Battle of Okitanawate (2/2)Takanobu Ryuzoji vs Harunobu Arima/Iehisa Shimazu

The key point of the strategy was to set up camp at ``Okitanawate'' (Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture) north of Shimabara and intercept Ryuzoji's army. A ``nawate'' is a narrow path between rice fields. At that time, Okitanawate was a wetland surrounded by the sea and mountains, with Hamamichi to the east and Mt. There is only one narrow road in the wetland that can barely fit two or three people side by side. If you intercept them at this location, you can reduce the strength of the large army. After the Ryuzoji army was pulled into the wetlands, detached troops attacked the Ryuzoji army from the left and right. This is a so-called ``Tsurinobushi'' strategy.

Tsurinobushi was a siege operation known as a specialty of the Shimazu clan, in which the troops were divided into three groups: left, center, and right, with the center unit acting as a decoy and fighting the enemy head-on, then pretending to be defeated and retreating. The ambush troops on the left and right attack the enemy who has been lured into pursuit, and the decoy troops also turn around and annihilate them. This strategy was suitable for fighting with fewer troops than the enemy.

The military commanders who agreed to this plan decided to carry out the operation. The Arima and Shimazu allied forces established Moritake Castle (Shimabara Castle, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture) as their headquarters, strengthened the castle's defenses, and set up large gates and moats on the side to block the furrows, preparing to intercept the Ryuzoji army. I proceeded. Approximately 1,000 soldiers, including Ijuin Tadamune, were placed on the beach along the coastline, while Niino Tadamoto and 1,000 others hid at the foot of the mountain. Iehisa's army placed 50 people at Okido, including Toie Akahoshi, who had a grudge against Takanobu Ryuzoji for having his child killed, and Iehisa's army stood behind Moritake Castle.

On the other hand, Nabeshima Naoshige of the Ryuzoji army sensed reinforcements from the Shimazu clan and advised Takanobu Ryuzoji to be on guard, but Takanobu, who was leading a large army of 25,000 soldiers, would not listen. did. It seems that they let their guard down because they had a military advantage. Naoshige, who was a cautious person, had proposed that the Shimazu army should retreat and then attack and destroy the Arima clan after the Shimazu army had retreated, but Takanobu would not listen. Ignoring this advice led to Takanobu's defeat.

Battle of Okitanawate ④ Ryuzoji Takanobu dies in battle

Finally, on March 24th, the Battle of Okitanawate begins. The Ryuzoji army departed from Teranaka Castle (Sanai Castle, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture) and marched into Okitanawate in the early hours of the morning. The army was divided into three parts: the main army led by Takanobu Ryuzoji, who attacked Moritake Castle, the Nabeshima Naoshige army, which attacked Yamate, and the Egami family and Goto Ienobu (Takanobu's sons), who attacked Hamate. Ryuzoji Takanobu, who had confirmed through reconnaissance that there were only a few soldiers in Okido, must have been caught off guard. I then had the vanguard of the main army attack Okido.

The soldiers in front of Okido saw the advance line of Ryuzoji's army and retreated as planned. The Ryuzoji army got carried away and pursued, gradually becoming stuck in the marshes. Arima and Shimazu combined forces hit there with guns. The first group collapses, and the second group heading to save the first group has a difficult time navigating the narrow, straight road.

Concerned that the second group was slow to advance, Ryuzoji Takanobu dispatched Yoshida Kiyauchi as a messenger to check on the situation at the front. However, even though Takanobu had not ordered him to do so, Kiyouchi went around telling the military commanders on the front lines, ``Let's attack as fast as we can without sparing our lives.'' I'm not sure why, whether it was an arbitrary decision based on the critical situation on the front line or fearing Takanobu's wrath, but when the samurai of the Ryuzoji army heard this, they became enraged. Pushing through the marshes in an attempt to move forward. Then, they were unable to move and were defeated one after another by the Arima and Shimazu combined forces. Seeing this, Iehisa Shimazu ordered an all-out assault. The battle changed from a gunfight to hand-to-hand combat using swords, and was quite fierce.

