The Battle of Notoro (Japanese: 野戸呂の戦い, Hepburn: Notoro no tatakai) took place on 4 August 1548 along the Notoro River, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In this battle, Masuda Fujikane betrayed and defeated his liege lord, Ōuchi Yoshitaka, taking over as the most powerful daimyō in western Chūgoku. With the death of Yoshitaka, the Ōuchi Clan essentially collapsed. Fujikane would subsequently replace the old Ōuchi retainers with his own loyalists, the Shiroishi and Katakura Clans.
Fujikane’s victory along the banks of the Notoro is seen as a turning point in the history of the Chūgoku Region. The Ōuchi Clan would never re-emerge as a power in the region and the Mōri would be crushed between the Masuda and the growing Urakami Clan of Bizen.
Background[]
The meteoric rise of Masuda Fujikane was almost unprecedented in Japanese history. Having inherited the position as head of the Masuda family in 1544 at the age of just fifteen, Fujikane was in a perilous position. Not only was he a young and unproven member of the Kokujin class (lord of a smaller clan), but his holdings were surrounded by enemies. A vassal of the growing Ōuchi Clan, the Masuda had always traditionally been a frontier clan, but due to the disloyalty of Kikkawa Okitsune to the north, Fujikane was immediately in danger of invasion. Luckily for him, Okitsune’s new lord, Mōri Motonari, was busy dealing with the Amako to the north, thus he chose to strike out at the Kikkawa. Despite being outnumbered nearly three to one, Fujikane won a stunning victory at Nishimuracho in the autumn of 1544, immediately earning himself recognition from Ōuchi Yoshitaka and seizing Sufu, Hamada and Sasayama Castles.
Following up his great victory, Fujikane led a small cavalry force to raid northern Aki province and weaken Motonari’s supply lines but was forced to fall back upon the return of the Mōri forces. Whilst Motonari was again distracted by Sue Harukata’s army to the south, Fujikane attacked the Kawamoto branch of the Ogasawara Clan, who had also changed loyalties to Motonari. Tricking Ogasawara Nagataka into thinking he had far fewer men than he did, Fujikane lured Nagataka out of Nukuyu Castle and ambushed him at Minamisaki.
Having dealt with his northern neighbours and expanded his holdings considerably, Fujikane spend most of 1545 dealing with unrest and consolidating his control over Hamada and Gotsu. More importantly, he sent messages to Ōuchi Yoshitaka informing him of his victories. Yoshitaka was quick to acknowledge and reward the talented young Kokujin ryoshu and named him one of his chief Kunishū. Fujikane left his younger brother, Fujiyoshi in control of Hamada and Gotsu, whilst he himself accompanied Yoshitaka in his campaign against the Mōri and their vassals.
Over the period of three years, Fujikane would win numerous victories in the name of Yoshitaka and rose to the rank of master strategist. However, it was also during this time that Yoshitaka drew more and more upon the support of his vassals. In 1546 he adopted his nephew Ōuchi Haruo, after the death of his mother, Yoshitaka’s older sister. Haruo, however, was sickly and died barely half a year after his adoption at the age of 23. The sudden death of his sister and nephew seemed to affect Yoshitaka and he steadily withdrew from public life. He would spend most of his time at his residence, Ōuchi-shi Yakata in Yamaguchi. Two rival factions began to form in the Ōuchi court, one wishing to maintain Yoshitaka as head of the clan, lead by Fujikane and Yoshimi Masayori, and another who wanted to replace him with his son, Ōuchi Yoshinori. In 1547, the leader of latter, Sue Harukata, lead an attempted coup against Yoshitaka known as the Sukumo Incident. He and a group of samurai tried to assassinate Yoshitaka at Kibune Shrine on Sukumo Island but were repelled by Yoshitaka’s guards. Realising the peril that he was in, Yoshitaka gave Fujikane full authority to act in his name.
