Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades

Osprey Campaign #69

by Stephen Turnbull, Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

When Portuguese traders took advantage of the constant violence in Japan to sell the Japanese their first firearms, one of the quickest to take advantage of this new technology was the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In 1575 the impetuous Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle, a possession of Nobunaga's ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu. An army was despatched to relieve the siege, and the two sides faced each other across the Shidarahara. The Takeda samurai were brave, loyal and renowned for their cavalry charges, but Nobunaga, counting on Katsuyori's impetuosity, had 3,000 musketeers waiting behind prepared defences for their assault. The outcome of this clash of tactics and technologies was to change the face of Japanese warfare forever.

Genres: History, Japan, Military History, Japanese History, Nonfiction, Asia, Japanese Literature

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2000

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

NAGASHINO 1575 is probably one of the most revered battles in Japanese history. That being the case, the former battlefield is well preserved.

In those days various factions, whether they be families, clans, or alliances, all sought the power and prestige that came with the office of the shogun. This title came not by imperial decree from the emperor, but rather by intrigue or the force of arms. The emperor, the Son of Heaven, was just a figurehead. The real power lay with the shogun, and that was the office that everyone wanted. Therefore, the 16th century in Japan was called the 'Warring States Period.'

During that time the leaders of the various territories fought a series of wars to gain land and thereby gather their strength. Many a son followed in his father's footsteps intent on finding glory and extending the family's domain. One son, Takeda Katsuyori, hoped to emulate his father who had become a legend in his own lifetime. Another son, from another clan, was Oda Nobunaga. These two men found themselves at war again.

Now Takeda was a capable soldier, and understood how to use his horsemen to the greatest effect, but he lost the faith of his father's aging generals as he took counsel from the younger, hot headed, glory-seeking samurai. It should be remembered that technology and warfare didn't evolve as fast as it would in the 20th century, so ignoring his elders was a foolish thing to do. Listening to the youngsters, Takeda went on the offensive and marched his army into Mikawa province in order to take the castle of Okazaki which belonged to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Takeda was counting on a traitor in Okazaki to deliver the castle to him for an easy victory, but the plot was discovered. After learning that he turned his army towards Tsukude, which was another castle. Changing his mind again he headed for yet another castle at Yoshida. Failing to take that one, for it was well garrisoned, he decided to move on once again. He would take Nagashino instead.

At this point some mention should be made of samurai warfare at this time. Though they naturally carried swords, and some of these were very fine indeed, most fought with spears that had long blades. They would slash with these as often as they jabbed. Mounted samurai had great mobility on the battlefield, and Takeda's men were among the best. The Portuguese had brought matchlock muskets to Japan as trade goods and naturally the Japanese were quick to reverse engineer them. So besides the usual spear, swords, and arrows, Japanese feudal armies carried matchlocks. By the way, matchlocks were muskets that were fired when with the pull of a trigger a smouldering piece of cord (match) was dropped into a small pan igniting the powder there, which ignited the main charge in the barrel by way of a small hole. Depending on the training of the individual, and how much fouling was in the musket due to repeated shots, the musket could be reloaded in 15 to 45 seconds. Of course one must take into account that if the guy with the musket was being shot at or was being charged at by an enemy on horseback, he might have a hard time concentrating on what he was doing.

Even though some samurai wore armor, arrows and musket balls could penetrate at close range.

So Takeda was marching on Nagashino and when his army got there they attacked. The battle was hard fought and the defenders were driven back into the inner defense works. In doing so they lost their storehouses. When that happened an attacker could settle down and starve the defenders out with a siege.

At this point one brave samurai snuck out through the siege lines to go for help, for it was only a matter of time before starvation did the work that enemy soldiers couldn't. Not only did this samurai get through to summon help, but he tried to sneak back inside the fortress! Unfortunately, he was caught and crucified in full view of the defenders.

When Oda Nobunaga's army and allies came to relieve the defenders of Nagashino, Takeda and his army came to attack him. He was, after all, confident in his mounted samurai, for two years before they had beaten Oda's army. However, Oda's army was not the same as it was two years previous.

Oda had learned the destructive power of musket volley fire the hard way. He also learned that a gun is a great equalizer. A samurai could spend a lifetime learning his trade and yet a dirt farmer with a musket in his hands could snuff out his life as quickly as any master swordsman. What Oda did was train his matchlock men to make them efficient. He gave them uniforms to instill some pride in themselves. He put his trusted samurai in charge of them to lead them. This had never been done before in Japan.

Oda knew that Takeda would be eager to come out to attack him so like all successful generals, Oda chose the battlefield. He deployed his matchlock gunners behind a stout fence to hinder the enemy from reaching them. This fence was behind a stream that would slow the cavalry charge down. His own spearmen were ready to counter attack. Considering all of the above, Oda had his victory.

Every year on the anniversary of the battle one can see reenactors in costume firing matchlocks. That is something I know I would like to see.

This book was a great piece of Japanese history. The author, Stephen Turnbull, has written many fine books. Illustrations and maps are included.

[Quí Hiển · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tuyệt hay. 5 sao luôn.
Cuốn này dạy cho mình rằng trận Nagashino không phải giống như Kagemusha và hỏa mai của Oda không phải là gattling gun bắn chết Takeda như bắn Tom Cruise.

[Brian Mikołajczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The battle of Nagashino was a turning point in the Sengoku Period of Japan.
Takeda Katsuyori had just taken over his clan after the death of the legendary Takeda "Red Tiger" Shingen and sought to prove himself militarily. He embarked on a campaign to take the Tsukude castle in Mikawa province but his plan failed when a spy revealed his mole who was going to open the gates on the day of the siege. Instead of returning home, Takeda Katsuyori went deeper into Mikawa province capturing a few minor castles and eventually settling on Nagashino as a target.
His siege was intitially successful. He captured several of the gates leading up to the main gate.
However Oda Nobunaga and his allies, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, came to reinforce the castle.
Instead of pressing further into the castle, Takeda Katsuyori decided to meet them in the open field.
Oda Nobunaga was one of the first daimyo to use matchlocks rifles (arquebuses) en masse. He built small palisades on the battlefield for cover which allowed two men to fire (one standing; one kneeling) while two others behind them reloaded. This proved a very effective stratagem and Takeda Katsuyori was handedly defeated.
Many veteran generals were present at the Battle of Nagashino, and the battle would make all daimyo in Japan take a more defensive posture in upcoming battles and campaigns. This also led to the expansions of well-fortified castles in Japan.

An excellent read!

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma batalha de charneira, que se distingue entre o imenso rol de batalhas da época dos senhores feudais japoneses por ter sido a primeira em que uma nova tecnologia militar se tornou decisiva: as espingardas, trazidas para o Japão pelos primeiros contactos com os portugueses. Não sendo uma tecnologia totalmente desconhecida, os samurai e os exércitos dos daimyos já dispunha de engenhos com pólvora trazidos pelos chineses e coreanos, foi no entanto com os mais avançados arcabuzes e espingardas de origem europeia que as relações militares se alteraram. Não só pela arma em si, mas pela capacidade dos comandentes em compreender que para tirar o melhor partido das armas de fogo, tinham de alterar as suas tradicionais táticas de combate.

[Wes Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great resource for a decisive Japanese mitary campaign that had far-reaching effects for the country. Stephen Turnbull has done extensive research to give facts and figures about the battle of Nagashino, and to weave an interesting narrative surrounding the events and actors of the battle.

[Jerry]

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