Meanwhile, Goto Ienobu and the Egami clan, who were advancing on the beach, were flinched by the bombardment from the warships of the Amakusa Izumokami. The warship made full use of the connections of the Christian feudal lord Harunobu Arima, and was equipped with two half-cannons, making it an international team with Kafuru people from Africa and Malabar people from India participating in the bombardment. did. Due to this bombardment, Ietane Egami and Ienobu Goto were unable to advance and ended up fleeing. Furthermore, the Allied forces attacked the main camp from Hamate with the main force of the Arima army and Tadamune Ijuin. A huge melee broke out around Hamate, with both allies and enemies mixed together. Furthermore, Nabeshima Naoshige's army, which was attacking Yamate, was defeated as a result of fighting the ambush soldiers of the Shimazu army.

As the fierce battle continues, Ryuzoji's army gradually loses ground. Seeing this, Ryuzoji Takanobu decides to lead the battle to victory by taking command on the front lines himself. It was probably a plan based on past battle experience, but in this case it was a foolish plan. A group led by Tadakata Kawakami, a vassal of Shimazu Iehisa, found Takanobu sitting on a desk on a slightly elevated place, directing the battle. Takanobu was attacked by Tadakata and his head was cut off. He passed away at the age of 56. At that time, Takanobu was overweight, and when he moved, he rode in a palanquin carried by six people. For this reason, it seems that they were unable to respond to sudden attacks.

In this way, Iehisa Shimazu's strategy worked perfectly in the Battle of Okitanawate, and the Arima and Shimazu combined forces ended in victory. The Ryuzoji army retreated to its stronghold, Saga Castle (Saga City, Saga Prefecture). Nabeshima Naoshige and Egami Ietane managed to escape, but the Ryuzoji clan weakened due to the loss of many senior vassals.

Battle of Okitanawate ⑤Takanobu's head refused

Ryuzoji Takanobu was beheaded in the Battle of Okitanawate, but what happened to his head? The head was sent from Iehisa Shimazu to Yoshihisa Shimazu, and was then scheduled to be returned to the Ryuzoji clan. However, Mr. Ryuzoji refused to accept it. Moreover, it was Takanobu's mother, Keiji, who refused. This Keirin was Takanobu's backer, and he was also the one who brought Nabeshima Naoshige into the Ryuzoji clan. It is a mystery why the head was refused, but it was decided that the head would be buried at Gangyoji Temple (Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture).

By the way, there is a theory that it was Nabeshima Naoshige who refused to accept the head, and it is said that he did so on the grounds that it would be against morals to accept the head of a former lord without a funeral battle. The torso was buried at Ryutaiji Temple (Akamatsu-cho, Saga City), but the grave was later moved to another temple.

Ryuzoji, Arima, and the Shimazu clan after the Battle of Okitanawate

After the Battle of Okitanawate, the Ryuzoji clan's dependent locals defected to the Shimazu clan, but Ryuzoji Takanobu's son, Masaie, managed to take charge of national politics together with his grandmother, Keimin. As a countermeasure against Shimazu, they adopted Nabeshima Naoshige and tried to rebuild their power. The Ryuzoji clan also made peace with the Shimazu clan, but became close to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and attacked the Shimazu clan during the conquest of Kyushu. After that, Takafusa, the son of the Ryuzoji politician, inherited the headship of the family, but the real power was left to Naoshige. In the end, Naoshige took over the headship of the Ryuzoji family, and the Saga domain became the Nabeshima clan.

The Arima clan continued to exist while adeptly assessing the situation, siding with Toyotomi during the Kyushu conquest and with the eastern army during the Battle of Sekigahara. Harunobu Arima was forced to commit seppuku due to the Okamoto Daihachi Incident, a fraud incident involving Christians, but his son Naozumi Arima became the lord of the Hizennoe clan (later the Shimabara clan, around Shimabara, Nagasaki prefecture). It was transferred to the Hyuga Prefecture domain (Nobeoka domain, Nobeoka region, Miyazaki prefecture).

Meanwhile, the Shimazu clan expanded its sphere of influence to include Chikuzen and Chikugo (Fukuoka Prefecture) with the Battle of Okitanawate. They moved towards the unification of Kyushu, but were just one step away from being defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conquest of Kyushu. However, he relieved the two provinces of Satsuma and Osumi and the various prefectures and districts of Hyuga. Afterwards, Yoshihiro Shimazu joined the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara, but his advance and retreat at the time of defeat left a mark as ``Shimadzu's retreat'', and he was allowed to continue after the Battle of Sekigahara, and his family ruled the Satsuma domain. I had to go.