyō, who made Naganori his chief strategist.
Meanwhile, Ujitsuna was demoted from his position as Kanrei and the title was granted instead to Kitabatake Harumoto. The Hosokawa Clan would survive but as only a shadow of its former self.
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