10 Amazing Rarely Mentioned Battles Of Japan's Civil War Era

In 1584 there were three major factions vying for supremacy within the southern-most island of Kyushu: Shimazu, Ryuzoji, and Otomo. Further complicating matters is that none of the three were allies with each other, so it was a constant feud of them fighting one another in turn. The Ryuzoji had suffered a pretty brutal defeat at the hands of the Otomo in 1569, but they still had many fine commanders and a large army. With plenty of resources to wage a revival of fortunes one thing hampered the Ryuzoji – a Shimazu ally at their rear.

The relatively small and weak Arima clan had allied with the Shimazu for support and had a strong navy, so the Ryuzoji needed to put an end to them in order to restore their old domain. To this effort they came to battle at Okitanawate in 1584 with 25,000 soldiers. The combined Shimazu-Arima army numbered a mere 3,000.

The patriarch of the Ryuzoji, Takanobu, thought the battle was all but won – however his vanguard was halted by a ferocious defense by the coalition army. In the confusion of battle a contingent of Shimazu warriors outflanked the numerically superior army and attacked, pressing deep into Takanobu's unprepared lines. Takanobu had originally thought a quarrel broke out amongst his own men and moved to quell it – only realizing too late that is was actually enemy soldiers. The Shimazu forces overtook Takanobu and with him dead the entire Ryuozji army were demoralized. Thanks to great leadership from the Nabeshima clan the defeat wasn't a total disaster, but the Ryuzoji clan's fortunes had ended and Takanobu's son was, at length, forced to submit to the Shimazu clan after his father's death.