The eighteen-year old Kokujin did so, rounding up and executing nearly thirty Ōuchi retainers suspected of being involved in the plot, including Harukata. Nominally this was to uphold Yoshitaka’s reign but in reality, was likely a move to eliminate his political rivals within the Ōuchi court. Convincing Yoshitaka that he needed to present a more threatening appearance to prevent further incidents, the Ōuchi daimyō agreed and set out to engage the Amako to the north. At first though, he sent out Fujikane, who at this point was known to be an exceptional offensive commander; to Aki Province, ordering him to force the Mōri into peace talks. Fujikane did so, even clashing with Motonari himself at the indecisive battle of Konoike. Meanwhile, Yoshitaka moved slowly north-west, gathering his army. Choosing to pass through the mountains of Nagato as a shortcut, Yoshitaka soon found himself slowing to a crawl due to the cramped conditions. Meanwhile, Fujikane had succeeded in bringing the Mōri to peace terms, confirming the border between Aki and Bingo Provinces, and was returning to Hamada to rendezvous with Yoshitaka.
Upon being informed of his lord’s predicament, however, Fujikane changed course. Informing Yoshitaka that he would return in a fortnight, despite having already defeated the Mōri, it is highly likely that Fujikane planned to betray Yoshitaka knowing his vulnerable position and considering the recent elimination of his rivals. Yoshitaka thus waited near the town of Notoro Kawakami, expecting news from his vassal. Fujikane rode hard towards his lord’s position, making great effort to conceal his movements.
Battle[]
Yoshitaka’s camp had been in place for at least four days, having arrived at “the end of Fumizuki (July)” and thus had grown complacent, expecting the return of loyalist forces from a successful campaign. Only a few units were posted north of the camp, and they were mostly concealed from Yoshitaka’s view by a small ridge. The camp was located in a fairly defensible position, with the ridge to the north providing a suitable skirmish point, and the river covering its northern, southern, and eastern flanks. Ōuchi numbers were roughly around 4-5,000 men, mostly infantry.
Fujikane arrived in the vicinity of the camp on 4 August. His force numbered less than half than that of Yoshitaka’s, but his men were far more experienced after nearly four years of campaigning. He deliberately led the vanguard, which was mostly composed of his elite cavalry and chose to fly as many of his banners as he could, displaying themselves as "loyalist" forces. By the time his men were at full charge, the Ōuchi infantry were in no position to flee before being crushed. Fujikane destroyed the units to the north of the camp and sent part of his force south-west to crest the ridge and block retreat to the west whilst he led the main force along the river. The devastation of the patrol units had been so swift that the camp had not even heard the combat and thus when the cavalry burst through the tents, virtually no troops were prepared to fight. Fujikane led his guard directly to Yoshitaka’s tent, which was distinctly visible at the centre of the camp. The Ōuchi daimyō had emerged at this point, confused by the commotion, and was immediately killed by one of Fujikane’s retainers. Fujikane lifted aloft Yoshitaka’s head and bellowed “Now the fool is dead, do you want to follow him?[1]” (Ima, orokamono wa shinde imasu, anata wa kare ni shitagaitaidesu ka?). With this, many of the Ōuchi troops surrendered, knowing of Fujikane’s immense reputation.
However, a small number under Hamada Tamekane retreated south. Fujikane pursued, sending his fastest riders along the western bank whilst he harried Tamekane on the eastern. Eventually, Tamekane attempted to cross the Notoro to escape Fujikane but was then trapped by the remainder of the Masuda forces on the opposite bank.
Ōuchi casualties numbered roughly a thousand; Masuda casualties were very minimal, likely less than a hundred.
Aftermath[]
The effects of the battle were immediate. The Ōuchi Clan all but collapsed, with Yoshinori committing seppuku upon hearing of his father’s death. With the Sue, Sugimori and Tamada Clans eliminated in Nagato, Fujikane had a mostly peaceful takeover of the Ōuchi strongholds. Only a few samurai leaders held out; most surrendered and offered themselves to the Masuda, which was now the dominant family in western Chūgoku.
Fujikane would go on to face the Mōri and Amako clans over the following years, remaining on mostly peaceful terms with the Ōtomo. Although he would later be defeated by Urakami Munekage at the battle of Saijocho Kamiminaga, he would retain his position by surrendering and serving the “Dragon of Mimasaka”. Fujikane was held in high regard by Munekage, who named him one of his “Great Lords” (偉い卿) and would serve him until the shōgun’s death in 1574.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 今、愚か者は死んでいます、あなたは彼に従いたいですか