Following the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, Nobunaga Oda became known as one of the most powerful warlords in Japan. He decided to have his sister Oichi marry the Azai clan scion Nagamasa Azai to form a diplomatic alliance, securing one of his borders. Nobunaga turned his attention to the Asakura clan, which was allied with the Azai; when Nobunaga attacked, Nagamasa chose his allies over his brother-in-law. At Kanegasaki, a fortress which had just fallen to Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nobunaga found himself facing both the Asakura and Azai armies, and defeat looked certain. Hideyoshi decided to launch a fighting retreat to spirit his lord to safety, and Nobunaga would have to defeat Kiyotsuna Akao and Tsunachika Kaiho before making it to the escape point.
Nobunaga cut his way through the first two officers, and Ieyasu Tokugawa arrived with reinforcements for the Oda army. Nobunaga defeated Yoshimune Kawai and Yoshitsugu Maeba so that he could rendezvous with Ieyasu, and Ieyasu advised Nobunaga that a detour throught he forest would be the best way to escape. However, Yoshikata Rokkaku attempted to ambush Nobunaga, and Nobunaga slashed his way through the ambushers as he continued his escape. He proceeded on to defeat Nagamasa Azai and his own sister, Oichi, and to reach the escape point. The fighting retreat at Kanegasaki enabled Nobunaga to once more cheat death, and to amass an army which would be victorious against the Azai-Asakura army at the Battle of Anegawa.